URBANA - The #3 seed Urbana Tigers cruised past Danville in a dominant 7-0 shutout Tuesday evening, advancing to the Class 2A regional final. Playing on home turf at the Urbana Tigers' Sports Complex, the Tigers showcased their offensive prowess, scoring twice in the first half and exploding for five more goals in the second. The win improved their record to 11-8-1, while Danville's season ended at 7-12-4. Urbana's attack was ignited by junior Emir Martinez, who opened the scoring just 10 minutes and seven seconds into the match. His early strike set the tone for what would be a lopsided contest. Martinez wasn’t finished, netting his second goal of the game with 17:10 left in the second half to push Urbana's lead to 5-0. The Tigers’ relentless offensive display continued with Winner Nana scoring two goals of his own. His first came with just 5:32 left in the first half, giving Urbana a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break. Nana wasted little time adding to that tally after halftime, striking again just 7:34 into the second half to make it 3-0. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, senior Fortunel Nana found the back of the net shortly after, extending the lead to 4-0 with 31:31 remaining.
Regional soccer title on their minds, Tigers crush the Vikings in semifinal match
URBANA - The #3 seed Urbana Tigers cruised past Danville in a dominant 7-0 shutout Tuesday evening, advancing to the Class 2A regional final. Playing on home turf at the Urbana Tigers' Sports Complex, the Tigers showcased their offensive prowess, scoring twice in the first half and exploding for five more goals in the second. The win improved their record to 11-8-1, while Danville's season ended at 7-12-4. Urbana's attack was ignited by junior Emir Martinez, who opened the scoring just 10 minutes and seven seconds into the match. His early strike set the tone for what would be a lopsided contest. Martinez wasn’t finished, netting his second goal of the game with 17:10 left in the second half to push Urbana's lead to 5-0. The Tigers’ relentless offensive display continued with Winner Nana scoring two goals of his own. His first came with just 5:32 left in the first half, giving Urbana a comfortable 2-0 lead at the break. Nana wasted little time adding to that tally after halftime, striking again just 7:34 into the second half to make it 3-0. Not to be outdone by his younger brother, senior Fortunel Nana found the back of the net shortly after, extending the lead to 4-0 with 31:31 remaining.
Mahomet-Seymour edges Mt. Zion 3-2 in OT thriller to advance to regional final
URBANA - Mahomet-Seymour secured a dramatic 3-2 overtime victory over Mt. Zion in the IHSA soccer regional semifinals on Tuesday, punching their ticket to the regional championship match. A late surge by the Bulldogs, capped by sophomore Alexandre Chequim-Fiho's overtime goal, sealed the win after a hard-fought battle at the Urbana Tigers Athletic Complex. Mt. Zion controlled much of the first half, with forward Greg Frazier striking twice. His first goal came with 23:27 left in the half, followed by a second at the 9:40 mark, giving the Braves a 2-0 lead and momentum as the half wound down. However, Mahomet-Seymour responded before the break with senior Travis Hoffman netting his 23rd goal of the season, trimming the deficit to 2-1 just 39 seconds before halftime. The second half saw both teams exchange opportunities, but neither side could break through until the closing minutes. With just 2:40 remaining in regulation, the Bulldogs found the equalizer through Brody Back, sending the match into overtime.
In the first overtime period, Mahomet-Seymour capitalized on their renewed momentum. Chequim-Fiho found the back of the net with 1:57 left, putting the Bulldogs ahead 3-2. Despite a strong push from Mt. Zion in the second overtime, including several near-miss opportunities, Mahomet-Seymour’s defense held firm to preserve the victory. With the win, Mahomet-Seymour improved to 15-7-2 on the season. The Bulldogs, who captured the Apollo Conference title with an 8-1-1 record, have now strung together two consecutive wins in the postseason. They will face Urbana on Friday for the regional championship. Mahomet-Seymour previously defeated Urbana 1-0 earlier in the season, setting the stage for a tightly contested rematch at the Tigers Athletic Complex, with kickoff set for 4 p.m. Mt. Zion (12-9-2) saw their season come to a close with the overtime defeat. The Braves, who finished third in the Apollo Conference with a 6-3-1 record, were known for their strong defensive efforts, recording seven shutouts during the season. However, despite a promising start in Tuesday's semifinal, they were unable to hold off the late charge by Mahomet-Seymour.
Early voting in Champaign County; here's the dates and times
1776 E Washington Street, Urbana, IL 61802: October 7th – October 11th
October 14th – October 18th
Monday-Friday, 8:30AM – 4:30PM Monday, October 21st – Monday, November 4th
Additional Early Voting Sites
Open October 21st, 2024 to November 4th, 2024 Days / Hours:
200 W Green Street, Champaign, 61820 Illini Union
1401 W Green Street, Urbana, 61801 Lake of the Woods Pavilion
109 S Lake of the Woods Road, Mahomet, 61853 Leonhard Recreation Center
2307 W Sangamon Drive, Champaign, 61821 Meadowbrook Community Church
1902 S Duncan Road, Champaign, 61821 Parkland College
Building E – 2400 W Bradley Avenue, Champaign, 61821 Prince of Peace Lutheran Church
802 E Douglas, St. Joseph, 61873 Rantoul Youth Center
1306 Country Club Lane, Rantoul, 61866 Savoy Recreation Center
402 W Graham Drive, Savoy 61874 The Church of The Living God
312 E Bradley Avenue, Champaign 61820 Tolono Public Library
111 E Main Street, Tolono 61880
Sentinel area regional soccer scores
Urbana - 7
Danville - 0
Next: Regional Championship - Friday 4pm @ Urbana vs Mahomet-Seymour Champaign Central - 2
Mattoon - 1
Next: Regional Championship - Friday 4pm @ Charleston vs Centennial Champaign Centennial - 5
Charleston - 0
Next: Regional Championship - Friday 4pm @ Charleston vs Central Mahomet-Seymour - 3 (2 OT)
Mt. Zion - 2
Next: Regional Championship - Friday 4pm @ Urbana vs Urbana Regional Championship Results:
Oakwood - 6
Georgetown-Ridge Farm - 0
Next: Sectional Semifinal - Saturday 10am @ Monticello vs Fisher
Op-Ed |Hating on immigrants hurts everyone - except for elites
Republicans are counting on fears of immigrants to draw white conservatives to the polls. This calculation is dangerous — and it lets the real villains in our politics off the hook.
There’s a direct line between Donald Trump’s 2015 declaration about Mexican “rapists” and his 2024 lie about Haitians eating pets. Trump’s running mate, Senator JD Vance (R-OH), has echoed the horrific contention about Haitians even while admitting it was a lie.
Both men are married to women of immigrant origins and may not even believe their own lies. In fact, as a Yale law student in 2012, Vance wrote a blog post decrying Republican anti-immigrant rhetoric. But after he found how convenient it is to bash immigrants for votes, Vance asked his former professor to delete it.
During the vice presidential debate between Vance and Governor Tim Walz (D-MN), Vance scapegoated immigrants every chance he got. In Vance’s world, immigrants are smuggling fentanyl and importing illegal guns. They’re also driving up housing prices while simultaneously putting downward pressure on wages by working for pittances.
Never mind that it’s mostly U.S. citizens smuggling fentanyl, and that illegal guns are flowing the other way across the border — from the U.S. into Mexico. Never mind that it makes no sense for immigrants to be working for less while paradoxically being able to afford homes that Americans cannot.
Truth and logic are beside the point. Fear of the “other” is the plan. This makes life very dangerous for immigrants. Haitian migrants, among others, are facing threats to their safety.
Trump has repeatedly deployed Hitlerian language to describe immigrants, blaming them for “poisoning the blood” of the country and claiming that they commit homicide because they have “bad genes.” (One can hardly imagine him extending the same logic to mass shooters, who tend to be overwhelmingly white and male, or to the two white men who recently tried to assassinate him. According to Trump, being white means you have “good genes.”)
Beating the racist, anti-immigrant drum is the first step toward violence. The United Nations identifies hate speech as a “precursor to atrocity crimes, including genocide,” and scholars of past genocides have drawn clear links between language that “otherizes” whole communities and pogroms aimed at them.
Anti-immigrant lies also harm native-born Americans. Trump, Vance, and their supporters recently unleashed rumors falsely blaming immigrants for disaster relief difficulties. Elon Musk jumped on the bandwagon, claiming that “FEMA used up its budget ferrying illegals into the country instead of saving American lives.”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell called these lies part of a “truly dangerous narrative.” Even Republican governors of hurricane-hit states are deeply appalled, warning that these lies threaten to disrupt disaster recovery efforts.
Most importantly, the purveyors of anti-immigrant hate let corporate power and wealthy elites — like Musk — off the hook for the problems facing Americans. Hedge fund managers, not immigrants, are outbidding Americans for housing. Corporate employers keep wages low and privatization has ruined healthcare, not immigrants.
Oil and gas corporations are responsible for the catastrophic climate change fueling hurricanes like Helene and Milton, not immigrants. (Indeed, migrant workers often help rebuild after these catastrophes as communities struggle with a labor shortage).
If right-wing politicians really want to help Americans struggling with economic stressors, they could ban hedge fund managers from buying up homes, support single-payer health care, increase the federal minimum wage, tax billionaires, divert money from war to climate, hold fossil fuel companies accountable for climate crimes, and back a renewable energy transition.
Instead, they attack immigrants — and do nothing.
Attacking immigrants and calling for mass deportations will do nothing to ease the very real struggles people face. What it will do is whip up hate and violence, give the purveyors of hate the political power they desperately seek, and let corporate vultures off the hook.
Sonali Kolhatkar is the host of “Rising Up With Sonali,” a television and radio show on Free Speech TV and Pacifica stations. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
Op-Ed |Tipped wage system isn't working, removing taxes won't save it
Both major presidential candidates have called for eliminating taxes on tips. But that won’t help most restaurant workers.
What will? Replacing the subminimum wages that tipped workers make with one fair wage nationwide.
The federal minimum wage for most workers is just $7.25. But for workers who get tips, employers are allowed to pay them $2.13 an hour. If tips don’t raise your hourly pay to at least the regular minimum wage, bosses are supposed to make up the difference — but very often don’t.
I was a bartender in Boston for over a decade. Technically, I was paid $6.75 an hour — the current subminimum in Massachusetts, which is thankfully higher than the $2.13 federal rate. But my coworkers and I made next to nothing anyway.
Like us, the vast majority of tipped workers in America — 66 percent — don’t earn enough to have to pay federal payroll taxes. So eliminating those taxes won’t benefit two-thirds of us at all.
It would only help the upper earners, like fancy waiters at the fancy restaurants — or millionaire Wall Street types, lawyers, or hedge fund managers who could reclassify their incomes as tips to dodge taxes.
Donald Trump has proposed ending taxes on tips as a clear attempt to pander to tipped workers. But as president, Trump actually gutted overtime regulations and tried to make it easier for our employers to steal our tips. So it’s clear to me he doesn’t really want to help us.
It’s a telling sign that the National Restaurant Association (NRA), which is backed by corporations and wealthy business owners, has embraced Trump’s plan.
The NRA is constantly looking for ways to get around having to actually pay their workers a full, fair minimum wage like every other industry in America. Their lobbying is the reason the subminimum wage has been stuck at $2.13 for over 30 years in the first place.
Kamala Harris has also embraced ending taxes on tips. But unlike Trump, Harris has also voiced support for ending the subminimum wage. That would mean that my coworkers and I would be paid a full, fair minimum wage just like all other workers in our country — plus get tips on top.
In that scenario, not having to pay taxes on tips would be meaningful for all of us.
When employers can pay a subminimum wage, it forces our income to depend on uncontrollable factors — like weather, customer traffic, and tips.
Even worse, many of my coworkers and I are pressured to tolerate inappropriate customer behavior because our livelihood depends on being likable. This especially harms women and contributes to the restaurant industry’s notoriously high rates of harassment.
That’s why I’m helping turn out votes for a ballot measure this fall that would end the subminimum wage in Massachusetts and ensure all restaurant workers are paid one fair wage with tips on top. There’s similar legislation pending in 12 more states.
The good news is we know this policy works.
One fair wage is already law in seven states and two major metro areas (Chicago and Washington, D.C.). And in those places, wages are higher, rates of tipping are the same or higher, and restaurant growth is higher.
Tipping is so ingrained in our culture that in places like California, which recently eliminated its subminimum wage, customers routinely continue to tip their usual amount — which workers receive on top of the full minimum wage. It’s a win-win solution.
It’s great that politicians are talking about tipped workers. We’re a powerful voting block and we’re invested in voting for meaningful change. Tipped workers see beyond the lies and the pandering and know that one fair wage is the change we need to put more dollars in our pockets.
Red Schomburg is a worker and leader with One Fair Wage. This op-ed was distributed by OtherWords.org.
7 Indoor plants that can survive shady rooms in your home
SNS - Cultivating lush greenery in dimly lit indoor spaces can be quite a challenge. The absence of ample sunlight underscores the significance of carefully choosing the right species to thrive amidst such conditions. Thankfully, there's a diverse array of options among indoor plants that can survive shady rooms. In this article, we'll delve into seven of these resilient selections that flourish in low-light environments. Each of these remarkable specimens not only adds life to your interior but also caters to the unique demands of shaded settings, turning your home into a tranquil haven of natural beauty.
5 tips for healthy hearing, maybe pickleball can help
- 1. Mind your exposure to loud noises. Loved those packed concerts in your youth? We did, too. For the reunion tour, it's wise to wear earplugs. That also goes for exposure to construction sites or loud machinery.
- 2. Monitor how long you wear headphones or earbuds. Turn down the volume of your favorite podcast or playlist, and don't wear the ear devices for an extended period of time.
- 3. Get regular checkups. Visit your hearing care professional on a regular basis, especially if you notice worsening hearing loss or other symptoms such as ringing in your ears.
- 4. Manage chronic conditions. High blood pressure, diabetes and smoking can contribute to hearing loss. Managing those conditions and quitting smoking helps keep your ears healthy.
- 5. Keep active. The improved blood flow you get from exercise is great for your ears. Walking, cycling, canoeing, working out at the gym, all contribute to good hearing health. Why not take up pickleball?
Editor's Choice
Another season, another trophy, Rockets take third at state!
Photo: Sentinel/Clark Brooks CHAMPAIGN - Members of the Unity Rockets basketball team hoist their third-place trophy after defeating Far...







