• The good news about the Centennial Bridge is that the tolls are tentatively scheduled to be removed by June. The bad news: Traffic slowdowns and tie-ups are likely while improvements and renovations are made to the bridge, and these could drag into 2003. The estimated cost of the renovations is $8 million to $10 million, and money from tolls will be used to pay for the work. One problem is that even though Illinois will assume responsibility for the ownership of the bridge once work is done, the Iowa and Illinois departments of transportation must approve the plans even before bids can be placed for the work. New traffic signals on the Rock Island side and a left-turn lane at the foot of the bridge in Davenport will be added to prevent traffic back-up, with cars to be routed down Western Avenue onto River Drive. And remember the fun days of deck work on the bridge? They might be coming back, as work needs to be done on the hangers that support the bridge. A tentative deadline of March has been set, and work could begin shortly after that.
• CRI Films is currently accepting submissions for the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. The event will be held February 23 and 24 on the campus of Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. Awards will be presented for screenplay, directing, casting, special effects, soundtrack, and editing, and there will also be a special Audience Choice award. The event will also allow participants to attend forums with industry speakers, view other directors' films, and network with other filmmakers. For more information, visit (http://www.crifilms.com/festival.html); e-mail (ron@crifilms.com) or (eman@crifilms.com); or call (319)247-5651.
• The opening day of the Iowa legislature yielded 34 new bills in the House alone, including a bill requiring foundations at Iowa's public universities to disclose their financial records, a bill to hold drivers accountable who cause car wrecks while talking on their cell phones, and a proposal for Iowa to have fewer than 99 counties. The highlight of the session will be a major budget battle between the legislature and Governor Tom Vilsack, and it might very well take up most of the 90 scheduled days.
• The draft of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA), written by the Centers for Disease Control, is designed to help state governments deal with a sudden outbreak of smallpox, anthrax, or another disease resulting from a terrorist attack. It's expected that every state will consider the 40-page model legislation at some point this year. This proposal suggests that governors be given the power to declare a public-health emergency without consulting public-health officials, the legislature, or the courts. It also permits states to seize control of any property the governor deems "reasonable and necessary" to cope with the emergency, such as "communication devices, real estate, fuels, food, clothing, and health-care facilities." The text says the states will have the power "to control, restrict, and regulate ... the use, sale, dispensing, distribution, or transportation of food, fuel, clothing, and other commodities, alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, and combustibles, as may be reasonable and necessary for emergency purpose." If you'd like to find out more, simply type "MEHPA" into the search engine of your choice.
• December passenger traffic at the Quad City International Airport increased by 1,500 compared to November, an increase of nearly 6 percent. The surge is a sign that people are gaining confidence in the system, and that the airlines are continuing to offer reasonable fares for domestic and international destinations. However, passenger traffic for the calendar year was down 3 percent compared to 2000.
• The Davenport school board is scheduled to vote Monday, January 28, on the proposed closure of Grant and Johnson elementary schools, the two oldest in the district.
• The Handicapped Development Center in Davenport announced that it has received a three-year accreditation award by CARF, an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body. CARF promotes quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services though a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Since 1996, CARF has established consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. This marks the seventh consecutive three-year accreditation awarded to the Handicapped Development Center, and the status will be active through November 2004.
• The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Special Task Force on Identification Security has recommended that the driver's license become the functional equivalent of a national ID card and has requested that Congress adopt and fund the Driver Record Information Verification System (DRIVerS). The idea is that "state agencies and federal agencies such as the Immigration & Naturalization Service, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Vital Statistics, and, if necessary, the Federal Bureau of Investigation can share information." The best way to find out exactly how this will affect your life and privacy is to check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation at (http://www.eff.org).
• The New York-based Freeman Foundation will be giving $649,000 to Augustana College to fund foreign study and travel experiences for nearly 100 students and faculty over the next four years. The grant will fund foreign-study and faculty-exchange programs as well as a music tour and opportunities for recent Augustana graduates to teach English in China. The Freeman foundation is primarily committed to supporting programs that strengthen the study of Asia on small college campuses.
• More than 30 Muscatine religious leaders recently signed a "Marriage Matters Agreement." The pastors are agreeing, among other things, to expect couples to go through at least four pre-marital counseling sessions and encourage abstinence before marriage. Muscatine County has one of the highest divorce rates in Iowa, with 62 percent more divorces than the average county in the state. The divorce rate in Linn County (which includes Cedar Rapids) dropped just one year after more than 110 religious leaders signed a similar agreement in 1999.
• CRI Films is currently accepting submissions for the Cedar Rapids Independent Film Festival. The event will be held February 23 and 24 on the campus of Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids. Awards will be presented for screenplay, directing, casting, special effects, soundtrack, and editing, and there will also be a special Audience Choice award. The event will also allow participants to attend forums with industry speakers, view other directors' films, and network with other filmmakers. For more information, visit (http://www.crifilms.com/festival.html); e-mail (ron@crifilms.com) or (eman@crifilms.com); or call (319)247-5651.
• The opening day of the Iowa legislature yielded 34 new bills in the House alone, including a bill requiring foundations at Iowa's public universities to disclose their financial records, a bill to hold drivers accountable who cause car wrecks while talking on their cell phones, and a proposal for Iowa to have fewer than 99 counties. The highlight of the session will be a major budget battle between the legislature and Governor Tom Vilsack, and it might very well take up most of the 90 scheduled days.
• The draft of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act (MEHPA), written by the Centers for Disease Control, is designed to help state governments deal with a sudden outbreak of smallpox, anthrax, or another disease resulting from a terrorist attack. It's expected that every state will consider the 40-page model legislation at some point this year. This proposal suggests that governors be given the power to declare a public-health emergency without consulting public-health officials, the legislature, or the courts. It also permits states to seize control of any property the governor deems "reasonable and necessary" to cope with the emergency, such as "communication devices, real estate, fuels, food, clothing, and health-care facilities." The text says the states will have the power "to control, restrict, and regulate ... the use, sale, dispensing, distribution, or transportation of food, fuel, clothing, and other commodities, alcoholic beverages, firearms, explosives, and combustibles, as may be reasonable and necessary for emergency purpose." If you'd like to find out more, simply type "MEHPA" into the search engine of your choice.
• December passenger traffic at the Quad City International Airport increased by 1,500 compared to November, an increase of nearly 6 percent. The surge is a sign that people are gaining confidence in the system, and that the airlines are continuing to offer reasonable fares for domestic and international destinations. However, passenger traffic for the calendar year was down 3 percent compared to 2000.
• The Davenport school board is scheduled to vote Monday, January 28, on the proposed closure of Grant and Johnson elementary schools, the two oldest in the district.
• The Handicapped Development Center in Davenport announced that it has received a three-year accreditation award by CARF, an independent, not-for-profit accrediting body. CARF promotes quality, value, and optimal outcomes of services though a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons served. Since 1996, CARF has established consumer-focused standards to help organizations measure and improve the quality of their programs and services. This marks the seventh consecutive three-year accreditation awarded to the Handicapped Development Center, and the status will be active through November 2004.
• The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Special Task Force on Identification Security has recommended that the driver's license become the functional equivalent of a national ID card and has requested that Congress adopt and fund the Driver Record Information Verification System (DRIVerS). The idea is that "state agencies and federal agencies such as the Immigration & Naturalization Service, the Social Security Administration, the Bureau of Vital Statistics, and, if necessary, the Federal Bureau of Investigation can share information." The best way to find out exactly how this will affect your life and privacy is to check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation at (http://www.eff.org).
• The New York-based Freeman Foundation will be giving $649,000 to Augustana College to fund foreign study and travel experiences for nearly 100 students and faculty over the next four years. The grant will fund foreign-study and faculty-exchange programs as well as a music tour and opportunities for recent Augustana graduates to teach English in China. The Freeman foundation is primarily committed to supporting programs that strengthen the study of Asia on small college campuses.
• More than 30 Muscatine religious leaders recently signed a "Marriage Matters Agreement." The pastors are agreeing, among other things, to expect couples to go through at least four pre-marital counseling sessions and encourage abstinence before marriage. Muscatine County has one of the highest divorce rates in Iowa, with 62 percent more divorces than the average county in the state. The divorce rate in Linn County (which includes Cedar Rapids) dropped just one year after more than 110 religious leaders signed a similar agreement in 1999.
