A.J. Wacaser is fond of a slogan by activist Jeremy Rifkin: "Eating is the ultimate political act." There's certainly a political component to the new Buy Fresh Buy Local campaign, which Wacaser is helping to coordinate.

BRAC Attack

In 1995, community backers of a military base in a very arid part of the country offered to take drastic measures to satisfy the U.S. military, which had difficulty getting the water it needed and as a result wanted to shift some functions to different military bases.

Blueprint 2010

When the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce unveiled the findings of its Blueprint 2010 study last week, they had a familiar ring. The Quad Cities area doesn't have enough young professionals, the study found, there's a pervasive pessimism among residents, and the community doesn't market itself effectively to the outside world, particularly to businesses looking to re-locate.

Doctor Dash

The Genesis Illini Medical Center in Silvis has lost 25 physicians in the past 24 months. That's roughly 10 percent of the hospital's doctors. These aren't the losses that one would expect, such as planned retirements.

The Enigma

Lyle Lovett put the bottle of water to his lips. He drank, and he drank, and he drank. The audience started to titter, although I'm sure some people wondered when he would come up for air. He continued sucking down the water.
After being suspended and kicked out of Rock Island High School for not attending class almost 90 percent of the time a year and a half ago, Adam Anderson decided it was time to do something with his life. Soon after, he joined Rock Island Youthbuild and began attending classes at the Black Hawk Learning Center.
Mallarie Zimmer was raised in Arkansas, not far from Memphis, and watched her artist mother try to find balance in her life. "I grew up watching her struggle juggling her career, her family, and her creativity," Zimmer said.
In 1985, Chris Larson purchased the Lincoln school building at 2125 Seventh Avenue in Rock Island. "I bought the school just to keep it from being demolished," Larson said. "I had absolutely no use for it at that time.
There are no exact directions. There are probably no directions at all. The only things that I am able to recommend at this moment are a sense of humor; an ability to see the ridiculous and the absurd dimensions of things; an ability to laugh about others as well as about ourselves; a sense of irony and of everything that invites parody in this world.

Patient Money

When it opened for business in fall 2000, the 203-acre Eastern Iowa Industrial Center was meant as a catalyst for economic growth - able to attract large-scale industrial companies who had in the past not even considered the Quad Cities.

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