08
Apr
2003
• Five new vehicles have recently joined the City of Davenport's CitiBus fleet. The five buses are part of the normal fleet-replacement process and bring to 21 the total number of buses in the CitiBus fleet. Each vehicle cost $241,068, with the Federal Transit Administration funding 80 percent of the replacement cost and the City of Davenport funding the remainder. The vehicles, which seat 25 and have two wheelchair tie-downs, have enhanced heating and air-conditioning systems and are compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
• The government might be watching what you are watching on TV. Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, non-cable television services (such as satellite providers and TIVO) can be forced to disclose every show you have watched. The government just has to say that the request is related to a terrorism investigation. You don't even have to be the target of the investigation, and your TV provider is prohibited from informing you that the federal government has requested your personal information. Cable-TV watchers have a bit more protection, as the Cable Act of 1984 says that cable companies do not have to release an individual's records unless it can shown that the person is the target of a criminal investigation. Even then, the individual must be notified of the request, which he or she can then challenge in court.
• Iowa lawmakers have approved a bill that would make Iowa one of leading producers of renewable energy. The legislation, approved by both the House and Senate, will increase Iowa's wind energy output by allowing MidAmerican Energy to build and own in Iowa the world's largest land-based wind project. According to MidAmerican, the wind project will generate 310 megawatts of wind energy and will consist of 180 to 200 wind turbines, each generating approximately 1.5 to 1.65 megawatts of electricity. The project will be built in three phases on different sites in Iowa. The 310 megawatts of wind energy that MidAmerican plans to generate will provide enough electricity on average to power approximately 85,000 homes. MidAmerican's proposal also includes an electric-rate freeze through 2010, which is an extension of the current freeze (due to expire in 2005). Under the legislation, the Iowa Utilities Board will oversee the project to ensure that rates are reasonable to customers and nondiscriminatory to alternative-energy producers and small hydro-producers. The legislation also allows the Iowa Utilities Board to approve the rate-freeze request.
• The federal government earned the Privacy Villain of the Week award from the National Consumers Coalition Privacy Group (http://www.nccprivacy.org) because of sloppy protection of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other confidential data. The award was given based on a report from the U.S. Senate that can be found at (http://govt-aff.senate.gov/031103prescouncilrpt.pdf). All but one of the 15 agencies participating in the study lacked adequate security controls over private contractors' access to and use of SSNs; private contractors kept personal-identification information in unlocked cabinets, in storage rooms, and on desktops after working hours; nine agencies had inadequate controls over SSNs stored on computers; and two federal agencies even had poor controls over non-government and/or non-contractor access to SSNs.
• The White House is pulling the plug on a series of federal anti-drug ads released after September 11, 2001, that allege recreational drug use aids terrorism. The decision comes four months after an internal evaluation of the ads determined that they had failed to discourage viewers from trying marijuana or other drugs, and in some cases fostered "pro-drug" beliefs among teens. As part of the White House's decision to stop the drugs-and-terrorism ads, it was also announced that funding would cease for the $8-million bi-annual Westat & Annenberg evaluation that had been critical of the campaign. Westat & Annenberg had produced regular evaluations of the ad campaign for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) since 1999. According to White House Office of National Drug Policy spokesperson Tom Riley, the final series of drugs-and-terrorism ads will run in June. The ads were produced under the banner of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which Congress funds at an estimated $195 million per year.
• Teens for Tomorrow, an initiative of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, has announced a request for grant proposals. Not-for-profit organizations and projects serving at-risk youth, abused women, broken homes/families, and youth after-school programs may apply for funding from the Teens for Tomorrow Board. The Teens for Tomorrow board is responsible for allocating $5,000 per year to support projects addressing community needs. Grant applications are available on the Community Foundation Web site at (http://www.cfgrb.org). Applications must be returned no later than Wednesday, April 30.
• A $3,000 state grant and the help of some high-school students are enabling Quad City seniors to become computer literate. The students attend Black Hawk College's Optional Education Program and once a week they team up with seniors to teach them such computer skills as how to manipulate the mouse and send e-mail. The "Learn & Serve" grant is administered through The Rock Island County Regional Office of Education in partnership with Black Hawk College's Optional Education Program. The classes take place at the BHC Outreach Center at 301 Avenue of the Cities in East Moline. For more information, contact Kim Lasek at (309)755-2200.
• The application deadline for the 2003 grant cycle of the Doris & Victor Day Foundation is Thursday, May 1. Applications are available on the foundation's Web site at (http://www.dayfoundation.org), at local libraries, or by telephone request to the foundation office at (309)788-2800. Grants are awarded to not-for-profit organizations in the Quad Cities area with a focus on serving the needs of disadvantaged persons. Grant awards are announced before Labor Day.
• Taxpayers in every county in Iowa have paid property taxes through (http://www.iowatreasurers.org), an award-winning Web site that offers county-treasurer services. Developed by the Iowa State Association of County Treasurers, the Web site has received state and national recognition for its services to Iowa citizens. Iowa is believed to be the only state in the nation allowing online property-tax payments to all citizens in all counties.
• The government might be watching what you are watching on TV. Under Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, non-cable television services (such as satellite providers and TIVO) can be forced to disclose every show you have watched. The government just has to say that the request is related to a terrorism investigation. You don't even have to be the target of the investigation, and your TV provider is prohibited from informing you that the federal government has requested your personal information. Cable-TV watchers have a bit more protection, as the Cable Act of 1984 says that cable companies do not have to release an individual's records unless it can shown that the person is the target of a criminal investigation. Even then, the individual must be notified of the request, which he or she can then challenge in court.
• Iowa lawmakers have approved a bill that would make Iowa one of leading producers of renewable energy. The legislation, approved by both the House and Senate, will increase Iowa's wind energy output by allowing MidAmerican Energy to build and own in Iowa the world's largest land-based wind project. According to MidAmerican, the wind project will generate 310 megawatts of wind energy and will consist of 180 to 200 wind turbines, each generating approximately 1.5 to 1.65 megawatts of electricity. The project will be built in three phases on different sites in Iowa. The 310 megawatts of wind energy that MidAmerican plans to generate will provide enough electricity on average to power approximately 85,000 homes. MidAmerican's proposal also includes an electric-rate freeze through 2010, which is an extension of the current freeze (due to expire in 2005). Under the legislation, the Iowa Utilities Board will oversee the project to ensure that rates are reasonable to customers and nondiscriminatory to alternative-energy producers and small hydro-producers. The legislation also allows the Iowa Utilities Board to approve the rate-freeze request.
• The federal government earned the Privacy Villain of the Week award from the National Consumers Coalition Privacy Group (http://www.nccprivacy.org) because of sloppy protection of Social Security Numbers (SSNs) and other confidential data. The award was given based on a report from the U.S. Senate that can be found at (http://govt-aff.senate.gov/031103prescouncilrpt.pdf). All but one of the 15 agencies participating in the study lacked adequate security controls over private contractors' access to and use of SSNs; private contractors kept personal-identification information in unlocked cabinets, in storage rooms, and on desktops after working hours; nine agencies had inadequate controls over SSNs stored on computers; and two federal agencies even had poor controls over non-government and/or non-contractor access to SSNs.
• The White House is pulling the plug on a series of federal anti-drug ads released after September 11, 2001, that allege recreational drug use aids terrorism. The decision comes four months after an internal evaluation of the ads determined that they had failed to discourage viewers from trying marijuana or other drugs, and in some cases fostered "pro-drug" beliefs among teens. As part of the White House's decision to stop the drugs-and-terrorism ads, it was also announced that funding would cease for the $8-million bi-annual Westat & Annenberg evaluation that had been critical of the campaign. Westat & Annenberg had produced regular evaluations of the ad campaign for the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) since 1999. According to White House Office of National Drug Policy spokesperson Tom Riley, the final series of drugs-and-terrorism ads will run in June. The ads were produced under the banner of the National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, which Congress funds at an estimated $195 million per year.
• Teens for Tomorrow, an initiative of the Community Foundation of the Great River Bend, has announced a request for grant proposals. Not-for-profit organizations and projects serving at-risk youth, abused women, broken homes/families, and youth after-school programs may apply for funding from the Teens for Tomorrow Board. The Teens for Tomorrow board is responsible for allocating $5,000 per year to support projects addressing community needs. Grant applications are available on the Community Foundation Web site at (http://www.cfgrb.org). Applications must be returned no later than Wednesday, April 30.
• A $3,000 state grant and the help of some high-school students are enabling Quad City seniors to become computer literate. The students attend Black Hawk College's Optional Education Program and once a week they team up with seniors to teach them such computer skills as how to manipulate the mouse and send e-mail. The "Learn & Serve" grant is administered through The Rock Island County Regional Office of Education in partnership with Black Hawk College's Optional Education Program. The classes take place at the BHC Outreach Center at 301 Avenue of the Cities in East Moline. For more information, contact Kim Lasek at (309)755-2200.
• The application deadline for the 2003 grant cycle of the Doris & Victor Day Foundation is Thursday, May 1. Applications are available on the foundation's Web site at (http://www.dayfoundation.org), at local libraries, or by telephone request to the foundation office at (309)788-2800. Grants are awarded to not-for-profit organizations in the Quad Cities area with a focus on serving the needs of disadvantaged persons. Grant awards are announced before Labor Day.
• Taxpayers in every county in Iowa have paid property taxes through (http://www.iowatreasurers.org), an award-winning Web site that offers county-treasurer services. Developed by the Iowa State Association of County Treasurers, the Web site has received state and national recognition for its services to Iowa citizens. Iowa is believed to be the only state in the nation allowing online property-tax payments to all citizens in all counties.
