The Taste of Peoria is today.

The Taste of Washington was two weeks ago. And the Taste of Morton was in May.

Whenever I travel somewhere, I really get caught up in the feel of the place.

Rather than buying T-shirts with a state name on them, I buy historical books so I know some of what happened there.

Despite the fact that I hate aging, I love to write about getting older; I don’t know why.

Sound familiar?  The “three R’s” of recycling – reduce, reuse, and recycle – can also be applied to brownfield redevelopment.

Last weekend, the Kendall clan gathered for our second family reunion at West Park in East Peoria.

West Park has a beautiful shelter that is uniquely painted and the view on top of the hill along Springfield Road is pretty spectacular.

Here is a very simple tip to help the environment, improve people’s health and save money: Turn your vehicle’s engine OFF anytime it is not in motion.

It has been shown in studies that more fuel is used in 10 seconds of idling than it takes to restart your car. It is harder on the exhaust system, cylinders and spark plugs to idle.

Four years ago, when making the life-changing decision of what career to pursue, journalism was a popular suggestion from my friends and family. Those who know me best saw me as the talkative, investigative person, who loved my time working with my high school publications.

Lately in the news I have been hearing about how everyone should reduce their carbon footprint. One of the suggested ways is to buy locally grown vegetables when they are in season. I am going to suggest that you go one step further and grow your own vegetables. If you have a location in your yard that gets six to eight hours of sunlight, you have the perfect spot.

Budding trees, birds chirping, colorful daffodils and tulips waving in the warm breezes. These are visions of spring, the season that promises renewal and rebirth, our reward for enduring another winter in Central Illinois.

Have your heard? There is a promise of a new life, the Phoenix rising up from a vacant 88 acre piece of land once occupied by Caterpillar Inc. factories and offices, as it is developed into East Peoria’s Downtown 2010.

March is here … spring is just around the corner! It was a tough winter, but we’re gearing up for a lot of fun events at the library. Our story hours are still going on this month.

The children’s staff is busily preparing for the summer reading program. This year’s theme is Scare Up a Good Book. The program begins June 1 and runs the entire months of June and July.

How many times do you complain about the high cost of electricity and gas utilities?

Well, there is something you can do about it, and it comes at a very low cost to you, the homeowner.

It’s always hard to say goodbye, especially when one is leaving something they have been doing for a quarter of their life.

After 10 years of covering East Peoria as editor of the East Peoria Times-Courier, I am taking on a new role as executive editor at TimesNewspapers.

I’ve always loved the movies. My mom used to take my brother and me to see all the current features when we were young. That was our special time.

I moved to East Peoria 15 years ago. A lot of good things have happened in that short amount of time. I have had three children. I’ve become active in my local church and schools. My husband has a successful position with the park district. I also became a member of our community’s Green Team over a year ago.

Recently, I noticed the signs at an East Peoria business. They had both English and Spanish words on them.

My initial reaction was anger. I thought, ‘This is America where people speak English. Why are we catering to Hispanics?’

A routine assignment was anything but Thursday night.

I attended the Operation Teen Safe Driving wrap up reception at East Peoria Community High School.

I learned something new yesterday while taking an online training course for my job.

I am now federally protected from age discrimination since I am 40.

Greetings from the ICC Performing Arts Center, where we hope that you will join us for some of our winter events. For an up-to-date online information source, check out our Web page at www.pjstarpeoria.com/iccperformingarts.

“Clapton: the autobiography"
By Eric Clapton
New York: Broadway Books
343 pages
Hardcover; $26

Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game
by Andy Strasberg, Bob Thompson, and Tim Wiles
New York: Hal Leonard Books
224 pages
Hardbound: $29.95