by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley

With spring just around the corner, many Iowans look forward to seasonal rites of passage this time of year.  Farmers are itching to get in the fields. Home gardeners anticipate the first shoots of peas and lettuce.  Spring cleaning tops the to-do list for many families.  School students give thanks for Spring Break.  And, soon-to-be-college graduates have their sights set on landing a job.

It's no secret the Class of 2012 needs to break into a job market struggling to rebound from Wall Street's financial meltdown and mortgage industry mess.  The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate is idling at 8.3 percent. This year's crop of graduates also will be competing with more than five million jobless Americans who have been looking for work for longer than six months.

Yet, the Obama administration has proposed federal rules to "attract and retain highly skilled immigrants" that arguably increase the competition for Americans who are looking for work.

Is this really the administration's idea of priming the employment pump?

In Iowa, civic and business leaders work together in their communities to grease the wheels for economic development.  From Council Bluffs to Keokuk, local economic development leaders search for ways to attract and keep businesses.  They go to bat for their towns because they know their labor pool is ready and willing to work.

So, flooding the employment market with foreign workers, when high-skilled Americans are seeking jobs at unprecedented levels, just doesn't square with improving the home team advantage, let alone fostering a level playing field.

From my leadership position on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, I have championed reforms to the nation's immigration and visa laws to better protect the pool of highly-skilled, unemployed U.S. workers and graduates who struggle to find good-paying jobs here at home.

For example, the H1-B visa program was created in 1990 as a temporary measure to help companies in America find high-technology workers -- assuming specialized workers aren't available in the United States to fill these jobs.  After more than two decades on the books, the program needs better controls and stronger oversight that will prevent qualified American workers from being passed over for good-paying jobs.

That's why over the last several years I've introduced an H-1B visa reform bill that would require a good faith recruitment of American workers by all companies seeking to bring in foreign workers, change the wage requirements to ensure that visa holders are not undercutting American workers, give more authority to the Department of Labor to investigate allegations of fraud, prohibit employers from advertising only to H-1B visa holders, and increase penalties for those who violate the terms of the H-1B visa program.

Working with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, I've also urged the administration to formally adopt the standards set by the U.S. Department of State and the Administrative Appeals Office of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services when adjudicating L-1B visas (a visa that allows employers to transfer its existing workers to the U.S. if they have "specialized" or "advanced" knowledge of the company).  Unfortunately, the Obama administration is considering changes to the L-1B visa program that could water down these standards and allow the L-1B visa program to be used as a back door to evade restrictions of the H-1B visa program, putting American workers at a disadvantage.

Out-of-work Americans and graduates of the Class of 2012 have enough hurdles to overcome.  The nation's visa system should not undermine their chances of landing a good-paying job.

March 19, 2012

ASSITEJ theatres (TYA/USA) celebrate World Day for Theatre for Children and Young People on March 20

February 14, 2012--Every year, ASSITEJ, the international association of theatre for children and young people (which works in 85 countries across the world), celebrates the World Day for Theatre for Children and Young People on 20 March. The United States ASSITEJ center is called TYA/USA. For the next three years, the global association will be uniting theatres across the world in conveying one message: "Take a child to the theatre today".

"ASSITEJ SA is bringing corporates on board to sponsor children to attend theatre, and we ask companies and receiving houses to open their doors on 20 March to children, young people, and their families," says Yvette Hardie, director of ASSITEJ SA and president of ASSITEJ International. "The 'Take a child to the theatre today' campaign goes to the heart of what ASSITEJ is all about, working to ensure that all children and young people have access to the arts."

Each year, a world leader or artist in theatre for young people is asked to write the message for the ASSITEJ World Day. This year, it will be French-Canadian playwright Suzanne Lebeau. Gcina Mhlope, as well as the Ministers of Arts and Culture, Basic Education and Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities will also be invited to add their voices to the campaign.

Iowa City, IA - Up next at Riverside Theatre is the area premiere of the gritty and complex Broadway thriller, A Steady Rain by Keith Huff, directed by Joseph Price.

A Steady Rain is about two Chicago cops, Joey and Denny, who are lifelong best friends and partners on the beat until a chain of events spirals out of control threatening their jobs, their friendship and their lives.

"Joey and Denny grew up together and have always lived 'back to back' knowing that they could rely on one another no matter the circumstances," Price said.  "We meet them in a sort of internal affairs purgatory...the men face a world where all seems lost and we witness their struggle to make sense of that world."

This gripping duologue features area actors Martin Andrews as Joey and Jim Van Valen as Denny.

A Steady Rain was performed on Broadway in 2009 and Huff is currently working on adapting the play for EON Films. Huff is a graduate of the UI's Playwright Workshop.

"The lives these characters live, what they see and are asked to do on a daily basis - it's slowly wearing them down - destroying them.  Both of them are looking for salvation.  Only one can find it. It's an exciting story to tell with complicated characters to explore," said Andrews.

Andrews is the Producing Director for Working Group Theatre and an MFA graduate of UI. He last appeared at Riverside Theatre in Working Group Theatre's The Toymaker's War and Riverside's All My Sons.

Van Valen is an Assistant Professor of Theatre and Head of Acting at Cornell College and an MFA graduate of UI. He was last seen in Riverside's summer productions of Ah, Wilderness! and The Two Gentlemen of Verona.

A Steady Rain also features lighting design by Bryon Winn, sound design by Katherine Horowitz, and costume design by Adriana Fernandez.

A Steady Rain contains strong language and adult content.

Tickets for A Steady Rain, March 30 - April 15, are $15-$28 with discounts available for those over 60, those under 30, and youth. $15 students rush tickets are available on a first come first served basis 20 minutes before curtain. Tickets are available by phone at (319) 338-7672, online at www.riversidetheatre.org or in person at the Riverside Theatre Box

Office, located at 213 N. Gilbert St., Iowa City, IA.

Immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30 there will be a reception and conversation with Huff in the theatre with a cash bar.

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Performance Schedule

Friday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m.*

Saturday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 1 at 2 p.m.**

Thursday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 7 at 7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 15 at 2 p.m.

There will be no performance on Sunday, April 8.

*Reception and conversation with playwright Keith Huff in the theatre with a cash bar immediately following the opening night performance on Friday, March 30.

Re-Enrollment is on!  And there is a  F R E E Z E!