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Going against the flow
My advice is, don’t ever invite the executive director of the Springfield Metro Sanitary District and a carp to the same party. Springfield, you see, is one of dozens of Illinois cities and towns that have a combined sewage system in which the same pipes that carry untreated sewage to the treatment plant also are connected to the storm sewers.

Stop bullying on campus
Bullying is something that many associate with elementary school; however, it is a form of harassment that can continue well past high school into college. Bullying most often occurs where adult supervision is low or absent.

Obama fights for the poor. Poorly.
He waved his white hankie of surrender in the debt ceiling battle, agreeing to a disastrous deal ruthlessly pushed by the loopiest of the tea party extremists in the Republican House.

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LETTERS
Mayor Houston promised us a balanced budget, but it looks like he wants to spend money we don’t have on Hunter Dam, a project we don’t need. Federal regulators have said three times Hunter Dam is a turkey. And that’s just for starters.

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The changing faces of the General Assembly
Republican Sen. Larry Bomke and GOP Reps. David Winters and Franco Coladipietro have already announced that they aren’t running again. Democratic Rep. Dan Reitz resigned last month and was replaced by Congressman Jerry Costello’s son, Jerry Costello II. Some didn’t even wait for the new map to be finished, like Sens.

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Breakfast, lunch and dinner – on you
Stratton became park district executive director in August of 2006 and has since charged more than 100 restaurant bills worth about $5,900 to his park district credit card.

City seeking minority police recruits
On Aug. 4, Mayor Michael Houston announced the city would begin in September the recruitment process for new police hires for the first time in two years. Houston also took a step toward fulfilling a campaign promise of increasing minority recruitment for city jobs, saying 25 percent of new police recruits would be minorities.

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Illinois tiptoes toward regulating insurance rates
Starting Sept. 1, the ACA requires that insurance plans with rate increases of 10 percent or more for non-grandfathered plans in the individual and small group markets must publicly disclose proposed increases and the reasoning behind them.

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When adoption goes wrong
Wally and Dawne Busch of Petersburg eagerly adopted their son Alan at the age of two in 2000, knowing that they would be in for some challenging times.

Adoptions gone wrong
It’s difficult to tell how many custody relinquishments happen each year, but statistics on psychiatric lockout seem to indicate a worsening problem.

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Adoptions gone wrong
CRSA reports identify other issues that hinder families’ efforts to obtain state services for mentally ill or emotionally disturbed children, including a lack of services available in a geographic area, state agencies deflecting clients to other...

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Adoptions gone wrong
“My perception, from where I sit, is that community-based services aren’t available in the quantity or the quality that are necessary to maintain a lot of these kids, and that’s why it all breaks down,” Schornagel says.

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The intriguing and ponderous Tree of Life
Composed of shots of the cosmos intercut with images from today and flashbacks to the 50s, the film’s narrative focuses on Jack O’Brien (Sean Penn), a disgruntled architect, adrift in a cold urban setting, ruminating on his childhood. We catch glimpses of him playing with his two brothers, Steve and R.

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Clay’s Popeye’s Barbeque turns 50
There were other stories as well. Stories of his involvement in the burgeoning civil rights movement in Little Rock; stories of bravery in the face of oppression; fear hidden beneath courage. “He was a real trailblazer,” Clay says. “With barbecue, and in other ways, too – he was very consistent about his business.

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PUB CRAWL
Thursday Karaoke Night American Legion Post 809, 9pm-1am.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Screamin’ Vatos
Originally conceived by Billy Bacon in 1993 as a Latin percussion-oriented group focusing mainly on material from Carlos Santana with a few cool covers by the band War, the Screamin’ Vatos have always been local favorites.

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PUB CRAWL
Find more details and gigs in our online calendar at www.illinoistimes.com.

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The State Fair and beyond
Here comes the Illinois State Fair. From parking cars on our lawns to finding two-way streets going only one way, from bars open late to an increase in the fly population (there’s a barfly joke there somewhere), to a municipal tax revenue bump and filled hotels, the impact of the fair somehow reaches us all.

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Illinois State Fair
Pig out, ride high, be amazed throughout the streets, stalls and building halls of the Illinois State Fair as it opens its gates daily from Friday, Aug. 12 to Sunday, Aug.

THE CALENDAR
Fleming Academy of Performing Arts.

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THE CALENDAR
Washington Park, South Grand and MacArthur, 217-793-9492. Thornhill.

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THEATER | Over the rainbow
Grab your seats and tickets and get ready for a night somewhere over the rainbow as The Muni closes out its season with everyone’s favorite story and musical, The Wizard of Oz..

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CHILDREN | Reduce, recycle, reuse
Before kids get back to the three Rs – reading, writing and arithmetic – take them back and revisit the other three Rs – reduce, reuse, recycle. Aug.

THE CALENDAR
Carolyn Sommer Aug 11-13, 15-20, 22-24, 7am- 3:30pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat, Through August, watercolor exhibit. troutlilycafe.com. Trout Lily Cafe, 218 S. Sixth St.

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THE CALENDAR
Frederick’s of Hollywood. The Legacy Theatre, 101 E. Lawrence, 528-9760..

THEATER | Channeling Clemens
Twain scholar and impersonator Warren Brown, winner of the Studs Terkel Humanities Service Award for more than 1,000 presentations as Twain, brings the Midwest writer to life at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine on Aug. 11. Brown shares Twain’s insights from Diaries of Adam and Eve,.

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THE CALENDAR
Publishing Company former employees recount how Wrightdesigned house functioned as publisher’s corporate offices. Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library, 112 North Sixth St, 217- 558-8844..

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PUBLIC NOTICES
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 7TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, ILLINOIS In the matter of the Petition of FRED WANLESS For change of name to FRED SQUIRES Case No.

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PUBLIC NOTICES
PLAINTIFF Vs. Maria L. Michaud; et. al. DEFENDANTS NOTICE OF SHERIFF’S SALE OF REAL ESTATE PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that pursuant to a Judgment of Foreclosure and Sale entered in the above cause on 5/13/2011, the Sheriff of Sangamon County,...

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NEWS QUIRKS
Curses, foiled again While attending a party in Radnor, Pa., Ryan Letchford, 21, and Jeffrey Olson, 22, wandered into the apartment parking lot, spotted a police van, found it unlocked and entered it to take pictures of themselves pretending to be arrested.

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REA LESTATE
09-028621 IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 7TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT SANGAMON COUNTY, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS WELLS FARGO BANK, N.A., SUCCESSOR BY MERGER TO WELLS FARGO BANK MINNESOTA, N.A., AS TRUSTEE F/K/A NORWEST BANK MINNESOTA, N.A.

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THE ADVICE GODDESS
My boyfriend moved in with me after his landlord raised his rent. He announced that he’d give me $400 a month (half of what he was paying at his place), then cut that to $350. I pay $1,250 a month for my home loan and utilities, and more for groceries, lawn care, etc.

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