Having a great idea does not an entrepreneur make. Turning an idea into profit takes business acumen and quite often a little bit of start-up cash. That’s the idea behind a micro loan program administered by the Springfield Black Chamber of Commerce with the Quantum Growth Partnership, The Springfield Project, The Springfield Chamber of Commerce, […]
Rachel Wells
Posted inArts & Culture
Environmental street art
Sewage. It happens. And, typically, it ain’t pretty. But! Check it out: decorative manhole covers! A photograph of just one of many artsy manhole covers on Japan’s streets, the image is from Remo Camerota’s book Drainspotting. There are plenty more photos here. I only happened to discover how cool water infrastructure can be because I click […]
Posted inNews
Urban sprawl no more
The catchphrase in city planning is no longer “urban sprawl” – a term that automatically turns too many people off from discussing environmentally friendly development. Instead, the conversation now focuses on “smart growth,” says Dr. Deanna Glosser. To Glosser, president of Riverton-based Environmental Planning Solutions, Inc., urban sprawl is synonymous with a proliferation of impervious […]
Posted inNews
Putting Illinois to work
No one can help you if you don’t help yourself, says Springfield resident Theodore Steen when he explains his recent success in Put Illinois to Work, a subsidized jobs program through which 225 workers have been placed with 37 Sangamon County employers. Under the Put Illinois to Work (PIW) program, workers deemed eligible based on […]
Posted inNews
Building a new MacArthur
At the very least, businesses on MacArthur Boulevard should and could start adding grass, trees and shrubs to their properties as a way to make the thoroughfare more welcoming to Springfield visitors, says John LaMotte with The Lakota Group. One of the city planners hired with grant funding to help create a redevelopment plan for […]
Posted inNews
Attack of the flying fish
Jumping several feet into the air, a single silver carp can knock a boat driver unconscious before a passenger even has time to say “Duck!” For that reason, the Illinois Natural History Survey station in Havana installed netting around the steering wheel and dashboard of its electro-fishing boats. “It’s simply one of the most dangerous […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Cat in the Hat takes the cake
Only through the lens of the late Theodor Seuss Geisle, better known as Dr. Seuss, can a chaotic menagerie of made-up creatures bring order and wisdom from whimsy and fun. Filled with comedies such as that of the emerald eggs and ham, and tragedies such as a too-short tail and the battle for bread bit […]
Posted inNews
Board expects vote on school construction plan
The District 186 school board could approve on Monday five new middle school gymnasiums, two rebuilt elementary schools and several additions to Southeast High School as the initial projects in a two-phase construction plan. A comprehensive plan including all of the elements outlined in “Option B,” the $231 million plan to revamp all of the […]
