River Vision, the joint study conducted and adopted by leaders of Rock Island and Davenport, calls for a multi-year, multi-million-dollar, bi-state effort to continue revitalizing and enhancing our respective riverfronts.
I recently invested in a comprehensive Oxford English Dictionary and have been reacquainting myself with words whose traditional meanings and usage might have been lost, or at least grossly distorted within modern-day politics.
For many in the Quad Cities, the Villa de Chantel in Rock Island was a mysterious old castle-like building tucked away and protected from the public eye. But for some of us, the Villa represented a powerful influence educationally, socially, and, in no small measure, spiritually.
Two weeks ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that local governments may seize people's homes and businesses against their will for private economic development. The court's ruling in the case, Kelo v.
On March 30, 2005, the Davenport Civil Rights Commission (DCRC) filed a motion "to strike the March 28, 2005, order setting hearing on petitioner's petition for judicial review." The petitioner is Dr. David Botsko; the petition for judicial review is Botsko's appeal of the DCRC's Final Determination against him in Nabb v.
Last Wednesday, June 1, Davenport's City Council voted 7 to 3 to approve a $43-million development agreement between the City of Davenport and the Isle of Capri Davenport (IOCD) for the construction of an 11-story casino hotel with an attached five-story parking ramp within downtown Davenport's riverfront floodway, adjacent to Lock & Dam 15.
This Wednesday evening the Davenport City Council will be voting to establish three public hearings for Tuesday, May 31, all related to the financing, leasing, and development proposal by the Isle of Capri (IOC) for a 10-story hotel and five-story parking garage on Davenport's signature downtown riverfront.
Last week's Waterfront Workshop saw close to 600 attendees at three meetings over two days. Ostensibly the goal of these meetings, hosted by the City of Davenport and facilitated by consultants Hargreaves & Associates and Chan Krieger & Associates, was to gain public input for design and usage alternatives for Davenport's 15 acres of waterfront property from the Lock & Dam 15 west to Harrison Street, south of River Drive.
Consider this a call to action for all Quad Citians, and especially tax-paying businesses and residents of Davenport who wish to weigh in on the future of downtown Davenport's riverfront. The forum for influencing such a milestone development opportunity will take place next Monday and Tuesday, May 2 and 3, at the RiverCenter in downtown Davenport.
Please read the "Letters" section of this week's Reader on page 6, which has an epistle in heavy support of the Isle of Capri's proposed 10-story hotel and five-story parking ramp for Rhythm City Casino along Davenport's number-one downtown waterfront.

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