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Reinventing the past
Building new businesses based on new ideas is the central axiom of the near-science of economic development. Sangamon County’s would-be Edisons in the medical field recently were invited to submit ideas for the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce’s Project Innovation, intended to encourage local entrepreneurs in health care.

Passing the buck
For the second consecutive year, the Illinois General Assembly has confronted the state fiscal crisis by “passing the buck.” Last month, the legislature passed a General Funds budget for fiscal year (FY) 2011 that would give most state agencies lump-sum funding rather than line-item appropria tions.

BP is a corporate criminal
In early April, BP was strutting about in full corporate splendor, showing off the $9 billion in profits that it had soaked up in just the first three months of this year. It was also basking in a corporate re-imaging campaign, depicting itself as a clean-energy pioneer and declaring that BP now stood for “Beyond Petroleum.

beepoem #1
we brought the bees home tonight a whole swarmed hive’s worth home to my daughter’s on the high desert in nevada we set them beside the other hives opened the small hole droves crawled out covered the front where are we why are we here gillian...

LETTERS
Let me guess...The Lazer Dudes? Listing what the writer hopes to be seen as a funny, eclectic mix of things that a reader would hopefully never believe all share a common thread and then shocking said reader by stating that oh yes, this awesome band totally has all these weird, cool and funny things in common is a very tired practice.

Smoking guns on the Blago tapes
The U.S. Attorney’s office has now posted several audio recordings online related to Lon Monk’s testimony against Rod Blagojevich. I listened to them all last week, some of them twice, and it was beyond obvious that nothing changed for Blagojevich from the time he was a congressman right up until he was arrested.

HOMETOWN CHAMPS
“I hope as much of the community got an opportunity to come and actually see the athletes in competition,” says McDaniels. “Since that’s not in school, their peers aren’t always able to have a great appreciation for the athletic skills.”.

HARPER SAGA ON TV
Although Harper had told investigators that she fought with an intruder, police found no clear evidence of a home invasion and Harper was convicted of the crime.

Plan calls for 100 new affordable homes
The city’s 2010-2014 Consolidated Plan, created by the city’s Department of Opportunity, Planning and Economic Development (OPED), lays out plans to improve affordable housing, economic development, infrastructure and public services using millions in federal dollars.

What to do with all that commercial real estate?
The Commercial Real Estate Network (CREN), a listing service run by the Capital Area Association of Realtors, shows about 500 available commercial spaces in Springfield.

Lake Springfield stays clean despite recent runoff
Besides being found within the body, E. coli is often found in the environment. It occurs naturally and is primarily examined by scientists as a natural indicator of human or animal feces in a body of water. It is not always an indicator, however, as E. coli is found in all warm-blooded animals, and is also present in some sand and soil.

Attack of the flying fish
Jumping several feet into the air, a single silver carp can knock a boat driver unconscious before a passenger even has time to say “Duck!” For that reason, the Illinois Natural History Survey station in Havana installed netting around the steering wheel and dashboard of its electro-fishing boats.

The blacksmith as artist
L. Brent Kington, professor emeritus at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, is widely regarded as the father of blacksmithing as an art form. The Illinois State Museum is hosting a retrospective of the 76year-old artist, and it is well worth a visit.

Record good food, from start to finish
Remember the tale of The Little Red Hen? The plucky chicken finds some grains of wheat. She asks her barnyard buddies if they’ll help plant them, but none are willing. The same thing happens when she requests their help harvesting it, threshing it, taking it to the mill to be ground into flour, and baking it into a golden loaf of bread.

RealCuisine Recipe
Record’s tortillas are customer favorites. Tortillas are made in virtually the same way as bao bing – a.k.a Beijing pancakes, northern Chinese flatbreads traditionally served with Mu Shu pork. In fact, the PBS cooking show, “Simply Ming,” featured a flour tortilla/Beijing pancake factory, just because they are so similar.

Story of a used toy store
Woody, Buzz, Jessie (voices by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack respectively) and the rest of the toy crew are in a tizzy because their owner, Andy, is going to college. Knowing they can’t go with him, they begin to fret about their fate, not knowing that they’re destined for an extended stay in the attic.

Cruise, Diaz and a bad script
Roy Miller (Cruise) is a spy who’s gone rogue in an effort to protect Simon Feck (Paul Dano), a scientist who’s created a renewable energy source that will sever our dependence on fossil fuels.

Venice comes to town
The path to success in the music business is covered in an array of obstinate obstacles and littered with the remains of those who tried and failed. Even being born with a music family pedigree is no guarantee of success and sometimes it’s a hindrance.

PUB CRAWL
Dates, times and locations are subject to change, so we suggest calling before attending an event..

BAND SPOTLIGHT
This Sunday, the New Goat Ensemble celebrates 20 years of making the most marvelous and mischievous music this side of Pan himself. Always perpetrators of off-the-wall cover songs, the Jacksonville-based band became one of central Illinois’ most endearing original bands of the 90s through the songwriting of Jeff Davidsmeyer.

THE CALENDAR
Dates, times and locations are subject to last-minute changes, so we suggest calling before attending the event..

MUSIC
Songwriters and brothers Bo and Bear Rinehart, along with childhood friends Joe Stillwell and Seth Bolt, will capture you as fans once you hear and see these Southern alternative rockers from South Carolina. With a new album just released, “The Outsiders,” this band’s national following is sure to grow.

ART
Throughout the day, families can create their own art and view artists at work along the garden paths.

ART
Learn the art of toy making during this free museum experience for families. Crafts, games and artist demonstrations highlight the day, including a view of the collection of silver toys that artist Brent Kington made for his children and assisting a sculptor to make a mural.

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 24th day of May, 2010 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon...

NEWS QUIRKS
Authorities investigating a burglary in King County, Wash., found that in addition to a digital camera, laptop computer, iPod and DVD player, the intruder took clean clothes and left behind his soiled underwear, jeans and shoes.

WORKSHOPS
$10 a week for 30 words. To place your ad, contact your display rep or e-mail your ad and contact information to nbulli@illinoistimes.com.

FIND LOCAL BIZ
Promote your local biz in print and online Call Nan for details - 753-1724.

THE ADVICE GODDESS
My husband of 18 years woke me up one morning to inform me that he told this woman in the class he’s taking that he’s happily married and isn’t looking to cross any lines. Feeling uneasy, I peeked at his text messaging and call history. They’d been texting for hours before his declaration to me, and text all day, every day.