New Law Increases Penalties for Crimes Against Mail Carriers

ROCKFORD ­- June 15, 2012. Governor Pat Quinn today signed a new law that will protect postal workers and letter carriers by allowing judges to consider harsher penalties for violent crimes against employees of the United States Postal Service. The Governor signed the law at Illinois State Association of Letter Carriers' annual convention in Rockford.

"The hard-working men and women of the United States Postal Service deserve our gratitude," Governor Quinn said. "This law will help make sure that they are able to continue doing their jobs safely."

Senate Bill 3665, sponsored by Sen. Jacqueline Collins (D-Chicago) and Rep. Jerry Costello III (D-Sparta), allows judges to consider a victim's employment in the United States Postal Service (USPS) as an aggravating factor in violent crimes like assault, battery and robbery. Upon conviction, a judge could impose more severe sentences on the offender.

This law is an initiative of the National Association of Letter Carriers, which is working with the USPS to inform postal workers in Illinois about the appropriate steps to take in the event of a crime being committed against them or in their vicinity.

As U.S. government employees, USPS workers are already protected by federal law; however, in the event federal prosecutors don't pursue cases involving crimes against postal workers, this law will allow state courts to consider USPS employment in their proceedings.

The new law goes into effect January 1, 2013.

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A new TV feature is available on the USDA FTP site. The new TV feature can also be seen on USDA's YouTube channel and seen and downloaded as a video podcast.

FTP Download instructions:

The host: ftp://ocbmtcmedia.download.akamai.com

User name: usdanews

Password:  Newscontent1

Filename for TV Feature: Water Quality

The new file is in QuickTime Movie (H.264 ), MPEG 4, MPEG2 and HDV.

YouTube: water quality

video podcast: water quality video podcast

RSS Page: water quality rss

Davenport Parks and Recreation 
This summer weekend: June 15 - 17

Golf and a Movie - Family Friday Nights

Friday, June 15, 6:00pm - 9:00pm
Red Hawk Golf and Learning Center
6364 Northwest Blvd

Come join us at Red Hawk and enjoy the 3 par golf course and a bucket of balls to use at the range. To top it off we have pizza and a movie afterwards. Only $4 per person at the event.  

Family Learn How to Fish!

Saturday, June 16, 9:00am - 12:00pm

Vander Veer Botanical Park Lagoon

215 W Central Park

Fishing is a popular sport for many people, but do you know how to fish? Do you really know the techniques of fishing? Bring your entire family with your poles or borrow a few from Parks and Recreation "Learn-How-To-Fish". The event will discuss basics about fishing, which will include fish identification, parts of the fishing pole, baiting your hook and much more. Sign up for door prizes at the event. Please bring your own worms and have fun fishing! This event is FREE and fun for the whole family! 
Cool off with Public Skate Sessions at the River's Edge

There will be no place better this hot weekend than cooling off with a little ice skating at the River's Edge. Admission is only $3, and we also rent skates for additional $3. Public Skate times this weekend are as follows:

Friday, June 15, 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Saturday, June 16, 2:00pm - 4:00pm & 6:00pm - 8:00pm

Sunday, June 17, 2:00pm - 4:00pm

The River's Edge

700 West River Drive

 

Happy Father's Day!
Centennial Park Summer CRAZE!

Sunday, June 17, 3:00pm - 6:00pm

Centennial Park

Calling ALL families in the Quad Cities and surrounding areas! Come celebrate summer with Davenport Parks and Recreation and B100 at Centennial Park, 315 S Marquette St. You can enjoy an array of FREE activities at this beautiful riverfront downtown park. Enjoy exhibition rugby, our Spray Park, and the Dog Off Leash Area. You can end the night by attending the City of Davenport Night at the River Bandits baseball game. It's a fun filled afternoon for the whole family!

 

City of Davenport Night at Modern Woodmen Park

Sunday, June 17, 7:00pm

Take the family out to the ballgame! Pick up your FREE tickets at the River's Edge for berm or bleacher seats at Modern Woodmen Park for City of Davenport night. Watch the River Bandits play and stay for fireworks after the game.

 

Music on the Levee

Sunday, June 17, 7:00pm

Want to listen to music instead of watching baseball?  This Sunday is part of a series of FREE Sunday night concerts at Peterson Pavilion at LeClaire Park.  Come on down to hear some smooth jazz from Tewanta & Company. Refreshments will be available for sale.  Enjoy the band-shell seats or bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy some music riverside under the stars. 

The United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) has issued new recommendations against routine prostate cancer screening.  The USPSTF now recommends that regardless of age, men without symptoms should not routinely have the prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test to screen for prostate cancer.

The recommendation has raised concerns among health care specialists. Some say the task force based its recommendation on flawed data.

The American Cancer Society recommends that men discuss the possible risks and benefits of prostate cancer screening with their doctor before deciding whether to be screened.  The discussion about screening should take place at age 50 for men who are at average risk of prostate cancer and at age 45 for men who are at higher risk, including African-American men and men who have a father or brother diagnosed with prostate cancer.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

Karl Kreder, M.D., professor and head, UI Department of Urology: "It is very important to recognize that there are side effects to prostate cancer treatments and those do need to be taken into account.  Men need to talk with their physician to determine if they should be screened, and how to proceed if prostate cancer is detected.  For some men, monitoring the progression of their disease is appropriate, but if the cancer is aggressive and fast-growing, treatments can extend survival."

DID YOU KNOW?
UI researchers are working to develop a prostate cancer vaccine.  Prostate cancer is the most common cause of cancer deaths in men over age 75. If the patient's type of prostate cancer is less aggressive and slower to grow, the patient could die of another cause before the prostate tumor would cause a problem.  More information is available online at: http://www.uihealthcare.org/Clinic.aspx?id=3634.

DYC Youth Explosion

Performing Arts/Talent Show

Sunday, June 24, 2012
4:00 PM

$5 Donation

Third Missionary Baptist Church

Milhouse Hall
222 W. 14th St., Davenport, IA

Sponsored by:

NAACP

NAACP CELEBRATES 103 YEARS OF SERVICE 1909-2012

FOR MORE INFORMATION CALL 563-505-0903

Davenport Youth Council

#47AA

U.S. History Should Compel Americans to Action against
Human Trafficking, Expert Says

This year marks the century-and-a-half anniversary of the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation. On Sept. 22, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln set the date of freedom for the nation's 3 million slaves.

"As many of us know, slavery did not die when America abolished it in the 1800s," says Lucia Mann, author of Rented Silence (www.luciamann.com), which explores British Colonial slavery in South Africa, and the victims who survived the institutional brutality.

"The opening statement of the Declaration of Independence is, 'We believe these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal with the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.' Almost 100 years later, in 1865, the 13th Amendment extended this belief to 'Negroes.' To this day, involuntary servitude is outlawed, and yet, it still exists!"

Mann has a personal interest in slavery. Her Sicilian mother was a sex slave and a World War II concentration camp survivor. As a child, Mann was forced to live with her father, who was also her mother's master, in South Africa.

"According to the United Nations, there are more than 27 million slaves worldwide, which is more than twice the number of those who were enslaved over the 400 years that transatlantic slavers trafficked humans to work in the Americas," Mann says.

Many slaves today are forced into prostitution while others are used as unpaid laborers to manufacture goods bought in the United States, she says.

"It's almost impossible to buy clothes or goods anymore without inadvertently supporting the slave trade," she says.

Mann, a Canadian and British citizen who considers herself an "American at heart," says Americans should dedicate themselves to opposing modern human trafficking, both worldwide and within U.S. borders, since the nation was largely built on the backs of slaves.

Human trafficking has become the second fastest growing criminal industry worldwide, behind drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. It's a $32 billion industry, and half of those trafficked are children. Half of the billions spent come from industrialized nations, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.

So, what should be done when a U.S. citizen suspects a case of human trafficking? Mann says the following organizations are a good start:

• Catholic Sisters congregations, 888-373-7888: Grand events, like this year's 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, are reportedly hot spots for prostitution rings involving trafficked slaves. The same was true for the 2012 Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis, which is why nuns throughout the Midwest collaborated in an awareness campaign, which ultimately led to training cab drivers and hotel staff to recognize signs of modern slavery and how to report it.

• Victims hotline and on-line tips reporting: The Modern-Day Slavery Reporting Centre, created by Mann, is the first hotline - 1 (800) 610-7035, Ext. 227 -- in the United States and Canada for victims. It also provides volunteer translators (including Mann) for victims who don't speak English. The website, www.mdsrc.org, includes a section that makes it easy for third parties to report suspicious activity by clicking "File a Report." This section allows visitors to volunteer information.

• Federal Bureau of Investigation - report human trafficking, 1-888-428-7581: This number can be used 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST to report concerns to the FBI, which also offers plenty of information about human trafficking on its website.

• Various easy-to-find anti-trafficking organizations: Type in "human trafficking" on any online search engine and several sites will appear promoting various methods of combating modern slavery, Mann says. The important part is following through on an interest to help, she says.

"I have a firsthand account of dealing with national prejudice and human slavery, but I think many people are compelled to help victims of human trafficking because freedom is a universal desire," Mann says. "Any individual can make a difference in someone's life. That is the motive behind my books; I want victims to know that, like me, their tragedy can become their triumph."

About Lucia Mann

Lucia Mann was born in British colonial South Africa in the wake of World War II and lives in West Covina, Calif., and British Columbia, Canada. She retired from freelance journalism in 1998 and wrote three books to give voice to those who suffered brutalities and captivity decades ago, and today.

EDWARDSVILLE, IL (06/13/2012)(readMedia)-- -

WHO:

• Illinois National Guard chaplains, community clergy and the Partners in Care program

WHAT:

• The training is designed to raise awareness among community religious leaders about the challenges faced by servicemembers and their families, with a focus on deployment related issues such as anger management, suicide prevention, military marriages, and church and community support for the military.

• Partners in Care is a program dedicated to providing servicemembers community resources through local congregations.

WHEN/WHERE:

• June 19- St. John's United Methodist Church; 7372 Marine Road, Edwardsville starting at 9 a.m.

WHY:

• The goal of Partners in Care is to provide military personnel with local community support in their geographical area.

• There are 72 congregations across Illinois that are part of the organization, which was started in fall 2009.

• Faith group leaders will receive pertinent information to minister, not only to military personnel, but to the community.

**All are encouraged to attend. For further information, please contact Chaplain Lambert at vincent.lambert@us.army.mil or 773-406-5183.

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www.facebook.com/illinoisnationalguard

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Emphasis on Early Testing Leads to a Homogenized Workforce, He Says

Since former President George W. Bush amped up standardized testing throughout the nation in 2002 with the No Child Left Behind Act, critics say results have been negative.

"The bottom line is that there is no clear correlation between standardized testing and the knowledge and skills kids will need to prosper in the 21st century world of work," says Peter Weddle, former CEO of Job Bank USA, Inc., and author of A Multitude of Hope: A Novel About Rediscovering the American Dream (www.AMultitudeofHope.com).

"It seems we're more interested in creating a homogenized workforce than a nation of individuals who have learned what their talent is and how to bring it to work with them," he says.

Consider these statistics:

Annual state spending on standardized tests has increased by 160 percent - from $423 million in 2002 to $1.1 billion in 2008, according to the Pew Center on the States.

Since 2002, the United States dropped from 18th in the world in math on the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) to 31st place in 2009, with a similar drop in science and no change in reading.

The NCLB Act has drastically narrowed content, according to a study by the Center on Education Policy.

"This problem begins very early on. We take kids in elementary school and give them tests. Those who do well are designated as 'gifted and talented,' which means that everyone else is, by definition, ungifted and untalented. And, that's just not true.  In effect, we're devaluing all the capabilities that are not reflected in a standardized test," he says.

"Of course, we want to take care of our academically proficient kids, but we have to find a way to do that without signaling to every other child that they were at the end of the line when talent was handed out."

Too many Americans are stuck in old ways of thinking, from the classrooms of our elementary schools and colleges to the workplace," Weddle says. "But we're in a new economy and the path to the American Dream has changed. That means our old-school thinking must change as well."

He offers ways Americans can get back in the game as world leaders:

• We need to accept that the economy has changed: The first step to change is acknowledging it's needed, Weddle says. "Our employers are no longer competing with cheaper labor; they're up against smarter labor worldwide," he says. We hold a trump card, however: We have the most diverse pool of talent on the globe, whereas countries such as China and India have, by choice, a homogenous workforce.

• We must give career education greater priority: In China, every college student must, as a requirement of graduation, take a yearlong course that teaches them the skills and knowledge to manage their own careers effectively.  In the United States, that instruction is missing from college curricula. Yet, 53.6 percent of all college graduates under the age of 25 are now either unemployed or underemployed.

• We need to redefine talent so we can use it: "Our culture has taught us that talent is the province of exceptional people doing exceptional things," he says.  "We can see the talent of Lady Gaga, but not the talent of an accounts payable clerk.  And that's myopic.  We are all endowed with talent, but we have to discover it, nurture it and then bring it to work with us."

• We have to see ourselves as a 'work in progress': "The world of work is changing at warp speed - new technology, shifts in the global marketplace and changes in consumer tastes," he says. "That's why we need to be committed to continuous learning.  Regardless of our educational degree, years of experience or level of seniority, we need to be acquiring new skills and knowledge all of the time."

About Peter Weddle

Peter Weddle, a former recruiter and human resource consultant, is the CEO of the International Association of Employment Web Sites, a trade organization. He has written or edited more than two dozen non-fiction books regarding careers and employment; "A Multitude of Hope" is his first work of fiction. Weddle is the founder and former CEO of Job Bank USA, Inc., one of the largest electronic employment services companies in the United States.

The Librarian of Congress, James H. Billington, has appointed Robert Dizard Jr. as the Deputy Librarian of Congress.  Dizard currently serves as the Library's Chief of Staff. His appointment is effective June 17.

In announcing his appointment, Billington said, "Mr. Dizard has shown over the past two years as Chief of Staff that he has the broad knowledge of the Library and the skill needed to bring Library managers and staff together to collaboratively meet mission-critical needs. We will need to expand and accelerate these collaborative efforts in the future."

The Deputy Librarian has Library-wide program and management authority to ensure that the Library's mission is met and that its services to the Congress and the American people are effectively provided.

Dizard has served the Library of Congress for 22 years. Prior to becoming Chief of Staff, he served as Deputy Associate Librarian for Library Services from May 2004 to May 2009. From May 2000 to May 2004 he served as Staff Director and Chief Operating Officer of the U.S. Copyright Office. In both positions he was directly responsible for a wide range of program and operational matters involving two of the largest Library service units. He has also served in the Congressional Relations Office, including a year as Acting Director.

Dizard graduated from the State University of New York at Albany with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science and received a Master's Degree in International Affairs from Columbia University. Prior to joining the Library, he served for eight years as Chief of Staff to his hometown congressman, Guy V. Molinari of New York.

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