Dakota Access Pipeline threatens drinking water in Illinois The Prairie Rivers Network has completed an assessment of the Dakota Access Pipeline and found it crosses a number of significant rivers in Illinois and would threaten the water supply of more…
Are the Blood Thinners Advertised on TV Really Better? Paralysis from stroke is a devastating disability commonly caused by blood clots blocking an artery in the brain. Warfarin (Coumadin) was the standard treatment used to prevent or treat these strokes…
Elder Care Concerns: Helplessness
BY DAVE WEIMAN In October, I wrote an article about loneliness, one of the “three plagues” that could potentially affect the well-being of elders. I wrote about another of those plagues, boredom, in November, and this month I’ll briefly discuss…
Organic farmer sees ominous signs for climate & future of food
Henry Brockman planned to cut back on his extensive and demanding organic farming operation after his one-year sabbatical in Japan. He’s been farming on fertile bottomland outside Eureka for 25 years, his three children are finished or finishing college, he’s…
News analysis: TRUMP TRIUMPHANT — Don’t think for a minute he can’t win!
BY GEORGE HOPKINS In the year 120 BCE, the Roman Senate banned actors from holding elective office, according to Mary Beard, in her magisterial book S.P.Q.R: The History of Ancient Rome (2015). So why this odd footnote to history? It…
C. diff infection rates persistent and pernicious
Peggy Hurt and Peg Phillips share an experience each wishes they didn’t. The women, both from Pekin, worked together for years, and then years apart they each fought a potentially deadly form of highly contagious diarrhea. They were both diagnosed…
IS IT TRUE? Big changes have been taking place at “Big Yellow.” More are planned. It’s only a rumor, but it’s worth repeating. By the year 2020, Caterpillar will be leaving Peoria. According to whispers, the Peoria operations will be…
Evangelicals haven’t really rallied around Trump In the next few weeks, many Americans will give thanks, and the fact that the election will be over will be a blessing to most of us – few more so than Evangelical Christians,…
Presidential candidates: On food, farming and climate change The differences between the candidates on food policy is enormous even though neither has a well-articulated, comprehensive plan that adequately addresses the issues. Access to sustainably raised local food should be a…
Letters to the Editor Vote YES on Schools The Peoria County Schools Facility Sales Tax is about Stronger Schools, Stronger Students and a Stronger Economy. The sales tax is a way to provide better school buildings and create new jobs…
OP-ED
THE FUTURE OF FOOD: A VIEW FROM THE FARM By Dave Bishop This article has been reprinted with permission from GeneWatch where it was originally published by Council for Responsible Genetics. To find the original and other articles of…
Climate Change and the Church In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth (Genesis 1:1) Climate change, also called global warming, is the rise in surface temperatures on earth. This warming is caused by humans’ use of fossil…
The sun pokes through a misty October sky on Saturday, Oct. 16. We have 8 miles of roadway pretty much to ourselves as we drive along the levee that surrounds a 2,200 acre body of water known as the South…
Singing or thinking about “Over the river and through the woods to Grandmother’s house we go,” creates nostalgic feelings and good will regardless of some or no river or woods on the way to Grandma. Interesting to consider if decades…
Soon after the first hard frost of the fall season, the West Peoria Beautification Committee will be clearing flowers from community planters and businesses. Then they will be hanging the garlands and lights for the holiday season. The West Peoria…
What the heck do we have to lose? Trying to wrap my brain around the audacity of Donald Trump is more than a notion; it’s the visceral reaction I had in regard to his alleged outreach for the African-American vote.…
Jeff Sloter, who directed the hit production “The Foreigner” for Cornstock with Peoria native now Broadway actor, Steve Vinovich, has turned his sights on a musical. Mr. Sloter said he first met the playwright/composer Derek Childs 30 years ago during…
Arts Beat
MUSIC Nov. 1: Reel Big Fish, with Masked Intruder, Stacked Like Pancakes. 7 p.m. Limelight Eventplex. 693-1234. Nov. 4: Dexter O’Neal & Funk Yard Live at the Five Spot, 5:30 p.m. Contemporary Art Center. 674-6877. Nov. 4: Derel Monteith. 8…
A Midwestern Mecca When Rocco Landesman, chairman of the National Endowment of the Arts (NEA), came to Peoria in 2009 to kick off his national campaign “Art Works,” he was giving the citizens of central Illinois the possibility of becoming…
AFL-CIO adds opposition to xenophobia to campaign issues. Racist xenophobia isn’t exactly a workplace issue, but the country’s top labor federation has added it to campaign issues this election. AFL-CIO Executive Vice President Tefere Gebre (himself a political refugee, at…
How well do EpiPens work? Last month’s column discussed Heather Bresch, CEO of Mylan Pharmaceuticals, and her plan to maximize corporate profits with a 620 percent EpiPen price increase over nine years to $610 for two pens. This month’s column…