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
When rivers are used as sloughs for waste, pollution, plastic and agricultural runoff, the damage is hazardous, ugly and demoralizing. In a call to action, Prairie Rivers Network is hosting the “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” at Peoria Riverfront Museum…
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
Tim Barnes is a former pastor who lives in Peoria and works for the International Association for Refugees, a not-for-profit based in Minneapolis. He wrote this piece after returning from a recent meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees…
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…
Nature Rambles | Low water level brings new life
If you have been out along the Illinois River this summer, you might have noticed that the water level has been low for several weeks. When this happens, mudflats become exposed and then something magical happens. Seeds that lie dormant…
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
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
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
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
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…