01
Jul
2003
· John O'Donnell Stadium renovations have started. The first phase of the renovation includes the closing of Beiderbecke Drive from Gaines Street around the Peterson Pavilion in LeClaire Park. This will facilitate the construction of the earthen berm that will encircle the outfield and protect it and the facility from damage during a flood as well as create a grassy, park-like seating area. With the beginning of the renovation, the City of Davenport asks motorists and bicyclists to be patient and watch for detours. Plans for the renovation were approved on September 18, 2002, and include retaining the historic brick façade and character while adding a new concourse, clubhouses, central food service, seating and picnic areas, other concession areas, and restrooms. Flood protection also includes a new drainage system with no occupied spaces being built below grade. The total project budget is an estimated $12.5 million, with a maximum $6.5 million funded by the city and remaining funding by Seventh Inning Stretch (the owners of the Quad City River Bandits), grants, intergovernmental sources, public/private partnerships, and naming rights.
· The Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce Diversity Initiative is offering assistance to minority- and women-owned businesses free of charge. If you have a question regarding your business, contact the chamber at (309)757-5416 for referral to a Diversity Advisory Council member. Advisory Council members are available in the following areas: finance, employment and hiring issues, education, business development, quality control, advertising, Web marketing, insurance, supplier diversity, doing business with the government, and organizational/professional development. The Council also has a liaison for Spanish-speaking businesses.
· The American Cancer Society needs volunteer carpenters to help with the cutting and construction of wooden purple people for the Relay for Life. Volunteers use the purple people to help spread the word about the event, which is coming on August 8 and 9 in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities. If you are interested in helping with this take-home project, call Katie at the American Cancer Society at (800)322-4337. For cancer information 24 hours a day, call (800)227-2345 or visit (http://www.cancer.org).
· The City of Davenport has been awarded an additional $200,000 in brownfields-assessment funds by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funds will be used to continue the assessment process in western Davenport (west of Marquette Street and south of Rockingham Road) begun by the current Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant, also funded by the EPA. The additional funding will also be used to monitor the health of area residents and involve the community in re-development planning. The selection process was highly competitive, with 214 grants awarded from an original field of 1,200 applicants. Assessment work currently underway has focused on two areas: the River Drive corridor across from Credit Island and a portion of the industrial area in South Dittmer Street. Brownfields are properties not being developed because potential developers worry that they are contaminated and would therefore be expensive to clean up. The brownfields process - determining the extent of contamination, if any, and the appropriate remedy - is a necessary step toward urban revitalization.
· Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) has been selected as one of 13 test sites to conduct West Nile Virus clinical trials this summer, utilizing the Roche Diagnostics TaqScreen system. Authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, testing began June 21, well ahead of the anticipated peak season for human West Nile Virus activity in our area. The TaqScreen system employs state-of-the-art technology for direct detection of West Nile Virus genetic material using nucleic-acid testing. This direct-testing method differs from other tests that require the body's immune system to produce measurable evidence of infection. MVRBC is participating in this clinical trial because transfusion-related West Nile Virus occurred during last year's epidemic, and there is concern that virus activity will be extensive during the 2003 mosquito season. National deployment of the experimental test allows blood centers to begin testing the blood supply while studying its performance. Data compiled will be shared with the public-health community, providing unprecedented real-time surveillance of human West Nile Virus activity.
· The Rock Island County Waste Management Agency (RICWMA) has received the Illinois Recycling Association's 2003 "Recycler of the Year" award. RICWMA received this in recognition of the intergovernmental cooperation the agency achieved, and the resulting development of a new regional-drop-off-recycling program in Rock Island County. The communities of Moline, East Moline, and Rock Island host the four regional drop-off-recycling sites as part of an intergovernmental agreement signed on November 2002. The program allows any resident of Rock Island County to drop off recyclable materials at any one of the four sites: 901 42nd Street at Fire Station in East Moline, 451 West Fourth Street in Milan, 3635 Fourth Avenue in Moline, and 16th Avenue and 24th Street at the Water Treatment Plant in Rock Island. For more information, call (309)788-8925 or visit (http://www.ricwma.org).
· According to the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island, passenger boardings for the month of May set a new record with 33,251. The old record set in May 2001 was 32,103. The authority expects a record year for passenger traffic in the Quad Cities.
· The Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce Diversity Initiative is offering assistance to minority- and women-owned businesses free of charge. If you have a question regarding your business, contact the chamber at (309)757-5416 for referral to a Diversity Advisory Council member. Advisory Council members are available in the following areas: finance, employment and hiring issues, education, business development, quality control, advertising, Web marketing, insurance, supplier diversity, doing business with the government, and organizational/professional development. The Council also has a liaison for Spanish-speaking businesses.
· The American Cancer Society needs volunteer carpenters to help with the cutting and construction of wooden purple people for the Relay for Life. Volunteers use the purple people to help spread the word about the event, which is coming on August 8 and 9 in the Quad Cities and surrounding communities. If you are interested in helping with this take-home project, call Katie at the American Cancer Society at (800)322-4337. For cancer information 24 hours a day, call (800)227-2345 or visit (http://www.cancer.org).
· The City of Davenport has been awarded an additional $200,000 in brownfields-assessment funds by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The funds will be used to continue the assessment process in western Davenport (west of Marquette Street and south of Rockingham Road) begun by the current Brownfields Assessment Pilot grant, also funded by the EPA. The additional funding will also be used to monitor the health of area residents and involve the community in re-development planning. The selection process was highly competitive, with 214 grants awarded from an original field of 1,200 applicants. Assessment work currently underway has focused on two areas: the River Drive corridor across from Credit Island and a portion of the industrial area in South Dittmer Street. Brownfields are properties not being developed because potential developers worry that they are contaminated and would therefore be expensive to clean up. The brownfields process - determining the extent of contamination, if any, and the appropriate remedy - is a necessary step toward urban revitalization.
· Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center (MVRBC) has been selected as one of 13 test sites to conduct West Nile Virus clinical trials this summer, utilizing the Roche Diagnostics TaqScreen system. Authorized by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration, testing began June 21, well ahead of the anticipated peak season for human West Nile Virus activity in our area. The TaqScreen system employs state-of-the-art technology for direct detection of West Nile Virus genetic material using nucleic-acid testing. This direct-testing method differs from other tests that require the body's immune system to produce measurable evidence of infection. MVRBC is participating in this clinical trial because transfusion-related West Nile Virus occurred during last year's epidemic, and there is concern that virus activity will be extensive during the 2003 mosquito season. National deployment of the experimental test allows blood centers to begin testing the blood supply while studying its performance. Data compiled will be shared with the public-health community, providing unprecedented real-time surveillance of human West Nile Virus activity.
· The Rock Island County Waste Management Agency (RICWMA) has received the Illinois Recycling Association's 2003 "Recycler of the Year" award. RICWMA received this in recognition of the intergovernmental cooperation the agency achieved, and the resulting development of a new regional-drop-off-recycling program in Rock Island County. The communities of Moline, East Moline, and Rock Island host the four regional drop-off-recycling sites as part of an intergovernmental agreement signed on November 2002. The program allows any resident of Rock Island County to drop off recyclable materials at any one of the four sites: 901 42nd Street at Fire Station in East Moline, 451 West Fourth Street in Milan, 3635 Fourth Avenue in Moline, and 16th Avenue and 24th Street at the Water Treatment Plant in Rock Island. For more information, call (309)788-8925 or visit (http://www.ricwma.org).
· According to the Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island, passenger boardings for the month of May set a new record with 33,251. The old record set in May 2001 was 32,103. The authority expects a record year for passenger traffic in the Quad Cities.
