|
 This site is a retirement hobby for Phil Pash, who wrote for newspapers, big and small, for more than 50 years. The site became fully operational on Oct. 1, 2005. Effective Jan. 1, 2010, the focus is on the Up & Down the Rock column, the World of Wheels and the Great Outdoors. Your feedback is welcome; please visit our contact page, or send an e-mail to phil@philpash.com.
The caricature of Phil on this page was drawn by the late Bruce Lewis of Rockford. You may remember him as Mr. Mustache, and thousands of Rockford-area kids grew up watching him on local TV.
 Wednesday, Dec. 23, 2009 (Vol. 4, No. 7) Random Thoughts--After months of closed-door negotiations and behind-the-scenes "cash for cloture" deals, Harry Reid's government takeover of health care cleared a major milestone. In the pre-dawn hours, Reid got the 60 votes he needed to ram the bill through on a strict party line-vote and the Senate is now moving toward a Christmas Eve vote. When Democrats began pushing their version of "reform," they promised lower premiums with no additional taxes and no reduction in Medicare benefits. What did they deliver? Increased premiums for many Americans, higher taxes and nearly $500 billion in cuts to the Medicare coverage many seniors rely on. ... It still isn't too late to have an impact on this debate. All it More...
 (The World of Wheels column by Phil Pash first appeared in now-defunct Chicago TODAY in the early 1970s. It was the first year-round motor sports column in a Chicago paper). Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010 (Vol. 6, No. 3) Darby To Move Up from Cup Director Job; Berkheimer Mentioned Among Possible Replacements--John Darby--former Rockford Speedway official, car owner and crew chief--isn't going anywhere anytime soon, except maybe to have his office moved from down the hallway at NASCAR's Research and Development Center to right next door to the office of colleague Robin Pemberton, said NASCAR.com. The two men have worked closely together for years. But with Darby now being promoted to managing director for NASCAR after previously being Sprint Cup Series director, he and Pemberton, NASCAR's vice president of competition, envision spending even longer hours working together. Word leaked More...
 (Phil has been writing about outdoors since the late 1970s). Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2010 (Vol. 6, No. 3) DNR Planning To Stock More Flathead, Channel Catfish in Rock River--The Illinois DNR says it is developing plans to stock flathead and channel catfish in the Rock River later this year as part of a continuing effort to speed the recovery of the river's fishery in the aftermath of a June 2009 fish kill. Tens of thousands of sport fish were lost in the Rock fish kill first reported June 20-21, 2009. Dead fish were discovered in the Rock in an area from two miles north of Grand Detour to 50 miles downstream at Prophetstown. The IDNR stocked the river with smallmouth bass and northern pike last summer and channel catfish last fall in the aftermath of the fish kill. "At a recent meeting of area anglers, we again More...
|
