Fair ~ 61°F   River stage: 35.2 Rising Thursday, Mar. 18, 2010

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Columnists Brian Blackwell Your Business >> Chris Harris Street Spirit >> Paul Schnare Dr. Grow >> Ellen Shuck Reflections >> Gary Rust Gary's Commentary >> Bob and Callie Clark Miller His and Hers >> Aaron Horrell Through the Woods >> Rob Hurtgen Commentary >> Jeff Long Commentary >> Jon K. Rust >> Joe Sullivan River City Journal >> Marty Mishow The Latest Line >> Frank Nickell Special People, Special Places >> Susan McClanahan Recipe Swap >> Sam Blackwell Letters From Home >> Tom Harte A Harte Appetite >>

Columns Gary Rust Avoiding Obama; Cuba's health care for oil Some polls show that President Obama has a negative rating in Missouri of 60 percent. So it was not surprising that Secretary of State Robin Carnahan was missing during Obama's visit to Missouri last week. His visit included a fundraiser announced for U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, but the bulk of the proceeds are really to be channeled into Carnahan's campaign for the U.S. Senate... Sam Blackwell Ah, baseball March 18, 2010 Dear Leslie, This semester the sports writing class I teach is reading and analyzing some of the best American sports writing from 2009. One story is about a runner who had a degenerative condition in his left leg that made it impossible for him to continue running as he got older. ... Tom Harte A Harte Appetite: Corned beef an American addition to St. Patrick's Day celebrations "There are only two kinds of people in the world," an Irish saying goes. "The Irish and those who wish they were." If you look around you today, you might think that's true, for on St. Patrick's Day Americans, regardless of their ancestry, will wear green, sing Irish songs, guzzle Irish beer and dine on corned beef and cabbage... Susan McClanahan Recipe Swap: Foods to fuel marathon basketball watching My husband and son are walking around the house singing "It's the most wonderful time of the year," which means it is NCAA basketball tournament time. They love basketball, and the tournament is the highlight of the season. Even though my husband's beloved North Carolina Tar Heels had a poor showing this season, he is a die-hard fan and is already looking to next season and what they can accomplish. ... Pork projects Federal budget earmarks -- those well-hidden local pork projects -- generate as much negative public reaction as just about any antic undertaken by our lawmakers. When the public hears horror stories about million-dollar fruit-fly projects or equally expensive swine-odor projects, there is virtually universal opposition... Volunteerism counts In the early years of schooling, most of us learned that government was an institution created "by, of and for the people." Nowhere is that phrase more applicable today than in the local governments of Missouri. Without any great fanfare, people in communities throughout our state not only count on their local governments to provide municipal services that enable them to carry on the ordinary aspects of daily life -- from driving on snowplowed streets to chatting with other families at a park's ball field to waving at the police officers who ensure safe and secure neighborhoods -- but are active and involved participants. ... Aaron Horrell Hazelnuts are beautiful, delicious The American hazelnut tree is actually just a large woody- stemmed shrub. Shown here are several long male flowers (called catkins) and a single, much smaller pink female flower. Look on the largest stem just below and almost touching a long catkin (near the bottom center of the photo) to see the tiny female flower... Joe Sullivan A good movie Writers for movie mags call it rom-com, the cinematic genre over which Sandra Bullock is the reigning queen. Bullock's regal stature has been honed by her many entertaining romantic-comedy performances with their predictable plots. This year's Oscar for best performance by an actress went to Bullock for her role as a compassionate Memphis do-gooder in "The Blind Side." Hers was not the best effort, considering the performances by other nominees in the same category, but who doesn't like watching a Sandra Bullock movie?. ... Chris Harris Alienating movies No, I didn't watch all the 2010 best picture nominees before the 82nd annual Academy Awards aired Sunday. I tried. I did. OK, maybe I didn't try as hard as I could have, but, hey, a girl's got to live sometime. I saw "Avatar," and as I stated earlier, I'm glad it didn't win. I managed to sit through "District 9" and am ecstatic that it failed. The two movies sit at complete opposite ends of the alien spectrum... Sam Blackwell Dogtown March 11 Dear Pat, The St. Louis neighborhood known as Dogtown is not far from Forest Park and the St. Louis Zoo but hides, like many St. Louis neighborhoods, behind the wide concrete chutes that carry much of the city's traffic. I'd only seen Dogtown in the movie "White Palace." I didn't know Dogtown... Susan McClanahan Recipe Swap: Cake walk: Fancy twists on box cake mix Sometimes our daughter comes up with the cutest comments. Last week she asked what she could have for breakfast and I replied with several options. After thinking for a few seconds she said "I would really love to have a big piece of Italian Coconut Cream Cake." I went looking for a recipe using a cake mix to be a little easier for her to make and found myself having fun looking through many recipes using cake mixes as a start to a great cake. ... The immigrants And now comes immigration "reform"! For a federal government that is stalled on health care, financial reform and creative ways to boost jobs, it seems an odd time to be talking about something as complex and incendiary as immigration reform. Yet in the middle of the chaos comes talks this week on ways to reform the crucial problem of illegal immigration in this country... Drug prohibition: Just say no I am grateful to Cape Girardeau lawyer John L. Cook for his op-ed piece against drug prohibition. It takes courage and clarity of vision. I have much respect for the Teen Challenge program and the individuals who are taking advantage of its help, as well as Dr. Jack Smart for directing the program. It takes gumption and faith... Jeff Long Looking past appearances In 1976, during a music competition in Ocean City, N.J., yours truly committed a fashion faux pas. Those who are familiar with the sartorial trend of the mid-1970s will recall that leisure suits once were all the rage for men. I took my leisure suit to the boardwalk competition and discovered the rules prohibited anything other than a white shirt, tie and sport coat with matching trousers. ... Aaron Horrell A spore subject The fungus seen here is growing on a decaying pile of wood. The common small puffball mushroom is not an unusual sight, but the captured image of spores bursting forth makes a pleasing photo. Even after the winter's cold and days of being covered in snow, this little group of puffballs is still viable. I have been aware of this small group of puffballs since early last spring and now into March, they are still emitting spores... Chris Harris Dance moves The River North Chicago Dance Company performed in Bedell Performance Hall on Tuesday, and as part of their visit, they held a free master dance class Monday. "Open to the public" and "geared toward all levels" coaxed me into the practice room. In case there's any doubt, I'm in the lower level... Joe Sullivan Family matters Several years ago, when most of my aunts and uncles on my mother's side of the family had died or had become incapacitated, one of my cousins assumed the responsibility of keeping everyone informed by e-mail. Cousin John's original task was to remind all the cousins -- 15 survive -- and their extended families about the annual family reunion. I have questioned my family's sanity at times, especially when it comes to holding an outdoor reunion in Southeast Missouri in August... Sam Blackwell The courage of children March 4, 2010 Dear Julie, Janet Goodin runs the Christian School for the Young Years in Cape Girardeau. She decided to find out what they could do for the children of Haiti. One need is to establish preschools that can be set up in tents because people are still afraid to go back inside buildings. But children need to play, especially in the wake of a disaster... Mia Pohlman Senior Moments: Preparing for prom, including finding the perfect dress, is half the fun The culminating experience of high school existence, the "and-they-all-lived-happily-ever-after" moment when, afterward, we all ride off happily into the sunset, is coming soon. No, I'm not talking about graduation. I'm talking about senior prom. It seems like just yesterday I was a freshman making a pact with one of my best friends to attend all 10 high school dances. ... Susan McClanahan Recipe Swap: Round-robin provides recipes for those in the loop I remember when I was a child -- long before Facebook, e-mail and Twitter -- my mom and her siblings had a round-robin letter. The oldest sibling would start the letter and then send it on to the next sibling. That person would write a letter and send it on to the next and so on. ... Paul Schnare Dr. Grow: Set up purple martin apartments before scouts arrive later this month Spring officially starts March 20. For gardeners who love feathered friends, spring actually starts when the purple martin scouts arrive. In my recollection this date has been any time from March 3 to March 24. The actual date depends on many factors, but I think late winter temperatures are the most significant factor. Therefore, I think the scouts will arrive later this year than previous... Finding solutions Though the concept is certainly not original, our federal government needs only to look at the private sector to find the answer to our fiscal crisis. Two dozen major national retailers last week reported financial data, and guess how they turned around their lagging business?... A successful surrender to the war on drugs? John Cook is a well respected attorney in the Cape Girardeau community. However, I have some major disagreements with his op-ed piece last Thursday. He seems to be advocating a successful surrender to the war on drugs. I agree that the war on drugs has been less than successful, but I strongly disagree that discontinuing these enforcement efforts would somehow be beneficial. ... A stake in failure In our last piece ("Still no action by Congress on credit default swaps," Jan. 31), we explained that these contracts are essentially insurance in the financial markets. Properly regulated, they, like insurance, can serve a useful purpose. If controlled, they allow investors to manage risk and encourage them to fund worthwhile projects... Aaron Horrell Little armored one staying put The nine-banded armadillo is one of about 20 kinds of armadillos in the Western Hemisphere. It is the only armadillo that lives in North America. This animal is similar in size and shape to the opossum, but the two are not related. The word armadillo, which means "little armored one," is thought to be attributed to the Spanish explorer Hernando Cortez, who explored Mexico in the 1500s...