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Demanding answers
This month, City Water, Light and Power announced it would ask the city council to approve updating the water demand analysis done for the department in 1991, the better to assess how best to meet the city’s future water needs. The proposed study will try to answer a simple-sounding question: How much water will Springfield need in 2064?.

Abraham Lincoln walks in the morning
here in springfield that is to say the one in illinois not a massachusetts town on the eastern seaboard no the one in illinois where vachel lindsay imagined the president walked at midnight well he does as I can witness only a week ago as I remember...

The what-abouts of Sen. Pat Roberts
Lately, Sen. Pat Roberts has gained a new understanding of what Dorothy meant. The Kansas Republican has been in the U.S. Senate for 18 years, was in the House for 16 years before that, and was a congressional aide before that.

LETTERS
NURTURING FUTURE LINCOLNS In 1832, our own Mr. Lincoln called education “the most important subject which we as a people can be engaged in.” Mr. Lincoln’s words have never been timelier.

Dillard reaching for Rauner’s spot
Illinois state Sen. Kirk Dillard told Chicago radio station WLS- AM last week that Republican county chairmen ought to try and get Bill Brady and/or Dan Rutherford out of the governor’s race so he could have a clear shot at wealthy frontrunner Bruce Rauner.

Coach has a past
Turner’s most recent run-in with the law in Sangamon County occurred in 2007, when he was charged with aggravated battery, a felony, for hitting a man with a Dodge Charger automobile.

BUY GERANIUMS, HELP OTHERS
Orders can be placed from March 1 through April 9 by contacting any Cachet member or by calling Judy Muench at 217-487-7584. Orders placed by phone may be picked up from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 23 at St. Agnes Parish Hall at 245 North Amos Ave. Hanging baskets will also be available for sale that day.

KA-CHING!
City hall continues to be a veritable ATM for open-government attorneys as Sangamon County circuit court judge John “First Amendment” Schmidt last week ruled that the City of Springfi eld has again broken laws aimed at ensuring the public’s business is conducted in public.

What’s making us sick?
In 1984, an engineer named Stanley Watras set off a radiation detector at the nuclear power plant he was helping to build in Pottstown, Pa. The power plant hadn’t started producing power yet, so plant officials were perplexed at how Watras could have become so radioactive.

Texas-like abortion bills introduced here
Proponents say the bills are about protecting women, but opponents say the proposals are meant to make it harder for abortion clinics to operate. The bills are very similar to a Texas law passed last year that drew national attention to the ongoing fight over abortion.

Cash helps Rauner climb
On the day Gov. Pat Quinn gave his annual State of the State address, which was preceded by all of its usual pomp and circumstance, Republican gubernatorial primary candidate Bruce Rauner stepped into the Illinois House of Representatives gallery to take one of the few open seats on the Republican side.

Costner saves 3 Days to Kill
Costner is Ethan Renner, a veteran CIA agent who’s retired after finding out he has brain cancer and will likely be dead in less than six months. He decides to use what time he has left to attempt to reconnect with his estranged wife Christine (Connie Nielsen) and their daughter Zoey (Hailee Steinfeld).

Award-winning films highlight Jewish Film Festival
Produced in 2012, this subtitled drama was directed by Lorraine Levy, who won Best Director Award at the 2012 Tokyo International Film Festival. It shows at Brookens on Sunday, March 16. The premise is of babies being switched at birth.

Cooking with beer
It’s one of the oldest beverages in the world – almost certainly the oldest alcoholic beverage. There are references to it in some of the earliest writings discovered in ancient Sumeria and Mesopotamia. In its modern forms, beer has a range of flavors and complexities that can match and often even exceed wine.

PUB CRAWL
Montagh, Good Times, Devin Williams, Old Fox Road.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | After Sunset
An advantage of bringing together experienced members to form a new band is the immediate set list gained from finding a common ground through previously learned music.

Music marches on
With Easter being a bit later in the season this year, Mardi Gras or Carnival, the party feast before the 40 day fast before Good Friday, is also a bit later, since the events are intrinsically connected. Mardi Gras, literally translated as Fat Tuesday, is always the day before Ash Wednesday, and lands on Tuesday, March 4 for 2014.

THE CALENDAR
Music: General Events The Vineyard Christian Open Mic Night.

FOOD | Tasty tidbits
A popular wintertime expo takes place in the Orr Building on the Illinois State Fairgrounds this weekend, March 1-2. More than 70 Illinois companies will provide free food samples and sell their local products at the 16 th annual Illinois Products Expo.

GARDENING | Think spring
Get in the spring mindset with this vegetable gardening workshop at the University of Illinois Extension office Saturday, March 1. Learn ways that you can enhance the crop you grow in your garden this year. Preregistration is required. Go online to web.extension.

ART | Wall sculpture
ART | Wall sculpture.