Stop, drop and roll
Hello! I’m back. I’ve been spending a lot of time at the Capitol lately, and thus haven’t been able to blog. Anyway, I hope some of you have heard this NPR piece about Slow Death by Rubber Duck. If you haven’t, here’s a quick recap: two Canadian environmentalists spent two years monitoring the amount of…
April showers bring hardcore racers
April is fast approaching, and it’s going to be a busy month for a couple of us in the Illinois Times office. Amanda Robert and I are running three races in April, back-to-back-to-back, and we’re pretty excited. We’ve been training officially since January, though we started running in November or December as a sort of…
Is soda a sin?
Is drinking soda a sin? More to the point: Is soda a sin in the same league as tobacco and alcohol, two things that are highly taxed specifically because they’re deemed sinful? In light of current health statistics, many public health experts are saying that soda should indeed be considered a sin. Excessive consumption of…
Illinois launches Health Information Exchange
Electronic health records aren’t just the latest fad — they’re the driving force behind much-needed improvements in patient care. The technology puts physicians and their patients on the same page, says Laura Zaremba, deputy director for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services. Instead of sifting through paper charts, physicians can access their patients’…
Here’s to stairs!
Now that my legs have returned from the jelly-like state induced by the American Lung Association’s Fight for Air Stair Climb on Feb. 20 at the Hilton Hotel in Springfield, I’ve had a chance to chat with a few other people involved in the event. Lori Younker, director of Program Services and Development at the…
Rail study seeks public input
Research on rail improvement proposals in Springfield has begun, and the public now has a say in the study’s focus. Springfield-based Hanson Professional Services Inc. has begun an environmental impact study to weigh options for a rail expansion in Springfield that will carry an increased number of freight and passenger trains through the city. The…
Out of darkness come Needles of Light
Needles of Light doesn’t claim to be an easy book to read. “Many of these poems are dark, darker than the reader will be comfortable with; but I believe the path to light must include acknowledging the darkness that lives within us all and coming to terms with it,” writes Ann Hartsfield in its introduction.…
What about the banjo?
When I was a student, I was introduced to the concept that the simplest-sounding phrases had irreconcilable and contradictory meanings that rendered interpretation impossible. No intellectual test was more demanding, and some of the more elusive texts torture me to this day with the taunt, “Explain me!” I was in fifth grade. It was the…
Stranded on Scorsese’s Island
The degree to which you like Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island depends upon how much you like to be manipulated. If you’re looking for the sort of movie that pulls the rug right out from under you and causes you to question all that has come before, this will be right up your alley. If such…
Deep Lunar Blue
With 36 shows in the can, including many at the main, local hot spot nightclubs, and an 11-song CD ready to shine, Deep Lunar Blue is rising like a full moon upon the lonesome prairie. Fronted by Randall Hall and Shane Quigley, a pair of songwriting, singing, guitar-slinging guys and with drummer JJ Moffat and…
Let the sunshine in
Investing in solar energy could bring the state as many as 17,000 new jobs, one environmental expert says. As the fifth largest producer and consumer of electricity, Illinois is not living up to its sun-harnessing potential. The state is seriously behind on solar energy, the Illinois Environmental Council says, especially when compared to other large…
The final round
On a warm October day at the Harriet Tubman Susan B. Anthony Center on Springfield’s east side, 30 to 40 young men and boys dressed in gym clothes amble into a narrow room that seems to double as storage space. Though they range in age from about 10 to 30 years old, they laugh and…
Can Illinois beat New Jersey in battle over red ink?
Decisions made by a governor in a faraway, but strikingly similar state might actually influence our election right here in Illinois. Just a week or so after Gov. Pat Quinn lays out his state budget blueprint next month, recently elected New Jersey governor Chris Christie will do the same. Illinois and New Jersey have more…
Poetic pairing
This film beautifully examines the love affair between a young John Keats, the famous Romantic poet, and the out-spoken student of high fashion, Fanny Brawne, in 1818 London. Jane Campion directed this Oscar-nominated picture. The Michael Victor II Art Library of the Springfield Art Association sponsors the immensely popular film festival each year. This is…
Permit process slows down manufacturers
After a two-year permit process, U.S. Steel Corp. finalized a $750 million project in Granite City, Ill., last October. In Alabama, a similar project’s permit only took six months to clear. Katy Lawrence of U.S. Steel says an extended permit process can cost companies like hers a great deal of time and money. For manufacturers…
Letters to the Editor 02/25/2010
KEEP ON LOVIN’ REOWhat a great article from Scott Faingold on REO Speedwagon [“REO Speedwagon rolls home,” Feb. 18]. I have fond memories of REO concerts, having been to at least five or six. I remember seeing them back in 1975 at the Lincoln Park Nelson Center skating rink, along with groups like Uriah Heap, Sammy…
publiclibrary jumprope rhyme #1
city city count the cost how many book folk have we lost?one—two—three—four—no one reads any morefive—six—seven—eight—let us set the record straightnine ten eleven twelvewho is left, books to shelve?13—14—15—16—17—18—19—20—don’t you think that is plenty?no we have to can some moreso lets scrap another scoreoky-doke we’re saving doughno one reads, let them go city, city, count…
Alaska visits Springfield in photos and artifacts
The eminent nature photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum has been photographing the Alaskan landscape for nearly 40 years and has become one of the most foremost photographers championing the environment. Audubon magazine listed him among the 100 people “who shaped the environmental movement of the 20th century.” So it is a special occasion indeed for the…
Amid challenges, Congress makes a mess
The bitterness and dysfunction in Congress continue, with the Republicans in the Senate and the House refusing to vote for any bills which the Democrats might point to as something they, and Congress, have done to benefit the American people. Despite President Obama’s stated desire to create an atmosphere of bipartisanship, Senator Jim DeMint, Republican…
Cool customs
Families can celebrate Illinois’ cultural diversity at the Illinois State Museum Feb. 27. International displays highlight India, Africa, Italy, Peru, the Underground Railroad, Juneteenth history and more. Activities planned include African drumming, fabric stamping and totem pole making. Hands-on crafts will engage the entire family, as will live performances by the Sokol Polish Folk Dancers,…
Great giggles
Second City Comedy Troupe opens its barrel of laughs onto Springfield Feb. 26-27 at the Hoogland. The troupe is one of four touring companies that perform around the world for the business dynamo Second City. Some of the funniest and most well known comedians, such as Mike Myers, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert and Tina Fey,…
Greed trophy up for grabs
By gollies, the top executives of health insurance corporations are not giving up without a fight! To paraphrase every high school football coach who ever lived, “When the going gets ugly, the ugly get going.” During the past several months, the Barons of Wall Street have established themselves as the vilest and most reviled corporate…
NOOSE BAN BILL
Reaction to the infamous “noose incidents” of summer 2009 was rightfully indignant. Now that impassioned energy is being channeled into a push for state legislation to ban the display of “hate symbols” on public and private property with intent to harass or intimidate. House Bill 5835 adds the display of nooses, swastikas and desecrated religious…
GET YOUR GARDEN ON
Want to start a garden but have no space? The Illinois Department of Agriculture has just the thing. The department is offering garden plots at the infield of the Illinois State Fair Grandstand race track. The plots are 12 feet by 12 feet and cost $10 each. Each gardener can lease up to two plots.…
February flurry of fun
For heaven’s sake, the shows just won’t stop in Springfield or perhaps we should say, they keep stopping by. From the looks of the upcoming weekend calendar as we pass on through February, it’s a veritable smorgasbord of live music activity. First off, I must deny the comments about offering pot to REO Speedwagon umpteen…
Impersonation farce
Over the Moon Productions presents a play reading of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Feb. 27 in downtown Springfield. The romantic comedy is all about mistaken identity, as the shipwrecked Viola masquerades as a male page. Pre-show music begins at 6:30pm. Fealty, a Renaissance music group also plays during the reading. Kevin Purcell directs. Shakespeare’s Twelfth…
