26
Jun
2001
· Saturday, June 30, will mark the end of LeClaire Ambulance Service. In December, the company, which has been in business for 36 years, had its license suspended for six months by the Iowa Department of Public Health after an incident in which the former ambulance-service director took 23 minutes to respond to a call. Ambulance board members made the decision to close, saying the service cannot meet the state's requirements for reopening. The service provided emergency care for a 100-square-mile area, including eastern Bettendorf, LeClaire, Pleasant Valley, McCausland, Princeton, and northern Scott County. Ambulance crews also did standby duty for community events and Pleasant Valley High School football games. Medic EMS will continue its paramedic coverage of the LeClaire area.
· The recent bout of severe weather, including tornadoes, has brought into focus the need for early warning. One of the best ways to stay ahead of the weather is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio. NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information direct from a nearby National Weather Service Office. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts National Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts, and other hazard information 24 hours a day. They can be purchased relatively inexpensively at many consumer-electronics stores. You can find out more about NOAA Weather Radios at (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/), and for up-to-the-minute information on the local weather scene, look at the National Weather Service Quad Cites Web site at (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn/).
· The Third Annual Putnam Museum Environmental Stewardship Award has been presented to Partners of Scott County Watersheds. This group represents a variety of projects, including Davenport's Duck Creek wetlands, restoration at Fairmont Street, St. Ambrose University's sustainable storm-water retention plan, Bettendorf's development pilot project, rural Duck Creek waterway project, promotion of native-vegetation buffer strips, and community educational efforts. The Partners of Scott County Watersheds includes farmers, property owners, home owners, educators, developers and builders, and conservation, agricultural, and government agencies, as well as elected officials and staff.
· If you're in the market for Internet service, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants you to know that some offers for "free" access might end up being high-cost, long-term commitments because important restrictions and conditions on these offers are not always disclosed clearly or conspicuously. As part of its ongoing effort to educate consumers about potential scams, the FTC has developed the advisory "Hide and Go Seek: Finding the Disclosures in 'Free' Internet Service Offers." You can get your copy on the FTC Web site at (http://www.ftc.gov) - click on Consumer protection - or call toll-free (877)382-4357.
· Elderly, low-income, or disabled homeowners who don't have the resources to fix their own homes can get applications for free repairs from the volunteers of Rebuilding Together Quad Cities, formerly Hearts & Hammers QCA. Homes selected will be worked on during the group's fall workday in September or next spring. Additional home repairs are being made possible by a recent grant from the Scott County Regional Authority. Owner-occupied, conventional homes from the Illinois or Iowa Quad Cities area are eligible for assistance. Applications are available at city offices, at public libraries, from community organizations, or from social-service agencies. They can also be picked up at the John Lewis Coffee Shop, 1202 West Third Street in Davenport, or ordered from Rebuilding Together Quad Cities by calling (563)322-6534.
· Last week the Iowa legislature passed a law exempting upcoming federal tax-refund checks from state taxes. But the federal tax cut will still provide the state with additional revenue. Under the new federal tax laws, Iowans will get to keep roughly $12 billion more of their incomes over the next decade. This money will now be taxable income at the state level - more than a $600 million windfall for the state.
· The University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center has released a study that says almost 20 percent of children online have received an unwanted sexual solicitation. Iowa State University Extension, Scott County, has a new publication called "Child Safety on the Internet" that can help parents and caregivers make informed decisions about the Internet and keeping children safe. You can get your own copy by calling the Scott County Extension Service at (563)359-7577.
· The LeClaire Library has until July 2 to raise matching funds to receive a $520,000 donation from the Barkhuff Trust. The library board plans to use the money to create a 6,000-square-foot library in the former Market Square Building. Counting the city's investment and a $50,000 grant from the Scott County Regional Authority, approximately $425,000 in donations have been made. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to the LeClaire Community Library; P.O. Box 503; LeClaire, IA 52753.
· Iowa legislators quickly approved a new map for congressional districts despite criticism that the new map is bizarre. The plan was the second considered; the Iowa Senate rejected the first during the regular session that ended on May 8. Governor Tom Vilsack has said he will sign the plan. Some controversy surrounded the plan because it tossed two Republican U.S. Representatives, Jim Leach and Jim Nussle, into the new 1st District in eastern Iowa. Leach has said he will move from Davenport into the new 2nd District in southeast Iowa.
· The "Beer Tax Battle" is a lobbying effort to cut the tax on beer in half. Congress doubled the tax to $18 a barrel - about a dollar a case - in 1990 when it also passed tax increases on luxury items such as planes and yachts. Three years later, most of the luxury taxes were rescinded, but the beer tax was not. Taxes account for 44 percent of the retail price of beer. Reducing the tax to its 1990 level would cost the federal government about $1.6 billion a year. You can find out more about the effort to roll back the beer tax at (http://www.rollbackthebeertax.org/).
· The recent bout of severe weather, including tornadoes, has brought into focus the need for early warning. One of the best ways to stay ahead of the weather is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio. NOAA Weather Radio is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information direct from a nearby National Weather Service Office. NOAA Weather Radio broadcasts National Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts, and other hazard information 24 hours a day. They can be purchased relatively inexpensively at many consumer-electronics stores. You can find out more about NOAA Weather Radios at (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/), and for up-to-the-minute information on the local weather scene, look at the National Weather Service Quad Cites Web site at (http://www.crh.noaa.gov/dvn/).
· The Third Annual Putnam Museum Environmental Stewardship Award has been presented to Partners of Scott County Watersheds. This group represents a variety of projects, including Davenport's Duck Creek wetlands, restoration at Fairmont Street, St. Ambrose University's sustainable storm-water retention plan, Bettendorf's development pilot project, rural Duck Creek waterway project, promotion of native-vegetation buffer strips, and community educational efforts. The Partners of Scott County Watersheds includes farmers, property owners, home owners, educators, developers and builders, and conservation, agricultural, and government agencies, as well as elected officials and staff.
· If you're in the market for Internet service, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) wants you to know that some offers for "free" access might end up being high-cost, long-term commitments because important restrictions and conditions on these offers are not always disclosed clearly or conspicuously. As part of its ongoing effort to educate consumers about potential scams, the FTC has developed the advisory "Hide and Go Seek: Finding the Disclosures in 'Free' Internet Service Offers." You can get your copy on the FTC Web site at (http://www.ftc.gov) - click on Consumer protection - or call toll-free (877)382-4357.
· Elderly, low-income, or disabled homeowners who don't have the resources to fix their own homes can get applications for free repairs from the volunteers of Rebuilding Together Quad Cities, formerly Hearts & Hammers QCA. Homes selected will be worked on during the group's fall workday in September or next spring. Additional home repairs are being made possible by a recent grant from the Scott County Regional Authority. Owner-occupied, conventional homes from the Illinois or Iowa Quad Cities area are eligible for assistance. Applications are available at city offices, at public libraries, from community organizations, or from social-service agencies. They can also be picked up at the John Lewis Coffee Shop, 1202 West Third Street in Davenport, or ordered from Rebuilding Together Quad Cities by calling (563)322-6534.
· Last week the Iowa legislature passed a law exempting upcoming federal tax-refund checks from state taxes. But the federal tax cut will still provide the state with additional revenue. Under the new federal tax laws, Iowans will get to keep roughly $12 billion more of their incomes over the next decade. This money will now be taxable income at the state level - more than a $600 million windfall for the state.
· The University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Research Center has released a study that says almost 20 percent of children online have received an unwanted sexual solicitation. Iowa State University Extension, Scott County, has a new publication called "Child Safety on the Internet" that can help parents and caregivers make informed decisions about the Internet and keeping children safe. You can get your own copy by calling the Scott County Extension Service at (563)359-7577.
· The LeClaire Library has until July 2 to raise matching funds to receive a $520,000 donation from the Barkhuff Trust. The library board plans to use the money to create a 6,000-square-foot library in the former Market Square Building. Counting the city's investment and a $50,000 grant from the Scott County Regional Authority, approximately $425,000 in donations have been made. Tax-deductible donations can be mailed to the LeClaire Community Library; P.O. Box 503; LeClaire, IA 52753.
· Iowa legislators quickly approved a new map for congressional districts despite criticism that the new map is bizarre. The plan was the second considered; the Iowa Senate rejected the first during the regular session that ended on May 8. Governor Tom Vilsack has said he will sign the plan. Some controversy surrounded the plan because it tossed two Republican U.S. Representatives, Jim Leach and Jim Nussle, into the new 1st District in eastern Iowa. Leach has said he will move from Davenport into the new 2nd District in southeast Iowa.
· The "Beer Tax Battle" is a lobbying effort to cut the tax on beer in half. Congress doubled the tax to $18 a barrel - about a dollar a case - in 1990 when it also passed tax increases on luxury items such as planes and yachts. Three years later, most of the luxury taxes were rescinded, but the beer tax was not. Taxes account for 44 percent of the retail price of beer. Reducing the tax to its 1990 level would cost the federal government about $1.6 billion a year. You can find out more about the effort to roll back the beer tax at (http://www.rollbackthebeertax.org/).
