Party time at ALPLM
The hits – or rim shots – just keep coming at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, where a baby shower was held this spring for acting director Melissa Coultas, whose husband got a gig at the ALPLM last year after doing campaign work for a state senator. Coultas has worked her way up.…
Visual arts online
At 23 years old, Claudia Knight is an artist, a barista and a new parent. The Springfield resident had her daughter just before stay-at-home rules took effect. For her, the lack of visits from family and friends also meant a lack of help with her newborn. But she’s proven resilient. For Knight, art is a…
Dismal Inheritance no gift
Since movie theaters have shut down across the country, I’ve been sent a great many films to watch that were never meant to get a theatrical release, destined to go straight to video-on-demand platforms. Watching more of these movies than I normally would, I’ve come to value the product produced by Hollywood studios. To be…
A pandemic-proof city and other Springfield dreams
In crisis there is opportunity. Just as small businesses are making some hard shifts to compete and stay alive, a struggling Springfield should plan boldly for the new reality of global pandemics. Tourists will be back Some estimates place Springfield’s economic losses – just in convention business and hotel stays alone through the end of…
Pritzker struggles to explain regional approach
POLITICS | Rich Miller For many weeks after the beginning of this COVID-19 crisis, Gov. JB Pritzker proved adept at telegraphing his every move. Pritzker waited until people practically begged him to shut down the schools on March 15. He talked about issuing a stay-at-home order for days, and then only acted on March 21…
Art Association adapts
Springfield Art Association members recently met to seek suggestions about their latest work. One showed she had been experimenting with a variety of mediums since the pandemic began: collage, acrylic landscapes, art journaling. Another asked for help in sketching out a scene from a photo of the Grand Canyon she had taken while on vacation.…
No news?
The State Journal-Register is rolling back deadlines for its print edition to 4 p.m. The changes, set to take effect June 1, will apply both to the news and the sports departments. With deadlines for the next day’s paper hitting before sundown, print subscribers will, presumably, no longer be able to rely on delivered newspapers…
Smokable hemp buds surface
With shortages of marijuana in dispensaries and prices at a premium, an alternative has cropped up: smokable hemp buds. Hemp, as opposed to cannabis, buds, grown under licenses issued by the state Department of Agriculture, have miniscule levels of THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana. On Craigslist and on its own website TwoBrothers.Farm advertises a…
Knives sharp as lightning
While living in France in the late 50s, Paul Childs recalled hearing his wife, Julia, cry out: “Goddamnit! I’ve never yet gone into a private French kitchen where the knives are sharp! How the hell do these people think they’re going to cook when they can’t even slice through a tomato?” Julia Childs had such…
Close to live music
Welcome everyone, to another week of coronavirus life in lockdown. We send out our best to all at the forefront of the battle and to those directly in contact with the thing. From what news I have gleaned from reliable sources, we’ve done fairly okay in self-isolating and are headed toward some kind of post-pandemic…
Helping small businesses like yours
The coronavirus has hit small businesses hard, but SCORE’s mentors can help during this difficult time. SCORE is a national network of volunteer, expert business mentors that has been providing resources to business owners since 1964. As a nonprofit organization, it receives support from the U. S. Small Business Administration and relies on the expertise…
Paycheck Protection gives businesses a chance
Masked employees serve a steady stream of pick-up and carry-out customers now at Cafe Moxo in downtown Springfield, both old and new customers who come to the popular establishment to get their daily caffeine fix or take away a bite to eat. What many patrons may not realize is that the coffee and lunch spot…
Foot traffic
Not long after Illinois issued a stay-at-home order in March, my neighbor’s adult children were home, their college and work lives on hold for the moment. Almost every day they were on the driveway or in their yard playing soccer, shooting baskets or drawing chalk art with their younger siblings. It wasn’t clear yet how…
Letters to the editor 5/21/20
We welcome letters. Please include your full name, address and telephone number. We edit all letters. Send them to letters@illinoistimes.com. WHAT IS JESSE WHITE HIDING? It was good to see Bruce Rushton report that Illinois Times has finally received the personnel file of Candace Wanzo, a former employee of Secretary of State Jesse White’s office…
family story #23
my dad had another dream about spring brook he was again a little boy sitting by the water in the back pasture – on the hill were three figures on a log wearing green bay packers sweatshirts hoods but ronald knew they were the father son and holy ghost god said I’ve not been back…
