• Perception can be everything, and that may be no truer than in the racial makeup of Kankakee County juries. When a white man is on trial with an all-white jury, it may not raise an eyebrow. But when it’s a black woman on trial, some may question whether she really is being tried by a jury of her peers in this racially diverse region.

• Have questions about the U.S. Census? Find out more in today’s Life section.

• It’s time that parents, coaches and school officials insist that high school softball pitchers, first basemen and third basemen wear protective masks, also called fielders’ or defensive masks. Read more in Rob Laird’s column in sports today.