There have been numerous attempts to improve public education in the United States over the years. The No Child Left Behind Act has created required benchmarks for students through standardized testing with a focus on improving the performance of children in school, but it does little to help keep kids in school. In fact, it makes passing even more daunting of a task for those who have difficulty keeping up.

Downtown Champaign's oldest bar--as old as the end of Prohibition — is throwing itself a party, with bands, birthday presents and, of course, cheap beer.

Three dollars gets you in to see Dottie and the Rail (a ragtag country band fronted by a smoky-voiced singer whose beau, Foty Backey, is the 'Rail's owner) and The Golden Quality (a rock band with a Brass Rail bartender in the lineup).

For those of you downtown dwellers ever on the watch and diligently moving your car in the a.m. hours to escape the eye of parking enforcement, your time has come. The City of Champaign is currently accepting applications to be placed on a waiting list for parking spots in the new Hill Street Parking Facility, but the convenience comes with a price tag.

The parking deck isn't completed, but the city is taking requests at their Parking Programs Office located at 713 Edgebrook Dr. or online along with a $60 deposit fee.

Chris Knight, proprietor of one of Champaign's most popular bars, The Blind Pig, purchased the Barfly yesterday. The cocktail lounge will, Knight says, be open for business under his ownership tonight.

Barfly, a fairly typical lounge that never quite found its footing as a dance club due to the narrow structure of the space, will remain as is for a while. Knight has plans for the Neil Street locale, including a name change to the Twilight Lounge, after some alterations to the current spot.

When Council Member Michael LaDue walks around his Campustown neighborhood after a particularly successful football game things can get pretty rowdy on Green Street — more raucous, in fact, than the 2008 Unofficial St. Patrick’s Day, a two-day brew-ha-ha devoted to drinking, which LaDue called “uneventful.”

The event cooled its heels a bit this year after the City of Champaign and University of Illinois implemented new restrictions, including a “No Visitor” policy at the dormitories and a strong police enforcement on the street. And although the morning after included piles of puke on the sidewalk and bottles littering the lawns, statistics for arrests were down.

But Mayor Gerald Schweighart, also acting Liquor Commissioner, felt the City of Champaign needed to do more to curb underage drinking on campus. In a 6-3 vote last night, the council passed an ordinance granting Schweighart emergency powers to enforce a 21 and up limit on bar entrance for special events, particularly looking at next year’s “Unofficial” celebration.

John Currey, director of Champaign Central High School Jazz Ensemble, along with members of the group, collected a proclamation from Deputy Mayor Michael LaDue declaring April as Jazz Appreciation Month in the City of Champaign.

While Currey accepted the certificate, he had some news of his own: Champaign Central High School Jazz Ensemble was chosen as one of 15 schools across North America to participate in the prestigious high school band festival dubbed Essentially Ellington.

After about two years of learning how to build a business, and a year of renovation and construction at 114 Walnut Street in downtown Champaign, Trisha Bates and her sister, Amanda, are almost ready to open Champaign's first cupcake shop, Cakes on Walnut.

The shop, for a time known as Cream & Flutter, is scheduled to have its grand opening party the last week of this month. Cakes on Walnut will have a menu of rotating cupcake flavors — classic flavors like chocolate and vanilla will be served daily with three or four exotic "featured" flavors (such as green tea, for example, or lavender).

After Mayor Gerald Schweighart read the resolution providing funds to the reconstruction of three residential redevelopments on North Neil and West Church streets, Council Member Michael La Due took time to note that the incentive deserves a little fanfare in what he called “a small step for the city, but a giant step for preservation and integrity of our downtown.”

The resolution grants $225,000 from the city to go towards expenditures incurred in reconstruction of the properties at 219 N. Neil St., 223 N. Neil St. and 109 W. Church St. The buildings would provide more residential living in the downtown area.

Downtown Champaign will be suffering yet another Italian restaurant closing this year. First, Dom's closed at the end of 2007 and now, The Great Impasta, a downtown tradition for more than 25 years, will be shutting its doors at the end of 2008.

"It's not established, for me, if this is a closing or if it's another move. It might just be another part of the saga," Harold Allston, the former chef and now owner of The Great Impasta says. In years past, the restaurant occupied a space in the building three doors away, at 132 W. Church St., where Sushi Kame is currently located.

Champaign voters got their first crack at democracy for 2008 this morning. At 11:58 a.m., 315 out of 900 people had already voted at the Holy Cross parish center, which covers the 11th and 12th precincts. The Democratic Party had significantly higher numbers in these precincts than other parties.

Starting today, downtown dwellers should prepare to dig a little deeper in their pockets to feed meters in what the City of Champaign dubs the “downtown core” parking spaces.

City Council’s decision to triple parking rates in downtown Champaign from $.25 an hour to $.75 an hour was made on Dec. 18. In theory, the hiked rates will move long-term visitors to outlying areas where parking prices are lower to make way for short-term guests.

The Friday evening before Champaign Public Library’s Jan. 6 grand opening, the new 122,600 square-foot space is abuzz with activity. Maintenance crews work away at replacement compact disc racks — an unexpected change that needs to be made two days before the unveiling. Other than that minor delay, books are on shelves; the furniture appears in order and the children’s desk projects a vibrant red, green and blue glow.

Champaign Public Library’s old 40,000-square-foot structure stands in the shadow of the new building. Compared to the green design of the new space — with its video game collection and Latte Da! Café, which has indoor and outdoor seating — the old library looks like a dinosaur.

“Brilliant,” “illuminating,” “a one-man show,” is how he was described in The News-Gazette. Following Champaign Centennial’s 12-0 rout of Urbana High School on April 5, 1988, Matt Herges was lauded for a spectacular start to his senior season for the Chargers. In a game that was called after six innings due to the 10-run rule, Herges needed just 81 pitches to go the distance in tossing a dominating, 12-strikeout one-hitter. Only one Urbana batter managed to hit a ball out of the infield.

Half-empty parking lots and darkened storefronts were the result of a massive power outage Sunday in Champaign–Urbana’s commerce district.

As of 1 p.m. Sunday, nearly all businesses and restaurants north of Marketview Drive were without power. The Market Place Mall was also affected.