07
May
2002
• The Quad Cities area appears to be the starting point for a series of pipe bombings across the western United States. On Friday, pipe bombs were found in rural mailboxes in Anamosa, Dubuque, Eldridge, Farley, and Tipton, Iowa, and in Elizabeth, Morrison, and Mount Carroll, Illinois. Six people in the area were injured by bomb explosions. Similar pipe bombs were later found in Nebraska, Colorado, and Texas, with the total number of bombs reaching 18 by Tuesday morning. A 22-year-old Minnesota man was being sought by the FBI in connection with the bombing.
• Davenport has been given almost $500,000 from $4 million in grants awarded for a variety of housing activities in dozens of Iowa communities. Funding for the projects is being provided through the Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) Program and the Local Housing Assistance Program (LHAP). HAF awarded $177,500 to the Scott County Housing Council for construction of three single-family homes and acquisition, rehabilitation, and re-sale of five additional single-family homes. LHAP awarded $40,000 to the Ecumenical Housing Development Group for acquisition and rehabilitation of eight rental units. A joint grant from LHAP/HAF of $250,000 was awarded to the John Lewis Coffee Shop for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 12 rental units.
• Bill Salier, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa, pinned down two debates with primary rival Greg Ganske, a U.S. Representative. After months of coordination, Ganske agreed to appear with Salier at two venues before the June 4 primary. The first debate is sponsored by the Cedar Valley Medical Specialists and will be held Monday, May 13, at noon at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, Room 23, in Waterloo. This event is open to the public. On May 31, Salier and Ganske will appear together at a taping of a Side-by-Side on Iowa Public Television.
• Black Hawk College will soon stop providing post-secondary instruction for inmates at the East Moline Correctional Center. The current contract to deliver instruction to inmates expires June 30. Black Hawk College has provided education to inmates at the facility for more than 20 years. Illinois Governor George Ryan announced last winter that all education programs in correctional centers would be eliminated. One hundred inmates were enrolled in evening vocational courses at the correctional center, and 97 inmates were enrolled in daytime vocational classes.
• An Iowa Libertarian has announced he will not only seek the nominations of the Libertarian and Green parties but also plans to sue the state if he gets them. Ed Noyes is looking to be Iowa's next attorney general, and if he earns both endorsements, he will sue the state so he can appear on the ballot under both parties' labels. State law currently prohibits "fusion" candidates.
• The Iowa Prairie Network (IPN) is a grassroots (literally and figuratively), volunteer, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Iowa's prairie heritage. IPN was formed in 1990 by concerned Iowans who were worried that our prairie heritage was disappearing. The group's informative Web site can be found at (http://www.iowaprairienetwork.org/) and contains information about ecology, history, planting and restoring Iowa prairies, maps of prairie sites, and much more.
• Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group best known for its numerous lawsuits against the Clinton Administration, has filed suit against the Republic of Iraq on behalf of 14 survivors of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. The complaint cites numerous sources - including law-enforcement, defense, and Philippine intelligence - regarding meetings between Terry Nichols, the convicted accomplice to the bombing, and Ramzi Youssef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Records obtained from Interpol's National Central Bureau on February 24, 2000, revealed that, long after Nichols and McVeigh were in custody for the Murrah Building bombing, Interpol was still trying to apprehend at least two other individuals. The evidence listed in the lawsuit includes a U.S. News & World Report article from October 29, 2001, that says that "a few top Defense officials think Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh was an Iraqi agent." The Pentagon asserted that "McVeigh had allegedly collected Iraqi telephone numbers" prior to his arrest. The bombing of the Murrah Building has dramatic similarities to the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In each instance, the weapon was a massive "fertilizer bomb." See the suit for yourself at (http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/86/complaint.html).
• Grandparents are an important part of raising the next generation. For tips on communicating with grandchildren or to receive a free informational packet on "grand-parenting," including activities to do together to enrich the lives of children and grandparents, call the Helpline for Parents at (309)757-8555 or (800)433-6644.
• The Iowa Department of Public Health will be receiving $1.1 million in federal money to study and seek solutions to shortages of health-care providers, especially nurses. The project will take the form of the newly created Iowa Office of Healthcare Personnel. Currently, Iowa has 2,500 vacancies for registered nurses (RNs), 700 vacancies for licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and 2,600 vacancies for assisting personnel. It is projected that by 2009, 64 percent of current registered nurses will be retired or over the age 65. By 2010, almost half of Iowa's nursing-teaching faculty plan to retire. Graduates of Iowa's nurse-education and - training programs have decreased 27 percent in the past six years. In addition, according to a 1999 report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Iowa's median nurse hourly wage ranks 50th in the U.S. Wages for licensed practical nurses rank 38th in the nation.
• This past weekend saw the start of the season for the Channel Cat. The Channel Cat will run weekends through the month of May, with the regular-season schedule starting on Memorial Day. Service includes the ports of John Deere Commons and Ben Butterworth Parkway in Moline, Leach Park Landing in Bettendorf, and Lindsay Park in the Village of East Davenport. Tickets for an all-day ride can be purchased on-board or at Center Station Gifts, located under the clock tower in the John Deere Commons. For more information, contact MetroLINK at (309)788-3360 or look on the Web at (http://www.qcmetrolink.com).
• Nomination forms are currently available for the 16th Annual Older Worker Awards. Nominees must be 55 years of age or older, must be residents of Clinton, Scott, or Muscatine counties, and must be recognized for their contributions as paid employees in the workforce. Businesses nominated for the Employer of the Year must be recognized in their community for leadership and acceptance of older workers as a valuable resource. Call Catherine Pratscher-Woods for more information at (563)324-9085 or (800)892-9085. Completed nomination forms are due by June 5.
• Davenport has been given almost $500,000 from $4 million in grants awarded for a variety of housing activities in dozens of Iowa communities. Funding for the projects is being provided through the Housing Assistance Fund (HAF) Program and the Local Housing Assistance Program (LHAP). HAF awarded $177,500 to the Scott County Housing Council for construction of three single-family homes and acquisition, rehabilitation, and re-sale of five additional single-family homes. LHAP awarded $40,000 to the Ecumenical Housing Development Group for acquisition and rehabilitation of eight rental units. A joint grant from LHAP/HAF of $250,000 was awarded to the John Lewis Coffee Shop for the acquisition and rehabilitation of 12 rental units.
• Bill Salier, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Iowa, pinned down two debates with primary rival Greg Ganske, a U.S. Representative. After months of coordination, Ganske agreed to appear with Salier at two venues before the June 4 primary. The first debate is sponsored by the Cedar Valley Medical Specialists and will be held Monday, May 13, at noon at the Five Sullivan Brothers Convention Center, Room 23, in Waterloo. This event is open to the public. On May 31, Salier and Ganske will appear together at a taping of a Side-by-Side on Iowa Public Television.
• Black Hawk College will soon stop providing post-secondary instruction for inmates at the East Moline Correctional Center. The current contract to deliver instruction to inmates expires June 30. Black Hawk College has provided education to inmates at the facility for more than 20 years. Illinois Governor George Ryan announced last winter that all education programs in correctional centers would be eliminated. One hundred inmates were enrolled in evening vocational courses at the correctional center, and 97 inmates were enrolled in daytime vocational classes.
• An Iowa Libertarian has announced he will not only seek the nominations of the Libertarian and Green parties but also plans to sue the state if he gets them. Ed Noyes is looking to be Iowa's next attorney general, and if he earns both endorsements, he will sue the state so he can appear on the ballot under both parties' labels. State law currently prohibits "fusion" candidates.
• The Iowa Prairie Network (IPN) is a grassroots (literally and figuratively), volunteer, not-for-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of Iowa's prairie heritage. IPN was formed in 1990 by concerned Iowans who were worried that our prairie heritage was disappearing. The group's informative Web site can be found at (http://www.iowaprairienetwork.org/) and contains information about ecology, history, planting and restoring Iowa prairies, maps of prairie sites, and much more.
• Judicial Watch, a conservative watchdog group best known for its numerous lawsuits against the Clinton Administration, has filed suit against the Republic of Iraq on behalf of 14 survivors of the April 19, 1995, bombing of the Murrah Building in Oklahoma City. The complaint cites numerous sources - including law-enforcement, defense, and Philippine intelligence - regarding meetings between Terry Nichols, the convicted accomplice to the bombing, and Ramzi Youssef, the mastermind of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. Records obtained from Interpol's National Central Bureau on February 24, 2000, revealed that, long after Nichols and McVeigh were in custody for the Murrah Building bombing, Interpol was still trying to apprehend at least two other individuals. The evidence listed in the lawsuit includes a U.S. News & World Report article from October 29, 2001, that says that "a few top Defense officials think Oklahoma City bomber Tim McVeigh was an Iraqi agent." The Pentagon asserted that "McVeigh had allegedly collected Iraqi telephone numbers" prior to his arrest. The bombing of the Murrah Building has dramatic similarities to the February 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In each instance, the weapon was a massive "fertilizer bomb." See the suit for yourself at (http://www.judicialwatch.org/cases/86/complaint.html).
• Grandparents are an important part of raising the next generation. For tips on communicating with grandchildren or to receive a free informational packet on "grand-parenting," including activities to do together to enrich the lives of children and grandparents, call the Helpline for Parents at (309)757-8555 or (800)433-6644.
• The Iowa Department of Public Health will be receiving $1.1 million in federal money to study and seek solutions to shortages of health-care providers, especially nurses. The project will take the form of the newly created Iowa Office of Healthcare Personnel. Currently, Iowa has 2,500 vacancies for registered nurses (RNs), 700 vacancies for licensed practical nurses (LPNs), and 2,600 vacancies for assisting personnel. It is projected that by 2009, 64 percent of current registered nurses will be retired or over the age 65. By 2010, almost half of Iowa's nursing-teaching faculty plan to retire. Graduates of Iowa's nurse-education and - training programs have decreased 27 percent in the past six years. In addition, according to a 1999 report of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Iowa's median nurse hourly wage ranks 50th in the U.S. Wages for licensed practical nurses rank 38th in the nation.
• This past weekend saw the start of the season for the Channel Cat. The Channel Cat will run weekends through the month of May, with the regular-season schedule starting on Memorial Day. Service includes the ports of John Deere Commons and Ben Butterworth Parkway in Moline, Leach Park Landing in Bettendorf, and Lindsay Park in the Village of East Davenport. Tickets for an all-day ride can be purchased on-board or at Center Station Gifts, located under the clock tower in the John Deere Commons. For more information, contact MetroLINK at (309)788-3360 or look on the Web at (http://www.qcmetrolink.com).
• Nomination forms are currently available for the 16th Annual Older Worker Awards. Nominees must be 55 years of age or older, must be residents of Clinton, Scott, or Muscatine counties, and must be recognized for their contributions as paid employees in the workforce. Businesses nominated for the Employer of the Year must be recognized in their community for leadership and acceptance of older workers as a valuable resource. Call Catherine Pratscher-Woods for more information at (563)324-9085 or (800)892-9085. Completed nomination forms are due by June 5.
