• Vera French Housing Corporation (VFHC) and Heartland Properties (the housing subsidiary of Alliant Energy Resources) have joined together to address the housing needs of persons with mental illness in Scott County with the construction of a 10-unit special-needs housing development for persons with mental illness. Located at 215 East 37th Street in Davenport, the Vera French Manor will be a single-story, 7,775-square-foot building featuring nine one-bedroom apartments and one three-bedroom unit along with a laundry facility, community room, kitchen area, and resident learning center with computer and Internet access. The $1.3-million development is being made possible through a $775,000 investment by Heartland Properties. The Iowa Department of Economic Development, Iowa Finance Authority, the City of Davenport, Scott County Regional Authority, and VFHC are providing additional financial support.
• The Governor's State Commemorative Quarter Committee is calling for Iowans to submit their ideas for the state's quarter design. The committee requests that submissions fit three criteria: The state quarter design should be collectible, have an important message, and be recognizable as representing Iowa. Submissions must be postmarked no later than July 30 and mailed to Governor Tom Vilsack's Office; Attention Quarter Committee; State Capitol; Des Moines, IA 50319. Submissions may also be emailed to (elisabeth.buck@igov.state.ia.us). For more information, visit (http://www.state.ia.us/governor/comments/IowaQuarter.html).
• The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) last week released its 2001 Congressional Ratings examining key spending and taxation votes in Congress. CCAGW rated 27 votes in the House and 20 votes in the Senate, on issues such as estate tax, marriage tax, capital-gains tax, the $1.35-trillion Bush tax cut, and a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds Congressional supermajority to raise taxes. Locally, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) scored 75 percent for his 2001 votes with a lifetime rating of 77, while Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had a 10 for his 2001 votes and a 22 for his lifetime rating. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-Illinois) scored a 75 for 2001 and a 77 lifetime mark, while Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) was rated at 5 percent last year and 7 lifetime. You can see how everyone else rates at (http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Ratings_Intro). You can see more about CCAGW at its Web site at (http://www.cagw.org).
• To reserve campsites at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' campgrounds for the camping season, call (877)444-6777 or visit (http://www.reserveusa.com/). The National Recreation Reservation System can book your reservations at more than 1,700 Corps of Engineers campgrounds nationwide. Reservations can be made 240 days in advance, while group sites can be reserved 360 days ahead. Service users should be prepared to pay for their entire stay at the time the reservation is made, and Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are accepted. Telephone reservations can be made seven days a week between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. local time. Local Corps campgrounds that use the system include Lake Red Rock, Saylorville Lake, and Coralville Lake in Iowa, as well as sites along the Mississippi River, including Shady Creek, Clarks Ferry, Blanding Landing, Fisherman's Corner, and Thomson Causeway. For more information, contact Sue Clevenstine at (309)794-5839.
• Members of Iowa Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) have gone before the Iowa Administrative Rules Committee to voice their opposition to changes in visiting rules implemented May 1 by the state Department of Corrections. These changes include cutting prison-visiting hours, re-defining family to exclude grandchildren, making it more difficult for minors to visit loved ones, and adding a provision that makes visiting policies subject to change at any time, cutting out the public's opportunity to comment. Iowa CURE's mission is to reduce crime through criminal-justice reform. CURE believes in fair and humane treatment of Iowa inmates and more reliance on alternatives to prisons as solutions to our crime problems. For more information, write Criminal Justice Ministries/Iowa CURE; P.O. Box 4718; Des Moines, IA 50306. You can also call (515)282-0549 or e-mail (cjmcure@mchsi.com).
• U.S. Senate Bill 2633, also known as the Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act (RAVE Act), is an attack on how people gather under the guise of the War on Drugs. Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Dick Durbin of Illinois are sponsors of the measure. The bill would expand the "crack-house statute" to allow the federal government to fine or imprison business owners if their customers use illegal drugs on-premise. The bill is meant to target raves and other dance parties at which the club drug Ecstasy is frequently used. For more information, look at (http://ga1.org/campaign/rave).
• Quad City Arts is seeking artists or teams of artists to create temporary works for the corner area at the Quad City ArtsCenter Gallery in The District of Rock Island. Artists are invited to submit (by August 30) six to 10 slides of recent work, a brief proposal, and a current résumé. Artists are encouraged to consider the entire volume of the space, use innovative materials, work outside their usual media, and use new techniques. Selected artists will receive a $1,000 stipend. Artists may visit the space before writing the proposal at 1515 2nd Avenue in Rock Island. For more information, call (309)793-1213 extension 108 or visit (http://www.quadcityarts.com).
• Ballet Quad Cities received a $5,000 grant from the New York Times Foundation in New York City to support its dance-education program. During the 2001-2 academic year, Ballet Quad Cities provided services to more than 6,000 young people at student matinees of Coppelia and The Nutcracker and to another 5,000 students and their teachers at intensive all-school residences at 10 elementary schools. Ballet Quad Cities will continue to develop and deliver intensive all-school residences during the 2002-03 school year.
• The Governor's State Commemorative Quarter Committee is calling for Iowans to submit their ideas for the state's quarter design. The committee requests that submissions fit three criteria: The state quarter design should be collectible, have an important message, and be recognizable as representing Iowa. Submissions must be postmarked no later than July 30 and mailed to Governor Tom Vilsack's Office; Attention Quarter Committee; State Capitol; Des Moines, IA 50319. Submissions may also be emailed to (elisabeth.buck@igov.state.ia.us). For more information, visit (http://www.state.ia.us/governor/comments/IowaQuarter.html).
• The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) last week released its 2001 Congressional Ratings examining key spending and taxation votes in Congress. CCAGW rated 27 votes in the House and 20 votes in the Senate, on issues such as estate tax, marriage tax, capital-gains tax, the $1.35-trillion Bush tax cut, and a constitutional amendment to require a two-thirds Congressional supermajority to raise taxes. Locally, Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) scored 75 percent for his 2001 votes with a lifetime rating of 77, while Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) had a 10 for his 2001 votes and a 22 for his lifetime rating. Senator Peter Fitzgerald (R-Illinois) scored a 75 for 2001 and a 77 lifetime mark, while Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) was rated at 5 percent last year and 7 lifetime. You can see how everyone else rates at (http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Ratings_Intro). You can see more about CCAGW at its Web site at (http://www.cagw.org).
• To reserve campsites at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' campgrounds for the camping season, call (877)444-6777 or visit (http://www.reserveusa.com/). The National Recreation Reservation System can book your reservations at more than 1,700 Corps of Engineers campgrounds nationwide. Reservations can be made 240 days in advance, while group sites can be reserved 360 days ahead. Service users should be prepared to pay for their entire stay at the time the reservation is made, and Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover are accepted. Telephone reservations can be made seven days a week between 7 a.m. and 11 p.m. local time. Local Corps campgrounds that use the system include Lake Red Rock, Saylorville Lake, and Coralville Lake in Iowa, as well as sites along the Mississippi River, including Shady Creek, Clarks Ferry, Blanding Landing, Fisherman's Corner, and Thomson Causeway. For more information, contact Sue Clevenstine at (309)794-5839.
• Members of Iowa Citizens United for the Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE) have gone before the Iowa Administrative Rules Committee to voice their opposition to changes in visiting rules implemented May 1 by the state Department of Corrections. These changes include cutting prison-visiting hours, re-defining family to exclude grandchildren, making it more difficult for minors to visit loved ones, and adding a provision that makes visiting policies subject to change at any time, cutting out the public's opportunity to comment. Iowa CURE's mission is to reduce crime through criminal-justice reform. CURE believes in fair and humane treatment of Iowa inmates and more reliance on alternatives to prisons as solutions to our crime problems. For more information, write Criminal Justice Ministries/Iowa CURE; P.O. Box 4718; Des Moines, IA 50306. You can also call (515)282-0549 or e-mail (cjmcure@mchsi.com).
• U.S. Senate Bill 2633, also known as the Reducing American's Vulnerability to Ecstasy Act (RAVE Act), is an attack on how people gather under the guise of the War on Drugs. Senators Charles Grassley of Iowa and Dick Durbin of Illinois are sponsors of the measure. The bill would expand the "crack-house statute" to allow the federal government to fine or imprison business owners if their customers use illegal drugs on-premise. The bill is meant to target raves and other dance parties at which the club drug Ecstasy is frequently used. For more information, look at (http://ga1.org/campaign/rave).
• Quad City Arts is seeking artists or teams of artists to create temporary works for the corner area at the Quad City ArtsCenter Gallery in The District of Rock Island. Artists are invited to submit (by August 30) six to 10 slides of recent work, a brief proposal, and a current résumé. Artists are encouraged to consider the entire volume of the space, use innovative materials, work outside their usual media, and use new techniques. Selected artists will receive a $1,000 stipend. Artists may visit the space before writing the proposal at 1515 2nd Avenue in Rock Island. For more information, call (309)793-1213 extension 108 or visit (http://www.quadcityarts.com).
• Ballet Quad Cities received a $5,000 grant from the New York Times Foundation in New York City to support its dance-education program. During the 2001-2 academic year, Ballet Quad Cities provided services to more than 6,000 young people at student matinees of Coppelia and The Nutcracker and to another 5,000 students and their teachers at intensive all-school residences at 10 elementary schools. Ballet Quad Cities will continue to develop and deliver intensive all-school residences during the 2002-03 school year.
