29
May
2001
• The Adler Theatre will be closed down from approximately July 9 through the first week of September to allow for renovation of the theatre's seating. This $353,460 capital-improvement project will ensure that each seat is reupholstered, foam padding and panes are replaced, seat backs are refinished, and self-rising mechanisms are installed. The seating in the Adler has not been updated since the theatre's 1984 renovation. The project will also include installation of club seating and enhancements to current accommodations for people with disabilities. Plans also call for selection of a team to finalize design work on a stage expansion, better loading-door arrangements, and consolidation of the dressing rooms in the basement. This project is expected to cost $4 million, with bidding for construction to begin in the spring of 2002 and occupancy slated for 2003.
• People who are out of work these days have plenty to fret about, but they should also be alert for scam artists preying on people who are looking for an income. People advertising opportunities to make money off medical billing is one example. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 300 people have complained to the FTC about one such operator alone. The victims paid from $325 to $495 for a program that advertised far more than it delivered. Most consumers didn't make a nickel, much less the $50,000 advertised they could make from home. Another job scam involves federal and postal jobs. Consumers are sold a package containing information about high-paying, open jobs. The problem is that the packages list only the descriptions and often give inaccurate salary information. Most importantly, much of the information is already available free if you know where to look. As part of its ongoing effort to educate consumers about potential scams, the FTC has developed two informational brochures, "Medical Billing Opportunities: Not Exactly What the Doctor Ordered" and "Federal & Postal Job Scams: Ads that Don't Add Up." You can get your own copies of these brochures by calling toll-free (877)382-4357 or by looking on the Web at (http://www.ftc.gov/makingabuck).
• The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the largest small-business advocacy group in the country, gives the past Iowa legislative session a "cautious B" grade because there were no tax increases or health-insurance mandates to cripple bottom lines. Included in the grading were bills that didn't make it, such as one mandating treatments for mental-health disorders and alcohol and substance abuse (which NFIB opposed) and a right-to-work notice for state economic-development marketing materials that was vetoed (against NFIB's wishes). The grade also considered the death of a bill that would have created a new system to limit county property taxes; it also included the passage of a collection of a fairly small, targeted tax breaks for small business, known as the Iowa Growth Initiative. You can see the complete report card and learn more about the NFIB at its Web site at (http://www.nfib.com).
• The Illinois Commerce Commission has proposed that Ameritech face bigger penalties while giving customers credits for poor service. In a recently released 178-page report, the annual penalty of $4 million would be doubled for 2001 if the company didn't meet service-quality standards, including installation and repair services. This fine would increase by $2 million each year through 2005. The proposed order would also require that if a line was out of service from 48 to 72 hours, the customer would get credit equal to one-third of the monthly regulated service.
• Home Is Where the Heart Is," a 10-page opening to a romance novel by Moline, Illinois, native Laura Lopez, was the winning entry in the Moline Public Library's 2001 Romance Writing Contest. On May 8, at a library program celebrating romance fiction, Lopez accepted her prize of a stack of yellow legal pads, a bunch of red pens, and a Borders gift certificate. Linda Hender Wallericah, the judge of the contest and writer of numerous romance novels under the names Jessica Douglass and Linda Benjamin, liked the fresh voice of Lopez's story.
• According to the Legislative Service Bureau, the bill-drafting arm of the Iowa Legislature, a second proposed map for new congressional and legislative districts will be in legislators' hands by June 1. This new map cannot be altered and must be accepted or rejected in whole. This also means that the earliest lawmakers could convene to vote on the maps would be June 8. The Senate rejected the first map earlier this year. If the second map is rejected, the Service Bureau will prepare a third one, which can be modified. But if the governor and lawmakers cannot eventually agree on a map, the Iowa Supreme Court will take over.
• The Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) reports that the average teacher salary for the current school year is $36,479. While this is $801 more than in 1999-2000, it means that Iowa slips to 36th in the nation in teacher salaries, according to a report issued by the National Education Association. Despite legislation signed by Governor Vilsack to spend $40 million next year on the first phase of a plan to improve teacher pay, according to leaders of the teachers union, it would do little to make Iowa salaries more competitive because surrounding states have increased their teachers' salaries by much more. According to the NEA report, the gap between the average Iowa salary and the national average has increased to $6,419. You can see the report for yourself at the ISEA Web site at (http://www.isea.org).
• Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for families who use "sweat equity" to purchase them, is holding a garage sale on June 2 at its headquarters at 2235 Grant St. in Bettendorf. Tax-deductible donations of household items and building materials (but no clothes) are welcome before June 2. Call (563)359-9066 for more information.
• People who are out of work these days have plenty to fret about, but they should also be alert for scam artists preying on people who are looking for an income. People advertising opportunities to make money off medical billing is one example. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), nearly 300 people have complained to the FTC about one such operator alone. The victims paid from $325 to $495 for a program that advertised far more than it delivered. Most consumers didn't make a nickel, much less the $50,000 advertised they could make from home. Another job scam involves federal and postal jobs. Consumers are sold a package containing information about high-paying, open jobs. The problem is that the packages list only the descriptions and often give inaccurate salary information. Most importantly, much of the information is already available free if you know where to look. As part of its ongoing effort to educate consumers about potential scams, the FTC has developed two informational brochures, "Medical Billing Opportunities: Not Exactly What the Doctor Ordered" and "Federal & Postal Job Scams: Ads that Don't Add Up." You can get your own copies of these brochures by calling toll-free (877)382-4357 or by looking on the Web at (http://www.ftc.gov/makingabuck).
• The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), the largest small-business advocacy group in the country, gives the past Iowa legislative session a "cautious B" grade because there were no tax increases or health-insurance mandates to cripple bottom lines. Included in the grading were bills that didn't make it, such as one mandating treatments for mental-health disorders and alcohol and substance abuse (which NFIB opposed) and a right-to-work notice for state economic-development marketing materials that was vetoed (against NFIB's wishes). The grade also considered the death of a bill that would have created a new system to limit county property taxes; it also included the passage of a collection of a fairly small, targeted tax breaks for small business, known as the Iowa Growth Initiative. You can see the complete report card and learn more about the NFIB at its Web site at (http://www.nfib.com).
• The Illinois Commerce Commission has proposed that Ameritech face bigger penalties while giving customers credits for poor service. In a recently released 178-page report, the annual penalty of $4 million would be doubled for 2001 if the company didn't meet service-quality standards, including installation and repair services. This fine would increase by $2 million each year through 2005. The proposed order would also require that if a line was out of service from 48 to 72 hours, the customer would get credit equal to one-third of the monthly regulated service.
• Home Is Where the Heart Is," a 10-page opening to a romance novel by Moline, Illinois, native Laura Lopez, was the winning entry in the Moline Public Library's 2001 Romance Writing Contest. On May 8, at a library program celebrating romance fiction, Lopez accepted her prize of a stack of yellow legal pads, a bunch of red pens, and a Borders gift certificate. Linda Hender Wallericah, the judge of the contest and writer of numerous romance novels under the names Jessica Douglass and Linda Benjamin, liked the fresh voice of Lopez's story.
• According to the Legislative Service Bureau, the bill-drafting arm of the Iowa Legislature, a second proposed map for new congressional and legislative districts will be in legislators' hands by June 1. This new map cannot be altered and must be accepted or rejected in whole. This also means that the earliest lawmakers could convene to vote on the maps would be June 8. The Senate rejected the first map earlier this year. If the second map is rejected, the Service Bureau will prepare a third one, which can be modified. But if the governor and lawmakers cannot eventually agree on a map, the Iowa Supreme Court will take over.
• The Iowa State Education Association (ISEA) reports that the average teacher salary for the current school year is $36,479. While this is $801 more than in 1999-2000, it means that Iowa slips to 36th in the nation in teacher salaries, according to a report issued by the National Education Association. Despite legislation signed by Governor Vilsack to spend $40 million next year on the first phase of a plan to improve teacher pay, according to leaders of the teachers union, it would do little to make Iowa salaries more competitive because surrounding states have increased their teachers' salaries by much more. According to the NEA report, the gap between the average Iowa salary and the national average has increased to $6,419. You can see the report for yourself at the ISEA Web site at (http://www.isea.org).
• Habitat for Humanity, which builds homes for families who use "sweat equity" to purchase them, is holding a garage sale on June 2 at its headquarters at 2235 Grant St. in Bettendorf. Tax-deductible donations of household items and building materials (but no clothes) are welcome before June 2. Call (563)359-9066 for more information.
