On November 13, the Community Vitality Task Force released the second-annual Community Vitality Snapshot Report. The snapshot is an annual quality-of-life report used to highlight the Quad Cities' strengths and weaknesses, and it focuses on seven areas: economy and employment; health and society; environment and resources; education and learning; arts, culture, and recreation; neighborhoods, housing, and safety; and belonging and leadership. The report provides statistics for issues that are considered critical to the growth and success of the Quad Cities, such as the annual average unemployment rate, the percentage of people without health insurance, and the crime rate. The snapshot can be downloaded at GenesisHealth.com/pdf/qchi_2008_snapshot.pdf. - Ashley Allen

Ask Polyrhythms' Nate Lawrence about the highlights of more than two years presenting the Third Sunday jazz series at the River Music Experience, and his response tells you a great deal about his goals.

"Lenora Helm put together a choir real quick, out of the kids, and they're doing 'Ain't Misbehavin','" he recalled last week. "Ray Blue, he had a six-piece with percussionists and whatnot, and as soon as the workshop was over, the kids just bum-rushed the stage. They sat at the piano. Some of the kids just grabbed the mic and started singing. Some kids went to the congas and started playing. The drummer got up, the kids sat down. It's hands-on. Those are the high points."

It might seem like asking why the sun rises in the east, but: Is economic growth good?

The knee-jerk response is: Of course it is. And that's almost certainly correct broadly speaking.

But it's worth exploring why it's true, and when it's not. The assumption that economic growth is both good and essential drives much of our policy at the local, state, and national level. The news last week that the national economy shrank in the third quarter - confirming for many people that we're in a recession - underscores the importance we place on economic growth.

"Character," according to Webster's, is "one of the attributes or features that make up and distinguish an individual ... the complex of mental and ethical traits marking and often individualizing a person, group or nation." Character - our very personalities - lies at the heart of who we are, what we think, what we choose, and how we act.

A country, too, has a character, a style of living, a dominating influence in its institutions that drive its culture. What, historically, was ours? What was the character of America?