By Doug and Eileen Leunig Most of us don’t. We take water for granted. Sure, drought in California, Colorado River drying up, headline-news thinking is everywhere and nonstop. But what do we really know about water? It is…
Think about Water
Labor Roundup for December 2014
Speakers advocate campaign about value of unions. Labor must launch a massive education campaign about unions’ value to counter Right-wing propaganda and to forestall cynicism that could lead people to turn to demagogues, said speakers at a recent Economic Policy…
Is skipping breakfast healthful or harmful?
Always eat breakfast is common advice. A Google search on benefits of eating breakfast found 930,000 hits including 4 Reasons Why You Should Never Skip Breakfast.(1). On the other hand, a Google search on benefits of skipping breakfast found…
8 simple ways to shop local this Christmas
If you are like me, you loathe the idea of spending money at chain stores. I figure, if you spend money at a locally owned spot, you are giving cash to a family that is going to shop and pay…
Why Unionize Home Health Care Workers? Illinois Lost Recently in the Supreme Court
If you don’t have elderly parents who rely on home health care, don’t have home care yourself or you’re not a union organizer, why should you care about unionizing home health care workers? Care because this issue is at the…
Celebrate a ‘Night for Richard’ Pryor at the Civic Center
This Thanksgiving, Peoria should be grateful for having shared a time and place with Richard Pryor, who died 14 years ago next month. And to help the community remember that blessing, the all-star “Night for Richard” featuring Cedric “The Entertainer,”…
Unique program teaches links between diet and disease
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,…
Congressional leader keynoting NAACP banquet
U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-SC) will be the featured speaker at NAACP’s 52nd Nov. 22 Freedom Fund Banquet at Par-A-Dice Hotel and Conference Center in East Peoria. The event – “All in for Justice and Equality” – will start…
What’s the Evidence for Medical Marijuana?
Medical marijuana is coming to Illinois soon. The state has a long list of approved conditions for marijuana including cancer, glaucoma, HIV and multiple sclerosis.i If you have one of these conditions, you may be wondering if marijuana would…
Vote as if tomorrow matters
A couple weeks ago I was whining to friends about how I used to vote for candidates from both parties. In politics, talk is cheap, so I look for those who have a positive voting record in support of clean…
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Art Beat for November 2014
MUSIC Nov. 8: In This Moment, the “Black Widow Tour.” 7 p.m. Limelight Eventplex. 693-1234. Nov. 9: BU’s Saxophone Quartet and Quintet. 3 p.m. Bradley University’s Dingeldine Music Center. 677-2595. Nov. 9: Flatland Harmony Experiment Trillium. 2 p.m. Peoria Public…
FDIC data offers glimpse of Peoria commercial banks
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…
Learning to read the weeds
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…
Art: What is it good for?
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…
Labor Roundup for November 2014
Illinois governor race neck-and-neck. Press Association Unions News Service reports that the race for Illinois Governor is a tossup. “Gov. Pat Quinn (D) barely won a first full term, thanks to huge labor support, in 2010,” said PAI’s Mark Gruenberg.…
Serendipity for November 2014
Dear Emma Kate, During our last family get-together, you were vigorously wiggling a loose tooth. Your Mom later reported success with the tooth pulling, and that a serious discussion ensued about the Tooth Fairy being “real.” You are certainly old…
Straight Talk for November 2014
TOO SOON! It was a shock, a disappointing shock, when the announcement came that well-known Manual High School and University of Illinois basketball coach, Wayne McClain had died at the young age of 60. While initial news reports said he…
Peoria Housing Agency is about to get a taste of ‘my way or the highway’
The Journal Star recently ran a story on Peoria Housing Authority trying to rely less on money from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. This paragraph caught my attention: “Written comments provided by North Valley Alliance, which represents the…
Who gets to vote in America?
It is almost time to vote once again and all sorts of weird and wonderful things are happening. One of them is attack ads. Attack ads are so mean that many wonderful people will never consider running for public office.…
Nature Rambles for November 2014
Prairie Chicken Politics Who would have thought that one of the iconic symbols of the Illinois Prairie could become a political hot potato? But that’s exactly what happened this year as biologists attempted to boost the crashing population of Greater…
Neighborhood Notes for November 2014
* Home sales up in 3rd quarter. Neighborhoods’ homes are selling steadily, according to the Peoria Area Association of Realtors (PAAR), which reported that the Peoria market’s third-quarter home sales were up 2.4 percent, to 1,440. Also, the average home…