Area Maintenance Persons (AMPS) of Davenport will be recognized on Wednesday, November 12, at the Davenport City Council meeting for receiving the Iowa Governor's Volunteer Award. AMPS, a group of more than 150 Davenport residents age 50 and older, received the award for daily efforts to clean up litter. One of their recent projects was placing cigarette receptacles at the Davenport skate park and spending time there to educate users of the park about the importance of proper disposal of litter. For more information on AMPS and the award, visit ILiveHereQC.org.

The City of Davenport is hosting three public forums for the community to learn more about the work of the Promise Task Force and its recommendations to the city. The Davenport Promise program would provide college tuition, vocational training, or a post-military-service homestead grant to Davenport residents after high school. The forums are scheduled for 6 p.m. on Wednesday, November 5, in the Genesis East Adler Educational Center (inside the Heart Institute Building); 6 p.m. on Thursday, November 6, at the Davenport downtown library; and 10 a.m. on Saturday, November 8, at Central High School in Davenport. For more information, visit DavenportSchools.org and click on "Davenport Promise."

River Action has launched an interactive Retain the Rain online calculator that helps people find out how to control stormwater runoff from a home or business. They can also calculate the amount of water runoff saved by implementing Retain the Rain projects such as rain gardens, native plantings, prairie restorations, runnels, porous paving, bioswales, and green roofs. To get started, visit RiverAction.org.

Rock Island Mayor Mark Schwiebert has incorporated a new feature into city-council meetings. Called Update Rock Island, the mayor will spend five minutes at the beginning of council meetings to publicize community news. Items could include new programs and initiatives in the city, awards, new businesses and expansions, and community events. A video will be available Tuesdays following council meetings on the city's Web site (RIGov.org) and public-access cable channel 9. A written summary will be available on the Web site and sent to local media. To receive the information via e-mail, sign up at RIGov.org/enews.html.

Based on his latest book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, Jack Canfield will present strategies on determining goals, developing necessary tools, shifting attitudes, and mastering key disciplines to use entrepreneurial time effectively. Canfield is the co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. "Success Principles" is sponsored by the St. Ambrose University College of Business Student Advisory Council. Upper-level general seating for the October 28 event at St. Ambrose's Galvin Fine Arts Center is $50, and lower-level preferred seating is $75. Tickets may be purchased by calling the Galvin box office at (563) 333-6251. More information can be found at SAU.edu/news/fall08/Canfieldpresentation.php or JackCanfield.com.