Ya Maka My Weekend has built quite a reputation since its inception in 1992 as the inaugural festival of Rock Island's The District. Not only has it grown from a festival for residents of the Quad Cities to a regional destination, but reggae bands fight for a place on the two stages.

One bank refers to it, in the great recent tradition of using meaningless jargon to describe unpalatable things, as "risk-based asset creation." Translated, that means charging huge fees and interest rates to poor people, racial minorities, and folks with spotty credit histories.

Two local arts groups are joining forces on an ambitious public-art project in the remodeled Quad City International Airport. The key remaining issue is raising enough money to turn the vision into reality. The Quad City International Airport's eight-member board voted unanimously July 18 to team up with Quad City Arts and MidCoast Fine Arts to populate the renovated airport with both permanent and rotating artwork and exhibits.

U.S. Cellular is regrouping after a third setback in its effort to put a cellular-phone tower in East Davenport, but residents of that village who've fought the company expect it to come back again. "We'll re-evaluate the situation," said Scott Van Roekel, a project manager for U.