One week before Christmas, President Barack Obama announced plans to end the U.S. embargo of Cuba. The embargo had imposed hardship on ordinary Cubans without forcing Fidel Castro out of office. But reaction to lifting the embargo has ranged from…
Ten new short stories by Illinois, Midwestern and other writers are featured in the 2014 edition of Downstate Story, Peoria’s only literary magazine for fiction. Downstate Story is now being published only on the Web at www.downstatestory.com. Writers in the…
Peoria County is looking for ways to further decrease waste, encourage recycling and promote composting of yard waste. The county has been working with a Michigan-based consultant and plans to schedule three public hearings in upcoming weeks to present the…
Raising taxes is about as popular as “pink slime,” and it’s not always the best way to run government. Maybe that’s why Peoria County Board Members Allen Mayer (D-Dist. 6), Stephen Morris (R-Dist. 10) and County Board Chairman-in-waiting Andrew Rand…
Drug Addiction Treatment: Corporate Cash-Cow? Social Responsibility of a Non-Profit or Responsible For-Profit? Peoria has the oldest non-profit methadone clinic in the state, opened in the 1970s by Fayette Companies, but in recent years competition has come to town in the…
By Doug Day Three dramas were performed locally in November. I met with Charles Brown at the Broken Tree Cafe on Main Street to learn about his experience being a guest artist for Bradley in the student directed production of…
Cutline: Dr. Mladen Golubic, top center, speaks with a participant at the “Cook Well, Eat Well, Live Well” program at ICC North Campus. Working in the kitchen with physicians at each session were dieticians, Rebecca Kaplan-Shank, right, and Alice Price,…
Looking at hard numbers can be meaningless, like trying to connect the St. Louis Cardinals’ post-season performance with players’ weights or beard dimensions. Factual yet irrelevant. A better comparison might be the old yarn about several people trying to describe…
Super Weeds Tell Story of Soil Imbalance Central Illinois organic farmer Dave Bishop can stand at the edge of a chemically-treated soybean field, and giant “super weeds” tower over his 6-foot frame. Yet, his organic field nearby has no super…
This photo-mosaic of the downtown skyline of Peoria consists of 2,775 images by Central Illinois artists. Local professional photographer Doug Leunig contributed the master skyline image; Bradley University Professor George Brown designed the “Art Works in Peoria” graphic. The project…
