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News/Features

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QCA Today: February 3, 2012

This feature collects articles published online by the following Quad Cities-area media outlets: Quad-City Times, Rock Island Argus/Moline Dispatch, River Cities' Reader, and WQAD. It also includes items...

How Public-Safety Pensions Are Increasing Your Taxes

State public-employee pension systems are grossly underfunded in general and are financial time bombs for most states. According to the 2010 paper “Are State Public Pensions Sustainable?”, 31 state...

Enter the Reader’s Winter 2011-12 Photo Contest! February 6 Deadline

Back in the fall of 2008, we opened our photo contest to pictures of babies and pets. We had previously held themed contests but in a rare generous mood offered a reprieve, with the threat that our next...

Fall 2011 Best of the Quad Cities

For many years, we asked our readers to fill out surveys to determine the best of the Quad Cities. We gave them categories and lines on which to write, and we tallied the results, and the winners were...

Media Manipulation and Ron Paul

(Editor's note: This is one of three articles on Ron Paul in the December 8 issue of the River Cities’ Reader. The package also includes Kathleen McCarthy’s “Ron Paul Personifies Iowa GOP Party Platform”...

Study Vs. Reality: Why Consolidated Dispatch in Scott County Won’t Save Money

Kitties in the Christmas Stocking: Local Author Connie Corcoran Wilson Releases a New Children's Book for the Holidays

“Go Back to China”: Bo Caldwell, November 30 at St. Ambrose University’s Rogalski Center

911 Whitewash? Leaders Say the Transition to Consolidated Emergency Dispatch in Scott County Has Gone Well. It Should Have Gone Better.

(Don't) Talk to the Animals: Comedian Tim Bedore, October 28 at the Establishment Theatre

The Top Censored Stories of 2012

Fall 2011 Best of the Quad Cities: Deadline Extended!

Expressions of Survival: The Quad City Phoenix Festival and Christian Care's "Walk the Walk" Raise Funds for Domestic-Violence Awareness

A GPS for Better Nutrition? Looking Under the Hood at Hy-Vee’s NuVal System

A Lifelong Commitment to Iowa: Zachary Michael Jack, July 21 at the Bettendorf Public Library

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Commentary/Politics

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Bill Calls for University Presidents to Feel the Pain of Tuition Hikes

If students enrolled at Iowa’s state universities have to pay higher tuition, university presidents should share the pain, some House Republicans said. “This is about making accountable a person...

Bill Could Be Coming Due for Teacher Pensions

Last week, powerful Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan appeared to all but endorse an idea to force Downstate and suburban school districts to pay a significant share of their state pension contributions...

City and County Officials: Help Us Fix Our Roads

City and county officials expressed frustration and a sense of helplessness January 24 over the lack of money to repair crumbling roads and bridges. The local-government leaders argued strenuously at...

Stopping the Rush to War Against Iran

A growing group of individuals and organizations has designated Saturday, February 4, as a “National Day of Action” aimed at preventing a war against Iran. The manifesto is simple: “No War, No Sanctions,...

Taxpayer Group Vows It Won’t Be Alone in Opposing a Gas-Tax Hike

As momentum builds for a measure to increase Iowa’s gas tax to pay for the state’s roads and bridges, a taxpayer-advocate group is one of the lone voices opposing the plan. Lindsay McQuarry, policy...

U.S. V. Jones: The Battle for the Fourth Amendment Continues

How to Get Around Illinois’ Campaign-Contribution Caps

Business Leaders Urge Bold Action on Property Taxes; Local Governments Warn of Tax Increases

No Poison Apple? Terry Branstad’s Education Proposal Aims to Be Palatable to Varied Legislators and Interests. They’re Open to Reform but Leery.

“Best of the Quad Cities” Was Disappointing

Privatizing the War on Terror: America’s Military Contractors

Illinois’ Dropping Credit Rating Barely Affects Bond Sale

Key Differences Remain on Property-Tax Reform

Long Term, Illinois Budget Picture Looks Grim

Romney Wins Iowa Caucuses, Eight Votes Ahead of Santorum

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Movies

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Now Playing: Friday, February 3, through Thursday, February 9

Now Playing: Friday, February 3, through Thursday, February 9

For show schedule information, visit: Great Escape Theatre, Moline Nova 6 Cinemas, Moline Putnam Museum, Davenport Rave Motion Pictures Davenport 53, Davenport  

Where to Find the 2012 Oscar Nominees: Updated for February 3 through February 9

Where to Find the 2012 Oscar Nominees: Updated for February 3 through February 9

The Adventures of Tintin. Not in local release. Nominated for Best Original Score. Albert Nobbs. Not in local release. Nominated for Best Actress (Glenn Close), Best Supporting Actress (Janet McTeer),...

Northern Exposure: "The Grey," "Man on a Ledge," and "One for the Money"

THE GREY Whenever I watch a movie such as Alive or The Thing or director Joe Carnahan’s The Grey – especially in January – I ask myself the same question: Is it worth it? I know about cinematic...

The 2012 Academy Award Nominees

Well, I have to hand it to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences: For all of the widespread grousing about its changing the rules regarding the Oscars’ Best Picture race for the second time...

Black and White and Rad All Over: "The Artist"

THE ARTIST In the spirit of Michel Hazanavicius’ extraordinary silent-film celebration The Artist, I considered offering a review that, likewise, didn’t offer much in the way of verbal language –...

Ground Zero Offense: "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "Red Tails," and "Haywire"

Meryl Marky Mark Melees: "The Iron Lady," "Contraband," "Carnage," and "Joyful Noise"

Predicting the 2012 Academy Award Nominees

Smarter Denser Colder Meh: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" and "The Devil Inside"

Sweet and Lowdown: Or, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Mike Schulz’s Favorite Movies of 2011* (*But Were Afraid to Ask)

... And "Jack & Jill" Came Tumbling After: 150 Movies Not on 2011's 10-Favorites List

A Good Movie? Aye. A Great Movie? Neigh.: "War Horse," "We Bought a Zoo," "My Week with Marilyn," and "The Darkest Hour"

Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Loathe Them: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” “The Adventures of Tintin,”and “Alvin & the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked”

Choose to Accept It: "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol," "Young Adult," and "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"

War, Strife, and the House of Payne: "The Sitter," "Like Crazy," "Margin Call," "The Descendants," "New Year's Eve," and "Dog Jack"

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Music

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Channeling Doom: Deleted Scenes, February 3 at Rozz-Tox

Channeling Doom: Deleted Scenes, February 3 at Rozz-Tox

When the quartet Deleted Scenes recorded its second album, Young People’s Church of the Air, the atmosphere was “intense and pressurized,” resulting in a “doomed energy,” singer/guitarist/co-songwriter...

Symphony Spin-Off: The Lyrebird Ensemble, January 21 at the Figge Art Museum

Symphony Spin-Off: The Lyrebird Ensemble, January 21 at the Figge Art Museum

Not long after meeting through their participation in the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, second flutist Ellen Huntington and principal harpist Lillian Lau decided to form their own two-person ensemble....

Modern Metal with a Sabbath Touch: Helmsplitter, January 13 at RIBCO

Metal often skates by on aggression and technical chops, and it rarely creates drama. The Quad Cities quartet Helmsplitter, on its debut Storms of Genocide – for which the band will perform a CD-release...

Many-Trick Ponies: Satellite Heart, January 7 at RIBCO

If you attend a Satellite Heart show – such as January 7’s at RIBCO – two of the songs you might hear are “Rock N’ Troll” (“Fighting dragons / Killing marauders / Doing things that we...

A 2011 Album (and 67 Other Worthwhile Songs)

Twenty favorite songs from 2011 clocking in at just under 76 minutes, roughly sequenced. No apologies for the narrowness of my tastes. Paris Suit Yourself, “Sometimes.” From the flat, stuttering...

Birthing a Beast: The Quad City Symphony Orchestra, December 3 at the Adler Theatre

Radical Optimism: The Cerny Brothers, December 23 at the Redstone Room

Confidently, Accessibly Experimental: The Envy Corps, December 16 at the Redstone Room

Literary Theme Causes Musical Problems: The Quad City Symphony Orchestra, November 5 at the Adler Theatre

Out of the Holding Pattern: Rachael Yamagata, November 12 at the Redstone Room

Forcing Freshness: The David Mayfield Parade, November 1 at Rozz-Tox

Passion Sometimes Lacking in Precision: The Quad City Symphony Orchestra, October 1 at the Adler Theatre

Inexhaustible Possibilities: Helmet, October 8 at RIBCO

No Pretense to Pretty: Meth & Goats, “Leisure Time”; at RIBCO on September 16

Growing Comfortable with Vulnerability: Shenandoah Davis, September 16 at Rozz-Tox

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Theatre

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Stage to Page to Stage: Author Eileen Boggess Brings Her Junior Theatre Experiences to Life – at Davenport Junior Theatre – in "Mia the Melodramatic," February 18 through 26

Stage to Page to Stage: Author Eileen Boggess Brings Her Junior Theatre Experiences to Life – at Davenport Junior Theatre – in "Mia the Melodramatic," February 18 through 26

Those familiar with Davenport Junior Theatre might find its forthcoming production of Mia the Melodramatic a bit ... well ... familiar. After all, the show concerns a children’s theatre company that...

If Memory Swerves: "How I Learned to Drive," at Augustana College through February 5

If Memory Swerves: "How I Learned to Drive," at Augustana College through February 5

Augustana College’s How I Learned to Drive offers an interesting opportunity to compare the acting talents of performers at different points in their lives, as there’s a marked contrast between Reader...

Buy Local: "Bad Habits," at the Village Theatre through February 5

New Ground Theatre’s Bad Habits is one of those rare local productions where the focus is on the writers rather than the actors, directors, or technical aspects. While a cast and crew, of course, are...

The Gables Are Always Greener ... : "Anne of Avonlea," at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through January 22

Sydney Crumbleholme is maturing. Not only is she physically more mature than the impressive young acting prodigy I fondly recall from the Playcrafters Barn Theatre’s Anne of Green Gables four years ago,...

Kind of Smooth, Kind of Sticky: "Grease," at the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse through March 3

I adore the movie version of Grease, and think it's one of the few musicals in which the film is an improvement on the original stage version. The theatrical musical is less cohesive in terms of the timelime's...

All the Worlds of Stage: Mike Schulz and Thom White Discuss Area Theatre in 2011

False Profit: "Tartuffe," at Skellington Manor through December 11

Holiday Q & A: "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus," at the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre through December 18

Brat Packed: "Junie B. in Jingle Bells, Batman Smells," at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse through December 31

Deep in the "Ha!" of Texas: "A Tuna Christmas," at the District Theatre through December 10

Playwright at Your Side: St. Ambrose Student Aaron Randolph III Authors Two Wintertime Productions

Free to Be Junie B.: Sunshine Ramsey Stars in the Circa '21 Dinner Playhouse's "Jingle Bells, Batman Smells," November 25 through December 31

Hard Habits to Break: "Nuncrackers," at the Circa ’21 Dinner Playhouse through December 30

Oh, I Know All I Owe I Owe Ioway: “Leaving Iowa,” at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through November 20

Community Effort: Playcrafters and Black Hawk College Team Up for "Leaving Iowa," November 11 through 20

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Art

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Featured Image from the Quad Cities Photography Club

Featured Image from the Quad Cities Photography Club

(Editor’s note: The River Cities’ Reader each month will feature an image or images from the Quad Cities Photography Club.) One of the top images in the Quad Cities Photography Club’s January...

Art in Plain Sight: First National Bank Building

Art in Plain Sight: First National Bank Building

The entrance to the First National Bank Building (now U.S. Bank) at 201 West Second Street in Davenport tells the story of commerce and banking through classical images and symbols. The ancient Greek...

Heroes Through the Lens of the Depression: “Beyond the Surface,” Through February 26 at the Figge

Artists use certain visual cues to make a portrait feel heroic: bright, clear lighting, a low viewing perspective, strong or kind facial expressions, adoring masses, flying flags. These techniques cast...

Art in Plain Sight: Christmas Lights

It’s easy to start taking outdoor Christmas lights for granted about now. They have been draped over trees and strung along porch railings and under the eaves for weeks – even longer in the shopping...

Art in Plain Sight: Fort Armstrong Theatre Building

At the corner of Third Avenue and 19th Street in the Rock Island District is a glazed terra-cotta bust of an American Indian wearing a war bonnet that encircles his head, almost like the traditional...

Illuminating Comics: “Graphic Language,” through December 11 at the University of Iowa

Solitary Journeys: Emma Farber and Zachary Cleve, through October at the Phoenix Gallery

Art in Plain Sight: Nature Spiral

Portraits of Corruption: “A Time of Malfeasance,” Through October 14 at the Figge

Personal Art Therapy: Works by Breast-Cancer Survivors Are Showcased in "Living Proof," September 30 through October 29 at Bucktown Center for the Arts

Art in Plain Sight: Two Davenport Cathedral Spires

“Our Van Gogh, Cézanne, and Corot”: A Memorial Tribute to Jim Konrad, Through September 17 at the Augustana College Art Museum

Art in Plain Sight: Deere & Company Headquarters

Modern Relics: Steve Banks and Aaron Tinder, Through August at the Quad City International Airport

Art in Plain Sight: A Tale of Two Libraries