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Form over function
I’m terrible at anniversaries, so I wasn’t surprised that I’d forgotten that this year marks 30 years since the City of Springfield changed from an at-large commissioner form of government to its present aldermanic form.

When students tried to raise a flag in Panama
Martyrs’ Day, a Panamanian national holiday and day of mourning, marks several days of hostilities that began Jan. 9, 1964, and included the deaths of high school students and others.

We can beat back the reign of Trump
• Freeing corporations from rules that prohibit discrimination in hiring, paying, promoting and firing workers Why were voters not aware of Trump’s little secret agenda? Not only because he wasn’t about to boast about such unpopular policies, but...

LETTERS
WAR ON COPS? As Barack Obama’s presidency came to an end, there was a lot of talk about how his tenure impacted police officers. In the last few years there have been several high-profile tragedies where police officers were targeted and killed in ambush attacks.

Ambition isn’t always blind
Obama was mainly an OPC smoker, meaning “other peoples’ cigarettes.” I’d usually give him a little grief about how maybe he should buy his own pack once in a while, but I never denied his request unless I was almost out. He’d always take the cigarette to a room in the back of the chamber, never seeming to smoke at his desk like others did.

Accused UIS rapist had power
Students feared Yang, according to a Springfield police report written after a 17-yearold student accused him of rape. Yang, who has been charged with two counts of sexual assault (“Springfield businessman charged with raping UIS student,” Jan. 20, illinoistime.

After successful rally, Call 2 Action plans next event
The event was sponsored by Springfield Call 2 Action, a local alliance of organizations that advocates for social justice issues. “It’s a bunch of nonprofit organizations that are bound to work together, and that’s the whole idea,” said Jim Dixon, president of the Call 2 Action.

Teen court under scrutiny
The court includes a “jury” of teenagers that decides what penalties youthful offenders should face for minor offenses such as vandalism and underage drinking. The court handles cases that would otherwise be referred to the Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office.

A touching display
DEMO Project may be the best-kept secret in the Springfield art scene, even after four years of presenting thoughtfully programmed monthly exhibitions by innovative artists from a variety of locations.

Measuring beyond the scale
Body mass index uses height and weight to calculate a number that is more meaningful than weight alone. But BMI can be misleading, as can weight. Neither distinguish between fat and muscle. Therefore, very fit, heavily muscled individuals will have BMI’s that categorize them as overweight, despite.

What the scale didn’t tell me
I have lost 40 pounds over the past two years and I work out four to five days a week. When I stepped onto the InBody device, which measures where fat is distributed on your body, I knew in advance, or thought I did, that the results would be fantastic for a 61-year-old female.

Yoga in the Land of Lincoln
Over the past several years, the practice of yoga – derived from a broad range of ancient Indian mental, physical and spiritual practices – has been on the rise as a form of exercise throughout the West.

Here’s what worked for me
It’s that time of year when articles about diets, resolutions, healthy eating and exercise are rampant. Although I’ve been active and generally fit, for several years I made the same resolutions – lose 10 pounds, eat more healthily and exercise more consistently.

High intensive laser therapy
A new form of therapy at a local chiropractic office promises to decrease pain and speed up the recovery process. Dr. John Folkerts of Sherman Chiropractic located at 420 Crossing Drive in Sherman is offering highintensive laser therapy (HILT) to patients with several different ailments.

Portman returns to form with Jackie
The journalist (an excellent Billy Crudup) assures his subject that the account he will publish of the assassination and its aftermath “will be your own version of what happened.” Mrs.

Romance tips for the college chef
In the fall of 1971 I was a skinny, pimplyfaced, pathologically shy college freshman at the University of Illinois in Urbana. I desired female companionship, but was too timid to ask anyone out on a date. The weekends were long and lonely and, with nothing better to do, I ended up studying.

PUB CRAWL
Open Mic w/ Roger Wilco and the Starship Troopers.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Switchback
Since 1993, Martin McCormack (bass, vocals) and Brian FitzGerald (guitar, mandolin, vocals), known as the duo Switchback, have released several CDs of Celtic and Americana music and traveled a good deal of the Western world playing classic folk songs and original tunes filled with extraordinary vocal harmony.

January jams are open
Well, that month seemed to fly by. Maybe it was the political activities keeping things moving or the ice scare one weekend followed by temps in the mid-60s the next. Whatever is going on, 2017 seems determined to be an interesting year, to say the least, and I always say the least I can say (Thanks, Raoul, for the play on words revision).

THE CALENDAR
2pm, 5pm Sun. The Hoogland Kids, Teens and Juniors present a stage adaptation of the Academy Awardwinning 1994 Disney fi lm The Lion King. Admission. hcfta.org. Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St., 523-2787..

STATEHOUSE | The ins and outs of lobbying
On Friday, join the University of Illinois Springfield’s Institute for Legal, Legislative and Policy Studies for a seminar on how to effectively lobby the Illinois General Assembly.

FESTIVALS | Springfield Area Many Ethnicities
As our world increasingly turns to digital media, it is easy to underestimate and overvalue the role of libraries as cultural and community centers. But according to Lincoln Library director Nancy Huntley, “The library is much more than a place with books.

ART | Figure drawing
Attention artists of all skill and experience levels: Are you interested in honing your figure-drawing skills? Come to the The Pharmacy Gallery and Art Space on Monday and Tuesday nights for a series of non-instructed, figure drawing sessions featuring a live model.