Feds charge shooting range owner with arson
The owner of a Springfield shooting range heavily damaged by a 2017 fire is facing 40 years in prison after being charged with arson by federal prosecutors. Arrested Monday, John W. Jackson, 45, made an initial court appearance today and is scheduled for arraignment on Thursday. Prosecutors say he bought $1.625 million worth of insurance…
Muhs, accompanied by staff, leaves SJ-R
The entire State Journal-Register newsroom walked out today in support of now former editor Angie Muhs, who was walked out of the building this afternoon by the paper’s general manager after submitting her resignation on Friday. In an impromptu show of solidarity, the staff accompanied Muhs as she left the building for the final time.…
Letters to the Editor 5/9/19
BE AWARE OF MOTORCYCLES During May, motorcyclists around our area will be promoting National Motorcycle Awareness Month. I am a member of Leather & Lace, a women’s motorcycle club established in 1983. One of our top priorities is to support motorcycle safety in our community. Over two-thirds of car-motorcycle crashes are caused by car drivers,…
Springfield Art Association Little Women Tea Ticket Contest
Enter to win Springfield Art AssociationLittle Women Tea Ticket Contest
Win St. Louis Baseball Tickets Sponsored By Recon Techs Springfield
Enter for a chance to win St. Louis Baseball Tickets Sponsored ByRecon Techs Springfield
Sandwich sleuths
It was fitting, really, that I was handed an advance copy of Springfield’s Celebrated Horseshoe Sandwich in a McDonald’s parking lot. They don’t serve horseshoes at the Golden Arches, of course, but comparisons with artery-clogging burgers are inevitable, as demonstrated in a 2010 Wall Street Journal article that revealed a deep-fried version packed five Big…
Stopping the violence
The Chicago Police Department reported last week that the number of people murdered in the city fell 10% during the first four months of 2019 compared to last year during the same period. While that’s good news and part of a two-year downward trend, lost in much of the coverage was a worrisome murder spike…
Editor’s note 5/9/19
Legalizing recreational marijuana won’t make Illinois great. But the proposal is different from other recent addiction-for-profit schemes, like video gambling, the General Assembly likes to approve. Legalization will put an end to pot smoking being a criminal act, which has caused untold suffering for decades, and there are provisions for expunging minor marijuana offenses from…
CWLP rule would slow Springfield solar
As a physician, I support clean energy alternatives that decrease our reliance on coal-powered electricity plants that produce air pollution impacting respiratory ailments and toxic coal ash that has been associated with cancers and nervous system damage. Suppose you decide to cut your energy costs from City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) and help the…
College Sports
The Illinois History Forum returns this year with discussions on topics ranging from war to college sports. Experts in their fields will lead each discussion, giving the audience opportunities to ask questions and share their observations. The forums take place every two months at noon in the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library. Each one focuses on…
The stuff of show business dreams
An American musical and classic tale, 42nd Street tells the story of Peggy Sawyer, a talented young performer with stars in her eyes who gets her big break on Broadway. Arriving in New York City from her hometown of Allentown, Pennsylvania, armed with her tap shoes and big dreams, she soon lands her first big job in…
Pototics
Gov. J. B. Pritzker and other backers of recreational marijuana have said that ending cannabis prohibition is about social justice, public health and reality, not just money. Nonetheless, Pritzker’s financial goals when it comes to pot are ambitious – his draft budget included $170 million from licenses and fees during the next fiscal year. Potential…
ISO’s fantastic finale
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra closed out its 2018-2019 season with “Nature’s Beauty,” a soaring and varied concert at Sangamon Auditorium on Saturday, May 4. ISO executive director Trevor Orthmann, in his opening remarks, accurately described the program as encompassing both “some of the most beautiful and most bombastic” music. The evening’s music started with the…
New Salem is getting old again
On May 22, New Salem will celebrate the 100th anniversary of an event that occurred on the same date in 1919, many long years after Lincoln had lived in the village, from 1831 to 1837. It was on May 22 in 1919 that the site was conveyed to the people of Illinois by the…
Consultant: Retire three of CWLP’s coal-fired plants
How can Springfield’s City Water, Light and Power (CWLP) best provide electrical power to meet the community’s future energy needs? Retiring Dallman Units 1, 2 and 3 coal-fired plants, increasing the use of renewable energy and expanding energy efficiency are some of the recommendations included in a recently released report. Last year the city hired…
Flimsy Intruder quite timely
On the surface, Deon Taylor’s The Intruder is nothing more than a home invasion thriller akin to Pacific Heights and Unlawful Entry, thrillers from the ‘90s in which yuppie landlords were terrorized by tenants or trespassers who were the basis for Benjamin Franklin’s old adage about guests and fish. Yet, coming as it does midway…
Mayhem in music
From a charity festival in praise of beer and doughnuts to an upcoming summer-long concert series, along with award-winning blues bands and music rumbling at the lake, springtime has clean sprung almost into summertime, making for some fun musical mayhem in May. Early this week we received the long-awaited and much anticipated announcement of the…
Ghost Town Blues Band
On the move and in the groove since their inception, this “not your grandpa’s blues band” combines elements of funk, rock, New Orleans jazz, Memphis R & B and more to a solid blues-based concept, coming up with a 21st century take on making the blues come alive. Bandmates, Matt Isbell (vocals, guitar), Suavo Jones…
mothersday? poem #1
pidgie has dwelt in the henyard a number of years now; my daughterand son-in-law healed her broken wing let her fly away shooed her skyward – several times – but after each brief foray she was back home again awaiting entrance to familiar feathers she has a strong mother instinct: she makes little nests and…
Chef mothers and kitchen kids
The food industry is notoriously tough. Long, physically demanding hours, erratic schedules, temper tantrums and razor-thin margins are commonplace in kitchens the world over. It almost seems insane that anyone would willingly sign up for such a grueling assignment. However, in spite of many inherent challenges, this work brings joy and deep satisfaction to the…
New Orleans comes to Springfield
Area jazz and Cajun cuisine fans can get a taste for New Orleans at “Mardi Gras in May.” New Orleans jazz performers and local musicians come together for a musical gumbo May 10 for the Illinois Coalition Against Domestic Violence annual fundraiser featuring The Charmaine Neville Band with local talent Frank Parker, Chilli Bryant and…
