07
Oct
2003
• MED-FORCE began a new era in air-ambulance service with the recent unveiling of a new helicopter. Quad City Helicopter EMS has purchased a new, lighter helicopter that combines advanced design and avionics with outstanding maneuverability and a unique rotor system that makes the Eurocopter EC135/T2 the quietest helicopter in its class. The helicopter, which is leased from Corporate Jets, of Pittsburgh, has an excellent safety record. It can carry two patients and three medical attendants and fly as fast as 150 miles per hour. This helicopter replaces the BELL 222, which has been in service since December 2000. One of the major differences between the EC135/T2 and the BELL 222 is the rear loading system; the new aircraft comes with its own cots, which are loaded and unloaded from the rear of the helicopter instead of the side. This means patients will not be transferred from one cot to another, making it less stressful on those who are critically ill. MED-FORCE, based out of Colona, is a not-for-profit helicopter service that serves eastern Iowa and western Illinois.
• Mark McLaughlin of Davenport has collected 43 of his works in a new book, an anthology of science-fiction and horror stories entitled Hell Is Where the Heart Is. The book is a 460-page trade paperback, published by Medium Rare Books. The longest story in the book is a previously unpublished collaborative novella by McLaughlin and Matt Cardin entitled A Cherished Place at the Center of His Plans. Cardin is the author of the story collection Divinations of the Deep. Earlier this year, McLaughlin won the Bram Stoker Award for The Gossamer Eye, a poetry collection he co-wrote with Rain Graves and David Niall Wilson.
• The Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island County released figures showing that the Quad City International Airport had the best August on record in terms of passengers boarding planes. Total enplanements were 34,924, which beat the record of 34,841 from 1992. This is the sixth month this year in which a record for travel has been set. AirTran Airways had a 20-percent increase over last year at this time. United Express posted an increase of 12 percent over last year. Overall, Northwest Airlink and United Express have shown the largest increases for the first eight months of the year. In other air-travel news, Northwest Airlink has added flights to both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit effective November 2. Delta Connection and United Express are both scheduled for upgrades in aircraft size over the next two months.
• Members of the rapidly growing Free State Project (FSP) have made a crucial decision. Voting via mail-in ballot after months of debate, Free Staters chose New Hampshire as their future home. Founded in 2001, the FSP's goal is to concentrate 20,000 liberty-oriented voters in one state. There, it is hoped, they will work to enhance and extend its existing culture of liberty. But until last week, it was anyone's guess whether that state would be Montana, Wyoming, Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Alaska. The runner-up state was Wyoming. The movement still faces several hurdles. The project currently has about 4,500 members pledged to migrate to New Hampshire, so the biggest challenge is recruiting another 15,500 members and continuing to build support for the cause within New Hampshire. The group expects to reach 20,000 commitments by 2006, after which members have five years to move. For more information, point your Web browser at (http://www.freestateproject.org).
• The Iowa Department of Public Health is receiving $900,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for methamphetamine-use prevention and treatment. Specifically, the Iowa Department of Public Health is receiving $500,000 for a methamphetamine-treatment project and $400,000 for a youth methamphetamine-use-prevention project.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has a new computer in the youth department. The computer is named Bob to honor longtime Friends volunteer Bob Ofner. Bob includes Magic School Bus programs, an encyclopedia, and Microsoft Office programs. Spanish speakers can employ Bob's Spanish-language profile and keyboard to use Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office products in their own language. The language of the Windows desktop, help files, and Internet Explorer can also be changed to any one of 26 other languages. The "big print" option on the computer increases computer accessibility for people with hearing, vision, or motor-skill impairments. Bob has a magnifier, closed captioning, and options for changing the keyboard for people with mobility impairments. Call 344-4175 to reserve an hour with Bob.
• In a cooperative effort between the Fire Chiefs Association, Scott County Sheriff's Office, and Racom Corporation, a new fire communication system is up and running. This system allows rural fire departments to communicate and also allows law-enforcement officers and firefighters to have direct communication. This new communications system would not be possible without funding from the Riverboat Development Authority and Scott County Regional Authority, along with the agreement of the governments of Bettendorf, Davenport, and Scott County to use wireless E911 funds.
• NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, reports that administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, "completely abolished" spontaneous seizures in an animal model of epilepsy, according to findings published last week in the Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics. Authors also noted that endogenous cannabinoids, marijuana-like substances produced naturally by the human body, appeared to play a role in regulating seizure duration and frequency. The study is the first to examine the role of marijuana and the endogenous cannabinoid system in an animal model of epilepsy characterized by spontaneous, recurrent seizures. Abstracts of the study are available online at (http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/307/1/129).
• Mark McLaughlin of Davenport has collected 43 of his works in a new book, an anthology of science-fiction and horror stories entitled Hell Is Where the Heart Is. The book is a 460-page trade paperback, published by Medium Rare Books. The longest story in the book is a previously unpublished collaborative novella by McLaughlin and Matt Cardin entitled A Cherished Place at the Center of His Plans. Cardin is the author of the story collection Divinations of the Deep. Earlier this year, McLaughlin won the Bram Stoker Award for The Gossamer Eye, a poetry collection he co-wrote with Rain Graves and David Niall Wilson.
• The Metropolitan Airport Authority of Rock Island County released figures showing that the Quad City International Airport had the best August on record in terms of passengers boarding planes. Total enplanements were 34,924, which beat the record of 34,841 from 1992. This is the sixth month this year in which a record for travel has been set. AirTran Airways had a 20-percent increase over last year at this time. United Express posted an increase of 12 percent over last year. Overall, Northwest Airlink and United Express have shown the largest increases for the first eight months of the year. In other air-travel news, Northwest Airlink has added flights to both Minneapolis-St. Paul and Detroit effective November 2. Delta Connection and United Express are both scheduled for upgrades in aircraft size over the next two months.
• Members of the rapidly growing Free State Project (FSP) have made a crucial decision. Voting via mail-in ballot after months of debate, Free Staters chose New Hampshire as their future home. Founded in 2001, the FSP's goal is to concentrate 20,000 liberty-oriented voters in one state. There, it is hoped, they will work to enhance and extend its existing culture of liberty. But until last week, it was anyone's guess whether that state would be Montana, Wyoming, Delaware, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Alaska. The runner-up state was Wyoming. The movement still faces several hurdles. The project currently has about 4,500 members pledged to migrate to New Hampshire, so the biggest challenge is recruiting another 15,500 members and continuing to build support for the cause within New Hampshire. The group expects to reach 20,000 commitments by 2006, after which members have five years to move. For more information, point your Web browser at (http://www.freestateproject.org).
• The Iowa Department of Public Health is receiving $900,000 in grants from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) for methamphetamine-use prevention and treatment. Specifically, the Iowa Department of Public Health is receiving $500,000 for a methamphetamine-treatment project and $400,000 for a youth methamphetamine-use-prevention project.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has a new computer in the youth department. The computer is named Bob to honor longtime Friends volunteer Bob Ofner. Bob includes Magic School Bus programs, an encyclopedia, and Microsoft Office programs. Spanish speakers can employ Bob's Spanish-language profile and keyboard to use Internet Explorer and Microsoft Office products in their own language. The language of the Windows desktop, help files, and Internet Explorer can also be changed to any one of 26 other languages. The "big print" option on the computer increases computer accessibility for people with hearing, vision, or motor-skill impairments. Bob has a magnifier, closed captioning, and options for changing the keyboard for people with mobility impairments. Call 344-4175 to reserve an hour with Bob.
• In a cooperative effort between the Fire Chiefs Association, Scott County Sheriff's Office, and Racom Corporation, a new fire communication system is up and running. This system allows rural fire departments to communicate and also allows law-enforcement officers and firefighters to have direct communication. This new communications system would not be possible without funding from the Riverboat Development Authority and Scott County Regional Authority, along with the agreement of the governments of Bettendorf, Davenport, and Scott County to use wireless E911 funds.
• NORML, the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, reports that administration of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, "completely abolished" spontaneous seizures in an animal model of epilepsy, according to findings published last week in the Journal of Pharmacology & Experimental Therapeutics. Authors also noted that endogenous cannabinoids, marijuana-like substances produced naturally by the human body, appeared to play a role in regulating seizure duration and frequency. The study is the first to examine the role of marijuana and the endogenous cannabinoid system in an animal model of epilepsy characterized by spontaneous, recurrent seizures. Abstracts of the study are available online at (http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/307/1/129).
