23
Apr
2002
· River Action on April 20 handed out its third annual Eddy Awards at a ceremony at igeon Creek Park in Bettendorf. The awards were given in six categories to "individuals, companies, cities, and organizations who acted as an eddy does, 'going against the current,' to accomplish excellence along the riverfront." Winners this year were: Earl Hanson School in Rock Island (Education), City of Davenport (Design, for Centennial Park), Kunhild Blacklock of East Moline (Art, for Nature Spiral at Illiniwek Park, Peace Circle on Campbell's Island, and Gathering Point on Arsenal Island), MetroLINK (River Activity, for the Channel Cat water-taxi service), Dan Carmody of the Development Association of Rock Island and the Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation (Revitalization, for the Renaissance and Goldman buildings in The District of Rock Island), and Barb Arland-Fye of the Quad-City Times (Stewardship, for numerous articles on the river). Sixty-five entries competed for prizes this year. For more information on River Action, visit (http://www.riveraction.org).
· Legislation to create the Iowa Cultural Trust was recently signed into law by Governor Tom Vilsack. The trust is designed to provide financial support for cultural organizations around the state by matching private donations with state money. The trust establishes an endowment, the interest of which will support cultural organizations across Iowa. In these days of budget battles, legislators and Vilsack had the foresight to recognize the economic and cultural value of arts in Iowa, a state that has fallen far behind the national average in public support of the arts. However, at this time, there is no funding allocated for the trust. For more information on the Cultural Trust, visit (www.culturalaffairs.org/culturaltrust).
· The 7th Annual Mississippi Valley Young Adult Writers Conference will be held June 5 at Augustana College's Erickson Hall. This evening of writing workshops presented by successful authors is designed for youth ages 12 to 17. For a registration form or information, visit (http://www.midwestwritingcenter.org) or call Matthew or Pamela Clemens at (563)323-6014. The deadline for registration is June 1.
· At its convention earlier this month, the Libertarian Party of Iowa nominated Fairfield businessman Clyde Cleveland as its candidate for governor. Other state nominations include Rich Campagna for lieutenant governor, Ed Noyes for attorney general, and Fritz Groszkruger for secretary of agriculture. You can visit the national Libertarian Party site at (http://www.lp.org) to find out what is happening with the party nationally. The Iowa Libertarian Party Web site is located at (http://www.lpia.org), and the Illinois site is at (http://www.il.lp.org/index.php).
· According to the latest report from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the number of people in jails and prisons in the United States continues to hover just below the two-million mark. But the federal prison population grew at a pace of 7.2 percent from 2000 to 2001. The number of people in U.S. jails and state and federal prisons totaled 1,965,495 on June 30, 2001, BJS reported, up a modest 1.1 percent from the previous year. Drug offenders constituted 61 percent of federal prisoners and 22 percent of all prisoners, according to BJS's latest breakdown on prisoner offenses. The Center for Juvenile & Criminal Justice has issued a report on the new incarceration data available at (http://www.cjcj.org/fedgrows.html). You can see the BJS report at (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pjim01.pdf).
· The United States Postal Service hopes to reinvent itself with a new plan called the Commercial Government Enterprise. The plan would create a government-owned entity that would enjoy some of the operational and financial flexibility found in the private sector, including setting rates more predictably, retaining earnings, and working under private-sector labor laws. Depending on future legislation, the postal service could even pay taxes or dividends to the government. The plan also includes cost-cutting measures, including reductions of $5 billion over the next five years through job attrition, outsourcing, plant consolidation, post-office closures, and other measures. The plan would require extensive legislative action.
· In the name of bio-terrorism protection, the U.S. House and Senate recently passed bills that would require all food makers to register with the federal government and require importers to register with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) before bringing products into the country. The bills would also authorize the FDA to detain tainted products and would also authorize money for stockpiling vaccines and provide grants to hospitals and local agencies to improve communications systems and otherwise prepare for potential bio-terrorism attacks.
· Bethany for Children & Families has purchased a new facility at 1830 6th Avenue in Moline. Administration and six programs, with a total of 45 employees, will be located at the facility. Bethany will construct a 3,400-square-foot multipurpose center/gymnasium for use by after-school programs. The new building will include a life-skills training center, an educational facility, an area for art therapy, family-therapy rooms, and family-visit rooms. The total cost estimate for the new facility, including purchase, renovation, and construction, is $1.75 million. Bethany will conduct a capital campaign to cover these costs.
· The City of Davenport's Enterprise Zone Commission and the Iowa Department of Economic Development have approved an application from Nestle Purina PetCare Company for benefits under the Enterprise Zone program. The company proposes to add a new product line, involving the creation of 10 new positions paying an initial base wage of $12.10 per hour and an investment of $1.2 million in machinery and equipment. Under the enterprise-zone program, the company is eligible to receive a state income-tax credit of 10 percent on its capital investment, plus job-training benefits. Potential benefits to the company total $157,000.
· The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau has changed its office phone number to (563)322-3911. The bureau's toll-free number, however, will not change. For more information on the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, go to (http://www.visitquadcities.com).
· The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Quad Cities Affiliate Voucher Program is a locally funded initiative that provides mammograms and breast ultrasounds at no cost. Eligibility is based on financial need. Women whose mammograms were paid for by Komen funds and who are then diagnosed with breast cancer or cervical cancer/pre-cancer may apply for treatment assistance under the Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Act (an option under Iowa Medicaid). For more information about the program or to obtain a voucher, contact Linda Rymars at (800)215-1444.
· Legislation to create the Iowa Cultural Trust was recently signed into law by Governor Tom Vilsack. The trust is designed to provide financial support for cultural organizations around the state by matching private donations with state money. The trust establishes an endowment, the interest of which will support cultural organizations across Iowa. In these days of budget battles, legislators and Vilsack had the foresight to recognize the economic and cultural value of arts in Iowa, a state that has fallen far behind the national average in public support of the arts. However, at this time, there is no funding allocated for the trust. For more information on the Cultural Trust, visit (www.culturalaffairs.org/culturaltrust).
· The 7th Annual Mississippi Valley Young Adult Writers Conference will be held June 5 at Augustana College's Erickson Hall. This evening of writing workshops presented by successful authors is designed for youth ages 12 to 17. For a registration form or information, visit (http://www.midwestwritingcenter.org) or call Matthew or Pamela Clemens at (563)323-6014. The deadline for registration is June 1.
· At its convention earlier this month, the Libertarian Party of Iowa nominated Fairfield businessman Clyde Cleveland as its candidate for governor. Other state nominations include Rich Campagna for lieutenant governor, Ed Noyes for attorney general, and Fritz Groszkruger for secretary of agriculture. You can visit the national Libertarian Party site at (http://www.lp.org) to find out what is happening with the party nationally. The Iowa Libertarian Party Web site is located at (http://www.lpia.org), and the Illinois site is at (http://www.il.lp.org/index.php).
· According to the latest report from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), the number of people in jails and prisons in the United States continues to hover just below the two-million mark. But the federal prison population grew at a pace of 7.2 percent from 2000 to 2001. The number of people in U.S. jails and state and federal prisons totaled 1,965,495 on June 30, 2001, BJS reported, up a modest 1.1 percent from the previous year. Drug offenders constituted 61 percent of federal prisoners and 22 percent of all prisoners, according to BJS's latest breakdown on prisoner offenses. The Center for Juvenile & Criminal Justice has issued a report on the new incarceration data available at (http://www.cjcj.org/fedgrows.html). You can see the BJS report at (http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pjim01.pdf).
· The United States Postal Service hopes to reinvent itself with a new plan called the Commercial Government Enterprise. The plan would create a government-owned entity that would enjoy some of the operational and financial flexibility found in the private sector, including setting rates more predictably, retaining earnings, and working under private-sector labor laws. Depending on future legislation, the postal service could even pay taxes or dividends to the government. The plan also includes cost-cutting measures, including reductions of $5 billion over the next five years through job attrition, outsourcing, plant consolidation, post-office closures, and other measures. The plan would require extensive legislative action.
· In the name of bio-terrorism protection, the U.S. House and Senate recently passed bills that would require all food makers to register with the federal government and require importers to register with the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) before bringing products into the country. The bills would also authorize the FDA to detain tainted products and would also authorize money for stockpiling vaccines and provide grants to hospitals and local agencies to improve communications systems and otherwise prepare for potential bio-terrorism attacks.
· Bethany for Children & Families has purchased a new facility at 1830 6th Avenue in Moline. Administration and six programs, with a total of 45 employees, will be located at the facility. Bethany will construct a 3,400-square-foot multipurpose center/gymnasium for use by after-school programs. The new building will include a life-skills training center, an educational facility, an area for art therapy, family-therapy rooms, and family-visit rooms. The total cost estimate for the new facility, including purchase, renovation, and construction, is $1.75 million. Bethany will conduct a capital campaign to cover these costs.
· The City of Davenport's Enterprise Zone Commission and the Iowa Department of Economic Development have approved an application from Nestle Purina PetCare Company for benefits under the Enterprise Zone program. The company proposes to add a new product line, involving the creation of 10 new positions paying an initial base wage of $12.10 per hour and an investment of $1.2 million in machinery and equipment. Under the enterprise-zone program, the company is eligible to receive a state income-tax credit of 10 percent on its capital investment, plus job-training benefits. Potential benefits to the company total $157,000.
· The Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau has changed its office phone number to (563)322-3911. The bureau's toll-free number, however, will not change. For more information on the Quad Cities Convention & Visitors Bureau, go to (http://www.visitquadcities.com).
· The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation Quad Cities Affiliate Voucher Program is a locally funded initiative that provides mammograms and breast ultrasounds at no cost. Eligibility is based on financial need. Women whose mammograms were paid for by Komen funds and who are then diagnosed with breast cancer or cervical cancer/pre-cancer may apply for treatment assistance under the Breast & Cervical Cancer Treatment Act (an option under Iowa Medicaid). For more information about the program or to obtain a voucher, contact Linda Rymars at (800)215-1444.
