Hoosick Falls versus Bedford Falls: Guardian angel for one but not the other Greed almost ruined Bedford Falls, the idyllic fictional town in the Frank Capra classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” When George Bailey (James Stewart) felt overwhelmed by a…
Cleve Heidelberg Trial Your retelling of the 1970 trial of Cleve Heidelberg for the murder of police officer Ray Espinoza was full of surprises—surprises about the poor police work and improper, perhaps illegal, practices of the prosecution. I was called…
UN 2016 International Year of Pulses: The United Nations has designated 2016 the International Year of Pulses, highlighting dried legumes in promoting global sustainability, food security and countering malnutrition. Pulses include dried beans and peas. Pulses are affordable, high in…
Ethics of Stewardship As I write about ethics of stewardship, today I am focusing on things outside our walls. Next time I will focus on use of building space. It was not until the late 19th century that grass lawns…
Snow Trillium Spring has officially blossomed! On St. Patrick’s Day, I managed to get out to a special place in the woods where some of the first flowers of spring peek through the leaf litter. It has been a mild…
Even as a young adult, I firmly believed in the likelihood of living happily ever after. Growing up in an era and environment which included many large families, though mine was not, I had naïve expectations about marriage and children.…
Landscape waste pick-up for 2016 will begin on the first Friday in April. Boy Scout Troop 11 is again selling trash bags from March 21 to April 11. Contact any Troop 11 scout or Bob DeSutter, scout leader at 674-6668.…
There are times when one needs to take a slow walk to appreciate the language of history: to understand the passion, foresight and insight of those who have gone before. Now, I am going to admit that I am neither…
“That guy pulled a real Stanislavski!” exclaimed Frank Gifford years ago during a Monday Night Football broadcast. The reference was to Constantine Stanislavski, the Russian theater director, acting teacher and founder of the Moscow Art Theater (MAT) and a punter…
April 1: The Brazilionaires “Live at the Five Spot.” 5:30 p.m. Contemporary Art Center. 674-6822. April 1: The Receiver, Shannon Moore Shepherd and Moody Womb, presented by Diplomatic Relations at 8 p.m. at Pizza Works. 682-5446. April 1: Three and…
Painting a Picture Called Peoria As residents of Peoria, we are all painting a picture of our city that is going to be hung on the wall for all the world to see. What do we want that picture to…
A coalition of 200+ labor, community, civil rights, women’s, human rights and environmental groups will descend on Washington, D.C., April 11-18 to campaign for restoring U.S. democracy, the AFL-CIO announced. In a statement, the labor federation said its “Democracy Spring”…
Kip Strasma, president of the Downtown Living Neighborhood Association (DLNA) says, “With hundreds of people potentially moving downtown in 2016 and 2017, the DLNA is working to produce a resident ‘welcome packet.’ The idea is to provide helpful information about…
High blood pressure affects one out of every three adults. About 70 million people in the United States have high blood pressure, but only half have their blood pressure under control. High blood pressure has been called the silent killer,…
BY DAVE WEIMAN The “universal worker” and the “consistent staffing” concepts are two best practices that are found in skilled nursing and assisted living homes. Both can improve the direct care given residents. A universal worker, sometimes referred to as…
The public is invited for a meal and discussion from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. March 7 at Islamic Foundation of Peoria, 823 W. Salaam Drive. “We want to challenge the notion that Muslims are strange and mosques are closed,”…
Whether emptying street-corner trash cans or settling into an emptying office, Steve Fairbanks’ sigh and smile greet visitors like a guy with secrets he’s eager to share. This time of year has featured “States of” speeches — the Union, the…
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady said he will not reopen a case that sent Cleve Heidelberg to prison 45 years ago despite information from a Chicago attorney and local investigator that the police investigation and prosecution of the case…
Flint, Mich., pushed childhood lead poisoning onto a national stage, but Peoria’s lead poisoning levels are equally “frightening” and will hurt Peoria for generations to come, one health care provider said. “We have a revolving door of poison,” said Dr.…
With that headline, readers will probably think I’m going to talk about the presidential debates, Republican and Democrat. Not so. I’m referring to those local and area office holders who’ve been on television and in the newspaper talking about helping…
Five years after the publication of Peorian John Kelly’s “The Other Law of Moses,” the 250-page paperback seems as relevant as ever. Progressive populist Bernie Sanders talks about income inequality and college debt; conservative populist Donald Trump rails about overpriced…
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death leaves the court balanced between conservative and liberal positions on free speech rights and unions. Scalia and the court’s other conservatives comprised a winning five-block coalition that had been expected to issue a conservative…
