• The Roy J. Carver Charitable Trust has donated $6,000 to Ballet Quad Cities in conjunction with the world premiere of From the Pages of a Young Girl's Life: The Anne Frank Ballet. The funding allows educational tools to be made available to area children for this educational experience that brings a period of history to life. From the Pages of a Young Girl's Life is an original one-act ballet about Anne Frank and her relationships before the war and then later in the annex. For more information, take a look at (http://www.balletquadcities.com).
• On Saturday, May 14, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities will dedicate its 32nd home, and the ninth Habitat home built in Rock Island. The house is located at 622 9th Avenue and will become home to Felicia Bragg and her five children. Bragg has completed more than the required 250 hours of sweat equity working on her home and other partner family homes, and participating in additional Habitat activities such as homeowner classes, fundraisers, and mailings. This build was sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, ILLOWA Lutheran Coalition, Augustana Habitat Campus Chapter, Thrivent Financial, and the Alcoa Bravo Program. Since 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has contributed $20 million to Habitat. In 2004 alone, the foundation funded the construction of 250 homes across the nation. Twenty-two volunteers from Wells Fargo worked to build Bragg's home. For more information, look at (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding more than $3 million to fund buses across the state of Iowa. The funds were allocated to four city transit systems and 10 regional planning associations. Included in the funding is $49,800 for one bus for the Great River Bend Services, Incorporated, which serves Cedar, Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties.
• The Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois (RSVP) is hosting a minority volunteer recruitment cookout on Sunday, May 15. The event will begin at 5 p.m. at the Hiram Lodge building parking lot, at the corner of Eighth and Ripley streets in Davenport. RSVP is part of a nationwide program administered by the Corporation for National & Community Service. It is sponsored locally by the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Last year, more than 900 RSVP members contributed a combined 148,000 hours to 119 not-for-profit and government agencies in the Quad Cities area and Warren County, Illinois. For information about the cookout, contact Frances Boone at (309)326-0292. For information about RSVP, call (309)793-4425.
• Davenport is accepting applications for its Urban Homestead program, which allows low- and moderate-income buyers to purchase remodeled, energy-efficient homes. The city finances the loans for these properties at a 3-percent interest rate for 30 years. Open houses for available homes will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21. The homestead house locations are 727 Sylvian Court, 1235 Scott Street, and 426 South Clark Street. Those interested in applying for purchase of any of these homes must meet basic credit and income requirements, but are not required to put money down, other than a $15 application-processing fee. Applications are available at the city's Housing Rehabilitation Office in City Hall at 226 West Fourth Street. Completed applications must be returned in person to the office by 5 p.m. on June 3. For more information, call (563)326-7748 or visit (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com).
• St. Ambrose University is one of nine Iowa colleges and universities partnering with the Iowa Department of Education (IDE) to provide full endorsement opportunities to currently employed special-education teachers holding a Strategist I Class C license. The endorsement program, called Strategist I Network, provides an alternative licensing program for individuals who want to teach children and adolescents with mild learning, behavior, and/or mental disabilities. St. Ambrose is currently enrolling students in the program for summer 2005. For more information, contact William Hitchings at (563)333-6113, Michael Cavin at (877)807-9589 or (cavin@uni.edu), or Norma Lynch at (515)281-6038 or (norma.lynch@iowa.gov).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that Republicans Ron Paul of Texas and Dana Rohrabacher of California, along with Democrats Sam Farr of California, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Maurice Hinchey of New York, and 25 co-sponsors re-introduced legislation in Congress to permit the use of medicinal marijuana by seriously ill patients. HR 2087 seeks to re-schedule cannabis under federal law so that physicians may legally prescribe it in states that have recognized its use under state law. It would also give state legislatures that wish to establish medical-marijuana distribution systems the legal authority to do so. Eleven states - Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington - have enacted laws exempting qualified patients who use cannabis medicinally from state criminal penalties. Additional information regarding HR 2087 is available on NORML's Web site at (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com).
• On Saturday, May 14, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities will dedicate its 32nd home, and the ninth Habitat home built in Rock Island. The house is located at 622 9th Avenue and will become home to Felicia Bragg and her five children. Bragg has completed more than the required 250 hours of sweat equity working on her home and other partner family homes, and participating in additional Habitat activities such as homeowner classes, fundraisers, and mailings. This build was sponsored by Wells Fargo Bank, ILLOWA Lutheran Coalition, Augustana Habitat Campus Chapter, Thrivent Financial, and the Alcoa Bravo Program. Since 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has contributed $20 million to Habitat. In 2004 alone, the foundation funded the construction of 250 homes across the nation. Twenty-two volunteers from Wells Fargo worked to build Bragg's home. For more information, look at (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066.
• The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is awarding more than $3 million to fund buses across the state of Iowa. The funds were allocated to four city transit systems and 10 regional planning associations. Included in the funding is $49,800 for one bus for the Great River Bend Services, Incorporated, which serves Cedar, Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties.
• The Retired & Senior Volunteer Program of Eastern Iowa & Western Illinois (RSVP) is hosting a minority volunteer recruitment cookout on Sunday, May 15. The event will begin at 5 p.m. at the Hiram Lodge building parking lot, at the corner of Eighth and Ripley streets in Davenport. RSVP is part of a nationwide program administered by the Corporation for National & Community Service. It is sponsored locally by the Western Illinois Area Agency on Aging. Last year, more than 900 RSVP members contributed a combined 148,000 hours to 119 not-for-profit and government agencies in the Quad Cities area and Warren County, Illinois. For information about the cookout, contact Frances Boone at (309)326-0292. For information about RSVP, call (309)793-4425.
• Davenport is accepting applications for its Urban Homestead program, which allows low- and moderate-income buyers to purchase remodeled, energy-efficient homes. The city finances the loans for these properties at a 3-percent interest rate for 30 years. Open houses for available homes will be held from noon to 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 20 and 21. The homestead house locations are 727 Sylvian Court, 1235 Scott Street, and 426 South Clark Street. Those interested in applying for purchase of any of these homes must meet basic credit and income requirements, but are not required to put money down, other than a $15 application-processing fee. Applications are available at the city's Housing Rehabilitation Office in City Hall at 226 West Fourth Street. Completed applications must be returned in person to the office by 5 p.m. on June 3. For more information, call (563)326-7748 or visit (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com).
• St. Ambrose University is one of nine Iowa colleges and universities partnering with the Iowa Department of Education (IDE) to provide full endorsement opportunities to currently employed special-education teachers holding a Strategist I Class C license. The endorsement program, called Strategist I Network, provides an alternative licensing program for individuals who want to teach children and adolescents with mild learning, behavior, and/or mental disabilities. St. Ambrose is currently enrolling students in the program for summer 2005. For more information, contact William Hitchings at (563)333-6113, Michael Cavin at (877)807-9589 or (cavin@uni.edu), or Norma Lynch at (515)281-6038 or (norma.lynch@iowa.gov).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that Republicans Ron Paul of Texas and Dana Rohrabacher of California, along with Democrats Sam Farr of California, Barney Frank of Massachusetts, Maurice Hinchey of New York, and 25 co-sponsors re-introduced legislation in Congress to permit the use of medicinal marijuana by seriously ill patients. HR 2087 seeks to re-schedule cannabis under federal law so that physicians may legally prescribe it in states that have recognized its use under state law. It would also give state legislatures that wish to establish medical-marijuana distribution systems the legal authority to do so. Eleven states - Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington - have enacted laws exempting qualified patients who use cannabis medicinally from state criminal penalties. Additional information regarding HR 2087 is available on NORML's Web site at (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com).
