• U.S. Senators from Iowa Charles Grassley (a Republican) and Tom Harkin (a Democrat) joined a group of their upper-chamber colleagues supporting legislation introduced by Senator Russell Feingold (a Wisconsin Democrat) on the development of the controversial Total Information Awareness (TIA) project. TIA is a system being developed by Admiral John Poindexter of the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency that aims to sift though troves of personal information to detect potential terrorist activity. Feingold's legislation would stop development of this domestic-surveillance system until Congress has an opportunity to review its implications. Grassley has called for the inspector general of the Department of Defense to review the TIA project. Senator Harkin has requested that Poindexter be summoned before the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to testify on TIA. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and a coalition of groups that includes the American Civil Liberties Union, American Conservative Union, Eagle Forum, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have joined the call for a moratorium on TIA. Grassley's letter requesting an inspector-general investigation of TIA can be seen at (http://www.fas.org/sgp/news/2002/11/gr112202.html). Harkin's letter requesting a TIA hearing can be seen at (http://www.senate.gov/~harkin/news.cfm?id=189711). The EPIC Total Information Awareness page is at (http://www.epic.org/privacy/profiling/tia/).
• The Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce will be one of 100 chambers across the country to participate in an employer survey about the publicly funded workforce-development system. This national survey is coordinated by the Center for Workforce Preparation, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The survey is taking place between January 9 and 24. Surveys can be obtained from the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce at (309)757-5416 or 622 19th Street in Moline. The chamber's goal is to collect at least 125 employer responses.
• The Iowa approach of the American Discovery Trail at the Government Bridge is substantially complete and open to traffic and public use. The Iowa portion of the American Discovery Trail will connect with the Great River Trail in Rock Island. Final engineering plans have been prepared, and construction on Arsenal Island and across the Sylvan Slough is expected to begin this year.
• Students looking for financial assistance to attend an Iowa private college should begin the application process for an Iowa Tuition Grant (ITG). To be eligible for an ITG, students must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. Prospective students can link to the online FAFSA form at the Iowa College Student Aid Commission's Web site at (http://www.iowacolleaid.org). Students with a demonstrated financial need are eligible to apply for the Iowa Tuition Grant. Developed in 1969, the ITG has helped more than 340,000 students attend the Iowa private college of their choice. The number of grants awarded is limited, but each qualified full-time undergraduate student may get as much as $3,600 annually for up to four years. Part-time students' grants are pro-rated according to credit hours. The earlier students apply, the more likely they are to receive an award.
• Iowa residents may be eligible for rent rebates if their total household income is less than $17,589 and (a) the resident was at least 65 years old by December 31, 2002, or (b) the resident is totally disabled and was 18 years or older by December 31, 2002. Friendly House will offer assistance in completing rent-rebate forms. Call Kathy at (563)323-1821 for more information or to make an appointment.
• Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities opened Habitat ReStore on January 9 at 3629 Mississippi Avenue (just west of Eastern off Kimberly) in Davenport. Habitat ReStore sells gently used and new building materials to the public at deep discounts. Proceeds from ReStore support construction of new Habitat homes in the Quad Cities. ReStore also helps the environment by diverting tons of useable materials from area landfills. ReStore is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call (563)391-4949 or look on the Web at (http://www.restoreqc.org).
• You can now sign up for your very own parking space in one of downtown Davenport's two new parking ramps. For a City of Davenport monthly parking contract, call (563)888-3232 or point your Web browser to (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com) and click on "Latest News." Leave your name, phone number, and facility desired. Available spaces will be awarded on a first-come, fist-served basis. The City of Davenport will be offering 1,175 parking spaces for hourly, daily, and monthly use for downtown patrons, with a planned opening of March 3.
• At the KWQC-TV6 River of Life blood drive held January 9, 354 volunteer donors gave blood, smashing last year's collections by 78 units and logging the second-highest collection total in the drive's history. The collected blood strengthens the blood supply during the cold and flu season, when many people are ineligible to donate. Also, donations are important this time of year because of a usage increase by area hospitals for elective surgeries postponed for the holidays. There are also spot shortages, some severe, throughout the country. To learn more about donating blood, call the Mississippi Regional Blood Center at (563)359-5401 or visit (http://www.bloodcenter.org).
• The Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce will be one of 100 chambers across the country to participate in an employer survey about the publicly funded workforce-development system. This national survey is coordinated by the Center for Workforce Preparation, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The survey is taking place between January 9 and 24. Surveys can be obtained from the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce at (309)757-5416 or 622 19th Street in Moline. The chamber's goal is to collect at least 125 employer responses.
• The Iowa approach of the American Discovery Trail at the Government Bridge is substantially complete and open to traffic and public use. The Iowa portion of the American Discovery Trail will connect with the Great River Trail in Rock Island. Final engineering plans have been prepared, and construction on Arsenal Island and across the Sylvan Slough is expected to begin this year.
• Students looking for financial assistance to attend an Iowa private college should begin the application process for an Iowa Tuition Grant (ITG). To be eligible for an ITG, students must submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to the U.S. Department of Education. Prospective students can link to the online FAFSA form at the Iowa College Student Aid Commission's Web site at (http://www.iowacolleaid.org). Students with a demonstrated financial need are eligible to apply for the Iowa Tuition Grant. Developed in 1969, the ITG has helped more than 340,000 students attend the Iowa private college of their choice. The number of grants awarded is limited, but each qualified full-time undergraduate student may get as much as $3,600 annually for up to four years. Part-time students' grants are pro-rated according to credit hours. The earlier students apply, the more likely they are to receive an award.
• Iowa residents may be eligible for rent rebates if their total household income is less than $17,589 and (a) the resident was at least 65 years old by December 31, 2002, or (b) the resident is totally disabled and was 18 years or older by December 31, 2002. Friendly House will offer assistance in completing rent-rebate forms. Call Kathy at (563)323-1821 for more information or to make an appointment.
• Habitat for Humanity Quad Cities opened Habitat ReStore on January 9 at 3629 Mississippi Avenue (just west of Eastern off Kimberly) in Davenport. Habitat ReStore sells gently used and new building materials to the public at deep discounts. Proceeds from ReStore support construction of new Habitat homes in the Quad Cities. ReStore also helps the environment by diverting tons of useable materials from area landfills. ReStore is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays and 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. Saturdays. For more information, call (563)391-4949 or look on the Web at (http://www.restoreqc.org).
• You can now sign up for your very own parking space in one of downtown Davenport's two new parking ramps. For a City of Davenport monthly parking contract, call (563)888-3232 or point your Web browser to (http://www.cityofdavenportiowa.com) and click on "Latest News." Leave your name, phone number, and facility desired. Available spaces will be awarded on a first-come, fist-served basis. The City of Davenport will be offering 1,175 parking spaces for hourly, daily, and monthly use for downtown patrons, with a planned opening of March 3.
• At the KWQC-TV6 River of Life blood drive held January 9, 354 volunteer donors gave blood, smashing last year's collections by 78 units and logging the second-highest collection total in the drive's history. The collected blood strengthens the blood supply during the cold and flu season, when many people are ineligible to donate. Also, donations are important this time of year because of a usage increase by area hospitals for elective surgeries postponed for the holidays. There are also spot shortages, some severe, throughout the country. To learn more about donating blood, call the Mississippi Regional Blood Center at (563)359-5401 or visit (http://www.bloodcenter.org).
