More Better and Worse

teh
A few more things that are either better or worse today in Springfield compared to days gone by:

Worse:

No baseball team. We used to be part of the St. Louis Cardinals farm system but we didn’t turn out at to the ballgames so they went elsewhere. However, it’s been reported that we may be getting a team next year.

The fireworks downtown on the Fourth of July. This is slightly offset by what seems to me to be more and getting-better displays elsewhere in and around the city.

Better:

John of Just Two Guys thinks the arts scene in Springfield is as good as it’s been in a long time:

I think that one of the Betters is definitely the growing "art" scene in the area. I think Springfield is seeing a lot of local musical talent coming along, and there are a lot of young people in the area doing neat artistic things, i.e. The Writer's Block. I think the local blogscene is also part of this "art" movement, as it gives local people a chance to be seen and heard in ways never before imagined. We're turning to each other for entertainment.

He also offers The Sangamon Star as another example.

I have to agree with that. Think of the Hoogland Center for the Arts and all it has to offer. Or The Warehouse.

I’d also like to add that there is now much more for school-aged kids to do. This is part of a national phenomenon but certainly the area school districts and other organizations have more to keep kids busy than they did 30 – 40 years ago when I was in grade and high school. Ask any parent how much running around they do getting their children to this practice or that happening. Often parents are forced to put limits on how much their kids can participate in simply because there isn’t time for it all.