Aladdin (PG) Though a bit slow at the beginning, perhaps because we know the story so well, “Aladdin” is a movie made for the big screen. When Will Smith (Genie/Mariner) enters, that’s when the fun really begins. Smith is as…
Mike at the Movies
Category: Features
Lush Lavender Baking in the Sun
Tucked at the end of West Harris Road at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain in the Montgomery County Agricultural Reserve is a unique, family-owned and sustainable 286-acre farm with 26 acres dedicated to the cultivation of lavender. Sophia Watkins and…
Wild Wanderings
Turtle X-ing Have you ever noticed that as the weather warms up turtle traffic increases? That’s because the change in season is marked by longer days that bring turtles out of brumation, their version of hibernation. Once mobile, it appears…
Around Town
Soccer Club Coming to Urbana The Urbana Soccer site is located at 3348 Big Woods Road and will feature four fields, four open-air pavilions, four parking lots, restrooms and storage—with a clubhouse added at a later date. The ground-breaking celebration…
Around Town
Living Grace’s Community Service Beautifies UHS In honor of Earth Day and to beautify Urbana High School before its Blue Ribbon Tour of Excellence visit on Wednesday, April 17, members of Living Grace Lutheran Church cleaned up trash at UHS…
Curtis Sittenfeld Brings the Bennets to the 21st Century
A few reasons inspired me to pick up Curtis Sittenfeld’s 2016 novel “Eligible.” Most important, I felt something light to read might alleviate the stress of my news-cycle obsession. Also, I had loved the St. Louis-based author’s four other novels,…
Wild Wanderings: Black Bears on Sugarloaf Mountain
We typically think of black bears occupying the Blue Ridge Corridor, that is, the ranges west of Sugarloaf Mountain. And even though I have never seen a black bear on Sugarloaf, I have seen bear scat, which, to me, is…
Through My Lens: The Photography of Erin Tacheny
Spring brought its images of renewal in the form of photography to the Delaplaine Art Center’s satellite gallery at the Urbana Library through digital photographer Erin Tacheny’s calming and contemplative lens. With about half black and white and half color,…
Pawsitive Insights: Is This Tick Season?
We are now entering tick season … or so we think. Unlike many other parasites, ticks are not killed by freezing temperatures. They are not active unless the temperatures are above freezing. We rarely have prolonged periods of freezing temperatures…
Mike at the Movies
Gloria Bell (R) Julianne Moore is a walking miracle. At 58 she plays a woman in her 50s and looks like a woman in her early 40s. Surrounded by a top-notch supporting cast, she triumphs in the difficult story of…