Just how hard is this hold the GOP has on its fool’s gold? The rift in the Republican party is intriguing, but may or not be increasing. In the past six or so years, the GOP obviously morphed into the…
The day will come when B.C. will no longer denote a time before Christ. Human history has entered a period of irrevocable change unlike any since the birth of our Lord and Savior. I believe B.C. will eventually designate a…
Peoria City Council discussed disconnection of property — which was annexed to the city in 1993 with the Charter Oak development — at its Dec. 14 meeting. Michael Fleming, attorney for property owners, requested undeveloped parcels without access to roads…
The 2020 Census updated data about populations, and people may wonder what happens next. A definite result is changing local voting districts at all levels, though specifics remain unclear. A possible result is revising plans for public and private services…
The Illinois legislature has seemingly tried to enact a narrow rule to limit some campaign contributions, but Kent Redfield, the University of Illinois/Springfield emeritus professor featured in Bill Knight’s column last month, doubts whether it’s much more than window-dressing. Democrats…
The Peoria Symphony Puppet Troupe will have to wait until at least next school year before it’s able to perform at the Peoria Public schools. The Troupe, which has put on puppet shows for PPS K-3 classes for more than…
December and early January was Christmas Bird Count time in Central Illinois. The Peoria Audubon Society coordinates three counts in the region. One in Peoria, one near Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge, and another in Chillicothe. The Christmas Bird Count (CBC)…
Yes, and fast — but a reprise first. California’s “duck curve” in January’s column exposes the misfit between nukes and renewables. The duck curve shows how increasing solar output would replace midday fossil generation until solar output bumped into (in…
Anastasia Samoylova has made quite a splash in the international photography scene since leaving Peoria and relocating to Miami Beach. A book of her eerily serene yet troubling photographs titled FloodZone (Steidl, 2019) depicts a beautiful but unsettling vision of…
ART Distinctive creations by the late Brian Kjellenberg are on exhibit now through April 8 in the Hartmann Gallery at Bradley University. Titled “Playful Nostalgia,” the show by the award-winning area artist, who worked with students at BU’s Sculpture Lab,…
Plans, meetings and efforts are underway for West Peoria’s big 50th Fourth of July event. For you who have participated in the past and newcomers to our community, this is a large opportunity to show the many outsiders that West…
Concerning behavioral response to cards and papers, genetics doesn’t necessarily determine whether someone is a saver, a read it and toss it, or creative blend of both. I don’t know if one inherits such traits, or if they just happen,…
Illinois unions active last month: The IBEW won a 25-7 vote to represent Intralot lottery-machine techs in Bolingbrook; Operating Engineers are organizing parts engineers at Alta construction equipment in Ottawa and Spring Grove; SAG-AFTRA is organizing journalists at Univision’s WGBO-TV…
The young students sat mesmerized in the gymnasium of Peoria Academy as they watched puppets prance around a pop-up stage during a performance of “Peter and the Wolf” last November. Behind — and beneath — the scenes, six women of…
The Peoria Symphony Orchestra made history Nov. 20th with a world premier during “HerStory: A Musical Tribute to Betty Friedan” at the Civic Center Theater. Manhattan-based Composer-in-Residence Stephanie Ann Boyd composed the score in tribute to the feminist icon from…
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new Toxic Release Inventory shows companies’ data on industrial waste last year, and of all of Peoria’s zip codes, four have businesses that say they released between 12.6 tons to six pounds. Metro Peoria has…
Ninety-nine years means a lot of stories for a reporter. Officially, Theo Jean Kenyon’s career spanned World War II and the first Obama Administration. Elegantly dressed and coiffed, she covered Peoria — from advisory committees to zoning commissions — working…
“I saw that the camera could be a weapon against poverty, against racism, against all sorts of social change wrongs. I knew at that point I had to have a camera,” Gordon Parks. These are the words of Gordon Parks,…
In a letter to employees and a news release to the media, Unity Point Health CEO and President Clay Holderman, announced that the Iowa-based health system had entered into discussions with officials at Carle Health that could see Peoria’s Methodist…
In the spring of 1996 Kent Redfield was a 47-year-old political science professor at the University of Illinois Springfield, where he wrote a report for the Illinois Campaign Finance Project (ICPR) outlining dozens of ways to change how candidates raise…
