🌱 Peoria Gas Prices Slightly Increased + House Fire Ruled As Arson

Hello all. Nicole Fallon-Peek here with your Tuesday edition of the Peoria Patch newsletter, filled with all the local information you need to know right now.

But first, today's weather:

Periods of sun. High: 52 Low: 33.

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Here are the top three stories in Peoria today:

1. The average gas price in Peoria, as reported by GasBuddy, has increased by 2.4 cents per gallon in the past week, with the current average price being $3.65 per gallon. While this is 13.7 cents higher than a month ago, it is still 82.9 cents lower than the average price a year ago. The national average price of gasoline has not seen much change in the last week, with some states experiencing a decline in prices, while others have seen an increase due to challenges in transitioning to summer gasoline. (CIProud.com)
2. An early Sunday morning house fire in South Peoria has been ruled as arson by fire investigators. The Peoria Fire Department received a call at around 2:47 a.m. and found flames coming out of an exterior wall near the back of the home in the 1800 block of S. Westmoreland Avenue. Although all eight occupants were able to safely escape, the fire caused significant smoke damage, and the estimated cost of damage is around $20,000. (25 News Now)
3. Two Peoria residents have been indicted by a federal grand jury for allegedly obtaining pandemic-related and unemployment benefits through fraudulent means from the Paycheck Protection Program. The charges include counts of wire fraud, mail fraud, and making false statements, and were issued for offenses committed in Peoria County from May 2020 through September 2021 for Andre Johnson, 25, and from June 2020 through June 2021 for Shon Smith, 33. If convicted, the defendants face up to 20 years of imprisonment for each offense, a three-year term of supervised release, and restitution. Both are scheduled to appear in federal court for arraignment on Apr. 12. (Peoria Journal Star)

Today and tomorrow in Peoria:

Tuesday, March 28:

• Business Before Hours At Princeville State Bank (7:30 AM)

Wednesday, March 29:

• Hot Sauce Challenge At Peoria Public Library Lakeview Branch (2:30 PM)

From my notebook:

• Spring is here, and that means it's time to check out the Peoria Art Guild's Sculpture Walk. The walk features eight sculptures, including the permanent sculpture "Portal!" (Peoria Art Guild via Facebook)
• On Sunday, the Lebanese Food Festival returned to a delighted crowd! This year's festival, which has been going strong for 45 years, raised money for Peoria’s Saint Sharbel Church, according to Coordinator Cathy Kouri. (CIProud.com)
• Are you in the market for a new home? Check out these five new homes that are on the market now in the Peoria area. (Peoria Patch)

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Now you're in the loop and ready to head out the door on this Tuesday. I'll catch up with you soon with your next update!

— Nicole Fallon-Peek

About me: Nicole Fallon-Peek is a journalist and copywriter with a degree in Media, Culture and Communication from New York University. She has served as a freelance reporter, managing editor, copy editor, and editorial director for a variety of B2B news outlets. She currently co-owns and operates content creation agency Lightning Media Partners.