09
Apr
2002
• The Davenport Museum of Art last week unveiled the final design of the $30 million Figge Arts Center - slated to open in 2005 - and announced more than $3 million in new gifts. Architect David Chipperfield explained that the building is designed to have two "front doors" - one facing the river and one on Second Street, to encourage people to enter the facility. The three-level, 82,000-square-foot structure, between Harrison and Main streets in downtown Davenport, will feature a community area (including a café and gift shop) on the first level, the permanent collection on the second level, and temporary exhibits on the third, along with a picture window with a river view. The $3 million in new gifts include $1 million from the Bechtel Trust, $1 million from Elizabeth G. Haines, and $500,000 from the Riverboat Development Authority.
• For the sixth straight year, Bettendorf has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. To become a Tree City USA, a community must have a tree-care ordinance, a tree-governing body, a comprehensive urban-forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance. Bettendorf's tree-planting program is coordinated by a not-for-profit committee, Trees Are Us, and by the City Tree Committee. These groups coordinate spring and fall tree-planting projects. They also provide educational materials and seminars throughout the year. To learn more, contact Steve Grimes at the Bettendorf Parks & Recreations Department at (563)344-4113.
• A little-known regulation in the USA PATRIOT Act, an acronym for Uniting & Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism, makes it easier for the FBI - ostensibly in the name of locating terrorists - to search public-library records and computers for signs of subversive activity. The law, which was passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, also says librarians can't talk about searches to the courts, legislators, other librarians, or the target of the search. The searches could include circulation records along with Internet use at the library.
• Current Davenport 8th Ward Alderman Tom Engelmann has announced that he will be running for Scott County Treasurer. Elected to the Davenport City Council in 1999, Engelmann has not for countywide office before. A certified public accountant for 20 years, he is currently vice president of the Greater Davenport Redevelopment Corporation, which runs the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center, and was recently appointed to the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board, the state regulatory board for certified public accountants.
• Habitat for Humanity has announced that applications are being accepted for Habitat Partner Families, which help build and ultimately own Habitat homes. To receive an application, interested applicants must complete four hours of volunteer work at a construction site or another Habitat project. Applicants must return their forms to the Habitat office by July 30. For more information, look at (http://www.habitatqc.org), call (563)359-9066, or stop by the Habitat office at 2235 Grant Street in Bettendorf.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has announced that he has formally requested $500,000 to establish an Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) satellite office in Davenport. The INS District Office that serves Iowa's immigrant population is in Omaha, Nebraska, which receives between 150 and 200 applications from the Davenport area every month. It is estimated that half the immigrants served by the INS satellite office in Des Moines are from Davenport and eastern Iowa.
• A local physician will have the honor of presenting research conducted in a local hospital to an international audience. Cardiologist Michael C. Giudici will present to the North American Society of Pacing & Electrophysiology in mid-May in San Diego and the European Society of Pacing & Electrophysiology in June in Nice, France. Giudici specializes in treatment of abnormal heart rhythms and is involved in the research and development of numerous devices and techniques in placement of pacemakers and defibrillators, which improve the rate and way the heart pumps blood. As chair of the Genesis Heart Institute Research & Education Committee, Giudici leads a team of more than a dozen heart specialists in conducting clinical trials for drug therapy, electrophysiology, and interventional cardiology. More than 15 trials are being conducted at any given time, and the Genesis Heart Institute has a research staff of four to assist physicians and patients through the research process.
• DavenportOne's Downtown Partnership Arts & Cultural Task Force has announced that it will continue the Art on Second banner project. This program provides 36 local and regional artists the opportunity to paint street-pole banners and display the artwork during the summer season. The banners will be on display along Second Street, between Iowa and Gaines streets, from May through October. Artists aren't assigned a theme. The banners will be auctioned off at the third annual ArtStroll, from 5 to 10 p.m. on August 2, but will remain on the light poles until November 1. All proceeds from the sale of the banners will go toward the continuation of the project.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has announced the addition of new products to the list of free-text databases available to cardholders via the Library's Web site. In addition to Electric Library, IowaLink, netLibrary, and NoveList, patrons can now use their Bettendorf Public Library barcode number to gain access to Business & Company Resource Center, Health & Wellness Resource Center, and Wilson Biographies. These products are also available for use on the computers in the library's Electronic Resources area. You can see for yourself at the Bettendorf Public Library Web site at (http://www.rbls.lib.il.us/bpl/). You can also learn more by calling (563)344-4175 to register for a training session. Classes will be held on Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. and Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. and will last about an hour.
• For the sixth straight year, Bettendorf has been named a Tree City USA by the National Arbor Day Foundation. To become a Tree City USA, a community must have a tree-care ordinance, a tree-governing body, a comprehensive urban-forestry program, and an Arbor Day observance. Bettendorf's tree-planting program is coordinated by a not-for-profit committee, Trees Are Us, and by the City Tree Committee. These groups coordinate spring and fall tree-planting projects. They also provide educational materials and seminars throughout the year. To learn more, contact Steve Grimes at the Bettendorf Parks & Recreations Department at (563)344-4113.
• A little-known regulation in the USA PATRIOT Act, an acronym for Uniting & Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept & Obstruct Terrorism, makes it easier for the FBI - ostensibly in the name of locating terrorists - to search public-library records and computers for signs of subversive activity. The law, which was passed by Congress in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, also says librarians can't talk about searches to the courts, legislators, other librarians, or the target of the search. The searches could include circulation records along with Internet use at the library.
• Current Davenport 8th Ward Alderman Tom Engelmann has announced that he will be running for Scott County Treasurer. Elected to the Davenport City Council in 1999, Engelmann has not for countywide office before. A certified public accountant for 20 years, he is currently vice president of the Greater Davenport Redevelopment Corporation, which runs the Eastern Iowa Industrial Center, and was recently appointed to the Iowa Accountancy Examining Board, the state regulatory board for certified public accountants.
• Habitat for Humanity has announced that applications are being accepted for Habitat Partner Families, which help build and ultimately own Habitat homes. To receive an application, interested applicants must complete four hours of volunteer work at a construction site or another Habitat project. Applicants must return their forms to the Habitat office by July 30. For more information, look at (http://www.habitatqc.org), call (563)359-9066, or stop by the Habitat office at 2235 Grant Street in Bettendorf.
• U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) has announced that he has formally requested $500,000 to establish an Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS) satellite office in Davenport. The INS District Office that serves Iowa's immigrant population is in Omaha, Nebraska, which receives between 150 and 200 applications from the Davenport area every month. It is estimated that half the immigrants served by the INS satellite office in Des Moines are from Davenport and eastern Iowa.
• A local physician will have the honor of presenting research conducted in a local hospital to an international audience. Cardiologist Michael C. Giudici will present to the North American Society of Pacing & Electrophysiology in mid-May in San Diego and the European Society of Pacing & Electrophysiology in June in Nice, France. Giudici specializes in treatment of abnormal heart rhythms and is involved in the research and development of numerous devices and techniques in placement of pacemakers and defibrillators, which improve the rate and way the heart pumps blood. As chair of the Genesis Heart Institute Research & Education Committee, Giudici leads a team of more than a dozen heart specialists in conducting clinical trials for drug therapy, electrophysiology, and interventional cardiology. More than 15 trials are being conducted at any given time, and the Genesis Heart Institute has a research staff of four to assist physicians and patients through the research process.
• DavenportOne's Downtown Partnership Arts & Cultural Task Force has announced that it will continue the Art on Second banner project. This program provides 36 local and regional artists the opportunity to paint street-pole banners and display the artwork during the summer season. The banners will be on display along Second Street, between Iowa and Gaines streets, from May through October. Artists aren't assigned a theme. The banners will be auctioned off at the third annual ArtStroll, from 5 to 10 p.m. on August 2, but will remain on the light poles until November 1. All proceeds from the sale of the banners will go toward the continuation of the project.
• The Bettendorf Public Library has announced the addition of new products to the list of free-text databases available to cardholders via the Library's Web site. In addition to Electric Library, IowaLink, netLibrary, and NoveList, patrons can now use their Bettendorf Public Library barcode number to gain access to Business & Company Resource Center, Health & Wellness Resource Center, and Wilson Biographies. These products are also available for use on the computers in the library's Electronic Resources area. You can see for yourself at the Bettendorf Public Library Web site at (http://www.rbls.lib.il.us/bpl/). You can also learn more by calling (563)344-4175 to register for a training session. Classes will be held on Wednesday, April 10, at 7 p.m. and Friday, April 26, at 10 a.m. and will last about an hour.
