Living in the same house for 42 years offers perspectives not so evident to people who move regularly. It certainly offers challenges concerning the need to sort and send rather than keep and stack possessions. But life’s a trade off…
Nature Rambles | Sensitive Briar
Herbariums are repositories for plant specimens that botanists have collected, dried, pressed and preserved on archival paper. They contain information on the location where the specimens were collected, the date, the habitat present and any other details the collector thinks…
Real Talk | True Justice
I recently watched the documentary “True Justice” which tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, the attorney who started the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Ala. Not unlike his book “Just Mercy,” it was a difficult watch and took me five…
West Peoria News | Fire department
The second annual Taste of West Peoria and West Peoria Fire Department Family Day are both planned for 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 15th on Waverly Ave. Redevelop grant applications are still available in City Hall. Home owners are…
Faith in Place | Religion and the environment
Across Illinois, people of faith are responding to the climate crisis, connecting with one another and taking action through a unique interfaith organization called Faith in Place. Faith in Place empowers people, from many diverse religious traditions, to become champions…
Labor Roundup | September 2019
Miners block train to demand stolen wages. For days last month, Kentucky miners and their families occupied a railroad track, blocking a train that’s loaded with coal the workers dug out of the earth and never got paid for. Mine…
At Cordoba, Dr. Adamson’s life leaves large legacy
Dr. Greg Adamson died June 11 at age 58, but his presence is still palpable at Cordoba Healthcare Clinic in Peoria where he volunteered providing orthopedic…
News analysis: Trump damaging EPA & globe to benefit favored industries
Last month, President Trump defended his administration’s role in protecting the environment, remarks observers say were needed after a year of controversies concerning the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and climate change – and recent moves sparking even more criticism. “President…
Illinois has open door for CAFOs
Sharon Deweerth looks out the west windows of her rural Marshall County home to see the sun set on corn fields stretching to the horizon. Those fields hold generations of her family’s history of work, values and memories of rural…
Views & Perspectives | A new book about the life and leadership of Bob Michel
“Robert H. Michel: Leading the Republican House Minority” was just published through the auspices of Frank Mackaman who directs the work of The Dirksen Congressional Center. The book includes a number of authors who researched and wrote about the extraordinary…
Straight Talk | Lemon to lemonade
In November of 2002 the morning show, “Breakfast with Royce and Roger” began on WOAM, 1350 AM. It starred my dear friend comedian Royce Elliott and featured so many wonderful friends from Pete Vonachen to Mayor Jim Maloof, George Shadid,…
Bill Knight | Red-white-and-blue roots music
Capsule reviews can be like speed dating in a bouncy house. Risking insulting artists who spent energy and investments of time and temperament, they’re a way to acknowledge their efforts. (Likewise, excuse the name-dropping comparisons, but they’re efficient.) Anyway, much…
Editorial | The War: Black Genocide in the Black Community
“Is genocide taking place in the Black community? Are African American males unconsciously committing genocide against themselves and their communities?” Those questions were posed by Agbara Bryson at a recent forum hosted by Bryson’s New Millennium Institute. The answers to…
OpEd | Support HR 2407: Stop Abuse of Palestinian Children
BY DR. JOHN NIXON Some of our politicians, especially some Democratic primary candidates, express horror and anger at our current policy of separation and detention of children along our southern border but seem to embrace similar policies of the Israeli…
Reflections From A Hindu Perspective | Non-Anger (Akrodha)
There is a fable of a boy who is prone to angry outbursts. His father tells him to hammer a nail in the wooden fence post every time he is angry and abuses someone, and then remove that nail after…
The Lion’s Den
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.…