In the late 1800s it was known as the “Jewel of Springfield”! A hundred years later in 1997 it was officially classified as a “blighted community” qualified to establish its own TIF district. In 2003 it became the geographical “heart” of the Mid-Illinois Medical District.

At this business meeting of homeless people, some of the speeches are long and rambling, but that’s no different from many of the church and professional meetings I sit through regularly. What is different from many meetings I attend is that the business is important and the focus is clear.

As the classic New Year’s song asks, “Should auld acquaintance be forgot?” Not if our auld acquaintance is the Bush regime. Yes, our country will soon be getting a new beginning, and maybe, just maybe, we can put it back on the right path.

I watched gerrall practicing the back legs of her folding chair were neatly wearing shoes perhaps to even the seat more likely to keep the chair from moving a cellist can’t have a chair that moves I always said that unlike violinists a cellist plays as much with the seat of her pants as with her arms and fingers.

The year 2008 went out with a big bang for Microsoft. On Dec. 31, a court in China’s southern city of Shenzhen convicted 11 people of violating national copyright laws for manufacturing high-quality fake versions of Windows XP, Vista, Office and 16 other Microsoft products, and distributing them in 36 countries.

The Department of Human Services’ Office of Inspector General needs to improve its handling of investigations, according to a review by state auditors. The inspector general is responsible for probing neglect and abuse claims at statesupported mental-health and disability service agencies.

Once just sketches on a blueprint, Erin’s Pavilion has evolved. Since last June workers have structured the exterior walls and poured the concrete floor of the $4 million, 15,000-square-foot multipurpose welcome center situated at Edwin Watts...

After his wife and several friends signed up, Bill Carter decided to create a Facebook profile six weeks ago. Not long ago, Facebook served primarily as a vehicle for college kids to rag on their professors and ascertain the location of the next beer pong tournament.

Before deciding to take the plunge and go to a Y’allapalooza, informed readers may be wondering, “What exactly is a Y’allapalooza?” Those up on the contemporary country music scene could likely recognize the moniker from outdoor concerts mostly happening around the Midwest during the last several years.

You feel it in the pit of your stomach first: a thumping Latin beat that makes your insides shake and your heel start tapping. But by the end of the hour, you feel Zumba everywhere: your heaving lungs, your pulsing stomach muscles, your swinging shoulders.

That’s what local fitness instructor Jill Kennedy-Broughton’s saying about Zumba, a fun and flavorful Latin dance/aerobics class.

You can do it in the air. Or by sea. You can do it if you’re young. Or old. Or in 100-plus-degree rooms (Bikram yoga).

Fitness professionals hear the same excuse many times: “I’d love to get in better shape, but I’m not a gym person.” So, for people who don’t like conventional exercise programs, what else is there? The answer is simple: plenty.

The closing of Kerasotes’ White Oaks Cinema last September was the most recent of several blows to independent and foreign cinema in Springfield. As venues for more obscure movies dwindle, The Springfield Art Association is set to present its 18th annual film festival.

It’s one of the oldest beverages in the world — almost certainly the oldest alcoholic beverage. There are references to it in some of the earliest writings discovered in ancient Sumeria and Mesopotamia. In its modern forms it has a range of flavors and complexities that can match and often exceed wine.

A bigot to the core, Walt regards the kid as just another “zipperhead,” until he realizes that the young man possesses a degree of respect and responsibility that he fails to see in his own grandchildren or anyone else for that matter. Taking the boy under his wing, he shows him how to “man up” and take charge of his life.

Kerasotes listings are for Friday Jan 9 through Thursday Jan 15. All times are subject to change. Bracketed show times indicate Saturday and Sunday matinees. For updates on Kerasotes films, call 1-800-FANDANGO. Reviews of other films can be found at.

“It’s been over a year since we last did an all-ages show and we do well with them, “said Kording. “Plus we now have a new bass player who knows most of our songs. At least he should by Saturday.” Kording wasn’t too concerned about whether Brandon Carnes, the newest member to the group, had all the tunes down or not, though he was sure he would.

Fans of metal music on the edge should saunter down to the Moose Lodge in Litchfield on Friday to check out Estrus for a CD release show. The band, based in the Montgomery and Macoupin counties area, is far into the metalcore side of things and posts on their MySpace page peg the new CD as “brutal.

Estrus with the Dread Corsair, Ghost of Verdon, Eyes of the Enemy, Renae and Avex.

Males should wear black pants, white T-shirt and black ballet or jazz shoes. $20 audition fee. Hoogland Center for the Arts, 420 S. Sixth St. For more info, call 544- 1967..

The Springfield Theatre Center is giving theater lovers what they have been asking for with a production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat..

The Harlem Globetrotters have entertained audiences with their slick moves and pretty dunks since 1926. For 82 years the team, also known as “The Ambassadors of Goodwill,” has boasted a number of basketball legends. Wilt Chamberlain, Reese Tatum and Robert “Showboat” Hall have donned the red, white and blue jersey, making it the uniform of greats.

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 4th day of December,2008 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of Sangamon County, stating that NEUROCARE, INC.

After stealing two safes filled with at least $50,000 worth of rare gold and silver coins and a silver ingot, the thieves tried to sell the 62.5-pound silver bar to a metal recycling dealer in Bentonville, Ark. The dealer convinced them the bar, valued at $15,000, was made of lead and gave them $30 for it.

Two days after my job took me to London for six weeks, my girlfriend’s ex spent the night at her house. They broke up several years ago, but work together, and are friendly. Apparently, this fella got too drunk to drive, and slept on her couch. “Nothing happened.