11
Dec
2001
• The Davenport Police Department is seeking an accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). Upon completion of the process, the Davenport Police Department will become the first accredited law-enforcement agency in the Quad Cities, and the largest accredited municipal police department in Iowa. Davenport Police Chief Mike Bladel said, "The accreditation process will strengthen crime control and prevention, improve service delivery, formalize internal management procedures for greater accountability, establish fair personnel practices, solidify interagency cooperation, and most importantly, improve confidence in the Davenport Police Department."
• Only 20 percent of the 2,873 registered voters in Eldridge voted in the December 4 election that decided a city council seat. Pleasant Valley voters showed even more apathy, with almost 17 percent - or 2,124 of the 12,519 registered voters - bothering to cast ballots to determine if the school district should participate in the Instructional Support Levy for the next 10 years. You can see the election results at Scott County's excellent Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/election_returns/). By the way, you can also download a voter registration form in English or Spanish. Do your bit for democracy: Vote!
• New privacy protections, newly passed in the appropriations bill H.R. 2590, prohibit all federal-government agencies from snooping into individuals' Web-browsing habits. Section 639 of the bill prohibits agencies from collecting personally identifiable information "relating to an individual's access to or use of" any federal-agency Internet sites. The legislation also prohibits the purchase of personally identifiable information on visits to nongovernmental Web sites. There is an exception, though; agencies will be able to collect personally identifiable information on individuals who voluntarily submit data to government Web sites. Additionally, there are law-enforcement and security exemptions that allow collection of personally identifiable information. You can see for yourself by looking at (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.2590:).
• A proposal by the State Fire Service and Emergency Response Council would mandate increased training for all volunteer fire departments in Iowa. About 80 percent of Iowa's 20,000 firefighters are volunteer, and the proposal to make the Firefighter I training standard has drawn both praise and criticism. Because of the time required to obtain the Firefighter I certification, it's feared that people would be discouraged from signing up with volunteer departments. Others who support the proposal hope that it would increase firefighter effectiveness. The group is expected to make a recommendation sometime in January.
• Generations Area Agency on Aging works with and through community organizations to administer a wide range of local services for people 60 and older in Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa. The agency and its programs are funded through a partnership of federal, state, and local governments and private grants. Many of the programs supported by the Area Agency on Aging supplement their funding with United Way and other local public and private funds. You can find out more about what Generations Area Agency does at its Web site (http://www.genage.org); by writing to P.O. Box 3788; Davenport, IA 52808-3788; or via phone at (563)324-9085 or (800)892-9085.
• Ameritech's efforts to offer long distance service in Illinois have hit another snag with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The problem is that half of Ameritech's measurements of wholesale quality might be faulty. Ameritech didn't agree with the findings of the independent auditing firm that monitored Ameritech's service to its rivals, but the two sides were continuing to discuss the situation.
• The holidays are fast approaching, and with them comes a lot of stress for parents. Another stress-builder is finding age-appropriate gifts for children. You can obtain free information and parenting packets on these and other parenting-related topics from the Helpline for Parents at (309)757-8555 or (800)466-6644.
• The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) is suing state officials on behalf of former convicts who remain imprisoned once their prison terms are up. A state law allows a court to order "sexually violent predators" to indefinite medical treatment once their prison term is done if it's determined they pose a threat to the public. ICLU legal director Randall Wilson says "civil commitment" hearings are often delayed, in one case up to two years, and those who've served their prison time end up in solitary confinement until the matter's settled. The lawsuit contends it's "inexcusable" that men who have completed their sentences are being held in virtual lockdown conditions harsher than those faced by regular prisoners. The ICLU's executive director says that if "we as a society say it's okay to put people in solitary confinement without a trial because we despise them, then we really have to ask ourselves who else will be deemed undeserving."
• The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has awarded the Iowa City Cultural Incubator an Iowa Community Cultural Grant of $13,333. This grant will be used to hire an executive director and pay for a portion of the elevator for the Englert Theatre Building. The Cultural Incubator will be a low-cost, shared business-office complex for not-for-profit cultural organizations in Iowa City. The proposed Cultural Incubator would encourage economic and cultural vitality in Iowa City and Johnson County.
• The U.S. Senate is expected to pass a 2002 transportation spending bill that contains $2 million for the study of a new bridge over the Mississippi in the Quad Cities. Last year, Congress approved $4.9 million for the project, sufficient to pay for both phases of an ongoing study of the route and an environmental-impact statement. By the end of next year, a route should be selected and the draft environmental statement finished. It will take another year before moving on to the design phase.
• Only 20 percent of the 2,873 registered voters in Eldridge voted in the December 4 election that decided a city council seat. Pleasant Valley voters showed even more apathy, with almost 17 percent - or 2,124 of the 12,519 registered voters - bothering to cast ballots to determine if the school district should participate in the Instructional Support Levy for the next 10 years. You can see the election results at Scott County's excellent Web site at (http://www.scottcountyiowa.com/auditor/election_returns/). By the way, you can also download a voter registration form in English or Spanish. Do your bit for democracy: Vote!
• New privacy protections, newly passed in the appropriations bill H.R. 2590, prohibit all federal-government agencies from snooping into individuals' Web-browsing habits. Section 639 of the bill prohibits agencies from collecting personally identifiable information "relating to an individual's access to or use of" any federal-agency Internet sites. The legislation also prohibits the purchase of personally identifiable information on visits to nongovernmental Web sites. There is an exception, though; agencies will be able to collect personally identifiable information on individuals who voluntarily submit data to government Web sites. Additionally, there are law-enforcement and security exemptions that allow collection of personally identifiable information. You can see for yourself by looking at (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:h.r.2590:).
• A proposal by the State Fire Service and Emergency Response Council would mandate increased training for all volunteer fire departments in Iowa. About 80 percent of Iowa's 20,000 firefighters are volunteer, and the proposal to make the Firefighter I training standard has drawn both praise and criticism. Because of the time required to obtain the Firefighter I certification, it's feared that people would be discouraged from signing up with volunteer departments. Others who support the proposal hope that it would increase firefighter effectiveness. The group is expected to make a recommendation sometime in January.
• Generations Area Agency on Aging works with and through community organizations to administer a wide range of local services for people 60 and older in Clinton, Muscatine, and Scott counties in Iowa. The agency and its programs are funded through a partnership of federal, state, and local governments and private grants. Many of the programs supported by the Area Agency on Aging supplement their funding with United Way and other local public and private funds. You can find out more about what Generations Area Agency does at its Web site (http://www.genage.org); by writing to P.O. Box 3788; Davenport, IA 52808-3788; or via phone at (563)324-9085 or (800)892-9085.
• Ameritech's efforts to offer long distance service in Illinois have hit another snag with the Illinois Commerce Commission. The problem is that half of Ameritech's measurements of wholesale quality might be faulty. Ameritech didn't agree with the findings of the independent auditing firm that monitored Ameritech's service to its rivals, but the two sides were continuing to discuss the situation.
• The holidays are fast approaching, and with them comes a lot of stress for parents. Another stress-builder is finding age-appropriate gifts for children. You can obtain free information and parenting packets on these and other parenting-related topics from the Helpline for Parents at (309)757-8555 or (800)466-6644.
• The Iowa Civil Liberties Union (ICLU) is suing state officials on behalf of former convicts who remain imprisoned once their prison terms are up. A state law allows a court to order "sexually violent predators" to indefinite medical treatment once their prison term is done if it's determined they pose a threat to the public. ICLU legal director Randall Wilson says "civil commitment" hearings are often delayed, in one case up to two years, and those who've served their prison time end up in solitary confinement until the matter's settled. The lawsuit contends it's "inexcusable" that men who have completed their sentences are being held in virtual lockdown conditions harsher than those faced by regular prisoners. The ICLU's executive director says that if "we as a society say it's okay to put people in solitary confinement without a trial because we despise them, then we really have to ask ourselves who else will be deemed undeserving."
• The Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs has awarded the Iowa City Cultural Incubator an Iowa Community Cultural Grant of $13,333. This grant will be used to hire an executive director and pay for a portion of the elevator for the Englert Theatre Building. The Cultural Incubator will be a low-cost, shared business-office complex for not-for-profit cultural organizations in Iowa City. The proposed Cultural Incubator would encourage economic and cultural vitality in Iowa City and Johnson County.
• The U.S. Senate is expected to pass a 2002 transportation spending bill that contains $2 million for the study of a new bridge over the Mississippi in the Quad Cities. Last year, Congress approved $4.9 million for the project, sufficient to pay for both phases of an ongoing study of the route and an environmental-impact statement. By the end of next year, a route should be selected and the draft environmental statement finished. It will take another year before moving on to the design phase.
