A feel-good distraction
Untitled Document It’s difficult to take seriously last week’s House vote to establish a recall provision in the Illinois Constitution. An amendment to the constitutional provision passed the other day with 80 votes — a pretty solid majority. The tiny minority who opposed the amendment pointed out that the proposal could cause all sorts of…
Pana’s princess of plots
Untitled Document Christy Cameron of Pana, in addition to raising two boys adopted from Russia and a recently born daughter, managing a farm household, sometimes driving a grain truck, and frequently teaching community-college English classes, has also published two books. Who’s Watching the Kids is a lighthearted romp in the romance genre. The heroine, applying for…
Twenty-first century bard
Untitled Document It might seem like a long way from the life of an ancient Celtic bard to that of a modern-day performer, but to musician and storyteller Daniel Marcotte it was a natural progression. From his upbringing in Schaumburg, Ill., near Chicago, through his college work in ancient music and societies and continuing into…
Tuscan temptation
Untitled Document Dear Julianne: Would there be any way you could get your hands on the “Tortellini Michelangelo” recipe from Tuscany Italian Restaurant? I am in love with the cream sauce and cannot figure out how to duplicate it. — Beth Tortellini Michelangelo is one of my favorite dishes at Tuscany Restaurant, too. Once I spoke…
Jobs on the line
Untitled Document Two hundred workers could soon lose their jobs if Precision Products, a leading manufacturer of lawn and garden equipment and the largest employer in Lincoln, is forced out of business, company officials say. Precision Products, owned by Gleason Industrial Products Inc., supplies nearly 60 percent of the nation’s hand-truck market, says vice president…
Healthier energy drinks
Untitled Document There are so many energy drinks on the market, but they all seem very high in sugar, coloring, and preservatives. Are there any natural versions that offer a healthier kick-start? Energy drinks constitute one of the fastest-growing sectors of the soft-drink market across the U.S. and around the world, with some 500…
Land of stinkin’
Untitled Document An estimated 500 large factory farms are being allowed to operate and possibly pollute with virtually no oversight from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, according to legal pleadings filed last month by a statewide watchdog group. In a petition filed March 27, Illinois Citizens for Clean Air & Water asked the U.S. Environmental…
Results matter
Untitled Document New research reveals that female students in programs that promote abstinence exclusively are more likely to get pregnant than those in programs that teach about the full range of contraceptives as well as abstinence. The news, published in the April issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, is just the latest proof that…
The folly of turning water into fuel
Untitled Document With corn selling at record-high prices, Steve Albracht expects to have no trouble paying his electric bills this year. Albracht irrigates 1,000 acres of corn near the town of Hart in the Texas Panhandle and figures that he will shell out $180 to $240 per acre to run his pumps through the spring…
Letters to the Editor
Untitled Document We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address, and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to Letters, Illinois Times, P.O. Box 5256, Springfield, IL 62705; fax 217-753-3958; e-mail editor@illinoistimes.com. WHAT’STHEIRTRUEAGENDA? In my youth, I would have responded to each and every one of the people or groups mentioned in Jeannette…
Cut-rate labor for any job
Untitled Document Just when you think that surely the offshoring craze has peaked, here come more stories of “Globalization Gone Wild.” McClatchy Co., the California-based newspaper chain, has announced that it is outsourcing some of its jobs to India. Copyediting and design work for certain sections of its Miami Herald newspaper are being shipped to…
Reeves gets dirty in gritty Street Kings
Untitled Document Is Keanu Reeves a good actor? Well, the jury’s still out, as far as I’m concerned. In the right role, he’s as effective as any big Hollywood star. There’s no doubt that The Matrix doesn’t work without him, but in other features, such as Chain Reaction and Sweet November, Reeves is as wooden…
Game boys
Untitled Document Like many little boys, Christopher Peper was scolded for playing too many video games. “I just remember my mother telling me, ‘Put that video game down and do your homework. That’s not going to do you any good,’ ” he says. But now the 36-year old Hickox Apartments manager credits his years of…
Fun ’50s food
Untitled Document “. . . in this miraculous age it is quite possible — and it’s fun — to be a ‘chef’ even before you can really cook.” — from The Can-Opener Cookbook, by Poppy Cannon, 1952 The Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods features host Andrew Zimmern traveling around the world eating weird food. It can be…
The payday loan trap
Untitled Document All is quiet at a Springfield quick-loan business on a recent Saturday afternoon. The color scheme of the building’s façade resembles that of a popular national chain of fast-food restaurants. Its spacious interior has the look and feel of a neighborhood bank. A woman who appears to be in her late twenties, dressed…
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document dogletterpoem #1 dear pooky I am visiting my cousin coeur d’or that means heart of gold which she hasn’t for she keeps her rawhide bone from me but I snatch it and go under the piano I have not peed on the rug yet I am taking heartworm pills coeur and I go…
