05
Feb
2002
• According to documents filed by Iowa's U.S. Senate candidates, incumbent Senator Tom Harkin has amassed a large war chest for his re-election bid. Harkin has collected $2.2 million for his campaign, including more than $1.35 million during the past six months, with approximately $830,000 from large checks, $202,000 in smaller contributions, and $327,000 from political action committees. U.S. Representative Greg Ganske, one of two Republicans after Harkin's job, didn't have his campaign report ready. Republican Bill Salier, of Nora Springs, had raised about $80,000 through the end of last year. Spending for the campaign between the two political parties will probably exceed $6 million apiece for Harkin and the Republican nominee.
• On December 4, Libertarian Party leaders delivered 75,500 signatures on petitions to the Massachusetts Secretary of State. The signatures support an initiative, called "The Small Government Act to End the Income Tax," that would repeal the state's taxes on wages, interest and dividends, and capital gains, which would cut $9 billion from the state's $23 billion budget. If the initiative succeeds, the average Massachusetts taxpayer will save an estimated $3,000 per year. Under Massachusetts law, the state legislature must act on the initiative before May. If the legislature rejects it, which is expected, the Committee for Small Government will collect another 9,517 signatures and put the initiative directly before voters on the November 2002 ballot. For more information, check out the Committee for Small Government's Web page at (http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/index.html) and a Libertarian Party article at (http://www.lp.org/lpnews/0201/massachusettstax.html).
• Bettendorf Park Board commissioner Greg Adamson announced last week that he is running for a seat on the Scott County Board of Supervisors. Adamson, a 30-year veteran of the Bettendorf Police Department, is currently in his third term on the park board. The primary election is slated for June 4.
• The SBC Foundation has awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Rock Island a $25,000 grant to support the center's Training Improvement Program (TIP), an initiative designed to help local residents develop computer skills. This is the second year the Center has received a grant from SBC.
• Applications are now being accepted for the Davenport Museum of Art's Brad Boeshaar Scholarship Program. The scholarship will be awarded to four graduating seniors from the area who wish to earn a degree in fine art, commercial art, or art education at a college or university. Students who have achieved a high-school grade point average of 2.5 or greater and attend a public or private school in the following service areas are eligible to apply: Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency 9 (Iowa), Henry Stark Education Agency (Illinois), and Black Hawk Area Education District (Illinois). Scholarship-application forms for the 2002 program are available at the Davenport Museum of Art and in area high-school guidance offices. For more information or to request an application form, please contact Ann Marie Hayes, curator of education, at (563)326-7887.
• Mark Henderson, a former state representative from Park View, has announced that he will be running for the Iowa House of Representatives from new House District 83. This district includes northeastern Scott County and southern Clinton County, including Pleasant Valley, LeClaire, Princeton, Camanche, and DeWitt. Because of redistricting, this is an open seat. It's interesting to note that on a page-and-a-half press release, Henderson listed no party affiliation. He is a Democrat.
• The Black Hawk College Speakers Bureau has more than 40 faculty members, staff, administrators, and trustees who will talk to community groups on subjects ranging from AIDS to Zimbabwe. A newly published 24-page Speakers Bureau booklet is available for free and lists all the college's speakers, their topics, and appropriate age groups for presentations. The 2002-2003 Black Hawk College Speakers Bureau booklet can be accessed at (http://www.bhc.edu/BHC01/About/PublicInformation/SpeakersBureau/index.htm). You can also receive a copy by calling (309)796-5051 or (800)334-1311, extension 5051.
• Bettendorf Mayor Ann Hutchinson's campaign for Congress recently announced that it received more than $85,000 in contributions between October 17 and December 31, 2001. A total of 245 individual contributors accounted for 88 percent of Hutchinson's fundraising, with nearly 12 percent coming from political action committees. More than 76 percent came from residents of the 1st Congressional District.
• Qwest Communications recently announced that it is withdrawing its plan to share private customer information. The company cited numerous customer complaints and has stated it will wait until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a final rule on the issue. Qwest is the first company in the telecom industry to announce that it will not share private customer account information until the FCC has had an opportunity to issue new rules on the process. SBC-Ameritech and Verizon, both of which also implemented opt-out plans in the past month, have stated no similar intention of withdrawing their information-sharing plans. For more information about protecting your privacy, point your Web browser at the Electronic Privacy Information Center at (http://www.epic.org).
• If Kmart's financial problems and bankruptcy aren't enough, the State of Iowa is looking for $4.6 million from a subsidiary for corporate income taxes, penalties, and interest that revenue officials say Kmart Properties owes. Kmart Corporation is incorporated in Michigan, licenses the Kmart name to Kmart Properties, and contends that the subsidiary isn't subject to Iowa taxes. Iowa filed the liens after the retailer filed for bankruptcy last month, because the state wanted to preserve its priority as a creditor. The whole mess will probably end up in court before it's settled.
• On December 4, Libertarian Party leaders delivered 75,500 signatures on petitions to the Massachusetts Secretary of State. The signatures support an initiative, called "The Small Government Act to End the Income Tax," that would repeal the state's taxes on wages, interest and dividends, and capital gains, which would cut $9 billion from the state's $23 billion budget. If the initiative succeeds, the average Massachusetts taxpayer will save an estimated $3,000 per year. Under Massachusetts law, the state legislature must act on the initiative before May. If the legislature rejects it, which is expected, the Committee for Small Government will collect another 9,517 signatures and put the initiative directly before voters on the November 2002 ballot. For more information, check out the Committee for Small Government's Web page at (http://www.smallgovernmentact.org/index.html) and a Libertarian Party article at (http://www.lp.org/lpnews/0201/massachusettstax.html).
• Bettendorf Park Board commissioner Greg Adamson announced last week that he is running for a seat on the Scott County Board of Supervisors. Adamson, a 30-year veteran of the Bettendorf Police Department, is currently in his third term on the park board. The primary election is slated for June 4.
• The SBC Foundation has awarded the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center in Rock Island a $25,000 grant to support the center's Training Improvement Program (TIP), an initiative designed to help local residents develop computer skills. This is the second year the Center has received a grant from SBC.
• Applications are now being accepted for the Davenport Museum of Art's Brad Boeshaar Scholarship Program. The scholarship will be awarded to four graduating seniors from the area who wish to earn a degree in fine art, commercial art, or art education at a college or university. Students who have achieved a high-school grade point average of 2.5 or greater and attend a public or private school in the following service areas are eligible to apply: Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency 9 (Iowa), Henry Stark Education Agency (Illinois), and Black Hawk Area Education District (Illinois). Scholarship-application forms for the 2002 program are available at the Davenport Museum of Art and in area high-school guidance offices. For more information or to request an application form, please contact Ann Marie Hayes, curator of education, at (563)326-7887.
• Mark Henderson, a former state representative from Park View, has announced that he will be running for the Iowa House of Representatives from new House District 83. This district includes northeastern Scott County and southern Clinton County, including Pleasant Valley, LeClaire, Princeton, Camanche, and DeWitt. Because of redistricting, this is an open seat. It's interesting to note that on a page-and-a-half press release, Henderson listed no party affiliation. He is a Democrat.
• The Black Hawk College Speakers Bureau has more than 40 faculty members, staff, administrators, and trustees who will talk to community groups on subjects ranging from AIDS to Zimbabwe. A newly published 24-page Speakers Bureau booklet is available for free and lists all the college's speakers, their topics, and appropriate age groups for presentations. The 2002-2003 Black Hawk College Speakers Bureau booklet can be accessed at (http://www.bhc.edu/BHC01/About/PublicInformation/SpeakersBureau/index.htm). You can also receive a copy by calling (309)796-5051 or (800)334-1311, extension 5051.
• Bettendorf Mayor Ann Hutchinson's campaign for Congress recently announced that it received more than $85,000 in contributions between October 17 and December 31, 2001. A total of 245 individual contributors accounted for 88 percent of Hutchinson's fundraising, with nearly 12 percent coming from political action committees. More than 76 percent came from residents of the 1st Congressional District.
• Qwest Communications recently announced that it is withdrawing its plan to share private customer information. The company cited numerous customer complaints and has stated it will wait until the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has proposed a final rule on the issue. Qwest is the first company in the telecom industry to announce that it will not share private customer account information until the FCC has had an opportunity to issue new rules on the process. SBC-Ameritech and Verizon, both of which also implemented opt-out plans in the past month, have stated no similar intention of withdrawing their information-sharing plans. For more information about protecting your privacy, point your Web browser at the Electronic Privacy Information Center at (http://www.epic.org).
• If Kmart's financial problems and bankruptcy aren't enough, the State of Iowa is looking for $4.6 million from a subsidiary for corporate income taxes, penalties, and interest that revenue officials say Kmart Properties owes. Kmart Corporation is incorporated in Michigan, licenses the Kmart name to Kmart Properties, and contends that the subsidiary isn't subject to Iowa taxes. Iowa filed the liens after the retailer filed for bankruptcy last month, because the state wanted to preserve its priority as a creditor. The whole mess will probably end up in court before it's settled.
