The Chicago Afrobeat Project could not have a more plainly descriptive name, yet the band's new CD transcends the ordinary. The group, which returns to the Quad Cities with a show on Friday at the Redstone Room, does its fair share of aimless jamming - all pleasant - but on several occasions it reaches highs that lift up the whole endeavor.

Ever wonder how carbon offsets for greenhouse-gas emissions work?

Last week, the Rock Island Economic Growth Corporation broke ground on the long-anticipated McKesson Lofts at 110 19th Street. The $6.6-million mixed-use redevelopment project is in the heart of downtown Rock Island. Built in 1914, this 60,000-square-foot former warehouse has sat vacant for eight years. Redevelopment of the building has been on the drawing board for four years. The vision for McKesson Lofts is a mixed-use facility that incorporates environmentally friendly concepts suitable for residential living and high-tech commercial use. Completion of the first and second floors is anticipated in October 2008, with the entire project complete by September 2009.

This new policy of "test optional" admissions is an end run around a recent court decision banning race-based preferences in student admissions, specifically the controversy that surrounded the University of Michigan. (See "Scrubbing Bubbles," River Cities' Reader Issue 659, November 14-20, 2007.) Augustana simply wants to discriminate against whites and males without civil liability and has found a way to do so.

Reverend Jim Richter

Via the Reader Web site