18
Dec
2001
• Marycrest International University will close following its spring semester, the school announced on Monday. On Friday, the university's Board of Trustees voted to shutter the institution, citing "economic factors." Founded in 1939 as Marycrest College (the women's division of St. Ambrose College), the university was placed on probation earlier this year by the North Central Association of Schools & Universities because of governance issues. Marycrest was also put on probation in 1994 for similar concerns, and that status hurt enrollment. At a press conference on Monday, Marycrest International University President Dr. Pascal V. De Luca said he anticipated enrollment decreases because of the new probation, and the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to close the school. Letters informing students of the decision were sent out Monday, and the school had scheduled meetings for students and their parents for December 18 and January 14, the first day of the spring semester. Students finished exams last week.
• More than $97,000 was awarded to rural Scott County fire departments for the 2001 fall grant cycle from the Scott County Regional Authority (SCRA). Dixon Fire will be able to replace its pagers with a $7,000 grant. Blue Grass Fire received $11,000 for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Princeton Fire received $16,926 for SCBA and new turn-out gear. New Liberty got $30,000 for concrete for its new firehouse project, and Maysville received $32,500 worth of apparatus. This grant cycle saw $2,328,519 awarded, bringing total funding to more than $21 million to education, not-for-profit, government, and civic organizations since 1992.
• Buy a battery in Davenport and you could help seriously ill children spend the holidays with their families. That's the premise of a unique charity campaign that capitalizes on the increased sale of batteries during the holidays. Through the campaign, Batteries Plus, a national retail and business-to-business battery chain, is making a $30,000 corporate donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities. The company is also enlisting its 185 stores nationwide, including the location in Davenport, to build on that donation via customer contributions during the holiday-season "battery rush."
• Security is being hurriedly beefed up in the Iowa capital building in preparation for the 2002 legislative session, which will start next month. Improvements being installed under the million-dollar security plan include security checkpoints for the three public entrances, at which visitors will be subjected to metal detectors and x-ray machines. Entrances to the rest of the building will be through doors equipped with electronic locks with key cards limited to certain state officials and employees. Initially, funding for this new security will come from the legislature's own budget.
• Three books published by the Schuetzenpark Gilde are still available in limited numbers. The sales of these books benefit many conservation and historic-preservation projects underway at the Schuetzen Park Historic Site in western Davenport. You can get copies of Schuetzenpark: Davenport's Lost Playland ($20.00), The German Forty-Eighters in Davenport ($10.00), and the Ernst Otto Song Book ($10.00) by writing Schuetzenpark Gilde; c/o 701 N. Pine St.; Davenport, IA 52807-4129. The books are also available at Avatar Books in East Davenport, Katy's Market in Moline, and Borders Books, Music, & Café in Davenport. Inquiries are welcome by calling (563)323-5029 or by e-mail at (Schtzenprk@aol.com).
• According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, Lee Enterprises - the Davenport-based publisher of 23 daily newspapers, including the Quad City Times, and more than 100 weekly newspapers - continues to "shop for daily newspapers with circulation ranging from 30,000 to 125,000." And the company has the money to buy them, with $448 million in cash reserves - most of them from the October 2000 sale of its broadcast unit. Lee Enterprises also reports that its fiscal first quarter earnings would be lower because of less-than-expected interest income and a weak advertising environment. The predicted numbers are a profit of 38 to 40 cents per share, down from 48 cents per share a year ago.
• Most people don't realize that more than 4,000 shipments of radioactive waste are transported across Iowa each year. Iowa might soon become the first state to charge a fee to transport waste on its soil, with one proposal suggesting fees from $50 to $1,750. The rule could go into effect on July 1 and would only apply to so-called "high-level waste," such as spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants, and low-level waste such as contaminated soil. The fee size would depend on what's being shipped and how it's transported - via rail or highway.
• The Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) has pointed out when it comes to marijuana policy, the Taliban is much more permissive than the U.S. government and many states. According to a review of the Taliban penal code by a New York Times reporter, Article 6 specifies the following penalty for pot-growing: "A person who cultivates marijuana will be jailed until his family members get rid of the plant." That is positively benign compared to the United States. Under federal law, growing one plant can net you 15 to 21 months in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. For more than 100 plants, you're looking at a five-year mandatory-minimum sentence, and up to 40 years. Marijuana growers in the U.S. can also anticipate no-knock raids by masked, heavily armed men; the seizure of all their money and property; thousands of dollars in legal expenses; and a lengthy regimen of drug testing. And they won't be able to get student loans, either. Check out some of the other things DRCNet is saying at its Web site (http://www.drcnet.org).
•Quad City Family Week Coalition "Celebrate Your Family" calendars are now available. This 12-month calendar is designed to encourage families to engage in activities together throughout the year. Each month on the calendar lists six different family activities, a place to record special events, and a place to draw a picture of a favorite family activity. Calendars can be purchased for $1 each while supplies last at either of the following locations: Friendly House, (563)323-1821, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport, or Churches United, (309)786-6494, 630 9th Street in Rock Island. Please call first to check on office hours.
• More than $97,000 was awarded to rural Scott County fire departments for the 2001 fall grant cycle from the Scott County Regional Authority (SCRA). Dixon Fire will be able to replace its pagers with a $7,000 grant. Blue Grass Fire received $11,000 for self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA). Princeton Fire received $16,926 for SCBA and new turn-out gear. New Liberty got $30,000 for concrete for its new firehouse project, and Maysville received $32,500 worth of apparatus. This grant cycle saw $2,328,519 awarded, bringing total funding to more than $21 million to education, not-for-profit, government, and civic organizations since 1992.
• Buy a battery in Davenport and you could help seriously ill children spend the holidays with their families. That's the premise of a unique charity campaign that capitalizes on the increased sale of batteries during the holidays. Through the campaign, Batteries Plus, a national retail and business-to-business battery chain, is making a $30,000 corporate donation to Ronald McDonald House Charities. The company is also enlisting its 185 stores nationwide, including the location in Davenport, to build on that donation via customer contributions during the holiday-season "battery rush."
• Security is being hurriedly beefed up in the Iowa capital building in preparation for the 2002 legislative session, which will start next month. Improvements being installed under the million-dollar security plan include security checkpoints for the three public entrances, at which visitors will be subjected to metal detectors and x-ray machines. Entrances to the rest of the building will be through doors equipped with electronic locks with key cards limited to certain state officials and employees. Initially, funding for this new security will come from the legislature's own budget.
• Three books published by the Schuetzenpark Gilde are still available in limited numbers. The sales of these books benefit many conservation and historic-preservation projects underway at the Schuetzen Park Historic Site in western Davenport. You can get copies of Schuetzenpark: Davenport's Lost Playland ($20.00), The German Forty-Eighters in Davenport ($10.00), and the Ernst Otto Song Book ($10.00) by writing Schuetzenpark Gilde; c/o 701 N. Pine St.; Davenport, IA 52807-4129. The books are also available at Avatar Books in East Davenport, Katy's Market in Moline, and Borders Books, Music, & Café in Davenport. Inquiries are welcome by calling (563)323-5029 or by e-mail at (Schtzenprk@aol.com).
• According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, Lee Enterprises - the Davenport-based publisher of 23 daily newspapers, including the Quad City Times, and more than 100 weekly newspapers - continues to "shop for daily newspapers with circulation ranging from 30,000 to 125,000." And the company has the money to buy them, with $448 million in cash reserves - most of them from the October 2000 sale of its broadcast unit. Lee Enterprises also reports that its fiscal first quarter earnings would be lower because of less-than-expected interest income and a weak advertising environment. The predicted numbers are a profit of 38 to 40 cents per share, down from 48 cents per share a year ago.
• Most people don't realize that more than 4,000 shipments of radioactive waste are transported across Iowa each year. Iowa might soon become the first state to charge a fee to transport waste on its soil, with one proposal suggesting fees from $50 to $1,750. The rule could go into effect on July 1 and would only apply to so-called "high-level waste," such as spent fuel rods from nuclear power plants, and low-level waste such as contaminated soil. The fee size would depend on what's being shipped and how it's transported - via rail or highway.
• The Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) has pointed out when it comes to marijuana policy, the Taliban is much more permissive than the U.S. government and many states. According to a review of the Taliban penal code by a New York Times reporter, Article 6 specifies the following penalty for pot-growing: "A person who cultivates marijuana will be jailed until his family members get rid of the plant." That is positively benign compared to the United States. Under federal law, growing one plant can net you 15 to 21 months in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. For more than 100 plants, you're looking at a five-year mandatory-minimum sentence, and up to 40 years. Marijuana growers in the U.S. can also anticipate no-knock raids by masked, heavily armed men; the seizure of all their money and property; thousands of dollars in legal expenses; and a lengthy regimen of drug testing. And they won't be able to get student loans, either. Check out some of the other things DRCNet is saying at its Web site (http://www.drcnet.org).
•Quad City Family Week Coalition "Celebrate Your Family" calendars are now available. This 12-month calendar is designed to encourage families to engage in activities together throughout the year. Each month on the calendar lists six different family activities, a place to record special events, and a place to draw a picture of a favorite family activity. Calendars can be purchased for $1 each while supplies last at either of the following locations: Friendly House, (563)323-1821, 1221 Myrtle Street in Davenport, or Churches United, (309)786-6494, 630 9th Street in Rock Island. Please call first to check on office hours.
