by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Bill Knight: Medicaid benefits are on the ropes
It’s one thing to enrich the wealthy through targeted tax cuts, etc., but must government make the poor needier? That’s looking likely since Congress in its Consolidated Appropriations Act, enacted Dec. 29, 2022, set March 31 of this year as…
by Lisa Nelson Raabe • • Comments Off on Inland Art: Garden to garment, no scrap left behind — creative clothing with nod to sustainability
Creative clothing with a view toward sustainability is the focus of three fashionistas in Peoria. Dana Baldwin creates phenomenal evening gowns, wraps and coats, Aareon Boyd up-cycles vintage wear and Lily Scalf focuses on natural dyes and elegant daywear. Each…
by William Rau • • Comments Off on Heat Waves in Red & Black: Putin’s petrostate under kleptocratic ‘reiderstovo’
Russian oligarchs are named incorrectly. America has oligarchs, men whose extraordinary wealth can sway governments. As Gilens and Page (2014) show, economic elites and big corporations get their way when Congress crafts legislation whereas ordinary citizens have negligible impact. Wealth…
by contributor • • Comments Off on SPECIAL: Gun Violence: Public Health Priority, Part 1
Firearm violence is taking place in communities across the nation and recently surpassed motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of injurious death in the United States. Peoria is no exception. Firearm homicides of Peoria County residents doubled from 2020…
by Emily Gill • • Comments Off on EDITORIAL: Abortion exceptions are not as advertised
Since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court last June, many states have passed legislation defining and limiting the circumstances under which abortions may be performed. As a result, many doctors and hospitals have been extremely timid about…
by Mike Miller • • Comments Off on Nature Rambles: Yes! Virginia Bluebells ring in serene sense of a paradise lost
April is the month when the forest floor comes alive with new growth. In Illinois forests, the ground layer comes alive while the tree tops still slumber. The amount of daylight steadily increases throughout the month as spring takes over…
by Bill Knight • • Comments Off on Stamp out hunger: Common ground feeds those in need as SNAP slashed, prices soar
On Saturday, May 13, the morning will start slow for thousands of volunteers from coast to coast. At the USPS Persimmon Annex just south of the State Street Post Office, Cub Scouts from Pack 219 will meet, grab a snack,…
by Roger Monroe • • Comments Off on Straight Talk: Auditor lost election, but winning in courts
By a whopping 70%, Peoria County voters said the office of County Auditor should be closed. Members of the County Board had overwhelmingly stated there was no need for an elected auditor. Auditor Jessica Thomas was expected to accept the…
by Community Word Staff • • Comments Off on Meet the candidates: CW Election Primer looks at 10 candidates for five seats on Peoria City Council
Ten candidates are running for the Peoria City Council’s five at-large seats in the non-partisan election April 4. Under Peoria’s system, voters casting ballots for these races have five votes to cast for the candidates. Voters may choose to cast…
by William Rau • • Comments Off on Heat waves in Red & Black: CO2 pipeline for Peoria? Who Benefits?
Wolf/ADM (2022) wants to run a CO2 pipeline through Peoria and Tazewell Counties, route a trunk line to Peoria’s BioUrja ethanol plant, and possibly inject CO2 into the Mt. Simon Basin extending beneath your counties. For an antidote to Wolf/ADM…