There are only about three dozen proton beams in the world, and only about 20 are in the United States. Danette and Josh Swank would like to see one added to the repertoire of medical treatments available in Peoria. Proton…
Once lauded as an outstanding retailer, Toys “R” Us liquidated 735 stores in the U.S. this year, including the one in Peoria. You could blame competition from Walmart or the internet. You would have a point. As Toys “R” Us…
After decades of discussion, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is imposing a fine on Peoria for failure to resolve its combined sewer overflow problem. The EPA has still not approved Peoria’s so-called “green solution” and is ordering the city to…
I didn’t leave the Democratic party; it left me. Technically, I’ve been an Independent for years, occasionally voting for Republicans, Democrats and Greens. But Democrat candidates often got my vote. However, three things got my commitment to become a member…
I won’t argue the city council’s decision about its two top management hires, though I could. The creation and hiring of a chief diversity and inclusion officer and assistant city manager at a time when the same people are laying…
As I begin this column, we are in “the dog days of summer.” As you read this column, we are beginning the real start to the November campaign season and November election. Although I am sure you are sick already…
As of Labor Day this month, professional quarterback Colin Kaepernick has been prevented from working at his job for 551 days, just before the National Football League’s regular season starts Sept. 6 when the Eagles host the Falcons in prime…
When rivers are used as sloughs for waste, pollution, plastic and agricultural runoff, the damage is hazardous, ugly and demoralizing. In a call to action, Prairie Rivers Network is hosting the “Wild & Scenic Film Festival” at Peoria Riverfront Museum…
Editors Note: Peoria County Sheriff Brian Asbell and Bartonville Police Chief Brian Fengel are both running for Peoria County Sheriff in the November election. Community Word asked both men to write a letter-to-the-editor spelling out their positions on guns created…
Tim Barnes is a former pastor who lives in Peoria and works for the International Association for Refugees, a not-for-profit based in Minneapolis. He wrote this piece after returning from a recent meeting with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees…
In our current political and social climate, lying is a hot topic. There is a “Pinocchio” scale that rates lies according to how far away from the truth a lie veers. The gold medal for politicians and government officials telling…
Traveling in Europe in the era of Trump has been quite interesting. In July, my niece, great-niece and great-great nephew and I flew to England to visit another niece and her husband. During our visit, Donald Trump also happened to…
If you have been out along the Illinois River this summer, you might have noticed that the water level has been low for several weeks. When this happens, mudflats become exposed and then something magical happens. Seeds that lie dormant…
Baseball has played a pleasurable part of my life since I was a child. Not because I played on a team; that wasn’t part of a girl’s upbringing if she went to a Catholic school in the ‘50s and ‘60s…
William Butler is widely known in Central Illinois as director and curator of the Contemporary Art Center in Peoria. The Center has been a longstanding institution for bringing together a diverse, challenging, and entertaining body of artists and musicians. The…
Sept. 1: Lake Street Dive. 8 p.m. Monarch Music Hall. 966-0826. Sept. 1: Brainchild with The Spirit. 8 p.m. Courtyard Concert Series at Heritage Square. 670-0430. Sept. 3: West MacQueen Street Band. 11a.m.-2 p.m. CEFCU Stage on the Peoria Riverfront.…
The City of Peoria established the Mayor’s Litter Committee in 2007. The goal of the committee was to create awareness of the impact of litter, encourage people to not litter, pick up litter and host neighborhood cleanups. The cleanups were…
The West Peoria Neighborhood Watch invites everyone to its 18th annual “Night Out Against Crime” 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 15 at Franciscan Park. Play games, jump in the GaGa Pit, explore the armored vehicle Bearcat from the Peoria…
News Guild reminds locals, bosses that media firms must address security. Facing increasing violence against reporters and President Donald Trump’s hateful rhetoric and threats, News Guild President Bernie Lunzer is reminding both his locals and employers that firms must protect…
Landfill, garbage disposal, wetland restoration, native plants, environmental beauty. Not words typically associated with each other, but the association is perfectly logical for Charles Hostetler. He hopes to make the correlation universally clear with a project along Kickapoo Creek Road.…
A scathing report by the United Nations Human Rights Council on extreme poverty and inequality in America was slammed by UN Ambassador Nikki Haley as “patently ridiculous.” Haley then announced the United States was withdrawing from the UN Human Rights…
The infrastructure of American’s food system entrenches social and income inequality, devastates rural communities and inner cities, drives declining health and further empowers corporations and the politicians they support. Working in resistance to those trends are Dave Bishop, an organic…
