Serendipity | The joy of baseball

Baseball has played a pleasurable part of my life since I was a child. Not because I played on a team; that wasn’t part of a girl’s upbringing if she went to a Catholic school in the ‘50s and ‘60s…

Inland Art | Finding time to create art

Animated Consul

William Butler is widely known in Central Illinois as director and curator of the Contemporary Art Center in Peoria. The Center has been a longstanding institution for bringing together a diverse, challenging, and entertaining body of artists and musicians. The…

Arts Beat | September 2018

Sept. 1: Lake Street Dive. 8 p.m. Monarch Music Hall. 966-0826. Sept. 1: Brainchild with The Spirit. 8 p.m. Courtyard Concert Series at Heritage Square. 670-0430. Sept. 3: West MacQueen Street Band. 11a.m.-2 p.m. CEFCU Stage on the Peoria Riverfront.…

Yes, Peoria | Litter

The City of Peoria established the Mayor’s Litter Committee in 2007. The goal of the committee was to create awareness of the impact of litter, encourage people to not litter, pick up litter and host neighborhood cleanups. The cleanups were…

West Peoria News | Night Out Against Crime

The West Peoria Neighborhood Watch invites everyone to its 18th annual “Night Out Against Crime” 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at Franciscan Park. Play games, jump in the GaGa Pit, explore the armored vehicle Bearcat from the Peoria…

Labor Roundup | September 2018

News Guild reminds locals, bosses that media firms must address security. Facing increasing violence against reporters and President Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and threats, News Guild President Bernie Lunzer is reminding both his locals and employers that firms must protect…

Banking on wetlands — our evolving land ethic

Charles Hostetler

Landfill, garbage disposal, wetland restoration, native plants, environmental beauty. Not words typically associated with each other, but the association is perfectly logical for Charles Hostetler. He hopes to make the correlation universally clear with a project along Kickapoo Creek Road.…

UN: American Dream Becoming American Illusion

Minnie

A scathing report by the United Nations Human Rights Council on extreme poverty and inequality in America was slammed by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as “patently ridiculous.” Haley then announced the United States was withdrawing from the UN Human Rights…

Food for justice

Dave Bishop

The infrastructure of American’s food system entrenches social and income inequality, devastates rural communities and inner cities, drives declining health and further empowers corporations and the politicians they support. Working in resistance to those trends are Dave Bishop, an organic…

Donations Needed: Journalism Diversity Fund

The Peoria NAACP has established a special account to fund coverage of diversity issues by central Illinois writers. The goal is to increase coverage of often-untold stories that cut through stereotypes and more accurately depict history, explain institutional racism and…

“Native Americans Speak”

President Donald Trump is calling for the largest rollback in protected public lands in the history of this country, and a coalition of Native Tribes and conservation groups is spearheading resistance. Working with that resistance is Clayton Daughenbaugh, a speaker…

Straight Talk | The Deed Is Done!

I did it. Never thought I would. I quit taking the Peoria Journal. I’ve been a reader for decades. Before that, I was a carrier delivering the Peoria Journal Star in the morning to the south of my North Madison…

Bill Knight | Chicago Farmer

“Chicago Farmer” is a great name for an act, like “Goofy Ridge Industrialist” or “nonviolent commando.” But Chicago Farmer is much more than a snappy name. Born Cody Diekhoff, Chicago Farmer is more than a 39-year-old “singer/songwriter.” The troubadour is…

Editorial | Weaponizing Free Speech

S.A. Shepler (c) Community Word, 2018

REUTERS PHOTO: Man standing at a Trump rally in a T-shirt with this printing: “Rope Tree Journalist Some assembly required” A woman and young girl stand nearby laughing. Since when did this become constitutionally protected free speech in the United…

Op-Ed | If only they’d come the right way …

Editor’s Note: Immigrants and refugee seekers have different rights. According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, everyone has a right to seek asylum from persecution and violence. The UN states that “some mass displacements may…

Serendipty | Vacation Wisdom

Family vacations are great opportunities for honing cooperation and adapting skills; and enjoying new sights, family bonding, and relaxation. Ideally they also include experiences to inspire teachable moments. Even the good, beautiful, boring, or challenging can be rich with lessons.…