With less than a week before the balloons, the confetti, the smiles, and the cheers, one candidate will be in the center of it all. Read the rest of this entry »

City taxpayers will receive a small break thanks to one candidate’s willingness to foot the bill.

The Peoria City Council is tallying up the costs of the private fundraiser held at Weaver Angus Farms this summer on July 25 when President George W. Bush made his second visit to Peoria, this time to stump for 18th District congressional candidate Aaron Schock. The city council called on Schock to pay a $38,252 tab to cover the cost of overtime for thirty-eight police officers, seven sergeants, and two lieutenants as well as firefighters and thirty city trucks used for security. Schock announced September 30th that he planned to pay whatever sum was required to reimburse the city—an action he deemed “unprecedented” in campaign history.

The Schock campaign declined further comment on the matter. Read the rest of this entry »

Every year, millions of Americans fly during the holiday season, and every year travelers experience delays, cancellations and other mishaps during their travel. This year will not be any different; it actually may be worse. With the high oil prices and the current economic crisis, the airline industry is in serious financial trouble, and they are hoping to see an increase in revenue this holiday season. To achieve their goal, many U.S. airlines are cutting flights all over the country. Continental is grounding 70 planes, American is grounding 80 planes, and United is grounding more than 100 planes. The cut in air capacity will inevitably raise airline prices, as well as require airlines to find more creative ways to earn a profit. Experts warn travelers to expect airfare prices about 30 percent higher than they were during last year’s holiday travel season. Travelers also need to be aware of recent fee increases to avoid potential charges while flying. Without knowing what types of charges may incur, travelers could find themselves unknowingly paying twice as much for air travel. Read the rest of this entry »

Jesus had the Last Supper and it appears Royce and Roger had the Last Breakfast Thursday, October 2, on 1350 WOAM. Of course, there’s no comparison. Jesus was crucified, dead and buried and rose again. Royce and Roger will go through that process except for the “rose again” business.

In response to the thousands of requests, well maybe hundreds, then again, the kind people who’ve called, sent letters and cards, I’ll tell you the rest of the story of why WOAM and sister station WPMJ went silent without any advance notice to anyone, including Royce and Roger.

Following another “award winning” three hours of “Breakfast with Royce and Roger,” station owner Bob Kelly called a meeting of his four part-time and one full-time employees. Royce and Roger, though not employees, were invited to attend. Kelly announced that Associated Bank had foreclosed on both WOAM and WPMJ.

Though Kelly didn’t say so, we assumed the foreclosure was for non-payment on loans. Due to foreclosure, Kelly said he would shut down the stations later in the day, which he did by taking the little guinea pig out of the round wheel that powered the stations. Read the rest of this entry »

The 2008 U.S. Presidential election has been historic since it started more than 18 months ago. Barriers of gender, faith, race and age all were passed. Hillary Clinton, Mitt Romney, Barack Obama and John McCain were viable candidates who, for the most part, sought to focus on issues instead of being a woman or a Mormon or an African-American or a 72 year old.

Obama, if elected, would be the first U.S. President who’s not white; McCain, if elected, would be the oldest person to be inaugurated in U.S. history.

Such breakthroughs, however, diminish some when compared to what’s ahead for whomever is elected to serve in the White House and for the rest of the nation. The survival of Americans’ rights amid assaults on the U.S. Constitution and the courts, and the survival of the planet amid threats to the environment are vital, of course. But citizens worry about issues that seem more immediate and tangible: the economy, war, health care, and even trade, and grassroots organizations have been working to ensure those problems remain a priority. Read the rest of this entry »

The clank of the wagon tongue, a forward jolt, and we’re off! Murmurs of excitement escape from the crowd into the cool quiet October evening. The horses pull the wagon along beneath the bright stars of the Big Dipper to the north, and the brilliant planet, Jupiter, to the south.

This isn’t just any harvest time hayride. For 27 autumn explorers, it’s a short sojourn into a piece Central Illinois’ past. What makes it special is these two huge percheron draft horses pulling the wagon. The Peoria Park District acquired them just about five years ago and they’ve become a regular part of Pioneer Days events and also the Hotdogs and Hayrides programs on Thursday evenings in October. They’ve also done hayrides for private groups and for Ancient Oaks Camp, all within the rustic rural confines of W.H. Sommer Park. Read the rest of this entry »

October 22 was the last day GateHouse Media — the company that owns the Peoria Journal Star and most of the other daily and weekly newspapers in the area — was traded on the New York Stock exchange. Its trading price at the exchange closed? Seven cents per share. At one point, it sold at more than $20 per share.

It’s sold over the counter now.

I recently wrote on my blog — pundit.blogpeoria.com — that there was a very real possibility that GateHouse would be liquidated and sold off part by part. The Journal Star’s best option, I wrote, would be if the paper might be bought by a philanthropist with a love of local journalism.

But I recently came across a well-researched article that suggests that GateHouse will survive the drop in stock price, and that there will be no need to sell it off, piece by piece. Read the rest of this entry »

Dolores Klein, Peoria, IL

All across the country women are succeeding as congresswomen, governors, mayors, serious presidential and vice presidential candidates. They deserve accolades for continuing their uphill battles.

They also deserve our continued efforts to secure their places in our Federal Constitution. By crossing state lines to change residence, jobs, etc., they and their children of both genders can lose gender protections, as less than half the states have their own Equal Rights amendments.

As we prepare to vote for Congressional and State representatives, ask the candidates whether they support and will vote to finally secure women’s equality, at the national level, or in Illinois when the three-state strategy comes up again.

I have yet to hear Sarah Palin asked her position on this issue. Does she know that both parties supported its passage in 1972, that one of her heroes, Ronald Regan reversed his support of ratifying the 27th Amendment, to gain the Religious Right’s backing?

We can hope that whichever candidates wins the Presidency, he will fulfill the late columnist Erma Bombeck’s expressed hope and make the Equal Rights Amendment a priority as he takes office.

Christine Azizieh, Peoria, IL

Another day, another story of a politician voting to give them self a pay raise. This time it is Joan Krupa, who evidently thought she deserved to be paid more of our money.

The goons in Springfield vote to give themselves a pay raise and now Joan Krupa wants to join them as a state representative.

People are suffering in this Bushwacked economy, and we need someone fighting for us who thinks more about taxpayers than their own wallet. Unfortunately, Joan Krupa has proven she isn’t a politician who will keep our wallets in mind.

The last thing we need is to send another greedy politician like Joan Krupa to Springfield.

Joyce Harant, Peoria, IL

My background as former President and CEO of the Planned Parenthood Heart of Illinois, causes me to worry that 18th Congressional voters do not realize that only one candidate, Colleen Callahan, supports keeping the government out of your personal and private family planning and reproductive health care decisions. She will promote health preventive services by supporting access to family planning and comprehensive sex education.

Aaron Schock, based on the 2008 Illinois Right to Life Candidate Survey results, indicates that he would take us backwards by supporting legislation that will:

-prohibit women receiving over-the-counter Emergency Contraception at pharmacies

-deny funding to agencies such as Planned Parenthood that currently provide thousands of low income women and families with family planning services because with their private and separate funds, these agencies also offer access to safe and legal abortion services.

-make most abortions illegal in this country. Aaron Schock would even require a woman who was raped to report her rape to the police before getting permission to obtain an abortion. Mr. Shock supports the complete reversal of the 1973 Roe v Wade decision that balanced the interests of individual and private decision making by women when faced with unintended pregnancy and that of the government.

-make embryonic stem cell research illegal.

I will be voting for Colleen Callahan because she respects us and our ability to make our own reproductive decisions.

Debbie L. Adlof, Editor/Owner of The Community Word, Peoria, IL

I’m really excited by the number of editorial letters being sent into the Community Word. As the editor/owner, I try very hard to stay off the editorial page. I want this page to be the voice of the Peoria community, rather than the voice of the editor. However, with that being said, I thought I’d use up just a little bit of space to share some opinions, information and thoughts.

Usually, I receive nothing but positive reactions to the paper. There’s something for everyone. That’s been my goal – to provide the readers with great local news stories and great diverse columnists. So, I have three to four news stories and lots of tidbits of news items. My columnists offer all sorts of perspectives and subject matters. It’s kind of funny though. My two biggest criticisms are:

1. The paper is too liberal.

2. The paper is too conservative.

Really? But, that tells me I’m doing my job of balancing the paper with both liberal and conservative perspectives. There is indeed something for everyone. Complainers are quick to react. However, I’ve noticed that they absolutely LOVE to hate a perspective other than their own. So, the first thing they do is turn the pages to the one columnist they don’t like at all and read and fume, and hopefully think.

Several columnists have let their political opinions be known, so there’s plenty to think about as we quickly approach the election. The paper has had some great news stories lately on several political races and issues. I hope you’ve checked those stories out. I also hope you’ve attended some of the candidate forums and I hope you’ve done your own research on all the candidates in order to be an informed voter. Your country needs you to do just that.

Twenty-eight years have disappeared from the day I gave birth to my only child. November is the month I pushed him out into this world and met him face to face. I was a teenager when he was born, unable to comprehend the miracle of his precious life - unwilling to have my self-centered lifestyle interrupted.

Thus I spent most of his childhood competing with him for attention, sometimes robbing him of what he deserved. But despite my ignorance and negligence, he grew up. He laughed and cried; he made good grades in school and even got into some trouble now and then. He charmed the waitresses and the ladies at church and stole his Grandma’s heart. Read the rest of this entry »