Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Random Snippets

Major renovation on tap for former M.L. Parker store -QCTimes
Obviously this is great news for downtown, although not as great as when they start announcing that tenants are moving in. I hope they're willing to go after the really big fish, and maybe offer them very discounted rents to get people coming down to the area. Bring in Hollister, Crate and Barrel, just something that would be a first in the QC. As I posted in the past, they have a website at OnePutnamCentre.com. Unlike last time, its up and running now. This is a very important building at arguably the most important intersection of downtown Davenport.


WIU's plans for Q-C campus on hold -QCOnline
Of course they mean for the RIVERFRONT campus, since WIU already has a Q-C campus. This project is simply a no-brainer, but lately that seems to be an accurate description of Illinois politics.

Yard sign shenanigans -Me
Fourth ward candidate Lisa Lewis dropped me a line a couple days ago to say that some of her yard signs had been disappearing. This seems to be a growing problem, and really doesn't it fit right in with our city council? Childish behavior like this is one of the main problems we're having, both in the council chambers and now in people's yards. On the other extreme, this person placed a Frink sign in their yard, only to have it magically joined by a Gluba sign. So while some people are having signs stolen, others are having them placed in their yards without prior consent. Lisa promised that signs will be replaced wherever dimwits steal them from. (dimwits is my word, not hers)

Davenport Promise teams with police in attempt to reallocate tax -QCTimes
I'm mostly in favor of the Promise idea, but not at the cost of giving a beat-down of Davenport's budget for the next few years. I'm not dissing the project itself Pioneer, so don't jump on me, but you guys need to hold out for a better funding idea. Tin-foil hat theory would be that D1 pushed for these ideas to be lumped together in order to kill off the police idea. It seems so out there that there almost has to be some weird explanation.

14 comments:

Lisa said...

Thanks, QCI. A quick update: Much to my chagrin, Friday night's spree in the fourth ward turns out to have been worse than originally thought. We discovered that a bunch of my small signs were stolen from private homes on West Central Park - and two of my oversized signs were stolen from a supporter's vacant lot on Hillandale Road at Hickory Grove. We all know the difference between vandalism (uprooted, tossed in the street, no preference of candidate, etc.) and plain old monkey business. Best as I can tell, mine were the only ones taken, and it all went down on Friday night after 2 AM.

Sigh.

Of course I can't prove who did it and I'm not casting any aspersions - I'm really not. But I think it's worth pointing out that depriving anyone of their right to support the candidate of their choosing is a petty act and pretty much the opposite of consensus-building. The only good news is that the folks who were violated called me as soon as the theft was discovered and asked for more signs. We'll keep putting them up until we run out!

Last thought: these silly pieces of corrugated plastic are doggone expensive. When folks make a contribution to a local campaign, it's an investment in the democratic process and worthy of respect. If someone won't or can't show respect for a candidate, the least they can do is respect the rights of that candidate's supporters -- decent people who don't deserve to see their hard-earned and humbly offered donation wasted.

So there. ;-)

Thanks,

Lisa Lewis

Snarky Chick said...

I had pretty much decided I was against the reallocation of the budget for police anyway but add n the promise and it's a no for sure.

It's not that I don't support the police department. I would like to see the new chief get in there and see what is actually needed. Why hire a street cop if you need a vice cop. Two different sets of qualifications. We need to have the new chief get in there and assess the situation. At that time, if we need more officers and have a plan on what type of officers they will be *AND* a guarantee they won't be sitting behind a desk, raise taxes, don't steal from the rest of the budget.

Lisa - Too bad about the signs. It's a sure sign of desperation to orchestrate something like that.

Anonymous said...

This is a great point about the yard signs. I have been putting mine up in people's yards (who gave me permission) and in other places, only to see them disappear within a day of having them go up! Lisa makes a great point in her response and I hope it stops soon too. I have funded my entire campaign and she is right in saying the signs are not cheap.

I also will continue to put up my yard signs for as long as I can and hope everyone will continue to support all of us running in trying to keep this campaign positive.

I still have some signs left and if anyone wants one – please let me know! I also want to thank all of you who have been so supportive during this campaign!

Best of luck to everyone running and have a great day!

- Kevin Dill, 8th Ward Candidate

Unknown said...

I think there is going to be another public meeting on the Promise, possibly as early as next week (I'll post something as soon as I hear). I think it will mainly be to present more details on what they've discussed as far as eligibility, rules, requirements, etc. But I'm sure the issue of funding will come up. I urge people who want to put in their $0.02 to attend.

Anonymous said...

I had a Yerington for Mayor sign stolen from my yard. I think its sad that some have nothing better to do then steal signs. I have had mine replaced and we now have a video cam on it to see who it is doing this. Hope they steal it again I would love to have a face on camera

Anonymous said...

Interesting Read
Interesting Read
http://phil4mayor08.proboards52.com/index.cgi?action=display&board=5&thread=1190772678

Anonymous said...

This is kinda O/T but I was just driving up Division and noticed a van parked on the side of the road with yerington all over it. I first thought maybe I read it wrong??? Has anyone else seen this van?

Anonymous said...

Could it be that Phil NEEDS this job more than ever...he may be living in that van!

Anonymous said...

I think it more Davenport NEEDS Phil. I have also seen that van and it is not Phil driving it.

QuadCityImages said...

We don't need a trip down a scandal-filled memory lane, and that pretty much goes for 2 of the 3 candidates.

Anonymous said...

And most of the trash being talked if from you Chris. you seem to think whatever you say is truth but many of us kow its lies. You are so jeloues of yerington I can't wait til he wins and we can watch you wash the egg of your face

Anonymous said...

Wasn't it Yerrington that had the pay raise from $25k to $50k for a glorified ribbon cutter mayor's position? What real power does the mayor have? We have a "Malin" to run the city, what does the mayor really do? How about saving us some money and drop the mayors wages back to $20k. Alright Jaws66 (Phil) what do you say about that?

Anonymous said...

jaw66 is not phil...

But hey nice try....

Anonymous said...

Lisa has to realize that her signs are not only ones that are uprooted, kicked, defaced and taken down....it happens in every election cycle. I don't believe this is a conspiracy against one candidate. Signs are expensive but when you campaign its the cost of trying to reach voters. I know that its hard to believe that people aren't out to get just her. I have seen this one several blogs. Stop the insanity.......