Wet dream
For years, “green space” in downtown Springfield meant a weedy parking lot. These days greenery of a handsomer sort abounds, in curbside flower beds, in planter boxes and urns, in hanging baskets and window boxes and sidewalk planting wells. By the most accommodating definition, green space is merely any public space that has green things in it.

Another letter from Dominican sisters in Iraq
Aug. 30 – We entered the fourth week of displacement. Yet, there is nothing promising at all. The Iraqi government has not done anything to regain the Christian towns back from the IS [ISIS].

Rick Perry’s clown show
Well, meet that ham sandwich! Here in my burg of Austin, Texas, the grand jury has just indicted Gov. Rick “Rooti-Toot-Toot” Perry, a real ham – only not as smart.

LETTERS
His “What we’ve paid for war” column of Aug. 28 crossed the line, however. Major Gen. Greene’s son is a classmate of my son’s from West Point, 2012, and I am outraged how the MG’s death has been used as a political football by both sides of the political aisle.

Rauner ruse or candor
Rauner has been doing his best to woo the road builders all year, and he was speaking to the Illinois Farm Bureau, which has lots of members who rely on roads and bridges to get their goods to market. So I understand the practical politics of his bold promise.

Mural interruptus
Inspired by a mural of Lincoln on the downtown Alamo tavern that Michael Mayosky painted last year for Downtown Springfield, Inc.

Downtown mural project stalls
Mayosky was arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct in the summer of 2013 after an Alamo employee told him that he couldn’t paint in the middle of the night. Police were summoned at 3:40 a.m. Mayosky says that he still needs to paint surveying equipment on the Alamo mural.

A fight against forgetting
More than 100 years after it was first medically recognized, Alzheimer’s disease still has no cure. It’s not even clear what causes the debilitating and fatal condition, but Alzheimer’s victims in Springfield may have a role to play in changing that..

Lunar event
The festival featuring more than 50 musical acts will be more than a mega-concert for aficionados of jam bands and patchouli, say the Shears, who have never before put on a show.

300 million years ago
A warm, moist breeze blows through the swampy forest at what is now Danville, Illinois. An eight-foot-long millipede scurries by. Nearby, a dragonfly with a foot-wide wingspan zips through the 100-foot-tall fern trees.

Virginia works to save its endangered landmark
The heart of Virginia, Illinois, about 30 miles northwest of Springfield on Rt. 125, is its town square. The anchor of the square’s southwest corner is the Robertson Building, built in 1897. Once a hub of activity and the most-photographed building in town, the Robertson Building is now a shell of what it was in its heyday.

Chef of celebrities
The Hope Institute for Children and Families is breaking new ground this year. Their choice of chef for the 20th Annual Hope Celebrity Chef fundraiser isn’t at the helm of a highly regarded (usually Chicago) restaurant, as have been the chefs at earlier benefits.

Brosnan shines in November Man
Could the widespread usage and acceptance of Viagra be somehow linked to the spate of action films with heroes over 60 years old in the last decade? Now that sexual virility is attainable at any age, is it such a leap to assume that movie audiences...

September daze
Here we are a-moseying along through 2014 like nobody’s business, knocking on autumn’s door with a full week of September live music shows in our laps. The fairs are over, school is in session and the warm-weather-outdoor festivals nearly finish up this month.

PUB CRAWL
Lumpy & The Dumpers, Mongoloid, Mouthsex, King Worm, Panzys.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | John Byrne Band
John Byrne grew up listening to and playing the most traditional of old Irish songs in his homeland hometown of Dublin, Ireland, but also fell under the influence of American and British rock and pop. After moving to Philadelphia, Byrne pursued a teaching career while continuing to chase his musical aspirations.

THE CALENDAR
Sep 6, 7am-3pm. Antique cars, trucks, motorcycles, tractors, tractors, recreational vehicles and more. Free. cyberdriveillinois.com. 217-557-7220. Downtown Springfield,.

BICYCLING | Wheels in motion
This year’s Capital City Century is headed for new territory – historic Clayville, just east of Pleasant Plains. Riders can do loops from the Clayville food stop to add mileage before returning to the Knights of Columbus on Meadowbrook Road.

FESTIVAL | Craft brew tastings
The fifth annual Springfield Oyster and Beer Festival will be held Saturday, Sept. 6, rain or shine at the Inn at 835. Enjoy craft beer from more than 30 brewers across the Midwest and nationally, as well as oyster dishes, a variety of food trucks and live music.

MUSIC | Comedic concert
Blue Man Group is a wildly popular stage act consisting of three guys who paint themselves blue and perform a theatrical show that combines comedy, music and multimedia. If you’ve never seen Blue Man Group, they take the stage in Springfield, Sept. 5-6, at Sangamon Auditorium UIS.

THEATER | Madness and humor
Shakespeare’s classic play Hamlet.