28 Jan 2010

CULVER'S STATE BUDGET PROPOSAL REFLECTS NEED FOR REFORM

By Rick Martin

WEST DES MOINES, IOWA - Jan. 28, 2010 - Governor Culver's 2011 budget proposal underscores the need for genuine budget reform, according to Iowa Farm Bureau Federation (IFBF).  The proposal, announced yesterday, is a reflection of a broken budget process; one that over-commits in strong economies and struggles to uphold the state's highest priorities in an economic downturn.

The proposal, combined with last year's 10 percent across-the-board budget cuts, will result in increased taxes for property owners.  Property taxes have increased 60 percent in the last ten years, proving that our state's problems precede the current administration and legislative body.  Other priorities, such as higher education, public safety, and soil conservation, will continue to suffer until meaningful reform is implemented.

"Today's budget process shifts state responsibilities to property taxpayers and fails to provide a long-term stable and predictable budget," said IFBF President Craig Lang.  "Until we address the shortcomings of a volatile budget process, decision makers will face tough decisions and property taxpayers will continue to shoulder the burden."

To improve the state's budgeting process, Farm Bureau members are asking Culver and other decision makers to establish an affordable state budget that will: 1) fund Iowa priorities and lessen the potential shifts in property taxes; 2) ensure that the state's emergency funds are at a level sufficient to protect priorities when revenues are declining; 3) create fiscal responsibility by not using one-time resources to fund on-going expenditures; and 4) protect property taxpayers when across-the-board cuts are enacted.

-30-

28 Jan 2010

NEW REPORT THURSDAY: MAIN STREET BUSINESS OWNERS WEIGH IN ON WALL STREET REFORM

By Sue Dinsdale

Survey project finds Main Street small business owners at odds with big banks and DC business lobby on financial reform, consumer protection agency

IOWA - On Thursday, on the heels of a State of the Union address certain to feature the Obama Administration's new proposals for Wall Street reforms, the Iowa Main Street Alliance will hold a press conference call to release a new report on small business experiences with the financial crisis and views on financial reform. The call will begin at 1:30 pm, conferencing details below. The report is based on a survey of more than 1,200 small business owners from 14 states, including Iowa.

Small businesses, key to job creation strategies and economic recovery, could prove a pivotal voice in an unfolding debate where the DC-based business lobby has sided with the country's biggest banks in opposing financial reforms even as small businesses continue to pay the price in lost business and frozen credit for the reckless Wall Street activities caused the financial crisis.

The House of Representatives has passed a financial reform bill, HR 4173, the "Wall Street and Consumer Protection Act of 2009." The Senate Banking Committee is readying a bill for markup in the coming weeks.

28 Jan 2010

25th Annual Red and White Founders Day Banquet and Ball

By Maryulett Johnson
The Moline-Davenport Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated is hosting its 25th Annual Red and White Founders Day Banquet and Ball on Saturday, February 6, 2010 at The Lodge (formerly Jumer's Castle Lodge) in Bettendorf, Iowa.Our annual ball is our major fundraiser used to help provide scholarships to deserving college bound students of the Quad City community. Entertainment will be provided by The Westbrook Singers and dynamic speaker Tionn Fambro.  Tickets are $30 and must be purchased in advance. For ticket information please contact Mary Chestang at 563-514-7960 or maryulett@hotmail.com.
28 Jan 2010

KIRKWOOD ANNOUNCES DEAN'S LIST HONORS

By Kirkwood CC
(January 27, 2010) - Kirkwood Community College has released its Dean's List for the Fall 2009 Semester. These students have achieved a 3.3 grade point average or higher after completing 12 or more credit hours with the college.
Kirkwood students from the area earning this distinction include :

Bettendorf, IA
52722, Brendan R. Bishop, Culinary Arts - AAS; 52722, Quinn C. Claussen, Masonry Construction - Diploma; 52722, Eric M. Derby, Liberal Arts - AA; 52722, Melissa E. Gill, Culinary Arts - AAS; 52722, Mariah L. Helgerson, Paralegal - AA; 52722, Thomas D. Horton, Liberal Arts - AA; 52722, Jeffrey C. Nicely-Green, Fire Science Management - ASCO;

Davenport, IA
52807, Betsey M. Baker, Business Administration - ASCO; 52804, Chase Cartee, Communications Media / PR - AA; 52807, Eric J. Clapp, Liberal Arts - AA; 52802, Michael A. Conger, Pre-Engineering - AS; 52804, Sarah N. Craddick, Liberal Arts - AA; 52804, Ramsay A. Dibbern, Veterinary Technician - AAS; 52803, Christopher M. Hansen, Liberal Arts - AA; 52807, Katie L. Hermiston, Nursing - AAS; 52807, Lesley R. Huseman, Liberal Arts - AA; 52807, Alexander J. Kish, Liberal Arts - AA; 52807, John M. O'Donnell, Liberal Arts - AA; 52806, Timothy P. O'Leary, Industrial Maintenance and HVAC Technology - AAS; 52803, Jennifer M. Salib, Paralegal - AA; 52804, Alexander J. Shipman, Landscape, Nursery & Garden Center Management - AAS; 52804, Troy M. Stalder, Pre-Business Transfer - AA; 52802, Mariah R. Whitehouse, Dental Hygiene - AAS; 52803, James M. Wiebler, Automotive Technology - AAS; 52804, Matthew R. Wilford, Management - AAS;

Moline, IL
61265, Nicholas D. Loehr, Liberal Arts - Transfer - Non-degree; 61265, Barbara J. Nichols, Pre-Business Transfer - AA;
28 Jan 2010

DURBIN, QUINN WELCOME HIGH-SPEED RAIL INVESTMENT IN ILLINOIS

By Andrew Mason
CHICAGO, IL, January 28, 2010 - Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) today issued the following statement with regard to the announcement that Illinois has been awarded more than $1.2 billion in federal funds for high-speed rail:

In the face of fierce competition from states across the nation, Illinois' high-speed rail proposal received a strong vote of confidence from the White House today. Illinois was one of only three states to be awarded more than one billion dollars in funding from the federal government's total nationwide investment of $8 billion. This is a massive investment into the future of transportation. It is seventeen times more funding than the federal government has invested into passenger rail over the last ten years combined.

"We're thrilled with the strong support we received for the first phase of funding and look forward to both getting the projects moving and getting Illinoisans back to work. In the coming months and years, Illinois see a significant increase in economic activity with the creation of thousands of good-paying jobs in the region from this investment. And we know that rail passengers will be excited to have over an hour cut from the travel time between Chicago and St. Louis. Today's announcement assures that Chicago, already a major rail hub of the nation, will soon become the major high-speed rail hub of the Midwest and nation."

"We would not be here today, on the cusp of making high speed rail a reality in Illinois, if it weren't for the strong leadership of President Obama, Transportation Secretary LaHood and the support of the entire Midwest region. This historic investment in high speed passenger rail will begin to fulfill the President's vision of rebuilding America and revitalizing the Midwest, while relieving congestion and improving energy conservation.'

Nationwide, there was great demand for high-speed rail with approximately $50 billion worth of applications for an available $8 billion in funding. In addition to improvements on the current Chicago to St. Louis corridor to increase train speeds to 110 miles per hour, the funding awarded today will allow completion of an Environmental Impact Statement for building a second track along the route as well as construction designed to eliminate significant delays for trains coming into and out of Chicago.
###
28 Jan 2010

Drive Home a new car from the Iowa Machine Shed

By Stacy Christoffersen

The Iowa Machine Shed is giving away a new 2010 Ford Focus

The Machine Shed is upping the ante in the restaurant business and rewarding their loyal customers with a chance to win a new car.  "We want to thank all of our loyal guests and try something new - we're giving away a new 2010 Ford Focus - how cool is that!" states Mike Whalen, owner of the Machine Shed.  "I was talking with our staff and said 'we should give away a car to our guests' and we worked with our business partners to make it happen".  Machine Shed partners include Lindquist Ford, Clinton Auto Group and the local media.  Guests can come into the Machine Shed or Lindquist Ford/Clinton Auto Group and simply sign up to win, no purchase is necessary.  100 finalists will be drawn by March 20th, 2010.  On Saturday, March 27th at 2PM each of the 100 finalists will receive one key and only one key open the car door.  Someone will be declared a winner!  Whalen continues, "Driving home in a new car - now that's worth a visit to the Machine Shed!"

For more information and rules, please visit www.machineshed.com/davenport. The Machine Shed is located at I-80 and Northwest Blvd in Davenport, IA 52806.

# # #

28 Jan 2010

More Than $1.5 Million to Iowa Fire Departments from FEMA

By Sen. Charles Grassley

WASHINGTON - Senator Chuck Grassley said that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has awarded competitive grants totaling $1,544,834 to Iowa Fire Departments through the Assistance to Firefighters Grants' Operations and Safety and Vehicle Acquisition Programs.

"Day in and day out, firefighters put their lives on the line for the good of the community," Grassley said. "It's important that firefighters have the necessary equipment and training to help keep the community safe."

FEMA will distribute the money as shown below ordered alphabetically by town.

Through the Operations and Safety Program:

· Ames Fire Department in Ames will receive $46,591.

· Anamosa Volunteer Fire Department in Anamosa will receive $28,975.

· Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department in Bellevue will receive $93,338.

· Chester Fire Department in Chester will receive $32,640.

· Coggon Fire Department in Coggon will receive $30,482.

· Coin Fire and Rescue in Coin will receive $79,800.

· Douds Community Fire Department in Douds will receive $17,775.

· Elliott Volunteer Fire Department in Elliott will receive $8,550.

· Farmersburg Volunteer Fire Company in Farmersburg will receive $15,675.

· Frederika Volunteer Fire Department in Frederika will receive $45,033.

· Garrison Fire Department in Garrison will receive $5,320.

· Geneva Fire Department in Geneva will receive $23,361.

· Grand Mound Volunteer Fire Company in Grand Mound will receive $36,262.

· Marcus Fire Department in Marcus will receive $32,437.

· Meriden Volunteer Fire Department in Meriden will receive $6,012.

· Amana Benefited Fire District in Middle Amana will receive $127,103.

· Morning Sun Fire Department in Morning Sun will receive $75,150.

· Newton Fire Department in Newton will receive $54,390.

· Panama/Washington Township will receive $33,250.

· Pulaski Volunteer Fire Department in Pulaski will receive $38,885.

· Victor Fire Department in Victor will receive $47,358.

· Washta Fire Service in Washta will receive $33,155.

· Welton Volunteer Fire Company in Welton will receive $40,480.

Through the Vehicle Acquisition Program:

· Batavia Volunteer Fire Department in Batavia will receive $154,850.

· Douds Community Fire Department in Douds will receive $58,095.

· Indiana Township Fire Department in Knoxville will receive $142,500.

· McCallsburg-Warren Township Fire/EMS Agency in McCallsburg will receive $123,367.

· Winfield Benefited Fire District in Winfield will receive $114,000.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grants Operations and Safety Program supplements training, equipment, personal protective equipment, wellness and fitness, and health and safety modifications to stations and facilities.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grants Vehicle Acquisition Program helps purchase vehicles including, but not limited to, pumpers, aerials, quints, brush trucks, tankers/tenders, rescue vehicles, ambulances, foam units and fireboats.

-30-

28 Jan 2010

Passport Services

By Rita Vargas

To meet the public request for U. S. passports, Scott County will provide extended hours (ONLY Passport Services) once a week for the month of February. In addition to regular business hours, Monday to Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Scott County Recorder, Rita Vargas, will offer extended passport acceptance hours to accommodate applicants whose work and school schedules conflict with the general office hours.  These hours will be Wednesdays from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., only on these dates: February 3, 10, 17 and 24, 2010.

"I am very pleased with the significant increase in the number of request for passports we are seeing in the Recorder's Office. We have received numerous inquiries regarding after hour service for passport services and wanted to accommodate those request with no overtime cost to the county.  We have been encouraging anyone planning to travel outside the U.S.to apply for their passport early and my guess is people are taking that advice" says Vargas.    Applications will be provided on site.  Each minor child applying for a passport must appear in person.

Requirements for Passport Application can be found at www.qcpassport.com or www.scottcountyiowa.com at the Recorder's link.

Please bring the following items with you when applying for your passport:

  1. Evidence of Citizenship: One of the following 3 documents must be submitted with your Application and will be returned with your new passport.
    1. Birth Certificate: A certified copy of Birth Certificate issued by the county or state. A notarized copy or a hospital birth certificate is not acceptable.
    2. Naturalization Certificate: A person who claims US citizenship by naturalization must submit the original Certificate of Naturalization with the application.
    3. Expired Passport: This is acceptable. However, if the child was under 16 when the passport was issued, you must submit a certified copy of the birth certificate along with the expired passport.
  2. Two (2) Identical Passport Photos: (2"x 2" color) Front view of applicant, taken within the last six months.   The Recorder's does offer photo services for $8 per person fee.
  3. Personal Identification: A valid driver's license (not driver's permit).  Expired ID is not accepted. Anyone under 18 must have a parent along with the parent's ID for parental consent and signature. Both parents' signatures are required for children under 16.
  4. Payment: Each passport should be paid by two (2) checks or money orders as indicated below (debit or credit cards are not accepted):
    • $25 payable to "Scott County Recorder" and • $75 payable to "U.S. Department of State" - Valid 10 Years 
    (if under 16 years of age - $60 - Valid 5 years)
28 Jan 2010

Freight House Farmers' Market February events

By Rick Martin
Feb 2: Cooking With Cathy: Egg-cellent recipes that demonstrate that eggs aren't just for breakfast anymore.

Feb 9: Cooking with Cathy: Beef up your meals with the addition of local beef.

Feb 13: Share The Love Food Drive with CCC Food Pantry and Cafe on Vine: Bring in donations of shelf-stable foods, purchase fresh foods from our vendors or donate cash that will benefit our locals in need of help.

The Freight House Farmers' Market is located at the west end of the Freight House complex, 421 West River Drive, Davenport. The Farmers' Market is open year around indoors on Tuesday from 3pm until 6pm and Saturdays from 8am until 1pm.
28 Jan 2010

Report Shows Which States More Transparent About Economic Stimulus Spending Illinois Sees Dramatic Improvement

By Brian Imus

Chicago, January 26, 2010 ? A report released today shows Illinois has made dramatic improvements in the website designed to disseminate information about their share of the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), while other states have failed to make vital information available.

This is the finding of Show Us the Stimulus (Again), a report released today by the Illinois Public Interest Research Group (Illinois PIRG) and produced by Good Jobs First, a non-profit research center based in Washington, DC. The report updates a similar study published last July.

"The state of Illinois has turned it around. Last summer we were a national embarrassment when it came to transparent stimulus spending," said Brian Imus of Illinois PIRG. "Now we are a national leader. Transparency in government is an important step in restoring the public's confidence in Illinois government."

The full text of the report as well as the appendix for Illinois and other states can be found at www.goodjobsfirst.org/stimulusweb.cfm.

"Some states are making great strides in fulfilling President Obama's promise that the Recovery Act would be carried out with an unprecedented level of transparency and accountability," said Good Jobs First executive director Greg LeRoy. "Led by Maryland, which again receives the highest score, these states' ARRA websites do a good job in helping taxpayers understand and evaluate the role of the Recovery Act in job creation and state fiscal relief."

The study examines the quality and quantity of disclosure by official state websites on the many different ways that more than $200 billion in ARRA funding is flowing through state governments to communities, organizations and individuals. It examines the availability of information on spending programs as well as specific grants and contracts including data relating to jobs and the geographic distribution of spending within states. Using seven main criteria, each state was graded on a scale of 0 to 100. Illinois received a score of 69 and ranked 7th nationally.

The states scoring highest for transparency of stimulus funds in the new report are: Maryland (87), Kentucky (85), Connecticut (80), Colorado (72), Minnesota (72), Wisconsin (72), California (69), Illinois (69), Oregon (67), Massachusetts (65), Georgia (64), West Virginia (64), New Mexico (62), New York (62), Pennsylvania (62), Montana (61) and Arkansas (60).

At the other end, the ten states with the least adequate information on ARRA programs and specific projects, starting from the worst scoring, are: North Dakota (5), District of Columbia (6), Missouri (10), Alaska (13), Vermont (13), Louisiana (16), Mississippi (17), Idaho (18), Oklahoma (18), Texas (18) and South Carolina (19).

Although changes in methodology make exact comparisons impossible, some states improved greatly since a similar ranking in July. Kentucky soared from 47th place to 2nd; Illinois jumped from 50th to 7th; Minnesota climbed from 34th to 4th and Utah rose from 50th to 24th place.

"We are impressed by 'Cinderella' states such as Kentucky and Illinois, which were ranked at the bottom in our previous assessment but broke into the top tier in the new ranking," said Philip Mattera, research director of Good Jobs First and principal author of both reports. "Numerous others have also improved their sites and are effectively incorporating the data states are helping to collect for the federal government's Recovery.gov website. The state sites and Recovery.gov both have vital roles to play in helping the public evaluate the Recovery Act's performance."

Here are highlights of specific findings:

  • Most states do a good job of providing information on the composition of their ARRA spending, both in broad program categories (energy, housing, transportation, etc.) and in narrower ones. Only the District of Columbia provides no program allocation information at all.

  • Geographic breakdowns (by county or locality) are less common than summaries of spending by program category. Twenty-seven states provide geographic information, often with interactive maps, including Illinois.

  • Only three states?Kentucky, Maryland and Wisconsin?provide side-by-side comparison of the geographic distribution of spending with patterns of economic distress or need within the state.

  • Besides overall spending amounts, state residents can see where individual ARRA projects such as the repaving of a road or repair of a school building are taking place. More than half the states (28) now have some kind of project mapping feature on their ARRA site, including Illinois.

  • Via maps or otherwise, Illinois was among 41 states in providing one or more of the following types of detail on projects funded through ARRA grants and contracts: description, dollar amount, recipient name, completion status, and the full text of contracts or grant awards. Four states?Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts and New Hampshire?included all these elements.

  • Ten states have no information about actual job creation on their websites: Hawaii, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Carolina and the District of Columbia. By contrast, 16 states list jobs data on individual projects as well as totals by program area and for the state as a whole.

  • Only five states?Connecticut, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi and New Hampshire?provide the full texts of at least some ARRA contract awards.

-30-

Pages

more

Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

On Stands Now

 

Tagged Content

Two Ways to Subscribe

1. Subscribe to free weekly e-mail content updates.

You'll get both the current official narrative challenge and What's Happenin' in the Quad Cities.
(Did you know we publish a new Real Astrology and RCR Crossword every week?) 

Subscribe!

* indicates required

2. Get 12 monthly issues mailed first class for $48

Get 12 issues mailed monthly for $48 per year.

Get the printed Reader edition mailed to you (or anyone you want) first-class for 12 months for $48.
$24 goes to postage and handling, $24 goes to keeping the doors open!

Click this link to Subscribe now.

 
 

Meetings Calendar

Kids Calendar

Eat & Drink Calendar