A 12-member panel has been formed to begin the search process for a new Davenport city administrator. Mayor Phil Yerington said he wants a new administrator by April 1. Members of the panel, which was appointed by the mayor, come from diverse backgrounds and include John Stavnes, Wells Fargo Bank; Jerry Messer, Quad City Federation of Labor; aldermen George Nickolas, Wayne Hean, and Roxanna Moritz; Dr. Guy Riekman of Palmer College of Chiropractic; Joyce Leavell, Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency; Chuck Landon, Churches United of the Quad Cities; Sylvester Murray, Joshua Kim Associates; Yerington; and Acting City Administrator Kent Kolwey. The panel has already met once to get to know each other and consider a suggestion by city Human Resources Director Mary Thee to establish qualifications for the job and procedures for finding candidates. Yerington suggested members consider changes to city code that he said would allow the person hired to be a more effective city administrator, including changing which positions in city government require city-council approval versus falling under the authority of the city administrator.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International have launched a Web site for news, information, and action on privacy issues. The site contains brief summaries and links to news items appearing both in the domestic and the international press. Its database of news stories is searchable by text, and it extends back two years. The site also features the EPIC-Digest, a weekly e-mail summary of news, information, and action items. See for yourself at (http://www.privacy.org).
A record number of volunteer blood donors met the challenge to donate blood at a time of the year when need is the greatest. At the KWQC-TV6 River of Life blood drive, 344 individuals donated a pint of blood to help patients, smashing the previous River of Life record by 54 units. The goal was 325 units. Nationwide shortages hit the country throughout December and January. Although we are not facing a shortage locally because of the generosity displayed by volunteer blood donors, blood centers across the nation look to Midwest centers, including the Mississippi Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), to help replenish the supply. You can learn more about blood donation by calling the MVRBC at (319)359-5401 or by looking on its Web site at (http://www.bloodcenter.org ).
It might surprise you to learn that Iowa's biggest employer is state government. According to a report recently released by the Iowa Department of Personnel, there were 20,246 full-time workers on the payroll of state government at the end of the last budget year. Payroll for these workers ate up $976 million with the average salary at $36,972. Many of the new hires - 65 percent - were by the Department of Corrections and are the result of three new prisons being completed in recent years. Three agencies - the departments of Transportation, Human Services, and Corrections - are responsible for 60 percent of the people working for the state. Adding to the tab, another $433 million was paid to outside contractors for providing services to the state. By the way, the Ethics Campaign Disclosure Commission, responsible for tracking government ethics and political money, is the smallest state agency with eight workers. The President Casino (soon to be Rhythm City Casino) in Davenport and the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf are teaming up for the Project 21 Scholarship Program - an awareness campaign on the issue of underage gambling aimed at high-school and college students. The program is asking students to submit posters, videos, or student-newspaper articles addressing underage gambling. The Project 21 scholarships are available to Scott County high-school and college students up to age 21. The two casinos give away $10,000 annually in the form of five $1,000 scholarships and 10 $500 scholarships. Students may submit their entries through May 15, 2001, with the winners being announced in June 2001.
Daily parenting tips and ideas are just some of the features on the Rock Island-Milan school district Web site. Tips are short, quick, and easy-to-read, with cartoon-type sketches illustrating each tip. The tips come from The Parenting Institute of Fairfax, Virginia. No advertising or links are contained on either the school-district or parenting-tip site. You can see it for yourself by following the links from the Rock Island-Milan school-district Web site at (http://www.risd41.org ). Be sure to check out some of the other neat stuff on the site, including employment opportunities, school calendars, events, alumni Web pages, and more.
Safe Haven, a new shelter for single women and women with children, is opening up in Davenport, but it needs your help. The top floor of the St. Joseph's rectory has been donated, and other start-up donations are being solicited by the With Arms Wide Open Foundation. Many items are still needed to get the shelter up and running, however, including blankets, pillows, kitchen articles, and baby and children's items. The shelter is also looking for volunteers to paint and tradespeople of all types to inspect completed work. So far, drywall, carpet, linoleum, mattresses, kitchen cabinets, a bathroom vanity, and other items have been donated by the With Arms Wide Open Foundation - an organization started by the rock band Creed. To learn more about the new facility or to donate items or volunteer, contact Sue Brockway at (319)322-3751, or write to Jennifer Tholl at 3212 8th Ave., Moline IL 61265, or e-mail (jttholl@home.com ).
If you thought the City of Davenport's new Web site (http://www.ci.davenport.ia.us/) was snazzy, be sure to check out Des Moines' at (http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/). While not as flashy or colorful as Davenport's, Des Moines residents can pay parking tickets and contact city officials directly - including requesting more information on issues such as recycling programs and neighborhood zoning changes. Des Moines can do this because of an agreement with NetGov.com Inc., a company specializing in "e-government" services. The city receives free access to NetGov custom software in exchange for being a "charter city" to test NetGov programs. Two other cities, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Riverside, California, are considering doing something similar with their city Web sites.
The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Privacy International have launched a Web site for news, information, and action on privacy issues. The site contains brief summaries and links to news items appearing both in the domestic and the international press. Its database of news stories is searchable by text, and it extends back two years. The site also features the EPIC-Digest, a weekly e-mail summary of news, information, and action items. See for yourself at (http://www.privacy.org).
A record number of volunteer blood donors met the challenge to donate blood at a time of the year when need is the greatest. At the KWQC-TV6 River of Life blood drive, 344 individuals donated a pint of blood to help patients, smashing the previous River of Life record by 54 units. The goal was 325 units. Nationwide shortages hit the country throughout December and January. Although we are not facing a shortage locally because of the generosity displayed by volunteer blood donors, blood centers across the nation look to Midwest centers, including the Mississippi Regional Blood Center (MVRBC), to help replenish the supply. You can learn more about blood donation by calling the MVRBC at (319)359-5401 or by looking on its Web site at (http://www.bloodcenter.org ).
It might surprise you to learn that Iowa's biggest employer is state government. According to a report recently released by the Iowa Department of Personnel, there were 20,246 full-time workers on the payroll of state government at the end of the last budget year. Payroll for these workers ate up $976 million with the average salary at $36,972. Many of the new hires - 65 percent - were by the Department of Corrections and are the result of three new prisons being completed in recent years. Three agencies - the departments of Transportation, Human Services, and Corrections - are responsible for 60 percent of the people working for the state. Adding to the tab, another $433 million was paid to outside contractors for providing services to the state. By the way, the Ethics Campaign Disclosure Commission, responsible for tracking government ethics and political money, is the smallest state agency with eight workers. The President Casino (soon to be Rhythm City Casino) in Davenport and the Isle of Capri in Bettendorf are teaming up for the Project 21 Scholarship Program - an awareness campaign on the issue of underage gambling aimed at high-school and college students. The program is asking students to submit posters, videos, or student-newspaper articles addressing underage gambling. The Project 21 scholarships are available to Scott County high-school and college students up to age 21. The two casinos give away $10,000 annually in the form of five $1,000 scholarships and 10 $500 scholarships. Students may submit their entries through May 15, 2001, with the winners being announced in June 2001.
Daily parenting tips and ideas are just some of the features on the Rock Island-Milan school district Web site. Tips are short, quick, and easy-to-read, with cartoon-type sketches illustrating each tip. The tips come from The Parenting Institute of Fairfax, Virginia. No advertising or links are contained on either the school-district or parenting-tip site. You can see it for yourself by following the links from the Rock Island-Milan school-district Web site at (http://www.risd41.org ). Be sure to check out some of the other neat stuff on the site, including employment opportunities, school calendars, events, alumni Web pages, and more.
Safe Haven, a new shelter for single women and women with children, is opening up in Davenport, but it needs your help. The top floor of the St. Joseph's rectory has been donated, and other start-up donations are being solicited by the With Arms Wide Open Foundation. Many items are still needed to get the shelter up and running, however, including blankets, pillows, kitchen articles, and baby and children's items. The shelter is also looking for volunteers to paint and tradespeople of all types to inspect completed work. So far, drywall, carpet, linoleum, mattresses, kitchen cabinets, a bathroom vanity, and other items have been donated by the With Arms Wide Open Foundation - an organization started by the rock band Creed. To learn more about the new facility or to donate items or volunteer, contact Sue Brockway at (319)322-3751, or write to Jennifer Tholl at 3212 8th Ave., Moline IL 61265, or e-mail (jttholl@home.com ).
If you thought the City of Davenport's new Web site (http://www.ci.davenport.ia.us/) was snazzy, be sure to check out Des Moines' at (http://www.ci.des-moines.ia.us/). While not as flashy or colorful as Davenport's, Des Moines residents can pay parking tickets and contact city officials directly - including requesting more information on issues such as recycling programs and neighborhood zoning changes. Des Moines can do this because of an agreement with NetGov.com Inc., a company specializing in "e-government" services. The city receives free access to NetGov custom software in exchange for being a "charter city" to test NetGov programs. Two other cities, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Riverside, California, are considering doing something similar with their city Web sites.
