Earth is at a “doom and bloom” point. While news almost daily reports dangers such as ozone threats to corn crops (University of Illinois reported last month), positives occur like the Pasta Straw (produced from bucatini by the U.K.’s Stroodles…
Serendipity | Sister’s birthday
Sibling rivalry was not an issue for me when I was growing up. Not that I was so angelic that I skipped it, but there are 8.5 years between my older sister and me. When I started kindergarten, she was…
Reflections From A Hindu Perspective | Lighting the light within
My family has had some ancestors who were highly spiritually evolved individuals. My paternal grandmother’s father was a householder yogi (yogi- one who seeks union of individual consciousness with the Universal consciousness) who held a day job as a government…
Peoria RiverFront Holiday Market
The Thanksgiving Peoria RiverFront holiday market will be 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday Nov. 23 in Dozer Park, 730 SW Jefferson. Vendors will be selling local produce, baked goods, holiday fare and more. Several years ago, one Central Illinois…
Labor Roundup | November 2019
Illinois-based Railway Workers United urges united front. A rank-and-file group spanning all rail crafts, unions and carriers is petitioning leaders of all 13 U.S. rail unions to coordinate bargaining as a united front in the next round of talks with…
Antiquated consent forms pose obstacles for women on Medicaid seeking contraception
A Peoria physician is expressing concern about a two-tiered system of access to reproductive health care for women seeking a tubal ligation. For women with private insurance, the process is easy; for women on Medicaid, there are hurdles and time…
Storms and “Killer Heat” loom, challenging globe
Schaer’s Country Market’s self-pick strawberries didn’t open its fields this summer. Too cold. Too wet. Planting was late. Bath’s 14th Annual Redneck Fishing Tournament was canceled. Too cold, too wet, too long. Even for people who think stalking slimy Asian…
Views & Perspectives | Reflections about Sept. 11, 2001
As I sit here today on Sept. 11, 2019, I am reflecting on Sept. 11, 2001, a day that so many friends and neighbors and I remember vividly and will never forget. I was a very proud member of Congress…
Straight Talk | Victory for MIA/POW families
It took the Illinois General Assembly and Governor JB Pritzker to give Peoria Airports Director Gene Olson and his board a dose of decency and moral direction, but the battle over the MIA/POW flag is just that, over. The flag…
Editorial | Bad news for journalism in Peoria and the country
The corporate owner of the Journal Star has agreed to a $1.5 billion acquisition of Gannett, owner of USA Today as well as 100 dailies and over 1,000 weeklies. The merger is financed with a five-year loan at 11.5 percent,…
OpEd | Public funding for religiously based organizations has no place in a liberal democracy
BY EMILY R. GILL, Caterpillar Professor of Political Science Emerita, Bradley University In recent years, many religious individuals and organizations in the United States have displayed increasing concern about their ability to exercise their religious beliefs freely. Some of this…
The Watch | Observers of local government
At opposite ends of the room — and the issue — two county board members snorted like bulls prepared to charge. They yelled. They pounded their fists on the table. They locked horns verbally, if not physically. You think watching…
Nature Rambles | Silent Autumn
As summer wanes, a September harvest moon rises over the eastern horizon on a beautiful Friday the 13th. The winds have turned, and come from the northwest, bringing in cool breezes. During this time of year, under these conditions, birders…
Real Talk | Post fear of prior trauma
How does trauma impact our lives? How do we get over fear that events that harmed us in the past now play on the anxiety over our future? With my daily interactions with people, there is so much pain that…
Inland Art | Jonathan Higgins
Jonathan Higgins, artist and master printmaker and his wife printmaker Sarah Smelser have owned Manneken Press in Bloomington, Illinois, for 17 years. The press was founded in 2000 in Morgantown, W.Va., as an independent press where Sarah landed her first…
Arts Beat | October 2019
Oct. 5: 7th Annual Fox Fall Fest. 9 a.m.-11 p.m. Fox Pub and Café. 692-3693. Oct. 8: USAF Band of Mid-America in concert. 7 p.m. Five Points Washington. 444-8222. Oct. 11: Harlan, Meister, & Mitts. 7 p.m. at the Hungry…
Art Inc. | Dia de los Muertos: Love Never Dies
Dive into a dynamic cultural experience at The Romain Arts & Culture Center (formerly known as Greeley School) with a very special tribute to the life of Glen Barton! This inaugural evening of cocktails, authentic Mexican cuisine, silent & live…
Reflections From A Hindu Perspective | Raksha-Bandhan: A potential world festival
I am an optimist. I sincerely believe that if every human felt a bond with another, we may be able to overcome greed, lust for power, and insecurities and end all wars and resultant carnages. The more things we have…
Faith in Place | “Equity is important”
On Oct. 29, during the Illinois legislature’s “Veto Session,” Faith in Place and Illinois Clean Jobs Coalition will bring citizen lobbyists to Springfield from all over the state. These concerned citizens will talk with legislators and petition the governor for…
West Peoria News | Marijuana survey
With a new Illinois recreational cannabis law taking effect Jan. 1, city leaders want to know what you think of the legalization of cannabis. Go to City Hall 5:30 p.m. Oct. 8 to learn how this could affect our community…
Serendipity | Dance preparations
Something about October stirs up countless memories and nostalgic feelings. The season is changing dramatically and beautifully, and pictures of couples enjoying Homecoming and other fall events pop up on Facebook. Sometimes memories are accompanied by smiles or laughter, or…
Labor Roundup | October 2019
Union-backed anti-racism demo links white supremacy, Trump. The Teachers, Service Employees, the AFL-CIO and Labor’s Council for Latin American Advancement all backed hundreds of protesters outside the White House after mass murders in El Paso and Dayton. Demonstrators vowed to…