07
Dec
2004
• Iowa's public school enrollment is down by 1,639 students, or .34 percent, from a year ago, according to the Department of Education. Currently, 483,372 K-12 students are enrolled statewide. State education leaders expected the decline based on census data and enrollments that show outgoing high-school seniors outnumber incoming kindergarten students. Approximately 36 percent, or 133, of Iowa's 367 districts reported enrollment increases for a combined total of 4,371 students. Sixty-four percent, or 234 districts, experienced enrollment declines this fall, totaling 5,841 students. The largest enrollment gains were seen in Waukee (468 students), Dubuque (305), Johnston (272), Ankeny (249), and Southeast Polk (199). The largest declines were in Des Moines (266), Council Bluffs (158), Ames (148), West Des Moines (141), and Davenport (161). Other schools in Scott County were more fortunate, with increases in Pleasant Valley (44.1) and North Scott (27.6), and only a slight decrease in Bettendorf (5.6).
• The Quad-City Labyrinth Project launched its First Annual Fundraising Campaign and is hoping to raise $10,000 by the end of the year. Established in January 2002, the Quad-City Labyrinth Project is dedicated to educating the public about labyrinths. A labyrinth walkway consists of a single path that leads to a central point and back out again. Thought by many cultures to represent the journey of life, the labyrinth is now seen as a universal symbol of an internal pathway. In recent years, as the stresses of daily life have increased, the labyrinth has re-emerged as a meditative tool to help quiet the mind, relax the body, and refresh the spirit. Every month, the Quad-City Labyrinth Project offers community and wellness labyrinth walks free of charge to the community. Donations are necessary to continue to offer these labyrinth walks to the community and to generate seed money for upcoming labyrinth events. Various in-kind donations, such as office and creative-arts supplies, are also welcome. Donor pledge cards and a wish list are available on the organization's Web site: (http://www.qclabyrinth.org).
• The "United States of America: Excessive & Lethal Force? Amnesty International's Concerns About Deaths & Ill-Treatment Involving Police Use of Tasers" report is interesting reading, noting that "more than 5,000 U.S. law-enforcement agencies are currently deploying tasers, dart-firing electro-shock weapons designed to cause instant incapacitation by delivering a 50,000-volt shock." These agencies include the Davenport Police Department. See for yourself at (http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr511392004).
• A stormwater utility is under consideration by the Davenport City Council to help fund a federally mandated stormwater-management program. The utility would also be established to address capacity and flooding concerns. Public forums for community input will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, at Williams Intermediate Café; 7 p.m. on Monday, December 13, at the North High School cafeteria; and at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 14, at City Hall Council Chambers. Stormwater-management programs are required as part of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The management programs, however, are not yet funded by the city. The estimated stormwater cost would be $4.14 monthly per single-family home but is subject to change. After the public-input sessions are through, the city council will decide on the utility in January. For more information, call the Stormwater Management Hot Line at (563) 326-7923. - John B. Perreault
• The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) has named Mike Whalen, president and CEO of Moline-based Heart of America Restaurants & Inns, as its policy chairperson. As chairperson, Whalen will provide direction for NCPA initiatives in the areas of health care, Social Security, and tax reform. NCPA President John C. Goodman is known as the "father of health savings accounts," which are the cornerstone of the organization's health-care reform package, and the NCPA also supports personal retirement accounts in Social Security and a major overhaul of U.S. tax code. Whelan's company has hotels and restaurants in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Harvard. For more information, visit (http://www.ncpa.org). - John B. Perreault
• With a nationwide shortage of flu vaccines, 30 students in the St. Ambrose University nursing program have created a pamphlet that contains 12 tips to treat colds and flu the natural way. Through health seminars, the students are educating the Quad Cities area about current treatments that can bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. To view the list, visit the nursing department's home page at (http://www.sau.edu/nursing). The free pamphlets and health seminars are being offered to local organizations, schools, and businesses until December 17. For more information or to book a health seminar, contact the nursing department at (563)333-6064.
• Since 1996, local and regional artists and businesses have been donating works of art and auction items to support the annual Red Ribbon Dinner's Great Art Auction, an annual charity event held to raise funds for AIDS Project Quad Cities (APQC). Organizers of the Red Ribbon Dinner are again seeking art and auction items for the annual event, which will be held Sunday, January 16, at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf. Artists choosing to donate will have their work displayed at the Quad City Arts Center in downtown Rock Island from mid-December through January 15. For more information on the Red Ribbon Dinner and how to donate items for the silent auction, call Suzanne Golden at (309)788-0682, Jim Kling at (309)786-0127, Anne Lewis at (563)391-7196, or the APQC office at (309)788-5698.
• Iowa's economy proved to be a good one in which to live and work but not in which to do business, according to the 2004 Development Report Card for the States. Though providing quality jobs, low unemployment, an equitable income distribution, and clean air, the state spawned few new companies, and those that already existed invested little in their future capacity. Still, the study counts Iowa's quality of life and amenity resources among its attributes. The 18th annual report card, released online recently at (http://drc.cfed.org) by the not-for-profit, Washington-based CFED, is a state-by-state comparison of the economies of the 50 states, with 68 measures taken into account. In the three main indices assessed by the study, Iowa scored a B in Performance, a D in Business Vitality, and a C in Development Capacity. By earning all As and Bs, eight states made the report card's "honor roll": Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
• The City of Davenport is applying for funds through the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment & Cleanup grant programs. The public is invited to provide input on the West Davenport Brownfields Revitalization assessment program and a proposed cleanup project located along U.S. Highway 61 in the 2400 block of West River Drive. Copies of the grant applications are available for public review and comment at the Community & Economic Development Department, 226 West Fourth Street. For more information, call (563)326-7766.
• The Quad-City Labyrinth Project launched its First Annual Fundraising Campaign and is hoping to raise $10,000 by the end of the year. Established in January 2002, the Quad-City Labyrinth Project is dedicated to educating the public about labyrinths. A labyrinth walkway consists of a single path that leads to a central point and back out again. Thought by many cultures to represent the journey of life, the labyrinth is now seen as a universal symbol of an internal pathway. In recent years, as the stresses of daily life have increased, the labyrinth has re-emerged as a meditative tool to help quiet the mind, relax the body, and refresh the spirit. Every month, the Quad-City Labyrinth Project offers community and wellness labyrinth walks free of charge to the community. Donations are necessary to continue to offer these labyrinth walks to the community and to generate seed money for upcoming labyrinth events. Various in-kind donations, such as office and creative-arts supplies, are also welcome. Donor pledge cards and a wish list are available on the organization's Web site: (http://www.qclabyrinth.org).
• The "United States of America: Excessive & Lethal Force? Amnesty International's Concerns About Deaths & Ill-Treatment Involving Police Use of Tasers" report is interesting reading, noting that "more than 5,000 U.S. law-enforcement agencies are currently deploying tasers, dart-firing electro-shock weapons designed to cause instant incapacitation by delivering a 50,000-volt shock." These agencies include the Davenport Police Department. See for yourself at (http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engamr511392004).
• A stormwater utility is under consideration by the Davenport City Council to help fund a federally mandated stormwater-management program. The utility would also be established to address capacity and flooding concerns. Public forums for community input will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, December 8, at Williams Intermediate Café; 7 p.m. on Monday, December 13, at the North High School cafeteria; and at 7 p.m. Tuesday, December 14, at City Hall Council Chambers. Stormwater-management programs are required as part of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System. The management programs, however, are not yet funded by the city. The estimated stormwater cost would be $4.14 monthly per single-family home but is subject to change. After the public-input sessions are through, the city council will decide on the utility in January. For more information, call the Stormwater Management Hot Line at (563) 326-7923. - John B. Perreault
• The National Center for Policy Analysis (NCPA) has named Mike Whalen, president and CEO of Moline-based Heart of America Restaurants & Inns, as its policy chairperson. As chairperson, Whalen will provide direction for NCPA initiatives in the areas of health care, Social Security, and tax reform. NCPA President John C. Goodman is known as the "father of health savings accounts," which are the cornerstone of the organization's health-care reform package, and the NCPA also supports personal retirement accounts in Social Security and a major overhaul of U.S. tax code. Whelan's company has hotels and restaurants in Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He is a graduate of the University of Illinois and Harvard. For more information, visit (http://www.ncpa.org). - John B. Perreault
• With a nationwide shortage of flu vaccines, 30 students in the St. Ambrose University nursing program have created a pamphlet that contains 12 tips to treat colds and flu the natural way. Through health seminars, the students are educating the Quad Cities area about current treatments that can bring symptom relief or shorten the duration of those symptoms. To view the list, visit the nursing department's home page at (http://www.sau.edu/nursing). The free pamphlets and health seminars are being offered to local organizations, schools, and businesses until December 17. For more information or to book a health seminar, contact the nursing department at (563)333-6064.
• Since 1996, local and regional artists and businesses have been donating works of art and auction items to support the annual Red Ribbon Dinner's Great Art Auction, an annual charity event held to raise funds for AIDS Project Quad Cities (APQC). Organizers of the Red Ribbon Dinner are again seeking art and auction items for the annual event, which will be held Sunday, January 16, at the Isle of Capri Casino in Bettendorf. Artists choosing to donate will have their work displayed at the Quad City Arts Center in downtown Rock Island from mid-December through January 15. For more information on the Red Ribbon Dinner and how to donate items for the silent auction, call Suzanne Golden at (309)788-0682, Jim Kling at (309)786-0127, Anne Lewis at (563)391-7196, or the APQC office at (309)788-5698.
• Iowa's economy proved to be a good one in which to live and work but not in which to do business, according to the 2004 Development Report Card for the States. Though providing quality jobs, low unemployment, an equitable income distribution, and clean air, the state spawned few new companies, and those that already existed invested little in their future capacity. Still, the study counts Iowa's quality of life and amenity resources among its attributes. The 18th annual report card, released online recently at (http://drc.cfed.org) by the not-for-profit, Washington-based CFED, is a state-by-state comparison of the economies of the 50 states, with 68 measures taken into account. In the three main indices assessed by the study, Iowa scored a B in Performance, a D in Business Vitality, and a C in Development Capacity. By earning all As and Bs, eight states made the report card's "honor roll": Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Oregon, Virginia, and Wisconsin.
• The City of Davenport is applying for funds through the Environmental Protection Agency Brownfields Assessment & Cleanup grant programs. The public is invited to provide input on the West Davenport Brownfields Revitalization assessment program and a proposed cleanup project located along U.S. Highway 61 in the 2400 block of West River Drive. Copies of the grant applications are available for public review and comment at the Community & Economic Development Department, 226 West Fourth Street. For more information, call (563)326-7766.
