This isn’t your mother’s home ec
I wish I could go back to high school. I never thought those words would pass my lips. Even more bizarre — I want to take home ec classes. I avoided home ec like the plague in high school. Sewing didn’t interest me, and my mom told tales about the gruesome foods she’d made in…
IT Picks
THEATER | Bard comedy Set in France, girl (Rosalind) falls instantly in love with boy (Orlando). The royal family quarrels amongst themselves. Men are exiled. Lovers pine. Girl disguises herself as a man (Ganymede). Confusion and mistaken identity ensues. Lovers are united with their proper mates. Everything works out in the end. You don’t have…
Archaeology and a newspaper editor
A plain white pitcher, a bowl, a broken plate and a whiskey bottle from the mid-to-late 1830s are among the finds from Floyd Mansberger’s digs on the block where the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library now stands. Those dead relics come to life when the archaeologist pieces together that they were owned by Springfield’s pioneer newspaper…
Bigger isn’t always better
Karen Hudson didn’t know what to think when she first learned that factory farming was coming to her town. Elmwood, Ill., is a small but prosperous bedroom community about 20 miles west of Peoria, and a retired Caterpillar worker who owned some acreage there wanted to construct a “swine finishing” facility to raise hogs, a…
Pusillanimity plus stupidity equals Wall Street greed
Once again, we are faced with the question that has long bedeviled political analysts and barstool pundits everywhere: Is the pusillanimity of Democrats worse than the stupidity of Republicans? The question arises because of a curious vote last week in the House of Representatives to restrict the bonus money going to those nimble-fingered financial whizzes…
Local nonprofit ready to donate brand-new books
Before Nöel Scott became a stay-at-home mom, she worked as an early childhood teacher with the local Early Start program. She taught mostly low-income kids and was astounded to see them holding books upside-down or paging through books backward. “Those were things I learned about when becoming a teacher, but I didn’t think I would…
An unusual move for power as Democrat chairman departs
In a move that has party veterans scratching their heads, Patrick “Tim” Timoney, outgoing chairman of the Sangamon County Democrats, has appointed almost 40 new precinct committeemen over the past month, according to records provided by the county election office. Many of those appointees have names that ring a bell with anyone familiar with Springfield…
What will the Madigans do about the governor’s race?
Back in 2005, I asked House Speaker Michael Madigan why he didn’t just run somebody against Gov. Rod Blagojevich in the ’06 Democratic primary if he was so upset at the way Blagojevich was running things. “I did that once, and it led to 26 years of uninterrupted Republican rule,” Madigan cracked. In the early…
People’s Poetry
earlyspringpoem #2 tiny green trillium trefoil tinypied trout lily leaves tinyfrondsy dutchman’s britchestiny spring beauties already inblossom other leaves andshoots unidentifiable I’m sorryto be stepping on you here inthe woods you wee ones are somany amid the crunchy driftsof leaves the fat plush bluebellsare easy to avoid some already blooming makes me wonderthough what else…
A mall cop worth seeing
In Jay Hill’s Observe and Report, Seth Rogan plays Ronnie Barnhardt, a bipolar man-child who has raised himself to tragic results. A legend in his own mind, he approaches his job as head mall cop with a degree of tenacity that’s frightening. Used to macing shoplifters and beating skateboarders, he’s a guy you don’t want…
Letters to the Editor
RESTAURANT MEMORIES An interesting story, indeed, about the Old Lux [see “Realcuisine” by Julianne Glatz, IT, April 2]. It generally references the other east side restaurants, but you missed one of those east side notables. That is the Parkview, on Clear Lake across from Bergen Park golf course, run by Hank Shuey for many years…
Earth Week Events
Nursery seminars Apr 18, 10am, “Container Gardening for Spring Color.” Green View Nursery, 3000 W. Jefferson St. For info or reservation, 787-4700 or go to greenview.com. Gardening workshop Apr 18, 10-11:30am, Trough Garden workshop. $30, $25 members. Washington Park Botanical Garden. Pre-registration required, call 753-6228. Mushroom workshop Apr 18, 8:30am, Lincoln Land Woodturners present slide…
E-cycle your E-waste this E-arth Day
To most people, being green just means replacing your old light bulbs with compact fluorescents, reusing plastic grocery bags, turning off the water while brushing and placing your empty aluminum cans and TPS reports into the appropriate plastic bins at the office. That’s your daddy’s recycling; this is the digital age. These days, electronics manufacturers…
And all that (free) jazz
Heads up out there, music fans, the Springfield Freejazz and Creative Music Forum presents BoxDeserter Trio, an innovative ensemble of major players from the avant-garde music landscape, at 7:30 p.m., on Tuesday, April 21, at Charles & Limey’ s Lounge (620 S. First St.). The improvisational group, comprised of Skeeter Shelton (saxophones), Thollem McDonas (piano),…
Get your swag on — responsibly
Despite the best efforts of public health officials and other groups, the rate of sexually transmitted disease infections among teenagers continues to rise. While HIV and AIDS captures most of the attention, people often forget about other STDs such as gonorrhea, herpes and chlamydia. “You hear stories about HIV all the time, but have you…
Only fools flush down
Just when you thought it was safe for your drugs to go in the water… . “We ask that residents no longer flush their meds,” says Angela Harris, Sangamon County’s recycling coordinator. Harris acknowledges that for many years, flushing was the recommended method for disposal of pharmaceuticals and personal care products. However, there is now…
Fun at the drive-in
In the late 1950s, 4,000 drive-in movie theaters dotted America’s landscape. In that decade, 120 theaters, including The 66 Drive-In on Sixth Street and the Springfield Drive-In on Dirksen Parkway, entertained carloads of families and teenagers with their twilight and after-dark movies. The Springfield Twin Drive-In came along in 1973, followed by Green Meadows Drive-In…
Flowers of the wild
Diane Wasson photographed these wildflowers in Allerton Park, near Monticello, as a participant in the Allerton Corps of Discovery, one of several groups organized under the Corps of Discovery program to teach a new generation to communicate both the joys and concerns of the natural world. Wasson, of Mahomet, is a hospital administrator at the…
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document kidquote poem # 9 (quoted fromXavier Manley, 4) I really reallydon’t likegoing to bed at night if you wantto you cancall menocturnal © Jacqueline Jackson 2009
People’s Poetry
Untitled Document kidquote poem # 9 (quoted fromXavier Manley, 4) I really reallydon’t likegoing to bed at night if you wantto you cancall menocturnal © Jacqueline Jackson 2009
