In the middle of the night I occasionally notice a dark figure in my yard, hunkered over as if in prayer, lurking just beneath the bird feeder… chewing. If it notices me, moving inside the house, it will quickly disappear…
City’s tepid response to Snowpocalypse light
I’ve spent most of the snowstorm in the city’s chronically neglected South Side, so maybe I don’t have a good grasp of the work done elsewhere in the city yet. I know that Western is pretty well covered in snow.…
Guest editorials for March
Will Women Be Drafted? Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL When women testified before 1920 on behalf of Suffrage, they were asked if they realized that men could vote because they were required to give their lives for their country. Invariably,…
Melancholy March
She doesn’t remember the last time we were together and swears she hasn’t seen me in years. We had lunch last Sunday. This is the month she gave birth to me, but she won’t remember that either. Mom is frail…
Serendipity for March
About 12 of us first met in the winter of 1967 in a training class at the Greater Peoria Airport as prospective employees of Ozark Airlines. Most of us were in our late teens or barely 20. This was many…
West Peoria News for March
Troop 11 is again selling trash bags with sales starting March 4th with delivery in April. A box of 100 bags is $16.00. If you do not hear from a boy scout and want a box of bags please call…
Can the Web Help You Reach Your New Year’s Resolutions?
Things always pick up at the gym at the beginning of the year and every year with people starting their New Year’s resolutions. I’m happy for them. It’s a fresh start with a fresh year. However, the chaos starts to…
Happenings for March
March 2 – JEMS Girls Travel Basketball Program will be host basketball tryouts on at the Woodruff Career & Technical Center (Old Woodruff High School) from 8:30 – 11:30a.m. for our travel basketball teams. This is open to girls grades…
Newsbriefs for March
Peoria County Courthouse Voting Schedule Monday – Friday 3/25/2013 – 4/5/2013 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Peoria County Clerks’ Office, 324 Main St., Room 101, Peoria Saturday 3/30/2013 – 4/6/2013 from 9:00 a.m. – noon Peoria County Clerk’s Office,…
Time Runs Out for Pension Reform: Now What?
Following the swearing in of several new members to the Illinois General Assembly early last month, some Peoria residents are losing faith in the passage of a “perfect” pension reform plan. The clock struck midnight for lawmakers in Springfield at…
New Health Care Option for the Uninsured, Small Businesses & Individuals: ‘Direct Primary Care’ Comes to Peoria
By Clare Howard A small office on North University Street is turning out empirical evidence that one of America’s most intractable problems may be resolvable with a new economic model that removes health insurance from primary care. The projected results…
Gordon-Booth and AT&T Present Award to Peoria Promise
State Rep. Jehan Gordon-Booth (D-Peoria) joined representatives from AT&T to present Peoria Promise with the “Investing in Illinois” award. Gordon-Booth nominated Peoria Promise to receive for the award. “In today’s economy a college education is necessary to getting a good,…
Straight Talk: Jim Maloof left his mark
Much has been written and spoken about Jim Maloof. And rightfully so. He touched thousands of lives, including mine. I’ve had the good fortune to know Jim for over 43 years. The friendship really began to blossom in November of…
Knight Watch: Progressives Unite to Fight for Democracy
In 1864, the Rev. Byron Sunderland, chaplain of the U.S. Senate, prayed before an April session, “Oh, Lord, give us that Thou wilt in Thine infinite wisdom vouchsafe to our rulers and legislators in this Congress assembled more brains. More…
Dale’s Column: February Hearts & Flowers
February may be a short month, but it’s a very transitional one. After the groundhog searches for his shadow, signs of spring start to show up… owls are nesting, American woodcock begin returning from their wintering grounds in the south,…
City Beat: Poor Aaron Schock
He seems to be doing a good job in Congress … as long as he is working behind the scenes with as little direct contact with the public — and the media — as possible. But as soon as he…
Some guest editorials
0213Bring This to the Forefront Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL Having followed all the widespread and intense discussions of the national Second Amendment/gun control follow-up to the Newtown tragedy, I keep hoping that Mayor Bloomberg’s argument would come to the…
Doors & Windows: Guns, Games & Cold Love
It was midnight and a mother and three of her children were sound asleep. They would never wake to greet the morning. By dawn, her husband, too, would be dead. The lights were off and people of all ages sat…
Serendipity: Love is not a feeling, but a decision!
When I was a child, I often asked my mother whom she loved most: my dad, my sister or me. I was hoping, and rather confident I would be high scorer in this category. It never happened. She always told…
News for February 2013
At the January 8, 2013 West Peoria City Council meeting, James (Jami ) E. Silver was appointed as Alderman for the 4th Ward until the April 9, 2013 election. There is an opening in each of the four wards: Candidates…
Five Technology Tips for the New Year
Now that we’ve gotten past the latest “apocalypse” and moved into a brand-new year, many of us are thinking of ways to improve ourselves (and our lives) over the coming months. With technology playing a bigger and bigger role in…
Musings for February 2013
Here it is January 25, and I still am thinking about the holidays. Not really thinking of them, but realizing that I still have holiday items to put away. I look at them, and wonder if I will ever get…