• Officials from the Davenport Community Schools will hold a series of "State of Our Schools" sessions in the upcoming weeks to provide information on the district's new Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (or CSIP) and the district's current advocacy positions for this year's legislative session. The sessions are open to all interested parents, older students, and community members and are being hosted by schools throughout the district. It is expected that representatives of the Board of Education will attend each session to participate in the presentation and provide their perspectives on key issues affecting public education across the state and in the Davenport community. Similar sessions held last year were well-attended and provided an overview of No Child Left Behind legislation. This year's sessions have been set for: Wednesday, February 23, 6:30 p.m., Walcott School; Thursday, February 24, 6:30 p.m., Harrison Elementary; Tuesday, March 1, 6:30 p.m., Smart Intermediate; Wednesday, March 2, 6:30 p.m., Sudlow Intermediate; and Thursday, March 3, 6:30 p.m., Wood Intermediate. For more information about the district, visit (http://www.davenportschools.org).
• January marked the 12th month in a row that passenger boardings at the Quad City International Airport have reached record numbers. For the month, 33,838 passengers were enplaned on six airline carriers for the best January on record. January 2003 held the previous record for the month, with 33,211 passengers. January 2004 was the only month in that entire year that a new monthly record was not set. For more information, visit (http://www.qcairport.com).
• President George W. Bush's 2006 budget proposal will request an additional $500 million for IRS enforcement activities - an increase of nearly 8 percent. This represents a 7.8 percent increase in funding over Fiscal Year 2005. Congress enacted $6.392 billion for IRS enforcement in FY2005, while the President's FY2006 budget requests $6.893 billion. The increase would provide additional resources to examine more tax returns, collect past-due taxes, and investigate cases of tax avoidance.
• The Iowa Senate last week voted unanimously in favor of a bipartisan bill that is hoped would help curb methamphetamine production in Iowa. According to the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, Iowa law enforcement dismantled a record-high 1,425 labs in 2004, and Iowa ranks second behind only Missouri in per-capita meth-lab-making. The bill aims to crack down on Iowa's meth labs by making it harder for meth-makers to get their hands on pseudoephedrine, a popular cold decongestant and key ingredient in meth manufacturing. Under the legislation, consumers would be required to buy most products containing pseudoephedrine from pharmacists. However, products containing less than 360 milligrams of pseudoephedrine - an amount equal to 12 tablets or that found in a small bottle of children's cold medicine - could still be sold at stores as long as the product is kept in a locked cabinet or behind the sales counter. Consumers who purchase the product from stores would be limited to two packages per customer in a 24-hour period. In addition, buyers would be required to show photo identification and sign a logbook with consumer information that could be made available to law-enforcement officials. Retailers would have to keep records of the amounts of pseudoephedrine purchased from a wholesaler, the amount of products sold by the store, and the number of products stolen or damaged. Members of the Iowa House are also working on legislation to restrict pseudoephedrine sales in Iowa. Under the House proposal, a pharmacist must sell products containing more than 240 milligrams of pseudoephedrine, and consumers would be limited to one package per 24-hour period.
• Megan Schneider of Drake University is seeking leads about Iowa rowing history as part of a nationwide internship program researching the history of American rowing for a book and film. The research will contribute to American Rowing: A Vivid History, to be published in 2007, and a pending documentary film. Rowing is one of the oldest sports in America, was once the most popular sport in the country, and was the nation's first intercollegiate sport, in 1852. While the east and west coasts are home to many of rowing's most notable early boat clubs, the Midwest was very much a key player in pioneering the sport's development, with boat clubs lining the inland lakes and rivers of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio. If you have any information relating to Iowa rowing history, please contact Megan Schneider at (515)271-3435, (970)381-7892, or (mas030@drake.edu). For more information about the project, contact Trish Brubaker at (312)927-0609 or (trishbrubaker@yahoo.com).
• Iowa state Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Davenport) has been named to the Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission and the Mental Health & Developmental Disability Commission. The Mental Health & Developmental Disability Commission is designed to advise on the administration of the overall state disability-services system. The Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission's purpose is to develop and implement a comprehensive tobacco use-prevention and control initiative for the state of Iowa. In addition, Senator Tinsman is the vice-chair of the National Conference of State Legislators Health Committee and serves on its Medicaid task force. Tinsman is co-chair of the Senate Health & Human Services budget subcommittee.
• January marked the 12th month in a row that passenger boardings at the Quad City International Airport have reached record numbers. For the month, 33,838 passengers were enplaned on six airline carriers for the best January on record. January 2003 held the previous record for the month, with 33,211 passengers. January 2004 was the only month in that entire year that a new monthly record was not set. For more information, visit (http://www.qcairport.com).
• President George W. Bush's 2006 budget proposal will request an additional $500 million for IRS enforcement activities - an increase of nearly 8 percent. This represents a 7.8 percent increase in funding over Fiscal Year 2005. Congress enacted $6.392 billion for IRS enforcement in FY2005, while the President's FY2006 budget requests $6.893 billion. The increase would provide additional resources to examine more tax returns, collect past-due taxes, and investigate cases of tax avoidance.
• The Iowa Senate last week voted unanimously in favor of a bipartisan bill that is hoped would help curb methamphetamine production in Iowa. According to the Governor's Office of Drug Control Policy, Iowa law enforcement dismantled a record-high 1,425 labs in 2004, and Iowa ranks second behind only Missouri in per-capita meth-lab-making. The bill aims to crack down on Iowa's meth labs by making it harder for meth-makers to get their hands on pseudoephedrine, a popular cold decongestant and key ingredient in meth manufacturing. Under the legislation, consumers would be required to buy most products containing pseudoephedrine from pharmacists. However, products containing less than 360 milligrams of pseudoephedrine - an amount equal to 12 tablets or that found in a small bottle of children's cold medicine - could still be sold at stores as long as the product is kept in a locked cabinet or behind the sales counter. Consumers who purchase the product from stores would be limited to two packages per customer in a 24-hour period. In addition, buyers would be required to show photo identification and sign a logbook with consumer information that could be made available to law-enforcement officials. Retailers would have to keep records of the amounts of pseudoephedrine purchased from a wholesaler, the amount of products sold by the store, and the number of products stolen or damaged. Members of the Iowa House are also working on legislation to restrict pseudoephedrine sales in Iowa. Under the House proposal, a pharmacist must sell products containing more than 240 milligrams of pseudoephedrine, and consumers would be limited to one package per 24-hour period.
• Megan Schneider of Drake University is seeking leads about Iowa rowing history as part of a nationwide internship program researching the history of American rowing for a book and film. The research will contribute to American Rowing: A Vivid History, to be published in 2007, and a pending documentary film. Rowing is one of the oldest sports in America, was once the most popular sport in the country, and was the nation's first intercollegiate sport, in 1852. While the east and west coasts are home to many of rowing's most notable early boat clubs, the Midwest was very much a key player in pioneering the sport's development, with boat clubs lining the inland lakes and rivers of Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Ohio. If you have any information relating to Iowa rowing history, please contact Megan Schneider at (515)271-3435, (970)381-7892, or (mas030@drake.edu). For more information about the project, contact Trish Brubaker at (312)927-0609 or (trishbrubaker@yahoo.com).
• Iowa state Senator Maggie Tinsman (R-Davenport) has been named to the Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission and the Mental Health & Developmental Disability Commission. The Mental Health & Developmental Disability Commission is designed to advise on the administration of the overall state disability-services system. The Tobacco Use Prevention & Control Commission's purpose is to develop and implement a comprehensive tobacco use-prevention and control initiative for the state of Iowa. In addition, Senator Tinsman is the vice-chair of the National Conference of State Legislators Health Committee and serves on its Medicaid task force. Tinsman is co-chair of the Senate Health & Human Services budget subcommittee.
