03
May
2005
• The Iowa Department of Transportation has announced that 17 Iowa communities or not-for-profit organizations were awarded funds from the Keep Iowa Beautiful program. Funding for this program is generated through Iowa's state-income-tax checkoff, and this is the third year for the program. River Action received $2,700, which will be used to design a rain garden at Woomert Park in Princeton, Iowa. Rain gardens are simple, effective strategies for retaining and cleansing stormwater runoff. The project will beautify the area, but also will retain thousands of gallons of stormwater runoff each year - water that normally damages city streets and creates a nuisance for downhill properties. River Action's project is being installed with financial and volunteer assistance from the City of Princeton.
• Beginning May 1, it became easier to locate smoke-free dining in the Quad Cities. Tobacco Free QC (TFQC) has just released its 2005 Smoke-Free Dining Guide, its most up-to-date and user-friendly brochure. The coalition has identified 226 restaurants in the Quad Cities that offer smoke-free dining. That number is up from the 188 restaurants identified during 2003. To be classified as smoke-free by TFQC, smoking is not allowed in any part of the facility. The dinning guide is located at many public places throughout the Quad Cities, including the Scott County and Rock Island County health departments. You can view the guide online at (http://www.tobaccofreeqc.org) and click on the "Enjoy Smoke-Free Dining" icon.
• The Scott County chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is one of 1,200 affiliates nationwide that is committed to improving the lives of those touched by mental illness through education, support, and advocacy programs. On Saturday, May 14, at Credit Island Park in Davenport, the second annual NAMIWalks will be held to raise public awareness of mental illness and to raise funds for NAMI's local programs. For more details, contact Sharon Kendall Dunn at (563)332-1766 or go to (http://www.nami.org).
• Hamilton Lodge, No. 664, located at 2412 Grant Street in Bettendorf, is actively seeking new members for the Masonic Fraternity. Masons (also known as Freemasons) belong to the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. Masons are men of good character who strive to improve themselves and make the world a better place. For more information on becoming a Mason, contact Bob Durrett at (563)332-6311.
• The John Deere Classic, running July 4 through 10, is seeking volunteer Shotlink Laser Operators. Volunteers can watch Michelle Wie and all the PGA Tour professionals from "inside the ropes." They will use a laser measuring device and radios to input statistics on every shot into the PGA Shotlink system. More information and online registration are available at (http://www.volunteers.jdclassic.com); follow the link to the Scoring Committee. If you have questions that are not answered on the Web site, contact Steve Darling at (309)737-9731 or (steve@sldarling.com).
• WQPT, the Quad Cities PBS station, and the Figge Art Museum have chosen the cast for "Figge Kids," an informational video that will air in the children's area once the museum opens in August. Seventy-six children and their parents came to the Illinois Ballet Theatre of the Quad Cities to audition in March. "We couldn't believe the number of children who auditioned for the project," said director Lora Adams.
• The Iowa Senate has approved unconventional economic-development legislation that would help finance a proposed race-car track in Newton, east of Des Moines along Interstate 80. The legislation would allow the owner/operator of the Newton Motor Speedway to retain up to $12.5 million in state sales tax that its customers would pay for tickets, concessions, and merchandise. Once $12.5 million is collected, sales tax from the track would go directly to the state treasury. This particular incentive model is unusual, but proponents say the legislation will not cost the state any money, because the increased revenue would not even be available if the track were not in business. Supporters further argue that while the state would forgo the initial sales-tax revenue on the race track, it would collect sales-tax revenue on the increased business race fans bring to area motels and restaurants. Officials with the Newton Motor Speedway estimate the facility will generate $1.1 million in sales-tax revenue each year.
• There are now more than 2.1 million Americans incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The figure is the highest ever recorded in the history of the United States, and represents a 25-percent increase in the U.S. inmate population since 1995. Prisoners in the custody of the 50 states and the federal system accounted for two-thirds of the incarcerated population (1.4 million inmates), while the other third was held in local jails (714,000 inmates). Among black males age 25 to 29, approximately 13 percent were in prison or in jail, compared to less than 2 percent of white males in their late 20s. Overall, one in every 138 U.S. residents is in prison or jail, the report concluded. Authors of the report cited mandatory drug sentences as one of the primary reasons for the sharp increase in the inmate population over the past decade. Full text of the Department of Justice report, "Prison & Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004," is available online at (http://www.csdp.org/research/pjim04.pdf).
• Beginning May 1, it became easier to locate smoke-free dining in the Quad Cities. Tobacco Free QC (TFQC) has just released its 2005 Smoke-Free Dining Guide, its most up-to-date and user-friendly brochure. The coalition has identified 226 restaurants in the Quad Cities that offer smoke-free dining. That number is up from the 188 restaurants identified during 2003. To be classified as smoke-free by TFQC, smoking is not allowed in any part of the facility. The dinning guide is located at many public places throughout the Quad Cities, including the Scott County and Rock Island County health departments. You can view the guide online at (http://www.tobaccofreeqc.org) and click on the "Enjoy Smoke-Free Dining" icon.
• The Scott County chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) is one of 1,200 affiliates nationwide that is committed to improving the lives of those touched by mental illness through education, support, and advocacy programs. On Saturday, May 14, at Credit Island Park in Davenport, the second annual NAMIWalks will be held to raise public awareness of mental illness and to raise funds for NAMI's local programs. For more details, contact Sharon Kendall Dunn at (563)332-1766 or go to (http://www.nami.org).
• Hamilton Lodge, No. 664, located at 2412 Grant Street in Bettendorf, is actively seeking new members for the Masonic Fraternity. Masons (also known as Freemasons) belong to the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world. Masons are men of good character who strive to improve themselves and make the world a better place. For more information on becoming a Mason, contact Bob Durrett at (563)332-6311.
• The John Deere Classic, running July 4 through 10, is seeking volunteer Shotlink Laser Operators. Volunteers can watch Michelle Wie and all the PGA Tour professionals from "inside the ropes." They will use a laser measuring device and radios to input statistics on every shot into the PGA Shotlink system. More information and online registration are available at (http://www.volunteers.jdclassic.com); follow the link to the Scoring Committee. If you have questions that are not answered on the Web site, contact Steve Darling at (309)737-9731 or (steve@sldarling.com).
• WQPT, the Quad Cities PBS station, and the Figge Art Museum have chosen the cast for "Figge Kids," an informational video that will air in the children's area once the museum opens in August. Seventy-six children and their parents came to the Illinois Ballet Theatre of the Quad Cities to audition in March. "We couldn't believe the number of children who auditioned for the project," said director Lora Adams.
• The Iowa Senate has approved unconventional economic-development legislation that would help finance a proposed race-car track in Newton, east of Des Moines along Interstate 80. The legislation would allow the owner/operator of the Newton Motor Speedway to retain up to $12.5 million in state sales tax that its customers would pay for tickets, concessions, and merchandise. Once $12.5 million is collected, sales tax from the track would go directly to the state treasury. This particular incentive model is unusual, but proponents say the legislation will not cost the state any money, because the increased revenue would not even be available if the track were not in business. Supporters further argue that while the state would forgo the initial sales-tax revenue on the race track, it would collect sales-tax revenue on the increased business race fans bring to area motels and restaurants. Officials with the Newton Motor Speedway estimate the facility will generate $1.1 million in sales-tax revenue each year.
• There are now more than 2.1 million Americans incarcerated in state and federal prisons and local jails, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Justice. The figure is the highest ever recorded in the history of the United States, and represents a 25-percent increase in the U.S. inmate population since 1995. Prisoners in the custody of the 50 states and the federal system accounted for two-thirds of the incarcerated population (1.4 million inmates), while the other third was held in local jails (714,000 inmates). Among black males age 25 to 29, approximately 13 percent were in prison or in jail, compared to less than 2 percent of white males in their late 20s. Overall, one in every 138 U.S. residents is in prison or jail, the report concluded. Authors of the report cited mandatory drug sentences as one of the primary reasons for the sharp increase in the inmate population over the past decade. Full text of the Department of Justice report, "Prison & Jail Inmates at Midyear 2004," is available online at (http://www.csdp.org/research/pjim04.pdf).
