On Tuesday, February 13, the Illinois Housing Development Authority awarded $1.08 million to Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation for the HOME program. The award was scheduled to be presented at 1224 26th Avenue in Rock Island, the home of Dan Cibulka - a previous participant in the organization's home-buyer program. This is the largest single amount of HOME funding for the home-buyers' purchase and renovation program ever awarded to a sponsor in the state of Illinois. This is the seventh phase of funding for Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation.

Passenger rail to the Quad Cities is part of a larger discussion about how a community moves its people. While our transportation policy most often focuses on how to move automobiles from one place to another, alternative transportation has frequently been ignored.

That's shifting. An aging population, traffic congestion, air-travel hassles, high fuel prices, and concern about global warming have all sparked renewed interest in mass-transit options such as passenger rail (getting from city to city) and commuter rail (transportation within a city).

Here's the question: If eliminating the Davenport City Council's Thursday-afternoon standing-committee meetings is a positive change for Davenport citizens, then why all the hush and rush?

After hearing a presentation by Superintendent Jim Spelhaug at its monthly board meeting, the Bettendorf Chamber of Commerce voted to support the proposed renewal of the Pleasant Valley Community School District Physical Plant & Equipment Levy (PPEL). The vote on renewal takes place on February 13. The Bettendorf Chamber's support was based on trends showing substantial residential growth within the district over the long-term, resulting in increasing enrollment. Such trends increase the need for the PPEL fund. PPEL is used to maintain buildings and grounds; to complete remodeling projects; to purchase or lease technology, vehicles, and equipment; and to support major capital-improvement projects such as building additions or new facilities.