For many of us, Christmas can be a stressful time due to the strain on finances that gift-giving can cause. We look for bargains and value-added without sacrificing quality. Well, as luck would have it, this year brings a new Quad Cities enterprise that provides all of the above and much more.
One of the many issues on which President George W. Bush and Texas Governor Rick Perry see eye-to-eye is open records. Both men seem to have a gut instinct against public disclosure of the operations of government.
Senate Democratic Leader Tom Daschle identified with pinpoint accuracy the key stumbling block in Medicare-reform legislation before the bill's passage by the House and Senate last week. He repeated that Democrats want to add prescription drug coverage to Medicare, but added: "If we're going to change the character of Medicare itself, that's too high a price to pay.
The Medicare "reform" legislation just passed by Congress sends the program on a path to destruction. Crafted in the heady days of the Great Society, Medicare has worked reasonably well for almost four decades for seniors and disabled Americans, many of whom are unable to buy health coverage in the private market.
Excerpts from a speech by President George W. Bush last week Today we had a major victory to improve the health-care system in America. The United States Senate has joined the House of Representatives in passing historic reform of Medicare that will strengthen the system, that will modernize the system, that will provide high-quality care for the seniors who live in America.

September 29-October 26, 1993 Premiere Issue The River Cities' Reader's premiere issue is 32 pages, with advertisers Evergreen Art Works, Kimberly Chrysler, Eldridge Bike Shop, Davenport Museum of Art, Day Dreams Furniture, Galvin Fine Arts Center, The Faithful Pilot, Rascals, Licata Interior Gallery, The Children's Museum, Hancher Auditorium, Mike (Comic for Hire), Huckleberry's, Cox Cable, Co-op, and Jumer's Casino Rock Island.

The most obvious signs of Davenport's arts renaissance can be seen with the construction of the new Figge Art Museum and the renovation of the Redstone building for the River Music Experience. But two other projects now in the works could have an even greater impact on the Quad Cities' artistic community.
Difficult economic times have forced cities to take a hard look at their budgets, the scope of their services, and how they provide them, particularly in Davenport. For that reason, the River Cities' Reader chose to ask two direct budget-related questions of candidates running for municipal offices in the November 4 general election: 1) Build your own city budget from the following city responsibilities (listed alphabetically) by assigning a percentage.
When you ask Brandon Jones about the MidCoast Film & Arts Festival, he often sounds like the shoestring-budget seat-of-the-pants filmmakers whose work he's bringing to the Quad Cities next week. "Our biggest downfall is that we don't have any staff," Jones said.
Stu Pollard will be an exception at next week's MidCoast Film & Arts Festival. While most films at the event are still negotiating the winding road of distribution - trying to be seen by people who don't get to film festivals - Pollard's Nice Guys Sleep Alone has achieved success.

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