Urbana native Nina Paley's animated feature Sita Sings the Blues found heaps of praise when it appeared in 2008, winning the Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival and garnering lots of Big Apple love upon its U.S. debut at the Tribeca Film Festival. Eventually the quirky labor of love found its most eloquent and highest profile champion in Roger Ebert, who penned a virtual love letter to the film. The reception has not been as warm this month in Queens, where a planned screening has run into protests from some in the Hindu community. more ›

Yesterday, Roger Ebert's boyhood home in Urbana was granted landmark status in a ceremony which included Mayor Laurel Prussing. Ebert and his wife Chaz were present for the placement of a bronze plaque at 410 E. Washington St. where he lived with his parents from 1942 to 1961. He obviously has very fond memories of the place, writing, "I was born at the center of the universe, and have had good fortune for all of my days." The beloved film critic was in town to kick off his 11th Annual Ebertfest, spotlighting underseen and underappreciated movies. more ›

A bizarre, squeamish story from Urbana this week: a filter screen at a water treatment plant caught three placentas and the Trib confirms, "at least one of them [is] human." According to Julie Pryde, head of the Champaign-Urbana Health District, the placentas don't pose a health threat and were most likely the result of a midwife not being aware of the proper disposal procedure for a placenta. more ›

Anyone with a weather radio was just woke up with this very disturbing child abduction alert from the Illinois State Police: more ›