Give me Liberty or give me my identity
Untitled Document Normally, if somebody offered to bring me a sack of trash, I’d find a polite way to say no thanks. But when Glenn Sisco called me, his trash sounded intriguing. The way he described it, he was at work and decided to step outside for a smoke break. When he went to throw…
EYES STILL ON THE PRIZE
It’s official. Kevin Smith and his gang of automotive aficionados announced this week that they’ve been accepted as contenders in the Progressive Automotive X Prize — an international competition that challenges 111 teams from 25 states and 11 countries to build a fast, inexpensive, 100-mile-per-gallon car. It’s been a year since Illuminati Motorworks invited us…
“Too big to fail” is too big — period
As skiers and backcountry hikers know, a whiteout is a blizzard that’s so intense that those caught in it can’t even see the blizzard. That’s how I think of the Wall Street bailout now swirling around us. So many trillions of our tax dollars are being blown at the financial giants that we’re blinded by…
Pinch pennies and grow carrots at the same time
Gardening can be a low-cost activity or an expensive hobby. In these difficult economic times gardening is receiving newfound interest. So how can we enjoy gardening without breaking the bank? My mother and grandmother were able to garden on a shoestring while providing an abundance of food. Of course I learned some of these thrifty…
School band blues
In Springfield’s rich band music history, instruction began in elementary school. By middle school, concert bands performed intermediate literature and pep bands played at sporting events. By high school, committed players were winning top honors in state music contests. But the past seven years have seen district budget cuts, federal mandates and an overall lack…
The high cost of limbo at Springfield High
Springfield School District 186 is expected to receive $8.5 million in federal stimulus money. Though there appear to be limitations and guidelines are yet to be developed, district officials have been reported as wishing to spend some funds on computer labs. A key criteria to the plan is for the money “to be spent quickly…
Celebrating spring, southern Indian style
Five minutes after I met her, I wanted to bring her home with me. Jaya Dwarkanath doesn’t look a thing like my late, sorely missed grandmother. Nana was not overweight, but her German ancestry showed in her sturdy frame. Her prim and proper mother always bought or made Nana’s dresses a size too large because…
Contribution caps unfair to challengers
I’ve often said that I’m a reform agnostic. It’s not that I don’t believe in good government. I do. Fervently. And I most certainly don’t believe as some do that voters should be given the sole responsibility to weed out the crooks and con artists. “Let the buyer beware” just isn’t good enough. Rod Blagojevich’s…
Alderman objects to tactics aimed at hiring minority police
Ward 8 Ald. Kris Theilen says it’s not about race — it’s about being the best of the best. Theilen recently told Illinois Times that he’s disgruntled over the Davlin administration’s decision to start new police patrol officer testing when there are 20 candidates left in the highest-ranked band after the last round of tests,…
Rent or buy, new or used?
It will soon be time for fifth graders’ families to sign up for middle school band, and families who have arranged for their own instruments, whether by renting or purchasing, will have first choice when it comes to section assignments. In making an instrument selection, musicians, instructors and retailers all agree: let the child choose,…
The adventures of Marina V
For the last several years Russian-born singer-songwriter Marina V always scheduled a stop in Springfield for a visit and a show right around the Christmas holiday. During her 2007 yuletide stopover, the MacMurray College graduate ended up in the hospital with emergency gallbladder removal surgery. Everything turned out fine once the disgruntled organ was out…
City council still searching for money to fix streets
It’s been five months since the city of Springfield created a subcommittee on infrastructure and began asking residents for input on crumbling sidewalks and streets, but aldermen are still unsure about which areas need the most attention and how the fixes will be funded. Public works director Mike Norris recently told the subcommittee that the…
Letters to the editor
A mom’s gratitude Thank you for your article on the fertility clinic at Southern Illinois University [see “Making babies possible,” by Amanda Robert, Jan. 22]. I am a former patient of Dr. J. Ricardo Loret de Mola and with his help, I conceived a son. Five years later I had a daughter (on our own).…
IT Picks
MUSIC | DiNizio unplugged Pat DiNizio, lead singer and rhythm guitarist for the Smithereens, rolls into Springfield Thursday night as one stop in his second countrywide living room concert tour. Taking to the road years ago in a never-done-before manner for someone with a certain level of national recognition, he performed in people’s homes and…
GREEN HOTEL
We’ve heard folks say that green is the new black, but we didn’t realize the adage was going to take Springfield by storm. We celebrated the capital city’s first certified green building (the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency headquarters) in January and expect to see the second when Erin’s Pavilion at Southwind Park opens this summer.…
The man who emptied death row
November 8, 1994, the day George Ryan was reelected secretary of state, Ricardo Guzman, a Mexican native, was driving a truck on I-94 near Milwaukee. A bracket over a mud flap assembly dangled from the rear of his truck. Other truckers tried to warn him over their CB radios, but Guzman understood no English. Next…
Furious is running on empty; Sunshine needs a polish
After suffering though Fast and Furious, I went out and rented Bullet, The French Connection and To Live and Die in L.A. I wanted to be reminded of what a real car chase looked like because all Justin Lin’s hyperkinetic production did was remind me that no one knows how to film one today. What…
