PeoriaStory

Canton mine permit hearing

CANTON -- Why isn't this hearing being held in Canton, so local people can attend without having to travel?

From a news release:

 

MEDIA ADVISORY

May 21^st, 2012

Contact: Brenda Dilts, Canton Area Citizens for Environmental Issues, 309-649-1948

Joyce Blumenshine, Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club, 309-678-1011

CONTROVERSIAL CANTON COAL MINE PERMIT APPEAL HEARINGS BEGIN MAY 23^rd

Local Residents Appeal Coal Mine that Would Threaten Drinking Water

WHAT: Administrative Review Hearings – The Illinois Department of Natural Resources will conduct administrative review hearings on the proposed North Canton strip coal mine beginning May 23^rd at the Springfield IDNR office, #1 Natural Resources Way, on the state fair grounds.

At issue is whether or not Capital Resources Development, LLC will be allowed to proceed with plans to strip mine for coal in the watershed of Canton Lake, which is the source of drinking water for over half of Fulton County’s residents.

In 2008, several Canton area citizens and the Heart of Illinois Group Sierra Club filed an appeal of IDNR’s decision to grant the permit, contending that it would compromise water quality in Canton Lake. The quantity of water the mine will hold back and divert from the lake is also at issue. Four years later, local residents will finally have a chance to present their concerns to IDNR.

Local residents are particularly concerned because Capital Resources Development is affiliated with the Industry Mine, located in Schuyler and McDonough County. The Industry Mine has over 625 Clean Water Act violations between 2004 and 2011. The Illinois Attorney General, the Environmental Law and Policy Center, Prairie Rivers Network, and the Illinois Sierra Club filed suit on the unabated water pollution in 2010. This case is still pending before the Illinois Pollution Control Board.

WHEN: 9:00 am-5:00pm, Wednesday, May 23^rd and Thursday May 24^th, 2012

WHERE: Illinois Department of Natural Resources, One Natural Resources Way Springfield, IL 62702

WHO: Several local members of Canton Area Citizens for Environmental Issues, a grassroots group of residents from Canton, IL as well as Canton and Orion Townships who are dedicated to protecting Canton Lake, a drinking water resource for over 20,000 people, will be at the hearing.

Heart of Illinois Group, Illinois Chapter Sierra Club, is a grassroots central state section of the Sierra Club, whose motto is to protect the environment for our families and for our future.

WHY: The proposed North Canton Coal Mine would destroy over 1,000 acres of land in the watershed of Canton Lake. This has the potential for adding sediments and pollutants such as heavy metals and salts into waters now used for drinking water supplies, fish and wildlife habitat, and livestock watering. The mine will also withhold millions of gallons of water that would reach Canton Lake under present conditions.

VISUALS: Canton area residents in attendance at permit appeal hearing. -30-

My take:  Here is another test for the Democratic administration of Gov. Pat Quinn.

We'll be watching to see what he does with this.

  -- Elaine Hopkins

 

Interesting film

PEORIA -- Here's a film that looks good. It's at Forest Park Nature Center on June 6.

Art show at library

PEORIA -- From a news release:

 

                The 48^th Annual Rennick Juried Art Show, sponsored by the Peoria Historical Society, will be at Peoria Public Library Main Library Gallery from May 1 to 30. With the expanded gallery space, the show is expected to feature oil painting, watercolor, pastels, pen and ink, colored pencil, charcoal, mixed media and photography.

                Artists were required to submit work depicting a Central Illinois theme within a 100 mile radius from the tri-county area. This may include landmarks, nature, water and landscapes, events, or people.

                The Peoria Public Library Main Gallery is open from Monday through Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public. For more information or group tours, contact 309-497-2120.

Judging takes place Tuesday, May 1. For complete details see www.peoriahistoricalsociety.org.

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Speaker on Israel May 7

 PEORIA -- The Jewish Federation of Peoria presents: 

The 2012 Elections; implications for Israel and the Arab Spring
 
Guest Speaker: Jay Footlik
Date & time: May 7, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Bradley University-Marty Theatre, 915 N. Elmwood

Jay Footlik is the founding president and CEO of Global Policy Initiatives. He served as Special Assistant to President Clinton in the White House and has held various senior positions on numerous political campaigns over the last 25 years. He is a frequent speaker on foreign policy and the Middle East and has appeared on Al Jazeera English, Fox News, ABC, NBC, CBS and others. Jay routinely travels to Beirut, Jordan, Turkey and Israel. He will be sharing his personal experiences and insights about the region and the 2012 elections.

 

 

May Day Protests: A strike and a walkout at Bradley U.

PEORIA -- May Day is a traditional international worker's day, and this year it's a national day of protest that includes an event planned for Bradley University.  Here is the flier:

The Peoria Peace Network is urging its members to attend, to show solidarity with the students.

There's also a national protest calling for a day of strikes:  "no work, no school, no housework, don't bank, don't buy."  Here's the website.   

Healthcare Now, a national group calling for a single payer system, says: "Building on the history of May Day, the Occupy Wall Street (OWS) movement is calling for a Day Without the 99% by students, workers, and immigrants on Tuesday, May 1 to highlight economic injustice and corporate domination. Already, over 115 cities will be participating in this historic event."

It continues: "At a time in our country when 50 million people are uninsured and millions more remain underinsured, unemployment is at its highest level in more than 30 years, and student loan debt has reached a crippling one trillion dollars, this coming May Day occurs while the disparity between the privileges of the top 1% and the hardships of the rest of the 99% have been boldly illuminated by the efforts of OWS."

Well said.  Let's all participate!

Here's a story on the May Day events.

 -- Elaine Hopkins

 

 

 

 

 

League meeting features Jim Nowlan

PEORIA -- From a news release:

The League of Women Voters of Greater Peoria will host politics expert Jim Nowlan as its guest speaker, at its annual meeting on, May 5.   

 he event begins at 11a.m. on Saturday, May 5 at the IVY Club, 5102 N. Galena Road, Peoria Heights  

Jim Nowlan will speak on The Future of Illinois around 12:30 p.m.

Nowlan is a professor, politician, newspaper publisher and has been a senior aide to three Illinois governors.  He is the author of scholarly works as well as novels about American politics, public management and social change.

Luncheon reservations must be made by April 30 by contacting Nancy Schweitzer at 309/685-9391. The meeting without the luncheon is free and open to the public.

ACLU annual meeting features talk by Don Jackson

PEORIA -- From a news release:

The Peoria ACLU Chapter Celebrates its 51^st Anniversary at its Annual Meeting on May 3

 

The Peoria ACLU Chapter’s annual meeting on Thursday, May 3 will feature Mr. Donald Jackson, president of the Peoria NAACP, speaking on “Civil Rights and Concealed Carry Gun Laws: With the Trayvon Martin Killing Justified by a ‘Stand Your Ground’ Law and with the Rise in Hate Groups--Do We Really Need Concealed Carry Laws?”       

The event takes place at the IVY Club, 1502 N. Galena Road, Peoria Heights, and begins with a social hour at 5:30 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. with the program, presentation of awards and election of officers to follow.

Guest speaker Jackson, a former president of the Illinois NAACP, is an attorney whose practice focuses on race, sex, retaliation, hostile work environment and disability discrimination.  He has litigated claims before the Illinois Human Rights Commission, and argued civil rights cases before the Appellate Court, Illinois Supreme Court and the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

The 2012 Sam Belfer Award goes to two Peoria education activists, Terry Knapp and Sharon Crews, who speak out at Peoria District 150 School Board meetings, to hold the district accountable and compel transparency in the public interest.

Reservations for the dinner must be made by April 30, and can be made on line through the Illinois ACLU.

The chapter's annual newsletter can be accessed through the chapter website. The dinner menu and a printout to copy and mail can also be found there.

The public is invited to the event, and welcome to attend the program after the dinner free of charge. 

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Women's rights rally in Chicago

PEORIA -- There's an important rally for women's rights on April 28 in Chicago. 

It's at 10 a.m. in Lincoln Park. Here's the link with all the information. 

With women's rights of all kinds, from abortion rights, access to contraceptives and equal pay for equal work under threat everywhere, we must refight the old battles, one more time. 

It can't happen in Illinois, you say? Think again.

Between the intolerance of the Catholics and other churches, the greed of multinational corporations and the stupidity of male chauvinists, it could happen! 

 -- Elaine Hopkins

To bee or not to bee

 PEORIA -- This is interesting! From a news release:

 

                Peoria Public Library will officially welcome the live bee colony that was just installed at North Branch on Friday, April 13 at 10:15 a.m. with a bee storytime.

                The bee colony contains live bees in a visible hive that are able to exit the building through a special tube and visit the large prairie that surround the building. The queen bee has been marked with a white dot so that visitors can search for her in the hive.

                The bee colony was installed to introduce children to science and nature and echoes the theme of the beehive storytime room at North Branch. The hive was installed and will be maintained by Hart Honey.

                The Peoria Public Library consulted with the Peoria Humane Society and the Peoria Animal Welfare Shelter as the live bee project was developed. These two organizations assisted the Peoria Public Library in the consideration of options for this project, and ultimately helped connect the library to the local beekeepers who will care for the demonstration hive that has been installed.  In honor of the new North Branch Beehive Children’s Area, the Peoria Humane Society recently donated a wide selection of the latest bee-themed books for the younger patrons of the Library.

Cinema Latino films: practice your Spanish

PEORIA -- From a news release:

 

Peoria Public Library will continue to show Spanish Language films in April, May  and June, with No Eres Tu, Soy Yo on Friday, April 20 at 6:30 p.m., El Mariachi on Friday, May 18 and Ladron que Roba a Ladron on Friday, June 15 at 6:30 p.m. at Main Library in the Auditorium.

No Eres Tu, Soy Yo stars Eugenio Derbez, Martina Garcia, Alejandra Barros and was directed by Alejandro Springall. Rated PG-13 this 2011 film runs 105 minutes.

Javier wishes for one thing in life: be happy with Maria, but soon after the wedding, destiny changes their plans. What would a man put himself through in order to accept the loss of the woman he loves and recover confidence in love again? This film is the story of man immersed in an emotional roller-coaster that takes him from depression to ridicule, to psychoanalysis and to ex girlfriends, only to find true love one more. If Javier could just stop thinking about Maria.

El Mariachi stars Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gome and Reinol Martinez with direction by Robert Rodriquez. Rate R, it was filmed in 1993 and runs 83 minutes. A lone mariachi musician is ushered into the violent underworld of a small Mexican border town

when he is mistaken for a crazed drug dealer. Both wear black and carry a guitar case, although one is loaded with weapons and the other with a guitar. The mariachi falls in love with the beautiful bar owner who takes him in during this Mexican-American action film. The film was the first of what came to be known as the Mexico triology, along with two other Rodriquez films, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico. El Mariachi was inducted into the Library of Congress National Film Registry due to its aesthetic, cultural and historical significance

The June selection, Ladron Que Roba A Ladron stars Fernando Colunga, Miguel Varoni, Saul Lisazo,  and Ivonne Montero  and was directed by Joe Menendez. Rated PG-13 it runs 98 minutes. Two thieves reunite to rob a rich infomercial guru, Moctesuma Valdez, who makes his money selling worthless health products to poor Latino immigrants. When none of their affiliates want to go undercover as workers in Valdezs home the men recruit real immigrants to pull off the heist from within

These events are free and open to the public and will be shown on the library’s state of the art digital projection system on the big screen.

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