TAKE REFUGE
Waylan is a Nubian goat — he’s sweet but shy, and likes being walked on a leash. Henri, Waylan’s best buddy, is an older sheep who’s making a comeback from years of neglect. And then there’s Stevie, a big-hearted, pot-bellied pig that once suffered from poor health, but now enjoys lots of affection and attention.…
Why Quinn’s budget is dead on arrival
Like all of the budgets proposed by governors in the past few years, Gov. Pat Quinn’s spending outline last week was an almost complete fantasy. It has pretty much zero chance of surviving intact and will have to be tossed out and substantially reworked before the session ends. Unless the school interests can pull off…
A proper cup of tea
Use good tea. As with all food and drink, the end product can only be as good as the ingredients that go into it. There are good quality teas sold in bags, and they’re certainly convenient, but serious tea drinkers know that the best tea can only be made with loose tea. Use one teaspoon…
Celtic contest
This Celtic sports event ranks as unusual and spirited. Kilted athletes compete in the stone put, caber toss, Scottish hammer throw, weight over bar and sheaf toss. The equipment is like none you’ve ever seen and the events are challenging, to say the least. Hosted by the St. Andrew Society of Central Illinois Ancient Athletics,…
Gypsy Revival
In early 2009 Gypsy Revival rose from the ashes of a popular Indianapolis band called Davey and the Chorus with a firm idea of creating a new original sound within the rock Americana genre. Davey Allen (guitar, bass, keys, vocals), Jesse Langebartels (guitar, bass, vocals), Andy Nathan (bass) and Mike Sanson (drums, vocals) spent time…
Tea sandwiches
Making tea sandwiches is a great opportunity to have fun and let your creativity shine. The sandwiches should look pretty, but they should also taste as good as they look. Sandwiches can be open-faced or not. Variations – fillings, garnishes, shapes – are almost limitless. Bread for tea sandwiches should be thin-cut and firm-textured, crusts…
Kristin Lems is back
During the 1970s when Illinois became a battleground as a pivotal state in the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, many women and men spent a great deal of time and energy at the Capitol attempting to persuade our lawmakers and sway public opinion on the validity of the ERA. In the end, Illinois failed…
Stranger in Paradise
The Rev. Howard Finster produced more than 46,000 pieces of art before he died at age 84 in 2001. He was a man possessed, not by demons, but by the need to create art. He was a self-proclaimed “man of visions” who put his visions into his colorful folk art. Born in rural Alabama in…
Get your craft on: phone book organizer
It seems like we get a new phone book every month. As a child of the Google generation, I can’t remember the last time I even used a phone book to look up a number. Maybe I did it when I worked on Mackinac Island? I have no idea, honestly. Sorry, AT&T Yellow Pages. It…
Nuclear power revival?
Clinton Power Station is a silent sentry at the edge of a 5,000-acre man-made lake, six miles east of Clinton, and about 68 miles from Springfield. Its powder blue dome rises above silos, cornfields and endless country roads with names like “500 North” and “County Road 14.” Stepping inside the Clinton Power Station is like…
ATRAZINE ANSWERS
Two weeks ago, Illinois Times published a story about the House Environmental Health Committee’s hearings on atrazine, a controversial weed-killer that’s been used by Illinois farmers for 50 years. Supporters of the product say it reduces erosion and conserves soil and water by allowing farmers to till their land only during planting season. Although atrazine…
Suspended officer admitted using force
Police reports obtained by Illinois Times late last week reveal further details about the November 2009 arrest of a Springfield man that led to an internal affairs investigation — and the subsequent suspension — of the police officer who arrested him. Springfield Police Officer Chuck Redpath, Jr., the 26-year-old son of former Ward 4 Ald.…
Ameren Illinois asking for $130 million rate increase
Energy company Ameren is asking state regulators to approve a $130 million per year rate increase, but the state’s utility watchdog claims the company should instead lower its rates. In June 2009, Ameren Illinois Utilities asked the Illinois Commerce Commission for approval to raise rates on natural gas and electricity delivery rates. AIU delivers electricity…
Letters to the Editor 03/18/2010
GAMING EXPANSIONThe question has been asked, “Is the time right for gaming expansion?” Wealthy track owners want to legalize video gambling and slot machines to transform racetracks into land-based casinos. The last thing Illinois needs is 6,600 more gambling machines. Electronic gambling machines were legalized at Pennsylvania racetracks a few years ago. Now the slot…
northfifthstreetpoem #9
hard-hatted burly friendly menare digging two holes in front ofmy large red brick victorian house seen lately on the front page of thestate j-r, albeit as backdrop. the pitsplunge down into the berm (as it’scalled in ohio; devil-strip in wisconsin—what in illinois?) the grape hyacinths are deep-sixed, just as they were aboutto grape out. in…
Top technique
Internationally acclaimed classical guitarist John Johns performs compositions by Bach, Frescobaldi, Sor, de Falla, Villa-Lobos and others March 20. Johns’ debut recital was at Carnegie Hall where the New York Times praised him as a “first-rate performer with sure fingers and a firm technique…a sensitive instrumentalist.” Since then, his credits include appearances around the world, on…
Suffrage performances
Hear the voices and see the likes of Susan Lawrence Dana and others as time rolls back to the early 1900s March 20-21 at the Dana-Thomas House. Reenactors will bring the rooms to life as they portray Mrs. Dana and her fellow suffragettes from Springfield’s Equal Suffrage Club who gathered at the home to discuss…
League an entertaining look at opposites in love
In the tradition of The 40-Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up comes She’s Out of My League, yet another comedy that features an average Joe who somehow ends up in a relationship with a woman who’s more intelligent and attractive than he is. As directed by first-timer Jim Field Smith, the latest entry in this…
How to say ‘What do we owe?’ in Mandarin
If enough middle and high school students sign up for it, the Springfield and Ball-Chatham public school districts may offer instruction in Mandarin Chinese, the simplified official Chinese dialect used in the People’s Republic of China. Like so many trends, this one is so late making it to the Springfield area that one wonders whether…
Noose incidents spark hate symbols bill
Prompted by incidents of racism in Springfield, legislation in the General Assembly to ban the display of hate symbols on public and private property passed a House committee March 12, crossing the first hurdle to becoming law. Jonathan Lackland, executive director of the Illinois Association of Minorities in Government said the bill is a reaction…
Potted shrimp
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 T. chopped parsley, preferably flat-leafed 8 T. (1/2 c.) unsalted butter 2 T. white wine Worcestershire sauce ¼ tsp. freshly ground white pepper, or to taste ¼ tsp. freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste ¼ tsp. dried mustard 1 heaping T. minced shallot Coarsely chop shrimp, reserving 3…
Fine fabrics
Focus in on the fabric of artwork displayed at the Springfield Area Quilt Guild’s A Community of Quilters Quilt Show the weekend of March 19-20. Besides a display of junior and antique quilts and the featured work of 2010 Marian Brockschmidt Quilting Achievement Award recipient Barbara Olinger, view competitive quilts vying in several categories. These…
Lemon curd
This classic British concoction is most typically used as a spread for scones or toast, but I spread it between cake layers, fill miniature tart shells with it, spread a layer on the bottom of a fresh fruit tart – and have been known to eat a spoonful straight from the jar. It’s delicious made…
The restoring cup
It was Dick and Helen Adorjan’s first time abroad: a trip to London to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary. But for the Adorjans it also became a journey of discovery – a discovery of the delights of tea. Not just tea as a beverage, although drinking properly brewed tea made with top quality leaves was…
Standing up against sprawl
In 1979 Springfield looked a lot different than it does today, a sleepy town that many agreed was a great place to raise a family. Outsiders referred to the city jokingly as “Springpatch” and to someone arriving here from Chicago there was not much that could be called “development.” There was not much past Chatham…
Budget expert calls Quinn tax proposal ‘insufficient’
Gov. Pat Quinn has called for an income tax increase to prevent cuts to education funding, but one budget expert says the proposal would not be enough to get the state back on track. In his annual budget address March 10, Quinn said the state would have to make “draconian cuts” of $1.3 billion from…
Remember asks too much of its audience
Allen Coulter’s Remember Me is more an exercise in frustration than an entertaining time at the movies. It features a solid cast that’s able to make its soap opera conventions far more believable than they have any right to be. They bring life to characters who, in other hands, would have been overwrought stereotypes. Yet…
Stiffening the backbones of Democrats
You know what we need to juice up the performance of our weak economy? Viagra. Yes, America needs a new Viagra, specifically targeted to stiffen backbones — in particular, the limp backbones of Barack Obama’s team, as well as the flaccid spines of Democratic congressional leaders. Where’s the drug industry when we really need it?…
