The Davenport School District Has A Memory Problem
The Davenport School District (DSD) has a problem with its memory. The DSD and Davenport’s Historic Preservation Commission (HPC) appeared at a hearing last Wednesday, August 18, to present arguments...
View ArticleA Midwest Mecca for the Arts
We have the makings of a Midwest Arts Mecca here in the Quad Cities. As this week’s cover story points out, we have more than 4,600 arts-related events occurring throughout the year in our communities....
View Article"Big Picture" Instead of "Big Bull"...and more
All of the Quad Cities are facing a federal mandate to fully implement citywide stormwater management systems by 2007. Moline just approved a utility fee to cover the cost of its system, and that will...
View ArticleLand Use Plans Need Public Scrutiny
Public meetings are being held this week to get citizens’ input on what to do with the 220 acres at the corner of 53rd and Eastern Avenue that the City of Davenport currently owns. The Ad Hoc...
View ArticleIf You Believe These Numbers, I've Got a Bridge To Go With This Deal
For nearly four months, a mayor’s ad hoc committee made up of several members of the Davenport community (including myself), along with various aldermen and city staff, has struggled with what to do...
View ArticleAnother Land Deal on the Backs of Taxpayers
You would think the minute the Davenport City Council heard the word TIF (tax increment financing), their little ears would perk up and their brains would start quaking. When the recent news of the...
View ArticleThe Critic-Advocates of the DMA
Last week the Davenport City Council voted 7-3 in favor of an additional $3.5 million in funding for the proposed relocation of the Davenport Museum of Art into downtown. This brings the city’s...
View ArticleDon’t Let The Media Pundits Shame Us
No matter how you cut the cards, the presidential election was a statistical dead heat nationwide. So the ballot problems in Florida are but a microcosm of what has occurred in many other states. The...
View ArticleBattles Rage
Dick Cheney Censors the Media During Battle I recently read a most interesting article in the American Journalism Review (“Collective Amnesia” by Jaqueline Sharkey; October 2000) about then-Defense...
View ArticleIssue #300: A Milestone in Truth and Debauchery…I Mean Democracy
300 issues is an accomplishment to crow about, especially in the media-heavy Quad Cities. We wish to convey our deep gratitude to our loyal readers and advertisers for the past eight years of...
View ArticleBuilding on the Foundation of 300 Issues
One of the interesting things about alternative weekly papers is that, no matter how old they get, they still carry the spirits, interests, and concerns of their founders. The River Cities’ Reader...
View ArticleWitness the Power of Cheese
When DavenportOne was formed, in part, out of the consolidation of the several separate but similar downtown groups earlier this year, I was skeptical of how decisions were going to be made on future...
View ArticleSustainable Growth Faces Challenges
The Economic Development Department of the City of Davenport held a workshop on Economic Development Tools and TIF on December 9, 2000, at City Hall. City leaders, aldermen and local activists attended...
View ArticleWe Get What We Pay For
I am constantly frustrated at the lack of due diligence when it comes to the Davenport city council’s proceedings protocol. As I understand it, the council is given green sheets that are brief...
View ArticleCommunity Issues to Watchdog in 2001
Happy New Year to all! Some consider this year the true beginning of the Millennium. 2000 went by like wildfire, and things occurred in a blink of the eye, especially at Davenport’s City Hall. The...
View ArticleDavenport City Council Censors Public Input
I spoke too soon!!! In a recent editorial (Reader issue #304, January 3, 2001), I lauded Davenport’s City Council for continuing the policy of airing council meetings on public television. However,...
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