City Beat
CITY BEAT: A VERY CLOSE CALL AT THE INTERSECTION OF WILLIAM AND FRANKLIN STREETS
I’ve pointed out in past columns the crazy way that a lot of people are driving on Decatur’s streets and roads and it seems to be getting worse. Of all the “near-accidents” I’ve personally witnessed involving irresponsible drivers I think the award for the “most heart stopping” near-accident came at the downtown intersection of…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: REPORT INDICATES THE MAIN REASONS FOR VACCINE HESITANCY
Why is the vaccination rate so low in Macon County? It’s a little over 42% at this stage. I received information from Emily Lamb, a Public Relations Specialist for QuoteWizard by LendingTree, LLC, with the latest update on its vaccine hesitancy report. Lamb stated: “Our analysts reviewed the main reasons people aren’t getting vaccinated.…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: REMEMBERING 9/11 AND ITS IMPACT ON OUR COMMUNITY AND THE WORLD
It’s been 20 years this coming Saturday since a series of four coordinated terrorist attacks by the militant Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda against the United States of America happened on the morning of Tuesday, September 11, 2001. On that day, those of us old enough to remember, had horrific, sad memories burned into our…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: MACON COUNTY HEADED IN WRONG DIRECTION IN FIGHT TO DEFEAT COVID-19 INFECTIONS
• IT SHOULD come as no surprise that Macon County has taken a big step back, along with most of the rest of Illinois, in our fight to defeat COVID-19 and its variants. Despite the pleading, begging and warnings issued by about all segments of our community in leadership and professional services positions, only…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: PEOPLE, PLACES AND POLITICAL TRACES
• IT IS so nice to hear and read about the football season getting underway after the cancellations of games last fall. Special thanks to my longtime Sports Editor J. Thomas McNamara for his efforts in preparing the area high schools’ football preview that starts on page 10 of the print and online…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: MACON COUNTY HEADED WRONG WAY IN COVID-19 BATTLE
I knew when I received the notification that the Joint Crisis Communication Team (CCT) would be holding a press conference Friday in the Macon County Office Building that it would not be good news — and it wasn’t. The message delivered was: “Macon County continues to experience high transmission levels of COVID-19.” In fact,…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: IMPRESSED BY INTERIM POLICE CHIEF SHANE BRANDEL
I enjoyed getting to know Interim Police Chief Shane Brandel better during a one-on-one conversation in my office at the Tribune recently. Brandel was appointed to the position by City Manager Scot Wrighton and began his duties on July 30 when Chief Jim Getz retired. Brandel was serving as deputy police chief before his…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: GOOD NEWS KEEPS COMING DESPITE EFFORTS OF ‘DECATUR DOWNERS’
Let’s face it. We have some people in Decatur who spend a lot of time and energy complaining about our community instead of doing anything constructive to make it better. I’m sure they can never enjoy the beauty of a rose bush because they are afraid of getting stuck by the thorns. Despite a…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: ‘SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME A CESSPOOL OF FAKE NEWS AND TOXIC MISINFORMATION’
The headline on this column is from a quote written by Columnist Rob Tornoe in Friday’s edition of Editor and Publisher, the trade magazine of journalists. Based on what happened in our community last week, Tornoe’s comments seem especially relevant. Tornoe’s complete sentence stated: “It’s obvious social media has become a cesspool of fake…
Read MoreCITY BEAT: GUN VIOLENCE EXPANDING TO OUR CITY’S CHILDREN WITH 8-YEAR-OLD WOUNDED
As a newspaper editor I receive reports from law enforcement agencies regarding crimes being committed in our community. Reports of someone hurt or killed by gunfire seem to be more numerous than ever. A release from the Decatur Police Department on Friday was even more chilling than some others — if that is possible.…
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