• Officials at Augustana College held a groundbreaking ceremony last week to mark the official beginning of construction of a new residence hall. The three-story building will be located at the northwest corner of 38th Street and 11th Avenue in Rock Island and will open in the fall 2006, in time to welcome students for the new academic year. Designed by SGGM Architects & Interior Designers, the 96,000-square-foot structure will comprise three wings containing two distinct styles of housing for 238 students. The east wing will be made up of apartment-style units known on campus as Transitional Living Areas, or TLA Housing. TLA Housing gives students in their third year of college a degree of independence that is similar to living in an apartment, but with much of the support network found in a traditional residence-hall experience. Russell Construction Company has been granted the contract to oversee the $14-million project, which is being financed through a combination of charitable gifts and bonds issued by the Quad City Regional Economic Development Authority.

• The Davenport Public Library has recently added an investment information resource to complement its databases. Mergent Online provides timely research information about publicly traded U.S. companies. Researchers may search by company name, ticker symbol, Standard Industrial Code, or the North American Industry Classification Symbol number. The company information is organized in groups such as: Company Financials, History, News, Annual Reports, Research, and Reports. Viewing the Equity Report information, available from the "Tear Sheets" tab, provides the researcher with a two-page stock analysis that includes a "buy," "sell," or "hold" ranking. This is available for more than 4,000 publicly traded companies in North America. Call (563)326-7844 for more information.

• The Waste Commission of Scott County is celebrating the grand opening of its Electronic Demanufacturing Facility. The facility provides residents and businesses with an environmentally sound and economically feasible disposal option for electronic waste, also known as e-waste. E-waste is defined as anything with a circuit board and or cathode ray tube. Examples of accepted items received at this facility include : computer monitors and CPUs, televisions, and VCRs. The commission anticipates processing 500 tons of electronic waste each year. The commission will celebrate the grand opening with an open house of the new facility on Saturday, November 5, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Electronic Demanufacturing Facility is located at 1048 East 59th Street (just north of the Scott Area Recycling Center) in Davenport. Hours of operation are 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. For more information, look at (http://www.wastecom.com) or call (563)823-0119. Additional information can also be found in the article on page 6.

• The Quad Cities SCORE Chapter's November workshop will focus on issues related to starting or expanding a business. The November 12 workshop will be held at the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce, 622 19th Street in Moline. Registration for the workshop will begin at 8:45 a.m., and the event will run from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The fee is $40 per person in advance. Call (309)797-0082 for reservations. Payments must be received no later than Thursday, November 10.

• The Mississippi Bend Model Boaters meet on the second Monday of each month, November through March, at 7 p.m. at the Bettendorf Community Center, 2204 Grant Street. Anyone interested in learning more about building and operating radio-controlled model boats is welcome to attend. For information, call Steve at (563)349-4033.

• Earlier this year, the Iowa Department of Revenue revised Iowa's withholding tax tables. The Department mailed the new tax tables and formulas to more than 80,000 withholding agents at the end of February. To the average Iowan, it is likely the change went unnoticed. The revision did not impact the amount of state income tax an individual owes. Changing the withholding tables reduced the amount deducted in a paycheck, thereby increasing take-home pay throughout the year. However, as a result of reduced withholding, tax refunds will be reduced for many citizens. The last time the tax tables were revised was 1998. Taxpayers who have questions should call Taxpayer Services at (800)367-3388 to talk to a tax specialist.

• Ann Mangan, a member of Davenport's Quad City Executive Toastmasters, won the Toastmasters International's Division E Speech Evaluation Contest, held October 22 in West Burlington, Iowa. To win the contest trophy, she had to evaluate and offer constructive criticism on a speech by a guest speaker, who happened to be her husband, Benjamin Mangan, Governor of Toastmasters Area 94. In November, Mrs. Mangan will go on to compete at the next competition level, which encompasses all of Iowa and parts of Nebraska and Illinois. To learn more about Toastmasters International, visit (http://www.toastmasters.org).

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