Untitled Document BALL’S IN EMIL JONES’ COURT Last week we lamented Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s budget-axing ways, particularly his misguided (that’s just our opinion) decision to cut a $55 million chunk from substance-abuse treatment programs when that sum was tied to federal matching funds [see Dusty Rhodes, “First domino to fall,” July 17]. The Illinois House […]
Cap City
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Untitled Document HOG HEAVEN It’s hard to believe that the recent floods brought good news to any living creature, but that’s just because you haven’t heard about Doctor, Nicky, Sleepy, and Bucket Head. They’re four of the 65 pigs rescued from a 20-mile stretch of the “Big Ditch” levee in Oakville, Iowa (just across the […]
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Cap City
Untitled Document TRADE-OFFS Taxpayers in the capital city contributed $56.5 million to the Iraq war last year, according to the most recent data of the National Priorities Project. The NPP, which opposes war, estimates that the sum could buy a mess o’ affordable housing, teachers, and cops. We could also have supplied thousands of local […]
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Untitled Document BREAKING TO LOVE When someone suggested to Grace Nanavati that Washington Park’s tennis courts be renamed in honor of Manny Velasco, the Springfield Park District’s director of racquet sports, Nanavati exclaimed, “By Joe, why haven’t we thought of that sooner?” After all, Velasco was a six-time junior champ in his native Bolivia. participated […]
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CAP CITY
Untitled Document GREAT BALLS OF FIRE! Up until now, one of our favorite summertime pastimes involved throwing back vodka tonics and taking in July 4 downtown fireworks shows from the palatial confines of Cap City Manor, on a secluded hill miles from the city. No more. The Springfield Jaycees, who organize the annual fireworks show, […]
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Untitled Document SCOOTER ROOTER Paul McAdamis isn’t your typical scooter hobbyist — the man means business. When gas prices hit the $4 per gallon mark and kept going up, McAdamis parked his pick-up truck and purchased a black Yamaha Vino 125. He now scoots to Memorial Hospital, where he works as a clinical laboratory scientist, and […]
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Untitled Document DURBIN RECOGNIZES juneteenth For many people, the terms “African-Americans” and “Independence Day” conjure up images of Will Smith getting jiggy with space invaders in a 1996 blockbuster. But the holiday known as Juneteenth commemorates the day Union troops arrived in Galveston, Texas — June 19, 1865 — with the news that the Civil […]
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Untitled Document WRONG NUMBER Jane Connelly was so fed up with getting “bad” phone calls that she disconnected her home phone and, at age 55, decided to get herself one of those newfangled cellular phones. She was happy with her decision, until she realized that the number AT&T assigned to her phone had previously belonged […]
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Untitled Document RESIGNATIONSATTHESYMPHONYThe Illinois Symphony Orchestra is changing its tune. In recent days, key players have resigned, including board president Jane Denes, chorus director Richard Robert Rossi, at least one other board member, and some office personnel. No one with the administration could comment on the record, but a source with first-hand knowledge of the […]
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Untitled Document OUR OWN INFORMANT The best part of getting close to Matt Damon on the movie set for The Informant was — get this — the food. At least that’s the account we get from Jill Egizii, an extra who sat just behind Damon (winner of People magazine’s 2007 “Sexiest Man of the Year,” no […]
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Untitled Document ROCK IN A HARD PLACE James ‘Rock’ Haley, who recently turned 71, should be relaxing and enjoying his golden years — but instead he’s had to return to work to afford the medicine his wife, Edna, needs for a rare muscle disease. Although the couple’s only income up until now has been Rock’s […]
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Untitled Document specter of NIMBYism haunts Springfield — again All the western powers — Cobblestone and Scarborough subdivisions; Oak Park and Thornhill — have entered into an alliance against Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and the retailer’s latest attempt to erect a 205,000-square-foot Supercenter on Wabash Avenue. (Wal-Mart’s previous attempt to build on the far west side […]
