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Korea: Not so fast!
It’s easy to agree that beauty is desirable, though what each person considers to be beautiful can be very different. Kim Jong Un and President Trump have signed an agreement in Singapore declaring that they will bring peace and security between their nations, more particularly that they are committed to denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Don’t fence me in
When I moved to the North End nearly a year ago, I was confused by many things, not the least of which were two stoplights on Sixth Street at North Grand Avenue. One is at the intersection itself, the other is a wee bit before motorists reach the intersection, just on the other side of Union Pacific railroad tracks.

Keep resisting
“What does labor want? We want more schoolhouses and less jails; more books and less arsenals; more learning and less vice; more leisure and less greed; more justice and less revenge; in fact, more of the opportunities to cultivate our better natures.

LETTERS
THANK YOU, TEACHERS For the past three weeks or so, I have felt a tug on my heart to rise up and recognize our teachers and the critical role that they play in charting the course of young lives. It may be because I spent 15 years as a teacher before leaving to start my business.

Top of the ballot races
According to a recent Capitol Fax/We Ask America poll, Democrat J.B. Pritzker leads Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner by nine points, 36-27, with 26 percent choosing an unnamed third-party candidate and 11 percent undecided. In other words, slightly more people said they preferred third party and/or were undecided than supported the frontrunner, Pritzker.

Making Springfield a stop on the monarch migration
Beginning in February, monarchs – which weigh no more than a paper clip – begin an amazing 3,000-mile journey northward from their overwintering sites in the oyamel fir forests of central Mexico, into Texas and up into Oklahoma, throughout the Midwest and into eastern Canada following the milkweed, which is native to the Midwest.

A courtship of historical proportions
The tour, “Abe and Mary: Quite Contrary,” takes visitors through downtown Springfield, where Lincoln, a budding lawyer and politician, and Todd, a young debutante, fell in love and married, embarking on an 18- year odyssey together here before leaving for Washington for Lincoln’s presidency in 1861.

‘Poor People’ rally for minimum wage
“Show me what democracy looks like! This is what democracy looks like!” More than 50 people of various ages and races – many wearing red t-shirts with large white letters reading “Fight for $15” – made their way along Fifth Street at 2 p.m. Monday, June 11.

The death of department stores
“From a 30,000-foot perspective, I know, for people in Springfield, it looks a little bit scary to lose two large anchors like that,” Clay Emerich, White Oaks manager, told the Springfield City Council last week during what might best be described as a state-of-the-mall presentation.

When life gives you lemons, preserve them
From every restaurant in which I’ve apprenticed, I’ve walked away with at least one “pearl” of kitchen wisdom that has helped me up my cooking game. Sometimes I learn a clever little trick to improve my speed and efficiency. Sometimes I learn a new knife technique that increases my precision.

Kingdom is fine but familiar
Picking up some three years after the cataclysmic conclusion of the previous entry, the dinosaurs on the would-be tourist attraction Isla Nublar are being threatened by a volcano that’s decided to do what volcanoes do, namely spew lava and create all sorts of environmental chaos.

June jazzed up
Start off your week with a Thursday visit to the historic and award-winning “dive” bar known as the Curve Inn, complete with sound and lights by the award-winning stage manager and sound person Ric Major, featuring the music of Harmony Deep with guest drummer Rick Snow.

BAND SPOTLIGHT | Kayla Brown
Champaign-Urbana native Kayla Brown can count many achievements in her career in music performance and composition.

PUB CRAWL
Captain Geech and the Shrimp Shack Shooters.

THE CALENDAR
Fairs & Festivals 175th Anniversary Block Party.

FITNESS | Tour on-road bicycle facilities
Celebrate Springfield’s achievement of bronze status as a “Bicycle Friendly Community.” This casualpaced, one-hour tour of some of Springfield’s on-road bicycle facilities starts and ends at Cafe Moxo during the downtown farmers market.

ENVIRONMENT | Urban agriculture and garden tour
On Sunday, June 24, tour four community gardens and the rooftop garden at Maldaner’s Restaurant during the Roots to Rooftop Tour, sponsored by Slow Food Springfield, University of Illinois Extension, Maldaner’s, the Springfield Civic Garden Club, Grow Springfield and the Illinois Stewardship Alliance.

NATURE | Fresh flowers and family farms
Tour a family farm near Rochester and enjoy a hands-on lesson on flower arranging during this installment of the “Women Who Farm Field Day” series, brought to you by The Land Connection. This event will be led by Violet Veenstra, a former high-school teacher turned full-time farmer.