• AirTran Airways announced that it will enhance nonstop service between Quad City International Airport and Orlando International Airport. The new nonstop flights will begin March 9. All flights will be aboard the largest aircraft serving the Quad Cities airport, a Boeing 717 aircraft, with approximately 100 coach seats and 12 business-class seats available. The flight time is estimated to be two and one-half hours one-way. These three additional weekly nonstop flights are in addition to the existing Saturday nonstop flight currently being operated to Orlando, for a total of four flights per week.
• Last month, Pamela Sue Leichty of Rock Island pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling public funds and one count of making false statements. Leichty, of 1620 65th Avenue West, was accused of embezzling more than $782,000 from the Quad City Garage Policy Group over a two-and-a-half-year period. The Garage Policy Group maintains and services buses for both MetroLINK and Citibus, and Leichty was a senior financial specialist. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in Springfield, Illinois, between March 2001 and November 2003 Leichty "manipulated the accounting computer software to print checks payable to herself. Leichty admitted she concealed the checks payable to her by manipulating the software to update and issue another check to a vendor, which she then destroyed." Lecihty will be sentenced March 3; the embezzlement charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and a $250,000 fine, while the other charge carries a maximum of five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
• The Mississippi Valley Fair received a $40,000 grant from the Riverboat Development Authority (RDA) for a permanent concrete stage to serve the grandstand. Mary Ellen Chamberlin, executive director of RDA, presented the check to Roy Keppy, president of Mississippi Valley Fair Underwriters (the fair's fund-raising arm). Construction on the stage should begin soon, and the 50-by-100-foot structure will be complete by spring.
• Rivermont Collegiate has been granted continuing accreditation for the 2004-5 school year from the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation & School Improvement. Rivermont Collegiate joins more than 9,000 schools across a 19-state region that were honored for earning accreditation. Rivermont Collegiate has maintained its accreditation status since 2002. To earn accreditation, schools must meet North Central Association standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and implement a continuous school-improvement plan focused on increasing student performance. The accreditation process is voluntary and requires annual review. Parents and interested community members can learn more about accreditation at (http://www.ncacasi.org).
• River Action, a not-for-profit citizen-action organization dedicated to fostering the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of the Mississippi River and its riverfront in the Quad Cities area, is seeking nominations for its sixth annual Eddy Awards. These awards recognize individuals, organizations, corporations, schools, groups, and governments that went against the current to get things done and accomplished outstanding riverfront activity or development - well designed and environmentally responsible. Awards are presented in six categories: education, design, river activity, arts, stewardship, and revitalization. River Action will announce the winners at an Earth Day ceremony to be held on April 23. Nomination forms are available at River Action's office, 822 East River Drive in Davenport, or call (563)322-2969 for a faxed form. Nominations are also being accepted online at (http://www.riveraction.org). The deadline for receiving nominations is January 21.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that on December 17 President George W. Bush signed into law the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. Among other things, the legislation will require standardization of birth certificates and driver's licenses for acceptance by federal agencies. The law requires the Secretary of Transportation to consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish standards for driver's licenses and state identification documents that can be accepted by federal agencies. The licenses and documents must include full legal name, date of birth, sex, driver's license or personal-identification card number, a digital photograph, residential address, and signature. In two years, no federal agency will accept a driver's license or personal identification card issued by a state unless the document conforms to the federally established minimum standards. For more information on the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, look at (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/bdquery/z?d108:s.02845:). For more information about national identification, see EPIC's National ID page at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards).
• On December 13, Neumann Monson Architects presented to the Davenport City Council conceptual drawings and proposed floor plans for a new Davenport police facility to be built to replace the existing police-headquarters building. The estimated cost of this project is $20.3 million. Ground-breaking on the project is projected to be in late September or early October. Phase one of this project involves building the new police facility adjacent to the current building, which should take 12 to 14 months to complete. Once that is done, the operations of the police department would move into the new building. After that, phase two would begin, involving tearing down the old police headquarters and constructing a two-level parking deck that would attach to the new building. This phase is estimated to take eight to 12 months to complete. To see the proposed police station, look at (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/police/DPDNewStation121304.pdf).
• The Drug War Chronicle (http://stopthedrugwar.org) reports that the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has joined at least a dozen state nursing associations and the American Nursing Association in endorsing the use of marijuana as a medicine. A position paper submitted by the INA's Assembly on Health Policy was adopted unanimously by the organization's board of directors last month and is now prominently displayed on its Web site (http://www.illinoisnurses.org). The INA is among the latest of dozens of medical organizations that have stepped up for medical marijuana. For a complete list, visit (http://www.medicalcannabis.com/PDF/Grouplist.pdf).
• Last month, Pamela Sue Leichty of Rock Island pleaded guilty to one count of embezzling public funds and one count of making false statements. Leichty, of 1620 65th Avenue West, was accused of embezzling more than $782,000 from the Quad City Garage Policy Group over a two-and-a-half-year period. The Garage Policy Group maintains and services buses for both MetroLINK and Citibus, and Leichty was a senior financial specialist. According to a press release from the United States Attorney's Office in Springfield, Illinois, between March 2001 and November 2003 Leichty "manipulated the accounting computer software to print checks payable to herself. Leichty admitted she concealed the checks payable to her by manipulating the software to update and issue another check to a vendor, which she then destroyed." Lecihty will be sentenced March 3; the embezzlement charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years and a $250,000 fine, while the other charge carries a maximum of five years' imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
• The Mississippi Valley Fair received a $40,000 grant from the Riverboat Development Authority (RDA) for a permanent concrete stage to serve the grandstand. Mary Ellen Chamberlin, executive director of RDA, presented the check to Roy Keppy, president of Mississippi Valley Fair Underwriters (the fair's fund-raising arm). Construction on the stage should begin soon, and the 50-by-100-foot structure will be complete by spring.
• Rivermont Collegiate has been granted continuing accreditation for the 2004-5 school year from the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation & School Improvement. Rivermont Collegiate joins more than 9,000 schools across a 19-state region that were honored for earning accreditation. Rivermont Collegiate has maintained its accreditation status since 2002. To earn accreditation, schools must meet North Central Association standards, be evaluated by a team of professionals from outside the school, and implement a continuous school-improvement plan focused on increasing student performance. The accreditation process is voluntary and requires annual review. Parents and interested community members can learn more about accreditation at (http://www.ncacasi.org).
• River Action, a not-for-profit citizen-action organization dedicated to fostering the environmental, economic, and cultural vitality of the Mississippi River and its riverfront in the Quad Cities area, is seeking nominations for its sixth annual Eddy Awards. These awards recognize individuals, organizations, corporations, schools, groups, and governments that went against the current to get things done and accomplished outstanding riverfront activity or development - well designed and environmentally responsible. Awards are presented in six categories: education, design, river activity, arts, stewardship, and revitalization. River Action will announce the winners at an Earth Day ceremony to be held on April 23. Nomination forms are available at River Action's office, 822 East River Drive in Davenport, or call (563)322-2969 for a faxed form. Nominations are also being accepted online at (http://www.riveraction.org). The deadline for receiving nominations is January 21.
• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) reports that on December 17 President George W. Bush signed into law the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004. Among other things, the legislation will require standardization of birth certificates and driver's licenses for acceptance by federal agencies. The law requires the Secretary of Transportation to consult with the Secretary of Homeland Security to establish standards for driver's licenses and state identification documents that can be accepted by federal agencies. The licenses and documents must include full legal name, date of birth, sex, driver's license or personal-identification card number, a digital photograph, residential address, and signature. In two years, no federal agency will accept a driver's license or personal identification card issued by a state unless the document conforms to the federally established minimum standards. For more information on the National Intelligence Reform Act of 2004, look at (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgibin/bdquery/z?d108:s.02845:). For more information about national identification, see EPIC's National ID page at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/id_cards).
• On December 13, Neumann Monson Architects presented to the Davenport City Council conceptual drawings and proposed floor plans for a new Davenport police facility to be built to replace the existing police-headquarters building. The estimated cost of this project is $20.3 million. Ground-breaking on the project is projected to be in late September or early October. Phase one of this project involves building the new police facility adjacent to the current building, which should take 12 to 14 months to complete. Once that is done, the operations of the police department would move into the new building. After that, phase two would begin, involving tearing down the old police headquarters and constructing a two-level parking deck that would attach to the new building. This phase is estimated to take eight to 12 months to complete. To see the proposed police station, look at (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/police/DPDNewStation121304.pdf).
• The Drug War Chronicle (http://stopthedrugwar.org) reports that the Illinois Nurses Association (INA) has joined at least a dozen state nursing associations and the American Nursing Association in endorsing the use of marijuana as a medicine. A position paper submitted by the INA's Assembly on Health Policy was adopted unanimously by the organization's board of directors last month and is now prominently displayed on its Web site (http://www.illinoisnurses.org). The INA is among the latest of dozens of medical organizations that have stepped up for medical marijuana. For a complete list, visit (http://www.medicalcannabis.com/PDF/Grouplist.pdf).
