As much of the world desperately struggles to access COVID-19 vaccines, the Unites States marinates in skepticism and misinformation. Despite the availability of safe, free and readily available vaccines, too many Americans are still unvaccinated and that weakens immunity for…
Author Archive for Community Word Staff
PCCHD: New home?
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on PCCHD: New home?
BY SHARON WILLIAMS Eighteen months ago, Peoria County residents couldn’t have foreseen the far-reaching effects of a pandemic. It has been more than a century since our country has had to deal with something so fierce and unforgiving. We have…
As fires burn in West, sooty air blankets Peoria
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on As fires burn in West, sooty air blankets Peoria
Smoke from wildfires burning across 13 western states is blanketing the rest of the country in smoke and soot. In Peoria, the Air Quality Index hit 122, considered unhealthy for sensitive people. The threshold for safe air is 100. A…
Bill Knight | Anti-protest laws
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Bill Knight | Anti-protest laws
The troubling trend of anti-protest legislation is growing, but its recent successes in Republican statehouses isn’t new. There were earlier attempts, including one in Democratic-majority Illinois that failed. Barely. It’s all to chill involvement – “part of a larger trend…
Letter to the Editor | Need media to emphasize science not “info-tainment”
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Letter to the Editor | Need media to emphasize science not “info-tainment”
In May of 2019, author and environmentalist, Bill McKibben tweeted: “Thinking about Mother Nature today. As of this morning, her CO2 concentration topped 415 ppm (parts per million) for the first time in many many millions of years.” He was…
Inland Art | Lisa Nelson Raabe
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Inland Art | Lisa Nelson Raabe
For artist Lisa Nelson Raabe, the process of making art is integral to how she experiences the world and navigates life’s rhythms. “I see the world differently when I am making art.” She says that making art has been a…
Art Alerts | August 2021
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Art Alerts | August 2021
From 5-9 p.m. on Aug. 6, the Contemporary Art Center will host its First Friday Studio Tour of 3rd floor studios, where the work of about a dozen area artists are created, shown and sold. The facility also has three…
Reflections From The Clergy | Rest as a Radical Act
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Reflections From The Clergy | Rest as a Radical Act
Of all the words, experiences and conversations of the past year, the word that resonates the most is depletion. Simply saying, “I feel depleted,” in a phone call or a video meeting results in nods and agreement from across the…
Labor Roundup | August 2021
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Labor Roundup | August 2021
400 religious leaders urge passage of PRO Act. Saying that protecting and expanding workers’ right to organize is a moral imperative, and a boost to workers who most need it, more than 400 religious leaders signed an open letter to…
Editorial | Deliberate Misunderstanding
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Editorial | Deliberate Misunderstanding
It is not antisemitic to advocate for Palestinian human rights and respect. It is not antisemitic to protest war against Gaza. It is not support of Hamas, a terrorist organization, to object to bombing Gaza. It is not antisemitic to…