Peoria has a new mayor. After a short stint as a member of the City Council, Ali was elected mayor, defeating fellow Councilman Jim Montelongo. It was a close race. At the end of election day, Tuesday, April 6, Montelongo…
Columns
Bill Knight | “Punks in Peoria”
by Community Word Staff • • 3 Comments
Given the general characteristics of status-quo Peoria and youths’ attraction to exciting punk music on both coasts, those forces were destined to Clash. (So to speak.) Out in June, “Punks in Peoria: Making A Scene in The American Heartland” from…
The Watch | May 2021
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Government business slogged forward in March as a fourth corona-wave appeared imminent. On March 9, after several delays, Peoria City Council updated the city code for short-term rental uses. Before this action, short-term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO were…
Real Talk | Protected Terror
by Sherry Cannon • • 0 Comments
What we thought was 8 minutes and 46 seconds of terror and torture was actually, 9 minutes and 29 seconds. We know now that was how long former police officer Derek Chauvin had his knee on the neck of George…
Nature Rambles | On Summer Tanagers
by Mike Miller • • 0 Comments
May is known for its colorful flowers. Trees also are in bloom and insects are becoming more numerous. With all of this activity, the stage is set for the peak of songbird migration. Many of these birds are migrating north…
Inland Art | Welcome, Nichole Gronvold Roller
by Community Word Staff • • 1 Comment
Editor’s note: After more than four years writing Inland Art for Community Word, Paul Krainak is focusing on other projects, notably a blog “Bad at Sports” accessed at http://badatsports.com/2021/sub-rural/. He recommended Nichole Gronvold Roller as his replacement. Her column will…
Art: What is it Good For? | Mural making workshop for kids
by Doug and Eileen Leunig • • 1 Comment
How do you spell art? On April 17, more than 15 young children would have answered F-U-N. That’s the day Big Picture Initiative and The Peoria Playhouse Children’s Museum co-hosted a mural making workshop. Artists Megan Couri and Jaci Musec…
Art Alerts | May 2021
by Community Word Staff • • 0 Comments
Fine Arts Society of Peoria presents lecture by Dr. Robert McCarter “The Architecture of Carlo Scarpa: Recomposing Place, Intertwining Time, Transforming Reality,” 10 a.m. May 13 via Zoom. Register at FineArtsSociety.net. “Seen but not Felt” will be virtually exhibited all…
Reflections from an Existential Lens | Religion, Secularism, and the Meaning of Life, Part IV
by Community Word Staff • • 2 Comments
What is the meaning of life? Last time I suggested that we instead ask whether life is lived meaningfully. This phrasing doesn’t assume meaning must come from somewhere outside, written in words of fire. As Viktor Frankl says, “Questions about…
Heat Waves — In Red and Black | Is Large-Scale Ecological Restoration Possible? The Loess Plateau Experiment, Part 1
by William Rau • • 0 Comments
We are the last generation that can stabilize the earth’s deteriorating climate. That outcome requires a 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by the early 2030s. Then, we must reduce remaining emission to zero by 2050. Finally, we must go…