I walked into the Lorraine Motel, and chills ran down my body as I visited the now-museum and place where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walked out on a balcony to die. As I walked through this monument of what…
Nature Rambles | Autumn goldenrod ablaze
Serendipity | Writing
Students’ complaints about writing assignments in grade school were in sharp contrast to my enjoying them. I tried to mask my feelings because being different wasn’t comfortable. Neither did I express apprehension about science, art and anything geometry related. Writing,…
Inland Art | Pillars of Dust
Art: What is it Good For? | The face of Peoria is changing
Arts Beat | October 2018
MUSIC Oct. 1: Dark Star Orchestra. 7 p.m. Monarch Music Hall. 966-0826. Oct. 2: Drive-By Truckers, with T. Hardy Morris. 7:30 p.m. Monarch Music Hall. 966-0826. Oct. 3: Sons of Korah. 7 p.m. Trinity Lutheran Church. 676-4609. Oct. 5: Dexter…
West Peoria News | Fall cleaning
The West Peoria Residents’ Association will meet 6 p.m. Oct. 18 in City Hall when the Beautification Committee will announce the award for the resident with the most improved lawn. The committee will soon store away the planters and clear…
Journal Star newsroom contracts while digital marketing and advertising grow
The Peoria Journal Star’s new, young, part-time publisher –– with a background in marketing and advertising –– zooms through the parking lot at the once-venerable daily newspaper on his motorcycle, helmetless and heedless of speed limits. Staffers observe and shake…
Labor Roundup | October 2018
UNITE HERE and five other unions prevailed in bargaining with Walt Disney World, announcing early last month that they’d reached agreement for a 50 percent pay increase bringing the corporation’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by October 2021, plus…
Straight Talk | Loss of a friend
I was shocked and broken-hearted upon learning my dear friend, Alicia Butler, had died suddenly. I knew she had been suffering in recent days because she told me, first on a Monday afternoon and then two days later. I said…
New cancer treatment offers patients hope; powerful economic stimulus for Peoria
High cost of debt: jobs, taxpayers, opportunities
Once lauded as an outstanding retailer, Toys “R” Us liquidated 735 stores in the U.S. this year, including the one in Peoria. You could blame competition from Walmart or the internet. You would have a point. As Toys “R” Us…
EPA orders Peoria to pay almost $800,000
After decades of discussion, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is imposing a fine on Peoria for failure to resolve its combined sewer overflow problem. The EPA has still not approved Peoria’s so-called “green solution” and is ordering the city to…
Why I joined the Democratic Socialists
I didn’t leave the Democratic party; it left me. Technically, I’ve been an Independent for years, occasionally voting for Republicans, Democrats and Greens. But Democrat candidates often got my vote. However, three things got my commitment to become a member…
Straight Talk | Bad timing
I won’t argue the city council’s decision about its two top management hires, though I could. The creation and hiring of a chief diversity and inclusion officer and assistant city manager at a time when the same people are laying…
Views & Perspectives | Elections make a difference
As I begin this column, we are in “the dog days of summer.” As you read this column, we are beginning the real start to the November campaign season and November election. Although I am sure you are sick already…
Bill Knight | Kaepernick’s job loss is a labor dispute
As of Labor Day this month, professional quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been prevented from working at his job for 551 days, just before the National Football League’s regular season starts Sept. 6 when the Eagles host the Falcons in prime…
Editorial | Our neglected rivers
Letters to the Editor | Candidates on 3D-printed guns
Editors Note: Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell and Bartonville Police Chief Brian Fengel are both running for Peoria County Sheriff in the November election. Community Word asked both men to write a letter-to-the-editor spelling out their positions on guns created…
Op-Ed | Peorian attends UN conference on refugees; forced displacement worldwide hits historic levels
Reflections from the Clergy | The epidemic of lies
In our current political and social climate, lying is a hot topic. There is a “Pinocchio” scale that rates lies according to how far away from the truth a lie veers. The gold medal for politicians and government officials telling…
Real Talk | The office of president
Traveling in Europe in the era of Trump has been quite interesting. In July, my niece, great-niece and great-great nephew and I flew to England to visit another niece and her husband. During our visit, Donald Trump also happened to…