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What parents need to know about schools
Teacher Appreciation Day, field day, spring concerts, sports competitions and awards ceremonies, plays, debates, school applications and testing, testing, testing.

Stuck in Illinois . . .
Of course, public opinion polls are to public opinion what marriage vows are to marriages, but the announcement of the Gallup results excited much wringing of hands and I-told-you-so’s from commentators. A few more sober public wise men – Rich Miller for one – dismissed the poll as just people talking, and with reason.

The power of organizing
Hard work, we’re told, always pays off. Sure it does – ask a farmworker, a roofer or a home health aide. In our economy, those doing the hardest work get the worst pay, the weakest job protections, the least respect and zero say in the way things work.

LETTERS
I think I have identified it as being a convention of the Knights of Lithuania as I have another later group photo (much less dramatic) with the same badges that say: “Lituvos Vyciu,” which means “Knights of Lithuania.” It was, and I think still is, a religious- and civic-type organization.

No free rides: taxi vs. ride-share
The cable TV industry, for instance, tried a while back to convince the General Assembly to tax satellite TV users. When I first started doing this job many moons ago, banks wanted the right to sell insurance to the public, which the insurance agents’ lobby opposed, as did a union which represented some insurance agents.

FOREIGN EXCHANGE SEEKING FAMILIES
Ayusa is specifi cally looking for families in the Springfi eld and Taylorville areas. Ayusa’s exchange students are ages 15-18 and come from more than 60 countries, including Brazil, Japan, Germany, Ecuador, France, the Netherlands, Morocco, China and Spain.

Clock ticking for school funding reform
Sen. Andy Manar, D-Bunker Hill, cochaired the Education Funding Advisory Committee, which held hearings last year in order to recommend repairs to Illinois’ broken education funding formula.

RAPTURE RALLY
Interested in the apocalypse? Enthralled by the end times? Or maybe just interested in what some Christians believe about the end of the world as we know it? An estimated 400 people are coming to Springfi eld in early June to talk about the rapture prophesied in the Bible.

Madigan: Include small business in tax credit
Madigan spoke in front of the House Revenue and Finance Committee May 14, when he presented House Bill 3890. The bill proposes that the Economic Development For a Growing Economy (EDGE) tax credit program be expanded to allow smaller businesses to apply.

Illinois almost out of time to get $500 million
As end of the spring legislative session approaches on May 31, the Illinois General Assembly is running out of time to implement a pillar of the federal insurance reforms known as “Obamacare.

Alcohol or stress?
Daryle “Doug” Williamson says he can’t work because he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, which developed due to exposure to gruesome crime scenes during his 23-year career as a cop, which included a three-year stint as deputy chief in charge of operations from 2007 until 2010.

Butt out
“No sagging pants policy,” reads an electronic message on a flat-screen television above the counter where people pay traffic fines and child-support bills and otherwise conduct court business. “Any attire that exposes your undergarments will not be permitted.

Downsizing government by ‘smart streamlining’
That was the message at a May 20 forum in Springfield, bringing together the Chicago-based Better Government Association and the Citizens Efficiency Commission for Sangamon County. The two reform groups want to find ways to streamline local governments statewide without negatively affecting the economy.

2014 Summer long Summerguide
114th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Flag Lowering.

Assumption Fest
Festival president Angela Ohl-Marsters has been working on the fest for 31 years, and has attended the fair since she was 5 years old. A former queen in several fair pageants, she knows the ropes, and her experience and enthusiasm pushes her, along with a committee of seven, to make this a small-town fest that rivals its county cousins.

Decatur Celebration
Hundreds of thousands of people will flock to downtown Decatur for one of the largest free street festivals in the Midwest. Four “Hot Summer Nights” begin when the celebration opens with carnival rides for the family on Thursday, July 31, from 4-11 p.m.

Old Capitol Farmers Market
From oyster mushrooms to handcrafted cheeses and grass-fed beef, visitors to this summer’s Old Capitol Farmers Market are bound to find something to make their mouths water. Presented by St. John’s Hospital and Downtown Springfield, Inc.

Taste of Downtown Springfield
Consider just some of the items on the mouthwatering menu: maple bacon on a stick, duck fat potato chips with raspberry mustard, Lincoln’s Electric Blue Lemonade, specialty pizzas, mojo roasted pork horseshoe, mango chili glaze encrusted salmon,...

Old Capitol Blues & BBQs
Savory and sizzling barbecue tops the weekend menu while hard-driving, toetapping blues music rocks the stage at the Old Capitol Blues and BBQs the fourth weekend of August, Friday the 22 and Saturday the 23. Located at Fifth and Washington streets in downtown Springfield, this will be a yummy and entertaining end-of-summer party.

Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival
Located southeast of the airport, downtown around the courthouse square is where the art part of the Lincoln Art and Balloon Festival is held. The Logan County airport is where the balloon part takes place. But this festival isn’t just about art and hot air balloons.

Illinois State Fair
The countdown to some of the best summer fun has begun with only 77 days left from the day Summerguide hits the streets until the Illinois State Fair. Springfield folk are blessed to have this 10-day overflowing smorgasbord of incredible food, quality entertainment, interesting displays and amazing performances right in their backyard.

Discover Bentonville, Ark., where art is the number one attraction
If you had the chance to build a worldclass art museum, Bentonville, a city of 38,000 in northwest Arkansas, wouldn’t be the first location you’d consider. But when you visit Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, it’s clear why founder Alice Walton chose her hometown, which also is the headquarters of her family’s business, Walmart.

Visit the home of Lincoln’s folks
Abraham Lincoln’s legacy is found not just in Springfield but throughout central Illinois, where he practiced law and traveled to many locations, including Coles County.

Exploring French Colonial Ste. Genevieve
It was a weekend getaway for me as I decided to make my way down to southwestern Illinois and southeastern Missouri to get a little French history lesson. I didn’t know what to expect as I started driving south toward my destinations along and near the Mississippi River.

An eclectic museum collection in Carthage
The Kibbe Hancock Heritage Museum is located in Carthage, across the street from the historic jail where Joseph Smith, the first president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and his brother, Hyrum, were murdered. Include a stop and tour of the museum when you are in the area (http://www.

Find Carl Sandburg at his Galesburg home
You read his poems in school and you have heard his name all of your life. If you are curious like I was about this man who composed folk songs and wrote poems, books about Lincoln and children’s stories for his three daughters, along with a book about social justice called Chicago Race Riots,.

Regional theater offers summer options galore
As ever, area theater companies are putting their best feet forward this summer, offering a large variety of productions, running the gamut from Disney to Mel Brooks, from historical drama to operetta, from horror to comedy, from epics to miniatures.

Let’s go to the races
Simply wanting to be in shape will only get you so far, but once you’ve paid the entrance fee for a race, training becomes a matter of getting your money’s worth. That’s a powerful motivator, even when you’d rather be stuffing your face with pizza. It amounts to setting a goal and giving yourself a tangible reason to meet it.

Iles House receives Lincoln’s Courting Couch for one year
The circa 1835 couch in the Empire style comes from the collection of the Springfield Art Association of Edwards Place, at 700 N. Fourth St.

Horseradish Festival
Some folks say Small Town America is dying. And in some cases, that’s true. But other small towns, such Homer, Illinois, have found ways to celebrate their uniqueness. For Homer, it’s their SodaFest featuring Homer Soda Company’s incredible variety of vintage and artisanal sodas.

Moms’ Night Out a misguided adventure
If there was a poster child for “Fatal Stress,” it would be Allyson (Sarah Drew), a young mother who’s convinced she’s doing a poor job raising her three kids. Frankly, there’s plenty of evidence to support this.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Tok
Coming to rock Springfield for the first time, brothers Bryan and Matt Basler make a “power-duo” unlike any other. Voted the best rock band in St. Louis for 2013 by readers of the Riverfront Times,.

PUB CRAWL
RDNT, Epsom, Carnivores At Grace, The Bass Line Bums, Lifer.

Decoration Day revisited
Why, hello Memorial Day weekend! How in the world did you get here so fast? Bookended by Labor Day weekend in the fall, this threeday run, for some American workers (others are working harder than usual), is considered by most folks as the start of the summer season.

THEATER | Flamboyant song and dance
There will be six performances of La Cage aux Folles.

THE CALENDAR
Music: General Events Concert In The Park.

HISTORY | Get the scoop
Join Lincoln Tomb State Historic Site Saturday, May 24, for an old-fashioned ice cream social. Springfield Municipal Band will perform and the original First Street cemetery entrance restoration will be explained. Another exciting part of the gathering will be an introduction by the Lincoln Monument Association of its new historic tree tour.

HISTORY | Civil War experience
Local poet Mark Flotow is the featured presenter this Memorial Day weekend, May 24, at 2 p.m. during the Poets in the Parlor series. This reading showcases Flotow’s researched series of poems about the Civil War experience at the soldier, spouse and civilian level.