17
Jun
2003
• Iowa began phasing out the use of food-stamp coupons on May 21. New recipients in Linn and Jones counties have begun using a new debit-like card to receive their benefits. The transition to the use of the new card is set to take place in one-month intervals. The electronic system will be operational in Davenport, Keokuk, Ottumwa, and Iowa City in July. In August, it will become operational in the northeast and north-central sections of Iowa, including the cities of Fort Dodge, Newton, Mason City, Dubuque, and Waterloo. The final phase will occur in September, when Des Moines becomes operational. Use of the card will have no effect on how benefits are determined, and there is no charge for using it. As with paper coupons, only certain food products can be purchased with the new system, and the card cannot be used for cash at the point of sale. There are about 67,000 households, or about 150,000 people, in Iowa who receive food-stamp benefits. The average monthly benefit is about $177.
• The Davenport Public Library has an interesting way to spend the hours waiting to cross the Mississippi River on our fine but continually-under-construction bridges: Check out an audio book. You can also win an audio book, as the main, branch, and bookmobile libraries will hold drawings for free books on tape or books on CD through November.
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that a scheduled concert to raise funds for a local NORML/Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) affiliate was shut down last week after the venue's management was informed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that it could potentially be fined $250,000 under provisions of the newly enacted "Rave Act." The law, formally known as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, permits federal law enforcement to prosecute business owners and event organizers if they make their property available for "the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance." The incident is believed to be the first time the law has been used to prohibit a public event since it was enacted in April as an amendment to the Child Abduction Prevention Act, also known as the "Amber Alert" bill. For more information about the Rave Act, point your browser at (http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action).
• The former Masonic Temple at Seventh Street and Brady in Davenport is scheduled to be renamed Lyceum Hall & Museum. The Palmer College Chiropractic Museum, in the lower level of the building, will open its premiere exhibits in August. The museum is scheduled to open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Citizens for Reducing the Impact of Lawyers on America (CFRILA) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that feels it can help free Americans from their focus on litigation. CFRILA identifies, supports, and creates initiatives it believes will restore reason, justice, fairness, and equity to the American legal system for the benefit of all Americans. CFRILA has some simple goals including: reducing the number of lawyers holding elected public office to less than 10 percent; removing the monopoly of the state bar associations over the practice of law; developing a system of legal ethics consistent with the ethics of the American people; and reducing and penalizing frivolous, malicious, and unnecessary litigation. See for yourself at (http://www.cfrila.org).
• Two Scott County groups were recent recipients of grants from the Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) program. The Waste Commission of Scott County was awarded $5,620 to assist with the construction of a recycled-content-products demonstration garden at the Scott Area Recycling Center in Davenport. Keep Scott County Beautiful received $4,044 to assist the organization's Davenport-area maintenance workers with their ongoing efforts for litter-prevention and -removal on streets, parks, and playgrounds. Funding for Keep Iowa Beautiful is generated through Iowa's state-income-tax check-off. During 2001, the first tax-filing season for the measure, $56,633 was raised. If you are part of an organization that might have some use for these funds, point your Web browser to (http://www.dot.state.ia.us/forms/index.htm#funding).
• The fourth annual Quad City Arts Metro Arts, a summer youth-employment program that incorporates job skills into the arts, began on June 16. Seventy-six people aged 15 to 21 are working as apprentice artists on one of five art projects in the visual, literary, and performing-arts fields. Apprentices will work 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through July 17 and will be paid a stipend. The job sites, which are open to the public, will be in the District of Rock Island in Illinois and in the Perry Park Greenspace, south of the RiverCenter in Davenport. The apprentice artists represent 36 different high schools and universities in Iowa and Illinois. On July 17, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Perry Park Greenspace, Metro Arts apprentices will showcase their five weeks of work at a Final Celebration Art Fair.
• Six months after opening its doors to the public, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore has rescued nearly a quarter of a million pounds of building products from the waste stream. Those products, such as claw-foot tubs, glass doorknobs, brand-new duct tape, tools, and medicine cabinets, have been collected by volunteers or donated by stores, contractors, and property owners. More than 125 tons of cabinets, ceramic tile, sinks, and other items "too good to throw away" have found new life in the homes of customers who care about the environment, are on a tight budget, or hope to renovate with an authentic architectural door or light fixture. ReStore proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities, a not-for-profit, ecumenical Christian housing organization working in partnership with people in need to build decent, affordable single-family homes in our area. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities, look on the Web at (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066. More information about Habitat for Humanity ReStore can be found at (http://www.restoreqc.org), or you can simply stop by the store at 3629 Mississippi Avenue in Davenport.
• The Davenport Public Library has an interesting way to spend the hours waiting to cross the Mississippi River on our fine but continually-under-construction bridges: Check out an audio book. You can also win an audio book, as the main, branch, and bookmobile libraries will hold drawings for free books on tape or books on CD through November.
• The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) reports that a scheduled concert to raise funds for a local NORML/Students for Sensible Drug Policy (SSDP) affiliate was shut down last week after the venue's management was informed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) that it could potentially be fined $250,000 under provisions of the newly enacted "Rave Act." The law, formally known as the Illicit Drug Anti-Proliferation Act of 2003, permits federal law enforcement to prosecute business owners and event organizers if they make their property available for "the purpose of manufacturing, distributing, or using any controlled substance." The incident is believed to be the first time the law has been used to prohibit a public event since it was enacted in April as an amendment to the Child Abduction Prevention Act, also known as the "Amber Alert" bill. For more information about the Rave Act, point your browser at (http://actioncenter.drugpolicy.org/action).
• The former Masonic Temple at Seventh Street and Brady in Davenport is scheduled to be renamed Lyceum Hall & Museum. The Palmer College Chiropractic Museum, in the lower level of the building, will open its premiere exhibits in August. The museum is scheduled to open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
• Citizens for Reducing the Impact of Lawyers on America (CFRILA) is a not-for-profit, nonpartisan organization that feels it can help free Americans from their focus on litigation. CFRILA identifies, supports, and creates initiatives it believes will restore reason, justice, fairness, and equity to the American legal system for the benefit of all Americans. CFRILA has some simple goals including: reducing the number of lawyers holding elected public office to less than 10 percent; removing the monopoly of the state bar associations over the practice of law; developing a system of legal ethics consistent with the ethics of the American people; and reducing and penalizing frivolous, malicious, and unnecessary litigation. See for yourself at (http://www.cfrila.org).
• Two Scott County groups were recent recipients of grants from the Keep Iowa Beautiful (KIB) program. The Waste Commission of Scott County was awarded $5,620 to assist with the construction of a recycled-content-products demonstration garden at the Scott Area Recycling Center in Davenport. Keep Scott County Beautiful received $4,044 to assist the organization's Davenport-area maintenance workers with their ongoing efforts for litter-prevention and -removal on streets, parks, and playgrounds. Funding for Keep Iowa Beautiful is generated through Iowa's state-income-tax check-off. During 2001, the first tax-filing season for the measure, $56,633 was raised. If you are part of an organization that might have some use for these funds, point your Web browser to (http://www.dot.state.ia.us/forms/index.htm#funding).
• The fourth annual Quad City Arts Metro Arts, a summer youth-employment program that incorporates job skills into the arts, began on June 16. Seventy-six people aged 15 to 21 are working as apprentice artists on one of five art projects in the visual, literary, and performing-arts fields. Apprentices will work 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays through July 17 and will be paid a stipend. The job sites, which are open to the public, will be in the District of Rock Island in Illinois and in the Perry Park Greenspace, south of the RiverCenter in Davenport. The apprentice artists represent 36 different high schools and universities in Iowa and Illinois. On July 17, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the Perry Park Greenspace, Metro Arts apprentices will showcase their five weeks of work at a Final Celebration Art Fair.
• Six months after opening its doors to the public, the Habitat for Humanity ReStore has rescued nearly a quarter of a million pounds of building products from the waste stream. Those products, such as claw-foot tubs, glass doorknobs, brand-new duct tape, tools, and medicine cabinets, have been collected by volunteers or donated by stores, contractors, and property owners. More than 125 tons of cabinets, ceramic tile, sinks, and other items "too good to throw away" have found new life in the homes of customers who care about the environment, are on a tight budget, or hope to renovate with an authentic architectural door or light fixture. ReStore proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities, a not-for-profit, ecumenical Christian housing organization working in partnership with people in need to build decent, affordable single-family homes in our area. To learn more about Habitat for Humanity-Quad Cities, look on the Web at (http://www.habitatqc.org) or call (563)359-9066. More information about Habitat for Humanity ReStore can be found at (http://www.restoreqc.org), or you can simply stop by the store at 3629 Mississippi Avenue in Davenport.
