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…
Several recent reports on Journal Star corporate owner GateHouse Media (New Media Investment Group) explain the company’s aggressive newspaper acquisition strategy as a marketing plan to beef up revenues while cutting journalism. Ken Doctor writes in Nieman Lab, Nieman Foundation…
Lisa Travis, bottom, a teacher’s aide at Glen Oak School, and Terri Berg, top, a sign language interpreter at Richwoods High School, volunteer with the Round Table Project helping students with needs ranging from a clean pair of socks to…
BY CLARE HOWARD U.S. Rep. Danny Davis imagines his grandson saying, “But Granddad, you said if I’m home, I’m OK. I’m safe. You told me to be home when it’s dark.” Rep. Davis shook his head. “It never occurred to…
BY TERRY BIBO Instead of “Pomp and Circumstance,” the Class of 2017 probably should have graduated to the tune “Sixteen Tons.” Their grandparents may have been toddlers when Tennessee Ernie Ford’s cover of a coal miner’s debt struggles topped the…
BY CLARE HOWARD Glyphosate, the most heavily used weed killer in the United States, was found in 91 percent of pregnant women tested in a recent study conducted by Dr. Paul Winchester, medical director of the neonatal intensive care unit…
President Trump’s first 100 days: Long on executive orders, short on legislative accomplishments First we should stipulate that there is probably way too much unrealistic talk and writing about any president’s ability to accomplish major legislation in the first 100…
TO BUY OR NOT TO BUY That’s the question facing Peoria’s city council regarding the purchase of Illinois American Water Co. Those who support buying the water company believe it could be a gold mine for the city and those…
The slender, soft-spoken man with salt-and-pepper hair somehow seems taller than his 6-foot, 1-inch frame, and while often serious as he points to problems in state government, he occasionally slips into a smile that seems so genuine you suspect it’s…
