Community Wish List 2010
Animal Protective League (APL) 1001 Taintor Road (217) 544-7387http://www.apl-shelter.org/DotNetNuke/ The Animal Protective League (APL) is a private, not-for-profit animal welfare organization, funded by donations. It operates an animal shelter, a low-cost spay/neuter clinic and maintains numerous programs that benefit members of the community. APL services individuals and other animal welfare groups and animal control facilities…
Charter for Compassion seeks unity
Imagine that religion became a force for good throughout the world, rather than an institution embroiled in world conflicts that often increase violence and drive people apart. Imagine that we could stand hand and hand together with religious people throughout the world embracing each other’s faiths. But, you say, “My religious beliefs represent the truth…
Due Date leaves viewers stranded
I’m sure it looked good on paper. Take red-hot Robert Downey Jr., pair him up with Zach Galifianakis in another idiot role like his turn in The Hangover, and throw them in an Odd Couple remake on the road. However, it takes more than just a hip idea to make a successful movie. In the…
Kindergarten screening, the first step of college prep
Every child in Sangamon County could be a college graduate with the potential to bring more businesses, and more economic wealth, to the Springfield area. That’s the idea behind the Continuum of Learning, an education and workforce development initiative formed in March 2008 by three coordinating partners. The Sangamon County Community Foundation, the United Way…
Urban folk
The UIS Bedrock 66 Series presents a live bonus show with Massachusetts folk-pop singer-songwriter, Ellis Paul. Touted as authentic in voice and style, Paul’s songs have appeared in hit movies and TV soundtracks, and between 1993-2004, he won an unprecedented 13 Boston Music Awards. Ellis PaulFriday, Nov. 12, 8pmHoogland Center for the Arts420 S. Sixth…
Letters to the Editor 11/11/10
DEEP WATERI enjoyed the article by Rachel Wells on biologist Susan Steingraber’s book and new documentary [See “Documentary targets toxic chemicals” by Rachel Wells, Oct. 28]. Living Downstream takes on the significant and timely issue of a “toxic trespass” against society. Steingraber focuses on PCBs, while my project, Deep Water, focuses on tetra-ethyl lead –…
Serving those who served
As the cold November rain spits against the Springfield Overflow Shelter windows, Mark Weldon, 54, sips from a Styrofoam cup of hot chocolate mixed with coffee, the milky brown concoction dripping from his scraggly blonde mustache. His pale skin is wrinkled like used aluminum foil, and his grey eyes move deliberately around the room, observing…
A wedding cake to remember
Have you ever wondered why wedding cakes are so expensive? Try making one, and you’ll find out. I did. I made a few wedding cakes during my catering days, but they were for small affairs, usually no more than 25-40 people. I’m not a pastry chef, and have never taken a cake decorating class, but…
Rhonda Vincent, bluegrass queen
In 2010 the Greater Downstate Indoor Bluegrass Festival hosted by Terry and Jan Lease celebrates 24 years of bringing the finest bluegrass music to central Illinois. After the success of their first indoor bluegrass festival in 1986, Terry and Jan kept at it, organizing about 200 events over their many years of festival promoting. This…
CHOCOLATE GANACHE
Chocolate ganache is almost as versatile as the yoghurt pound cake. It can be used as a glaze, as a filling in cakes, tarts and pies, or whipped to make a fluffy chocolate frosting. Small balls of ganache, whipped or not, can be frozen, then rolled in cocoa to make truffles. Ganache is most often…
Life could get tough for House Republicans
Without a doubt, the worst place to be right now in Illinois politics is the state’s House Republican caucus. Their leader, Tom Cross, went “all in” this year against House Speaker Michael Madigan and came up way short. There were the innumerable planted newspaper stories about Madigan, including, for instance, how he apparently picked his…
Closing Time
Longtime friends and musicians Aaron Stanley and Robert Reynolds kicked around the idea of a cool 90s cover band for a few years until putting the notion into motion last summer. The pals agree they disagree on each other’s taste in music except when it comes to their formative years of the 1990s, “to the…
‘Clean’ coal developers resist cap on electric rates
Minor tweaks to an Illinois law making a proposed “clean” coal power plant in Taylorville possible are negotiable, says project developer Tenaska. However, a major change – an additional cap on consumer rate increases – is not an option. Both Tenaska, the Nebraska-based company that’s pushing for the coal-to-gas Taylorville Energy Center, and its most…
Hockey players help out at Hazel Dell
They come from all over the nation – Arizona, Minnesota, New Jersey, Wisconsin and more – but Springfield’s Jr. Blues hockey players are giving back to this city as if it were their own. About once a week, the Jr. Blues head to Hazel Dell Elementary School to be role models and friends to the…
Dynamic Duo
A hint of peppercorns; the sweet-tart tang of a Meyer lemon. That’s right. The before-dinner drinks are headed to the dining room table. Pairing food with mixed drinks is this season’s holiday trend, according to Colin Cowie, expert on wedding and event planning. Why cocktails and courses? “It’s fun, different and can be creative,” says…
Enos Park master plan already progressing
Momentum is already building for just the change prescribed earlier this week when Enos Park, a historical but declining Springfield neighborhood, unveiled its redevelopment strategy. The master plan recommends bringing in new businesses, demolishing and rebuilding deteriorating structures and expanding or improving anchor institutions like the Springfield Art Association. By March 1, the neighborhood, which…
SLURPEE SUMMIT
In several stump speeches leading up to the Nov. 2 election, President Obama jokingly portrayed Republicans as obstructionists who would rather sip Slurpees than help the nation move forward, and it didn’t take long for convenience store chain 7-Eleven, which sells the sweet, icy Slurpee drink, to seize the opportunity. On Nov. 8, a special…
New school song
The University of Illinois at Springfield passes another milestone as a new school spirit song has been commissioned and will be presented for the first time by the UIS Concert Band with the composer, Dr. William Davis, in attendance. The Chamber Orchestra also performs, a slide show of the campus’ past will be shown, and…
HATE CRIMES DISCUSSION
For all its great history, Springfield’s past does include some dark events we all wish hadn’t happened; the infamous 1908 race riots and the more recent “noose incidents” at CWLP come immediately to mind. Now, the Springfield-based Coalition to Promote Human Dignity and Diversity (CPHDD) is planning a public forum on dealing with that type…
autumnpoem #2
whenthe leavesblow offthe treesthenyou can seeabandoned nestsstill heldinthe branches
Who’s that hiding behind the tea party?
The tea party spoke! Loudly, powerfully and proudly. But besides, “Throw the bums out,” what did it say? And now that the party part is over and the nasty business of governing begins, what does it all add up to? What’s its governing agenda? How does it make anything positive out of the disparate mish-mash…
MERINGUE BUTTERCREAM
This is NOT the buttercream I used for the wedding cake. Truthfully, it was a risky and not very wise choice, because it was so delicate and heat sensitive. Ashley, who these days is a caterer in Chicago, discovered this meringue buttercream recipe that is just as decadently delicious, much easier to make, and far…
Sexuality ’n’ song
This is one of those shows you won’t want to miss. Winner of eight Tony awards including best musical, everyone raves about the music and storyline. Follow the characters on a discovery of their sexuality during the 1800s in Germany. Parental discretion is advised due to brief partial nudity, sexual situations and strong language. Spring…
Spicy Latin sounds
The Illinois Symphony Orchestra heats up Sangamon Auditorium, UIS, with a concert of “Fiery Fun,” featuring Latin American and dance music and two electrifying guest musicians. American guitarist Jason Vieaux is touted as one of “the leading guitarists of his generation,” by Absolute Sound and one of the “stars of the guitar world” by the…
Dim reflections
It is always a relief to turn off the TV set and pick up a good book, and never more than after a political campaign season such as that just finished in Illinois. Indeed, reading is essential for anyone who wishes to understand the state’s politics. How much better than the blare and the rant…
YOGHURT POUND CAKE
This is absolutely, hands-down, bar none the easiest, most foolproof made-from-scratch yellow cake you’ll ever find. It takes only minutes and has a wonderful flavor and delicate texture no box mix could ever come close to matching. I found the recipe on the back of a flour bag decades ago – so long ago that…
Show and tell
Who doesn’t collect something? Here’s your chance to talk to collectors from all around the state, see their amazing collections and perhaps gather a few tips to improve your own collection. Treasures include everything from antique cameras to toys and more. The museum reminds everyone that no buying, selling or appraisals will be allowed. This…
Unstoppable, an improbable wildly entertaining ride
If you’re a filmgoer who demands ironclad logic when you go to the cinema, Tony Scott’s Unstoppable is the sort of movie you could pick apart in its first half hour. Though based on a true event in 2001 in which an unmanned train left a Toledo, Ohio, freight yard and traveled nearly 70 miles…
