When I was a child, as was the fashion, my aunt and grandmother started traditional charm bracelets (link chains with dangling charms permanently soldered on) for my little sister and me. Each birthday, Christmas, or special event, they would add to our bracelets with a charm that commemorated the time, or just held special meaning for us, individually. This continued until we left for college. Needless to say, our charm bracelets are of tremendous sentimental value, and provide a sweet reminder of our childhood journey, as well as the thoughtfulness of both our aunt and grandma.

The slate of candidates for Davenport's 2008-9 city council has been decided.

Davenport residents were fairly deceived, during the last campaign, by several of the elected officials currently serving, so this time it is "voter beware."

It is important to know the professional backgrounds of those running, as well as the inspiration, incentive, or both, to vie for a council seat.

It's getting harder and harder to stomach the barrage of misinformation masquerading as journalism in the Quad Cities' mainstream media. Most especially egregious is the constant sin of omission that defines most stories and editorials.

Here's the thing: If good people, without personal agendas, don't run for local political offices (mayor, alderman, etc.), then Davenport will be stuck with the same unacceptable performance we are experiencing from our current mayor (Ed Winborn) and five aldermen (Jamie Howard, at large; Ian Frink, at large; Charlie Brooke, Ward 6; Barney Barnhill, Ward 7; and Brian Dumas, Ward 8), who consistently vote as a political bloc in favor of special interests, imposing legislation that often conflicts with the citizenry of taxpayers.