And the 2004 winners are. . .
With so many new plant introductions each year, which ones should you try this year? Almost every horticulture industry association or society names a plant of the year. These award programs offer a useful guide to selecting something new and different. The winners, by definition, are plants with outstanding characteristics. Here are a few herbaceous…
No protocol, no dough
Domestic-violence victims will take a hit in July when a grant funding some services expires. Citing the “lack of a formal Domestic Violence protocol” at the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office, a state agency decided not to renew a grant that paid for a Springfield police detective and other services since 1997. Sangamon County was…
Judgment day
Barely 6 years old, Shug Frazier doesn’t quite comprehend the financial settlement his mother won from the city of Springfield this week. It amounts to almost $650,000 — $500,000 in cash plus an annuity that will pay $1,100 per month for 131 months. But for some reason, Shug has it in his head that the…
Lead alert
It was a routine check-up. Springfield native Crystal Bishop says nothing was visibly wrong with her nearly two-year-old infant son, Michael. But then came the results from his blood tests, which showed Michael with enough lead in his system — six times the limit set by the federal government — to cause mental retardation. “It…
Letters 4-1-04
Letters policy We welcome letters, but please include your full name, address and a daytime telephone number. We edit all letters for libel, length and clarity. Send letters to: Letters, Illinois Times. P.O. Box 5256. Springfield, Illinois 62705. Fax: (217) 753-3958. E-mail: editor@illinoistimes.com MAKE THEM ACCOUNTABLE Thank you, Dusty Rhodes, for the cover article, “The…
Casino flap
Last fall, Gov. Rod Blagojevich took a brief but nasty beating in the Chicago media. Thick smoke from a superhot fire killed nine people in a Loop office high-rise. One of the building’s managers, Elzie Higginbottom, was a Blagojevich campaign contributor. When the city and county’s investigators dragged their feet, the Chicago media demanded that…
Knoepfle 4-1-04
i can’t think of a title well there is one child standing on two children and these two are standing on three children so that makes six six children and my granddaughter has this stuffed dog named ben goes with her on long flights from alaska and this dog can spell MOM for no particular…
Crystal (base)ball
The Cubs are the chosen ones. The Cardinals are also-rans. The White Sox apparently peaked last year — when they finished in second place in the weak American League Central. So goes spring training clairvoyance, in which predictions are stated with the certainty of Pythagoras positing his theorem about the square of the hypotenuse of…
Quick Takes 4-1-04
LOCAL YOKEL YODELER Springfield resident and occasional Illinois Times contributor Randy Erwin Skalicky will be heard on the big screen this weekend in the new Disney musical, Home on the Range. The plot centers around a trio of bovine bounty hunters trying to capture cattle rustler Alameda Slim (Randy Quaid). Slim’s secret weapon is his…
Champs of the Three Eye
For Springfield and its central Illinois neighbor Bloomington, the 1935 baseball season was history in the making. It’s a shame few witnessed it firsthand. In the midst of the Great Depression, these minor-league baseball rivals engaged in a thrilling pennant race and controversial postseason series. Yet the grim economic times translated into sparse crowds and…
Afternoon delights
Having lunch at Incredibly Delicious is a test of willpower. You try to focus on the menu posted on the wall near the counter, telling you about the soup, salad and sandwich specials of the day. It shouldn’t be that difficult to order — there are just a few choices. How hard could it be?…
Now Playing 4-1-04
I ain’t no fool, though sometimes it’s handy to wear a jester’s crown. So, in the spirit of the day, here’s news about some critically important developments in the local music scene. Remember, you read it here first. Kip Nelson of Hot Property is swearing off rock & roll. “I’m going back to my roots.…
Grace about town 4-1-04
I just auditioned for A Chorus Line at the Springfield Municipal Opera. Doug Hahn and Gary Shull are the co-directors; Gary was the choreographer in the Springfield Theatre Centre’s production, and Doug was the vocal director. I haven’t been in a Muni play in years. My last role was Lina Lamont, the dumb blonde in…
Movie Review
A familiar story, told with charm Martha Coolidge’s The Prince & Me tells the story of an oh-so-common occurrence among college-aged girls: They go off to school, meet the man of their dreams, and he turns out to be the prince of a European nation. At least, that’s how it happens in the movies. Paige…
People’s Poetry 4-1-04
Portrait I used to carry in the pocket of the brown waist coat given to me by my father, a man of muscular build and little patience for that which he had modest understanding, especially issues of foreign policy and affairs of the heart, of which my mother is guilty of being susceptible, dangling her…
