Trump’s Labor Dept. yanks beryllium protections. The Trump administration’s Labor Department has dumped added beryllium exposure protections for construction and longshore workers, saying the issue needs further study. “No matter where they work, U.S. workers deserve protection from exposure to…
Needed: Women in Leadership
Beth Crider Derry was a kindergarten teacher for 17 years before she became Peoria County’s Democratic Regional Superintendent of Schools. Derry insists there is nothing remarkable about her, save one decision she made to enroll in Illinois Women’s Institute for…
Deep canyon from “upstream” development
BY CLARE HOWARD Mike Miller stood at the bottom of a ravine 25 feet deep off High Point Terrace and shook his head. The crevasse was growing with every rainfall and ripping out trees, vegetation and rocks in its path.…
Healthcare in prison: “nonexistent”
BY CLARE HOWARD Released after almost half a century in prison on a vacated conviction, Cleve Heidelberg waited in the shade of a tree near the parking lot at a free specialty health clinic on Peoria’s south side on a…
Cordoba Clinic founder earns humanism award
Dr. Wasim Ellahi, a gastroenterologist at Illinois Gastroenterology Institute and a faculty member at University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, has received the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award for establishing Cordoba Healthcare clinic, Peoria’s only free specialty…
Bipartisan political support will continue funding for Peoria Ag Lab President Trump wants to close the Peoria Ag Lab according to his recently released budget. Not so fast says our Washington, D.C., political leadership. The National Center for Agricultural Utilization…
BOB BAIETTO TO RETIRE Peoria County board member Bob Baietto will not run for re-election. The 12th District representative has been a member of the board since 1996, serving on a variety of board committees including Public Safety and Justice…
The Beatles’ “Sgt. Pepper” for weeks has received justifiable attention on its 50th anniversary, but the wonderful album didn’t spring full-blown from Lennon’s and McCartney’s heads. It owes a lot to Capitol Records “teammates” the Beach Boys, especially their own…
History or historical malfeasance? July Fourth is the iconic American summer holiday celebrated with fireworks and speeches about history, freedom, liberty and American destiny. But history can be a form of “fake news,” and celebrations can confuse fact with mythology.…
A Win for Standing Rock Tribe The Wallace Global Fund has awarded $250,000 to the Standing Rock Tribe in recognition of its “unyielding courage in the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline, and its dedication to transitioning to renewable energy.”…
Another gunman has opened fire. This time, the bullets flew during a baseball practice of Republican congresspersons. Some had their children in attendance as well. There was one fatality, the gunman, and five injured. According to gunviolencearchive.org, this shooting was…
Paul Harvey was the original host of a Monday through Friday program called “The Rest of the Story.” It began as part of his newscasts during World War II and later premiered as its own series in 1976 on ABC…
A Complex Housing Market At the Peoria Park District’s Tawny Oaks Field Station, we are working hard to enhance the area for nesting birds. I feel like a new landlord; hanging out the “tenant wanted” sign and hoping for full…
Each year, thousands of people come to West Peoria for the annual longest-running July Fourth parade and flag raising ceremony in Central Illinois. The parade began when Cub Scout Pack 11 leaders searched for a patriotic event for their scouts…
Defending the Indefensible There is a strong probability that Donald Trump’s campaign and the Trump Administration are in collusion with Russia. The more information revealed the more convinced I am that we are in a national security crisis. It has…
It’s the 150th anniversary year of Frank Lloyd Wright’s birth, an apt time to revisit the architect’s larger than life image and his fabled school less than three hours from Peoria. The architect left us with much to consider –…
MUSIC July 1: Telekinetic Yeti, Larks Tongue, Chainsmoker & more. 7 p.m. RAIL II. 966-2971. July 1: Flyin’ D’Orito Bros. 8 p.m. Rhythm Kitchen. 676-9668. July 1: Chicago Farmer. 8 p.m. Pour Bros. Taproom. 670-0340. July 2: Eleventh Hour Onset,…
Pullback on “joint employers” rules blasted. The AFL-CIO is criticizing a Trump administration Labor Department pullback of how to interpret who “joint employers” are. DOL yanked an interpretation of the law by David Weil, the Wage and Hour Administrator during…