DAVENPORT, Iowa (OCT. 24, 2013) - The Quad Cities River Bandits are promoting a key front office member to lead the Midwest League club, as the team announced that two-year Assistant General Manager Andrew Chesser is the Midwest League club's new General Manager at a press conference with River Bandits co-owner Dave Heller Thursday afternoon at Modern Woodmen Park.

The River Bandits have continuity with Chesser, who has 10 years of experience in Minor League Baseball and has been the River Bandits' assistant general manager the past two seasons. Among the highlights the past two seasons were the club's highest single-season attendance since 1995, the franchise's sixth Midwest League Championship, a Golden Bobblehead Award for the Best Charity Promotion or Event in Minor League Baseball, and the selection of the team's home, Modern Woodmen Park as the "Best Minor League Ballpark" in a nationwide vote by readers of 10Best.com and USA TODAY.

"Andrew Chesser is the ideal person to continue the unprecedented growth of the River Bandits," Heller said. "He is incredibly smart, diligent, thorough and hard-working, and, most importantly, he is completely committed to providing outstanding customer service to the best fans in the country. With a new Ferris wheel, a carousel, zip line, and some fun new rides coming, the River Bandits have a chance to make this our best season ever. Under Andrew's leadership, I am confident we will get there."

Chesser joined the River Bandits in the winter of 2012 after eight seasons of diverse baseball experience with the Lynchburg (Va.) Hillcats, the advanced Class-A affiliate of the Atlanta Braves in the Carolina League. Chesser began as a stadium operations intern with the Hillcats in 2004 and became the full-time stadium operations director the next season. He later became the director of information technology and creative services, and he was the director of group sales and creative services his last five seasons in Lynchburg.

Chesser is a native of New Milford, Conn., and graduate of Lynchburg (Va.) College with a major in history and minors in French and sports management. He and his wife, Susan, live in Davenport.

"I am extremely excited about taking on the role of General Manager of the River Bandits," Chesser said. "This organization has already established that it has the best team in the league, the best ballpark in America, and what I believe is the best community in the country."

The River Bandits, the Class-A affiliate of the Houston Astros, will open the 2014 season at Modern Woodmen Park Thursday, April 3. A full schedule of home and road games for 2014 is available at www.riverbandits.com, and ticket plans for the 2014 season are now on sale.

UP NEXT: Lock in your season ticket plan - with new lower prices - for the 2014 season! A deposit of $25 per seat by December 31 enters you in a drawing for a free suite rental at an April 2014 home game. Call the River Bandits box office at 563-324-3000 or visit www.riverbandits.com to download the season ticket order form. Season ticket and mini-plan packages start at just seven games and begin at less than $40. Call a River Bandits account representative today to choose your seats and get the details of our various mini-plan packages.

ABOUT THE BANDITS: The River Bandits ownership is making one of the biggest improvements to Modern Woodmen Park since the ballpark was first built back in 1931! A new Ferris wheel, standing 112 feet over the playing field, is planned for next spring, along with a carousel and other new games and attractions. This season, the team unveiled a new 300-foot long dual zip line, a rock climbing wall, and a number of new bounce houses. The team's major league affiliate, the Houston Astros, just saw all six of its affiliates reach the playoffs - the first time in a decade any MLB team can claim such success. The River Bandits were one of three affiliates to reach the championship round and one of two to win their league championship.

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WASHINGTON - Today, Finance and Judiciary Committee Ranking Members Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) sent letters to the 47 different companies that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) contracted with to develop, implement, and operate HealthCare.gov, ObamaCare's online marketplace for the federal health insurance exchanges.  The website has been plagued with delays, errors and faulty information since its launch on October 1.

The Senators requested a detailed analysis of the work each contractor has performed to date, the cost of that work, and timelines and deliverables that the entities had to meet for CMS as part of their scope of work in the development and creation of the website.

Hatch and Grassley sent the letter to the following contractors: A. Reddix & Associates; Accenture Federal Services; Booz Allen Hamilton, Inc; CGI; Cognosante, LLC; CSC; CSSi; CSSS; David-James, LLC; Deloitte; eGlobal Interactive; Genova Technologies; George Washington University; Heitech Services; HIS; IBM; ICP Systems, LLC; IDL Solutions; Information Systems Consulting Group Inc; Innosoft; KAT Communications; MAXIMUS Federal Services Inc; McKinsey &Co; Mitre; Northrop Gumman; Noblis; QSSI;Quality Technology;Porter Novelli Public Strategies; PricewaterhouseCoopers; Relis, LLC; Leidos; Sage North America; Sentel Corp; Serco; Soft-Con Enterprices; Spherecom; Strategi; Summit Consulting; Terremark; Truven Health Analytics; TICG; Turning Point Technologies; Unicom; URS; General Dynamics IT; and Verizon Business Network Services.

A signed copy of the letter can be found HERE and the text of the letter as well as a list of contractors is below: 

As the Ranking Members of the Senate Finance and Judiciary Committees, we are writing to obtain information regarding the work your company has performed to help implement the federally facilitated marketplace (FFM) mandated by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA). 

As part of our Congressional oversight of PPACA, we are trying to better understand the roles and responsibilities of each of the contractors working on the FFM.

Specifically, we request that you provide us with the following information:

(1) Copies of all contracts awarded to your company by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) related to the design, development, implementation or evaluation of the health insurance exchanges being established pursuant to PPACA.  Please identify each contract by CMS contract number.

(2) Copies of all task and delivery orders issued by CMS to your company under contracts identified in response to (1) above.

(3) Copies of all modifications issued by CMS to the contracts, task orders and delivery orders identified in response to (1) and (2) above.

(4) Copies of the solicitations, together with all amendments, issued by CMS that resulted in the award to your company of the contracts identified in response to question (1).  Please identify each solicitation by the CMS solicitation number.

(5) If the contract(s) identified in response to (1) above was a sole source contract(s), please provide a copy of the following documents published by CMS:  Notice of Intent to Award Sole Source; Sole Source Award Notice.

(6) The names, work addresses, telephone numbers, and email addresses of all CMS Contracting Officers, Project Officers, Contracting Officer Technical Representatives, Task Order Managers, and Delivery Order Managers associated with or assigned to the contracts, task orders and delivery orders identified in response to (1), (2), (3), and (4).

(7) Copies of all invoices submitted by your company to CMS for payment pursuant to work performed and/or goods delivered to CMS under the contracts, task orders, and delivery orders identified in response to (1), (2) and (3) above.

(8) Copies of all project schedules, delivery schedules, and project timelines imposed by contract or developed and used by your company to track performance/deliverables under the contracts, task orders, and delivery orders identified in response to (1), (2) and (3) above.

(9)   Copies of all reports, memoranda, emails or any other records reflecting the results of testing performed by CMS and/or your company on the contract, task or delivery order deliverables, when the testing occurred, and the names of the CMS employees to whom the testing results were reported.

(10) Please provide a timeline for all activities related to the development and implementation of the website since the passage of PPACA.

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request and we would ask that you provide the requested information by no later than November 8, 2013.  When producing documents, please deliver production sets to Senator Hatch's Finance Committee staff at 219 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C.  20510, and to Senator Grassley's Judiciary Committee staff at 152 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510.  Whenever possible, both Committees prefer to receive documents in electronic format.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

HATCH
GRASSLEY

To improve the health of the greens as well as improve the playability of the course the  maintenance staff has undertaken a major renovation project resulting in a slight inconvenience.

Sand buildup on the collars has created dams around the greens that prevent water from properly draining off the greens surface.  Improper drainage causes many agronomic problems such as lack of oxygen in the root zone, added compaction, fungal diseases and poor playing conditions.  The maintenance crew has stripped the sod on the collars, re-graded, & removed excess sand and is laying low mow Kentucky Bluegrass sod on collars #1,3,4,5,6,7,8,14,15,16,PG.

The goal is to improve the health of the greens & collars by allowing water to properly drain during rain events.  Ultimately this will create better putting surfaces and better overall playability.

Brian Hickey

Golf Operations Manager

City of Davenport

6364 NW BLVD.

Davenport, IA 52806

(563) 888-2049

Funds Will Upgrade Key Areas of Riverfront Civic Center

MOLINE - Governor Pat Quinn today announced a $4 million capital investment to update and improve the iWireless Center in Moline. Today's action is part of Governor Quinn's agenda to create jobs and drive Illinois' economy forward.

"The iWireless Center draws events and visitors from around the country and is key to the continued economic development of the area," Governor Quinn said. "These improvements will help the center better serve families in the Quad Cities for years to come."

The state investment to the Illinois Quad City Civic Center Authority (IQCCCA) is part of Governor Quinn's Illinois Jobs Now! capital construction program. It will include a concourse expansion and new lower bowl area seating, as well as upgrades to the center's security and lighting systems, roof, flooring, climate control systems, plumbing and ice rink equipment. Accessibility improvements will also be made. The project will help the center stay competitive with other regional venues and continue to be a positive economic development force for the Quad Cities area.

"On behalf of the iWireless Center, we are extremely pleased that Governor Quinn and our area legislators have released these funds," IQCCCA Chairman Paul Mulcahey said. "These funds will be used to enhance the services we currently provide our community. These monies will enable us to maintain a first-rate facility for the people of our community."

The 11,000-seat facility opened in 1993. It is located at 1201 River Drive on land donated by Deere & Co. and its original construction was funded through a combination of state, local and private funds. It is the area's prime venue for entertainment and conventions and these events have a positive impact on local sales and hotel-motel tax revenues.

"The iWireless Center has been an economic boom for the area since it opened in 1993," State Senator Mike Jacobs (D-Moline) said. "The Center provides space for everything from concerts to sporting events and is the premier venue for entertainment in the region. These funds will help make improvements that will keep the arena up to date and competitive for many years."

"The iWireless Center is a well-managed venue and has a great positive economic impact on our community," State Rep. Pat Verschoore (D-Milan) said. "I have been working with members of the center to secure these funds, which will help improve this valuable asset in our community and help ensure it continues to entertain Illinois residents for years to come."

"We need to ensure that the iWireless Center remains a top destination, not only in the Midwest but in the entire nation," State Rep. Mike Smiddy (D-Hillsdale) said. "These funds will help the iWireless Center continue to create jobs in the Quad Cities."

The iWireless Center funding is part of Governor Quinn's $31 billion Illinois Jobs Now! program, which will support more than 439,000 jobs over six years. Illinois Jobs Now! is the largest capital construction program in Illinois history, and is one of the largest capital construction programs in the nation.