(Part one of a series. Part two can be read here , and part three can be read here .)

 

When Trinity purchased the Davenport Medical Center in August 1999, it didn't take long for its intentions to become apparent. It bought land in Bettendorf and in April 2000 announced plans to replace its North Campus (what was the Davenport Medical Center) on the new site.

Basically, Trinity was gaining control of hospital beds in Iowa so that under state law it could replace them in a gleaming, state-of-the-art facility: Trinity at Terrace Park. And that facility would compete directly with Genesis Health System's hospitals in the Iowa Quad Cities.

John Buchtel When you pick up a book or magazine, your conscious mind is almost certainly looking at the cover and the text inside.

But what else are you processing? You might not realize it, but the book is sending signals about itself with cover art, typography, the thickness and texture of the pages, binding, printing mistakes, wear and tear, and heft.

River Action is hosting the second-annual Taming of the Slough Mississippi Adventure Race on Saturday, September 15, starting at 7:30 a.m. The race begins in downtown Moline at the Quad City Rowing Association boathouse at 17th Street and the Mississippi River. The canoe/kayak leg is one mile in Sylvan Slough; the mountain-bike leg continues onto Sylvan Island; and the run heads back through downtown Moline, finishing at Bass Street Landing for a post-race party. Register online at (http://www.riveraction.org), or for more information contact River Action at (563) 322-2969 or (dan@riveraction.org).

 

Reader issue #649 When it comes to domestic issues that pit the interests of large corporations against those of ordinary Americans, few equal the exploding crisis in consumer debt. Yet with the exception of John Edwards, none of the leading presidential contenders in either party has made this a serious campaign issue. Perhaps this shouldn't come as a surprise, since the same financial institutions that engage in predatory- lending practices constitute their largest contributors, as well as what is perhaps the most powerful lobby in all of Washington.

While the bankruptcy law that went into effect in October 2005 was opposed by consumer groups and supported by credit-card companies (and their campaign contributions), those things don't automatically make it bad public policy.

The Davenport Police Department held a ribbon-cutting for its new headquarters last week. Among the environmental aspects of the 97,200-square-foot, $20.3-million facility are geothermal heating and cooling, low-consumption plumbing, rain gardens, a roof with soil-less plants, and high-efficiency windows. A skywalk connected to the courthouse will be completed soon, and a parking ramp will be finished in April.

 

On Thursday, September 6, the "Nina" - a replica of Christopher Columbus' favorite ship - will open itself up to the public in Davenport. The ship will be docked at Oneida Landing, adjacent to the Boathouse Restaurant, until her departure early on Monday, September 17. While the ship is in port, the general public is invited to visit for a self-guided tour. Admission is $5 for adults, $4 for senior citizens, and $3 for students; children four and under are admitted free. The ship will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information, visit (http://www.thenina.com).

 

The AtlasThe Young Emerging Writers will celebrate the release of The Atlas on Friday, August 30. The Atlas is a literary magazine put together by 11 interns, ranging from 15 to 19 years old, that includes poems, short stories, comics, and other writings by the interns and people they asked to submit work. The party will start at 7 p.m. in the third-floor conference room of the Bucktown Center for the Arts in downtown Davenport. Copies of the issue will be distributed free (while supplies last), and the magazine's contributors will read selections from the issue. This event is part of the Bucktown Final Friday series, which begins at 6 p.m.

 

Rick's House of Hope hosts a sweet kick-off to its fall support groups with the annual Giant Banana Split and Fall Kick-Off Party on Thursday, August 23 at 6 p.m. Tours of the facility, a meet-and-greet with staff, and a 20-foot long banana split will highlight the event, designed to introduce families to the services available from Rick's House of Hope, a grief and trauma recovery center for children. Through its programs for young people and their families, Rick's House of Hope - located at 4867 Forest Grove Drive in Bettendorf - provides support, understanding and compassion during painful periods of grief or traumatic loss. For more information, call Rick's House of Hope at (563) 324-9580, or Genesis Medical Center's Spiritual Care Department at (563) 421-7970. 

 

Reader issue #645 Oil, soil, copper, and forests are forms of wealth. So are factories, houses, and roads. But according to a 2005 study by the World Bank, such solid goods amount to only about 20 percent of the wealth of rich nations and 40 percent of the wealth of poor countries.

So what accounts for the majority? World Bank environmental economist Kirk Hamilton and his team in the bank's environment department have found that most of humanity's wealth isn't made of physical stuff. It is intangible. In their extraordinary but vastly under-appreciated report, Where Is the Wealth of Nations? Measuring Capital for the 21st Century, Hamilton's team found that "human capital and the value of institutions (as measured by rule of law) constitute the largest share of wealth in virtually all countries."

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