It once seemed absurd to link the words “American” and “Fascism.” It seemed extreme and counterproductive. Not today warns New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning economist and columnist Paul Krugman. Not today according to former secretary of state Madeleine Albright. Today,…
“Run. Hide. Fight.” That’s what potential victims of mass shootings in schools are learning now, according to Peoria County’s Regional Schools Superintendent Beth Crider. She spoke to a recent Greater Peoria League of Women Voters meeting on school safety. Though…
A recent comical farce written by a former CEO of a business located in Morton was published in the editorial section of the Journal Star. It was nothing but gibberish. The writer began by implying that elections had consequences. Since…
BY DALE GOODNER It’s August in northeast Wisconsin –– Dog Days. Sultry evenings in Kewaunee County are punctuated by acrid metallic smelling breezes and persistent passing tanker-loads of poop as industrial factory dairies eagerly eject endless effluents onto the land…
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven. – Eccl. 3:1-13 Recently, I came back from a visit to Scotland, which is a pilgrimage for Presbyterian pastors like myself. Presbyterianism was founded in Scotland…
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…
It seems that autumn comes well before I’m ready to say goodbye to summer. Perhaps it’s because, as we get older, we long for the halcyon days of youth and green growth. The onset of autumn is a little too…
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,…
Over the past year and a half, I’ve written about art that’s formally and conceptually rigorous but advocates for the rural – work that explores the relationship between the intellect and the advancement of places outside the approved borders of…
Take a good look around Peoria. The once barren and gray cityscape is starting to bloom with art. There are sculptures along Washington Street and the Peoria Riverfront Museum, murals on commercial buildings like CT Gabbert’s and Lava, more outdoor…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
There are only about three dozen proton beams in the world, and only about 20 are in the United States. Danette and Josh Swank would like to see one added to the repertoire of medical treatments available in Peoria. Proton…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
