In the past several months, petitions from two separate developers (THF Realty-Wal-Mart, and Jersey Ridge Partners-Steve Schalk and associates) for rezoning of nearly 300 acres north of 53rd Street, between Elmore and Eastern avenues, have passed through Planning & Zoning without most of the crucial questions being answered.
In the last decade, arguments have come forward in support of living wages versus minimum wages. In unprecedented economic growth, wage earners are not realizing personal economic growth as they should. Many things contribute to this, including government subsidies, global competition, and foreign-trade policies, to name only a few of the things that cause the equation to become unbalanced.
In Davenport: Community Development Committee (Thursday, March 1, 4pm): • First Consideration of two petitions on the Consent Agenda being considered from THF Reality for rezoning of 37.
In an unprecedented act, Alderman Sherwood, with the support of Aldermen Moritz and Brown, pulled a power play that reinstated City Attorney John Martin with sanctions after Martin had proffered his resignation.
Can a politician be more obvious in his efforts to further his own political career than Alderman Roland Caldwell during last Wednesday's City Council Meeting? The platitudes were flowing like syrup on pancakes from most of the aldermen, but especially from Caldwell, who is seeking the Alderman-at-Large seat in next month's special election.
During last week's council cycle, Davenport Adlermen Wayne Hean and Roland Caldwell introduced amendments to the city's two ordinances that govern business licensing and zoning for adult entertainment. According to Alderman Hean, "The motivation behind these amendments has been to eradicate the ancillary criminal activities that tend to proliferate in neighborhoods where adult entertainment businesses are located, such as drug dealing and prostitution.
The January 27, 2001, Des Moines Register article on both Davenport's and Cedar Rapids' decision to censor "Public with Business" is a great example of how the media can misguide the public. The reporter gave no context for any of the pertinent aspects of the story.
Last week marked the darkest day in Davenport in recent history, and by many accounts the beginning of the end for Davenport's current city council. To the horror of the public, our only champion, Mayor Phil Yerington, turned tail and joined five aldermen (Moritz-1st Ward, McGivern-6th Ward, Sherwood-At-Large, Englemann-8th Ward, and Brown-7th Ward) in censoring the "Public with Business" segment of city council meetings from being broadcast on our community cable channel.
On Wednesday evening, January 17, 2001, during the year's second formal council meeting, Mayor Phil Yerington announced the council's plan to censor the "Public with Business to Present" (PWB) portion of all future council meetings (committee, committee of the whole, and regular council) by no longer televising them for public viewing.
I spoke too soon!!! In a recent editorial (Reader issue #304, January 3, 2001), I lauded Davenport's City Council for continuing the policy of airing council meetings on public television. However, during its annual goal-setting sessions, which took place last Sunday and Monday, January 14 and 15, this same council voted 8-2 in favor of censoring the last portion of their meetings, commonly referred to as "Public with Business (PWB)," by purposely withholding it from an ever-growing viewership.

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