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At Lanphier High, three brave boys add fresh bounce to the rah-rah squad
You’ve seen these guys before. OK, maybe not this specific trifecta of testosterone, but you’ve undoubtedly seen guys just like them, clowning around on the sidelines at the football game, one eye on the game, another on the girls in the matching short skirts.

Green Urbanism fights sprawl with walkable cities
At the May 29 Springfield Business Alliance noon luncheon the noted architect and planner Douglas Farr will present “Sustainable Urbanism,” a program that illustrates the practices that have become more and more in vogue since Al Gore’s release of An Inconvenient Truth.

Look who’s begging for regulation
“Regulate the health insurance giants,” chanted the reformers. “Stop denying coverage to sick people,” they demanded. “Stop jacking up premiums,” they cried. “Health coverage for all,” they bellowed. It was an impressive show that the health care reform movement put on last week at a hearing before the Senate finance committee.

LETTERS
Regarding Dusty Rhodes’ article “Out of tune” [IT, May 14], we believe she did an excellent job in exposing the personal dynamics and subsequent problems of the Illinois Symphony Orchestra under the heavy-handed tactics of Karen Lynne Deal and the oblivious pronouncements of board president John Wohlwend.

graduationpoem #2
I missed my university’s graduation first time in years but did go to wyatt’s from daycare to kindergarten complete with caps gowns diplomas sealed and ribboned pomp and circumstance at the university they chew gum here they pick noses there they...

All is well at the General Assembly, except for the $12 billion deficit
It’s been clear from the beginning that Gov. Pat Quinn muffed his budget rollout. Instead of stressing the billion dollars or so in cuts he made and the additional cuts he might be open to, Quinn has repeatedly stressed the need for a 50 percent increase in the income tax rate and has flatly rejected additional budget reductions.

Sierra Club to Shimkus: Clean energy is no ‘assault on democracy’
As U.S. Rep. John Shimkus, R-Collinsville, continues to condemn cap-and-trade legislation to limit carbon emissions, the Sangamon Valley Group of the Sierra Club prepares to fire back.

EXTREME MAKEOVER
The celebrity builders want to construct a brand-new home for a capital city family that’s been a pillar of support for the community. They’ve inspired others through acts of goodwill, while at the same time, forgoing their own need to live in a safe environment.

CRAIGSLIST UPDATE
Last week, after Illinois Times went to press, Attorney General Lisa Madigan.

The summerlong guide to fun in central Illinois
A Night on the Town with Bells In Motion and the Jane Hartman Trio.

Capital City Bicentennial Celebration
What happens when Abraham Lincoln meets the 21st century? The Capital City Bicentennial Celebration. The inaugural event fuses the Springfield Jaycees Capital City Celebration, Taste of Downtown and the Secretary of State’s Ice Cream Social in a two-day festival that also continues the celebration of Lincoln’s 200th birthday.

Illinois Shakespeare Festival
On a few Tuesdays, you can also stay late and enjoy a conversation with the cast and crew plus an ice cream social. What about food? You don’t even have to pack a picnic. You can order your own picnic basket ahead of time from Destihl Restaurant, or choose from a selection of gourmet wraps.

Old Capitol Blues & BBQs Festival
Capital city residents can expect less competition at this year’s Old Capitol Blues

Illinois State Fair
State fairs have traditionally served as a venue for competing agriculturalists to present prize-wining pigs, ponies, petunias and pottery for bragging rights, and to celebrate the state’s history and culture. But Illinois is just one patch on the big quilt that is America.

Old Capitol Farmers’ Market
Old Capitol Farmers’ Market has a misleading name. For one thing, it’s about a block away from the Old State Capitol, stretched out along Adams Street between Third and Fifth streets. For another, it’s not just for farmers anymore.

Things will be great when you’re downtown . . . Chicago
Remember Petula Clark? She used to sing, “The lights are much brighter there, You can forget all your troubles, forget all your cares. So go downtown, things’ll be great when you’re downtown — no finer place, for sure downtown — everything’s waiting for you.

Ride the rails to Alton
Passenger rail may have seen its heyday come and go, but 21,000 miles of train track still crisscross America. Ten of Amtrak’s routes wind through Illinois and can connect those looking for summer fun with several destinations throughout the Midwest.

Play in Peoria this summer
For some, a trip to the Peoria area is sheer Par-A-Dice, as they seek to fatten their pockets on the riverboat. While the riverboat is a popular spot, the river city, about 70 miles north of Springfield, has a variety of fairs, festivals and museums for the entire family.

Visit Missouri’s Hermann and Hannibal for river lore
For a river adventure with a bit of history, fiction and mystery, take a weekend and hit two Missouri landmarks, Hermann and Hannibal. Start with the farthest point and head for Hermann, then catch Hannibal on the way back. The trip will take less than three hours and if you head for Pittsfield and over the drive is scenic.

Dinosaurs, aliens and magicians
Remember the writer’s strike that hobbled Hollywood 18 months ago? While it had an immediate effect on the television industry, it’s only now being felt on the big screen as evidenced by the weakest roster of films to grace a summer season in many a moon.

See Oliver and Abe outdoors this summer
, the beautiful outdoor theater at Lincoln’s New Salem State Historic Site near Petersburg, opens its season with a stage version of Louisa May Alcott’s classic Little Women.

Visit central Illinois wineries for close-to-home tourism
If you’re craving fun in the sun or a relaxing romantic rendezvous this summer, bypass the travel headache and head for a nearby central Illinois winery. The Illinois Grape Growers and Vintners Association lists five wineries within an hour of Springfield, and one more that’s just outside of Peoria.

Central Illinois Summer wine festivals
Mackinaw Valley Vineyard Music and International Wine and Beer Festival.

Bike and run, a pace for everyone
Some are veterans. They’ve been doing this for years, know their split times and don’t mind donning spandex. Others are more casual. They get a kick out of the camaraderie that comes from working out in pairs or even groups.

The American game
Not a full year after the first organized baseball game was played in New Jersey’s Elysian Fields, in 1846, poet Walt Whitman is said to have written of the fledgling sport, “I see great things in baseball. It’s our game, the American game.

Recycle plastic garden pots
It’s essential for all of us to practive the three R’s of being a good steward of the earth: reduce, reuse and recycle. Last weekend I walked around my small town on community cleanup day looking for hidden treasures in others’ trash. During cleanup day, residents can put out items that are not accepted in regular trash pickup.

Memories of Trader Vic’s
When I was a child, it seemed impossibly exotic. When I was an adolescent, it seemed impossibly tacky: Trader Vic’s in St. Louis. I never ate there, though. For my family, dining in St. Louis meant going to Ruggieri’s, a defunct restaurant on the Hill, or, for extra special occasions, Tony’s.

Angels and Demons action takes your mind off misery
With the abductees being held in separate unknown locations spread out around Rome, Langdon and comely scientist Vittoria Vetra (Ayelet Vetra) try to solve the many clues left to them as to the Cardinals’ whereabouts.

Movie times
Kerasotes listings are for Friday, May 22 through Thursday, May 28. All times are subject to change. Bracketed times indicate Sat and Sun matinees. Note: Parkway Pointe’s first show Fri, Tue-Thu is 3:30 p.m. ShowPlace West’s first show is 3:20 p.m. Fri, Tue-Thu.

A summer of music begins
Nevertheless, from outdoor theaters to city sidewalks, town squares to park plazas, personal patios to public grandstands, burgoos to barbeques, the majority of our summer entertainment excitement takes place in the great expanse of the open air.

PUB CRAWL
9:30pm-12:30am. Hip Hop Open Mic hosted by Black Bobby and the Don Julio Ganf.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
Hipbone Sam, the alter ego of Kevin Hawkins, plays the area music scene with “three chords and a capo,” plus a load of fun tunes and the determined heart of a dedicated entertainer.

FESTIVALS
Here’s a festival you’ll want to explore if you love vino, bluegrass or country music. For a small admission fee, Hill Prairie Winery will give you a free glass you can take with you in the winery sample room and a full day of music outside under the pavilion.

THE CALENDAR
Submit calendar listings at www.illinoistimes.com.

TALENT SHOW
Illinois’ Got Talent is a talent competition that takes place this Saturday at our very own Hoogland Center for the Arts. Twenty-three acts from throughout Illinois, from Chicago to Herrin, will be showcased. The performers range in age and talent. Scheduled acts include a soloist, dancers, and a musical group.

HISTORY
A party takes place Saturday that you won’t want to miss whether you’re a history buff, a partygoer, a person with a sense of adventure or someone looking for something different and interesting to do. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum is hosting a re-creation of the Lincolns’ social scene with period crafts, toys, games and free music.

ART
On display at the museum through July is, “The Leaf and the Page,” an exhibit featuring 11 contemporary Illinois artists who draw their inspiration from nature and create distinct visions of fanciful, surreal, beautiful, ironic and humorous plant images.

PUBLIC NOTICES
NOTICE UNDER ASSUMED BUSI- NESS NAME ACT STATE OF ILLINOIS COUNTY OF SANGAMON TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Notice is hereby given that on the 23rd day of April, 2009 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon County, stating that GUY T.

Real Estate Foreclosures
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT FOR THE SEVENTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT OF ILLINOIS SANGAMON COUNTY, SPRING- FIELD, ILLINOIS FIRST FINANCIAL BANK, NA, Plaintiff, vs. REALTY EXECU- TIVES UNLIMITED, LLC, an Illinois Limited Liability Company, DENNIS L. POLK as Sole Owner and Member of REALTY EXECUTIVES UNLIMIT- ED, LLC.

NEWSQUIRKS
Police arrested Remo Spencer for stealing laptop computers and iPods from the Wal-Mart store in Great Falls, Mont., where he worked after he aroused a store manager’s suspicions by posting an ad offering to sell the electronics items on the store’s employee bulletin board.

THEADVICEGODDESS
Women complain about how hard it is being a stay-at-home mom. After getting divorced, I discovered I could clean the entire house in a few hours — accomplishing way more than my wife ever did — and have all afternoon to do nothing. Men work long hours to support their families, only to be told they aren’t doing enough around the house.