Too afraid to talk about death
This morning Ezra Klein of the Washington Post adds more than two cents’ worth to the not-quite debate about end-of-life medical decision-making. Klein discusses the legislation proposed by Oregon rep Earl Blumenauer that I described yesterday. The problem with Blumenauer’s legislation isn’t that it goes too far. It’s that it doesn’t go nearly far enough….We…
Fighting financial felons
In “Short arm of the law” I addressed the failure of federal prosecutors to go after financial criminals with the same zeal they show in pursuing political insiders. “Why do not our protectors seek to return us to the day when businesspeople made and traded things rather than stealing what others made?” I asked. “The…
Trial by juries
In 2011’s “Good and true,” I took up the problem of biased or incompetent jurors rendering our criminal justice system anything but just. In a recent post, Slate’s Brian Palmer looked at the research and reports that juries might reach the correct verdict between 75 and 90 percent of the time. I can’t argue with…
Personalize Your Care
In “Happier endings,” I ventured the opinion that patients with life-threatening conditions ought to talk sooner with their physicians about end-of-life issues. News comes that a Democratic congressman has introduced a bill to make such conversations easier. Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) sat on the Portland city council in the 1990s when I lived in that…
Condition 90 Celebration: Tonight at Brewhaus
Condition 90 ca. 1986, l-r Irwin, Walter, Berkman It is nothing out of the ordinary for Tom Irwin to be performing at Brewhaus (617 E Washington) on a Sunday night. Tonight, however, promises to be unusual indeed. In just over two hours, at 8 PM, Springfield music fans of a certain age will be treated…
POOF! A PLAYGROUND!
It’s amazing what can happen when lots of people come together with a common goal and a solid plan. On July 27, an estimated 200 volunteers will illustrate that fact by building an entirely new playground in a single day at Sojourn Shelter and Services, 1800 Westchester Blvd. Sojourn, a nonprofit shelter, offers protection and…
Park district needs new director
Five months after Mike Stratton resigned as executive director of the Springfield Park District, the park board is taking the first steps toward replacing him. Board members say they don’t want a repeat of the Stratton reign, which ended after the former executive director resigned under pressure when the board discovered that he had paid…
enos park poem #1
hey guys hows about some good newshere’s enos park on the humble nearnorth side we have a sculpture gardenacross from susie q’s a pink and bluetuxhorn behemoth swung our firstlarge statue into place and there’s thewest side christian church with itsscores of volunteers come to givemcclernand school a face-lift surelya spirit-lift too (it sure lifts…
Sweet and corny
Scrumptious grilled or boiled ears of goodness await you at Chatham Sweet Corn Festival July 18-20 at Chatham Community Park. Chatham Jaycees are preparing all that yummy fun you’ve come to know. The three-day fest kicks off Thursday celebrating its 40th year with $1 beers and hotdogs, more than 20 beers on draft, free parking…
Building bigger, better hospitals
What’s the official bird of St. John’s Hospital? The crane. That silly joke popped up shortly after the towering construction crane began hoisting materials around the hospital in June 2012. The construction is part of the hospital’s ongoing expansion project, and two other major health care providers in Springfield – Memorial Medical Center and Springfield…
Pavement Picassos
Presenting a new celebration of the arts – Springfield Art Association’s Paint the Street Fest sponsored by Zara’s Collision Center and Horace Mann. On Saturday, July 20, groups, businesses and individuals will literally paint logos and pictures on 200 squares of Washington Street, between Fourth and Seventh in downtown. The public is invited to participate…
The right not to have to carry
For those who pushed relentlessly for concealed carry in Illinois, the fact that George Zimmerman was legally able to shoot a teenager who was banging his head on the pavement will be hailed, not only as a just outcome, but as a proof that concealed guns work. Yet to others like me who feel no…
A tale of two parties
It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. It was the summer of 1974. The Watergate hearings were in full swing. When I wasn’t working, studying or rehearsing, I was glued to the TV, watching the sad, sordid saga unfold. I’d been married the summer before, and we were living in…
Cool cats and dogs
Here’s a fun gift for the family and a cool way to help our pet friends. Venture out to the Animal Protective League (APL) Christmas in July Carnival Saturday, July 20, at its shelter. Activities for all ages will be featured including carnival games, scavenger hunt, present-wrapping contest, dog-kissing booth and photos with Santa (until…
Honey and the 45s
Calling Chicago home, this five-piece combo combines bits of rock, blues, funk, Americana and soul with voracious vocals, lyrical lyrics and groovy grooves to create a “sometimes playful, sometimes somber, but always rockin’ sound like nothing you’ve heard before.” The band began in October 2009 as a folk/acoustic trio called Snow on Sunday by core…
News Quirks 7/18/13
Problem solved• Harmful carbon emissions from coal plants could be greatly reduced or eliminated by storing as much as 3,000 metric gigatons of carbon dioxide in underground rock formations all over the country, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Its study shows that the United States has enough storage capacity to handle more than 1,000…
The jaws of ex-wife
I have had a huge crush on a man for several months and finally asked him out for drinks. During our “date,” he mentioned his friend he wanted to set me up with, and I told him that HE is the person I’m interested in. He laughed nervously and seemed a little shocked. We went…
The mean team piles on jobless Americans
“Come on, team, let’s get mean!” This is not the chant of rabid football fans, egging on their favorite team to crush the opponents. Rather, it’s the raucous war cry of far-out right-wing ideologues all across the country who’re pumping up Team GOP to pound the bejeezus out of America’s millions of unemployed workers. In…
Letters to the Editor 7/18/13
ABOUT THAT TAXING WORKI completely support the main theme of James Krohe’s “Taxing work” article (July 11) urging the state of Illinois to consider moving away from the current flat rate tax toward a graduated income tax. As someone who spent most of his state career advocating for low-income working families (welfare employment incentives, state…
Living the Dream
It’s more than you,It’s more than me,No matter what we are,We are a family. This dream is for all of us, This one can be real,And you can’t stop us now,Because of how you feel. The words at left are what Jimmy, C.C., Curtis and the others sing in a Miami Beach dressing room to…
State financial crisis? What crisis?
Imagine living in a state with such rosy financial prospects that it can borrow money at interest rates less than 1 percent higher than the rate for U.S. Treasury notes, considered the gold standard of safety in American financial markets. Illinois is such a state. Just check the bond markets. When the state borrowed $300…
FREE THE SJ-R
You gotta love those wacky folks at GateHouse Media, parent company of the State Journal-Register, where a dwindling number of journalists formed a union last fall. Now comes the hard part: negotiating a contract. The company, apparently, has difficulty grasping the definition of “newsroom,” judging by stances reported by the United Media Guild. The company…
Quinn nixes lawmakers’ pay until pension crisis fixed
Years ago, Gov. Pat Quinn told a friend of mine that Illinois voters were pretty easy to understand. Illinoisans love populism, Quinn explained, so doing populist stuff was the way to win their hearts. And if a recent Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll is correct, then Quinn has done just that with yesterday’s line-item veto…
Explain reveals Hart to be a lightweight
I was prepared for Kevin Hart not to be the next Richard Pryor but that he doesn’t have the chops to fill Chris Rock or Dave Chappelle’s shoes is a grave disappointment. Kevin Hart: Let Me Explain is the comic’s first concert film, one that shows him in performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden,…
Manufacturing mediocrity
In July the National Council on Teacher Quality, a D.C.-based reform group, issued a study that concluded that the nation’s teacher-education colleges have turned into an “industry of mediocrity.” Oh, the Council thought well enough of most the central Illinois’ colleges of education, specifically those at Eastern, U of I’s Champaign campus, Southern’s two campuses…
Dreaming in Colour dreams come true
Over 20 years ago Kevin Ellis and Chris Noonan dreamed of a jazz band that would sound awesome technically and reach the hearts of listeners. When the two musicians joined forces, they began a dream journey down the long and winding road that recently took an eventful turn. A working band since the early 90s,…
Smart, stylish, spectacular Rim sets high standard for summer fare
No one could blame you if you were to assume that Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim is just another empty, overwrought summer movie that delivers nothing but repetitive violence and stock characters. What with scenes of giant robots beating up Godzilla-like monsters being the focus of the film’s numerous previews, it seems to follow Dan…
Makers
In “Three strikes and you’re in,” I endorsed the idea that what Springfield needs to make its economy perk is the entrepreneurial energy and enterprise that immigrants supply. Turns out that the Small Business Administration commissioned a report on that idea in 2012. Robert W. Fairlie, an economics professor at the University of California at…
