Clever Script, Dynamic Effects Resurrect “Godzilla”
Just as Christopher Walken famously asked for “more cowbell” on Saturday Night Live, you may find yourself asking for “more Godzilla” while sitting through Gareth Edwards’ reboot of Japan’s most famous import. Employing the same strategy he did with his low-budget debut “Monsters” (2010), the director toys with the audience, giving us glimpses here and…
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Feds probe former Chatham schools head
The U.S. attorney’s office in Springfield has subpoenaed the Ball-Chatham School District for records involving former superintendent Robert Gillum. Gillum last year agreed to repay the district $16,100 in questionable reimbursements for a variety of expenses and also forgo district-paid health insurance for himself and his wife. When Gillum retired in 2012, the district had…
Poetry in pictures
This just in: A contest encouraging children to illustrate the poetry of Vachel Lindsay generated 200 submissions of turtles, crows and other colorful critters. The top 15 drawings will be recognized at a special event May 18. The free event includes family-friendly performances of poetry in addition to awards for the children. Sponsored by the…
Accused kept job despite concerns
Steven R. Battles, now facing charges of sexually assaulting a boy, was a teacher at four Springfield public schools before he was terminated. A former Springfield teacher charged with sexually assaulting a boy more than a decade ago remains in limbo more than three years after criminal charges were filed and nearly five years after…
Spare historical trees
Most trees that line Highway 125 and Highway 97 northwest of Springfield toward Ashland and Petersburg, such as this one located west of Salisbury, have been marked for potential removal. The state is considering cutting down some 80-year-old trees northwest of Springfield. At least 30 trees that live along Highway 125 and Highway 97 northwest…
Fallen Angel
For the last two years Fallen Angel fell out of sight, but now they’re back, brandishing their proud and proper tribute to the incredibly popular 80’s band Poison for public perusal. Originally formed in October of 2009 with over a hundred years of music playing between them, Jimmie Barr (lead vocals), Bobby White (lead guitar,…
Fun with foliage
Springfield Theatre Centre wraps up its season with Little Shop of Horrors May 9-11 and 16-18 at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. Maybe you saw the 1986 film or the Broadway production, either way this local version promises to be lots of fun. “We’re just thrilled to bring this long-running musical comedy to life…
Latitude for error
The proprietors of The Upshot drove in a couple of runs for their new web-based news site when they posted a fun interactive map of baseball fandom. Aggregating Facebook “likes,” Tom Giratikanon, Josh Katz, David Leonhardt and Kevin Quealy charted the geography of fan allegiance to the various major league baseball teams, ZIP code area…
City gets grant to demo dumps
A state grant awarded this week should help the City of Springfield deal with abandoned properties. The city announced on May 5 that it received $75,000 from the state’s Abandoned Property Program, which will help the city accomplish its goal of demolishing 100 abandoned structures this year. The grant is part of a statewide $7.2…
Gambling on a black rock
Coal has powered the world for hundreds of years because it is a relatively cheap and reliable source of power. But it’s also filthy, creating messes at every step from the mine to the smokestack. Pollution controls have reduced some of the nasty side effects of burning coal for power, but the cost of compliance…
Prints and glints
Springfield’s newest contemporary art gallery, DEMO Project, presents Vortex and Blooms from artist Travis Janssen, visiting assistant professor of 2D Foundations and Printmaking at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. An opening reception is Friday, May 9. The vortex portion of Janssen’s work will feature an installation of fluorescent tape and white light strobes with black lighting…
Pie plant pie
PHOTO BY JOSEPH COPLEY It’s a family favorite, especially for my mom and me. In fact, it’s such a favorite that if my husband, Peter, is making Mother’s Day brunch or dinner for us at home, mom or I will make a rhubarb pie ourselves rather than Peter making another dessert. (Peter is an outstanding…
Gluttonous gala
Fat Ass 5K and Street Party for charity is a real 5K race on Saturday, May 10, for those wanting to get timed. But it’s also a party with bands and food along the route that less than serious runners and walkers all enjoy immensely. Some folks dress up and a costume contest is held.…
A new mission for Springfield’s 183rd Fighter Wing
The revered F-16 Fighting Falcon no longer roars over Springfield’s skies, but the 183rd Fighter Wing still has a role to play. That was the message at a May 2 ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Capital Airport Air National Guard Station located at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield. The ceremony marked the completion of facility…
Sneer pressure
My boyfriend of eight years and I love each other to death and are very happy. Still, I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t bother me that some people think we aren’t in a “real” relationship because we aren’t married and live separately. Is there a way to get them to respect the validity…
More music in May
Diana Chittester rolls in from Ohio to play the Walnut Street Winery on Friday, May 9, 8 to 11 p.m. Maybe it’s just me, but May seems to be chock-full of more music than you can shake a stick at. Hopefully with the nice weather and all, you’ve picked up all the sticks in your…
Odorific nuptials
Curses, foiled againAuthorities in Orange County, Calif., identified Franc Cano, 27, and Steven Dean Gordon, 45, as suspected serial killers because the two paroled sex offenders were wearing GPS trackers that placed them at the scene of four murders. “That was one of the investigative tools we used to put the case together,” Anaheim Police…
The affliction of party affiliation
I commissioned a We Ask America poll on April 21 of the races for governor, comptroller and treasurer. But I forgot to put the candidates’ party labels in the poll’s questions. The results came out very weird. Bruce Rauner led Gov. Pat Quinn by 11 points in that poll, 49-38. Comptroller Judy Baar Topinka trounced…
Manic Spider-Man 2 nothing but a blur
One gets the impression that director Marc Webb knew he was going to have a hard time squeezing in everything that was in the script for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. After all, there must be some reason why the film starts with an action sequence, progresses directly to another and proceeds to pile one breathless…
Mayors want relief from public safety pensions
Many downstate mayors want a greater voice in deciding the details of their cities’ firefighter and police pensions plans. Springfield Mayor Mike Houston led a press conference April 30 at the Capitol where 24 mayors and village presidents met to request that the General Assembly do something about downstate public safety pensions which are busting…
Editor’s Note 5/8/14
Thanks to Illinois Issues for reporting that the Illinois Department of Agriculture is trying out a new weapon in its battle against gypsy moths, which in their caterpillar stage defoliate millions of acres of trees. The females secrete pheromones to attract males, so this year the Ag Dept. plans to spread the smell of females…
it’s a strange world poem #2
it’s a strange world poem #2 in the car I bellowed along with tannhauser that tremendous heavy measured theme with all those little squirrelly bits you hardly hear sort of like a heavy tree trunk with tiny spring leaves fluttering on the thin branches around it or a giant striding surrounded by swarms of…
It’s how they roll
Remember the joy of pedaling and moving under your own power when you were a kid? The same joy can be had during the week, and not just weekends. While most of us think of the bicycle as recreation or sporting equipment, there are some who ride to and from work, or conduct errands while…
Rick Perry’s bespectacled mess
He’s back. And, this time, he has eyeglasses. Yes, Rick “Oops” Perry, is back, pitching himself for another presidential run. What fun! Who can forget the Texas governor’s nationally televised pratfall during a 2011 presidential debate, when he couldn’t remember the third federal agency he intended to ax? Well, he later sniffed on “Fox &…
Immigration reform is a family value
Every single day hundreds of families are needlessly torn apart through a broken and inhumane deportation system badly in need of reform. Last year alone more than 368,000 people were deported and by the end of 2014, more than 2 million will have been deported during the Obama administration. Two million. This is a startling…
Letters to the Editor 5/8/14
Toni Hoy speaks to lawmakers during a legislative hearing on a bill to end “planned abandonment” of adopted children who need intensive care for emotional disturbances. Photo BY PATRICK YEAGLE HELP OUT OF REACH Thank you to Toni Hoy for all her hard work and efforts in the struggle to prohibit the Department of Children…
