Illinois falls apart
Marc Miller has been an outdoorsman for as long as he can remember. Miller says he grew up in a family of hunters, anglers and camping enthusiasts, but also learned the value of protecting the land. He’s a combination of conservationist and environmental advocate, which is fitting for his position as director of the Illinois…
Make the minimum wage a living wage
The passage of a bill to increase the minimum wage out of committee in the Illinois Senate at the end of May once again brings a multitude of issues to the forefront of public discussion. These issues range from the immediate effects of increased minimum wage rates on unemployment rates to the ability of small…
Letters to the Editor 06/28/12
HIRING MINORITIESI don’t profess to know the answers, but you can’t just give a person a job without determining if they are qualified to do the job [see “Hiring minorities: All talk,” by Bruce Rushton, June 21]. There has been great effort made to recruit minorities in Springfield, although you wouldn’t believe it from reading…
Peach Melba pie
The Belle Époque, known in America as the “Guilded Age,” lasted roughly between 1890 and the onset of WWI. Auguste Escoffier was its most renowned chef, and he paid homage to its most renowned soprano, Australian Nellie Melba, by naming two of his creations in her honor: Melba toast (very thin dried toast that he…
Peach ice cream with a blueberry swirl
Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams (see my 10/22/11 IT column, “Ice cream art and science”) provided the techniques for this recipe; the flavor combination is my own. The blueberry swirl/compote also sings a delectable solo over vanilla or lemon ice cream, pancakes or waffles, or drizzled over pound cake. I use a 1 1/2 qt. Cuisinart…
GREENING CLEAR LAKE
For a long time people have clamored for cleanup work to be done to one of Springfield’s key corridors to the downtown area – Clear Lake Avenue and the Madison-Jefferson Crossover – and now they are going to get it. An envelope party fundraiser was co-hosted Wednesday by Downtown Springfield, Inc., and Obed & Isaac’s…
World a beautiful look at the end
There’s much to admire about Lorene Scafaria’s Seeking a Friend for the End of the World, the most pleasant surprise of the summer movie season. It’s very smart in the way it looks at how we often delude ourselves into thinking all is well, simply because we’re too frightened to upset our personal status quo.…
downtown poem # 4
I discovered in my teens (yes a slow learner)if you did a devious deed officially enoughboldly enough no one would question youractions this proved true at the old state capitolart fair many years ago I took scissors and astepladder to the lincoln hotel 5th and capitolmy young daughter cringed on the other sideof the street…
THR’s finances exposed
In what is fast shaping up as Springfield’s version of The War Of The Roses, the divorce case of Jeffrey Parsons heated up last week during a hearing that entangled Todd Green, a local car dealer. Testifying under subpoena issued by the legal team for Parsons’ estranged wife Jennifer, Green said that he first met…
Cool ride
Lincoln Land Community College MotorSports Club hosts its MotorSports Show Friday, June 29, and Saturday, June 30, on the LLCC campus. Friday, check out a free Park ’n’ Peek from 5-10 p.m. with food, and music by The Backliners from 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday admission is free, too. In addition to the entries on display,…
Legislators thought they had a deal to keep prisons open
Several Downstate Illinois legislators were furious last week that Gov. Pat Quinn decided to go ahead and close some state facilities, including prisons, in their districts. They weren’t just upset about the lost jobs, however. Some also claim that Quinn brazenly broke a deal on the closures. “If the governor proceeds with this, he has…
Tragedy in Grandview
On the stand, Tremayne Willis sounded exactly like the former soldier that he is. Answers were short, lots of “Yes, sirs” and “No, sirs” as Willis, charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Steven Rogers on July 4, 2011, said that somebody else did it. The jury didn’t buy it and convicted Willis…
State sued over prison conditions
Conditions at Vienna Correctional Center are something out of a Dickens novel, judging by a stomach-churning lawsuit filed earlier this month by inmates who say they live with filth, vermin and a paucity of bathrooms. A lawyer for inmates says that prisoners at Vienna and Vandalia Correctional Center, which could be the next legal target,…
Broadway dynamo
Jennifer Holliday, the Tony Award-winning actress, original dynamo and stellar sensation from the musical Dreamgirls takes to The Legacy Theatre stage in Springfield on July 1 at 7 p.m. Best known for her Grammy Award-winning song “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going,” Holliday made a new generation of fans when she appeared this…
Captain Hookup
This guy I’m having a casual thing with is quick-witted, is droll, and makes me laugh hard, and I just LOVE having sex with him. Afterward, however, he pretty much ignores me until we hook up again, not answering texts from me for weeks at a time. Although I see him consulting his phone constantly,…
How zoning works
If a woods fall and eight aldermen are not listening, does it make a sound? A few days ago the Springfield city council voted 8-2 to replace Griffin Woods, the 20-acre patch of forest at Bruns Lane and Washington, with a parking lot with a building on it. The building will house yet another Schnucks…
Tepid story undercuts Brave’s dynamic visuals
By first appearances, Pixar Studios has a winner on its hands with Brave, a pseudo-fairy tale that follows the template of the Disney animated princess classics. Like Sleeping Beauty, The Little Mermaid and others, this film features a strong, independent teenage girl who’s forced to set out on an adventure that results in her becoming…
Nectarine and blueberry salsa
This riff on Mexican fruit-based salsas is eye-catching and delicious. Serve with tortilla chips, or as a condiment for grilled fish or pork. • 2 c. unpeeled, ripe but firm nectarines, cut into small dice• 1/4 c. fresh lime juice• 1 c. fresh blueberries• 1/2 c. minced sweet onion or scallion• 1/2 c. thinly slivered…
Kelli Scarr
Raised in Folsom, Calif., Kelli Scarr made her way to music school in Boston and eventually arrived in Brooklyn, N.Y. After 10 years of bands and music making, including an Emmy nomination for a film score, Scarr landed an opening solo slot on the musician Moby’s world tour. She has since done vocals on his…
Lincoln delivers bloody alternate history lesson
While you might think you know what you’re getting with Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, director Timur Bekmambetov and writer Seth Grahame-Smith seem bound and determined to defy any expectations viewers bring with them. While some might initially lump this in with 1966’s Billy the Kid vs. Dracula and other fodder that’s knowingly bad, those involved…
BAN THE BAG
Despite Joan Barenfanger’s best efforts, single-use plastic shopping bags continue to stream out of Springfield’s grocery and retail stores to the tune of an astonishing 16 million bags per year. That number is based on interviews with local store managers, conducted by Barenfanger, whose Better Bag Project seeks to eliminate the litter-prone bags. Barenfanger isn’t…
Falsely accused mothers:Reopen shaken baby case
Three mothers traveled to Springfield on June 23 to speak out in support of another woman accused of shaking a baby to death. Pamela Jacobazzi, 57, is currently serving a 32-year prison sentence at the women’s prison in Lincoln for the murder of 10-month-old Matthew Czapski [see “Caregiver or killer?,” by Patrick Yeagle, May 5,…
Peachy combinations
It’s my earliest taste memory: Climbing our white peach tree to pick a dead-ripe sun-hot fruit. Biting into its flesh, I’d savor its succulence as the warm juices dribbled down my chin. That tree is long gone. Fortunately prime peach-growing territory surrounds Springfield, unless there’s a late-season freeze. Tree-ripened peaches and their fuzz-free cousins, nectarines,…
Patchwork 2012 arrives
What a wonderful time it can be when wild notions become reality. For Robbie Kording and his idea for the Patchwork 2012 Springfield Music Compilation, now is that time. As I recently wrote in Now Playing, it’s been awhile since we’ve had a recorded compilation of the Springfield music scene, with Patchwork’s namesake coming out…
Holiday fireworks
Last year’s excellence continues this Fourth of July at the Capital City Celebration in downtown Springfield. The celebration begins at 3 p.m. Kids can get their faces painted and jump around in four inflatables. Thanks to MJ Kellner, free ice cream will be served starting at 5 p.m. and while supplies last. The Municipal Band…
Super PACs and secret money destroying America’s democrac
Leave it to Bill Moyers, one of America’s most useful citizens, to sum up our country’s present political plight in a succinct metaphor: “Our elections have replaced horse racing as the sport of kings. These kings are multibillionaire corporate moguls who by divine right – not of God, but of the (Supreme Court’s) Citizens United…
Dance fever
Gear up for more great performances at Springfield’s outdoor theater, The Muni. The local production of Crazy For You, directed by Doug Hahn and Gary Shull, takes to the stage nightly on June 29, July 1 and July 5-8. All performances begin at 8:30 p.m. The musical Crazy for You is about a well-to-do 1930s…
