Opinion

Community banks that keep assets local have done well in this economy.  Brenda’s vacation to Florida revealed why one local bank is struggling.

Now that the election has wound down, Rob McColley laments another four years of the same kinds of nuisances, with things potentially getting worse.

Rob McColley got his clock cleaned last week in the mayoral race in Urbana. So, what’s an unemployed renaissance man to do?

If 60 Minutes came to Champaign-Urbana, they’d keep plenty busy.

Ryan takes a look at who is rolling into town and how Krispy Kreme’s marketing is similar to that of Christianity’s.

It’s hard to tell one Champaign school board candidate from another this year. But three of the seven will be voted into office tomorrow, where they will receive a lot of grief for their efforts.

P. Gregory Springer is reminded that memory and reality are two very different things.

Sidney Sheehan grew up in downtown Champaign and left for Chicago like so many of us do.  Now she’s back with a story to tell.

The Loyal Opposition is not proud of the guilty pleasures he engaged in during his Florida spring break.

For many, voting for President Obama and his “Change” campaign meant feeling good about government and looking at old problems with new solutions. Something went awry.

As a lifelong resident, Rob McColley has learned a thing or two about Urbana and its neighborhoods. From one street to the next, it can be a decidedly different town.

Springer wonders what may have been had he played nude volleyball instead of studying Kierkegaard.

There’s a lot to like about WPGU, even if their DJs aren’t the most polished sometimes.

Brian Duggan ponders recent changes to Facebook’s terms of service, and wonders if there’s an alternative means to the social networking end that won’t screw over users.

A general plea for WPGU to better educate its DJs about the local music scene the station is trying to serve.

Looking forward to spending time outdoors this summer?  From the Flyover Zone gives you some ideas for activities within easy reach of C-U.

While you try manage (what’s left of) your money and watch the spectacle that pervades the news, take a break and click on a couple hidden gems via the BBC. Your heart and mind will thank you.

Sometimes the people who complain about censorship are the ones trying to censor.

Dan sorts through American culture with some Amish folks, via large piles of clothes.

Damn that dog barking next door, right? Don’t bother calling the city of Urbana. You’ve got to handle this one on your own. Rob McColley tells us why it should be different.

When the Baby Boomers called Generation X “slackers,” maybe what they really meant was “principled.” Now it’s time for a changing of the guard.

A confluence of 29s, old melodramas, and upcoming local film festivals leads to a surreal appearance of Salvador Dali on What’s My Line.

You can tell a lot by how someone’s bags are packed, from where they’re headed to where they’ve been.

Unofficial is coming up and it’s still the same old story: students want to drink and the university is concerned. Now the Daily Illini publishes an open letter to parents?

Let us recall the days when bookmobiles ruled the land.

There is regular evil, and then there is the special, No Child Left Behind kind. Brenda sounds off on ISAT testing.

WUNA does its best to properly govern the zoning ordinances that face neglect in the City of Urbana’s chambers for the neighborhood just east of Lincoln Ave. Rob McColley cares about it, and looks into why you should, too.

Springer finds that voice recognition software is not yet able to understand Tao Te Ching translations, violence, Jesus, AK-47s, and blog flame wars.

The Loyal Opposition has an infestation of middle school girls in his house.

Local billboards spark the question, “What does it mean to be an educated, religious person?”

Forget the free marketplace as we know it. Right now is the time to be aware of all the possibilities that exist concerning (y)our money.

Believe it or not, the unemployed may dread Mondays as much as the employed. In both cases, it can be depressing.

Springer enjoys living in Manhattan, even though he visits C-U for 350 days a year.

A Champaign megachurch is drawing in families with an indoor playspace, prompting Brenda to question the line between faith and marketing.

In her second bilingual entry, Angela discusses what it’s like living a developed-world life in a developing country.

Yes, the cultural atmosphere of the 1950s was sexist and racist, among other things. But what’s in the air we breathe?

After attending a seminar on wind power, Rob McColley discovered one very definitive thing: it’s all about the Benjamins.

No one seems to know why the military is killing itself. Maybe it’s the blurry, central Illinois landscape.

After dealing with Dubya for eight years, Ryan Neaveill has had it with terrible leadership. But it’s not just political. He wants to know how to get rid of the ones you can’t technically dismiss.

Is Urbana becoming a Hooverville? Rob McColley explores what’s unfair and unbalanced in Urbana city code.

If you are not losing sleep from using meth, you can still lose sleep from watching others use meth.

Springer doesn’t like chain letters asking for random things about himself.  But he does like musicals more than Super Bowls and American health care.

The Loyal Opposition believes there are coded messages in Super Bowl Commercials.

Currently working or enrolled at the University of Illinois? Figure out how to score a discount on your cellular phone bill.

The Loyal Opposition wonders why grocery baggers are always so confused by cloth bags.

Obama’s appointment of Chicago machine politician Arnie Duncan is a sign that all is not gold in the new administration.

Rob McColley has had enough with the city of Urbana turning a blind eye to its ordinances. What can your average citizen like him do? Run for Mayor.

Springer parses Barack Obama’s inaugural address, with the help of the political punditrati.