Capsule reviews can be like speed dating in a bouncy house. Risking insulting artists who spent energy and investments of time and temperament, they’re a way to acknowledge their efforts. (Likewise, excuse the name-dropping comparisons, but they’re efficient.) Anyway, much…
Bill Knight
Bill Knight | Climate change is a job-killer
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Last month, actor Rainn Wilson (from “The Office”) tweeted, “I love the idea of a Green New Deal but Fox News said the plan includes the mandatory sucking of farts out of camels, solar-panel skull implants, Al Gore face tattoos…
Bill Knight | Two new Americana CDs
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Pope John XXIII is remembered as saying, “I never met a pessimist who managed to do something good,” a phrase that comes to mind after hearing two new Americana CDs with a sympathetic ear that was charmed, then disappointed. (Full…
Bill Knight | Ugliness in April elections
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Dirty politics, surly opposition and ugly social media all surfaced around April’s election. Some races had no challengers; some couldn’t fill vacancies; some unqualified candidates resorted to name-calling or paying others for negative appeals. Willingness to serve takes time, money…
Bill Knight | County residents object to proposed hog farm
by Bill Knight • • 1 Comment
After a career as a chef and restauranteur – including running Coop’s in Princeville for eight years – Sherri Cooper was looking forward to a retirement renovating the Washington C. Wear homestead, a property on the National Register of Historic…
Bill Knight | “Centrism” is an ideology, too
by Bill Knight • • 1 Comment
Cautious or incremental approaches can be sensible. If you aspire to play with the Heartland Festival Orchestra, it’s pragmatic to practice well before approaching conductor David Commanday; if you dream of running in June’s Steamboat Classic, gradually getting in shape…
Bill Knight | Farm subsidies
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Somewhat overlooked during the holidays’ government shutdown caused by President Trump’s demand for $5 billion to partly fund a border wall that Democrats don’t support was the delay of some farm subsidies and other payments to farmers. That sparked a…
Bill Knight | How to address homelessness
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
Neither the City of Peoria nor Peoria County has a lot of extra money sitting around, but do you know who has even less? The homeless. Helping the homeless, however, should be more than a passing winter impulse, and ensuring…
Bill Knight | Dissent and protest in America
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A 36-year-old history professor at Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas, Dawson Barrett is a 2000 graduate of Illinois Valley Central High School in Chillicothe. He has a new book about recent history and an appreciation for his interest…
Bill Knight | Midwest artist offers eclectic sampling of “Americana”
by Bill Knight • • 0 Comments
The label “Americana” means music that blends folk, gospel, country, R&B and gospel, but it’s no uniform, sound-a-like genre. Artists carve out distinctive sounds mixing acoustic and electric, creating an eclectic delight. Edward David Anderson’s record released in October is…