Thanksgiving Thought Food

A couple years ago I returned to my great grandparents’ farm after half a century, and barely recognized the place. The log barn was gone, the chicken coop gone, as was the machine shed. Pastures, garden, windmill … all gone.…

City Beat

Umm … exactly how did Peoria’s ‘Don’t Shoot’ PR campaign have anything as all to do with federal indictments of Bomb Squad members? So, 12 members of a rather ordinary street gang that most Peorians have never heard of get…

Editorials

One Plantation at a Time! Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL Those of us who participated in, and lived through the struggles to enact the Civil Rights Act of the ‘60s, remember well the unwillingness of many who did not support…

How to Vote

We finally made it to the month that my Daddy talked about most in his last three years on earth: November – specifically, November 6, 2012, Election Day. Seriously, Daddy sent daily e-mails to a large list of family and…

West Peoria News for November

Don’t forget to vote on November 6th, 2012. West Peoria polling places are: Ward 1 and Ward 2 at the City Garage, 1322 Hillside Avenue; Ward 3 and Ward 4 at the Franciscan Recreation Center, 908 N. Sterling Avenue. The West…

Musings for November

I have at least stopped worrying about Jason quite so much, because he is on the mend. What a nightmare it was for several weeks. He had to be on an antibiotic in a PIC Line (which is a line…

November happenings

Nov. 1 – Peoria Garden Club Monthly Meeting will be held at the Peoria Library – North. Ideas, themes, & table settings will be presented to inspire for the holidays ahead. Refreshments served at noon. The general meeting is at 12:30…

Miscellaneous for November 2012

Methodist Medical Center’s November Mobile Mammography Schedule The following is the schedule for the Methodist Medical Center Mobile Mammography Van for the month of November, 2012. Methodist features all digital mammography equipment providing improved, faster and more comfortable exams. November…

Was the Chiefs Stadium Worth It?

The Chiefs and the City of Peoria in the downtown stadium may have started as a marriage of convenience, but at its 10-year anniversary, the relationship seems to be enduring. Instead of the honeymoon being over, ongoing operations and the return…

Races Closely Watched as Election Nears

As the weather turns cooler, state and federal races are heating up across Central Illinois. Following four years of Democratic leadership in Washington, D.C., Republicans at the federal and state level are looking for a win. In the Illinois General Assembly,…

Global Demand to Label Genetically Modified Food

By Clare Howard Grassroots organizers, organic farmers and environmentalists in central Illinois are joining groups around the country taking on a global Goliath and demanding that genetically modified food be labeled. More than 70 percent of food sold in grocery stores…

Chiefs welcome Cards

The old saying, “When you’re handed a lemon, make lemonade,” sure applies to the Peoria Chiefs. After Chicago Cub management unceremoniously dropped the Peoria Chiefs as one of their minor league teams, it took Chief officials two days to turn a…

“Bailout” Documentary Premieres in Peoria

A tattered U.S. flag is an early image in the movie “Bailout,” directed by Peoria native Sean Patrick Fahey. Scheduled to premiere at downtown Peoria’s nonprofit Apollo Theater Oct. 5-11, the 85-minute documentary about the human cost of the 2008…

All Who Wander Are Not Lost

It was a question I’d heard before. In August I was presenting a bird program when a lady asked, “Is it true that humming birds migrate south by hitching a ride on the backs of Canada geese?” This is a…

Mayor Ardis ran on an anti crime platform in 2005

I was deeply involved in covering the 2005 city council/mayoral elections. At the time, I strongly opposed Dave Ransburg, and I did back Jim Ardis. I liked his strong anti-crime message. I was critical of the Journal Star for accusing Mayor Ardis of…

Which Candidate is More Pro-Life?

Dolores M. Klein, Peoria, IL Neither Governor Romney nor President Obama are “pro-abortion.” When governor Romney of Massachusetts defended Roe-Wade as the law of the land, he was not being pro-abortion. Nor is President Obama in defending Roe-Wade, pro-abortion. When…