06
May
2003
• The City of Davenport has announced the opening of the second new parking ramp. River Renaissance Parking Ramp 32 is located at 202 Harrison Street and accommodates a total of 621 vehicles. Construction began on February 14, 2002, and the deck incorporates state-of-the-art technology. When combined with Ramp 46 at 101 Main Street, Davenport has provided 1,075 new spaces in downtown ramps this year. Both of the new ramps are operational at all times using press cards, parking meters, or the Pay on Foot machines. Rates at all of the downtown ramps are the same, with hourly parking at 75 cents per hour or portion thereof, with a daily maximum of $7.50. A formal dedication of the two new parking structures is planned for later this year.
• The Social Security Administration has unveiled a new and more user-friendly Web site at (http://www.socialsecurity.gov). Included are online applications to apply for benefits, screens that allow you to determine your amount of benefits, and much more on a series of consistently laid-out interfaces.
• The Iowa House last week completed action on a bill simplifying Iowa's income-tax system, one day after the bill failed by one vote. Legislators voted 51 to 47 for the plan, which would replace Iowa's nine-bracket income-tax system with three rates that top out at 4.8 percent; cut personal income taxes by $689 million; and exempt 35,000 low-income Iowans from taxes. The Senate declined to pass the same version of the bill. Senators also declined to approve a House bill to overhaul the property-tax system.
• If you have a de-activated cell phone, complete with batteries and chargers, consider donating it the Scott County TRIAD 911 Senior Cell Phone Program. Donated phones will be refurbished, tested, and distributed free-of-charge to senior citizens for use in case of emergency. Seniors will only be able to dial 911 to reach emergency help. (Personal calls are not possible because there's no paid service.) This program is designed to bring peace of mind to seniors who are experiencing increased health problems, who travel out-of-town for medical treatments or appointments, and who cannot afford a wireless or home phone. You can drop off your de-activated cell phone with the batteries and charger at the Scott County Sheriff's Office, 416 West Fourth Street in Davenport, or the Bettendorf Police Department at 1609 State Street.
• Still reeling from your federal income-tax bill? The Washington Post reports that although the IRS has about 100,000 employees and an annual budget that tops $10 billion, 60 percent of identified tax debts are not pursued, 75 percent of taxpayers who did not file a return are not pursued, and 79 percent of those who used abusive devises such as offshore bank accounts to hide income are not pursued. The agency's statistics also show that the chances of being audited have fallen to around one in 200 for individuals. The administration has proposed turning to private collection agencies to recover about $13 billion in tax debts. The 22,000 IRS employees who would probably have their jobs replaced by outside collection agencies aren't enthusiastic with the idea.
• River Action is starting a program in which you and your neighbors can take an active role if one or more of the following problems exists in your neighborhood: storm-water runoff, erosion of stream banks, flooding in creeks and rivers, impervious surfaces, sediment in creeks, and water-quality problems from lawn chemicals. You can host an organizational meeting (with a minimum of 10 households) at which River Action would have its Retain the Rain project manager help identify practical solutions to storm-water problems in your yards. For more information, call River Action at (563)322-2969.
• Iowa Senate File 453, the Reinventing Government bill, was envisioned to achieve savings by changing the way state government does business. But in the end, this bill shifts a significant portion of the state's budget problem to local governments. Governor Tom Vilsack recommended finding $88 million in savings within his Fiscal Year 2004 budget, but the net savings were $65 million, because he also included a $25-million appropriation to be used to implement new cost-saving initiatives. This bill cuts more than $80 million by eliminating state assistance to cities, counties, and area education agencies.
• Deere & Company has announced that it plans to donate 20 acres of land on the Moline riverfront to Western Illinois University to provide the school an opportunity to expand its Quad Cities facilities and better meet the need for public higher education in the Quad Cities. The property previously housed Deere's Engineering Technical Center at 3300 River Drive. The Western Illinois University Web site features information regarding the company's donation at (http://www.wiu.edu/qc/riverfront/index.shtml). This site contains news releases, speeches, and artistic renderings of the site.
• For the first time, St. Ambrose University is offering a series of online graduate business courses for anyone seeking a certificate in strategic human-resource management who can't attend classes on campus. The four online courses can be completed without students ever leaving their homes and can also be applied to a master's degree in business administration at St. Ambrose. For more information, contact St. Ambrose University's H.L. McLaughlin MBA Program at (563)333-6270.
• The Social Security Administration has unveiled a new and more user-friendly Web site at (http://www.socialsecurity.gov). Included are online applications to apply for benefits, screens that allow you to determine your amount of benefits, and much more on a series of consistently laid-out interfaces.
• The Iowa House last week completed action on a bill simplifying Iowa's income-tax system, one day after the bill failed by one vote. Legislators voted 51 to 47 for the plan, which would replace Iowa's nine-bracket income-tax system with three rates that top out at 4.8 percent; cut personal income taxes by $689 million; and exempt 35,000 low-income Iowans from taxes. The Senate declined to pass the same version of the bill. Senators also declined to approve a House bill to overhaul the property-tax system.
• If you have a de-activated cell phone, complete with batteries and chargers, consider donating it the Scott County TRIAD 911 Senior Cell Phone Program. Donated phones will be refurbished, tested, and distributed free-of-charge to senior citizens for use in case of emergency. Seniors will only be able to dial 911 to reach emergency help. (Personal calls are not possible because there's no paid service.) This program is designed to bring peace of mind to seniors who are experiencing increased health problems, who travel out-of-town for medical treatments or appointments, and who cannot afford a wireless or home phone. You can drop off your de-activated cell phone with the batteries and charger at the Scott County Sheriff's Office, 416 West Fourth Street in Davenport, or the Bettendorf Police Department at 1609 State Street.
• Still reeling from your federal income-tax bill? The Washington Post reports that although the IRS has about 100,000 employees and an annual budget that tops $10 billion, 60 percent of identified tax debts are not pursued, 75 percent of taxpayers who did not file a return are not pursued, and 79 percent of those who used abusive devises such as offshore bank accounts to hide income are not pursued. The agency's statistics also show that the chances of being audited have fallen to around one in 200 for individuals. The administration has proposed turning to private collection agencies to recover about $13 billion in tax debts. The 22,000 IRS employees who would probably have their jobs replaced by outside collection agencies aren't enthusiastic with the idea.
• River Action is starting a program in which you and your neighbors can take an active role if one or more of the following problems exists in your neighborhood: storm-water runoff, erosion of stream banks, flooding in creeks and rivers, impervious surfaces, sediment in creeks, and water-quality problems from lawn chemicals. You can host an organizational meeting (with a minimum of 10 households) at which River Action would have its Retain the Rain project manager help identify practical solutions to storm-water problems in your yards. For more information, call River Action at (563)322-2969.
• Iowa Senate File 453, the Reinventing Government bill, was envisioned to achieve savings by changing the way state government does business. But in the end, this bill shifts a significant portion of the state's budget problem to local governments. Governor Tom Vilsack recommended finding $88 million in savings within his Fiscal Year 2004 budget, but the net savings were $65 million, because he also included a $25-million appropriation to be used to implement new cost-saving initiatives. This bill cuts more than $80 million by eliminating state assistance to cities, counties, and area education agencies.
• Deere & Company has announced that it plans to donate 20 acres of land on the Moline riverfront to Western Illinois University to provide the school an opportunity to expand its Quad Cities facilities and better meet the need for public higher education in the Quad Cities. The property previously housed Deere's Engineering Technical Center at 3300 River Drive. The Western Illinois University Web site features information regarding the company's donation at (http://www.wiu.edu/qc/riverfront/index.shtml). This site contains news releases, speeches, and artistic renderings of the site.
• For the first time, St. Ambrose University is offering a series of online graduate business courses for anyone seeking a certificate in strategic human-resource management who can't attend classes on campus. The four online courses can be completed without students ever leaving their homes and can also be applied to a master's degree in business administration at St. Ambrose. For more information, contact St. Ambrose University's H.L. McLaughlin MBA Program at (563)333-6270.
