In the early 1940s, mobile Nazi killing squads traveled across Ukraine executing an estimated 1.5 million Ukrainian Jews. The locations of some of the estimated 2,000 mass graves may well have remained undiscovered if not for the research of Roman Catholic priest Father Patrick Desbois, author of The Holocaust by Bullets: A Priest's Journey to Uncover the Truth Behind the Murder of 1.5 Million Jews. On Thursday, August 27, at 7 p.m., Desbois will be at St. Ambrose University to discuss his work. The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will take place at the Rogalski Center, located at the corner of Ripley and Lombard streets in Davenport. A book-signing will follow, and donations in support of Desbois' work will be accepted.

Modern Woodmen of America has agreed to incorporate the parking lot east of its office building into the design of a new riverfront park. The agreement will also provide some additional parking that will be used by the organization during office hours and by park users evenings and weekends. Armory Park will cost $12.35 million and will be funded through the Downtown Tax Increment Finance District. The new park should be complete in 2010.

Dean Klinkenberg virtually lived in the Quad Cities in the summers of 2007 and 2008, exploring any place that might interest visitors. He then wrote The Quad Cities Travel Guide. The book can be purchased online at MississippiValleyTraveler.com and at tourist-oriented retail outlets.

The Figge Art Museum and Blick Art Materials have created a one-year artist-in-residence pilot program at the museum for emerging student artists at the master's level and above. Two participants began their residencies earlier this month. Included in the program are free studio space in downtown Davenport overlooking Second Street, free housing two miles away from the studio space, a flexible job at one of the sponsoring organizations, free art supplies provided by Blick Art Materials, the opportunity to exhibit on a monthly basis in downtown Davenport, free limited health insurance, and free marketing of the artists' work and exhibitions in printed material and online sources. For more information about the Figge Art Museum, visit FiggeArt.org.

The Iowa Whitewater Coalition has announced the Clean Rivers Team Stewardship Program -- a mini-grant program to help fund local river cleanup activities across Iowa. Any community group or organization in Iowa may apply for a grant of up to $500 for expenses related to river cleanup. Grants are limited to a maximum of $500. Details are available at IowaWhitewater.org. Questions can be addressed to Peter Komendowski at (319)269-8493.

Seniors are invited to the Davenport Public Library's Fairmount Street location on Wednesday, July 29, at 1 p.m. for the fourth-annual ice-cream social. The free event's featured entertainment will be the two-part PBS documentary Pioneers of Television. For more information, call (563)888-3371 or visit DavenportLibrary.com.

Susan Uthoff, Iowa State University Program Assistant, will discuss current food-preservation techniques at the program "Why Grandma's Canning Methods Won't Work." Call (563)359-7577 to register for the morning or afternoon session. This workshop is free and will be held on August 10 from 10 to 11 a.m. or 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. at the Scott County Extension Office (875 Tanglefoot Lane in Bettendorf).

Local not-for-profit organizations are invited to participate in a fundraising opportunity with local Younkers stores. The company's Community Day Event will be held on Saturday, November 14. Not-for-profit organizations can sign up at CommunityDayEvent.com. This event provides an opportunity for local organizations to gather the donations needed to support their missions.

In April, Rick Moody fulfilled a fantasy that many artists surely have: He delivered a pie to the face of one of his critics.

For Immediate Release: Re. Jeremy Greenberg?Comedian From: Ron Placone, Publicist, Seattle, WA

International-touring comedian and writer JEREMY GREENBERG will be in the Quad Cities area SEPTEMBER 11-13^TH at PENGUINS COMEDY CLUB. He will be promoting his new book, RELATIVE DISCOMFORT. He plans to visit surrounding bookstores in the area.

Here is some information about the book, RELATIVE DISCOMFORT:

"Seeing family is like catching a head cold: a temporary discomfort
relieved by a snifter or four of brandy." --Jeremy Greenberg

Relative Discomfort is a sidesplitting, guffaw-inducing guide to
living through and laughing at all of our family encounters. You know
that knot you get in your stomach when you're about to come
face-to-face with your Uncle Drunk and Aunt Enabler, or the
brother-in-law who always wants to show you his gun collection? This
book unties that knot.

*RELATIVE DISCOMFORT also includes a humorous section which addresses dealing with family members with different political leanings. This could be an attractive angle considering the upcoming election.

The literary works of author Elizabeth McCracken include a novel about an unusual romance between a 26-year-old woman and a boy 15 years her junior; a period piece exploring the 30-year friendship between two vaudeville performers; and a short-story collection that includes tales of a wife who allows her tattoo-artist husband to use her body as a canvas, and a man who grows his hair irrationally long so his comatose spouse can cut it upon her awakening.