We are all very aware by now that being green has taken hold of the American conscience. It is affecting different people in different ways. Some are planning errands to save gas while others are walking and biking more, using tote bags for groceries, or car pooling. We are combining the need to economize with a desire to preserve our environment.

A few weeks ago, I boasted about my favorite flea market find ever, a Mrs. Butterworth’s lamp — an old-school glass bottle of the beloved syrupy lady that someone wired, probably in shop class. I topped her off with a red and white checkered lampshade and she proudly illuminates my bedroom from my nightstand.

Chris Britt editorial cartoon.

Cecil Wright wants to keep serving his country. The Army always is looking for a few good men. And Wright has a long, honorable record as a master sergeant assigned to the Army National Guard in Bartonville.

Now that House Speaker Michael Madigan has tentatively endorsed leasing the Illinois State Lottery to finance a capital construction program, we expect this to quickly become one of the biggest debates in Illinois politics.

As medicine becomes more and more sophisticated, the need for organ donation increases.

After many delays and a hard-won compromise, Illinois looked poised to pass a much-needed ethics law. But then it got to the governor's desk, where it endured Rod Blagojevich's amendatory veto scalpel.

Chris Britt editorial cartoon.

Chris Britt's editorial cartoon for Thursday, Sept. 4.

Lyons Township High School football is so much more than winning and losing. Each player takes away something special that helps him grow and mature in ways that have nothing to do with the gridiron. The football players, coaches and families for the past 16 years have had the opportunity to know and love Jimmy Reynolds, the official ball boy and No. 1 fan of LT football. Everyone in the LT community mourned the loss of Jimmy in 2006.

Since 2005, parishioners at St. Mary-Riverside have enjoyed the services of a prominent musician, William E. Coble.

We hope you enjoyed your camping trip to an Illinois state park during the three-day Labor Day weekend. There will be fewer state parks open for you to visit next year if the governor has his way.

It feels as if one of my family’s best friends is moving far, far away – so far away we will be unable to reach them through phone or e-mail. I’m speaking of the Patterson family from “For Better or For Worse,” which this week neatly wrapped up its 28-year story line by revealing when the grandfather would die, what the next grandchild would be named, and the future of all its main characters.

Can an 11th-hour marketing blitz save the Peoria Riverfront Museum? I dunno. There's another new name change involved. And a new Web site. In the end, though, I don't know if Peoria County voters will - or should - buy in.

Last week we criticized Gov. Rod Blagojevich for using his veto pen to load up an ethics bill with new rules that, while laudable, are too broad to become law without benefit of the legislative process.