The national Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign (WUWM) will be in Davenport on Wednesday, August 16, at 6 p.m. at United Neighbors, located at 808 North Harrison Street.

Since August 1, The WUWM campaign has embarked on a national bus tour, visiting 35 cities in 19 states. The bus, affectionately nicknamed Smiley, will be touring Iowa, as well, and Davenport is one of its stops along the way. Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Chet Culver will also be there! This will be a town-hall meeting to discuss what we want the face of America to look like. Everyone is welcome!

On Saturday, August 12, Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities dedicated its 37th home. This is the fourth Habitat house to be built in East Moline and is located at 1321 12th Avenue. It will become home to Tracy Howard and her daughters. Howard has completed more than the required 250 hours of "sweat equity" working on her home and other partner-family homes under construction, and participating in additional Habitat activities such as homeowner classes, fundraisers, and mailings. A large portion of the sponsorship funding for the home was provided by Quad Cities Area Realtor Association and Wells Fargo. Additional funding came from the Thrivent East Scott County Chapter. The lot for the house was acquired with the assistance of the City of East Moline. For more information, go to (http://www.habitatqc.org).

The City of Davenport's leadership continues to decline on so many levels that redemption is no longer possible with the current players.

Beyond the complete abdication of the public trust because of a long list of ethically dubious actions - including the fast-tracking of the high-risk, financially inequitable development agreement for the Isle of Capri's casino hotel on our downtown riverfront, the serious cost overruns at Prairies Heights, the RiverCenter scandal with contracted private manager, the attempt to burden taxpayers with the Market District and Crossings proposals that would only benefit private development, John O'Donnell's financial problems, mismanagement of critical deterioration of infrastructure (sewers, roads, etc.), parking-ramp deficits, key personnel layoffs because of budget prioritizing, to name the most recent fiascoes - conditions have potentially entered the criminal arena with the revelation of City Administrator Craig Malin's three self-imposed pay raises in a year's time.

The Rock Island Public Library in downtown Rock Island will undergo a makeover this September. The work on the first floor and in the Children's Room includes a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting, new work desks, and a new resource room on the ground floor.