It took more than six months to clear out the potted plants and detritus from stray cats that choked their future gallery space. That was just the first in a long string of challenges that confronted husband and wife Ron and Sarah Jane Fellin as they infused the Peanut Gallery with life.

After almost eight and a half years, numerous art shows and happenings, and $20,000 of their own money to keep it running, a fire in an adjacent building that was being demolished forced the Peanut Gallery to end its run this past fall.

Senate President Emil Jones talked for several minutes during a media availability the other day about his war theories.

Among other things, Jones recalled how Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pounded his desk during the United Nations debate over whether to allow China into the organization. Khrushchev failed to persuade the international body to admit his fellow Communist nation, but, as Jones said, not long afterwards China detonated a nuclear bomb in the atmosphere and the UN quickly relented, bringing China in and forcing Taiwan out.

The e-mail query was direct, but the phrasing was careless: "I'm working on an article on making a living as an artist ... ," it began.

The response from writer Maureen Wallner came within half an hour: "Making a living," she wrote. "That's funny. If we count fulfillment, I'm a wealthy lady."

Less sarcastically, photographer Jack Wilhoit said: "I don't know any artist ... who is making a living selling their own art."

The grand opening of the Fourth Street Lofts at 320 East Fourth Street in Davenport on Tuesday, January 23, marked the latest addition to central-city housing in the Historic Crescent Warehouse District. Developed by the Alexander Company of Madison, Wisconsin, the Fourth Street Lofts feature amenities - such as polished concrete floors, exposed brick walls, expansive, open floor plans, and large windows - that provide an urban housing experience in downtown Davenport. The first phase of Crescent Lofts Master Development, the Davenport Lofts, was completed in 2005 at a cost of $12.3 million and features 73 apartments. The total cost for the rehabilitation of the Fourth Street Lofts was $10.5 million. For more information, look at (http://www.crescentlofts.com) or call (563) 323-1871.