The Peoria Art Guild planned to launch “Sculpture Walk 2022” along Washington Street this month with eight different pieces, after input from the Public Arts Advisory Commission and a city engineer, according to City spokeswoman Stacy Peterson. Meanwhile, the Art…
A climate crisis conundrum involves heatwaves, air conditioners, and blackouts. Air conditioning saves lives during heatwaves, but soaring AC demand can crash the grid and claim lives. Today, the top 20% of peak electricity demand involves the hottest 200 hours…
Illinois trails goal to cut damage to the Gulf Gulf of Mexico “dead zones” resulting from algae blooms sapping up oxygen are so deadly, fish either flee or die, and Illinois — a huge contributor to the chemical runoffs flowing…
Musical talent was never something I excelled in or modestly accomplished. What I lacked in musical ability was compensated by appreciation and enthusiasm. I loved listening to music, still do, and am proud of my lyrics recall. Might it be…
Workers at 100-plus Starbucks stores nationwide have said they’re unionizing, including ones in Peoria, and that’s more than 1% of the coffee chain’s standalone locations (as opposed to counters inside retailers). Workers United says 968 more workers in 33 Starbucks…
The Los Angeles Rams scored the first touchdown of Super Bowl LVI on Feb. 13, but holder Johnny Hekker bobbled the snap on the extra point so Matt Gay couldn’t kick the football. No big deal, right? Nobody noticed, eh?…
From The House that Madigan Built: The Record Run of Illinois’ Velvet Hammer by Ray Long. Copyright 2022 by the Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Used with permission of the University of Illinois Press. What does the…
On January 13, The Peoria County Board voted 16-2 in favor of rebuilding the current Peoria City/County Health Department instead of remodeling the current location at 2125 N. Sheridan Rd. Included in the vote was to also incorporate the Sustainability…
When Crabs are pulled from the ocean and thrown together in a barrel, the crabs will pull down any other crab that tries to get out before them. This is how the term “Crabs in a barrel” came to be.…
Illinois is soaked with gambling, from lotteries and casinos to off-track betting and video slots in what seems like every gas station with a few square feet of seating over by shelves of over-priced junk food. This month, things will…
We’re living in a world of cosmic slop, cast back into the primordial pool. I escape from this madness through reading; literature is one of my safe havens, and if Jay-Z can travel first class to change the forecast, as…
“Follow the science,” they say, which is good advice. Unfortunately, though, the COVID-19 pandemic has become way too political and is spinning out of control. It’s important to connect the dots and not let opinion cloud the facts. Especially these…
When the opportunity to write this column fell in my lap I had no idea what it would become, nor could I bring myself to understand what grace made me worthy of the honor. I promise to respect the people…
On Jan. 11, Peoria City Council members set dates to discuss redistricting of the city based on the 2020 census results. The goal is for districts to be nearly equal in population, compact, contiguous, and respectful of geographic boundaries and…
At press time, the Peoria City Council is expected to vote Feb. 22 on a redistricting map after a Feb. 8 public hearing that discussed so-called Version 2.3. As reported in the February Community Word, out Jan. 26, the 2020…
The city of Peoria’s proposed passenger rail route would connect the city to Chicago. The Illinois Department of Transportation is currently conducting a feasibility study looking at a new passenger rail corridor running from Peoria through LaSalle-Peru, Ottawa, Morris, and…
It was shocking to learn the country’s major news networks and newspapers failed to report results of the Johns Hopkins University meta-analysis coronavirus study regarding the effects of the ordered lockdowns. Of course, if the national media doesn’t cover the…
Rozanne Hubbard has been painting landscapes for fifty years. Preserving a moment in time, Hubbard explores the human relationship to nature, capturing the essence of the land intertwined with environmental awareness. “Minor Key Tonality” is a painting referencing a rural…
Judith W. Mann will discuss one of the most famous women painters of the modern era — Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi — at the Peoria Riverfront Museum on March 10. The lecture by Mann, St. Louis Art Museum’s curator of…
Murphy’s Law, “If anything can go wrong, it will,” merits climate crisis amplification: If two things can go wrong simultaneously, they will. And they have via electricity blackouts due to extreme weather. Examples: California in August 2020, and Texas in…
A look at issues of concern involving our planet. Illinois gas plants could offset Clean Energy’s gains Weeks after Gov. JB Pritzker signed the Clean Energy Jobs Act, his administration tentatively OK’d a new source of heat-trapping pollution: a new…
