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Coal critical to power future in Illinois
Power reliability, however, has been top of mind for Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Rick Perry, who recently called for a report on the reliability of America’s electric grid. Because of changes brought about by federal and state policies, Secretary Perry is concerned about the health of the electricity grid.

A certain despair August is no time for faint-hearted gardeners
It is late August as I write this, a time of year when gardens and gardeners alike begin to look a little, well, tired, for reasons I explored in the column, which appeared in our paper of Aug. 27, 1987. It has been artfully revised and edited for length.

Sand: the endangered natural resource
As evermore people migrate to cities, sand follows to accommodate them. Mountains of sand are poured into constructing new homes. “A typical American house requires more than a hundred tons of sand, gravel and crushed stone ...

LETTERS
Years later, sitting at her kitchen table in Detroit, where she had fled to escape the racist rage and threats that lasted long after her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, I asked her why she put herself at such grave risk. Why didn’t she just adjust to the oppression, get up and go to the back of the bus like everyone else?.

On to the next Illinois crisis
Gov. Jim Edgar thoroughly defeated a Democratic rival in 1994 who championed a “tax swap” idea. The plan Dawn Clark Netsch backed would’ve traded an income tax hike for local property tax reductions and an overall funding increase to local schools.

Not a done deal Gas plant faces hurdles
Beyond securing state permits needed before construction can begin, EmberClear, the Texasbased developer, must arrange financing. While EmberClear has proposed power plants in Ohio and Pennsylvania, none have been built, although the company says that it has secured financing for two plants.

Show us your papers Rauner turns tables on ICE
“This new Illinois law…requires that criminal aliens who are held in local jails be released back into communities, rather than turned over to ICE,” the federal agency charged with enforcing immigration law wrote in a press release issued after Rauner signed the bill Aug.

The new activists
All across the country, a new surge of grassroots activism is taking place, frequently spearheaded by citizens who had not necessarily been politically involved previously.

Birthday party for Lake Springfield clubs
“We’ll have a welcome and proclamation by Mayor Jim Langfelder for the 60 th anniversary at the beginning,” says Loretta Michaud, 30- year member of Lake Springfield clubs and past president of the council, “then there will be corn dogs, hamburgers, pork chops, chips and beverages for sale, and the band Off the Wall will play from 1 to 4 p.

Creating a cycling community
A cruise down Springfield’s recreational bike trails and city streets on any given day will reveal a myriad of cyclists of all ages and abilities. It is easy to understand why – almost anyone can ride a bicycle.

That homemade cake life Step away from the box
For centuries people have made cakes to mark special occasions. These confections have evolved from rough, yeast-leavened cakes made by Romans to more elaborate, layered pastries created by 16 th -century German bakers, which resembled what is often served today.

The Mature Mob goes country
If country music has a sacred place, it’s the Grand Ole Opry. One country reference book compares it to the importance of the Vatican to the Catholic church. The Opry’s role in the development of and continuing popularity of country music, as well as Nashville’s establishment and growth as the music’s primary home, is unmistakable.

Lack of focus prevents Tulip from blooming
Like a piece of fresh meat on a kitchen counter, films tend to not get any better the longer they sit. After being completed more than three years ago and delayed for release three times, Justin Chadwick’s adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s novel Tulip Fever.

PUB CRAWL
Jerry Garcia Tribute with Perfunctory This Band, Sunshine Daydream, John Brillhart.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Tom Irwin’s Hayburners
From local awards (including decades worth of “Best of Springfield” honors in Illinois Times).

Celebration choices
On Friday, St. Louis-based blues entertainer, composer and singer Paul Bonn brings his stellar band, the Bluesmen, to the 411 Bar and Grill downtown. These accomplished musicians play all over the country and are spending 2017 celebrating 50 years as a professional music act.

THEATER & COMEDY | You be the jury
See the “other” side of fairy tales this weekend during Fairy Tale Courtroom,.

THE CALENDAR
Naturalist-led leaf identifi cation and collection hikes to assist students with leaf collection projects. Identify and collect more than 25 leaves. Free to members, $5 non. lincolnmemorialgarden.org. Lincoln Memorial Garden, 2301 E. Lake Shore Dr., 529-1111.

ART | Four years of DEMO Project
Celebrate four years of contemporary arts programming on Friday, Sept. 8, at the DEMO Project. The gallery launched in September of 2013 with a solo installation by visual artist Betsy Odom, and the DEMO Project welcomes Odom back four years later as part of a joint exhibition.

FAIRS & FESTIVALS | Celebrate all things German
Don your lederhosen and practice your slap dancing and stein holding in preparation for the Knights of Columbus 364 German Oktoberfest, a Munich-style celebration of all things German. The festival will be held on the grounds of the Knight of Columbus 364, from noon through 10:30 p.