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Do by learning
Capital Area Career Center director Bob Klingborg informed the board that enrollment had increased at that regional career and vocational school. He was asked why the center does not accept freshman and sophomore students.

Mr. Lincoln’s curtains
Zero lot lines, a full spectrum of beige plastic siding and street names like Prairie View (where topsoil is shipped to Indiana farms) dot the landscape where I live.

Forget student loans – make higher ed free
Well, finally! Hard-right congressional leaders and the Obama White House have agreed that interest rates on student loans should not double to nearly 7 percent, as they let happen early in July. Instead, college students will be billed at a rate that will steadily rise higher than 8 percent.

LETTERS
positive article (“Extreme school makeover: A church organizes an outpouring of generosity called Sharefest,” Patrick Yeagle, Aug. 8). Hope and generosity breed hope and generosity. I am sure you understand that with a steady diet of crime and war, people become desperate for some good news.

Did Lisa lie?
As you’ll recall, AG Madigan had this to say when she decided to run for reelection instead of the state’s highest office: “I feel strongly that the state would not be well served by having a governor and Speaker of the House from the same family and have never planned to run for governor if that would be the case.

Pants on fire
During the 2010 hearing, Deputy Travis Koester testified under oath that he received a tip via Crime Stoppers that led him to investigate and arrest Gregory Roberts, who was charged with three drug offenses plus being a felon in possession of a firearm.

Going slow on sweet gums
For the low, low price of $250, the city offered to take out one of the two sweet gum trees that arch over our front yard and the better part of the street.

Illinois addresses sex abuse in youth prisons
In June, the federal Department of Justice released a report on levels of sexual victimization in juvenile detention facilities nationwide. Based on surveys of detained youth, the report placed Illinois among the top four states for sex abuse in juvenile prisons.

Lanes on Lawrence?
In April, the city submitted a pair of grant applications to the Illinois Department of Transportation, asking for $1.2 million to study options for making the intersections of Lawrence Avenue at MacArthur Boulevard and Walnut Street safer.

More than vegetables
The aspirations for food production within an urban setting have always gone beyond the desire for fresh produce.

Muddled Elysium
However, tragedy strikes when Max is exposed to a deadly level of radiation while on the job and is told he only has five days to live.

Neanderthal night at Oak Ridge Cemetery
A stranger visiting Oak Ridge Cemetery on a recent Sunday might have wondered what a tribe of 50 were doing at the Tanner Mausoleum – surely no burial, too much noise, drumming, laughter! Edging close he’d see, and surely stay – but here’s what he’d witness:.

Looking good
Since beginning to write this column in 2006, I’ve kept a file of potential topics. Some I’ve jotted down on the back of a paper napkin or sent as a voicemail or text message to myself before entering them into a computer file folder.

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

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Epsom
What’s an Epsom? Dare we ask this Springfield-based experimental and adventurous trio consisting of Scott Faingold (vocalizations, lyrics), Steven Sgro (noises, guitars) and Tim Harte (drums, drums, drums)? The band began in May of 2012 when the...

Fair and Un-fair 2
With the 2013 Illinois State Fair still in progress and plenty of hip and happening stuff going on around town, it’s time for the second installment of Now Playing: Fair and Un-Fair. I could expose you to the silly nonsense of using the word “fair” in various other contexts, but that wouldn’t be fair or should I say, that would be unfair.

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

FARM | Vintage equipment workings
The Half Century of Progress celebrates 50 years of farming. This year the Earthquake will be featured. This massive tractor sports a 12V Detroit engine and stands a whopping 18 feet wide and 14 feet high. Darius Harms, chairman of the Half Century of Progress said, “Come feel the Earthquake in Rantoul.

HEALTH | Notes to well-being
17, at Douglas Park. Organized by local dynamo Bruce Williams and Dr. Paul Mach, DN, of Holistic Healthcare Alliance, natural healing and well-being are the focus of this event. Featured musical acts are Tater Tot at 5 p.m. and Halo Gin and The Isotopes at 7 p.

HISTORY | Telling tales
Enjoy the spoken word and song during Illinois Historic Preservation Agency’s Once Upon A Prairie storytelling program at the Old State Capitol State Historic Site, Aug. 17. Internationally acclaimed storyteller, author, historian and naturalist, Brian “Fox” Ellis will share Civil War stories in Representative Hall, where Abraham Lincoln once worked.