While the shock of last week's terrorist attacks on the United States are still fresh in the minds of virtually everyone, this weekend will give the community plenty of chances to re-connect with neighbors and friends at a host of social and sporting events.
The issue of predatory lending has captured the attention of legislators nationwide. At least 25 states have introduced bills this year to combat abusive lending, and Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller is pledging to do the same in Iowa.

The Money Pit

Part one of two On August 13, Greg Hoover, the director of housing and neighborhood development for the City of Davenport, presented a powerful report to the city council painting a disturbing picture of how people with poor credit are being exploited.
When she began dancing with CMBT two years ago, Erica Christensen found that the company was not well-known in the Quad Cities. "No one even knew there was a ballet company around," she said. At the time, CMBT: Quad Cities Professional Ballet Company had four dancers.
In their third year, the Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities have reached a certain stature. The one-day festival and competition, which will be held Saturday at the Mississippi Valley Fairgrounds, has attracted top-flight performers rare for an event so young.
Say the word "scooter" to most people, admits Dean Wright, and "they picture you on a Honda moped." But that's not quite what Wright and his friends are into, and when they're on the road, they draw attention.

What Now?

Last week's announcement that the Vision Iowa board will contribute $20 million to Davenport's $113 million riverfront-revitalization project was, with good reason, greeted with smiles all around the Quad Cities.
When Mike and Amy Finders began playing music together four years ago, they were playing folk rock in the bars around Dubuque and Galena, where they lived. But they decided to change direction. "Let's not just try to be loud and entertaining to people who aren't exactly paying attention," Finder said of the thought process behind the decision.
Minor-league baseball has erupted into a major-league furor in the Quad Cities. On the one hand, Davenport Mayor Phil Yerington has complained about the composition of a task force appointed by Moline Mayor Stan Leach to explore ways to keep professional baseball here when the Quad City River Bandits pack up for Ohio in the next two years.
At the inaugural ArtStroll, MidCoast Fine Arts and the River Cities' Reader gathered 110 visual artists and their supporters for a group portrait by area photographer Dennis Fretty. Now we're bringing the music community together for a picture at the site of the planned River Music History Center, coming even closer to the spirit of the famous 1958 photograph "A Great Day in Harlem.

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