29
Apr
2003
• River Action Inc. reports that Greenway Habitat, the organization responsible for planting and maintaining more than 7,000 trees in Davenport and the Quad Cities, is up and running again. The Greenway Habitat Project is in a transition stage now as Davenport's City Forestry gears up to start street tree-planting. Ordinances have been passed to implement a Reforestation Fee with the development of new subdivisions. This funding will augment the funds raised by Greenway Habitat for new trees as well as replacement trees for those damaged over the years. A grant from MidAmerican Energy for $10,000 will fund tree-plantings this spring. Donations last fall funded nearly 100 new trees that can be admired at the subdivision south of Locust on Wisconsin and at Davenport's Centennial Park.
• The public is invited to attend the ribbon-cutting for the Quad Cities' first Retain the Rain parking lot at 10 a.m. on May 13 at the Mississippi River Visitor Center on the west end of Arsenal Island. River Action partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a "green" parking lot using new pavement technology. It is the first parking lot created as part of River Action's Retain the Rain program and demonstrates how to create environmentally friendly parking lots. The parking lot observes environmentally sound design to lower flood levels on the Mississippi River, decrease storm-water runoff, improve water quality, and provide additional parking. Attendees must enter the island through the Moline security gate and inform the guards that their destination is the ribbon- cutting at the Lock & Dam 15 Visitor Center. For more information about the ceremony, please contact the Corps at (309)794-5274.
• Local jazz trio John Gere & Friends said in a recent note that it was saddened by the recent passing of the band's percussionist, Joel Dick. In his honor, all revenue from the sale of the group's two CDs, Snapshots in Time and On the Fly! , will be donated to the education fund for Joel's son, Joshua. To purchase one or both albums, call John Gere at (563)359-7250 or e-mail him at (johng@sggm.net). Both CDs are $15. The trio will be including Dick's students and other local talent in future performances and recordings.
• Dingeldein Philms Inc. of Davenport has been awarded two Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) Awards of Excellence. Often referred to as "Iowa's Oscars" the IMPA awards were held Saturday, April 19, in Des Moines. Phil Dingledein, the company's president and creative director, was presented an Award of Excellence for "best television commercial over $15,000" for "Tre Stelle" (client New Rules Marketing/The Stuckey Company) and "best videography" for "GetToKnowRI" (client Renaissance Rock Island). The Iowa Motion Picture Association Awards of Excellence are the highest honors given by Iowa's film and video industry. Dingeldein Philms also received Awards of Achievement for a short-form music-video production directed by Chad Calek entitled "Home," as well as for special visual-effects editing for the music-video production "You're the Reason" for the Indianola, Iowa-based band Index Case.
• A deeply divided Iowa House of Representatives narrowly voted to remove the authority of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to enforce a drunk-driving license-revocation if the case is prosecuted in court and a conviction is not obtained. Under current state law and regulations, a person stopped for drunk driving will typically have his or her license revoked on the spot if they fail a Breathalyzer test. If the driver challenges the drunk-driving charge in court and wins an acquittal, the DOT is not required to - and often will not - re-issue the driver's license, relying upon the agency's administrative authority to issue and revoke a driver's license. Proponents of repealing the DOT's authority argue that a court decision should overrule all other authorities, and that the DOT is effectively circumventing the court's authority by not re-issuing a license if the court fails to convict. This provision is included in Senate File 422, which must now be considered by the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
• The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) has announced changes in its grants programs. The IHC has refined the general focus of the grants programs with a priority on funding projects developed by or for historically neglected audiences, or aimed at reaching them. The IHC especially invites applications from organizations that serve these communities and strongly encourages other applicants to extend their proposed programs to include such audiences. You can see the new guidelines and grant applications at (http://www.prairie.org) or by calling (312)422-5580.
• The City of Bettendorf is looking for its oldest living resident for a special recognition at a ceremony commemorating the city's centennial. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Leach Park in Bettendorf. This individual must live in Bettendorf at the present time, have lived in the community for most of his or her life, and be willing to share some memories of the city. If you have information on the oldest living resident in Bettendorf, please contact Patsy Ramacitti at (563)332-5446.
• The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in November 2001 with the primary mission of preventing an attack similar to those of September 11, 2001, by overhauling the security at more than 400 airports across the country. Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that not a single internal cost-control measure was set up for the agency's $4.8-billion budget. It also claims that half a billion dollars meant to reimburse airports for bomb-detection equipment has disappeared. The agency has also surpassed a congressional hiring cap by 21,000 personnel and is shelling out six-figure salaries to many of the non-screener employees. You can learn more about this at (http://www.taxpayer.net).
• Encrypting your e-mail is easy and a great way to protect your privacy. The International PGP Home Page has dozens of freeware encryption programs for every operating system imaginable, old and new, and they integrate so well with your e-mail software that privacy is only a click away. See for yourself at (http://www.pgpi.org).
• The public is invited to attend the ribbon-cutting for the Quad Cities' first Retain the Rain parking lot at 10 a.m. on May 13 at the Mississippi River Visitor Center on the west end of Arsenal Island. River Action partnered with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to construct a "green" parking lot using new pavement technology. It is the first parking lot created as part of River Action's Retain the Rain program and demonstrates how to create environmentally friendly parking lots. The parking lot observes environmentally sound design to lower flood levels on the Mississippi River, decrease storm-water runoff, improve water quality, and provide additional parking. Attendees must enter the island through the Moline security gate and inform the guards that their destination is the ribbon- cutting at the Lock & Dam 15 Visitor Center. For more information about the ceremony, please contact the Corps at (309)794-5274.
• Local jazz trio John Gere & Friends said in a recent note that it was saddened by the recent passing of the band's percussionist, Joel Dick. In his honor, all revenue from the sale of the group's two CDs, Snapshots in Time and On the Fly! , will be donated to the education fund for Joel's son, Joshua. To purchase one or both albums, call John Gere at (563)359-7250 or e-mail him at (johng@sggm.net). Both CDs are $15. The trio will be including Dick's students and other local talent in future performances and recordings.
• Dingeldein Philms Inc. of Davenport has been awarded two Iowa Motion Picture Association (IMPA) Awards of Excellence. Often referred to as "Iowa's Oscars" the IMPA awards were held Saturday, April 19, in Des Moines. Phil Dingledein, the company's president and creative director, was presented an Award of Excellence for "best television commercial over $15,000" for "Tre Stelle" (client New Rules Marketing/The Stuckey Company) and "best videography" for "GetToKnowRI" (client Renaissance Rock Island). The Iowa Motion Picture Association Awards of Excellence are the highest honors given by Iowa's film and video industry. Dingeldein Philms also received Awards of Achievement for a short-form music-video production directed by Chad Calek entitled "Home," as well as for special visual-effects editing for the music-video production "You're the Reason" for the Indianola, Iowa-based band Index Case.
• A deeply divided Iowa House of Representatives narrowly voted to remove the authority of the Department of Transportation (DOT) to enforce a drunk-driving license-revocation if the case is prosecuted in court and a conviction is not obtained. Under current state law and regulations, a person stopped for drunk driving will typically have his or her license revoked on the spot if they fail a Breathalyzer test. If the driver challenges the drunk-driving charge in court and wins an acquittal, the DOT is not required to - and often will not - re-issue the driver's license, relying upon the agency's administrative authority to issue and revoke a driver's license. Proponents of repealing the DOT's authority argue that a court decision should overrule all other authorities, and that the DOT is effectively circumventing the court's authority by not re-issuing a license if the court fails to convict. This provision is included in Senate File 422, which must now be considered by the Senate, where its future is uncertain.
• The Illinois Humanities Council (IHC) has announced changes in its grants programs. The IHC has refined the general focus of the grants programs with a priority on funding projects developed by or for historically neglected audiences, or aimed at reaching them. The IHC especially invites applications from organizations that serve these communities and strongly encourages other applicants to extend their proposed programs to include such audiences. You can see the new guidelines and grant applications at (http://www.prairie.org) or by calling (312)422-5580.
• The City of Bettendorf is looking for its oldest living resident for a special recognition at a ceremony commemorating the city's centennial. The ceremony will be held on Thursday, June 5, beginning at 6:30 p.m. at Leach Park in Bettendorf. This individual must live in Bettendorf at the present time, have lived in the community for most of his or her life, and be willing to share some memories of the city. If you have information on the oldest living resident in Bettendorf, please contact Patsy Ramacitti at (563)332-5446.
• The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was created in November 2001 with the primary mission of preventing an attack similar to those of September 11, 2001, by overhauling the security at more than 400 airports across the country. Taxpayers for Common Sense reports that not a single internal cost-control measure was set up for the agency's $4.8-billion budget. It also claims that half a billion dollars meant to reimburse airports for bomb-detection equipment has disappeared. The agency has also surpassed a congressional hiring cap by 21,000 personnel and is shelling out six-figure salaries to many of the non-screener employees. You can learn more about this at (http://www.taxpayer.net).
• Encrypting your e-mail is easy and a great way to protect your privacy. The International PGP Home Page has dozens of freeware encryption programs for every operating system imaginable, old and new, and they integrate so well with your e-mail software that privacy is only a click away. See for yourself at (http://www.pgpi.org).
