The Moline Foundation has awarded the River Music Experience a grant of $3,000 to help low-income and at-risk youth participate in its programs. Applicable programming includes The Sound Lab recording classes, Rock Camp USA summer sessions, and individual music lessons. Interested parties may apply for financial assistance by requesting an application form specific to a particular program. For more information, contact Ellis Kell at (563) 326-1333 extension 113 or (ekell@rivermusicexperience.org), or visit (http://www.rivermusicexperience.org).
The Quad City Symphony Orchestra has announced the appointment of Mark Russell Smith as its new music director. Succeeding Donald Schleicher, who led the symphony for eight seasons, Smith will begin his tenure as music director with the 2008-9 season.
U.S. Representative Bruce Braley (D-Iowa) has formally announced that he will seek a second term in Congress. Braley made the announcement last week at stops in four eastern-Iowa cities: Davenport, Clinton, Dubuque, and Waterloo.
Longtime Quad Cities resident, artist, and teacher Bill Hannan has been designing, lettering, illustrating, and making books for much of his career. Approximately 20 of those books, from papyrus scrolls to accordion folds, are now on display at the Thomas Tredway Library at Augustana College in the exhibit Bill Hannan: Maker of Books.
Christian Care, a local not-for-profit, non-denominational agency providing shelter and services to abused women and children and homeless men, has received an award of $320 from the Davenport Woman's Club. This unrestricted gift will be used for programs at the Domestic Violence Shelter for women and children. If you are in need of Christian Care's services, or would like to volunteer or donate to the organization, call (309) 788-2273.
The executive who uncovered the $9-billion MCI WorldCom accounting scandal will speak on business ethics next month at Augustana College. Cynthia Cooper, former vice president of MCI WorldCom's internal-audit department, will present "Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in Augustana's Centennial Hall (3703 Seventh Avenue in Rock Island). Cooper was named one of Time magazine's 2002 Persons of the Year after detecting massive accounting fraud at MCI WorldCom and reporting it to the company's external auditors. Earlier this year, Cooper published her own account of what remains the largest corporate accounting scandal in history. The lecture is open to the public, free of charge.
The Iowa Department of Education has received $27,648 from the U.S. Department of Education through the Advanced Placement Test Fee Program. The funds will be used to pay all or a portion of the fees for AP tests taken by low-income students. The program is designed to increase the number of low-income students who take advanced-placement tests and receive scores for which college academic credit is awarded.
The Quad City Health Initiative wants every individual in the Quad Cities to be the center of his or her health care team. This means that the individual understands his or her medication and medical treatments and shares this information with health-care providers at every visit. To help facilitate this communication, the health initiative and its founding sponsors, Genesis Health System and Trinity Regional Health System, are distributing 100,000 health-facts cards to community members. Free health-facts cards will be available at Genesis and Trinity sites as well as at physician offices and pharmacies throughout the community.
Senior Voice and the Davenport Public Library have again joined forces to offer monthly programs for area seniors. "Specifically for Seniors" meets March through November on the last Wednesday of each month at 1 p.m. at the Fairmount Street Library (3000 North Fairmount Street). At the March 26 presentation, titled "How Does Your Garden Grow?", the Green Thumbers will show participants tips and tricks that will help both novice and skilled gardeners alike prepare for the spring and summer months. Registration is not required for this free program. For more information, call the Davenport Public Library at (563) 888-3371.
The Rock Island Public Library will offer the program "Preparing for Digital TV" at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, at the Main Library, 401 19th Street. The transition to all-digital TV is coming in February 2009. What do you need to do to make sure that your analog television will work in the new digital age? Ken Colwell, professor of communications at St. Ambrose University and member of the National Association of Broadcasters, answers your questions. The program is free and open to the public.
