Now through June 30

Get tickets for the 2013 Mississippi Valley Blues Festival in advance and save some money!  Tickets for the three-day event, July 4-6 at Davenport's LeClaire Park, are $20 per day at the gate.  But through June 30, you can get advance tickets for $15.50 per day at Hy-Vee stores in the Quad Cities, Clinton, and Muscatine.

And, for the first time ever, advance tickets will be available online ($15 plus a service fee), through PayPal at the MVBS website:  www.mvbs.org.  Just go to the Festival tab.

Advance $15 tickets are also available at The Muddy Waters in Bettendorf, Rascals in Moline, Martini's on the Rock in Rock Island, and at the Blues Society office in Davenport (call first: 563-32-BLUES).

Back by popular demand, guitar virtuoso Dave Fields, with his "Pot Luck Supper" band, will appear at The Muddy Waters (1708 State St. Bettendorf IA) on Thursday, June 13th, in a show presented by the Mississippi Valley Blues Society. Showtime will be 7:00; admission is $7.00, $5.00 for MVBS members.

If you missed his first Quad City appearance this past February, talk to anyone who was there and they'll convince you to come out and see this guy. A New York native, Dave Fields has played with the likes of Aretha Franklin, Lenny Kravitz, Hubert Sumlin, Sean Lennon, The Drifters, Tommy James and many more.

He was inducted into the New York Blues Hall of Fame just last year, and his most recent CD, Detonation, was chosen by A1artistspotlight.com as the Blues/Rock CD of the year. Guitar Player magazine also raves about his new CD and promises ..."an exhilarating concert experience if you ever get a chance to see Fields live."

So here's your chance.  Dave Fields, Thursday, June 13th, 7:00, at the Muddy Waters, Bettendorf.

Lindsay Anderson to Succeed Carrie Hightman

CHICAGO - Governor Pat Quinn today announced that Lindsay Anderson, a senior advisor for his administration, will succeed Carrie Hightman as chair of the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE). Anderson brings extensive legal and governmental experience, including the coordination and oversight of legislative agendas for state agencies such as the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Today's announcement continues the governor's commitment to making Illinois government more accountable, transparent and effective.

"Carrie Hightman has contributed a significant amount to thousands of students and I thank her for her service to the state of Illinois," Governor Quinn said. "Lindsay Anderson is a talented public servant who will work hard to improve higher education in Illinois, and encourage our young residents to pursue post secondary schooling, which will strengthen Illinois' economy."

Anderson most recently served as a Senior Advisor to Governor Quinn and as Chair of the Illinois Campaign finance Reform Task Force. Prior to those roles, Anderson acted as legislative director and counsel to Governor Quinn, working directly with the members of the Illinois General Assembly on targeted issues facing state government, including education.

Prior to joining the Quinn Administration in February 2009, Anderson worked at McGuireWoods as an Attorney in the State Government Relations practice group where she provided clients with lobbying assistance and insight on the development and execution of strategic legislative plans. Prior to joining McGuireWoods, Lindsay worked as an Assistant Counsel to the Illinois Speaker of the House. In that capacity, she served as counsel and parliamentarian for committees on revenue and local government. Anderson also worked in the Mayor of Chicago's Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

Under Hightman's leadership as Chair of the IBHE, the state of Illinois adopted a 10-year master plan for higher education, the Public Agenda for College and Career Success, and made significant progress towards achieving its goals of affordability, accessibility and degree completion. The state is on track to meet its goal of 60 percent of the adult population having post secondary degrees by 2025. Hightman created a collaborative environment for all higher education stakeholders during her six years leading IBHE.

The IHBE oversees the programs, activities and policies related to higher education within the state and is responsible for planning and policy development; budgetary and fiscal affairs; academic program reviews and approval; and higher education grant administration and evaluation.  The four primary components of the Illinois' blueprint for higher education include :

• Increase educational attainment to match the best-performing states and world countries;
• Ensure college affordability for students, families, and taxpayers;
• Increase production of high-quality postsecondary credentials to meet the demands of the economy and an increasingly global society; and
• Better integrate Illinois' educational, research, and innovation assets to meet the economic needs of the state and its regions.

Anderson's new position as Chair of IBHE will be effective beginning on June 5, 2013.

• Library Treasure Hunt from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 13 at the Main Library, 401 19^th Street. Teens will follow a trail of clues to uncover treasure and win prizes.
• Teen Iron Chef contest from 6:00 to 7:30 pm on Tuesday, June 18 at the Southwest Branch, 9010 Ridgewood Road, Rock Island. Working with a stack of ingredients, teens will whip up a culinary masterpiece to become the library's next prize-winning chef.
• Teen Gaming Night from 6:00 to 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 20 at the Main Library, 401 19^th Street. Teens can play Xbox 360 with Kinect, Wii and board games.
• Zombie Night, from 6:00 pm to 7:30 pm on Thursday, June 27, at the Main Library, 401 19^th St. Dig into your chance to survive the zombie invasion by learning how to create a Zombie Preparedness Plan, apply zombie make-up for either camouflage or fun and enjoy a classic zombie movie and snacks.