Hail to the historic
South Town celebrates its historic existence as Springfield’s oldest district on September 1-2 with two days of food, blues, jazz and more. Saturday at 4 p.m. Dan Rivero Trio plays, Sunday from 6-8 p.m. Blues Expression takes the stage, followed by Ruka Puff from 9 -11 p.m. Starting at noon both days are games, tasty…
Norma Rae comes to Springfield
Newsroom employees at the State Journal-Register are asking for union representation. The United Media Guild last week submitted petitions signed by employees to the National Labor Relations Board, which has the power to authorize a workplace election to determine whether the State Journal-Register newsroom will become a union shop. Under federal law, at least 30…
Parents behaving badly
After more than a year of pushing state lawmakers, the family of Steven Watkins and their supporters have a law that allows judges to revoke driver’s licenses of custodial parents who refuse to allow court-ordered visitation between children and non-custodial parents. But critics of the Steven Watkins Memorial Act say the new statute is little…
Check the heat in your jalapeños
“They’re breeding the heat out of jalapeños, and it’s all because of poppers,” says Rick Bayless, addressing a group of us attending his seminar on the foods of the Yucatan. Bayless, with two acclaimed restaurants in Chicago, an ongoing PBS cooking show, multiple cookbooks and a nationally distributed line of salsas and sauces, is regarded…
Cultural experiences
A weekend of cultural experiences awaits you at the popular Ethnic Festival, held at the Illinois State Fairgrounds Ethnic Village. Admission is free during the three days of exotic cuisine and invigorating music and dance from local ethnic groups. Saturday, Sept. 1, listen to the Springfield Municipal Band, 1-2:30 p.m.; watch Middle Eastern Dancers, 3:30-5:30…
Oddball Illinois
Oddball Illinois: A Guide to 450 Really Strange Places, by Jerome Pohlen, is your ticket to the fantastic and eccentric in the land of Lincoln. The book offers interesting information about unusual people, locations and museums, oddities and bizarre histories from the Mississippi River banks of Quincy to Ashmore, and from Cairo to the streets…
Fun at fall festivals
As the hot, hazy days of summer are replaced by crisp breezes and bursts of color, area residents can enjoy all that fall has to offer at area festivals. August “Women Who Made History” is the theme of the 14th Annual Prairie Chautauqua, held Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 at Jacksonville’s Community Park. Reenactments and…
Apples, pumpkins and more fall produce
Fall sings with color. Besides the glorious riot of the leaves there are the deep reds of the apples, the golden orange of the pumpkins and the muted shades of squash. Fall is all about texture, taste and glorious food. Whether you are heading out to a fall festival, anticipating a cookout or a hayride,…
Canoe dig it
Dean Campbell of Springfield says ideas are cheap. Putting them into action is what matters. On Sept. 1, the 78-year-old former teacher will launch a 1,200-pound dugout canoe that he fashioned out of a single gigantic log. The canoe will start on the Illinois River at Beardstown and travel 125 miles down the Illinois and…
Jalpeño cheese cornbread
Most southern cornbread is fairly sweet and has a cake-like crumb – too sweet and too cakey for my taste. The base recipe for this cornbread comes from the Betty Crocker 1950 Picture Cookbook, which says it’s from Ohio. Regardless of where it originated, it’s my hands-down all-time favorite cornbread – with or without the…
Eight fun things to do
It barely snowed last winter. It barely rained this summer. And who knows what fall will bring? Flexibility is key when it comes to autumn in central Illinois. The perfect picnic plan could be scuttled by a surprise storm, a nice sit-down dinner party might benefit from a move to the backyard to take advantage…
Deadly pace haunts ParaNorman
The biggest threat that Norman Babcock (voice by Kodi Smit-McPhee) must face is a group of zombies who shamble about with a marked lack of energy and direction. The biggest disappointment that viewers of ParaNorman have to deal with is that the film itself comes to resemble these undead creatures. Writer Chris Butler, who also…
Bride and zoom
I’m in love, and I just said yes to marrying the man of my dreams. We’ve only known each other for two months, but we’re in the Peace Corps. You really see the core of a person when conditions are not so comfy. We’re planning on traveling home to get married on our next monthly…
Hit and Run goes nowhere slow
There are many injustices in the world. While I wouldn’t dare compare the most dire ones to the complaint I am about to file, I can’t help but cast a glance to the heavens and ask “Why?” where Dax Shepard is concerned. If you’re not familiar with the actor, you’re not alone. Having starred in…
Autumn means music in central Illinois
Summer may be drawing to a close, but the music scene in central Illinois is as vibrant as ever. From cutting-edge electronica to old-time a capella, Springfield and other central Illinois cities offer a variety of sounds within a short drive. Springfield Sangamon Auditorium www.uis.edu/sangamonauditoriumSept. 21, 8 p.m. – Michael W. Smith Christian singer-songwriter Michael…
The Ryan-Romney flim-flam ticket
Let’s talk budget! Yes, the wonky wonderland of the federal budget, with page after page of numbers – what fun, eh? No. Most people would prefer a root canal to a budget discussion (indeed, I’ve heard that some dentists use a recording of budget numbers to anesthetize their root-canal patients – everything from the neck…
How radical is Paul Ryan’s Medicare plan?
Vice-presidential hopeful Paul Ryan’s controversial “Roadmap for America’s Future” included plans to transform Medicare from a program that directly paid the medical bills of seniors into a voucher-based system by the year 2022. In an interview with University of Illinois News Bureau business and law reporter Phil Ciciora, Richard L. Kaplan, a law professor and…
Neighbors must pay damages for delaying hog shed
An appellate court in Springfield says opponents of a pig farm outside Rochester must pay for delaying the project. However, neither side is overly happy with the outcome. “It’s a mixed bag,” says Springfield attorney Thomas Immel. His client, Rochester pig farmer Robert Young, won a $24,000 award of damages earlier this month – far…
It’s Springfield’s fault
A few weeks ago the nation was briefly distracted from the work of buying, stealing and subverting this year’s elections by the release of a report from researchers at the Kennedy School of Government. “Isolated Capital Cities, Accountability and Corruption: Evidence From U.S. States” by political economists Filipe R. Campante and Quoc-Anh Do offered an…
Is Preckwinkle preparing to run against Quinn?
“We’ve got to activate the taxpayers of Illinois,” Gov. Pat Quinn told reporters after his legislative special session failed to move any sort of pension reform forward, promising to lead a “grassroots” effort to push legislators to pass a reform bill. But will the voters actually listen to him? A recent poll conducted for Cook…
Period play
Bring a blanket or lawn chair and be transported back in time during two matinees and an evening performance of the play Prairie Dreams: The Story of Clayville and Its People, written by Tara McClellan McAndrew and directed by Carly Shank. Performed at Clayville Sept. 2, 8 and 9, the play is about the early…
Lawless a cinematic crime
Since the advent of the DVD format, one of the more revealing features that many contain is that of the “director’s cut.” Studios have their reasons for trimming the films they produce and there are only a very few filmmaker’s who have the final say on how their movies ultimately appear on the big screen.…
Ladies of lore
Aug. 31 through Sept. 3 is the 14th Annual Prairieland Chautauqua at the Community Park in Jacksonville. This year’s theme is “Women Who Made History.” Under the big tent will be presentations by reenactors, storytelling, lectures, music, dance and nightly communal suppers. The four-day event features Ben Bedford, Brian Fox Ellis, Betty Carlson Kay, Debra…
Rockhouse: Twenty years of rocking the house
One of the most difficult things in the music industry is not so much playing the music (as hard as that can be), but keeping everything together, from booking, bandmates and business, to supporting and developing loyalty and respect among bars, venues, bands, musicians and fans. If longevity is a mark of a decent career,…
Rush peddles to satisfying, if ludicrous thrills
Like a modern update of Howard Hawks’ Only Angels Have Wings (look it up, rent it, watch it), David Koepp’s Premium Rush would have us believe that the bicycle messengers who risk life and limb to make sure that “important” missives get across the Big Apple posthaste are a group of renegades vital to the…
David Berchtold
When done well, fingerpicking a guitar looks so easy anybody could do it. But the task of convincing several digits to make music while moving simultaneously in different, yet coordinated directions appear effortless, takes a good deal of effort, concentration and practice. David Berchtold, an acoustic guitarist for more than 40 years, makes the process…
Let’s go to a show
As summer comes to a close, the overwhelming heat and touristy jaunts are becoming distant memories. The sunscreen is being packed away, and you’ve enjoyed yet another summer of stimulating activities, but now what? Go to a show. There are many opportunities for theatrical leisure in your community. Jacksonville Theatre Guild will feature Arthur Miller’s…
Quad Cities, a great place to go
With the heat of summer in the rear view mirror, it is time for a fall adventure. Head to the Quad Cities along the big Ole Mississippi. There is a lot to do in the Quad Cities and on the way there and back as well. Want to horse around? You can check out horse…
Letters to the Editor 08/30/12
FITNESS HELPS LEARNINGThe American Heart Association applauds Gov. Pat Quinn’s plan to sign Senate Bill 3374 into law on Saturday, Aug. 25. This legislation establishes a P.E. Task Force which may play an important role in defining our children’s physical education opportunities for years to come. While Springfield-established task forces often come and go without…
vermontpoem2012 #1
it was a fuzzy soft white delicateinch-long caterpillar two stiff black hairssticking up aslant slightly behind itssmall black head-knob two more aslantslightly before its tiny black end and spaceddown its white fuzzy back a line of twelvelittle black spots a study in black on whiteas it went about its small business that wasthis morning earlier…
