Rosie Flores
The Six-String Princess of Texas (Aug. 31, 2006, was Rosie Flores Day in Austin) and Ms. Mighty Music Maker herself made a sparkling Springfield appearance. She was sighted playing a remote corner of the Illinois State Fair last year and now she’s back for a Bedrock 66 Live! show with Bloodshot Records compatriot Jon Langford.…
Word wizardry
There’s still time to celebrate National Poetry Month in central Illinois. Norb Andy’s hosts Springfield Poets and Writers Open Mic April 21 from 6-8 p.m. Listen to local poets read their original work or join in by phoning 725-9058 to reserve a time slot. Also on April 21, UIS hosts Literature, Prairie Visions, Prairie Voices…
Letters to the Editor 04/15/2010
MEMORIES OF STEVIE’SThank you for the memories about Stevie’s Latin Village. I remember during the 1960s my parents would go to Stevie’s for occasional Saturday night dates. They would get all dressed up in their finest, get a babysitter for us, and go out for a good time. Mom always bragged about the veal scallopini.…
Springfield foreclosure rate up slightly
The foreclosure rate in Springfield continues to hover around one percent, but one Springfield woman has a plan to help reduce it and prevent future foreclosures. First American Core Logic, a mortgage data analysis company based in California, says Springfield’s rate of foreclosures was .99 percent in February 2010, just above the .98 percent rate…
Free food just got fresher
From floor to ceiling, the Central Illinois Food Bank’s 25,000-square-foot warehouse on the east side of Springfield is packed with donations, ranging from traditional items like juice boxes, cereal and canned goods to the more unusual – chili-flavored lollipops, strawberry corn starch and potato chips made to taste like ketchup. In six weeks, new inventory…
Breathtaking adventure
Ace Bike Shop has a soaring day planned for all those interested in biking the new interurban bicycle trail with a few friends. The trip begins at the Ace Bike Shop, proceeds to Chatham Post Office and ends back at the shop. All entered riders have a chance to win a new Giant Cypress bike…
The record of independents
Without whining too much about the state of the music business and how it’s controlled by an industry-wide conspiracy that only allows a select few company artists access to the billions of dollars accumulated by the entertainment conglomerates or complaining that when stores, media outlets, record companies and other instruments of supplying the masses with…
Springfield bus routes undergo major changes
Margaret Wood knows when her disabled 47-year-old son, Gary, is supposed to be home from work. Gary rides the same bus to work every day, so when he didn’t come home one evening, Margaret Wood became concerned. “I was out looking for him (Gary) when he didn’t come home in time,” Wood said, recalling how…
Wal-Mart reduces dairy business with Prairie Farms
Carlinville-based dairy producer Prairie Farms will no longer supply milk under Wal-Mart’s Great Value brand, but Prairie Farms chief executive officer Ed Mullins says the company will certainly survive, even if it has to make a few cuts. Prairie Farms has provided dairy products to Wal-Mart for more than 20 years, Mullins says, and Wal-Mart…
Reuniting learning and labor
Facing nearly half a billion dollars of unpaid bills from the State of Illinois, the University of Illinois says it will probably have to raise tuition nearly 20 percent over the next four years. Taking a page from the General Assembly accounting textbook, the university will pay its immediate bills by borrowing against tuition and…
Jamie Oliver’s Sweet and Sour Pork
Oliver says of this recipe: “OK, this is easy, but it’s a quick one, so you’ll have to concentrate and stay on the ball. Sweet and sour pork is an absolute classic and was one of the first Chinese-style dishes introduced to Britain. I’ve tried to make it fresh, light and full of wonderful…
Revoke city’s library card
Libraries are an important part of our society. They provide a variety of choices in books, music, movies, audio-books and research tomes as well as public Internet, children’s reading programs, meeting places and quiet places for reading or study. Through inter-library loan programs, you can order items that your library does not carry. In harder…
Earth smart
Three interesting and enlightening environmental documentaries fill the big screen at City Nights Theater on three nights. The Garden looks at Los Angeles after the riots and its successful community garden. Earth Days explores earth consciousness, past, present and future. A Road Not Taken investigates the solar panels that once donned the White House –…
An inside outsider takes on Wall Street
Wall Street banksters – who could possibly love them? OK, presumably their mommas do, and possibly their pet dogs, but that’s it. The general public loathes them and would be delighted to see the whole bunch tarred, feathered and deported to a barren atoll, where their punishment would be living with themselves. These preening, narcissistic…
Laughable life
Described as “Seinfeld set to pop music,” this musical comedy is about sex, love, dating, marriage, in-laws and kids. Produced by Gordon Productions and starring Jeff Prince, Lori Ann Mitts, Mary Jo Curry and Gus Gordon (as pictured above) with Karen Ferguson on piano and Ann Collins on violin, this hilarious revue pays tribute to…
Polanski’s political mystery
Director Roman Polanski is in top form with his adaptation of the Robert Harris novel, The Ghost Writer, a riveting political thriller that’s a thinly veiled broadside of British Prime Minister Tony Blair’s support of the United States’ Iraqi conflict. Ewan McGregor stars as a ghost writer who’s hired to help former British Prime Minister…
Jamie is for real
Jamie Oliver is a man with a mission. In the rarified world of today’s celebrity chefs, some have attained their status because they’ve earned it with in-depth knowledge, innovative or authentic cuisine, and stellar restaurants. The best of the best spawn protégés who, under their tutelage and with their support, go on to establish their…
the humans’ song�
no need to hurryno need to worrylife is regu-life is regu-latedfrom the birthmobileto the hearsemobileby the GREATCOMPUTER-MOBILE no need to hurryno need to worrylife is regu-life is regu-latedfrom the eatsmobileto the sleepsmobileby the GREATCOMPUTER-MOBILE
Media go overboard to hammer Democrats
It seems like everywhere you look these days, the Illinois Democrats are getting hammered. Most of the Democratic carnage is self-inflicted, like the Scott Lee Cohen debacle, or the brutal gubernatorial primary, or the troubles at U.S. Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias’ family bank, or the decision to run a lobbyist with close connections to House…
Stood up by Date Night
Some things look like a can’t lose proposition on paper. Surely the teaming of TV superstars Steve Carell and Tina Fey in a big-screen comedy must have looked like a no-brainer to 20th Century-Fox. Unfortunately the film they financed, Date Night, turns out to be less than a sure thing. It wastes the talents of…
