The ballad of Tom Irwin
To call Tom Irwin a fixture on the Springfield music scene would be something of an understatement. Beginning in the mid-1970s as a bass player and eventual frontman for various local rock bands, straight through to his present status as an accomplished songwriter and bandleader, Irwin has been a popular draw in local clubs since…
Paper cuts
As many as ten newsroom employees at the State Journal-Register will lose their jobs as the newspaper’s parent company struggles to cut costs in the face of towering debt. Publisher Walt Lafferty on Tuesday told employees that the newspaper’s copy desk, which designs pages, proofreads copy and writes headlines, will be eliminated this summer, with…
Jail guard accused of kicking inmate
UPDATE – See end of story. A veteran Sangamon County jail guard could face dismissal and a criminal conviction after his second charge of excessive force since 2009. It’s not clear why Robert Redpath, 44, wasn’t charged with a crime after department brass found that he had grabbed an inmate by the face and slammed…
Ameren Illinois launches 10-year modernization plan
Ameren Illinois, a subsidiary of Ameren Corporation, took its first step in implementing its Modernization Action Plan (MAP) on Tuesday, Jan.3. The plan will provide customers with a more reliable and modernized electric distribution system. In a press release, Ameren said that over the next decade an additional $625 million will be invested in updating…
Career center gets a teaching windmill
Students at the Capital Area Career Center now have a new opportunity to learn about wind technology, thanks to a new wind turbine erected on Friday, Jan. 6. Jim Gain, CACC’s electrical/HVAC instructor, said that he became inspired to get the students of CACC involved in putting up a wind turbine after seeing them during…
Don’t blame community banks
It could have been avoided. The housing crash, the widespread home foreclosures, the credit crisis, the rampant bank closures, and ultimately the Great Recession of the past four years never had to happen. That’s the message of a 439-page report from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission, the study group appointed by Congress to figure out…
Of beets and borscht
The best chefs are always searching for new ingredients to expand their culinary creativity. Often those ingredients aren’t really new, but have only recently become available. It may be a Middle Eastern spice mixture, or a fruit, such as the Indonesian mangosteen, that’s only recently been approved for import to the U.S. Old-become-new heritage breeds…
Letters to the Editor 1/12/12
COSTLY PRISONS When do longer prison sentences and harsher punishments become counterproductive and financially irresponsible? For the past four decades politicians have built their careers on the get-tough-on-crime mantra. Since the 1970s, the states have doubled or quadrupled their prison populations. It is not uncommon for a low-level drug crime to receive a prison sentence…
Streep’s steely performance propels Lady
One of the more polarizing political figures of the 20th century, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, still inspires passionate support or derision some 21 years after she reluctantly stepped away from the office she occupied. It comes as no surprise that Phyllida Lloyd’s biographical film of Thatcher, The Iron Lady, is drawing impassioned criticism, much…
featherspoem # 6
featherspoem # 6 it deceives, this winter warmth twice now I’ve heard a familiar ck-ck-ck high on my back porch and known it was my old tenant the cardinal – when I looked there was the little green wife up under the eaves surveying the nest the robins had usurped last spring they’d remodeled with…
Plan ahead to survive the next recession
The economy is still reeling from the recession, and the question of when the global economy’s struggles will end remains a mystery. One thing we do know is that when the economy does finally rebound, it won’t remain stable forever, and it’s imperative that men and women prepare for the next recession, even if that…
How to manage personal debt
As if anyone needs their memory jogged, debt is a substantial problem for men and women living in fully developed countries. Estimates vary, but numerous surveys have indicated the average American household has more than $10,000 in credit card debt, a figure that doesn’t include debt such as mortgages, car loans or student loans. The…
Basic instructions for cooking beets
Rather than boiling beets, most cooks prefer baking them: it’s easier, there’s less mess and they retain more flavor and nutrition. Preheat the oven to 375. If the beets have stems and leaves, cut them off leaving about two inches of stems attached. Scrub well. Wrap in a foil packet in one layer, sealing the…
Quinn’s plan shows state can’t afford to let tax hike expire
He didn’t come out and say it, but Gov. Pat Quinn has apparently abandoned his promise to allow the “temporary” income tax hikes to expire three years from now. The governor submitted a three-year revenue and spending projection last week as he’s required to do by a new Illinois law. The bottom line of Quinn’s…
Fabulous folk
Hurry now and phone the Hoogland Center for the Arts because there are only a handful of tickets left for the first WUIS Bedrock 66 Series of 2012 featuring Nashville singer/songwriter Todd Snider. With a slew of albums and a reputation as having a flair for the humorous, he is one act you won’t want…
Check mate
Laurie O’ Brien directs Springfield Theatre Center’s production of Chess, a musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, formerly of ABBA. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls…
Fighting for exoneration of a convict long dead
A veteran cop. A reporter. Students bent on exposing flaws in the criminal justice system. An unusual alliance has teamed up to prove the system got it wrong three decades ago when Grover Thompson, a mentally ill man with few chances in life, was sent to prison for 40 years. Redemption, if it comes, will…
Eric Lee Beddingfield
From his hometown of Augusta, Ga., Eric Lee Beddingfield has scaled the heights of country music stardom to play on the Grand Ole Opry, plus record with George Jones and Dolly Parton, while sharing the stage with many of the big names in the industry. Originally heading for a career in football when a college…
Just what you want to do
Springfield’s School District 186 has set up a web page titled “Where Are They Now?” On it, graduates of Springfield public schools are invited to “share their success stories with the SPS community.” In fact the purpose of the website is to share District 186’s success stories with the larger Springfield community; the spinning at…
ICE ABES
Keeping that new year’s resolution to get in shape can be next to impossible if you try to do it alone. But if you don’t mind a little cold weather, you can get some motivation and support from a whole slew of like-minded people by joining one of Springfield’s friendliest running groups. The Half Wits…
Don’t leave city budget to consultants
Last week’s bizarre discussion at the city council committee meeting about the vote to deny employees in civil unions health benefits obscured another important issue raised that night. When Alderman Gail Simpson pointedly asked city budget director Bill McCarty when council members will receive their budget books, there was no mistaking her growing annoyance and…
Home run
It’s a home run for baseball lovers as the Cardinals Caravan rolls into the Prairie Capital Convention Center Monday, Jan. 16. Fans can join in to meet current players Fernando Salas, Tony Cruz, Matt Carpenter and Jordan Swagerty; Cardinals alumni Rex Hudler, Andy Benes and Al Hrabosky and broadcasters. There will be autographs for kids,…
Talking with Todd
I just had the best time visiting with Todd Snider on the phone. I’ve always heard he was a nice guy and he even wrote a song called “Alright Guy” that made number one on the country charts. Now I know for sure he’s cool as can be and getting along quite well. Even though…
Simple ways to save money
If the ongoing recession has taught people anything, it’s the need for saving money. Many people were caught off guard by the recession, and studies have shown just how little men and women had saved before the bottom fell out on the economy. In a 2011 poll from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling, 64…
VIDEO POLITICS
In an election year, nothing is more important to a potential voter than getting to the root of the issues and understanding where a candidate stands on those issues. Susan Nightingale, president and creator of politiview.com, says that information on the Internet for potential voters is unorganized and not placed in a context that helps…
Play time
Kids third through fifth grade get to have an awesome time at the Y while parents get a little time to themselves on Saturday, Jan. 14. Dance to the music, create a work of art, watch a movie, play ball and play games. Learn a little more about this event, offered eight times a year…
Borscht
Aside from pickling, the best-known beet preparation has long been borscht, a soup that originated in Eastern Europe and Russia. It’s particularly associated with Ashkenazi Jews (Jews who live in or whose ancestors came from those areas), so much so that the area in upstate New York with numerous summer resorts that was a popular…
Mediocre candidates and corporate cash
And away we go! Not just into a new year, but – zap! – suddenly we find ourselves catapulted en masse into the turbulent Twilight Zone of the 2012 presidential election. On day three of the year, while most of us were still woozy from our New Year’s Eve celebration, Iowa voted. Well … sort…
