A fondness for baseball’s past
Taking a brief respite from the travails of the Springfield Sliders, who as I write this column have completed a quarter of their season and find themselves with a record of six wins and nine losses, I find this an appropriate moment to share some passing thoughts on a few more global baseball matters. When…
Cops call the cops
The Illinois State Police Heritage Foundation, a private nonprofit that’s helped fund the new downtown memorial park to fallen police officers, has frozen bank accounts and reported a suspected case of fraud to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. According to a posting on its Facebook page, the foundation’s bank contacted the organization on June 6…
Tweet this
Two decades after Al Gore may or may not have claimed credit for inventing the internet, I wonder whether Benjamin Franklin, who invented a lot of things, would have wanted the honor. I say this after a recent Twitter spat that, apparently, happens a fair amount these days, the sort that seems inconsequential yet says…
Toy Story 4 avoids sequel pitfalls
I think I was one of the few who weren’t knocked out by Pixar’s Toy Story 3. I found it unnecessary, as well as cloying and obvious. I expected much of the same with Toy Story 4, and to be sure, there are times when it’s guilty of trying too hard and suffers from repeating…
Tweet this
Two decades after Al Gore may or may not have claimed credit for inventing the internet, I wonder whether Benjamin Franklin, who invented a lot of things, would have wanted the honor. I say this after a recent Twitter spat that, apparently, happens a fair amount these days, the sort that seems inconsequential yet says…
The state of higher education
Back when this state was fairly well-run – meaning, before Illinois voters elected three anti-Springfield “populist” governors in a row – the general rule of thumb was that for every two dollars appropriated to K-12 education, higher education received one dollar. But that all started to change with Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who believed, with some…
Letters to the Editor 6/20/19
CAPITAL BILL A WIN FOR TRUCKERS A whirlwind end to a historic legislative session has resulted in two important pieces of good news for Illinois trucking companies: a new capital bill to fix our infrastructure and the end of a misguided truck fee that only added to the work we have to do to address…
Editor’s note 6/20/19
As crowds of homeless people gather downtown – at the library and at the church across the street – we are reminded that homelessness is a community responsibility, and not just in winter. With the overflow shelter closed and campsites flooded, too many people have nowhere to go. Short-term answers, like the city providing portable…
A full pension payment? Don’t be fooled.
Many have reported that the state legislature, in its budget agreement, made its “full” payment to the five state pension systems. While this may be technically true, it is misleading because it ignores the actual contribution that is required to fund the pensions. The state’s action is equivalent to someone paying only the required minimum…
Community Block Party
The Springfield Art Association (SAA) is hosting a community block party where you can paint the streets of downtown. Each registrant will receive a 6×6 foot square to paint solo or with family, co-workers, clubs or sports teams – up to six painters can work on one square. The painting will begin at 12 p.m.…
Shakespeare meets the Jazz Age�
This comedy, written by William Shakespeare in the 1590s, portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, including the adventures of young Athenian lovers and a group of amateur actors who are controlled and manipulated by fairies who inhabit the forest. This particular adaptation of Midsummer Night’s Dream, directed…
Old neighborhood taverns
“As soon as I enter the door of a tavern, I experience oblivion of care, and a freedom from solicitude,” said 18th-century English author Samuel Johnson. “There is nothing which has yet been contrived by man, by which so much happiness is produced as by a good tavern or inn.” In spite of changing tastes…
Taverns and Tales
The stories embodied in Springfield’s locally owned and family-operated taverns through the years are the basis for Tavern Talk: Old Taverns and Tales in Springfield, Illinois, a new book by local husband and wife authors Bobby and Sandy Orr. The book opens with a disclaimer that the volume “was compiled from several sources, many of…
New ISM director nationally recognized
The Illinois State Museum has hired a leader in the museum field to serve as its director. Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko will assume her new position Sept. 9. She comes to the Illinois State Museum from Bar Harbor, Maine, where she directed the Abbe Museum for a decade. Prior to leading the Abbe as president and CEO,…
Killer wants out of McFarland
Gary Schmitt Outwardly, Gary Schmitt’s life seemed as normal as any. He worked as finance director for Catholic Social Services in Belleville. In 2009, he was elected to the board of the Triad Community 2 School District in Troy. A fellow church member urged him to run, according to a media report. But Schmitt had…
Victim in cop fight unavailable
Unable to produce a victim, Sangamon County prosecutors last week won a continuance in the trial of Samuel Rosario, a former Springfield police officer charged with fighting a youth while on duty in 2017. The trial had been set for June 17. The hearing at which prosecutors won a delay last week wasn’t scheduled or…
Her flag
Marilyn Artus, a visual artist from Oklahoma City, was in Springfield as part of a 14-month collaborative art project commemorating the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote. Artus came up with the idea to create an enormous flag with stripes made by women artists from each…
June music made
Look out ahead, here comes June in for a couple more weeks, with outdoor events all looking at the radar to avoid unwelcome raindrops in large quantities. We’ve dodged a few storms and took a few too, but off we go into the wild world of June music making, heads up and hearts in. We’ve…
Austin Meade
This 25-year-old songwriting, guitar-slinger native of Austin from near the Texas Hill Country (now based in College Station, Texas), surely plays beyond his years. With a prescribed presence from the classic guitar rock of the 1970s as a backdrop, his clever and thoughtful songs ring out with a true Americana rock-n-roll character. His latest record,…
Celebrate cabbage
I’ve often wondered why, amongst the superfood dino kale and Brussels sprouts craze, old-fashioned cabbage hasn’t been more celebrated. Versatile, inexpensive, nutritious and only 22 calories per cup, cabbage packs the same nutritional punch as its more popular cousins. In fact, all the cruciferous vegetables are rich in fiber, vitamin C and inflammation-fighting anthocyanins. Under…
vermont report june 2019
vermont report june 2019 lately every obscure little roadway in vermont has had to be named neat green signs white letters some are places suttons farm o’neills farm most are nature appropriate hidden pastures whippoorwill lane sunset view mulberry place maple lane fox run (close to whitetail ridge!) if our road weren’t already named –…
