For warm, autumnal meals that manage to feel cozy while still staying light and fresh, look no further than your spice cabinet. Cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cloves are the standard players in most pumpkin pie spice mixes, and while these sweet spices are standard additions to many of our favorite baking recipes, they […]
Section Feature
Posted inNews
Double vision
Springfield School District 186 faces challenges familiar to many urban school districts. Academic achievement at district high schools lags behind state averages. Parents are voting with their feet as they choose to live outside the district or enroll kids in private schools. Segregation remains and demographic trends are ominous. During the past 15 years, white […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The King and The Bard
All Shook Up at Theatre In The Park is a constantly entertaining Elvis Presley “jukebox musical” with surprising depth. From the rousing “Jailhouse Rock” opening to the “Burning Love” finale, it’s a fantastic way to spend a midsummer evening. All Shook Up is not an Elvis Presley biography but a magical fairy tale combining The […]
Posted inOpinion
Populism is not about mobs
I’ve observed that the true political spectrum in our society does not range from right to left, but from top to bottom. This is how America’s economic and political systems really shake out, with each of us located somewhere high or low on that spectrum. Right to left is political theory; top to bottom is […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Christmas time is here
Celebrate the holidays with everyone’s favorite blockhead on Wednesday, Dec. 12, during A Charlie Brown Christmas Live on Stage at Sangamon Auditorium. This brand new touring production is based on the timeless story by Charles M. Schultz and features the unforgettable music of Vince Guaraldi performed by a three-piece ensemble plus a concert of holiday […]
Posted inMusic
Hullabaloo for holidays
Welcome to the first full weekend of December, one jam-packed with live music functions from beginning to end and even rolling into next week. What a brouhaha it is! Last week I never made it past Friday, so let’s start there this week. James Armstrong, known as the Ambassador of the Blues (not to be […]
Posted inFood & Drink
Edible gifts
Several years back, my family agreed to stop buying holiday gifts for the adults. Money was always tight for somebody and none of us are big shoppers, so we decided just to buy gifts for the kids. It was determined that homemade gifts would be an acceptable caveat and we’ve never looked back since. Everyone […]
