Dear Humankind, As we consider departing from you, we want you to know that we gave our all. But alas, in the end, we were mere leaves blowing in the wind, to be glanced at and considered momentarily, but then…
Journal Star dances with Wall Street — again
GateHouse Media, owner of the Journal Star, is in merger talks with Gannett, owner of USA Today and dozens of other newspapers across the country. If the deal closes, the merger would result in one Wall Street corporation owning the…
Nature Rambles | Cooperation is paramount
The warm days of August harken the arrival of many prairie flowers and insects. The ever-majestic Monarch butterfly is a common visitor to the August prairie. An observant visitor will also see the striped caterpillars munching hungrily on several species…
Real Talk | Everything is beautiful in its time
In a world that is so filled with hurt and destruction, it is challenging to see the beauty in things. I spent an entire day at the gravesite of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta. As I grieved the…
Inland Art | Thomas Skomski exhibit
Co-curators Robert Sill, Douglas Stapleton and Edward Maldanado note that Thomas Skomski’s solo show “Urgent Care: Stuck in that Awkward Stage between Birth and Death” at the Illinois State Museum in Springfield “examines the processes of change and the inevitable…
Arts Beat | August 2019
Aug. 2: The Holdouts. 5 p.m. Old Chicago Grand Prairie. 691-1885. Aug. 2 and each Friday: Dave Hoffman & Friends. 5 p.m. Two25 in the Mark Twain Hotel. 282-7777. Aug. 2: Cousin Eddie Live at the Five Spot. 5:30 p.m.…
Art Inc. | An unlikely culprit
As I think about the challenges we face across the country from neighborhood to neighborhood and block to block, there’s one thing that permeates these communities with deadly consequences. It is not as obvious as you might think either. If…
West Peoria News | Night Out Against Crime
You are encouraged to attend the 19th annual West Peoria Night Out Against Crime 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday Aug. 5 at Franciscan Park. The evening includes the Peoria County Sheriff’s Posse, Bearcat Armored vehicle, firefighting equipment, Boy Scout Troop…
Serendipity | Amusement park charm
The sixth annual Family Vacation includes seven children, ages 6 to three 13-year-olds. Eight adults are in the lead only slightly, although the children don’t seem to notice they’re outnumbered. Likely because they realize they are outranked, whatever our numbers.…
Labor Roundup | August 2019
Wayfair workers walk out over company furnishing border camps. Hundreds of employees of the online home-goods company Wayfair in June walked out to protest its involvement in furnishing border camps. Workers at the firm’s Boston headquarters demanded Wayfair stop furnishing…
Urban Acres grows strong communities
Andy Diaz travels the world as an account sales manager at Caterpillar Inc., but back home in Peoria he grows corn, tomatoes, tomatillos, jalapenos, zucchini and strong community. That’s part of his mission. Diaz is an acolyte of “Strong Towns,”…
PDC pushes landfill-gas regs despite Trump delays
Methane is a major contributor to climate change, and worldwide, methane’s top source is natural gas, followed by cows, then you. At least, your waste, deteriorating beneath the surface of area landfills and releasing methane and carbon dioxide (CO2). Clean-energy…
Illinois and eight states sue to carry out landfill-gas rules
Rules updating landfill-gas guidelines were finalized in August of 2016 to go into effect that October, but after Donald Trump’s election, his newly appointed Environmental Protection Agency leadership team delayed enacting the changes, and then pushed for a second delay…
Trump attacks judges whose decisions block him
The federal judge who ruled against delays in implementing the three-year-old landfill-gas rules by President Trump’s EPA was blasted on May 25, when Trump called him an “activist, Obama-appointed judge.” Judge Haywood Gilliam Jr. of U.S. District Court of Northern…
OSHA fines Journal Star $35,802
Employees were complaining for years about safety issues in the press and mail rooms at the Peoria Journal Star, yet their concerns went largely unheeded. Until six months ago. In an instant, the work zone looked like a war zone.…
Access to safe abortion
The sudden closing of the Whole Woman’s Health clinic, 7405 N. University St., several weeks ago hit at a time when the Illinois Legislature is strengthening and protecting women’s access to safe, legal abortion. Women in Peoria will still be…
Views & Perspectives | Hooray! Illinois has a $40 billion capital bill
Thanks to the extraordinary leadership of Illinois legislators both Republicans, Democrats and Gov. JB Pritzker, Illinois is finally on a course to fixing our pothole-filled roads, crumbling Illinois interstates and structurally deficient bridges. The $40 billion capital bill is long…
Straight Talk | Losing two community leaders
First it was news Peoria County State’s Attorney Jerry Brady had died. Then we learned that Peoria County Clerk Steve Sonnemaker had also passed away. Losing two outstanding elected officials and community leaders is almost too much to endure. I…
Bill Knight | Climate change is a job-killer
Last month, actor Rainn Wilson (from “The Office”) tweeted, “I love the idea of a Green New Deal but Fox News said the plan includes the mandatory sucking of farts out of camels, solar-panel skull implants, Al Gore face tattoos…
Editorial | Terminate the flawed Hyde Amendment
Thankfully, most Democratic candidates for the presidency are calling for the abolition of the Hyde Amendment. The amendment was passed in 1976 shortly after Roe v. Wade established the legal right to abortion. Hyde restricts federal funds from being used…