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Learning on empty
For the first time, the U.S. Department of Education has reported that the number of homeless students in America has topped one million while another new report estimates that 23 percent of children in the U.S. live in “relative poverty.” Hungry, tired kids are difficult to teach.

Carp diem
The two Old Friends (I am told) were sitting at breakfast. Old Friend No. 1 recalled the summer nights of her youth when she would join her beau on the banks of Lake Springfield, there to mix Wheaties and water and garlic salt into a dough that was affixed to a treble hook and cast into the shallows.

Editor’s note
National Night Out Against Crime was mostly a night in at the air-conditioned gym of Ridgely Elementary School. The NNO idea is that if neighbors and children get to know police officers informally they’ll work together as partners against criminals.

A Wall Street devil gets religion... and an apt epitaph
He is Sandy Weill, the once-lionized dealmaker who turned our banks into financial “supermarkets” that tie us everyday depositors and Main Street borrowers to the profiteering schemes of unbridled Wall Street traders and the whims of global speculators.

LETTERS
UNARMED WOMEN Well, thank God – somebody in the Sangamon County Sheriff’s office finally got to the real source of crime in our streets – unarmed women. [See “Shocking development,” by Bruce Rushton, Aug. 2.

Quinn plays the politics of pensions
Gov. Pat Quinn’s office flatly denies it, but it’s hard to see how last week’s big announcement about calling a special session on pension reform wasn’t at least partially related to a major Chicago TV station’s special report on the very same subject a few hours after his proclamation.

Right and wrong on Route 66
The 57-year-old Johnson, a land surveyor from Hillside, Ill., is consumed by the Mother Road, even sporting “ROUTE 66” on his license plates. That’s why it bothers him so much that, according to him, part of the famous road’s original path is mismarked in Springfield.

RESCUE VEHICLE
Founded in 2008, Paws Care takes unwanted pets from Montgomery County’s animal-control facility and drives them to no-kill shelters throughout the state where they won’t be euthanized. They also hold adoption events at the Petsmart store on Veterans Parkway in Springfield.

CANDY CRUSADE
For those of us with a sweet tooth, no excuse is needed to make us buy candy. Chocolate-covered peanuts are particularly persuasive. But for those blessed with self-control when it comes to sweets, the chance to help out a local nonprofit offers a reason to indulge.

County pays sex assault claim
In a little-noticed action, the county board’s civil liabilities committee in April approved a $30,000 settlement for Sherry Janssen, who claimed that deputy David Howse had sex with her while he was on duty and she was in a drunken stupor, helpless and unable to resist.

Ameren: Pollution rules threaten jobs
Dozens of people in bright yellow work vests fill seats in the drab blue meeting room at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s building on North Grand Avenue. Many wear expressions of concern, their arms folded, as they sit next to mostly young people in electric blue T-shirts bearing the slogan, “Protect our health, not big polluters.

Goodwill Power
“It’s a good fit for our mission,” said Sharon Durbin, president and chief executive officer of the Springfield-based charity, which already had more than 100 retail stores. “We’ll be able to employ more people than ever, plus reduce the cost of prescription drugs for our existing employees.

Michael Higgins’ rooftop garden
It began with bees. Last spring Higgins enlisted the help of local beekeeper Arvan Pierce to establish two beehives on the rooftop. Then Higgins decided to plant some flowers for the bees, using old milk crates that had accumulated over the years in the restaurant.

Recall, a thrilling chase
Doug Quaid (Colin Farrell) is a regular Joe who lives in the Colony (Australia), the only continent that’s capable of supporting human life after a catastrophic war. He commutes to London each day (more on that later) to work as a drone in a factory that creates synthetic policemen.

Fair fun
Hey everybody, welcome to State Fair time, that special 10 days in mid-August when Springfield transforms into a bustling metropolis bulging with extra residents of many kinds, including humans, animals and insects.

PUB CRAWL
Who’s Bad - Michael Jackson Tribute.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Lyman Elleman & The Nashville Salvation Band
Riverton native and now Nashville resident Lyman Ellerman pays his hometown a visit this weekend with shows at the Illinois State Fair on Friday and Saturday in The Shed venue plus a late-night Saturday gig in Riverton.

THE CALENDAR
9-12, Musical about baseball player who sells his soul to devil. Free preshow at 7 p.m. $13-$8. Theatre in the Park, Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site, 15588 History Lane, Petersburg, 217-632-5440..

ART | Award-winning sculpture
The newest exhibit on display at the Springfield Art Association features a look at the lifelong work of local sculptor Paul K. Riemer. The exhibit kicks of with an opening reception, Saturday, Aug. 11, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. in the Gallery of Art. It is open to the public and includes light hors d’oeuvres and wine.

THEATER | Enchanting tale
Hannah Siehr as Belle and Kellen Fant as the Beast lead a large cast of locals in a beloved favorite, Disney’s Beauty and the Beast,.

MUSIC | Fab four
The Fab Four cannot be replaced, but Beatles Tribute band American English comes darn-tooting close to bringing you the Fab Four. They take the stage at the Hoogland Center for Arts for two shows Aug. 10 and 11.