Recycling is a great — and easy — way to help improve our planet. It feels good to “Go Green,” knowing that separating stuff from our garbage and throwing it into a bin so it can be used again instead…
Tens of thousands of rural residents could benefit from new initiatives in Washington and Peoria, and improvements may start small, such as a proposal to offer waste and recycling pickup to areas not served by curbside programs. • The White…
Alex Lamprecht feels the need for speed with the wind in her hair. The financial advisor at Thrivent is gearing up for her seventh Bike MS ride this summer. “The gameplan is I’m going to try to do 100 miles…
When I turned on the kitchen radio, I was startled: Opposite Day? Bizarro world? A Russian hack? Expecting reliable WIRL-AM 1290’s enjoyable, pleasantly distracting classic tunes, I heard Sean Hannity. Days before, the oldies station had quietly become another conservative…
When seeking to discuss and describe the developments of Black music during slavery and the subsequent Civil War, one must first trace the origins of Black music before it arrived in America. To do that, one must examine the history…
For the second time, the Peoria area lost another child to physical and mental abuse. For the second time, I fear the deaths will die from lack of attention and meaningful response. While 35-year-old Leslie Jett will die as an…
Taxpayers, please take note of a unique court case, 21-MR-992. It is open to the public and the next Hearing is set for 1:30-2:30 p.m. June 16, in Peoria County Courtroom 203. The County Auditor is asking for relief (court…
My cousin, Loquacious “Lolo” Jackson, had borrowed my baseball glove. I am not sure exactly when, but Barack Obama was still president then. My son and I have never had a catch. It is entirely possible, given my current level…
A new bill plans to change how Peoria Police respond to behavioral crisis calls by adding mental health care workers to their emergency team. If it succeeds in Peoria, it has the possibility of becoming the standard statewide. Peoria is…
From beneath the melting snow, it can be seen. Shriveled, green rosettes of leaves, awaiting the warmth of spring. Each of these rosettes represents a plant that has found a toe-hold along our wooded paths in central Illinois. Each is…
When public officials collaborate to make government more effective, flag it. Hence, three cheers for a new method of collecting real estate taxes prompted by the Peoria County Treasurer and Peoria Township Collector. Stephen Morris, Township Collector, recommended all in-person…
Turn on photocopy machine, open lid, select copy on the home screen, scan with nothing on the glass plate and accumulate sheets of grainy black paper with heavy toner. Cut, tape, tear and glue paper. Repeat or mix up the…
ART Peorian Steve Spain presents highlights from his collection of original animation cels from Disney at the Riverfront Museum through May 8. THEATER Peoria Players Theatre is bringing back “Mamma Mia!” May 13-15 and 18-22 featuring Dedra Kaiser, Celeste Matheson,…
Deadly heat gets no respect. Natural hazards that count — tornadoes, floods, etc. — are property-destroying traumas. Homeowners, public infrastructure, and insurance companies all take big hits. The Great Flood of 1993, for example, destroyed 24,000 Illinois homes and 884,000…
ISU student recovers usable nutrients from wastewater Senior Illinois State University environmental health and sustainability major Rowan Carroll is addressing the widespread issue of nutrient pollution harming public health and aquatic life through a process she’s developed that not only…
The West Peoria Resident’s Association (WPRA) has activities planned for May to involve residents. May 14 is scheduled for a community-wide yard sale. Sale hours are planned for 7 a.m.-3 p.m. WPRA will post signage and also run ads in…
My Mother was an interesting blend of strictness, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and don’t be fooled by her smiling face. She was strict, but not mean spirited. Her goals were not always mine, which caused some friction when I was a…
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has ruled that Starbucks broke the law in resisting workers’ campaigns to unionize — the first time in the national organizing drive. The company retaliated against the workers “to discourage employees from engaging in…
It takes a village, so it’s been said, to help a community succeed, and Bernice Gordon-Young is literally using that philosophy to help meet her city’s needs. Gordon-Young started It Takes a Village of Peoria, Inc. six years ago and…
It Takes a Village held its fourth FREE Prom Dress Giveaway on March 19. But that doesn’t come close to describing the atmosphere that president Bernice Gordon-Young and her village people provided for the hundreds of high school students who…
An effort to improve the quality of school meals for lower-income and minority students is making its way through the Illinois General Assembly. The Better School Lunches Act has moved on to the Senate after passing unanimously through the Statehouse…
