ISM, LMG, DFV & BB
As we head into mid-October, the crisp coolness we expect from fall has settled in with a foreshadowing of the weather to come. We still have a few fests and the fun that follows left for all to enjoy. Here comes the second Thursday of the month, which tells me there is a concert happening…
Snakes alive
I write, too much perhaps, about pets. First, there was Peanut.Then came Champ The Wonder Pug. Lately, I have devoted thought to Monty, who is getting on in years, if not decades. Most anyone who acquires any species of python – they range from less than four feet, like mine, to 30 feet, like those…
Fallout from federal raids targeting Senator Sandoval
At about the same time last week, Chicago-based investigators with the FBI and the IRS swooped into Democratic Sen. Marty Sandoval’s district office, Statehouse office and home residence, removing boxes of documents and seizing computers. Last November, the feds launched a simultaneous raid of super-powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s city and ward offices, but they…
Letters to the Editor
A NEW PLAN FOR TREESPeople are talking about the new urban forestry commission, which met for the first time on Sept. 11. Commissioner Rianne Hawkins has publicly stated the city has no tree planning. I disagree for the following reasons. First, the city has made a concerted effort to eliminate trees downtown. On Capitol Avenue…
Editor’s Note
The four millennials on the panel at last week’s Citizens Club program were all generous about Springfield, several saying they could see themselves still living here when they are 50 years old. They like the accessibility of a small city, where you can always talk to the mayor, and they find it easy to make…
The joy of politics
You’re probably chuckling already. Seriously? “The joy of politics”? That was pretty much the reaction I got the other day when, in the middle of a conversation about how confrontational, adversarial and downright unpleasant politics has become of late, I suggested that it could be both fun and a source of satisfaction. Yes, of course…
Astronomy
Since 1980 the astronomy and physics program at the University of Illinois Springfield has hosted the Friday Night Star Parties and offered opportunities to view other astronomical occurrences such as lunar and solar eclipses and comets. UIS associate professor of astronomy and physics John Martin will lead the parties this year. Viewings may include a…
Opening Celebration
Terrain Biennial is an international exhibition of site-specific art made for front yards, empty lots, balconies and porches. Artists repurpose those private spaces and turn them into public exhibition spaces to foster dialogue between neighbors and to also offer new perspectives for artists and viewers alike to experience. Over 30 locations throughout the world will…
All charged up
If Mayor Chris Koos looks pleased as he tells the tale, it’s understandable. It was about five years ago, the mayor of Normal recalls, that that a barely known entrepreneur came to town looking for bargains. The Mitsubishi plant was closing after more than 25 years of building cars in the town about half the…
Study abroad changes lives
“I learned so much about myself and discovered how to deal with situations in a different way,” says Maia Ojugbele, a Rotary Youth Exchange student who spent a year in Taiwan. Maia, Mandy Lynn and Yasmin Martinez-Powell are all Springfield High School students who traded a year at SHS for a year overseas. Mandy went…
THE GREEN LINE
What do the state Supreme Court and Roodhouse have in common? Both lie in areas that have gotten picked on during the war on drugs, according to the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, and so residents, or past residents, who’ve been arrested, convicted or incarcerated for pot offenses will be eligible for special…
Thoughtful, flawed Joker a cry for mental health reform
Todd Phillips’ Joker arrives in theaters having already created a wave of protests and social media outrage that the titular character would be proud of. Some critics who have seen it are concerned that its content may incite violence, as the fear is that some may embrace the chaos the Crown Prince of Crime creates…
A play and BOA
The invitation is always open to enjoy the arts scene in town and specifically the music makings as reported here and in the calendar listings. Isn’t it wonderful we’ve gotten to the point that you just can’t see it all every weekend? I think that’s the way it should be and am pleased that it…
Jesse Dayton
Talk about some guy who has done it all and keeps doing more, Jesse Dayton has lived the life of a bad-ass, guitar slingin’, rock ‘n’ roll, country singin’, gettin’ ‘round the town dude for 30-some years. From his beginnings as a young teenager playing honky tonk and zydeco haunts in Louisiana and West Texas…
A fond food memory
While attending dental school in Chicago back in the 70s, I was on a limited budget and always on the lookout for good but cheap dining experiences. One of my favorite discoveries was a small storefront restaurant in suburban West Dundee called Mama di Pinto, named after its chef owner, Virginia Pinto, who died last…
Penelope: (from Tennyson’s “Ulysses”)
Ulysses you scumbag go ahead stuff your REI pack take off with your new buddies – you didn’t manage to bring the old ones back, with them turned into pigs or done in by scylla, charybdis who raised your son for twenty years? little Telly was one when you left to fight a friend’s war…
