By JESSICA JOHNSON Illinois Tobacco-Free Communities Coordinator for Hult Center for Healthy Living Have you ever been constantly bothered by the smoke from a neighbor’s cigarette? Chances are most people have experienced the uncomfortable effect of breathing in somebody else’s…
A barren wasteland lay in between the way I see myself and the way I am seen by others. The perception and programming of people further clouds the actual reality of that distance. I am 55 years old and at…
Upon entering the 22 VA Art Exhibit last November in the Downtown Branch of the Peoria Public Library, I immediately felt connected to a wide range of creative works. Walls were lined with paintings, photos, recycled art, quilts, writing, carvings,…
BOOKS • Writer (and Community Word co-owner) Burt Raabe will be signing his poetry collection “Zen and the Art of Underground Sprinkler Maintenance” and reading selections at I Know You Like A Book on Jan. 11. • Former U.S. Attorney…
If you’re reading this, then you made it to the year of our Lord, 2023. Perhaps there is light snow on the ground and a solitary robin sitting on a frosty tree limb just outside your window. If you’re lucky,…
At 123 years old, the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is the longest running citizen science project in existence. Its roots date back to 1900, when ornithologist Frank Chapman suggested that people should go out at Christmas and count…
There are plenty of people Peorians can be proud of here, there and everywhere. One such person to have particular pride in is the Honorable Darrin Gayles. The Peoria High graduate sits on the federal bench in Miami as…
The prime time when trees were center stage passed with fall’s spectacular colors gone or muted into stands of dark-brown red oaks. But forests in the city may yet be in the wings, awaiting their cue. There are initiatives to…
Before the origination of public art museums, exposure to distant cultures was limited to private collections and travel of elite society and nobility. The history and development of museums have a rugged lineage with the political controversy of questionable artifact…
The first time I can remember being exposed to the Illinois prairie was more than 40 years ago on a hike led by Hal Gardner at Jubilee College State Park. It was part of a “Prairie Day” event to build…
