Siftings
Dec
11
Craig’s Friday Countdown - Culture & Rec Funding
Percentage of city budget devoted to culture and recreation for Iowa cities over 100,000. Source http://auditor.iowa.gov/afr/search.php. FY13 - most recent fiscal year available.
3 - Cedar Rapids 4.60%
2 - Des Moines 5.69%
1 - Davenport 7.61%
Dec
09
Miles To Go
Steve from the Argus was last to leave. The last of the media, that is. The discussion at Joe’s Barbershop would end with everyone holding hands in prayer, but the media was long gone by then. The television cameras got their video bites early and left to make the 9:00 / 10:00 news. The QCTimes...
Dec
05
On The Move
The City of Davenport moved to Oklahoma City. So did Bettendorf, LeClaire and Eldridge. Not really, of course. We’re still here. But the combined population of Davenport, Bettendorf, LeClaire and Eldridge moved to Oklahoma City in the past twenty years. 457,386 in 1993. 610,613 today.
Four...
Dec
01
Cold Shoulder ?
The City is midway through a 20 year agreement with the Figge Art Center that will provide more than $21.5 million in cash and rights to the City’s art collection, which is insured for more than $16 million. This $37.5 million contribution was not mentioned in the Times’ December 1 editorial.
The...
Dec
01
Tracks
True story. “Back in Black” was an album. The first two tracks on side two were in heavy rotation on the FM stations of the era, but I’ve always thought the second track on side one was the best. “Shoot to Thrill” has a guitar and drum progression that doesn’t need lyrics to be a great rock...
Nov
28
Craig’s Friday Countdown CIP Top 20
Staff has compiled 360 potential projects into a FY16 – 21 Capital Improvement Program wishlist. Council members have been asked to rank their top twenty projects as a starting point for budget discussions in January and February. The list is available here, for your review. I’m the hired help,...
Nov
26
Hatrack
“You’re taller than you look on television”, the cashier advises. “And happier than I look in the paper”, I reply, bringing a smile. Who knew buying a snack at the gas station would summarize my public life so neatly. Just a random guy, walking in to conduct a minor transaction. But there’s no...
Nov
24
Representations
“No warranty or representation is made that any of the projected values or results contained in this study will actually be achieved”. So reads the disclaimer on page I-1 of the Economic Potential of a New Art Museum for Davenport report by Thomas Martin, dated August 2000. The copy I was handed...
Nov
22
Community 3.0
I went with Betamax. The technically superior videotaping platform at the time, it was also supported by Sony, which was not exactly a boutique electronics brand. Years passed, and I stubbornly stuck with the platform, only to find my movie watching choices inexorably erode to Little Shop of...
Nov
22
Sifting
A pre-winter cleaning of the garage has me sifting through four buckets of baseballs. There will ultimately be two buckets; one with baseballs still viable for high school batting practice and another I’ll donate to a coach throwing to younger kids. There will be dozens retired to the garbage...
