Outside the Horseshoe

This week, we're talking with artists Barb Hoffman and Jessica Bingham. They're both participating in the Prairie Center of the Arts' Regional Alumni Invitational Exhibition, which features work by alumni of the Center's residency program. The artists themselves chose the works to be included. All the pieces are new, created in the last two years. Hoffman and Bingham talk about the residency program, and how it's advanced their own work. They also describe their own pieces in the exhibition. The Regional Alumni Inviatational Exhibition begins with an opening reception, Saturday night at 6:00. It will be on display through Spetember. There's also a gallery talk with some of the participating artists on Tuesday, August 7th.

This week, we're talking about Corn Stock Theatre's production of "Grease" with director Rachel Wooden, and with David Brown, who plays Danny Zuko in the show. This is the first time CST has staged the well-known musical. We talk about what made this the right time to present it, how this version of the show differs from the versions often performed by schools (and the well-known movie adaptation), and about why the stories of 1950s teenagers still have resonance today.

Video Gaming Parlors are becoming more and more popular in Peoria. Three proposals for that would likely amount to the creation of video poker businesses are on the Peoria City agenda. They are expected to be deferred until after the City Council has a policy session on the subject in two weeks. The council is planning that policy session at this meeting. At-large Peoria City Councilwoman Beth Akeson and Mayor Jim Ardis are our guests to talk about those issues on this Outside the Horseshoe.

The Warehouse District near the Peoria Riverfront is growing and the reconstruction of Washington Street is nearing completion. Peoria Public Works City Engineer Scott Reeise and Assistant City Manager Chris Setti are our guests to talk about that progress as well as the efforts to make further adjustments to the rework of the Main and University area. That’s this Outside the Horseshoe. You can also hear the live broadcast of Peoria City Council meetings and this show the 2 nd and 4th Tuesday of the month on 89.9fm WCBU-HD1 , Peoria Public Radio.

The City of Peoria is stepping up official action against nuisance properties and the property owners. That is the subject of this evening’s Outside the Horseshoe. Tony Allen is a Nuisance Abatement officer with the Peoria Police Department. Doug Burgess is his partner. Burgess is featured in this Outside the Horseshoe and Allen is our guest. You can also hear the live broadcast of Peoria City Council meetings and this show the 2 nd and 4th Tuesday of the month on 89.9fm WCBU-HD1 , Peoria Public Radio.

The first zoning change request related to the replacement of the Taft homes was on the Peoria City Council's agenda Tuesday, June 24, 2014. The zoning for the historic Greeley School property is in the part of the community known as the North Valley. It's part of the city with well organized neighborhood associations. Some neighborhood association members in the area have questions about the zoning variances required to get the property to meet the needs of the site development currently being proposed.

The Peoria City Council again deferred the Marriott Hotel management change question Tuesday, June 10, 2014. The city is in the secondary lender seat on the redevelopment project and is waiting on the primary lender to sign-off.

The city of Peoria is considering a number of quality of life policy questions in its agenda for Tuesday April 27, 2014.

Mayors from across the state are warning lawmakers about rising pension costs that they say will pack a serious financial punch if left unaddressed.

Free speech in a parody or impersonating an elected official? The twitter account @Peoriamayor was intended to be a parody. When it was up in March it wasn't fully distinguished in such a way. It had about 50 followers though likely more people were viewing it. But last week the Peoria Police executed a search warrant on the residents of the person or persons thought to be responsible for the account. The whole matter has sparked a widespread response. Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis joins us for this Outside the Horseshoe to talk about the matter.

A group of parents and interested citizens has launched a public movement called Change 150. The campaign is against the Peoria District 150 Superintendent and Board of Education. It resulted in ouster of the only school board member up for re-election last week. Yesterday one of the city’s most prominent African American Pastors stood in front of the reporters from all media outlets in the city to say the group was misguided and function largely on a racial bias. This Outside The Horseshoe program airs some of the comments from Peoria Pastor Harvey Burnett and School Board member Linda Butler. Those in the reporter huddle asking questions included: Pam Adams, Peoria Journal Star, Brian Anton, and Sophie Nielsen-Kolding, WMBD TV, Larry Foulk , WEEK TV and Tanya Koonce, Peoria Public Radio.

The Peoria Housing Authority continues to work toward the plan of transition for the Taft Homes. The River view property is the currently the site of about 210 barracks style housing units. The idea is to replace those apartments with new ones in other places throughout the city and potentially also sell the current Taft Property. The community controversy surrounding the forward motion on the idea hit a pitch level Monday night at the public information meeting on the third proposed site. First District Peoria City Councilwoman Denise Moore and Assistant City Manager Chris Setting have been attending most of the the meetings and they are our guest for this Outside the Horseshoe.

The longest most difficult stretch of winter seems to be past. However the resulting potholes are a bumpy reminder that it was a harder winter than normal. Peoria Public Works Director Michael Rogers talks about the road patching effort at hand. He is our guest for this Outside the Horse Shoe.

Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis delivers the annual State of the City address in-full. This also includes the Mayor's introduction handled by Chris Waible, who is the Business Development Director at Dewberry. Our thanks to the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce for allowing us to rebroadcast/podcast the speech.

The Peoria City Council starts the year with a number of business items on its standard meeting agenda for Tuesday, January 14, 2014. Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich is our guest to talk over a number of the agenda items.

It’s the year-end review with the Peoria City Hall Press Corps. Our guests for the conversation are Peoria Journal Star City Reporter Nick Vlahos and 1470 WMBD Reporter Ed Hammond. Join us the 2 nd and 4 th Tuesdays of the month on 89.9fm for OUTSIDE THE HORSESHOE that airs immediately before our live broadcast of the Peoria City Council meetings.

The Peoria City Council votes November 26, 2013 on whether to pursue its every 5-year buyout option of Illinois American Water Company. Six of the eleven council members are new to the process. That has some of the council members doing some due diligence of their own before the vote. Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis and At-Large councilman Chuck Weaver are our guests on Outside the Horseshoe to talk about the matters.

The Main and University Intersection in Peoria is one of the city’s busiest, and therefore most likely to be congested with both vehicles and pedestrians during the day. The City is also looking to re-do the Main and University intersection this coming spring, with the aim to boost both traffic and safety. City officials have also found quicker route options for those many, many vehicles that pass through the intersection daily.

At-Large Peoria City Councilwoman Beth Jensen took her seat at the horseshoe in early September. The practicing attorney is filling the remainder of Gary Sandberg's seat.

Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis and Peoria City Manager Patrick Urich talk about the 2014 budget on Outside the Horseshoe. The show aired on 89.9 WCBU, Peoria Public Radio at 6:00p.m., Tuesday, October 8th, 2013 before the live broadcast of the Peoria City Council meeting.