We have the makings of a Midwest Arts Mecca here in the Quad Cities. As this week's cover story points out, we have more than 4,600 arts-related events occurring throughout the year in our communities. The recognized importance of the arts to our region's quality of life is beginning to reach critical mass.

The Davenport School District (DSD) has a problem with its memory. The DSD and Davenport's Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) appeared at a hearing last Wednesday, August 18, to present arguments before Judge David Schoenthaler for the DSD's motion for Summary Judgment to dismiss the HPC's lawsuit against the DSD for not acting in good faith to agree to a suitable reuse of the historic Crawford Sugarbowl.

The jail population in Scott County has steadily dropped this year, leaving Sheriff Mike Bladel with something unfamiliar: empty beds on a regular basis. From March through June, Scott County's average monthly jail population was at or below the 208-person capacity allowed for the main facility (128 inmates) and its minimum-security annex (80).

What are we coming to when we allow special interests like those of Jack Bush, CEO of McCarthy-Bush Real Estate, but more importantly McCarthy Improvement Company, one of Scott County's largest builders and repairers of roads, to influence spending with schemes like the "Big Bang" theory for capital improvements needed in Davenport? How is this any different from developers, of which Bush is one, asking taxpayers to pay their upfront costs for real estate projects in Davenport? According to a recent article in the QC Times, Bush's "Big Bang" theory, in a presentation to city leaders, calls for borrowing "millions, hike property taxes and take care of the city's major infrastructure needs all at once.