The earth is changing. In fact, it is in a constant state of change. Tectonic plates slowly grind and move. Mountains lift in the Himalayas, and slowly wear down in the Appalachians. I’m now sitting in a cottage in…
A Changing Planet
West Peoria News
July Fourth marks a special day for our West Peoria community and citizens. It is the day that each year the community opens its doors, streets, hearts and welcomes thousands to our community for the longest running Fourth of July…
The Magnificent Invalid
The Great Work Begins is a group of young actors who have formed a collective to produce and perform some of the most important theatrical literature of the past. They have no funding, no roof, no grants, nothing but passion…
Arts Beat
MUSIC July 2: Bluprint. 8:30 p.m. Festival Park on Peoria’s riverfront. Produced by Alpha Media. 637-3700. July 3: Molly Hatchet, with the Outlaws. 7:30 p.m. Festival Park on Peoria’s riverfront. Produced by Alpha Media. 637-3700. July 3: Change-Up. 8…
Moving from Dull to Dynamic
Moving from Dull to Dynamic Peoria has an image problem. For over a hundred years we have suffered the vaudevillian view of Peoria as the paramount example of the dull, banal and provincial. And to make matters worse, Peorians embraced…
Labor Roundup
Louisville Slugger plant is unionized. As Peoria’s Louisville Slugger Sports Complex gets busier this month, it’s interesting to note the bat company’s labor relations. Every month is baseball season for members of Steelworkers Local 1693 at the Hillerich & Bradsby…
Neighborhood Notes
Local Florist and West Bluff neighborhood resident/advocate Dan Callahan is the recipient of the 2015 West Bluff Council “Pillar of the West Bluff Award.” Callahan, who was nominated by activist and Moss-Bradley Neighborhood resident Marjorie Klise, is a long-time West…
ENVIRONMENTAL NEWS BRIEFS
Ontario first jurisdiction in North America to curb bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides. A new rule that goes into effect July 1 will reduce 80 percent of the neonicotinoid-coated corn and soybean seeds planted in the province by 2017. Scientists have…
SHOULD I USE ASPARTAME?
SHOULD I USE ASPARTAME? Most people like sweet foods. Artificial sweeteners like aspartame can sweeten foods without the extra calories and glucose-raising sugar. Is aspartame safe? Can it help you lose weight? Could it help you control your diabetes? Aspartame…
Peoria pushes EPA for more time to stop dumping raw sewage into Illinois River
Pleasure boats speed past the Murray Baker Bridge and jet skis zigzag back and forth across the channel through an area of the Illinois River near downtown Peoria where untreated sewage enters the river during heavy rain. The city would…
Is Rauner’s ‘turnaround’ fair play?
Gov. Bruce Rauner’s turnaround agenda could seriously hurt everyday people. And it wouldn’t be a double-whammy. It would be more like a quadruple-whammy. Squared. The Republican’s proposed cuts to human services in particular could weaken everything from health care and…
How much of a “probable human carcinogen” is in your urine?
One of the most widely used pesticides in the Peoria area and around the world, applied plentifully by both homeowners and farmers, was labeled a probable human carcinogen by the World Health Organization recently. Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup,…
Arctic Apples: What Would Granny Smith Do?
By Herman Brockman OpEd Two Arctic apple varieties have been in the news recently because of their “approval” by the USDA and FDA. “Approval” is commonly used in the media, but the reality is that the USDA “deregulated” these Arctic…
Racism and Inequality in America
Inequality is poisoning the American dream. As economic inequality grows, expanding geographic areas of this country lose hope. Hopelessness destroys democracy and poisons faith in the judicial system. Right now, faith in the American judicial system is paper thin: Trayvon…
DISTRICT 150 SINGS
Anyone with a brain knows the board and administration of School District 150 is dysfunctional. Too many of their decisions are so ridiculous one has to laugh. I’m still laughing after listening to a jingle produced for the school district…
Lift the ban on public housing for people with non-violent criminal convictions
Hedy Elliott Gardner OpEd All across the country people struggle to find affordable housing. People who are low income or on a fixed income find it especially challenging. The demand is driving the cost up so high that there is…