Page 1

Go east, young man!
I don’t know about you, but I love to hear people talk about their interesting trips to foreign places. You learn the most interesting things.

Editor’s note
On the same day this week that Memorial Medical Center proposed its $122 million expansion to the state review board, Glenwood High School proposed getting more students out of physical education classes. Springfi eld Public Schools have to grant P. E. waivers because several schools don’t have adequate gym space.

Nullify the drug war
On Election Day, solid majorities of voters in Colorado and Washington voted to make marijuana a legal product, not just for people who are certified as ill, but for everyone. Several states already allow marijuana use for medical purposes.

The airline industry’s fee-for-all
Well, that’s not exactly new or special, since most airlines have long done this. But here’s the “new” part in American’s family seating deal: You pay a fee for it. Being seated together is no longer a gracious service, but a calculated nickel-and-dime opportunity for the corporation to squeeze more out of you.

LETTERS
Leave it to one of our hometown columnists to come up with one of the best analyses of the Nov. 6 election I have seen! Jim Krohe’s Dec. 6 commentary (“Crowdsourcing presidential choice”) – with color map – hit the mark with his insight based on having lived there, as we writers are wont to say.

Facts about State senator’s bust for carrying
One of the most fascinating things about the media frenzy surrounding state Sen. Donne Trotter’s arrest last week was that not one of his Democratic 2nd Congressional District opponents immediately jumped in front of the cameras to comment publicly about the matter.

Can I get a witness?
Arbitrator Edwin H. Benn in his Dec. 5 order did not explain why he reduced Matthew Winters’ termination to a 30-day suspension without pay, nor did he say why he reduced a three-day suspension given to William Lewis, another CWLP lineman who helped cut the tree, to a written warning.

Rats!
They are nearly blind, cold-blooded, neither moles nor rats and utterly bizarre, eating their own feces while living in colonies of as many as 300 beneath East Africa. But we all could learn something from naked mole-rats, and lots of smart people are trying.

Kids at the margins
They live in hotels, cars or even at campgrounds. When the winter wind blows, they’re the children who don’t have coats. When it’s time to take a quiz, they’re the children who don’t have pencils or paper. Many of them may not even know whether they’ll get to eat dinner on a given night.

Why are so many children homeless?
Despite their best efforts, those involved in fi ghting homelessness among children say they’re only scratching the surface of the problem. The root causes of homeless remain unabated, advocates say, and several factors exacerbate the problem in Springfi eld.

Historic Christmas
Between noon and 5 p.m., the Lincoln Home, the Illinois Executive Mansion, the Elijah Iles House, the Vachel Lindsay Home, Edwards Place and Pasfield House Inn will welcome visitors. Special holiday activities will be offered at various times at each site.

Holiday events
Eve.), Anne Lloyd Gallery of the Madden Arts Center, 125 N. Water, Decatur, 217-423-3189..

Community wish lists
Wish list: • Canned or dry cat food • Litter pans and litter scoops • Clumping litter • Pet taxis, all sizes • Paper towels • Stamps • Laundry detergent • Baking soda for litter boxes • Gift cards: Petsmart, Petco, Ace, Big R, Lowe’s or Menard’s • People to foster cats and kittens • We need volunteers!.

Lindsay’s ‘Little Turtle’ comes back to life
Vachel Lindsay, a lifelong resident of Springfield, internationally renowned poet and author of 20 books of poetry and stories, was born in 1879. Two years before Lindsay’s death in 1931 came the birth of George Colin, now an acclaimed artist who lives in Salisbury.

Spicy holiday gifts
Buying the little jars of spices available at groceries could make this an expensive project. But Springfield’s “alternative groceries” offer more affordable options. Large bags of some are available at the Asian Little World Market (2936 S. MacArthur Blvd.

Hitchcock too fractured
The end result is a movie that fails to meet expectations on every front. A failure as a historical account and an embarrassment as a character study, Gervasi’s movie plays like a student project that would have been acknowledged as “intriguing” in...

Hip-hop heroes
All through the history of popular music the improvisation and musicality of the African- American community infused an incredible influence in the stylistic movement of popular music.

PUB CRAWL
Escape Goatz, Brooke Thomas and the Blue Suns, Mike Burnett, Neil Dresen and Jennifer Hood.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Dizolver
The music tandem team of Mark Packenham (bass, backing vocals) and Zac Broaddus (lead guitar, backing vocals) began working together in 2000, spanning a myriad of bands in their journey through the Springfield rock music scene.

THE CALENDAR
Dec 15, 11am-2pm, Maureen Hughes, “Sins of the South: (Murder in Small Town Illinois).” Books on the Square, 153 East Jackson, Virden, 217-965- 5443. Contemporary Fiction Group.

MUSIC | Hallelujah harmony
The Springfield Choral Society will give two performances of an authentic Baroque version of Handel’s “Messiah,” with orchestra, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 14, and Saturday, Dec. 15, at Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

HOLDIAY | Santa time
Your favorite Springfield holiday tradition, the Christmas parade takes to the streets of downtown Springfield at night this year beginning at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 15. See marching units, hear holiday music and see the Jaycees’ light-show float with Santa and Mrs.

HOLIDAY | Home sweet homes
See the brick Italianate governor’s mansion or the Italianate home of the Edwards family or the Greek Revival-style Elijah Iles home or the Georgian-Revival home where the prominent family the Pasfields lived. Six historic houses will be decked out for the holidays in their old-time digs, Dec.

HOLIDAY | Chiming in
14, starting at 4:30 p.m. The Park District’s new carillonneur, Robin Austin, will be playing the carillon, Damien Kaplan and members of the Springfield High School Choir will be singing holiday carols, and hot cocoa and cookies will be served around a roaring bonfire at the base of the Rees Carillon.