The City of Davenport and its Abandoned Housing Task Force are soliciting proposals to rehabilitate abandoned houses located primarily in the central city. The concept for the HAPPEN program is to protect, preserve, and revitalize established central-city neighborhoods. Assistance may include, but is not limited to, providing information regarding current deed holders, real-estate matters, and past rental-inspection documents. Those interested in applying for the HAPPEN program can pick up an application packet (at the city's Housing Rehabilitation Office in City Hall at 226 West Fourth Street) or download a copy of the application packet and eligible-property list by going to (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com/ced/houserehab/renewaban.htm). Individual property information, along with snapshots, can be downloaded by clicking on the property address at the above link. Applications will be accepted until 2 p.m. January 6, 2006.
• The patients of Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus and the residents of Crosstown Square and Illini Restorative Care may be able to breathe a little easier this fall because of a partnership between the hospital and two Quad Cities businesses. Anchor Do-It Center in Silvis will supply free yard-waste bags to 150 residences in the neighborhood of Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, and Prairie Waste Service of Bettendorf will pick up the bagged leaves for the next month without charge. Residents participating in the clean-air project will be able to rake their leaves, bag them, and have them hauled away without charge, thus reducing the amount of leaf-burning in the neighborhood.
• Kids from third through eighth grades are welcome to enter the Rock Island Public Library Space Adventure Story Contest in the library's second-annual "Halloween in The District Fright Night Event." Stories should be 250 words or more, and must be received by October 22. Be sure to include the author's name, phone number, and grade level on the front page of the story. To enter, drop your story off at any Rock Island Public Library location to the attention of Sue Foster, or mail them to: Sue Foster, Children's Department, Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island IL 61201. For questions, call the Children's Room at (309)732-7360. Winners will be called the week of October 24 and invited to read their story from The District Storytelling Stage during the "Fright Night in the Outer Realm" event on Thursday, October 27.
• The Davenport Main Library, 321 North Main Street, is now open on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The library has more than 30 public computer workstations, a collection of more than 300,000 items, genealogy resources, and a large selection of DVDs and CDs. Parking on Sundays is plentiful and free. The Davenport Public Library is the only library in the Quad Cities that is open on Sundays.
• St. Ambrose University's enrollment continues to rise, with the university achieving a record 3,623 students enrolled this fall, according to the official 20th-day count. Also this fall, two national publications, U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, rated St. Ambrose among the top universities in the Midwest.
• Of the 67,503 total registered voters, a mere 9,782 (14.49 percent) bothered to show up and cast a ballot for the Scott County primary election held in Davenport and Buffalo on October 11. In September school-board elections in Scott County, only 3,310 (2.96 percent) of the 111,868 registered voters cast ballots. All of this information can be found on Scott County's Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports the administration of synthetic cannabinoids promotes the proliferation of newborn neurons (nerve cells) in the rat brain and likely accounts for the drug's anti-anxiety and mood-elevating effects, according to pre-clinical trial data published in the November issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Investigators found that the administration of synthetic cannabinoids increased neurogenesis in the rat hippocampus and significantly reduced measures of anxiety and depression-like behavior. Neurogenesis (the birth of neuronal cells) is thought to enable organisms to adapt to their environment and influence their learning and memory throughout life "Cannabinoids appear to be the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased hippocampal newborn neurons is positively correlated with its anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects," authors concluded. Alcohol consumption has also been associated with a decrease in neurogenesis in adults.
• Iowa State University will receive a $1.85-million grant for research and development of energy from corn and corn byproducts. The funds were made available through a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy program called the Biomass Research & Development Initiative. The funds will be used by Iowa State University to fund its Environmental Enhancements through Corn Stover Utilization project. This project studies ways to effectively use corn and corn byproducts in the energy marketplace.
• The patients of Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus and the residents of Crosstown Square and Illini Restorative Care may be able to breathe a little easier this fall because of a partnership between the hospital and two Quad Cities businesses. Anchor Do-It Center in Silvis will supply free yard-waste bags to 150 residences in the neighborhood of Genesis Medical Center, Illini Campus, and Prairie Waste Service of Bettendorf will pick up the bagged leaves for the next month without charge. Residents participating in the clean-air project will be able to rake their leaves, bag them, and have them hauled away without charge, thus reducing the amount of leaf-burning in the neighborhood.
• Kids from third through eighth grades are welcome to enter the Rock Island Public Library Space Adventure Story Contest in the library's second-annual "Halloween in The District Fright Night Event." Stories should be 250 words or more, and must be received by October 22. Be sure to include the author's name, phone number, and grade level on the front page of the story. To enter, drop your story off at any Rock Island Public Library location to the attention of Sue Foster, or mail them to: Sue Foster, Children's Department, Rock Island Public Library, 401 19th St., Rock Island IL 61201. For questions, call the Children's Room at (309)732-7360. Winners will be called the week of October 24 and invited to read their story from The District Storytelling Stage during the "Fright Night in the Outer Realm" event on Thursday, October 27.
• The Davenport Main Library, 321 North Main Street, is now open on Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m. The library has more than 30 public computer workstations, a collection of more than 300,000 items, genealogy resources, and a large selection of DVDs and CDs. Parking on Sundays is plentiful and free. The Davenport Public Library is the only library in the Quad Cities that is open on Sundays.
• St. Ambrose University's enrollment continues to rise, with the university achieving a record 3,623 students enrolled this fall, according to the official 20th-day count. Also this fall, two national publications, U.S. News & World Report and The Princeton Review, rated St. Ambrose among the top universities in the Midwest.
• Of the 67,503 total registered voters, a mere 9,782 (14.49 percent) bothered to show up and cast a ballot for the Scott County primary election held in Davenport and Buffalo on October 11. In September school-board elections in Scott County, only 3,310 (2.96 percent) of the 111,868 registered voters cast ballots. All of this information can be found on Scott County's Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com).
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports the administration of synthetic cannabinoids promotes the proliferation of newborn neurons (nerve cells) in the rat brain and likely accounts for the drug's anti-anxiety and mood-elevating effects, according to pre-clinical trial data published in the November issue of The Journal of Clinical Investigation. Investigators found that the administration of synthetic cannabinoids increased neurogenesis in the rat hippocampus and significantly reduced measures of anxiety and depression-like behavior. Neurogenesis (the birth of neuronal cells) is thought to enable organisms to adapt to their environment and influence their learning and memory throughout life "Cannabinoids appear to be the only illicit drug whose capacity to produce increased hippocampal newborn neurons is positively correlated with its anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects," authors concluded. Alcohol consumption has also been associated with a decrease in neurogenesis in adults.
• Iowa State University will receive a $1.85-million grant for research and development of energy from corn and corn byproducts. The funds were made available through a joint U.S. Department of Agriculture and Department of Energy program called the Biomass Research & Development Initiative. The funds will be used by Iowa State University to fund its Environmental Enhancements through Corn Stover Utilization project. This project studies ways to effectively use corn and corn byproducts in the energy marketplace.
