COVID coverage
p. 3 Prescription for a sick economy p. 3 Rushton on city hall p. 4 Britt on Trump p. 4 Miller on the Statehouse p. 5 Pandemic poem p. 6 Local businesses cope p. 7 Nursing home connections p. 9 Springfielders help each other p. 14 Recipes for a lockdown p. 16 What to watch.

A night at the council
Yesterday, I took one. Days lately have been work, sleep, repeat, writing bulletins with shelf lives oft measured in hours. When there’s time, you call your folks, who once promised to stay home and now talk about shopping – “I need green beans” – and running errands, no matter what you say.

Prescription for a sick economy
COVID-19 is making the rounds. This global chaos has shifted our sense of normalcy, with our public lives mostly cancelled or postponed. The ramifications may vary, though epidemiologists opine we are 10-14 days behind Italy, and if we want to see our future, we should look there.

Despite COVID-19, Statehouse has deadlines to meet
One of the bills that is causing some worry is a change to the hospital assessment law, which is about to expire at the end of the fiscal year. Failure to pass a new law could result in a $3.5 billion hit to the state budget, so it’s pretty darned important.

LETTERS
CITY NEEDS TREES, NOT A STUDY This article is frustrating (“Budget blues and greens: Trees get cut,” Feb. 27). My husband, Mark McWilliams, along with Dave Bender, former executive director of the Illinois Green Industry Association, and David Robson of the University of Illinois Extension started Springfield Green during Tim Davlin’s time as mayor.

Springfield small businesses cope. And hope.
Jordan and Aurora Coffey are a married couple in their early 30s. They have a young child, and another on the way. Their love of food and the community it creates is one of their most sacred bonds. And it’s been tested over the past week, in light of efforts to mitigate the spread of coronavirus.

Keeping connected
Shelley Reither, of Springfield, has a daily routine of going to see her dad in the nursing home. They visit for about an hour. “I have always had an inordinately close relationship with him,” said Reither. “One of the primary reasons is just because of his dementia, really.

McCrady returns
McCrady entered the public sector in 1997, when he became comptroller for the Sangamon County sheriff’s office, a newly created position. In 2001, he stepped in to run the county jail on an interim basis on top of other duties.

Springfielders pool resources
McFarland is on the Springfield District 186 school board and he’s the executive director for Serve Illinois, a governor-appointed board that focuses on volunteerism. But when he started the Facebook group, Springfield Families Helping Families, he did so on his own volition, knowing people would need help.

Steve goes to Washington for ERA
Steve Andersson played an instrumental role in getting the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) ratified in Illinois in 2018. As a state representative he lobbied fellow Republicans to vote in favor of the resolution for ratification. While ERA had easily passed the Senate, it narrowly passed the House.

Better beef
Welcome to the modern world of the beef industry, where consumer demand and environmental concerns are driving the way that many Illinois producers raise, market and sell their animals.

Recipes for a lockdown
It was still dark when I parked my car in the nearly empty parking lot. As I walked into the grocery store the barest shimmer of dawn was just beginning to peek out from around the clouds.

Wahlberg delivers solid start to Spenser Netflix franchise
Truer words were never spoken where former cop and reluctant private investigator Spenser is concerned. He gets beat up in a prison library. He gets beat up in a bathroom. He gets beat up in a Mexican restaurant. You’d think the guy would know when to quit, but no.

Films to watch at home
Now that movie watching has become a home-viewing option for the time being, this space will be devoted to brief reviews of films that can be seen on various streaming services, cable channels and video-on-demand. This space will be fluid and include as many new viewing options each week as possible to provide a wide variety of choices.

Fun family viewing at home
Even without visiting a movie theatre, seeing new films is still an option. This is the perfect time to gather your loved ones around the television and enjoy new family fare as well as introduce your young ones and teens to the wonders of classic film.

Not playing now
I know it’s not the time to be flippant, but perhaps it’s okay to make a joke and say that my Now Playing column could be retitled “Not Playing Now” or something else involving silly, somewhat clever wordplay.