I was angered by the utterly uninformed op-ed piece by a guest columnist Mark Hendrickson on an issue of great importance to our national security. (See "Should the Senate Ratify the U.N. Sea Treaty?" River Cities' Reader Issue 670, February 7-13, 2008.) For starters: the LOS Treaty gives no substantive responsibility to the U.N. - nor, for that matter, did the U.N. "adopt it" as Mr. Hendrickson's screed erroneously states; "U.N." appears in its title merely because the diplomatic conference that negotiated it was convened 35 years ago pursuant to a U.N. General Assembly Resolution.

When the two performers in the cello-guitar duo Montana Skies - Jennifer and Jonathan Adams - began playing together in 1997, the impetus was "curiosity," Jennifer said in an interview last week.

The classical repertoire for guitar and cello is small, and they therefore didn't have much in the way of an example. So over the past decade they've developed a catalog of original compositions and covers of popular songs - everything from the Beatles to Pink Floyd. They're as adept at energetic flamenco as they are patient, spare melodies.

Davenport Second Ward Alderman Shawn Hamerlinck has announced his bid for the Republican nomination in State Senate District 42. Hamerlinck was first elected alderman in 2005, was reelected in 2007, and is a Youth Field Specialist in the Iowa State University Scott Country Extension office. In addition, Hamerlinck is an adjunct faculty member at Augustana College and Black Hawk College.

The Envy Corps hail from Iowa, but the plan is to try to make a splash in Great Britain before the United States.