August 24, 2009 by ggackle

The Quad City Times newspaper recently announced a newsroom shake-up naming a new "executive editor," but deigned not to explain what happened to its current, now former, editor.

It isn't unusual for businesses to talk up promotions and try to avoid difficult questions when top management re-schufflings occur. Used to be common for editors to assign reporters to call companies that left out important information, particularly the "why" of it all.

Readers aren't looking for an exposé on the inner workings of the newsroom, but ignoring the obvious in its own company coverage only fuels suspicions about what other information the paper ignores at other businesses and public institutions.

Five key reasons why newspapers are dying

Ducks and geese enjoy the weather and grass along the Mississippi Riverfront at Leach Park, Bettendorf.

July 2, 2009

The owner of the old El Rancho Motel property in Bettendorf has been fined $6,500 for failing to inspect the vacant buildings for asbestos prior to demolition, failing to notify the Iowa Department of Natural Resources prior to the demolition work and improper handling and disposal of the motel demolition debris containing asbestos.

K.J. Excavating of rural LeClaire was ordered to pay the Iowa DNR $1,300 and the Scott County Conservation Board $5,200 as part of the consent agreement issued June 23. Robert Holst is the owner of K.J. Excavating L.C., which purchased the dilapidated motel and property at 2205 E. Kimberly Road in 2008.

The city of Bettendorf recently approved a 10-year Tax Increment Financing agreement with Hometown Harbor L.C., which plans to build a 116-unit low- and moderate-income senior housing complex on the old motel site. Hometown Harbor investors include David Smith, president of Equity Growth Group, LLC and Ryan Companies.

Google recently announced to developers the source code is now available for its Wave project/platform. The Wave is essentially a web-based platform which will allow developers to create applications incorporating email, maps, blogs, documents, photographs and project management functions. Users are able to share with anyone else using a Wave browser platform. It also can be embedded in any web page for sharing information.

The Wave could enable Google to gain more corporate users who currently rely on Microsoft applications, and it could have a significant impact on Adobe sharing software such as Acrobat.

One feature of Wave is the "email" application with a playback loop that allows a replay of any "conversation" so a third party doesn't have to read through a long list of copied email replies.

Bettendorf City Council members should end the practice of meeting secretly in small groups to discuss controversial issues.

According to the city's administrator, the practice has been ongoing for more than a decade and grew out of concern by alderman they didn't wish to be "surprised" by issues/topics which came up at council meetings. (See article below)

The secret meetings certainly eliminate any "surprises" to aldermen, but they leave the public in the dark when important decisions are being formulated by city staff and the council.

By the time the issue arrives for a "public" discussion, aldermen have often, if not always, reached a consensus on the matter. The public hearings where citizens can comment on these issues are mere formalities to be held before the council holds an "official" vote.

The Bettendorf City Council routinely meets secretly to discuss controversial, contentious or complicated issues, avoiding violation of the state open meeting law by gathering in small groups of three aldermen at a time.

The small groups usually meet for lunch at city hall. Aldermen do not vote on the various issues discussed, but one of the purposes of the sessions is to help them form a concensus prior to the matter being placed on the council agenda.

The most recent private sessions involved discussion about selling the city-owned Eagle's Food Store building on 18th Street to a Moline contracting company for $1 million. The aldermen also heard a pitch from developer Dave Smith who is seeking public Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds from the city to build a low-income and moderate-income housing project along E. Kimberly Road.

Only four noise barriers are recommended for the proposed new six-lane Interstate 74 corridor, despite the identification of 11 locations where the increased traffic sounds are expected to exceed federal noise abatement criteria.

The noise impacts and recommended list of four projects are contained in the Final Environmental Impact Statement issued for the project last month.

Seven of the 11 noise abatement projects were not recommended because they were deemed "economically unjustified" based on the number of residences currently adjacent to the roadway.

The four noise barriers recommended for construction in the impact statement are:

• Southwest of the Middle Road, Iowa, interchange adjacent to two apartment buildings. The 14-foot barrier would be 1,806 feet long and cost an estimated $110,000.

• East of I-74 and north of Lincoln Road, Iowa, adjacent to an apartment complex. The 8- to 16-foot barrier would be 500 feet long and cost an estimated $204,000.

I read your "letter to readers" in this morning's (2/20) Quad City Times and was surprised at how your newspaper management views its own economic situation.

Your "update on the financial health of our parent company (Lee Enterprises)" comes at least a year too late for most investors and readers. The lack of any substantive coverage of the newspaper chain's stock decline and economic peril over the past year has not been lost on us Quad City Times readers. We've had to rely on annual report, SEC filings and online articles by the Associated Press, Forbes and other business publications rather than any coverage of Lee in the Times.

Nearly $18 million has been spent so far on preliminary designs, environmental studies, surveys and engineering for the new Interstate 74 bridge and proposed corridor improvements.

The initial estimate for replacing the four-lane bridge with a new six-lane structure and upgrades to the interstate corridor between 53rd Avenue, Davenport, and Avenue of the Cities, Moline, was $600 million. More recent estimates have pegged the cost at $900 million.

A public meeting on the project's "Final Environmental Impact Statement" will be held Tuesday, Feb. 10, from 4 to 7 p.m., at The Mark of the Quad Cities, Moline (aka i wireless center).

CH2MHill, headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, is the project manager for the bridge and corridor improvements. It and its subcontractors have received nearly $18 million to date for work related to the structure and corridor improvements.

Published January 28 in Quad City Times

By John B. Askew
Administrator, Region 7, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

On Jan. 6, the Quad-City Times published an editorial with the headline “EPA unjustly condemns Q-C.” We believe that some of the points expressed by the editorial board were inaccurate and misrepresent the work of the Environmental Protection Agency for the people who work and live in the Quad-City area.

First and foremost, we want people to understand that air quality as it relates to public health has to be our No. 1 concern. We have to ensure the best possible environment for the citizens of the Quad-City area and their children. It is our fundamental and statutory responsibility.