Drawing the line?
The line was surveyed by Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon in the 1760s, in part to define a segment of the border between colonial Pennsylvania and Maryland. The precise location of the line varies slightly, depending on where along its length one measures it, but 39 degrees 43 minues 20 seconds north latitide is close.

Goldman Sachs authors a Greek tragedy
Such ongoing acts of brazen piracy off the coast of Somalia have riveted the established media’s attention. But the same news hawks have missed (or ignored) a much more brazen, longer-running and far larger robbery in Greece by Gucci-wearing thieves who are more sophisticated than common pirates — but lack a pirate’s moral depth.

LETTERS
While budget cuts and personnel reductions affect all state agencies, the museum staff is proud of our ability to continue to create high quality exhibitions such as this one for the public.

demopoem # 1
with all the interest in the film julie and julia and also local cooking schools let me tell you a story about my springfield friend tom(doc)durr he was attending the culinary institute of america when julia child came to visit the white-clad...

Why the latest gambling push has a chance
I’m always pretty skeptical of these big legislative pushes. Expanding gaming is one of the most difficult things to do. A big reason is that there’s so much money involved with gaming that people get too greedy. Eventually, the bill suffocates under its own weight.

BANKING ON HEALTHY SNACKS
It’s not often that one bank donates to another bank, but these aren’t your typical banks. Employees at Illinois National Bank in Springfield are holding a healthy snack food drive for the Central Illinois Foodbank’s Kids Café program, which provides nutritious meals to children from lowincome homes during the school year.

TRASH TO TREASURE
TerraCycle turns food packaging destined for the landfill into products for home, school and the office. The company’s tote bags, trash cans, picture frames and more are made from the waste and sold at major retailers like Target, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Home Depot.

Assaults at Springfield nursing home illustrate statewide problem
In 2009, Springfield police were called to Springfield Terrace nursing home, located at 525 S. Martin Luther King Drive, for a variety of incidents involving residents with mental illnesses and criminal backgrounds.

New energy codes leave home builders in the dark
Zinn Construction, a custom home building company based in Sherman, builds eight to ten homes per year, along with a few remodeling projects. But new energy efficiency codes, approved by the state last August, are causing confusion for owner Phil Zinn and his fellow home builders.

Redpath caught red-handed
Darius Billops has spent his fair share of time behind bars. The 29-year-old from Springfield has collected a laundry list of indiscretions, starting in 1998 with traffic violations like driving without a license and insurance and moving up over the years to drug possession, theft and domestic battery.

Communities demand solutions for pension burden
According to Mayor Tim Davlin, almost 100 percent of property taxes collected in Springfield go to police and fire pensions. In accordance with state law, the city’s public safety employees receive retirement funds, which can total up to 75 percent of their final pay rate if they retire at age 50 and have held the job for a minimum of 30 years.

Tourist town
In mid-February, as she delivered the annual State of the State of Tourism Address to more than 500 tourism professionals at the Illinois Governor’s Conference on Tourism, Kostner instead infused confidence into the state’s $2 billion industry. The past year’s revenues remained stable, she said, and are again on the rise.

Urban music radio comes to Springfield online
It began with a childhood dream of becoming a radio personality. But when Angel Macon sent demos to countless area radio stations, none responded. Instead of idly waiting for that big break, Macon took matters into her own hands by creating an opportunity for herself and others attempting to enter the radio industry.

Hot soup to end winter
Recent signs of spring are more welcome than usual this year. This winter has been tough, not because of any single blizzard or cold snap, but because it just seemed relentless. Still, remembering the Chicago winter of 1979 kept me from grumbling much. Now that.

RealCuisine Recipe
In a small pan, bring the white wine to a simmer; stir in the saffron; set aside. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, fennel and garlic and stir to coat. Cover and let the vegetables sweat until translucent and softened, but not browned, 5- 10 minutes.

Movie times
PLEASE NOTE: Kerasotes listings are for Friday, Mar. 12 through Thursday, Mar. 18. Bracketed show times are Sat-Sun only matinees or Fri-Sat only late shows. All times are subject to change. For updates on Kerasotes films, call 1-800-FANDANGO. For reviews of other films, visit www.

Alice, a wonder to behold, but cold
Alice (Mia Wasikowska) is a young woman on the verge of being married off to a milquetoast of a man when she happens to spot an old friend, the White Rabbit (voice by Michael Sheen) who offers her the means to escape her predicament.

March marches on
Here comes the middle of March with the most famous Ides of all, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and other assorted diversions, the best of all being a feeling of spring in the air. As an astute observer of nature shared with me on Sunday, “Wow, you can smell the world getting warmer,” and I couldn’t agree more.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
During the St. Patrick’s Day season The Emerald Underground becomes Springfield’s Celtic house band. Starting with a CD release party at the 49er on Friday, TEU next does Marly’s Pub at noon and Lime Street Café at 8:30 on Saturday, private shows at...

PUB CRAWL
Submit calendar listings at www.illinoistimes.com.

The Heartland needs more than hope
Hoffman breaks his argument down into three parts, first illustrating the magnitude of the problems facing the Midwest. Energy security, the evacuation of manufacturing and the looming threat of climate change all come from the same problem, which is a lack of leadership and strategy.

THE CALENDAR
Submit calendar listings at www.illinoistimes.com.

SCIENCE
Star gazers and animal enthusiasts get two for the price of free at Lincoln Memorial Garden March 12. Trek the trails with two UIS science professors and learn about the night sky and night animals. Dr. John Martin from the astronomy/physics program will have telescopes and teach about the nighttime sky.

ART
Prairie Art Alliance has a new downtown gallery, Gallery II, located in the old Serendipity shop across from Maldaner’s. The opening day will be March 15. If you’ve seen the original gallery, H.D. Smith Gallery at the Hoogland Center for the Arts, you know that this will be a beautiful and special place.

HOBBIES
Families can learn all about collections -- how to start a collection and how to keep it in great shape – and explore the collections of Springfield area kids and teens March 13 from 1-3 p.m. at the museum. There will be no sales or appraisals at this event.

PUBLIC NOTICES
NOTICE UNDER ASSUMED BUSINESS NAME ACT STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF SANGAMON TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Notice is hereby given that on 16th day of February, 2010 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon County, stating that JENNIFER C.

WORKSHOPS CLASSES & FUNDRAISERS
Promote your class, workshop or fundraiser here. Up to 30 words $10 per week; additional words .35 per word, per week. Contact your display ad rep OR email your ad (and contact info) to [email protected].

NEWS QUIRKS
Police arrested a 17-year-old boy in College Station, Texas, for trying to pass a counterfeit $5 bill. Officials said the bogus bill had an “overwhelming number of imperfections,” appearing to have been made by gluing two sheets of paper together with images of the front and back of a $5 bill printed on either side.

FIND LOCAL BIZ
Plus, a list of all local wedding reception venues and how to reach them. This beautiful publication is on newsstands now. You’ll love IT..

THE ADVICE GODDESS
I love how you write about the evolutionary psychology driving us, like your recent bit on how women across cultures prioritize money and mojo in men.