Going south
Jeffrey Parsons, the embattled entrepreneur who made and lost a fortune buying and selling precious metals and other valuables, has moved to Texas, according to a bankruptcy trustee. In court papers filed today, Charles Covey, a trustee in Parsons’ personal bankruptcy case, accuses the businessman of improperly taking furniture, antique toys and Abraham Lincoln memorabilia…
Between The Cracks: Hat Trick Band
Once again, Faingold at Large proudly presents Between the Cracks – the recurring feature designed to shine a light onto Springfield-area bands, and all in their own words, to boot. Join us, won’t you? There’s gold between them thar cracks! Today’s BTC flashlight shines on old school rock and rollers Hat Trick. Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hat-Trick-Springfield-IL/183408645052057 Personnel:…
Case against district settled
The mother of a Lanphier High School student who allegedly had sex with a former teacher has agreed to a $100,000 settlement to end a lawsuit filed against the Springfield School District and district officials in July. Roland “Rob” Cross, attorney for the Springfield School District, said that the district’s insurance company negotiated the settlement…
Southern pride
“The people of Southern Illinois will be extremely pleased with who my running mate is,” said State Sen. Kirk Dillard when he announced who would run with him as he campaigns for the governorship in the Republican primary. She is Rep. Jil Tracy of Quincy, who was born in Carbondale, lived in Anna, and took…
Weekend photos from the capital city
A look into the crowd from the podium at a full house Friday night at Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II during Poets, Painters and Performers. Poets Mark Russillo and Thea Chesley have a couple warm, happy smiles for the camera. Directly behind them in pink and black, Poet Shawna Mayer. All are members of Springfield…
Closed Circuit a gripping thriller for our times
As conspiracy thrillers go, John Crowley’s Closed Circuit is one of the best in recent memory. Tautly told and smartly executed, the film rips a page from today’s headlines. It not only opens with a brutal terrorist attack but then focuses on the lack of trust that exists between citizens and their governments. What with…
SHOE LEATHER REPORTING
A gaggle of State Journal-Register journalists took to the streets Monday for the city’s annual Labor Day parade, which might explain why there were pictures, but not a story, about the festivities in the next day’s fish wrap. Perhaps there were too many reporters marching to actually cover the event. Then again, it’s never fun…
GO WILD
With autumn fast approaching, it’s time to think about heading into the woods, and the Illinois Department of Natural Resources is here to help. Every few years, the department gathers up stuff that has been either confiscated – think fishing rods taken from poachers – or found somewhere on public land and puts it up…
Stage phenomenon
Springfield Municipal Opera (The Muni) ends its 2013 season with the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning rock musical that made a sensational 12-year run on Broadway. This local production of Rent will run for three consecutive weekends in September. Based loosely on Puccini’s opera La Boheme, Rent tells the story of seven artists, musicians and creatives finding their voices…
The Ex-Bombers
Out of Charleston, Ill. and originally from Columbia, Mo., The Ex-Bombers are doing swell with a minimalist setup of bass, drum and vocals saying all that needs to be heard. Drummer and vocalist Keri Cousins says the music is “dirtbag spy jazz or beatnik punk” and proudly adds that “our songs come from seedy and…
Futuristic farmers
Farmin’ ain’t easy. Though the concept of planting seeds and harvesting the bounty seems simple enough, there are numerous risks to contend with: weeds, bugs, drought, flood, cold, disease and even human error. However, the 2013 Farm Progress Show in Decatur last week showcased a variety of technologies that take the guesswork out of agriculture.…
Panhandlers sue city
Two Springfield panhandlers filed a federal class action lawsuit against the City of Springfield and a handful of city police officers on Tuesday, alleging the city and the officers violate panhandlers’ right to free speech by ticketing and arresting them. Don Norton and Karen Otterson, both of Springfield, often panhandle for money in and around…
marylebone waxworks poem #1
mom wanted to visit madame tussaudsfamous wax museum when they were inlondon dad wasn’t eager he’d bunged hisknee was on a cane but he hobbled alongpast lifelike ax murderers kings beheadedqueens winston churchill philanthropists poets till tired he stood tall and still beside a pillar hands in repose on his cane seemed a waxwork himself…
American Dream needs fair minimum wage
My life is a tribute to the American Dream. My business partner and I started with 300 record albums and a $20 booth at the local farmers market. That was nearly 34 years ago. Vintage Vinyl in St. Louis has grown into a multimillion-dollar company with 23 employees. We stage 150 in-store concerts a year…
How kids can make their own dough
I’ve written about make-your-own-pizza nights before. They were a Glatz tradition: Family nights that often ended with us all watching a video, and on really special occasions, make-your-own-sundaes. Initially they were just for our immediate family, but soon they expanded into almost de rigueur fare for sleepovers and slumber parties. When our kids were young,…
Dining for a cause
Kidzeum of Health and Science is the beneficiary of this popular culinary and country music soirée, held this year on Saturday, Sept. 7, downtown on Adams Street. Dinner service from 5:30-7 p.m. includes savory entrees prepared onsite by the Illinois Pork Producers, mouth-watering sides from Cafe Moxo and delicious desserts provided by Eli’s Cheesecake. Included in…
Till dead end do us part
I’ve been separated from my husband for two years. (Our divorce isn’t yet final.) A terrific man sought me out when he was breaking up with his girlfriend, but then he got back together with her and said we could only be friends. We still get together at times, and he told me, “I’m just…
Getting ahead on the backs of others
Having been raised in a small-business family and now running my own small outfit, I always find it heartwarming to see hardworking, enterprising folks get ahead. So I was really touched when I read that, even in these hard times, one extended family with three generations active in their enterprise is hanging in there and…
Letters to the Editor 9/5/13
SEEKING ARTISANSThe Illinois Artisans Program is approaching its 30th year. We would like to invite you to become part of this unique and growing program. Created in 1985 by Gov. James R. Thompson, the program draws national and statewide attention to the exceptional fine craft and art in the state. The program provides venues for…
Going the mile
It is, really, very simple. Apply throttle, turn left every 10 seconds or so and forget about the brakes. Boiled down, that is the essence of racing motorcycles on dirt tracks. You don’t have to be big or tall. “It’s fingertips and toes,” says Steve Morehead, a retired racer who works as a race director…
Rosie blooms
Few other Americana artists spent a lifetime as creative, consistent and challenging as Rosie Flores. From her early days with the Los Angeles cow-punk, rockabilly scene to a current life-defining record, her work from constant live performer to recent record producer follows the music muse. I first met her in June of 1999 at the…
News Quirks 9/5/13
Curses, foiled againAntoine Jennings covered his head with a Chicago Bulls cap and a skin-tight black skullcap while robbing three suburban Chicago banks of $4,500, but then he posted photos of himself wearing the caps on Facebook, using his real name. FBI agents matched the photos to security camera footage of the heists and arrested…
Good for what ales you
Springfield Oyster and Beer Festival celebrates craft beer. Held Sept. 7 in the parking lot of the Inn at 835, the gathering of breweries from across the U.S. also includes tasty seafood and other eats, music by Harmony Deep and Thornhill and exhibits. Admission tickets include a tasting glass and five drink tickets. Additional drink…
A new plan for the Boys and Girls Club
When William “Bill” Legge first took over as acting director of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Illinois in February, he found disenchanted donors, a building in need of renovations and a quarter of a million dollars in debt. The troubled organization had missed a major grant deadline, closed its main facility and hadn’t…
Radical fellows
Champaign is used to naive people who overestimate their prospects of success at endeavors at which clearer-eyed observers know they will fail. Think of all those incoming freshmen, all those Fighting Illini teams, all those University of Illinois ethics panels. We must add to that list one David Green, a 63-year-old physics professor who is…
Triple the talent
Creatives from Springfield have been working together making art, poetry and music inspired by each other’s work. You can hear and see the final pieces on Friday, Sept. 6, at Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II, located on the south side of Old Capitol Plaza. This opening reception includes poetry readings by Springfield Poets and Writers…
Springfield’s first hanging
Nathanial Van Noy holds the dubious double distinction of being both the first murderer in Sangamon County as well as the first person to be hanged in Springfield. But it wasn’t the murder itself that made him infamous; it was the bizarre and gruesome spectacle of his hanging, when Van Noy tried to cheat death.…
Raymond Poe keeps the peace by bowing out
After the House Republican caucus meeting last week, several members gathered at a local watering hole to toast their new leader, Rep. Jim Durkin, R-Western Springs. Notably, several House Republicans who backed Rep. Raymond Poe’s candidacy showed up at the Springfield establishment and heartily shared in the festivities. And so, for now at least, a…
