Columns

West Peoria News for February 2015

There have been personnel changes in the township’s trustees. John Powell was appointed to replace Marsha Miller after her move to Galena that resulted in her resignation. Kelly Abraham announced that she is retiring from her position and will be…

Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre is a positive experience

With so many positive qualities, it is hard to decide where to begin a recommendation for attending a show at Conklin’s Barn II Dinner Theatre in Goodfield. Permit me then to further explicate the title of this column. Theater as…

Arts beat for February 2015

MUSIC Feb. 6: “Live at the Five Spot” featuring Cousin Eddie. 5:30 p.m. Contemporary Art Center. 674-6877. Feb. 6-7 & continuing each Friday & Saturday: live music at Rhythm Kitchen, 305 SW Water St. 676-9668. Feb. 7: Pianist Reid Alexander.…

February 2015 neighborhood notes

* The Renaissance Park Community Association reports that its first public art project is complete. The colorful 12 x 78-foot mural painted on the side of the Muir Omni Graphics building on West Main Street also includes six large-scale artist-designed…

Best test for cancer screening

There is good evidence to support breast cancer screening, but there is controversy about which screening method is best. An ideal cancer test would never indicate a cancer that was not present (false positive) and never miss a cancer (false…

Contraceptive counseling by zip code

Contraceptives are accessible to some Peoria women, not all Teen-aged girls in some areas of Peoria have more than twice the pregnancy rate as their counterparts nationwide but limited access to long-term contraceptives. Overall, the teen pregnancy rate in the…

Belafonte film highlights police harassment

An unarmed pedestrian is stopped on the street as a suspect and beaten by cops as a crowd gathers and protests. Unfortunately, that’s increasingly common, except in this scenario, the victim is white, the police African American, and society dominated…

Poor analysis by analyst

My favorite section of the Journal Star is the editorial page and not because of anything editor Mike Bailey writes. I rarely read PJS editorials since they represent the far left. Thankfully the newspaper reprints columns by Charles Krauthammer versus…

A tale of two cities and two road projects

The City of Peoria recently completed — well, sorta — a road project on Forrest Hill between Sheridan Road and Knoxville. The road is being repaved with new drainage, etc. Now, work isn’t exactly completed. They just stopped and reopened…

Three Common Misconceptions About Islam & Muslims

Kamil Mufti is resident scholar and imam at the Islamic Foundation of Peoria where he has served for the past six years. His interests (or passions) include expanding understanding of Islam and developing interfaith harmony. The most common stereotype people…