I was not the only blogger who criticized last week’s Aaron Schock fundraiser because it cost $500 to get in the door and another $5,000 to get a picture taken with President Bush.
But local blogger Red Dot in a Blue State points out that many of those who scorned the GOP are silent about the [...]

This post isn’t about the media, or politics or anything else this blog is supposed to be about. So feel free to skip it.

The lovely and talented Marie Carnes set me an email with an observation: Most bankruptcies are filed in court during the first week of the month. So, if GateHouse Media is to inclined, we might hear about it within the next seven days.
Marie predicts that the company would probably declare Chapter 11, which would allow [...]

I’ve gotten used to the sound of silence from the local media when it comes to bad financial news regarding local media.
So I was a bit surprised with I saw this link to bad news about GateHouse Media coming from, of all places, a GateHouse Media newspaper.
Alas, all I’m getting is page-cannot-be-found message.
However, I did [...]

From Editor & Publisher:
GateHouse Media is likely to default under its credit agreement unless it can negotiate an amendment to its covenants or get a cash injection from its largest stakeholder, Moody’s Investor Service says in a report downgrading the community newspaper publisher’s credit and probability of default ratings.
and
GateHouse could bump up against loan covenants, [...]

I’m not even going to try to name all the bloggers and others who attended. Lot of conversation. Lots of hugging. Lots of liquid refreshment. And the Cubs won 7-1 over the Brewers.
We even talked some shop.
Look for photos on some of the blogs. I’ll link to ‘em when the photos get posted.

NOTE: GateHouse Media, the parent company for the Peoria Journal Star, TimesNewspapers and other dailies and weeklies in Illinois and other parts of the country, today saw the price of its stock drop to 56 cents a share before closing at 72 cents. The same stock once sold for more than $20 a share. The [...]

July 29 is the fifth Tuesday of the month, so that means it’s time for Blogger Bash. It will start roughly at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Recovery Room, 802 W. Pioneer Parkway in Peoria. It’s the scene of the first, unofficial mini Blogger Bash, held many years ago.
Everyone is invited.

I have been notified by my new host, mediatemple, that my databases are working fine and are no longer causing an undue strain on their servers.
That’s the good news.
Here’s the bad news:
Mediatemple was the victim of a denial of service attack today. It knocked down Blog Peoria and other sites hosted with (mt) today. There [...]

(press release)
Scholarships are available to registered neighborhood associations and neighborhood watch groups in Peoria for the 2008 Regional Neighborhood Networking Conference, October 2-4, in Lima, Ohio. The conference theme is “We Know Neighborhoods.”
Neighborhood associations and neighborhood watch groups are eligible to apply for one full and two partial scholarships to attend the conference. Full scholarships [...]

(press release)
As the City Council begins another year of budget planning, we want to start the process by reaching out to the citizens of Peoria for input on where they would like to see their tax dollars invested.
Mayor Jim Ardis said, “It is vital that citizens have a voice in how their tax dollars are [...]

On the first trading day after its stock reached a new low, GateHouse Media saw the value of its stock plummet to an all-new low of 66 cents a share. The stock rebounded to 90 cents a share, less than what’s needed to avoid delisting on the New York Stock Exchange.
The drop is being blamed [...]

C.J. Summers beat me to the punch by commenting on Monday’s Word on the Street column. Karen McDonald points out that the national Democratic Party has not been as forthcoming with financial support to Colleen  Callahan as many would like. This is nothing new, in my opinion. As long as I’ve been cognizant of politics, [...]

(Press release)
Edwards, Capote, Mancini and Hepburn team in comedy at Apollo
A film comedy based on a bestseller by celebrated novelist and journalist Truman Capote ushers in August this weekend at the Apollo Theater.
Showing at 7 p.m. Saturday, August 2, “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” showcases Capote’s writing skills and a collaboration between various talents. It was directed [...]

From the City of Peoria:
Rainfall in the City of Peoria has caused a sewer overflow into the Illinois River recently from one or more locations shown on the map located here.
When this warning is posted, please avoid full-body contact with the Illinois River in the area downstream from Detweiller Marina, as shown on the map. [...]