Author Archive for contributor

COVID-19 fear grips Gaza

Wafaa A. ALUdaini

BY WAFAA A. ALUDAINI Being a journalist in Palestine means you have a story every day of oppression and brutality due to the occupation. In stark contrast, you also have stories of resilience and steadfastness by vulnerable people of Gaza.…

OpEd | Your shopping dollars can save a village

mask

BY NANCY LONG Getting tired of wearing a mask? Your workplace is shut down? Waiting for Food Stamps? It’s serious, even if you or loved ones don’t get COVID-19. Consider the families at the other end of the supply chain.…

Letter to the Editor | Victory for Standing Rock

U.S. District Judge James Boasberg has revoked the permits for the Dakota Access pipeline pending a full environmental review. DAPL has been an ongoing battle to protect tribal lands and tribal rights to hunt, fish and participate in traditional ceremonies.…

OpEd | CAFOs — the ideal disease incubators

BY KAREN HUDSON It has long been known that animals and humans readily trade disease by “species jumping” in a process called zoonosis. Zoonotic diseases are caused by harmful germs like viruses, bacteria, parasites and fungi. Zoonotic diseases are very…

OpEd | Inconsistencies in anti-abortion reasoning

In January, the Trump administration threatened to withhold federal money from the state of California if it does not drop its requirement that private insurers cover abortions. It declared that California was in violation of the federal Weldon Amendment, which…

OpEd | Ending cash bond does not make us less safe

BY ANTHONY WALRAVEN, Change Peoria Every year in the State of Illinois, over a quarter of a million people pass through the 92 jails in the 102 counties of our state, and 90% of those people are detained pre-trial, most…

OpEd | Ending cash bail is not the answer

BY SHERIFF BRIAN ASBELL I have not seen any proposed legislation related to the elimination of cash bail; however, I believe this will be a dangerous practice if not properly vetted. I am a proponent of true pre-trial reform which…

Potential health risks of recreational marijuana

Editor’s Note: Community Word ran an editorial in our September 2014 edition advocating for the legalization of recreational marijuana, not because we need more mind-altering drugs but because criminalization disproportionately impacted African Americans even though use is equal between whites…