In Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower, Cynthia Cooper quickly reveals herself to be surprisingly open-hearted about the multi-billion-dollar WorldCom fraud that she exposed in 2002.

The author, who will be speaking at Augustana College on Thursday, treats her subjects as people rather than villains, which plays into what she hopes to accomplish with her book.

"I felt strongly that there were such valuable lessons that could be gleaned and shared, particularly with the next generation," she said in an interview last week. "With professionals, but also with students."

Project NOW Incorporated has received an Energy Conservation Home Repair Grant to assist homeowners within a targeted area of Silvis with weatherization. The targeted area encompasses Second/Hero Street to Eighth Street and First Avenue to Second Avenue C. Qualified homeowners will receive assistance with home repairs including furnace work, attic and wall insulation, door and window repair or replacement, water-heater replacement, small plumbing and electrical measures, and minor siding repair. Interested applicants should contact the weatherization department at (309) 793-6391.

   When Spoon was finishing its 2001 album Girls Can Tell, the band didn't know what to do with "Chicago at Night," which would close the record.

In an interview last week, drummer and co-founder Jim Eno told this story about what he and guitarist, singer, and chief songwriter Britt Daniel decided to do: "I never would have tried this, but Britt and I were so young, and we were just like, ‘Oh yeah, let's do it.' We had to turn all the mixes in for mastering. ... We have these two versions, and we like different things about each version ... . So Britt says, ‘Why don't we use the left side of this mix and the right side of this mix?'"

   The Walkmen have built enough of a legend that it would be easy to overlook their original material.