Lincoln appraisal released
Click here to read the appraisal: http://www.illinoistimes.com/Springfield/file-142-.pdf Mark McGwire’s 70th home run ball. A guitar once owned by Eric Clapton. A model of the Starship Enterprise. These are among the items that an appraiser used in 2007 to establish the value of a collection of Lincoln documents and artifacts held by the Abraham Lincoln Presidential…
Turning green
Lincoln Land Community College’s Green Center is hosting the 10th Annual Central Illinois Composting Symposium, Feb. 20, noon to 5 p.m. in the Trutter Center. This year’s theme is Composting for a Sustainable Community and businesses and individuals can learn how to compost organic materials. Radio host, award-winning columnist and Chicago Recycling Coalition President Mike Nowak…
A common sense crop for America’s common good
Four years ago, Michelle Obama picked up a shovel and made a powerful symbolic statement about America’s food and farm future: She turned a patch of White House lawn into a working organic garden. But now, as she begins another four years in the people’s mansion, the first lady is probably asking herself: “How can…
Indignation wants to be free
What are your thoughts on gently dissuading a person from making a total fool of herself on Facebook? A woman I know had her husband leave her for the woman he was cheating on her with. She’s been venting about this almost daily on Facebook, in sometimes blistering detail, and I’m truly embarrassed for her.…
Quality brews at Grab-a-Java
There’s coffee and then there’s coffee. It ranges from gas station black swill you buy at 1 a.m. solely to push through the last hour of an extended road trip to fragrant ambrosia made from carefully selected and roasted beans that are freshly ground before being turned into brews prepared by trained baristas. For 16…
School closure questioned
Scroll to the bottom to see what the School Board cut and what it kept. In the wake of a controversial decision to close a popular and successful middle school in Springfield, the divided school board continues to field questions about the reasoning for the closure and its estimated savings. About 200 “scholars” at the…
Park district head on indefinite leave
Michael Stratton is out as executive director of the Springfield Park District. After an executive session that lasted nearly four hours, the park board on Wednesday unanimously approved a request by Stratton to go on unpaid leave effective immediately until further action of the board. Stratton was under scrutiny for payments made to him without…
Mining firm protests EPA tough stance
A coal mining company that has fast become one of the state’s largest is crying foul over the threat of a lawsuit from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Macoupin Energy, a subsidiary of Foresight Energy, knew about groundwater pollution problems at a Carlinville mine when it met with state EPA officials at least twice in…
SORORITY OFFERS SCHOLARSHIPS
Are you a young woman graduating from high school? Or do you know one? Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. may be able to assist. The Springfield-Decatur Area Alumnae Chapter announces its 2013 scholarship program for area African-American high school senior women. Scholarship applications may be obtained through high school websites or a hard copy may…
Illinois: the nearly ungovernable state
Gov. Pat Quinn used the phrase “our Illinois” almost 30 times last week in one form or another during his annual State of the State address. “In our Illinois, everyone should have access to decent healthcare,” Quinn said. “In our Illinois, working people find good jobs not just for today but for tomorrow.” “In our…
Hard Road Blues Band
When Bruce Baise (guitar, vocals), Dave Marr (guitar, vocals), Craig Wood (bass, vocals), Mark “Doc” Janis (drums), Steve Jackson (saxophone, clarinet, flute) and “Bad” Bill Robinson (harmonica, limericks) join together to create music, they bring decades of experience to the stage. Hot Property, Picture This, Wabash Run, Porkpie & The Northend Allstars, Rock of Ages,…
Shameless melodrama kills Haven
I think I could make an argument that romantic movies are the hardest sort to make successfully. Tone and sincerity are so important in exercises of this sort and probably the most tenuous elements of these films. One moment that comes off as too sappy or melodramatic and the spell is broken. Thinking back on…
HOMEGROWN MEDICAL METHODS
Ever wonder what all those doctors are doing in Springfield’s maze-like hospitals? We’re always told the Mid-Illinois Medical District is a pretty big deal for Springfield and Illinois in general, but what are they actually accomplishing? It turns out that Springfield’s doctors are churning out important and interesting research on a variety of medical topics.…
ComEd shows off smart grid
What if there were no longer a need to call the power company when the power goes out? What if appliances shut themselves off to save money? And what if it were possible to predict your next electricity bill? On Feb. 5, power giant Commonwealth Edison hosted several exhibitors at the Prairie Capital Convention Center…
Letters to the Editor 2/14/13
FACTS UNDER FIREThis letter is in response to Jim Hibbett’s letter titled “Gun Issues” (Jan. 31). I am all for anyone expressing their opinions on any issue. But, when you express your opinions and use so called “statistics” to back up your opinions, make sure your “statistics” are verifiable. Otherwise, your opinion doesn’t seem to…
zen moment poem #1
the next day, in thestillness of the moment,noting the candle’srhythmic flicker I knewthe walls were singing,reverberating from the joyoussounds of forty choir-camp voicesas they raised the roof of my home
Act now to get mortgage relief
As the headlines shift to a recovery in the housing market, with an increase in national home values and home sales, it would be easy to forget that many of our friends and neighbors are still struggling through the bad economy. Last year, more than 28,000 Illinois families lost their homes. And the foreclosure rate…
Going once, going twice…
Pete Rose’s rookie baseball card. A stuffed beaver. A signed photograph of Ronald Reagan asleep on a hammock. Dozens of antique swords. A plastic tub filled with home pregnancy tests. Such is the flotsam and jetsam left behind from the high tide of THR and Associates, the Springfield firm born in 2008 that rocketed to…
Singing sassiness
If you missed The Marvelous Wonderettes two years ago when the delightful musical was as magical as the opening of the newly remodeled Legacy Theatre, you’ll be happy to know the production returns Feb. 15-17 and 22-24. Six performances are slated starring four locals with awesome vocals, Sara Baltusevich, Elizabeth Eckert, Cassie Poe and Teri…
The Bard meets the undead in Warm Bodies
By now, one would think that the whole zombie thing had been played out. However, Jonathan Levine delivers something quite unique with his adaptation of Isaac Marion’s Warm Bodies, a zombie love story that is far more interested in what it means to be alive than dead. Using Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet as its template,…
History by the book
Springfield has seen two Lincoln movies recently – Saving Lincoln, which retells the White House years from the perspective of his close friend and bodyguard and which the Abraham Lincoln Association screened on Feb. 11 at Abe World, and Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln. That left moviegoers asking the question, Which one is worth seeing? I’m more…
A history of Springfield romances
Love to last a lifetime Sarah Blanchard and Stuart PatersonWhen Sarah Lee Blanchard of Springfield entered the University of Michigan in the fall of 1961, she had no idea she would cross paths with the love of her life. In fact, she thought she had already found him: the dark-haired, brown-eyed beauty was going steady…
A sweetheart of a time
I’m telling you what – I had a whale of a time last Saturday night right here in lovely, downtown Springfield. From first being one of “those guys” not wanting to leave the house, I hit the Paul Collins Beat Bedrock 66 show, had a visit with the Blue G’s at Norb Andy’s and made…
Laugh and learn
Looking for something fun for the family to do this weekend? Take the gang to KidsFest this Saturday. The Prairie Capital Convention Center will fill with games, activities and crafts for kids. For only $1 children can decorate their own cupcake or jump around with joy in one of the bounce houses ($5 wristbands are…
Giant glee
The funny, award-stacked Shrek the Musical singly stomps into Sangamon Auditorium, UIS for one performance, Feb. 14. Don’t miss everyone’s favorite loveable ogres, Shrek and Fiona (Perry Sook and Whitney Winfield), Shrek’s wisecracking donkey (Jeremy Gaston) and villain Lord Farquaad (Christian Marriner). A preshow meet-and-greet with Fiona is also available. Phone the ticket office for…
