(Editor's note: This is the first of a monthly series discussing various Quad Cities' marketing efforts.) There is a marketing axiom stating that marketing can't make you something you're not.
Progress on a new Western Illinois University campus on the Moline riverfront is at a standstill until officials can obtain the funding needed to do the initial architectural and engineering design required before construction can begin.

"The only red tape you'll find in Rock Island is the one you cut at your grand opening," says the new marketing campaign for the city. Some bar owners in The District of Rock Island view things a little differently.

A special levy that will fund the operational costs of two new branch libraries in Davenport is expected to produce a cumulative surplus of more than $791,000 by 2013. But library and city officials say the surplus is necessary to protect the city budget from absorbing a greater portion of construction costs, which would likely force cuts in city services.
When the first draft of Davenport's new comprehensive land-use plan was presented to the public in March, it was intended as a springboard for public discussion. Since then, the committee in charge of the document has released a set of 144 recommendations.
Talk radio has long been dominated by conservative voices, but progressives are finding some friendly places on the radio dial. The Air America network was launched last year, and local AM station 1270 changed its format several months ago to carry its programming.
The Rock Island Housing Authority (RIHA) is in the process of reapplying for the federal HOPE VI grant, after having its first application, for $20 million, denied on May 17. The grant is intended to be the facilitator for a $40.
At the first session for public input on the proposed Rhythm City Casino hotel and parking ramp on the riverfront, Clayton Lloyd greeted roughly 400 attendees with candor. "We're very pleased and somewhat overwhelmed at the response," said Lloyd, Davenport's director of community and economic development.
Proposed cuts in federal education funding are forcing local college officials to come up with creative ways to fund programs that might be affected by these cuts. If approved, President Bush's budget would cut 66 percent of funding for adult basic education classes.
A small group of thoughtful people could change the world," Margaret Meade once said. "Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." That's also the belief of Progressive Action for the Common Good, but a small group was most certainly not the case at the public summit that more than 400 people attended April 16 at Augustana College.

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