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What is racial unity? Ask a child.
Ask a dozen people what racial unity is, and you’ll probably get a dozen different answers; ask a member of the Baha’i faith, and he or she will likely say that race unity is God’s ultimate destiny for humankind. Racial unity is an evolving concept that few can envision in its final form (including this writer).

Things aren’t going well for state’s capital plan
Everybody at the Illinois Statehouse always says they’re for a major, multibillion-dollar public works construction plan. The problem has been that they could never agree on how to spend the money and how to pay for the massive beast.

Bank profits, banker pay and other banker tricks
I’d like nothing more than to give the bailout scandal a rest — but the bankers won’t let me! They just keep coming at us with ever-moreclever inventions of greed and deceit. Their latest bit of hocus-pocus, accompanied by big puffs of smoke, is a dazzling show of profits.

LETTERS
As the State of Illinois’ lead economic development official, my advocacy of restarting FutureGen should surprise no one. This project will have a profound impact on Illinois. It brings jobs when we need jobs — up to 1,000 construction jobs that will draw skilled workers from a wide radius around Coles County.

feathers poem #8
were I a true birder I’d know the cycle of cardinals or else be recording how long it’s taken the little green wife to build the nest by the kitchen window I’d be keeping track of how many sitting days how often she takes a brief break how many days...

ORANGE CRUSHES COMPETITION
He defends the title again this week, at 5 p.m. Friday on BET. Because the network doesn’t pay expenses, Orange, a customer service agent at Blue Cross/Blue Shield, estimates each appearance on the NYCbased program costs him about $600 out of his own pocket.

CAUTION: HIS ART HURTS
hold temporarily to pursue another important endeavor. He’s put off his crafting of medieval weaponry to concentrate on his sculpture art. “I’ve been putting everything into this,” Taylor, an Enos Parker whose artwork made out of scrap metal could have slithered out of a Tim Burton.

Wind resistance
Residents of western Sangamon County, where a Springfield company is planning to build a large-scale wind farm, insist that they are not opposed to wind energy.

Pleasant Plains group wants to rescue Clayville
Annie Rieken, a historic archaeologist from Carbondale, was flabbergasted by what she found on a recent trip to Clayville.

The high cost of behavioral health cuts
Community behavioral healthcare providers recently claimed that Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposal to slash state mental health and substance abuse treatment funding by $26 million and $12 million, respectively, in next year’s budget will translate to substandard services for more than 46,000 patients.

Indy film planned for Springfield
Kimberly D. Conner isn’t a newcomer to the world of movies. She’s placed as a finalist in several film writing contests, including Los Angeles and Atlanta but the short film she’s planning to shoot in Springfield represents her directorial debut. With This Life Ain’t Pretty,.

Exploring the Shawnee National Forest
It’s the only national forest in our predominantly agricultural/urban state, and it offers a great escape from our daily routines.

Mother’s Day is for planting
Ready, set, plant! Mother’s Day weekend is not only a time to recognize Mom for all she does, but it is time to plant warm-season plants. This weekend, why not combine the two and take Mom shopping for her favorite plants? Don’t forget that Mom will probably expect some help planting them.

Golden living dreams of vision
Springfield didn’t exactly seem like a happenin’ place to be in the 1970s, at least to me. I’d moved away, first to the University of Illinois in Champaign, then to Chicago with my husband, Peter.

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past
Though the film is wholly predictable, the cast, which also includes screen vets Robert Forster and Anne Archer, brings an enthusiasm to the movie that helps get it over the hump. While Ghosts.

Wolverine ever gets off the ground
Burdened by a simplistic storyline, leaden dialogue, “pithy” quips that fall flat and heavy-handed direction, the film never gains its footing nor generates an urgency that projects of this nature require.

Movie times
Kerasotes listings are for Friday, May 8 through Thursday, May 14. All times are subject to change. Bracketed show times indicate Saturday and Sunday matinees. Note that Parkway Pointe plays no late shows Sun-Thu, and the first show Fri, Mon-Thu is 3:40 p.

Having a GirlFest
Before anyone gets too excited for the wrong reasons, let me explain what a GirlFest is in the context of this week’s column. Then getting a thrill from the upcoming event can happen without unnecessary guilt or misplaced desire in a perfectly acceptable, socially fair climate of sanctioned pleasure.

BAND SPOTLIGHT
Lazer Dudes CD release party, with JigGsaw and The Wreckless Bar None May 9, 10pm to 2am..

PUB CRAWL
Bradley Hathaway, The Skies Revolt, Sealife, The Weaker.

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

FEASTIVAL
Here’s the most enjoyable race you’ll ever enter. Whether you run or walk, stations along the route include donuts, ice cream and beer, as well as other surprises. If you tucker out and cannot complete the entire course, there’s a detour to reduce your route from 3.

NATURE
The Henson Robinson Zoo opens its season with a free admission day. That’s a bargain for a day full of fun for the entire family. Dr. Dolittle Day soars with turtle races, animal programs, food, a petting zoo, free t-shirts for the first 500 and more. In addition, local author Scotti Cohn, reads from her new book One Wolf Howls.

THE ARTS
Several art organizations call the Hoogland Center for the Arts home. Their talents and offerings are showcased Saturday night.

CHILDREN
This Saturday, children four through eight years of age can learn more about the bugs we call beetles in connection with the rock group that many of us know as one of the greatest bands of all time, The Beetles.

SECURITY
With the flood of ID and credit card number thefts, there is no better way to protect yourself than by shredding your documents containing sensitive information. But what do you do if you do not own a shredding machine, your equipment cannot handle boxes of papers or you’ve put off the task so long you have a small warehouse of material.

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 16th day of April, 2009 a Certificate of Ownership of business was filed in the Office of the County Clerk of...

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
When John Comparetto exited a bathroom stall at a Holiday Inn outside Harrisburg, Pa., he said a man pointed “a very large handgun” in his face.

THE ADVICE GODDESS
I’ve been engaged to a girl for two years. For about two weeks, she’s been texting a sales guy she met through work, and the text messages are in the hundreds per day. I found out from our cell phone bill, then snooped on her phone. Last night when we were out, I read one when she went to the bathroom.