River Cities Reader Issue #791 - November 10, 2011

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No.
. 791 November 10 - 22, 2011 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
LETTERS
letters@rcreader.com
Contact Your Elected
Officials Now About
Property Taxes
Last week, the Iowa Department
of Revenue issued an Assessment
Limitations Order, or rollback, on
property values in Iowa. The order
adjusts the property values used by local
governments to compute property taxes
for agricultural, residential, commercial,
and industrial property. The taxable value
for residential property will be 50.7518
percent of the assessed value. This is an
increase from the 2010 level of 48.5299
percent.
This will result in an increase to your
residental property tax next September
1 if your assessment stays the same or
increases if the levy rates for the various
taxing authorities (city, county, schools,
community college, etc.) are not lowered.
This increase to your taxable value will
net the cities and the county millions of
additional tax dollars. What they do with
this money is being determined at this
moment while they plan their budgets
for Fiscal Year 2012-13 and set the levy
rates. Let your voices by heard by your
elected officials. Ask them if they will be
lowering the levy rates based on the fact
that residential taxes will be going up due
to the change in the rollback.
Dont make your calls or send your
letters next year when your tax bill
arrives its too late. The assessor
merely determines the value of all of the
property in the city/county. The budgets
determine the levy rate you will be taxed
at, and that process is going on right now.
Contact your elected officials. They are
the only people that have the power to
raise or lower your taxes based on the
budgets they approve.
Diane Holst
Eldridge, Iowa
Understanding
SuperLiberty
From the recent Quad-City Times
commentary Independents MIA in Iowa
Q-C, there seems to be some confusion
as to what SuperLiberty is. Started in
December 2008 as a local, nonpartisan
liberty alliance, we promote all groups
who support liberty.
We favor no party over another. We are
neither Republican nor Democrat, Right
nor Left, Conservative nor Liberal. In
fact the American two-party monopoly
perpetuates a false issue-based division
amongst the people and helps to prevent
us from uniting under the common cause
of personal liberty.
Our group acts first and foremost to
unite all local, state, and national liberty-
minded groups on the local level where
effective change can take place. We
provide our Web site as a tool for any
organizers who wish to keep in touch
with their members in the Quad Cities
area. We have a start-up kit available to
anyone who wishes to organize a similar
alliance. Secondly, SuperLiberty acts
as an educational and political force to
mold our local governments into liberty-
protecting forces as they originally
were intended and as the law requires.
I helped start the local Tea Party,
but I am also an ACLU member and
support the Occupy movement. It
can seem confusing, since we dont
identify ourselves by party, but rather by
issues and principles.
We find the commonality of various
factions in order to create positive change
for the future of our society. We are
opposed to legalized plunder of peoples
property, which is where we come at odds
with folks like Mayor Gluba. (Witness his
Communist-inspired rant at the Occupy
event: We need to redistribute wealth,
and If the private sector cant provide
jobs, the public sector should.) When
we helped defeat Davenport Promise, he
called us cultist libertarian nutcases.
(The video link we made is here: YouTube.
com/watch?v=kyyaWAari-U.)
Our core members also started Iowans
for Accountability the first non-party
political organization in the history of
Scott County. We promote the ideals of
the Fully Informed Jury Association.
(Seen us at the courthouse?)
If you believe in personal liberty the
ability to exercise your natural rights
originating from our creator join us at
SuperLiberty.com.
Michael D. Elliott
Davenport
Correction
In the art review Illuminating
Comics (River Cities Reader Issue
790, October 27-November 9,
2011), the title of the piece Dream
of the Rarebit Fiend was incorrect.
However, the author actually meant
to reference a Tailspin Tommy piece
included in the show as an example
of how much illustrative talent went
into even early comics.
River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 791 November 10 - 22, 2011 3 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
T
o my amazement, nearly every time
I mention the new SECC911, I find
residents have no idea that we have
consolidated multiple jurisdictions emer-
gency dispatching and law-enforcement re-
cord-keeping into a single new building and
operation. What a shame. Especially because
the Scott Emergency Communications Cen-
ter (SECC) is now the countys second-largest
budget item, and is funded using a newly
established no cap taxing authority. This
means taxpayers can be endlessly tapped
for any and all of the SECCs funding needs
without consent from our elected county and
city representatives.
Thanks to emergency-management
legislation called 28E passed by the
Iowa legislature and signed into law by
former Governor Chet Culver, our local
governments ceded authority for a critical
component of public-safety services to
an independent, unelected board that is
answerable to no one, least of all the people
who pay for it. The SECC is a classic example
of government run amok.
Eldridge resident Diane Holst, a civic hero
by any standard, has followed the SECC from
its inception. She is so far ahead of the game
in terms of knowledge, and connecting the
dots, that she shames the supervisors, and
even staff, with her inquiries, often evidenced
by their inability to competently respond.
Scott County is lucky to have Ms.
Holst. Because if you think your elected
representatives are managing the business
of the county, think again. The vast majority
of the elected leaders are clueless about the
details of how the taxpayers money is being
spent. This is evidenced by merely attending
any board meeting. County staff is more
than happy to perpetuate this arrangement,
because it leaves them free to spend tax
dollars with impunity. It certainly explains
why the staff nearly always gets a pass on
incomplete, vague explanations when Ms.
Holst presents common-sense, relevant
questions.
The institutional laziness, incompetence,
and never-saw-a-new-taxing-authority-
I-didnt-love/let-me-rubber-stamp-that-
budget mentality of our elected supervisors
is embarrassing at best, infuriating at worst.
In the October 13 SECC Board meeting,
County Board and SECC Board Chair Tom
Sunderbruch could not contain his rudeness
toward Ms. Holst when she voiced her
concerns over safety issues. She suggested
that an apology to our law enforcement was
in order from the SECC Board for their
previous dismissive attitudes with regard to
the rank-and-files concerns about the new
SECC system concerns that are absolutely
founded, as this issues cover story illustrates.
If you read the open-meetings law of Iowa,
Sunderbruch stated, we dont have to allow
you to speak. So unless you have something
new to say, weve heard enough.
Technically, Sunderbruch is correct. And
therein lies part of the problem. The only
time the public is mandated an opportunity
to address these supposed stewards of our
tax dollars is during a public hearing for
such items as bonding for debt to pay for
no-bid contracts for radios costing taxpayers
millions. Sunderbruchs reaction to Holsts
well-documented concerns exposes his
inferior understanding of the issues that
have plagued the SECC an unacceptable
demeanor from such a leader, considering
the magnitude of SECC.
Bettendorf Alderwoman and mayoral
candidate Patricia Melinee expressed
her concerns in 2007 over the loss of city
jurisdiction over dispatching if the county
controls the funds. Her concerns were
dismissed by most as overwrought, when
she should be commended for proactive
problem-solving. And then-Davenport
Alderman Keith Meyer, in an attempt to
engage the split Bettendorf council (which
voted 4-3 to join SECC) in a dialogue prior
to a vote, was called out of order by then-
County Board Chair Jim Hancock, and the
vote was rushed through.
Does one size fit all? Is consolidation
of government services among multiple
jurisdictions efficient? In theory, perhaps.
But the SECC is a newly created government
entity, different from any other in Scott
County and dangerously unaccountable to
the taxpayers, therefore highly susceptible to
ballooning out of control relative to expenses
and/or scope of services.
Consider that, before it opened its doors,
the project was sold to the taxpayers as a
cost savings of nearly $5 million over 20
years, with a $2-million, 6,000-square-foot
building. Thats how it was advertised. But
thats not what taxpayers got. The project
exploded into a $7.3-million, 27,500-square-
foot building, with equipment, radios, and
software ratcheting up the price tag to $28
million, just for starters.
The study used to justify the project to
the public is now being heralded by the
administrators as flawed, and merely
a guideline. Never mind those terms
were referred to in the intergovernmental
agreement as governing the project, via a
commissioned study that specified the SECC.
This is a typical bureaucratic ploy, and only
Whos Running the Show?
Nov. 17, 2011 - 5:30-8pm at CASI
3rd Annual Party with a Purpose - to
raise money for holiday gifts & care for QC
seniors. For info go to HatBash.com
or call 563-265-1HAT (1428).
John Doe
Sponsored by:
November 5 - December 10
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Want to make a difference this holiday season? YOU can be Santa to
a local senior who needs a friend during the holidays when you
participate in the Be a Santa to a Senior gift program at Walgreens.
From November 5th to December 10th, go to any of the
15 Quad Cities Walgreens, take a name off the Senior Santa
tree, buy a gift from their wish list, and return it to
Walgreens. Its that simple.
For more information go to CASIseniors.org or call Home Instead at
563-359-0027.
Continued On Page 22
by Kathleen McCarthy
km@rcreader.com
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ILLINOIS POLITICS
I
n an exclusive interview last week, CME
Group Executive Chair Terry Duffy said hes
more than ready to leave Illinois if he doesnt
get what he believes is a fair tax deal from the
General Assembly.
The company owns the Chicago Board of
Trade and several other firms. Its a very big
wheel in this state, and leaving would be the
worst sort of news for Democrats who raised
taxes this year.
Duffy has been under intense pressure all
year from Wall Street to reduce expenses. State
taxes are listed as expenses on corporate books,
so Duffy has been publicly fuming about his
companys $150-million-a-year state-tax burden
since corporate tax rates were increased.
Duffy claims CME pays 6 percent of all
corporate income taxes in Illinois, and pays
more than any
other company. I
dont know another
company in the
world that pays 6
percent of another
states taxes.
As recently as
four years ago, the
vast majority of
CMEs trades were
physically handled
on the floor of his
exchanges such as
the Chicago Board
of Trade. Now,
almost 90 percent of trades are performed
electronically, and Duffy says that difference
means CME shouldnt be paying taxes on trades
that are obviously originating in other states and
other countries. Trouble is, he wont (and insists
he cant) reveal exactly where those trades are
originating, so state negotiators instead decided
to reduce his tax burden by roughly two-thirds,
which means $100 million a year less in state
income taxes paid by CME.
Duffy said hed talked to at least half of
the General Assemblys members in the past
several days, many of whom said they wanted
something else in exchange for helping his
company, such as tax breaks for other industries.
I really think these people dont believe
that I have an alternative, a defiant Duffy said,
pointing to very generous offers from other
states.
The executive chair claimed hes been offered
as much as $600 million to move Auroras high-
tech center and mentioned a report about how
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels had offered
CME $150 million a year in tax relief CMEs
entire state-tax burden. When reminded that
Daniels had denied the offer was made, Duffy
said: The governor denied the number, but he
didnt deny the discussions. My shareholders
heard it. Theyre going to say, What the hell
did you do that [stay in Illinois] for? We care
about us.
Ive criticized Duffy for waiting until after
his taxes went up to complain about how his
company had historically been mistreated by
the states tax code. This years tax hike cost
CME $50 million, but Duffy wants double that
amount to stay put. Because he didnt seem to
care about his taxes until January, why should
the state give him anything beyond what the
tax hike cost the company? Duffy claimed hed
been working on the situation for at least two
years. He said he didnt think he needed to
make anything public until he was forced to
when he was asked about the tax hike during a
shareholders meeting.
However, Duffy
said he hadnt met
with the governor
or anyone else here
before the tax hike.
Why work with
Illinois when other
states have a more
business-friendly
approach? he asked.
And as to why
CME refuses to offer
anything tangible
in return for its tax
deal, like all other
companies seeking
tax relief have to do, Duffy said he doubted the
legality of those agreements. If Motorola broke
its subsidy deal, Duffy said, its doubtful thered
be any real legal ramifications. Weve been
here 163 years, Duffy said. We think weve
demonstrated that were good corporate citizens.
I cant tie my shareholders hands like that.
But if CME is such a good corporate citizen,
why demand all that cash when Duffy knows
the state budget is still so tight? I mentioned
a recent $4.6-million state cut to homeless
services, which has resulted in tens of thousands
of people being turned away from shelters.
Im not asking the state for $100 million,
Duffy said, Im asking to give me a rule to say
this is what I think is being traded in Illinois
and heres what Ill pay, whatever the tax rate
will be.
CME, Duffy said, has averaged 19 percent
growth for 30 years. I pay people and they pay
taxes, and that money can go to the homeless
shelters.
He didnt make it sound as harsh as it looks,
but its an argument he has to deal with.
Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a daily
political newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.
by Rich Miller
Chicago Board of Trade Leader
Presses Illinois on Tax Relief
I really think these
people dont believe that
I have an alternative,
a defiant Duffy said,
pointing to very
generous offers from
other states.
River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 791 November 10 - 22, 2011 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com
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can get them into the White House, thats
nuts.
Minnesota U.S. Representative Michele
Bachmann called for a re-examination of
all energy tax credits, including ethanol.
Id like to pull them back and let these
industries be more self-supporting, she
said.
U.S. Representative Ron Paul (R-Texas),
who also participated in the event, has
long been opposed to energy subsidies.
Vermeer Corporation President and
CEO Mary Andringa, who is also chair of
the National Association of Manufacturers,
told IowaPolitics.com that she agrees with
the market-driven approach.
The industries will find their way to ...
compete if we allow them to, Andringa
said. I think were an entrepreneurial
country. ... In a way, I just think we have
to allow our companies to be innovative,
to figure out better ways to do things and
then let us compete.
Mindy Larsen Poldberg, spokesperson
for the Iowa Corn Growers Association,
earlier told IowaPolitics.com that the larger
concern among corn growers is when
politicians call for phasing out subsidies on
ethanol and not other sources of energy,
such as oil and wind energy which also
receive subsidies.
If a person looked at the subsidies
given to the oil industry and ethanol
industry and you eliminate them all, its a
level playing field, said Poldberg, whose
group advocates for corn growers through
lobbying and legislative efforts. The
concern that corn growers have is when
policymakers choose only to eliminate
ethanol subsidies.
Former U.S. House Speaker Newt
Gingrich, who has supported ethanol
subsidies, said any tax credit should be
for at least 10 years with a rolling annual
renewal. He said tax credits for one or two
years are inefficient and really stupid for
America.
Two of the GOP front-runners, former
Godfathers Pizza CEO Herman Cain
and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt
Romney, were absent from the November
1 forum.
This article was produced by IowaPolitics.
com. For more stories on Iowa politics, visit
RCReader.com/y/iapolitics.
GOP Candidates: End
Tax Credits for Ethanol,
Wind Energy
by Lynn Campbell
IowaPolitics.com
IOWA POLITICS
F
our Republican presidential candi-
dates called November 1 for phasing
out federal energy tax credits, in-
cluding those for wind energy and ethanol,
the corn-based fuel additive.
The calls came despite Iowa being
the nations top producer of corn and
(according to the American Wind Energy
Association) ranking second in the nation
for wind-energy capacity.
I believe we have to get rid of all tax
incentives for all energy, said former
Pennsylvania U.S. Senator Rick Santorum.
I think we have to have a level playing
field. ... I dont think we should create
a heart attack for any industry, but we
should phase them out over a period of
time.
Five candidates spoke at the
manufacturing forum attended by roughly
550 people, televised nationally by PBS,
and hosted by the National Association
of Manufacturers the nations largest
industrial trade association, representing
12,000 manufacturing companies in all 50
states.
Each candidate was interviewed on
stage separately at the Pella, Iowa, Global
Pavilion at Vermeer Corporation, a
manufacturer of industrial and agricultural
equipment.
Governor Terry Branstad, one of the
moderators, asked candidates if they
support extending the federal wind-energy
tax credit, which is slated to expire at the
end of 2012 and has expired three times.
He said U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-
Iowa) is among those calling to extend the
credit for four years.
Santorum said the ethanol tax credit
should be phased out over five years, as
well as tax credits for gas and oil.
Texas Governor Rick Perry offered a
similar position, despite his state leading
the nation in the generation of wind
energy. He said if states want to compete
against each other, they can implement
their own incentives.
The federal government needs to be
completely out of the energy business,
picking winners and losers, Perry said.
Perry said he supports the federal tax
credits in research and development in
energy, but the idea of us giving $535
million to some solar company just
because theyve got a good lobbyist that
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
(This is the first of two articles on the Scott
Emergency Communications Center. This
piece focuses on implementation problems
with emergency-response consolidation.
The second part will deal with the price
tag and to what extent taxpayers have
gotten what they were promised.)
L
ets start with the metaphors.
Were roughly six months into
the transition to a consolidated
Scott County emergency-dispatch and
-records system, said Davenport City
Administrator Craig Malin on October
6. This is the part of the movie where ...
the anxiety is. Then theres the resolution
at the end, and theres a happy ending.
Were at that point where were going to
be focusing on what the issues are.
In a crawl/walk/run category, we
stood up and got wobbly, said Bettendorf
City Administrator Decker Ploehn, also
on October 6. But were still standing.
But were not walking yet. But were
pretty much not crawling, either. So were
working our way forward, and we hope to
get to running. And I think were going to
get to running; were not there yet.
The Scott Emergency Communications
Center (SECC) brings under one roof
at 1100 East 46th Street in Davenport
what had been four dispatching centers,
serving Scott Countys 12 municipal and
county law-enforcement agencies, 16
fire departments, and five ambulance
services.
All those agencies are now using the
same radio system, and law-enforcement
agencies are also using a single record-
keeping system both of which allow
for improved interdepartmental
communication. Agencies went live with
the system from early April through early
May.
Still to come probably early next
year is the consolidation of each
organizations dispatchers into a single
dispatching entity, and the separation of
call-taking and dispatching functions.
The latter of those is expected to shave 30
seconds off the time it takes to dispatch
emergency responders.
And late next year, Medic EMS will
decide whether to fold its dispatching
operations into SECC or just continue to
have its dispatchers working out of the
SECC building.
By the standards of local government,
the project is complicated. It takes a
good solid year to iron out issues and
difficulties, said SECC Director Brian
Hitchcock, who previously oversaw
consolidations in Ashland County,
Wisconsin, and McHenry County,
Illinois. Every one of those has issues
and bugs that have to be worked out. ...
We all wish it could happen overnight.
He noted that every consolidation takes
a different amount of time to work
through, but that the one-year estimate
runs through next April.
The consolidation recommended
by a 2006 study and put into motion by
a December 2007 intergovernmental
agreement is also expensive, with
capital costs of roughly $28 million.
The building itself cost $7.31 million.
New portable radios for all agencies cost
almost $7 million, purchased without
a formal bidding process. Installing a
central electronics bank and associated
communications gear into and around
the 911 center cost more than $1.6
million, Hitchcock said. And the
dispatching and record-keeping software
that has been so problematic cost $2.7
million.
The current operational budget of
the SECC is nearly $7.2 million, which
includes almost $665,000 in debt service.
Outside of operations, the current Scott
County budget includes nearly $915,000
in debt service for SECC equipment.
The projects cost is one reason the
SECC bears scrutiny. Beyond that, the
tax levy that funds the SECC unlike
those of school districts and municipal
governments is uncapped, meaning
that theres the potential for taxpayers
to be on the hook for any runaway costs
that might occur. And although four of
the five voting members of the SECC
board are elected officials, they arent
directly elected by voters to that board,
COVER STORY
Leaders Say the Transition to Consolidated Emergency Dispatch
in Scott County Has Gone Well. It Should Have Gone Better.
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
so there isnt the typical accountability for
expenditures or performance.
Eldridge resident
Diane Holst, who
has regularly raised
questions about
the consolidation
process, said she
wants to make sure
taxpayer money is
being well-spent.
If were paying that
kind of money, lets
make sure it works,
that were getting
what were paying
for, she said. When
they [officers] say its
all fine. Then Ill quit
raising questions.
At this point,
though, there are still
plenty of questions.
The positive tone
of administrators
is a sharp contrast
to whats being said
outside of public
forums.
Bettendorf went
live [in April] and
had problems;
two weeks later the county and rural
departments went live and had problems;
another two weeks went by and
Davenport went live and had problems,
said one police officer to whom I talked.
Why didnt we stop then and regroup
until these problems were resolved?
The Implementation
Has Not Been Successful
A September 28 memo to Hitchcock
from consultant Deltawrx is bluntly
critical of how the transition was
managed, particularly with the computer-
aided dispatch, mobile-computing, and
records-management systems from
Michigan-based vendor New World
Systems (NWS). That is admittedly just
one aspect of the consolidation, yet its
also one that emergency responders use
all the time.
Patrol officers are angry and have lost
confidence in the software, the memo
states. Agencies are devoting time,
energy, and resources to working with
NWS to fix and test broken software.
The frustration level of the Davenport
Police Department is so high that it
is threatening to revert to its legacy
software application. Bettendorf and
some rural agencies have already reverted
to using Mobile Cop to run NCIC
[National Crime Information Center]
queries in the car.
It summarizes:
By any measure,
the implementation
of the NWS
applications has
not been successful.
The software does
not work to the
specifications
proposed, end
users are frustrated
and angry,
administration is
devoting already
scarce resources
and time to fix
something that
should not be
broken, and
accountability for
problems is almost
nonexistent.
Last month,
the SECC board
approved a $30,000
contract with
Deltawrx to address
some of the issues
cited in its memo.
The proposal includes activities into
February.
This indicates that the SECC
acknowledges problems in
implementation and is committed to
fixing them.
Yet the SECC could have retained
Deltawrx earlier for $80,000 to monitor
and troubleshoot the entire NWS
implementation process. While one
SECC board member praised the decision
to bring Deltawrx back now thus saving
$50,000 Scott County Administrator
Dee Bruemmer said she wished that the
consultant had been kept on.
Furthermore, while the Deltawrx
memo relays cautious optimism from
police departments that problems can be
fixed, those issues and their causes might
have some long-term negative effects:
The memo expresses a skepticism that
the New World Systems software will ever
be embraced. All agency representatives
with whom Deltawrx spoke ... expressed a
desire for the system to work, the memo
says. Some people did express doubt that
it would be possible to fix the problems,
and others are concerned that end-users
will never accept the NWS software, even
if it works as intended.
While the memo says that dwelling
The software
does not work to
the specifications
proposed, end users
are frustrated and
angry, administration
is devoting already
scarce resources and
time to fix something
that should not
be broken, and
accountability for
problems is almost
nonexistent.
Consultant Deltawrx
D
escribed by the Chicago Sun-Times
as simultaneously hilarious and
touching, the road-trip comedy
Leaving Iowa is the final presentation
in the Playcrafters Barn Theatres 2011
season. Leaving Iowa is also the first pre-
sentation in Black Hawk Colleges 2011-12
theatre season, but dont chalk that up to
either coincidence or some sort of Moline-
based rivalry; the productions are actually
one and the same.
Its a win-win for everybody, says
Leaving Iowa director Tom Naab of this
first-ever stage collaboration between the
community theatre and the community
college. The students get to use the
Playcrafters facility, and it costs Black Hawk
nothing; Playcrafters pays for the sets, the
costumes, the props everything.
And the Barn saves money, continues the
Black Hawk theatre professor, because the
school is paying my salary, and were bringing
in all these volunteers who are helping build the
sets and paint the sets ... . They save money and
we save money.
Its also a lot of fun, adds Toms wife
Stephanie Naab, who serves as Leaving Iowas
producer. When we first scheduled this, we
really didnt know how it would work out. But so
far, its going very well.
Running November 11 through 20, Leaving
Iowa concerns a man whose family of four
traverses the state in search of an appropriate
final resting place for his late fathers remains.
Leapfrogging between scenes set in the present
and flashbacks from the mans family vacations
as a teenager, the show features a 16-person cast
that includes such familiar Playcrafters presences
as Don Faust, Tom Morrow, Spiro Bruskas, Lisa
Kahn, and Nicholas Waldbusser.
Yet these and other performers will also be
appearing alongside a half-dozen student actors
from Toms theatre classes at Black Hawk, and
working with nine student crew members who,
as Tom says, are running everything. The stage
management which is the most important tech
job the lights, the sound, the props ... . Its all
being run by Black Hawk students.
Forty-year veterans of Playcrafters who have
both appeared in and worked behind-the-scenes
on dozens of shows at the Moline venue Tom
most recently appeared in Septembers Make
Me a Cowboy, for which Stephanie designed the
costumes the Naabs say that the collaborative
effort of Leaving Iowa has been a long time
coming.
Its not a new idea, says Tom, but we always
thought it was a good idea. Especially since it
would bring in young people to Playcrafters,
because that age group is hard to fill at auditions.
We get em older than that and younger than
that, but that college-age group is hard to find.
So wed discussed it many times over the
years, he continues. Steph and I have been
on the [Playcrafters] board as director liaisons
a number of times, and we would approach
college theatre teachers around the area and
try to get them involved. And we were always
turned down. They were generally busy with
their own programs ... and they would always
ask how much it pays.
We dont really pay, says Stephanie with a
laugh. Its a stipend. Its basically gas money.
It would be like going to a plumber, says
Tom, and having him say, Youre asking me to
do some free plumbing for you in my off-hours?
Thats not fun for me.
The opportunity for a collaboration, however,
finally presented itself after Tom was hired as
Black Hawks professor of theatre, in the wake of
former department head Dan Haugheys 2009
retirement. Since I was now the teacher, says
Tom, I approached the Playcrafters board, and
right away they said, Yes. It sounds like a great
idea. Lets bring the students here.
In addition to providing the Barn with a
number of college-age actors and crew members
who had never before participated at the venue,
the collaboration offered numerous boons to
Black Hawks theatre students, one of the
biggest being the chance to work on the
Playcrafters stage. Because Black Hawks
theatre, as Stephanie says, is really not a
theatre. Its a lecture hall.
No one should take theatre, or sign up
for acting classes, for the building itself,
says Tom. If you love theatre, you dont
do it because its a nice facility. And Black
Hawk is budgeting half a million dollars to
remodel the space.
But I know that the fact that its a lecture
hall can be discouraging for students, he
continues. We have a girl that came in
last year and was all excited, talking to me
about the program and lights and sound,
and then she asked, Now when will I get to see
the theatre? And I said, Well ... this is it. And
she said, This?! So this a great opportunity for
our students to get to use a real stage, and to
work with some experienced people.
Tom adds that another perk for Leaving
Iowas participants is that Black Hawk offers
one hour called Theatre Practicum, where if
students act in a show or work on one of the
crews, they can get an hour of college credit. Not
all of them are taking it, but eight of them are,
and its something that can really help your GPA.
You know, just show up, and do what youre
supposed to do.
Plus, as Tom says, the production also offers
a chance for our students to get real audiences
large audiences. At Black Hawk, if we can draw
close to 100 people over a weekend, thats pretty
good. Thats not even one night of what we can
draw at Playcrafters.
So theyll get the opportunity to perform for
much bigger crowds, and hopefully, the students
will bring in other students; were advertising
Leaving Iowa in the school, and the hope is that
well bring some people in here that maybe
havent been here before. When I talk to some
people about the Barn, says Tom with a laugh,
Im always amazed when they say, Where is
that? Is that where they do the musicals?
Leaving Iowa will be staged at the Playcrafters
Barn Theatre November 11 through20; Friday
and Saturday performances are at 7:30 p.m., and
Sunday performances are at 3 p.m. For more
information and tickets, call (309)762-0330 or
visit Playcrafters.com.
Playcrafters and Black Hawk College Team Up for Leaving Iowa, November 11 through 20
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
Vol. 19 No. 91
Nov. 10 - , 011
River Cities Reader
532 W. 3rd St.
Davenport IA 52801
RiverCitiesReader.com
(563)324-0049 (phone)
(563)323-3101 (fax)
info@rcreader.com
Publishing since 1993
The River Cities Reader is an independent newspaper
published every other Thursday, and available free
throughout the Quad Cities and surrounding areas.
2011 River Cities Reader
AD DEADLINE:
5 p.m. Wednesday prior to publication
PUBLISHER
Todd McGreevy
EDITOR
Kathleen McCarthy
EDITORIAL
Managing Editor: Jeff Ignatius jeff@rcreader.com
Arts Editor, Calendar Editor: Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Contributing Writers: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Lynn Campbell,
Michelle Garrison, Rich Miller, Bruce Walters, Thom White
ADVERTISING
Account Executive:
Jason Farrell jason@rcreader.com
Josh Patrick - josh@rcreader.com
Advertising Coordinator: Nathan Klaus
Advertising rates, publishing schedule, demographics,
and more are available at
QCAdvertising.com
DESIGN/PRODUCTION
Art Director, Production Manager: Shawn Eldridge
shawn@rcreader.com
Graphic Artist: Nathan Klaus nathan@rcreader.com
Production Interns:
Stephen Brethauer
Ben Miller
Paul Ross
ADMINISTRATION
Business Manager: Kathleen McCarthy
Office Administrator, Classifieds Manager, Circulation Manager:
Rick Martin rick@rcreader.com
Distribution: William Cook, Cheri DeLay, Greg FitzPatrick,
Tyler Gibson, Daniel Levsen, J.K. Martin, Jay Strickland
THEATRE
Pam Kobre, Hannah McNaught, Don Faust,
Dana Moss-Peterson and Taylor Apple
Community Effort
A
t the corner of Third
Avenue and 19th Street in
the Rock Island District
is a glazed terra-cotta bust of an
American Indian wearing a war
bonnet that encircles his head, al-
most like the traditional painting
of a halo. Arrows, peace pipes, and
entwined snakes are also included
in the symmetrical composition.
This 10-foot-wide relief is placed
above the second-story window
on the rounded corner of the Fort
Armstrong Theatre building.
Though the artwork is ornate,
the dominant central face gives
it a strong point of emphasis.
The angular structure of the
face and surrounding triangular
patterns are counterbalanced by
the overarching half-circle and
circular shapes radiating from the
compositions center.
The decorative patterns around the
other second-floor windows and the
buildings outline are also composed
of these geometric shapes and Native
American symbols. The ivory-, blue-,
yellow-, red-, and green-colored glaze
stands out against the theatres dark-red
brick exterior.
The wealth of patterns and use of
materials are similar to the architectural
designs of Louis H. Sullivan, the eras
most influential architect. The company
that produced these ceramics, the
Midland Terra Cotta Company in
Chicago, was also employed by Sullivan.
The theatre opened in 1921,
a time of stylistic transition
between elaborate Art Nouveau
and streamlined Art Deco. It
was also when themed theatres
were coming into vogue.
The combined influence of
these trends makes the Fort
Armstrongs architecture
fascinating, and it is on the
National Register of Historic
Places.
The theatre was named
after the fort where the Black
Hawk War officially ended
with a treaty-signing. Shortly
before construction began on
the theatre, Rock Island had
celebrated the centennial of
the military forts construction.
As part of the centennial
celebration, members of the
Sauk tribe including Black
Hawks great grandson, Jesse Ka-ka-que
were invited to Rock Island. This focus
on the areas early history undoubtedly
Art in Plain Sight: Fort Armstrong Theatre Building
Article and Photos by Bruce Walters
ART
Great Russian Nutcracker
Great Russian Nutcracker
December 5 at 7:30 pm & December 6 at 2:00 pm
www.theorpheum.org TICKETS $30-$50 (309) 342-2299
The Historic Orpheum Theatre 57 South Kellogg Street Galesburg, Illinois
THE ORPHEUM THEATRE
The
The
TOWER HEIST
A lot of people make a
lot of fun of director Brett
Ratner, partly because his
rsum which includes
not one, not two, but three
Rush Hour movies makes
it so darned easy to.
So lets consider Ratners
new action comedy Tower
Heist. In the film, a Wall
Street financier, played by a
smarm-oozing Alan Alda,
swindles the pension funds
from the staff at his swanky
Manhattan high-rise,
stashing their earnings within the confines
of a mint-condition Ferrari parked in his
living room. (Ill give you a moment to wrap
your heads around that information.) Led by
Ben Stillers determined building manager, a
motley team of employees plans to steal their
dough back by inconspicuously sneaking
the car out of Aldas penthouse apartment.
And while this scenario is, at best, wildly
implausible, its still not unreasonable to hope
that its execution will yield a goodly amount
of enjoyment.
The reason it doesnt, though, is because
Ratner and his quartet of Tower Heist
writers dont appear to give a damn about
the robberys plotting, and dont seem to
care if we dont, either. It should go without
saying that the pleasures of a clever, tightly
constructed heist flick, from The Thomas
Crown Affair to (two-thirds of) Steven
Soderberghs Oceans Eleven series, can be
enormous. But what satisfaction can we
possibly get from a master plan that, as
evidenced here, can only be pulled off if a
five-man security staff is distracted by an
issue of Playboy? Or a collection of 20-plus
in the towers lobby is distracted by some
birthday cake? Or literally thousands of
spectators are so distracted by the Macys
Thanksgiving Day Parade likenesses of
Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants that not
one of them notices the cherry-red Ferrari
being lowered from the skyscraper across the
street? (Arent all those people looking up?)
Lord knows there are other problems with the
movie; tonally, the direction is so unfocused
that we frequently need Christophe Becks
score to tell us which moments are designed
for comedy and which for excitement. But
its Ratner and companys complete disregard
for logic, and even suspended disbelief, that
makes Tower Heist so frustrating. Was there
no other way to humanize Ta Leonis ultra-
competent FBI agent than by also turning
her into a sloppy drunk whose blathering
unwittingly inspires Stillers payback scheme?
Yet heres the rub: Despite its flaws, the
movie, like most Ratner movies, is pretty easy
to sit through. While the directors oeuvre
is mostly crap, its crap polished to a high
gloss, and Ratner pulls off several set pieces
here with considerable brio, none finer
than the legitimately nerve-racking scene
of Matthew Brodericks former stock trader
dangling from that airborne Ferrari. Plus, in
case the films aforementioned actors didnt
give enough indication, Ratners cast does a
rather expert job of scoring laughs with less
than first-rate material. Stiller may be playing
things too dark and real for maximum
amusement, but in addition to Alda, Leoni,
and Broderick, talented performers as
diverse as Casey Affleck, Michael Pea,
Gabourey Sidibe, Judd Hirsch, and the
quickly-becoming-invaluable Nina Arianda
are all allowed numerous opportunities to
shine.
And if all else failed, the film would at
least be notable for the long-awaited return
of Eddie Murphy the actual Eddie Murphy,
not that tired, embarrassed-looking star of
all those awful kiddie flicks over the past 15
years. Portraying the films lone professional
thief, Murphy may not be doing anything
here that he hasnt done before, and the gags
hes been given arent particularly fresh. But
his frenzied, motor-mouthed riffing is still
fantastically funny and, above all, incredibly
welcome the laughter that accompanies his
routines sounds both genuine and relieved
and Ratners latest becomes a sharper, better
movie whenever the comedian is around. I
couldnt have cared less about the Ferrari in
Tower Heist. I was more than content, though,
to watch Eddie Murphy steal the show.
A VERY HAROLD &
KUMAR CHRISTMAS
As the movie is unfailingly raunchy,
ridiculous, and willing to go to any extreme
no matter how sketchy or tasteless or
just-plain-stupid for a laugh, youre
going to have to be in the right state of
mind to enjoy A Very Harold & Kumar
Christmas. Happily, when I saw the film,
I was in exactly the right state. (Though
perhaps not the perfect state: It was the
morning, after all, and I was still on the
clock.) If youre not already a fan of this
series starring the sensationally game and
witty John Cho and Kal Penn, director
Todd Strauss-Schulsons stoner slapstick
for which I, ahem, highly recommend the
3D presentation probably wont recruit
you to the cause. But if Patton Oswalt as
a spliff-selling Santa, a gory Claymation
battle, a breakfast-serving companion
named WaffleBot, a dirty-minded riff on A
Christmas Storys stuck-tongue sequence, a
coked-up infant racing on the ceiling, and
that whirligig of hilarious self-deprecation
known as Neil Patrick Harris are enough
to get you giggling, know that AVH&KC
will be precisely your cup of spiked holiday
punch. And that, in all likelihood, theres
something very, very wrong with us.
For reviews of Anonymous, The
Way, and other current releases, visit
RiverCitiesReader.com.
Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/
MikeSchulzNow.
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com
Listen to Mike every Friday at 9am on ROCK 104-9 FM with Dave & Darren
Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy in Tower Heist
Haul on Wheels
Movie Reviews
by Mike Schulz mike@rcreader.com

Why arent you on the road?
Yamagata patched together funding
from a variety of sources: a distribution
deal, money her father had set aside for
her wedding, and contributions through
PledgeMusic.com.
The result is Chesapeake, which
AllMusic.com noted shows Yamagata in
a more hopeful state of mind than on
her previous two albums, both well-
regarded. While some critics have found
A
fter singer/songwriter Rachael
Yamagata was freed from her
contract with Warner Bros.,
she called producer John Alagia about
making her third album. She didnt
send him songs to consider, and they
didnt discuss material. The next day,
they were making arrangements to get
equipment and musicians to his house
in Maryland.
Within a few weeks, we were ...
actually doing it, Yamagata said in a
phone interview this week, promoting
her November 12 performance at the
Redstone Room.
Moving quickly was a response to
several years of kind of being in this
holding-pattern experiment with major
record labels, she said. It was a lot of
leap-before-you-look scenarios. I just
knew that if you got the right people in
the room, we could make it work.
And the right people wanted to help.
I think people look at me maybe as an
underdog of sorts, always wanting good
things for me, she said. A lot of my
peers I think have felt the frustration with
me about Wheres your next record? or
Out of the Holding Pattern
Rachael Yamagata, November 12 at the Redstone Room
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
MUSIC
the upbeat tone a little
saccharine, most reviews
have said that she pulls it
off. BlogCritics.org wrote:
Yamagatas honesty (Full
On) proves intoxicating,
and her joyfulness
(Saturday Morning)
is addicting. Thanks to
well-crafted songs and a
voice to die for, her latest
is delicious optimism.
And the Washington Post
said: Her throaty vocals
add grit to over-sweetened
numbers such as You Wont
Let Me. The albums sense
of style wavers, but Yamagatas voice and
sensibility hold things together.
A personal favorite is the slinky
Starlight, which adds doubt and a
confident challenge to the equation: I
jumped from a moving train just to keep
you / Would you do it for me? That
track and Even If I Dont and The
Way It Seems to Go pair Yamagatas
nimble, undeniably magnetic voice with
punchy arrangements casting her as
kin to Fiona Apple. (And on the Muppets
tribute The Green Album, she lays bare
the poignancy of Gonzos Im Going to
Go Back There Someday.)
Yamagata said she already has a six-
song EP in the works that she hopes to
release in the next four months, and it
seems likely that fans wont have to wait
years between albums as they have in the
past.
She was only able to release one
studio full-length between her 2004
solo debut (Happenstance) and the new
independently released album, which
came out last month. Its been insane
if you kind of bottom-line it in that way
how often have I been on the road, how
many releases have I had? she said. The
time delays have been ridiculous ...
I couldnt have seen it coming. I wish
I could [have]. I think the industry has
imploded within the time frame of me
living within it. It started out great and
got more difficult along the way, purely
because I think everyones trying to figure
out how to survive. Even with my first
Photo by Laura Crosta
A
young man
sits in his liv-
ing room, in
a large, inviting house
that, as well learn, is
located in the small
town of Perry, Iowa.
He practices a quiet
melody on his guitar,
occasionally glancing
at his handwritten
sheet music for a song titled Last Looks. Its a
sunny day in late afternoon, and both the man
and his surroundings exude an air of utter, un-
alterable calm, a feeling only briefly disrupted
by the sound of a plane passing overhead. Well,
that and the faraway screaming.
So begins Impulse, the latest offering by
filmmakers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods of the
Bettendorf-based (and, now, also Los Angeles-
based) production company Bluebox Limited.
And over the span of a compact 16-and-a-half
minutes, Beck and Woods both of whom are
in their mid-20s again demonstrate the rather
intimidating gifts for screen composition and
cinematic nuance that have made the duos
previous works, particularly their 2006 neo-
Western The Bride Wore Blood, such impressive
achievements. Impulse may be short, but as an
example of engaging, evocative, and ultimately
haunting storytelling, its very, very sweet.
Its also, barring the music and designer
Mac Smith's sound effects, very, very quiet.
I might have already written more words for
this article that youd find in the entirely of
Impulses scripted dialogue. (Beck and Woods
share credit as the films writers, directors, and
producers.) As we all know, though, a picture
is worth a thousand words, and some of the
sequences pictured here by Beck and Woods are
worth a lot more than that; the moviemakers
smartly understand the economy and, for
audiences, the intense thrill of letting visual
and aural clues drive their narrative. Until the
films final image, were never entirely certain
about where Impulses threat is coming from.
But it doesnt take much more than the sight
of a kid spray-painting To Hell and Back
on a church exterior, or the sounds of unseen
helicopters zipping over a deserted Main Street,
to glean that something very bad is happening
in Perry, and quite possibly the world, and that
the situation is quickly getting worse.
To be sure, this is readily apparent to our
guitar-playing protagonist David (played with
ease and confidence by former Malcolm in the
Middle co-star Christopher Masterson), who
spends the film making desperate attempts
to escape the town. Were told neither what
hes escaping from nor to where, but Beck
and Woods, from the start, pepper Davids
predicament with suggestive, insidious hints:
warning sirens blaring on a cloudless day; a
collection of lit candles arranged in the shape
Bluebox Limiteds Impulse, Now Available on iTunes
by Mike Schulz
of a cross; a well-dressed businessman (James
Serpento) apologetically hijacking Davids
car and muttering, Were all fucked anyway,
right?; a shotgun-wielding grandfather
(Michael Kennedy) taking deliberate aim at a
skateboard-riding relative. Propelled by Corey
Wallaces insistent, nerve-racking score, Becks
and Woods early scenes of small-town panic
all but vibrate with tension and foreboding,
and those sensations are intensified by our
continued haziness about what, exactly, the
source of the danger is. Terrorists? Disease?
Zombies? (In an enjoyable newscast cameo,
KWQC-TV6s Gary Metivier tells viewers that
their one hope for surviving the threat is to get
to the quarry.) Its the end of the world as we
know it in Impulse, and based on the on-screen
evidence, no one feels fine.
Yet gradually, almost without your being
aware of it, the mood of the film subtly shifts,
and what began as a paranoid, end-of-days
freak-out la Steven Soderbeghs Contagion
morphs into a hushed, somewhat elegiacal plea
for the comforts of simplicity and normalcy
for peace. Through much of Impulse, Davids
fanatical insistence on bringing a guitar,
any guitar, along on his trek seems vaguely
comedic, a symbolic representation of the
scruffily bearded, chapeau-wearing young
mans hipster cred. (Although, as a prop, the
musical instrument is at least well-used in
one brilliantly, hilariously conceived shocker
involving a speeding ambulance.) By the time
Beck and Woods get to their climactic scene,
however, you realize that the whole movie, in
its way, has actually been about the guitar or
at least about the collective need, the impulse,
behind why we make music in the first place.
Without at all skimping on the pleasures of a
tightly constructed short thriller (and Andrew
M. Davis photography and Russell Andrews
editing are particularly fine), the Bluebox
filmmakers, here, have crafted an entertainment
of surprising elegance and profundity. The film
asks, What do you want to take from this life?
And where do you want to be when it ends?
Im not sure Im ready to answer that first
question, but if life ends while watching a work
as sharply rendered and inspiring as Impulse,
that might be all right with me.
Impulse was released on iTunes on October
27; for more information on the film, visit
BlueboxLimited.com.
MOVIES
Home, at the End of the World
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4
99
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prime steak &
lobster tail
BUFFEt!
Wednesday, 4pm9pm
live music at the edje!
Recently voted the Best Bar/Lounge in the
Chicagoland region by the readers of Casino Player
Magazine, the Edje features sensational live music every Friday and Saturday from
8pm to Midnight. Even beer, theres no cover chargeever.
Check out this lineup: Nov. 11 & 12 Funk Daddies
Nov 18 & 19 Smooth Groove Nov. 25 & 26 Unied Soul
Were serving up USDA Prime Steaks and fresh-from-the-sea
Lobster Tailscomplemented by a huge selection of American, Asian and
International cuisine. And, enjoy our traditional carving
station, fresh salads, entrees, sides and desserts.
Back by
popular
demand!
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and
referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
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Open 7am-5am daily jumerscasinohotel.com
er
Special 11/11/11
Salute to Veterans!
Buy one lunch bu et, get
one free (with ID)!
Christopher Masterson
River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 791 November 10 - 22, 2011 1
Theatre
The Turn of the Screw
The District Theatre
Tuesday, November 15, through Sunday, November 20
I
n his most recent production for the
District Theatre, actor Steve Lasiter
played the famed sweet transvestite in The
Rocky Horror Show. In his next production
for the District Theatre playwright Jeffrey
Hatchers The Turn of the Screw hell be
playing the British owner of a palatial estate,
an elderly female housekeeper, and a 10-year-old
boy.
In other words, in less than three weeks, Lasiter
has gone from being a Frank-N-Furter to a hot dog.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Heh heh heh ... . Hmm.
Yeah, apparently its gonna be one of those days
on the Whats Happenin pages, folks.
A special,
spooky treat
recently added to
the theatres 2011
lineup, The Turn
of the Screw is
Hatchers take on
the famed Henry
James novella,
a one-act ghost
story called
a beautifully
executed
adaptation and
a dazzling act of the imagination by the New York
Times ... though I actually prefer the Fort Worth Star-
Telegrams reference to it as a Mensa Halloween. Set
in a lonely English manor house, the story concerns
a new governess who is sent to care for two recently
orphaned children. Yet not long after arriving, the
woman must contend with a host of difficulties not
mentioned in the job description most notably
the ghosts of her charges former caretakers, who
have either returned to inflict further harm on the
kids or are perhaps products of the womans fevered
imagination.
Directed by popular area performer Patti
Flaherty, and produced by Tristan Tapscott and
Lora Adams, this creepy presentation will find
Adams portraying the slowly unraveling governess,
and Lasiter portraying everyone else the woman
encounters in Hatchers 90-minute play. Thats right:
Even given its numerous characters, The Turn of the
Screw is a two-actor show. Or, as I like to think of
the work, a pas de Boo! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Oh, come on! That was way funnier than my hot-
dog joke!
Never mind. Running November 15 through 20,
The Turn of the Screw will be staged on Tuesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and
Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and tickets are available by
calling (309)235-1654 or visiting DistrictTheatre.com.
Music
Cornmeal
The Redstone Room
Friday, November 11, 9 p.m.
O
n November 11, Davenports Redstone
Room will serve up a special treat for
music lovers: a Cornmeal jam. Trust me, its
gonna be a lot tastier than that might sound.
The bluegrass and roots-rock outfit Cormeal began as a
side project for bass player Chris Gangi in 2001, when he
and his bandmates performed weekly gigs at Martyrs Bar
in Chicago. Ten years later, the group has not only released
four CDs but has become one of the most popular touring
ensembles based out of the Midwest, averaging roughly 130
nationwide stops annually,
and opening for such noted
acts as Umphreys McGee,
the Yonder Mountain String
Band, the David Grisman
Quartet, and moe.
Composed of Gangi,
guitarist Kris Nowak,
drummer J.P. Nowak,
banjo player Wavy Dave
Burlingame, and fiddler
Allie Kral, Cornmeal may be described as a jam band, but
there are a lot of different ingredients in that particular
jam. While the performers are known primarily for their
infectious bluegrass stylings, theyre just as musically fluent
in roots rock, jazz, country, funk, and blues, and its partly
their ease in covering so many genres that has earned the
Cornmeal artists scores of fans and major plaudits by critics.
The Chicago Reader, for instance, praises Cormeal for its
very user-friendly bluegrass-jam fusion and its seductive
detours into jazz, funk, or rock. The Indypendent newspaper
raves about the harmonies intertwined in a roaring cascade
of electric jamgrass. The Illinois Entertainer calls them a
toe-tapping, hand-clapping, finger-snapping tour de force.
And after one particular Cornmeal concert, the online
music site GratefulWeb.com wrote, They left us in a daze of
bluegrass bliss with nothing left to do but recover on Sunday
morning. Considering that Cornmeals Redstone Room
concert is on a Friday, it sounds like were in for a lo-o-o-o-
ong music high, folks.
Cornmeals Davenport concert features an opening set by
the Farewell Drifters, tickets are $10, and more information
on the evening is available by calling (563)326-1333 or
visiting RedstoneRoom.com.
Whats Happenin
Music
Mark Schultz
Augustana College
Saturday, November 19, 7 p.m.
T
he latest in Augustana Colleges
lineup of visiting artists is a Dove
Award-winning musician who will
appear in a special concert titled An
Intimate Evening with Mark Schultz.
I should mention that this event isnt
to be confused with An Intimate
Evening with Mike Schulz, which is
also great fun, but features a lot more
griping about Hollywood reboots and
surcharges for 3D glasses.
Arriving at Augustana on
November 19, the frequently touring
Schultz is based in Chapel Hill, North
Carolina, and over the past decade
has emerged as one of Christian
musics most acclaimed artists. Since
the release of his self-titled CD in
2000, the singer/songwriter has
been praised for his gifts for telling
personal, heartfelt stories through
music, and has gone on to release an
additional seven albums including
2011s Renaissance and The Best of
Mark Schultz that have earned both
critical acclaim and music-industry
accolades. 2010 found the artist
nominated for Dove Awards in the
categories of Male Artist of the Year
and Pop/Contemporary Album of
the Year, and in 2005, Schultzs DVD
Mark Schultz Live: A Night of Stories
& Songs received the Dove for Long-
Form Music Video of the Year.
A platinum-selling artist with 10
chart-topping singles to his credit
among them modern Christian-
music staples Remember Me, I
Am the Way, Hes My Son, Letters
from War, and Walking Her
Home Schultz is sure to provide
an exceptional evening of musical
entertainment in his Rock Island
engagement. And again, despite
the considerable similarities in our
names, I assure you that it isnt me
who was invited to grace Augustanas
Centennial Hall stage on November
19 ... even though I did pay four
years worth of tuition to that school
... and I do make frequent mention
of Augies events in the Whats
Happenin pages ... . No big deal ... .
Tickets to An Intimate Evening
with Mark Schultz are $10 in advance
and $12 at the door, and more
information on the night is available
by calling (309)794-7306 or visiting
Augustana.edu.
Theatre
The Turn of the Screw
The District Theatre
Tuesday, November 15, through Sunday, November 20
I
n his most recent production for the
District Theatre, actor Steve Lasiter
played the famed sweet transvestite in The
Rocky Horror Show. In his next production
for the District Theatre playwright Jeffrey
Hatchers The Turn of the Screw hell be
playing the British owner of a palatial estate,
an elderly female housekeeper, and a 10-year-old
boy.
In other words, in less than three weeks, Lasiter
has gone from being a Frank-N-Furter to a hot dog.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! Heh heh heh ... . Hmm.
Yeah, apparently its gonna be one of those days
on the Whats Happenin pages, folks.
A special,
spooky treat
recently added to
the theatres 2011
lineup, The Turn
of the Screw is
Hatchers take on
the famed Henry
James novella,
a one-act ghost
story called
a beautifully
executed
adaptation and
a dazzling act of the imagination by the New York
Times ... though I actually prefer the Fort Worth Star-
Telegrams reference to it as a Mensa Halloween. Set
in a lonely English manor house, the story concerns
a new governess who is sent to care for two recently
orphaned children. Yet not long after arriving, the
woman must contend with a host of difficulties not
mentioned in the job description most notably
the ghosts of her charges former caretakers, who
have either returned to inflict further harm on the
kids or are perhaps products of the womans fevered
imagination.
Directed by popular area performer Patti
Flaherty, and produced by Tristan Tapscott and
Lora Adams, this creepy presentation will find
Adams portraying the slowly unraveling governess,
and Lasiter portraying everyone else the woman
encounters in Hatchers 90-minute play. Thats right:
Even given its numerous characters, The Turn of the
Screw is a two-actor show. Or, as I like to think of
the work, a pas de Boo! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!!
Oh, come on! That was way funnier than my hot-
dog joke!
Never mind. Running November 15 through 20,
The Turn of the Screw will be staged on Tuesday,
Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and
Sunday at 2:30 p.m., and tickets are available by
calling (309)235-1654 or visiting DistrictTheatre.com.
Music
Cornmeal
The Redstone Room
Friday, November 11, 9 p.m.
O
n November 11, Davenports Redstone
Room will serve up a special treat for
music lovers: a Cornmeal jam. Trust me, its
gonna be a lot tastier than that might sound.
The bluegrass and roots-rock outfit Cormeal began as a
side project for bass player Chris Gangi in 2001, when he
and his bandmates performed weekly gigs at Martyrs Bar
in Chicago. Ten years later, the group has not only released
four CDs but has become one of the most popular touring
ensembles based out of the Midwest, averaging roughly 130
nationwide stops annually,
and opening for such noted
acts as Umphreys McGee,
the Yonder Mountain String
Band, the David Grisman
Quartet, and moe.
Composed of Gangi,
guitarist Kris Nowak,
drummer J.P. Nowak,
banjo player Wavy Dave
Burlingame, and fiddler
Allie Kral, Cornmeal may be described as a jam band, but
there are a lot of different ingredients in that particular
jam. While the performers are known primarily for their
infectious bluegrass stylings, theyre just as musically fluent
in roots rock, jazz, country, funk, and blues, and its partly
their ease in covering so many genres that has earned the
Cornmeal artists scores of fans and major plaudits by critics.
The Chicago Reader, for instance, praises Cormeal for its
very user-friendly bluegrass-jam fusion and its seductive
detours into jazz, funk, or rock. The Indypendent newspaper
raves about the harmonies intertwined in a roaring cascade
of electric jamgrass. The Illinois Entertainer calls them a
toe-tapping, hand-clapping, finger-snapping tour de force.
And after one particular Cornmeal concert, the online
music site GratefulWeb.com wrote, They left us in a daze of
bluegrass bliss with nothing left to do but recover on Sunday
morning. Considering that Cornmeals Redstone Room
concert is on a Friday, it sounds like were in for a lo-o-o-o-
ong music high, folks.
Cornmeals Davenport concert features an opening set by
the Farewell Drifters, tickets are $10, and more information
on the evening is available by calling (563)326-1333 or
visiting RedstoneRoom.com.
everything put together falls apart.
Before long, you were homeward
bound to Graceland with the boxer
that one-trick pony whos still crazy
after all these years. Congratulations.
Can I forgive him? I dont know;
nobody does. But I know what I know,
and while there may be 50 ways
to leave your lover, Im hoping one
American tune by Paul Simon might
bring you back.
So dont think of me as just some
train in the distance. Whatever I do, I
do it for your love.
Sincerely yours,
Jonah Duncan ...
... but you can call me Al
For tickets to Paul Simons Moline
concert on November 16 and the
chance to hear at least a few of the
music legends 36 aforementioned
songs call (800)745-3000 or visit
iwirelessCenter.com.
by Mike Schulz
mike@rcreader.com
What Else
Is Happenin
MUSIC
Friday, November 11 Peter
Mayer Group. Award-winning singer/
songwriter and his ensemble, with
an opening set by the Whoozdads.
Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street,
Davenport). 7 p.m. $25-30. For tickets, call
(800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.
Friday, November 11 Artimus
Pyle. Concert with Lynyrd Skynyrds
percussion legend. Quad-Cities
Waterfront Convention Center (1777
Isle Parkway, Bettendorf ). 7:30 p.m.
$10-20. For tickets and information,
call (800)724-5825 or visit Bettendorf.
IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.
Friday, November 11, and
Saturday, November 12 Burlesque
Le Moustache Goes to the Movies. A
humorous and provocative tribute to the
silver screen, featuring comic skits, bawdy
songs, striptease acts, and a scantily clad
female chorus. Circa 21 Speakeasy (1818
Third Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m. $15.
For tickets and information, call (309)786-
7733 extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.
Saturday, November 12 Rachael
Yamagata. Concert with the folk-
rock, acoustic, and pop performer,
with an opening set by Mike Viola.
The Redstone Room (129 Main Street,
Davenport). 9 p.m. $15. For tickets
and information, call (563)326-1333 or
visit RedstoneRoom.com.
Music
Paul Simon
i wireless Center
Wednesday, November 16, 7:30 p.m.
Cecilia:
I know I think too much, but I
feel like youre slip slidin away,
and I cant take the sound of
silence anymore. I feel like the boy
in the bubble. So what say we call
an armistice day? Come with me to
Paul Simons November 16 concert
at the i wireless Center, and late in
the evening, youll learn how to fall
for me again.
Remember when we realized there
was something so right about us?
It was a sunny day, and we were
singing that song about the moon.
Sitting by the cool, cool river under
African skies near that bridge
over troubled water at
the coast it was like
our love was born at the
right time, and we felt
that love in our hearts
and bones. Like Rene
and Goergette Magritte
with their dog after the
war, we had no further
to fly.
But of course,
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FOLLOW US ON
Join us for a special buy-one-get-one FRee
Thanksgiving buffet on Thursday, November 24.
Plus, come back for our
$
5,000 Black Friday
Giveaway from noon to 9:00pm,
Friday, November 25.
9-1-1 Whitewash?
on the past to place blame is not a useful
exercise if SECC and SECC agencies
want to move forward, it adds that what
happened in the past to bring SECC
and SECC agencies to this point in time
does bear on our recommendations for
moving forward.
The report identifies eight problems in
the transition to NWS software:
Expedited implementation;
Unstructured functional testing;
Ineffective system-build sessions;
Condensed training;
Software that does not meet
contractual obligations;
Ineffective customer support from
NWS;
SECC support structure; and
Vague information-system-
management structure.
Many of those shortcomings appear to
flow from the first. The Deltawrx report
says: Despite warnings to the contrary,
SECC moved forward with a 14-month
implementation schedule for systems
that typically take 18 to 24 months to
implement under the best circumstances.
... To expedite the implementation,
shortcuts were taken; training was
compressed and systematic testing was
not conducted. When the system was
cut over to live operations, NWS had not
yet developed key software modules and
interfaces, and promised functionality
was missing or not working as intended.
Malin, Ploehn, and Bruemmer (all
nonvoting, ex officio members of the
SECC board), as well as SECC Director
Hitchcock, sounded a similar refrain:
Yes, there have been problems and bugs
during the consolidation, but thats to
be expected in such a massive endeavor.
And most aspects of consolidation have
gone well.
I think the big picture is heading in
the right direction, Malin said. We
have an implementation issue with one
component of the software package that
we need to work through. ... The records
system isnt where we need it to be in
order to do our operations as efficiently
as we did in the past.
We are as pleased as we had
anticipated we would be at this point in
time, Ploehn said.
And both Ploehn and Malin said that
shifting the costs of dispatching from
their cities to the county has allowed
them to both lower their municipal
property-tax rates while funding
additional services and projects. (The
second part of this article to be
published in the November 23 edition of
the River Cities Reader will deal with
the question of whether the consolidation
has saved taxpayers money.)
Bruemmer, Malin, Ploehn, and
Hitchcock were all asked via e-mail to
comment on the Deltawrx memo, and
specifically whether they felt the project
was rushed at the expense of results.
Bruemmer wrote: All staffs are
working through the issues with a
forward-look approach. It is always easy
to be a Monday-morning quarterback. I
decline to take that position.
Malin wrote that he agreed
with Deltawrxs assessment of the
current situation, the causes, and the
recommendations. But he said claiming
that expedited implementation caused
most of the problems cited in the memo
goes beyond Deltawrxs report. I also
dont accept the premise that 14 months
isnt enough time to do the work that
needed to be done by NWS.
Hitchcock added in an e-mail: There
were no warnings given [by Deltawrx]
not to implement in the 14-month
timeframe. When being presented the
New World Systems software and again
in contract negotiations with New World
Systems, they were well aware of the
timelines involved in the project. They
did indicate that these projects usually
take from 18 to 24 months. When
New World Systems was asked if the
14-month implementation would be a
problem, they indicated that it would
not be; it would just take a little extra
work. NWS also indicated that they have
made implementations in as little as 12
months. ... SECC relied on the ability
and experience of New World Systems
to assist us in guiding this project to
completion. Testing and training were
performed based on recommendations
from New World Systems. At no time
did New World Systems indicate that the
project needed to be delayed prior to the
implementation.
Ploehn deferred to Hitchcock.
SECC board members Scott
County Board of Supervisors Chair
Tom Sunderbruch, Bettendorf Mayor
Mike Freemire, Davenport Mayor Bill
Gluba, Eldridge Mayor Marty OBoyle,
and Medic EMS Board President
James Lehman were also given the
opportunity to respond to the Deltawrx
memo.
Sunderbruch acknowledged that most
of the key factors contributing to the
current situation flow from the first:
expedited implementation. However,
I was not involved on a day-to-day
COVER STORY
Continued From Page 7
9-1-1 Whitewash?
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
basis, and Brian Hitchcock, who was/is
involved on a day-to-day basis, takes
issue with some of those findings, and I
have confidence and trust in his reports.
He added: Hindsight is great and, of
course, deadlines could have been pushed
back if problems were known ahead of
time. To my knowledge, that was not the
case.
Freemire and Lehman wrote that they
agreed with Sunderbruchs assessment.
I think Chairman Sunderbruch did an
excellent job of capturing the essence of
the issues, Freemire wrote.
At press time, Gluba and OBoyle had
not responded to the November 4 e-mail
request.
Frustrating to the
Street-Level Officers
As with any project of this magnitude,
there have been hiccups, and many of
them have been solved or are in the
process of being solved.
The purchase of bi-directional
amplifiers improved radio coverage in the
Hillandale area of Davenport and Lake
Canyada. (The Hillandale amplifier was
paid for by the SECC because that gap
was anticipated by radio vendor RACOM
and therefore beyond its obligation
to provide coverage for 95 percent of
the geographic area of Scott County.
RACOM paid for the Lake Canyada
amplifier.) Another amplifier for Buffalo
the SECCs responsibility has been
ordered.
RACOM has also applied for a license
for two additional frequencies from the
Federal Communications Commission
to handle radio traffic in northwest
Davenport.
And many bugs and issues have been
addressed in the New World software.
SECC Technology Systems
Coordinator Gloria Fitzpatrick, a
former Davenport dispatcher, noted one
example. When the New World Systems
software connected to the states NCIC
database, it originally produced results
based on a drivers license number;
that parameter was too narrow, officers
said. So it was expanded to include a
persons name and date of birth, but
that parameter was too broad because it
looked at a range around the birthdate
and variations on name spelling.
This wasnt a software bug, she said: It
was working as designed. Because this
was New Worlds first consolidation in
Iowa, the search parameters with the state
computers needed to be refined. The
issue is: How can we better define that?
Since then, Fitzpatrick said, a sex
parameter and a new work flow were
implemented, and those complaints are
not coming in anymore.
Other fixes are promised under a
software update delivered to SECC on
September 15. We are still testing [that
release] ... to ensure we are thorough,
Hitchcock wrote in an e-mail November 4.
Bettendorf had several issues with the
New World software.
Police Chief Phil Redington said that
after going live on April 5, his department
was dissatisfied with the module that
ran license plates and drivers licenses.
In May, he said, the department reverted
to its old Mobile Cop system for those
functions. The New World software, he
said, was slower than we liked, so we
went back to Mobile Cop. ... Mobile Cop
was easier to read, ... and it was quicker.
Redington said several other factors
were at work. Officer safety was part
of it, he said, as was officers comfort
level. We thought it was important at
that time, since we were on a whole new
system, that we would go back to Mobile
Cop to ease some of the stress of going to
a new system ... , he said. Our officers
were comfortable with it.
Ploehn wrote on November 4: We
are still on Mobile Cop as the interface
to the State and the National Crime
Information Center. The New World
fix has moved to a back burner simply
because Mobile Cop is what the officers
are familiar with, and it is functional in
the New World system. Once all of the
other issues are resolved, we will make
the comparison and determine what is
more functional for the officers.
Bettendorf also had difficulty initially
with the merge process that takes
approved field records and incorporates
them into the SECC database; records
werent being merged. Redington
estimated that issue was resolved by early
May.
On August 31, KWQC aired a report
on the SECC, focusing on the complaints
of Eldridge Police Chief David M.
Kopatich. He highlighted connectivity
problems and reports being rejected
because of time parameters, and he
expressed overall frustration: Are we
going to reach a point where we decide to
pick up our toys and go back to our old
system? We may end up doing that.
In a September 28 article in the North
Scott Press, Kopatich reiterated his
concerns and said hed gotten positive
feedback from officers for speaking
out. The article states: Many high-
ranking officials, including individuals
at the SECC and administration from
other police departments, were not as
enthusiastic about Kopatichs discussion
with the media. The chief responded:
The truth hurts sometimes.
In the KWQC story, Scott County
Sheriff Dennis Conard praised the New
World system but acknowledged some
problems with implementation: There
probably should have been a lot more
testing of the different applications,
he said. But were still having trouble
getting the different applications that
are fixed tested because thats above and
beyond the normal workload.
Conard whose office referred an
interview request for this article to
Bruemmer said that police officers
are generally impatient, and Redington
agreed.
Its been a slow process, but its
progressing, said Redington. We would
have liked to have it gone smoother at the
beginning. ... Its a learning process for all
of us.
His department had undergone a
similar computer-system switch in 2003,
he said, and we experienced some of the
same frustration from time to time ... .
Eventually, the bugs got worked out. ...
We knew that in some respects, working
through the bugs is normal.
About New World bugs and problems,
he said: I feel confident that the path
were on, eventually things will smooth
out and that well be in pretty good shape.
... Every week, it seems like were making
progress. If I couldnt say that, then my
attitude would be a little different.
Hitchcock said that since the August
KWQC story, there has been resolution
to a number of issues.
In an interview October 29, Kopatich
said that things have improved. So far
our connectivity has been a lot better ...
as far as running plates, getting plates
to come back. ... It has slowly improved
probably ever since the original [KWQC]
news story has come out.
As for time parameters, Fitzpatrick
said: That was a training problem.
Kopatich said that he and his officers
arent doing anything differently with
those parameters, but we are not having
any other problems with date parameters
on reports at this time.
The issues that remain sound relatively
minor.
For example, theres a filter at the
server level to limit the access [to
unit-status information] to help with
connectivity issues, Hitchcock wrote on
November 4 of the ability for a computer
in the SECC system to see on-duty
vehicles and officers. For example,
instead of having the updates for all 300
units that may be listed as on-shift (police
units, detectives, fire rigs, and so on),
they will see the specific range of units
for the agencies permitted (i.e., LeClaire
PD may see two units for Princeton,
one for McCausland, [and] seven for
Bettendorf, as well as their own three
units or Davenport will only see their
agency based on what they requested to
see). ... With the release of the newest
version, units in the field will be able to
see all units within Scott County. This
version will be released shortly after field
testing has been completed and approved
by Deltawrx.
Yet some of the frustrations with
the New World Systems software are
not fixable. Reports on the New World
Systems software, Kopatich said, take
an additional 10 to 15 minutes apiece
to complete. It requires the street-level
officer to do more work to get it to that
end result, he said.
And extra steps in the records-
management component requiring
reports to be approved by a supervisor
and then merged into the system
can create delays in officers being able
to access information, even if it was
Ninety percent of this is working, Malin
said. More than 90 percent is working. ...
The project has created the most cohesive
communications system that weve ever had in
Scott County.
Davenport City Administrator Craig Malin
9-1-1 Whitewash?
generated within the same department.
If a report is rejected by a supervisor
at the end of a shift, for instance, an
officer might not be able to resubmit it
to the supervisor until the next day or
even later. Previously, there was easy
intradepartmental access to records prior
to supervisor approval.
And even as problems are getting fixed,
that doesnt change that officers have
been frustrated, that theyre therefore
less confident in the system, and that
resources have been usurped by problems
that Deltawrx said could have been
avoided.
Kopatich said he likes the idea behind
consolidation. Im all for the agencies
sharing information, he said. Maybe
in time, its all going to work, and I hope
that it does, but the implementation of it
is frustrating to the street-level officers
that are using the system.
He added in an e-mail: Providing the
software keeps improving and becomes
what we were promised, we will continue
to keep using it for the common goal of
consolidation.
Asked whether he thought many of the
issues police have dealt with since spring
could have been resolved prior to going
live, he said, I would have hoped so.
More Than 90 Percent
Is Working
The company line from SECCs
director and Bettendorf s and
Davenports city administrators is that
police agencies need to be patient. They
stressed that problems with New World
do not negatively impact the speed of
dispatching or officer or public safety.
It does not affect our ability to get an
officer on the scene, Hitchcock said. In
a later interview, he said: None of this
that were dealing with deals with officer
safety. This is all about reporting ... .
Ploehn said that I am not aware nor is
Chief Redington aware of any situations
in which public or officer safety has
been compromised by SECC software or
equipment.
Some people with whom I talked
said they were concerned that difficulty
connecting with the NCIC database
to run plates and licenses could have
resulted in officers not knowing that they
were approaching somebody who could
pose a significant threat.
Hitchcock dismissed that concern:
They pick up the mic, they call the
dispatch center, and they have them run
it.
I think some of the officers said that,
Ploehn said of concerns with running
plates and licenses. I asked whether they
were wrong, and he said officers were
resistant to change: It wasnt what I did
two days ago. ... It was different, he said.
But the ability to call in was still there.
Overall, the administrators
emphasized, many things have gone well
and as planned with the consolidation.
Ninety percent of this is working,
Malin said. More than 90 percent is
working.
Malin extolled the virtues of the
consolidation for the emergency-
response process. The project
has created the most cohesive
communications system that weve ever
had in Scott County, he said. We are
seeing a much bigger picture than weve
had the capability before ... . I think
there are significant efficiencies built
in over the long haul. Residents in the
City of Davenport arent paying twice for
dispatch services anymore.
Malin and Ploehn also said that the
consolidation has allowed their cities
to undertake projects that wouldnt
have happened at least not on that
scale without the emergency-dispatch
consolidation. While Scott County
property-tax rates are higher overall
because of the SECC levy, the rates
for the two cities have dropped. (A
discussion of that trade-off will be part of
the November 23 article.)
Malin said Davenport has added nine
police officers in the past five years, crime
has dropped by roughly half, and the city
has two new libraries and a rec center.
And we cut the [citys property] tax rate
by 5 cents per $1,000 of valuation, he
added.
Ploehn said Bettendorf issued $63.6
million in bonds for capital projects in
fiscal years 2009 through 2011 while
lowering its municipal property-tax rate
by 25 cents.
Hitchcock said many variables
and vendors were involved in the
consolidation, from the building to the
radio system to the phone system to New
Worlds software to a recording system to
procedures to human resources.
He added that problems with the
computer-aided dispatch and records-
management systems from New World
are functions of both complexity and a
natural resistance people have to change.
The dispatch/records systems not only
involve software but also computer
infrastructure including laptops and
their air cards and human beings.
Theyre very intense systems, he said.
Its a big program.
Hitchcock said he understands officer
frustration. This is a new system for
everybody out in the field, he said. And
because the software is more robust, it
does take longer to enter reports.
A lot of them were not ready for
change, Fitzpatrick said.
I feel for the officer, Bruemmer said.
Bringing all these bodies together,
Malin said, has been both a challenge
and an opportunity. All these entities do
things a little bit differently, and we need
to make sure that each entity is able to do
the thing that they specifically need that
may be a little bit different from others.
Thats the challenge. The opportunity
is entities adopting best practices from
others. Over the long haul, its a much
better operation.
Ploehn said that relationships
among organizations that respond to
emergencies will get better, stronger.
Furthermore, he said, all agencies will
be able to communicate during major
events (such as this years Bix and
RAGBRAI weekend), joint scenes, and
joint commands. He gave the example of
Davenport and Bettendorf police being
on the same event channel during a
presidential visit.
Criminals dont stay in one city,
Bruemmer added.
Ploehn further explained that
improved communication will lead to
better emergency response. We used
to hand off [from a fire department, for
example, to an ambulance service]. ...
Theres a transfer now thats occurring. ...
Moving them from ground to ambulance
to hospital is becoming seamless.
And everybody being on same records
system will also pay dividends for
instance, Davenport officers being able to
see a report on somebody theyve stopped
who might have been arrested a few days
earlier in Bettendorf. The ability for
the intelligence to flow in the system,
I believe, will be there, and that will be
advantageous, Ploehn said. Were not
there yet with that piece.
You Have to Flip the
Switch Sometime
While the big-picture assessment of
the consolidation process varies wildly
depending on to whom one talks, there
is general agreement from everybody I
talked to that training on and testing of
the New World Systems software could
have been done better.
Why dont you test the system before
you go online? Holst asked. Why put
the departments through that?
(When asked about Holsts concerns
overall, Hitchcock said: Every time she
thinks theres a problem, she thinks the
systems failing. ... Its not. ... This is a
process we have to go through.)
Several people noted that no amount
of pre-launch testing or training can find
all bugs; it cant anticipate all situations
officers will face, and it cant replicate all
agencies using the system simultaneously.
If we had to do it over again, I wish
there would have been more offline
training, Redington said. More training
would have been good, but you still have
to go live with it sometime.
He added that Bettendorf s police
department probably fared better than
most when it came to training, because
its training team attended all sessions,
even those that didnt directly bear on
their jobs: We set up a pretty good
system, probably by accident. ... We
thought, Lets keep everyone together.
The more we all know about the whole
system, it probably would make more
sense to us.
Malin said that some problems arent
going to be apparent with the records-
management system until its done under
a load in the field. Until youre doing
it at scale, its practically impossible to
know if it will work perfectly, he said.
You have to flip the switch sometime.
Yet there was acknowledgment that
COVER STORY
If were paying that kind of money, lets
make sure it works, that were getting what
were paying for. When they [officers] say
its all fine. Then Ill quit raising questions.
Eldridge Resident Diane Holst
by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
increased testing, more or better training,
and more forgiving deadlines might have
made the transition less frustrating for
officers.
When asked what aspects of the
transition should have been done
differently, Ploehn said: I would have
said we probably would have tested,
either more or simultaneously more,
so that we wouldnt have, say, crashes
occurring. We could have figured that
out. But we didnt.
I would have liked it if we pushed
back the opening date to give officers
more familiarity and training, and to
catch some bugs earlier, Redington said.
Hitchcock said that in retrospect, it
might have been wise to have New World
Systems train each department directly
instead of only conducting train-the-
trainer sessions, in which representatives
from each agency are given instruction
and then present it to their co-workers.
Maybe we would have spent the extra
money to put New World Systems in
there to go and train each of the entities,
because then the training might have
been more consistent, he said. But we
had some time constraints, too. ...
When all of this was firing off, we
had 25 other projects in play that were
coming to make this come together. ...
So there were some time crunches ... ,
he explained. You bet: If we could have
pushed it out six months to a year, I
think we would have entertained more ...
testing.
Yet this is a contrast to his perspective
on integration of dispatchers the process
of cross-training them so theyre no
longer serving just one geographic area
or municipality. You cant put a timeline
on that, he said, noting that SECC had
vacancies to fill, and dispatchers require
six months of training.
(This shift will allow SECC to optimize
its dispatching resources where theyre
needed. There are some concerns about
that process. Our concern initially ... is
that now we will get employees ... who
dont know the city as well, Redington
said.)
When asked when full integration
of dispatching would be complete,
Hitchcock said it wouldnt happen in
2011, but he wouldnt commit to a date.
Im not going to pull that pin to make
that conversion happen until we are
comfortable as an agency that it will
happen, he said. Youll ask for failure
when you do that [put a deadline on it].
Hitchcock explained the different
approaches to deadlines for live
operations on the New World software
compared to dispatching by noting that
local governments budgeted based on
shifting dispatching to SECC this past
spring. If that deadline had been pushed
later to allow for more testing and
training, those governments wouldnt
have had the money budgeted to
continue on their old dispatch systems.
Beyond additional training and a more
relaxed schedule, there were other ideas
on how the transition might have been
handled better.
I think we would have hired Deltawrx
to stay with us, Bruemmer said. The
company negotiated the contract with
New World and could have gone through
the testing and validation of software
with SECC and its agencies. We would
have seen some red flags sooner.
Thats not a uniform position, however.
At the October 13 SECC board meeting,
Bettendorf Mayor Freemire praised the
decision to re-engage Deltawrx at this
point rather than retaining the firm
throughout implementation. We had
a budget which would have allowed
$80,000 for this type of contract, where
a third set of eyes ... would ... ensure
the implementation, and a lot of these
smaller issues are taken care of. My hats
off to the staff, and that they were able
to forgo a $50,000 expenditure. And
unfortunately, what I think we may
see are people that say clearly theres
a $30,000 expenditure and forget that
theres a $50,000 savings, from what was
originally proposed. ... And I just want to
make sure that that isnt lost.
Hitchcock implied that it should not
have been necessary to retain Deltawrx
to assist in the initial implementation.
We have to rely on a certain level [of
competence] with the vendor, as well.
When were being led down the road
that this will work, we have to believe
in those. They came out on top; they
were chosen by all of the representatives
to be the outcome. Im not going to
defend the company; I think theres some
improvements that could have been
made there as well. But we ... strongly
feel that we have a company thats willing
to admit to some of that [problems] and
also work hard to come to a resolution. If
we didnt feel as a group at this point that
was worth it, wed be working at other
avenues.
The Case for Increased
Transparency
Its a fair question whether the
working-out-the-kinks phase of
consolidation should be something
done publicly. Law-enforcement
agencies have a chain of command, and
standard operating procedure is to talk
to the media only when directed to by a
superior.
Individual officers should
communicate their concerns to their
supervisors, Malin said. I know that
they have.
When asked whether there had been a
directive to keep radio communications
to the essential during the weekend of Bix
and RAGBRAI, Ploehn responded: Did
you hear something to that effect? ... Was
it from an officer?
Its a clever parry, as Ploehn knows full
well that officers shouldnt be talking to
the media.
(Hitchcock said some agencies did
request that their officers minimize radio
traffic: The directive was only to keep
it to mission-critical items. ... It wasnt
from us. He also said he understood a
concern about overloading the system,
but that was unwarranted. We could
have handled double that traffic that day,
he said. That was a very good proving
ground. Bruemmer added: Its adding
confidence to the system.)
Yet theres a disconnect between the
public comments of SECC leaders on
the one hand and the Deltawrx memo
and the private concerns of street-
level officers on the other; theyre not
necessarily incongruous, but theyre
tonally opposite. Administrators involved
in the consolidation take a nothing-to-
see-here attitude, while Deltawrx wrote
that there are serious problems that affect
whether officers will ultimately accept the
New World software.
In that context, SECC leaders might be
wise to increase transparency especially
considering that its board members arent
directly elected by voters and that its levy
is uncapped. Taxpayers should have even
more opportunity to verify that their
taxes are being well-spent; that means
letting them see the unvarnished truth
the bad with the good. If, as SECC
leaders claim, the consolidation has gone
relatively well and is a good deal for
taxpayers both in terms of reasonable
cost and value (such as personnel and
communications efficiencies, and
emergency-response performance) the
public will see that.
And while it might be embarrassing,
allowing officers to publicly state their
problems, frustrations, and concerns
would be a good thing perhaps not in
the media, but at a time during SECC
board meetings devoted to allowing
ground-level stakeholders to air their
perspectives. That would show a
commitment to make the consolidation
work, and a willingness to be held
accountable for its shortcomings.
Thats not happening now, and thats
one reason Holst continues to raise issues
she hears about. She accepts the one-year
timeline for fine-tuning the system, but
she said she fears problems might not get
solved if there arent pointed questions
from the public.
If I can keep the heat on ... then a year
wont slip by, she said. This is their key
time to keep the pressure on the vendors.
... You dont get your bugs out then, you
start to make work-arounds and people
compensate, and youre not getting
the full value of the system. ... Lets be
more open about this, acknowledge
that theres something [wrong], and let
those departments use their old systems
temporarily. Dont hide that theres an
issue right now. Be up-front.
The first of seven recommendations
from the Deltawrx report gently pushes
SECC leaders in that direction: Accept
responsibility for project outcome.
It starts: The first step in reaching
a successful outcome for SECC and
SECC agency leaders is to agree that
they are responsible and accountable
for a successful product outcome.
Implementation of the following
recommendations requires commitment
to success from the leadership in
participating agencies. Commitment to
success means devoting resources and
energy, which we understand is difficult
to request when so much time and energy
have already been devoted.
In a crawl/walk/run category, we stood up
and got wobbly. ... I think were going to get
to running; were not there yet. Bettendorf
City Administrator Decker Ploehn
servants is the root problem plaguing our
nation, and civic disengagement is 110-
percent responsible. We are fast becoming
impotent as a citizenry, allowing rule-making
to supersede common law, and doing nothing
while our local, state, and federal public
servants usurp our liberties under dozens of
false pretenses, but most especially under the
guise of safety and/or security.
Meanwhile, already entrenched
bureaucracies grow ever larger, taking more
and more control unto themselves over
individuals use and enjoyment of private
property, combining services and creating
multiple or intergovernmental jurisdictions
of administrative structure that use rule-
making to insulate and protect their so-called
public-sector fiefdoms fiefdoms we the
people pay for but have no say in.
If not for your own future, then do your
children/grandchildren a favor and attend
your local county and city meetings on a
more regular basis. City-council meetings
can be viewed at home on cable TV. Listen,
learn, and engage. No resident gets a pass
on civic participation these days. There is no
excuse for doing nothing, anymore.
works when the public isnt paying attention
and sworn elected officers shirk their duties.
Scott County residents have no one to
blame but themselves. We have behaved like
absentee landlords and/or managers when
all of this went down. And clearly employees
do not respect what management does not
inspect.
If you want to engage and begin inspecting
what your SECC government is doing, start
by going to YouTube.com/ScottIFATV and
watch the SECC videos posted there. And
you can contact the SECC board members by
going to SECC911.org/secc/secc_board.php.
Lastly, the SECC Board meets at 5:30 p.m.
the third Thursday of every month on the
first floor of the county building. The next
meeting is November 17.
I
t can be argued that the biggest contrib-
uting factor to Americas decline is the
virtual collapse of public oversight of our
own governments, which has led to govern-
ment employees at every level whether
local, state, or federal into behaving like
they are the bosses of us and not the other
way around.
Unaccountability on the part of our public
Warner Bros. That process, she said,
often involved feedback from different
levels of management. There just gets to
be too many people in the room weighing
in about how successful something
may or may not be. All of these labels
are just trying to figure out how to
sustain themselves, and mixing that with
songwriting is a dangerous thing. ...
I think theres a shelf life for analyzing
songs and being able to record them
and have them sound fresh. ... If I got
too intellectual and self-doubting about
them, I wouldnt have been able to go
into a studio and think that they had
substance. So I had to sort of play mind
games with myself and forget any other
outside commentary on them and just
focus on playing them.
Rachael Yamagata will perform on
Saturday, November 12, at the Redstone
Room (129 Main Street in Davenport).
Mike Viola will open. The show starts
at 9 p.m., and tickets (available from
RedstoneRoom.com) are $15.
For more information on Rachael
Yamagata, visit RachaelYamagata.com.
influenced the
theatres name and
theme.
Silent movies
as well as musical
and comedic
presentations were
featured at the
theatre until the
introduction of
talking pictures
in the late 1920s.
With the advent of
suburban movie
complexes in the
60s, the theatre
now named the
Fort declined; for a
brief time, it showed adult films. It closed
in the early 70s.
Saved from possible demolition, the
theatre was extensively renovated from
1977 through 1979 after it became the
Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse (named after
the year of the theatres opening). Circa
21 is currently starting its 35th season.
Art in Plain Sight: Fort Artmstrong
Theatre Building
by Bruce Walters
ART
Bruce Walters is a professor of art at
Western Illinois University.
This is part of an occasional series on the
history of public art in the Quad Cities. If
theres a piece of public art that youd like
to learn more about, e-mail the location
and a brief description to BD-Walters@
wiu.edu.
Continued From Page 12 by Jeff Ignatius
jeff@rcreader.com
MUSIC
Out of the Holding Pattern
record, I think I was on five different
permutations of RCA.
Once she was released from that
contract, she signed to Warner Bros.
which put out her 2008 set Elephants
... Teeth Sinking Into Heart. The only
reason I signed with Warner Bros. was
because I really, really, really believed
in my A&R guy and the people I met at
the company, and theyve all since been
fired, she said. So I made it through
years of rounds of regime changes, which
is nice in that people dont want to let
me go; they still think theres something
there that they want to stand behind. But
its also been a Catch-22, because it hasnt
led to the whole point of doing music,
which is to make music and then tour the
music. Its been incredibly frustrating. ...
Each time Ive come into a record, Ive
had 120 songs to mess with. ... Ive had
the material to at least release one a year.
Yamagata said label machineries often
worked against her ability to run with her
songs even with Chesapeake. Frankly,
I got dropped as a result of some of these
songs, she said. They were all in play
to make a record, even while I was on
Celebration
of Christmas
2011
Opera@Augustana
The Long Christmas Dinner
Music by Paul Hindemith,
Libretto by Thornton Wilder
November 18, 19 & 20 at 8 p.m.
Tickets: $12 (discount available)
Christmas at Augustana
Ensembles include the Augustana
Choir, Augustana Brass Ensemble,
Augustana Symphony Orchestra,
Cantilena Augustana, Jenny Lind
Vocal Ensemble and Wennerberg
Mens Chorus.
December 2 at 8 p.m.
Handel Oratorio Society
Messiah
Augustana Chamber
Singers
Lessons and Carols
December 15 at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Free and open to the public.
Tickets:
www.augustana.edu/tickets
or call the Ticket Offce at
309.794.7306
Whos Running the Show?
by Kathleen McCarthy
km@rcreader.com
WORDS FROM THE EDITOR
Monday, November 14 Th
Legendary Shack Shakers, Split Lip
Rayfield, and Mountain Sprout. Rock
Island Brewing Company. (1815 Second
Avenue, Rock Island). 7:30 p.m. $12-15.
For information, call (309)793-4060 or
visit RIBCO.com. For a 2009 inteview with
Th Legendary Shack Shakers J.D. Wilkes,
visit RCReader.com/y/shakers. For a 2005
interview with Split Lip Rayfields Eric
Mardis, visit RCReader.com/y/rayfield.
Thursday, November 17 C.J. Chenier
& the Red Hot Louisiana Band. Famed
zydeco and blues musicians in concert.
The Redstone Room (129 Main Street,
Davenport). 8:30 p.m. $12. For tickets and
information, call (563)326-1333 or visit
RedstoneRoom.com.
Friday, November 18 Clint Black.
Country-music superstar in concert.
Riverside Casino & Event Center (3184
Highway 22, Riverside). 8 p.m. $40-50. For
tickets and information, call (877)677-3456
or visit RiversideCasinoAndResort.com.
Friday, November 18 American
String Quartet with the Maia String
Quartet. Solos and ensemble pieces
with the classical musicians, in a Hancher
Auditorium presentation. Riverside Recital
Hall (405 North Riverside Drive, Iowa
City). 7:30 p.m. $17.50-35. For tickets and
http://www.Hancher.UIowa.edu.
Friday, November 18 Greg Brown.
Acclaimed folk-music singer/songwriter
in concert. Englert Theatre (221 East
Washington Street, Iowa City). 8 p.m.
$25-45. For tickets and information, call
(319)688-2653 or visit Englert.org.
Friday, November 18, through
Sunday, November 20 The Long
Christmas Dinner. Annual holiday
presentation by Opera@Augustana,
featuring music by Paul Hindemith and
a libretto by Thornton Wilder. Augustana
Colleges Denkmann Memorial Hall (3520
Seventh Avenue, Rock Island). 8 p.m.
$8-12. For information and tickets, call
(309)794-7306 or visit Augustana.edu.
Saturday, November 19 Holiday
Pops. Featuring Olympic ice skater Todd
Eldredge, jazz trumpet player Jon Faddis,
actor John Getz narrating The Night
Before Christmas, and performances by
the Quad City Symphony Orchestra, the
Figure Skating Club of the Quad Cities,
the Sanctuary Choir of First Presbyterian
Church, and the Holiday Pops Childrens
Chorus. i wireless Center (1201 River Drive,
Moline). 7:30 p.m. $20.50-44.50. For tickets
and information, call (800)745-3000 or visit
QuadCityArts.com or QCSymphony.com.
Sunday, November 20 Tony
Sconyers & Friends. Noted jazz musician
performs and educates with Edgar
Crockett, Corey Kendrick, Ron Wilson,
and Manuel Lopez III, in an event in
Polyrhythms Third Sunday Jazz Matine &
Workshop Series. The Redstone Room (129
Main Street, Davenport). 3 p.m. all-ages
jazz workshop $5/adult, children free;
6 p.m. concert $10-15. For tickets and
Polyrhythms.org or RedstoneRoom.com.
THEATRE
Thursday, November 10, through
Friday, December 30 Nuncrackers.
Holiday sequel to the off-Broadway smash
Nunsense. Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse
(1828 Third Avenue, Rock Island). Fridays,
Saturdays, Wednesdays, and November
10 5:45 p.m. doors, 6-7 p.m. buffet, 7:15
p.m. pre-show, 7:45 p.m. performance;
Sundays 3:45 p.m. doors, 4-5 p.m.
buffet, 5:15 p.m. pre-show, 5:45 p.m.
performance; Wednesdays 11:30 a.m.
doors, 11:45 a.m.-12:45 p.m. plated lunch,
1 p.m. pre-show, 1:30 p.m. performance.
$41.28-47.55. For tickets and information,
call (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visit
Circa21.com.
Thursday, November 10, through
Saturday, November 19 Stick Fly.
Acclaimed family drama by Lydia R.
Diamond, directed by Tisch Jones.
University of Iowas E.C. Mabie Theatre
(200 North Riverside Drive, Iowa City).
Thursdays-Saturdays 8 p.m.; Sunday 2
p.m. $10-17. For tickets and information,
call (319)335-1160 or visit UIowa.
edu/~theatre.
Sunday, November 20 Leaving Iowa.
Family-themed road comedy, directed
by Tom Naab. Playcrafters Barn Theatre
(4950 35th Avenue, Moline). Fridays and
Saturdays 7:30 p.m.; Sundays 3 p.m. $10.
For tickets and information, call (309)762-
0330 or visit Playcrafters.com.
Sunday, November 13 Uh-Oh, Here
Comes Christmas. The Pearl City Players
presentation of heartwarming holiday
vignettes based on stories by Robert
Fulghum. The Center for Non-Profits (129
West Second Street, Muscatine). Friday and
Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday 5 p.m. $10-13. For
or e-mail PearlCityPlayers@yahoo.com.
Sunday, November 13 Young
Frankenstein: The New Mel Brooks
Musical. Tony Award-nominated
musical comedy based on Brooks film
classic. Adler Theatre (136 East Third
Street, Davenport). 7 p.m. $31.50-53.50.
For tickets, call (800)745-3000 or visit
AdlerTheatre.com.
Sunday, November 20 Its a Wonderful
Life: A Live Radio Play. Joe Landrys
adaptation of the Frank Capra holiday
classic. Ohnward Fine Arts Center (1215
East Platt Street, Maquoketa). Friday and
Saturday 7 p.m.; Sunday 2 p.m. $8-15. For
or visit OhnwardFineArtsCenter.com.
Sunday, November 20 Irving Berlins
White Christmas. Musical stage version
of the holiday movie classic, presented by
the Prairie Players Civic Theatre. Orpheum
Theatre (57 South Kellogg Street,
Galesburg). Friday and Saturday 7:30 p.m.;
Sunday 3 p.m. $10-17. For tickets and
TheOrpheum.org.
COMEDY
Friday, November 11 Skellingtons
Last Resort. Dinner and a debuting,
interactive comedy/mystery with the Its a
Mystery troupe. Skellington Manor Banquet
& Event Center (420 18th Street, Rock Island).
6:30 p.m. $35. For tickets and information,
call (563)344-9187 or visit SkellingtonManor.
com or ItsAMysteryQC.com.
SPORTS
Saturday, November 19 MMA
Extreme Challenge. Competitions
between amateur and professional
mixed-martial-arts fighters. Quad-Cities
Waterfront Convention Center (1777 Isle
Parkway, Bettendorf ). 7:30 p.m. $20-30. For
or visit Bettendorf.IsleOfCapriCasinos.com.
EVENTS
Friday, November 18 Civil War
Ghosts & Legends. Singer/storyteller
Brian Fox Ellis presents poetry by Walt
Whitman, songs by Stephen Foster,
and Civil War tales by Ambrose Bierce.
Butterworth Center (1105 Eighth Street,
Moline). 7 p.m. Free admission. For
ButterworthCenter.com.
Saturday, November 19, through
Sunday, November 27 Quad City Arts
Festival of Trees. Annual event featuring
numerous holiday vendors and exhibits.
Davenport RiverCenter (136 East Third
Street, Davenport). $3-8. For information
and a daily schedule, call (309)793-1213 or
visit QuadCityArts.com.
Applicants
now being
accepted for
Voss Brothers
Lofts
Located at: 219 21st St.
Rock Island, IL
A community for
individuals & families.
Call 309-788-7940
To request an
application.
Certain Income
Restrictions Apply
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Bounty Hunter
on Starz
players freedom and relying more on
non-interactive or heavily scripted
sequences. Arkham City moves in the
opposite direction. While Arkham
Asylum was a largely linear, controlled
affair, Arkham City offers an open world
that players can explore at their leisure,
focusing on whatever aspect of the game
appeals to them at the moment. The
game gives players most of Batmans key
tools, from batarangs to explosive gel, right from
the start. While theres a sequence of main plot
missions, the environment is packed with side
missions and incidental encounters.
This world the titular Arkham City, a large
walled-off section of Gotham City transformed
into an open-air prison is the star of the game.
While nearly all of Batmans major nemeses make
appearances, their presence is largely limited to
non-interactive scenes, leaving the gothic, post-
apocalyptic ruin of Arkham City to take center
stage. Its a phantasmagoric landscape of crumbling
ruins, blazing lights, and deep shadows calling to
mind not the grim semi-realism of Christopher
Nolans recent films but the surreal, fantastical
architecture of Tim Burtons and especially Joel
Schumachers (minus the comic farce).
With the open city populated by gangs of
thugs loyal to one or another supervillain, the
game offers players an idea of what the night-to-
night existence of Batman might be like between
stopping supervillains doomsday schemes. Its
in these moments, driven purely by the basic
gameplay mechanics whether moving between
missions or just exploring Arkham City that
players feel the most like Batman. Or the most
unlike him, when they accidentally stumble upon
a thug carrying an assault rifle and find themselves
gunned down in a few bursts.
The game, however, never seems entirely
comfortable with its openness. Its perhaps
understandable that the main missions take
place in linear building interiors and contain
frequent non-interactive scenes, especially
when those scenes feature the likes of the Joker
and the Penguin. Its less forgivable when such
cinematic sequences see Batman outwitted by
foes the player would have no trouble defeating,
forcing him to look dumb in order to advance
the developers script. There are also a number
of instances when Batmans tools are arbitrarily
disallowed in obviously appropriate situations
to force players into a scripted, and frequently
unintuitive, solution. These occurrences, however,
are infrequent blemishes in a lengthy, sprawling,
and accomplished game.
Batman: Arkham City is available for Xbox 360
and PlayStation 3 for $59.99. It is scheduled to be
released for PC for $49.99 on November 22.
Grant Williams is a developer at Sedona
Technologies who hijacked an English degree to
study video games.
R
ocksteadys Batman: Arkham
Asylum was a pleasant surprise
when it was released in 2009:
a video game that, in contrast to the
lackluster history of superhero games,
was actually good. Arkham Asylum
wasnt unique clearly drawing its
combination of rooftop navigation,
stealth, and combat from games
such as Assassins Creed but it deftly
applied that formula to the experience of being
Batman and inhabiting his world of Gotham City.
Batman: Arkham City expands and refines the
first game, crafting a new experience that, while
never particularly innovative, remains consistently
entertaining and a persons best opportunity to feel
like the Dark Knight.
Like its predecessor, Arkham City rests on a
solid foundation of gameplay focusing on the
typical image of Batman: gliding from rooftop
to rooftop, swooping down to silently knock out
a bad guy, disappearing back into the shadows,
listening to nearby criminals panic as they realize
theyre being hunted by an enemy much smarter
and more capable than they. Navigating Arkham
Citys world is a delight, and although the stealth
mechanics are not detailed, its always satisfying to
sneak up behind two thugs and smash their heads
together.
This feeling of power is at the core of being
Batman: Ordinary criminals, even in groups,
are no match for the Dark Knight; it takes a
supervillain such as the Joker to truly threaten
him. But because this is a video game, the player
will occasionally make a mistake, and when that
happens, this feeling of superiority disappears. In
many video games, miscues are annoying but part
of the experience perhaps the opportunity for
an exciting recovery; slipping up in Arkham City,
though, feels like youve failed at being Batman.
Despite the games best efforts, its unable to
reconcile fallible video-game players trying to live
up to a nearly infallible character whose strength
comes more from skill and intelligence than
superpowers.
When youre forced to engage with ordinary
enemies, because you screwed up or the plot
forces you to, the games combat system comes
into play. Controlling Batmans bashes and
dodges is intuitive and kinetic. Each successful
strike in a sequence increases Batmans speed and
power, which reset if you are struck by an enemy.
In a large melee, Batmans maneuvering can
quickly escalate into a violent ballet that sees him
repeatedly jumping into enemies and using the
force of the blow to kick himself toward another
foe. Its a satisfying system that feels appropriately
powerful, simultaneously responsive and
cinematic. Of course, its also possible to mistime a
dodge and be knocked to the ground and mobbed
by a gang of thugs, barely escaping by shooting a
grapple to a nearby rooftop.
Most video games overcome the contradiction
between myth and live performance by restricting
Arkham City: Being Batman
by Grant Williams
grant.merlin.williams@gmail.com
GAMING
Slipping Beauty
Im in a great relationship of seven
months. My boyfriend and I never get sick
of each other. We respect each other and are
there for each other, and we talk very openly,
even when were upset. His ex-girlfriend
is part of our group of friends. She is thin
and very pretty. I know Im attractive, but
Im struggling to lose these 10 pounds I put
on in college. Also, shes super-sweet, and
she and my boyfriend broke up because
he cheated on her. He told her right away
and felt sick about it for a long time, so Im
not worried that hed cheat on me. Friends
tell me how much he loves me, and he even
told me hed feel lost without me. Still, I
get nervous when theyre alone or talking a
lot. I havent said anything about her being
around so much, but I know other girls
wouldnt stand for it.
Jealous
Youre the one whos obsessed with getting
in another womans pants being able to wear
his ex-girlfriends skinny jeans, and not just as
arm-warmers.
I know, if hes going to be chummy with
his ex, couldnt she please be one of those
women people charitably describe as pretty
once you get to know her? Instead, it seems
her 10-step get-gorgeous routine involves
(1) Wake up, while you probably feel you
have to put in a half-hour in the bathroom
some mornings just to keep from scaring the
dog. And then, some evening when youre at
your glowiest (after a brief struggle to squeeze
your muffin-top into steel-belted control-top
pantyhose), you need only stand next to her
to feel yourself rapidly devolving from arm
candy to arm ballast.
It would be easier if she fit the stereotype
of the gorgeous girl with the tiny lump of coal
heart. Unfortunately, shes sunshine with legs.
(Sickeningly long, slim legs, with no hint of
cankles.) Making matters worse, they had an
indiscretion-driven breakup, not an Im sick
of you breakup. Whatever could be stopping
him from scampering back to her? Well, it
doesnt sound like youre exactly a barker, and
although men prioritize looks in women, once
youre within the zone of what a guy finds
hot/cute/sexy, other stuff comes into play: Are
you kind? Does he feel needed, appreciated,
understood? Do you click as a couple naked
and clothed? And okay, you arent on the short
list to be an Abercrombie model, but is every
day more fun because youre in it?
Dont let on how jealous you feel (it sends
a message that youre not all that), and dont
try to control a man by telling him what to
do (it leads to resentment, secretiveness,
and rebellion). You tell a man what to do by
making him happy and by being happy with
him. Your relationship may eventually end,
but if you accept that, you can enjoy the hell
out of it while you have it. For peace of mind,
start a conversation about what you appreciate
about each other. Listen up and you might get
your head around the notion that hes with
you because hes lost without you and not
because he lost his directions to the skinny
girls house.
Adjusting the Shudder
Im an okay-looking guy, but I look
terrible in photos. I am joining an online-
dating site and dont know what to do about
my picture. I cant afford a photographer.
Unphotogenic
Some peoples photos look best with some
clever cropping. Apparently, yours look best if
you crop out your head. Part of your problem
is that you probably think of taking a picture
(or three) instead of doing as professional
photographers do taking maybe 1,000.
This basically means staging a photographic
accident, meaning in at least one of the 1,000
shots, you should accidentally look like
yourself or even better.
A novelist friend of mine, Sonya Sones,
author of The Hunchback of Neiman Marcus,
takes some fantastic photos of her various
traumatized author friends. She says people
look best when the photographer shoots from
a little above them and advises against using
a flash ever because it makes people look
ugly. Period. She suggests shooting outdoors,
in the shade: In the sun, people get hideous
haunted-house shadows under their eyes
and noses, which is not a good look unless it
happens to be Halloween. Ill add that you
should experiment initially with different angles
to find your best and try some shots in which
youre doing something you enjoy fishing
or grilling or playing poker so youll forget
to freeze and look awkward. Put in a little
effort and you could soon be posting a picture
thats more NotBadLookingGuy123 than
Quasimodo456. (You had me at Hell, no!)
Got A Problem? Ask Amy Alkon.
171 Pier Ave, #280, Santa Monica, CA 90405
or e-mail AdviceAmy@aol.com (AdviceGoddess.com)
2011, Amy Alkon, all rights reserved.
Ask
the
Advice
Goddess
BY AMY ALKON
Respite
Residential
Day Programs
Vocational Training
Assistive Technology
Community Supports
Supported Employment
www.arcqca.org
For people with intellectual and
developmental disabilities
SAGITTARIUS (November 22-
December 21): In Mongolia, theres a
famous fossil of two dinosaurs locked
in mortal combat. Forever frozen in time, a
Velociraptor is clawing a Protoceratops, which in
turn is biting its enemys arm. Theyve been holding
that pose now for, oh, 80 million years or so. Im
shoving this image in your face, Sagittarius, so as
to dare you and encourage you to withdraw from
your old feuds and disputes. Its a perfect time,
astrologically speaking, to give up any struggle
thats not going to matter 80 million years from
now. (More info: tinyurl.com/DinosaurFight.)
CAPRICORN (December 22-January
19): In your experience, who is the
best-smelling actor that youve worked
with? TV host Jon Stewart asked his guest Tom
Hanks. Kevin Bacon, replied Hanks. Why?
Not because of the bacon-as-a-delicious-food
angle, although that would be funny. He smells
like a mix of baby powder and Listerine, Hanks
said. Keep this perspective in mind, Capricorn. I
think you should be engaged in a great ongoing
quest to put yourself in situations with pleasing
aromas. I mean this in both the metaphorical and
literal sense. To set yourself up for meaningful
experiences that provide you with exactly what you
need, follow your nose.
AQUARIUS (January 20-February
18): According to my reading of the
omens, Aquarius, you can finally take advantage
of a long-standing invitation or opportunity that
you have always felt unworthy of or unready for.
Congratulations on being so doggedly persistent
about ripening the immature parts of yourself.
Now heres an extra bonus: This breakthrough may
in turn lead to you finding a lost piece to the puzzle
of your identity.
PISCES (February 19-March 20): My
acquaintance Bob takes a variety of
meds for his bipolar disorder. They work
pretty well to keep him out of the troughs, but he
misses the peaks. Last time he saw his psychiatrist
he told her he wished he could stop taking the
complicated brew of drugs and just take a happy
pill every day. The psychiatrist told him that if he
ever found such a thing, shed love to take it herself.
Wouldnt we all? Im pleased to report that you are
now very close to locating the next best thing to
a happy pill, Pisces. It may require you to at least
partially give up your addiction to one of your
customary forms of suffering, though. Are you
prepared to do that?
Homework: If you knew you were going to live to
100, what would you do differently in the next five
years? Testify at FreeWillAstrology.com.
LEO (July 23-August 22): I was musing
on how slow I am to learn the lessons
I need to master how hard it can be
to see the obvious secrets that are right in front
of me. But I felt better after I came across the
logo for the Jung Institute in San Francisco,
which is dedicated to the study of psychology
and psychotherapy. The symbol that it has
chosen to embody its ruling spirit consists of
four snails creeping their way around a center
point a witty acknowledgment of the plodding
nature of the human psyche. I bring this to your
attention, Leo, because its important for you to
give yourself credit for how much youve grown
since the old days even if your progress seems
intolerably gradual.
VIRGO (August 23-September 22):
It will be a good week to have nice
long talks with yourself the more, the
better. The different sub-personalities
that dwell within you need to engage in
vigorous dialogues that will get all their various
viewpoints out in the open. I even recommend
coaxing some of those inner voices to manifest
themselves outside the confines of your own
head you know, by speaking out loud. If you
feel inhibited about giving them full expression
where they might be overheard by people, find
a private place that will allow them to feel free to
be themselves.
LIBRA (September 23-October
22): During the reign of President
George W. Bush, many Americans viewed
France as being insufficiently sympathetic with
American military might. So enraged were
some conservatives that they tried to change
the name of French fries to freedom fries and
French toast to freedom toast. The culminating
moment in this surrealistic exercise came when
Bush told UKs Prime Minister Tony Blair, The
French dont even have a word for entrepreneur
unaware that entrepreneur is a word the
English language borrowed from the French. The
moral of the story, as far as youre concerned,
Libra: Make sure you know the origins of
everyone and everything you engage with,
especially as they affect your ability to benefit
from entrepreneurial influences.
SCORPIO (October 23-November
21): The Cunnilinguistic Dicktionary
defines the newly coined word
mutinyversal as rebellion against the whole
universe. I think it would be an excellent time
for you to engage in a playful, vivacious version
of that approach to life. This is one of those
rare times when you have so many unique gifts
to offer and so many invigorating insights to
unleash, that you really should act as if you are
mostly right and everyone else is at least half-
wrong. Just one caution: As you embark on your
crusade to make the world over in your image,
do it with as much humility and compassion as
you can muster.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): The title
of this weeks movie is Uproar of Love,
starring The Fantasy Kid and The
Most Feeling Machine in the World. It blends
romance and science fiction, with overtones
of espionage and undertones of revolution
for the hell of it. Comic touches will slip in at
unexpected moments. When youre not up to
your jowls in archetypes, you might be able to
muster the clarity to gorge yourself on the earthly
delights that are spread from here to the edge of
the abyss.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): Hows
your relationship with your muse?
Dont tell me that youre not an artist
so you dont have a muse. Even garbage
collectors need muses. Even farmers. Even
politicians. All of us need to be in touch with a
mysterious, tantalizing source of inspiration that
teases our sense of wonder and goads us on to
lifes next adventures. So I ask you again: What
have you and your muse been up to lately? I say
its high time for you to infuse your connection
with a dose of raw mojo. And if for some sad
reason you dont have a muse, I urge you to go
out in quest of new candidates. (P.S. A muse isnt
necessarily a person; he or she might also be an
animal, an ancestor, a spirit, or a hero.)
GEMINI (May 21-June 20):
Funky pagan scientists at Zen State
University have found that the regular
consumption of Free Will Astrology can be
effective in smoothing unsightly wrinkles on
your attitude, scouring away stains on your
courage, and disposing of old garbage stuck to
your karma. Theyve also gathered testimony
from people who claim to have experienced
spontaneous healings of nagging ailments and
chronic suffering while under the influence
of these oracles. If I were you, Id try to take
advantage of such benefits right now. You could
really use some healing. Luckily, it looks like
therell be an array of other curative options
available to you as well. Be aggressive about
seeking them out.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): Given
the lush and exotic astrological
factors now coming to bear on your
destiny, and due to the possibility that something
resembling actual magic may soon make an
appearance, I am taking a leap of faith with
this weeks horoscope. Are you game? There is
a hypothetical scene described by the English
poet Samuel Coleridge (1772-1834) that would
normally be too outlandish to take seriously, but
I suspect its a possible match for your upcoming
adventures. What if you slept, he wrote, and
what if in your sleep you dreamed, and what if
in your dream you went to heaven and there you
plucked a strange and beautiful flower, and what
if when you awoke you had the flower in your
hand? Ah, what then?
FREE WILL ASTROLOGY by Rob Brezsny
Go to RealAstrology.com to check out Rob Brezsny's
EXPANDED WEEKLY AUDIO HOROSCOPES
& DAILY TEXT MESSAGE HOROSCOPES
The audio horoscopes are also available by phone at
1-877-873-4888 or 1-900-950-7700
October 27 Answers: Page 3
MAKE ROOM FOR DADDY - NOV. 10, 011
ACROSS
1. Ottava _
5. Port city in Israel
10. Epicarp
14. Compartment
18. On the summit of
19. Handle of a kind
20. Arm bones
21. Song
22. Bread roll topping: 2 wds.
24. Causing astonishment: hyph.
26. Turncoats crime
27. Hardly ever
29. Sounds
30. Magritte or Russo
31. Presently
32. Wen
33. Autocrat
36. Not very bad, not very good: hyph.
38. Defoes Crusoe, e.g.
42. Its _ _ to Tell a Lie
43. River horse
47. Hasten
48. Mil. rank
49. Willow tree
50. Sacraments
51. _ Katherine Sorvino
52. Conscious mind
53. Green Mountain Boys leader
54. Tower site
55. Check-in areas
56. Relied
58. Judge
59. Occasional confessor
60. Storms
61. Brought about
62. Swimmers problem
63. Relief pitcher in baseball
65. Divide
66. A mixer: 2 wds.
69. Unit of volume
70. Bookplate
71. Means of restraint
72. _ se
73. Fratricides victim
74. Cerise or cerulean, e.g.
75. Barrel part
76. Small
77. _ Lanka
78. Internet clutter solution: 2 wds.
80. Speed
81. Not barefoot
83. Yearn
84. Pumped up
85. Means justifier
86. Recipe word
88. Sing like Ella
90. Type of whale
93. Staircase shape
95. Art supplies
99. Furious
101. Fear of a certain place
103. Woe _ _!
104. Shoe part
105. Summon
106. Mining yields
107. Nonsense writer
108. Father
109. Ceremonial dinner
110. Eat a little
DOWN
1. Engrossed
2. Believe _ _ not!
3. Brood
4. Manifest
5. Argonauts leader
6. Coeur d_
7. Old cry of disapproval
8. Manias
9. Valuator
10. Silky fabric
11. Same as above
12. Pinch
13. God also called Bacchus
14. Per _
15. Discord personified
16. Wrinkle
17. Falls behind
20. Change the decor
23. River in France
25. Mails
28. Air show maneuver
32. Cud-chewing creature
33. Tore
34. Concern of a linguist
35. A biomolecule
36. Caught sight of
37. Exposed
38. Trace anagram
39. Abele: 2 wds.
40. Buenos _
41. Brewing need
43. One with ownership
44. Skerries
45. Persuasive speaker
46. Famous Buddhist country
51. Cripples
53. Tee off
54. Something donut-shaped
55. Up for _
57. Atelier item
58. Echo chamber effect
59. Edge tool
61. Form of jazz
62. Bit of garlic
63. Reunion group
64. Sign of the zodiac
65. Toledo toast
66. A rail
67. Make frost-free
68. One- _ bandit
70. Runs
71. Urge
74. Gelidity
75. Teacher of Plato
76. Cuspidor
78. Solar-cell array
79. Hideout
82. Farther down
84. Household chore
86. Quill
87. Metronome sound
88. Support for a felly
89. Gambol
90. Curved handle
91. Church section
92. _ Linda
93. Get top billing
94. _ Actually
96. River in Spain
97. Misinformation
98. Cummerbund
100. Letter after phi
102. Seedcase
Email all listings to calendar@rcreader.com Deadline 5 p.m. Thursday before publication
2011/11/09 (Wed)
Blu - JNaturaL - Open Mike Eagle - MC
Colorless -Gabes, 330 E. Washington
St. Iowa City, IA
DJ Jeff & Karaoke -Greenbriar Res-
taurant and Lounge, 4506 27th St
Moline, IL
Karaoke Night -Applebees Neighbor-
hood Grill - Davenport, 3005 W.
Kimberly Rd. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock,
4619 34th St Rock Island, IL
Open Mic Night w/ Karl, Mike, & Doug
-Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 1/2 W. 3rd
St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Luis Ochoa -Up-
town Neighborhood Bar and Grill,
2340 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke -Hollars
Bar and Gri l l, 4050 27th St Mo-
line, IL
The Chris & Wes Show -Mound Street
Landing, 1029 Mound St. Daven-
port, IA
2011/11/10 (Thu)
ABC Karaoke -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W
Locust Davenport, IA
Bebop Night at the Rozz-Tox -Rozz-Tox,
2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Moline, IL
Jam Sessions with John OMeara and
Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708
State St. Bettendorf, IA
Jazz Jam with The North Scott Jazz
Combo -RME Community Stage, 131
W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Just Chords -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Karaoke & Retro DJ w/ BMAX Enter-
tainment -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady
St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Purgatorys Pub, 2104
State St Bettendorf, IA
Karaoke Night -The Gallery Lounge,
3727 Esplanade Ave. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -The Lucky Frog Bar
and Grill, 313 N Salina St McCaus-
land, IA
Koobys Karaoke -Headquarters Bar &
Grill, 119 E. 22nd Ave. Coal Valley, IL
Live Lunch w/ Thomas Kivi (noon) -RME
Communi ty Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Mixology -Gabes, 330 E. Washington
St. Iowa City, IA
Nick Vasquez -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St.
Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Kung Fu Tofu
-Stickmans, 1510 N. Harrison St.
Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ The Dukes of Hag-
gard -Bier Stube Moline, 417 15th
St Moline, IL
Rock N the House Karaoke -Uptown
Neighborhood Bar and Grill, 2340
Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Troy Harris, Pianist (6pm) -Red Crow
Grille, 2504 53rd St. Bettendorf, IA
University of Iowa Jazz Performances
-The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa
City, IA
2011/11/11 (Fri)
Armed and Hammerd -Purgatorys Pub,
2104 State St Bettendorf, IA
Artimus Pyle -Quad-Cities Waterfront
Convention Center, 1777 Isle Park-
way Bettendorf, IA
Bettendorf Park Band Pre-Veterans
Day Concert -Herber t Goettsch
Community Center, 2204 Grant St.
Bettendorf, IA
Big Al -The Odeon, 8025 Avenue N.
Clinton, IA
Buddy Olson (6pm) -Toucans Cantina
/ Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street
Milan, IL
David Killinger & Friends -Gs Riv-
erfront Cafe, 102 S Main St Port
Byron, IL
Dirt Road Rockers -Rascals Live, 1418
15th St. Moline, IL
Dueling Pianos: Piano Fondue (6pm)
-Rhythm City Casino, 101 W. River Dr.
Davenport, IA
Eddie Shaw and the Wolfgang -The
Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bet-
tendorf, IA
Elephant Gun - Break Up Art -Rozz-Tox,
2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Ethanol -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Family Groove Company - The Bur-
rows Four -Gabes, 330 E. Washing-
ton St. Iowa City, IA
Funk Daddi es -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
Jumers Casino and Hotel, I-280 &
Hwy 92 Rock Island, IL
Jason Carl Band (9pm) - The Rusty Nail,
2606 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA
Jazz After Five w/ Groove Theory
(5:30pm) - Fourteenth Colony Nov-
el Album Release - Jason T. Lewis
- Sad Iron Music (8:30pm) -The Mill,
120 E Burlington Iowa City, IA
John Wasem -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St.
Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night (members only) -Moose
Lodge - Davenport, 2333 Rocking-
ham Rd Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Circle Tap, 1345 Locust
St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Creekside Bar and Grill,
3303 Brady St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Paddlewheel Sports Bar
& Grill, 221 15th St Bettendorf, IA
Karaoke Night -Stickmans, 1510 N.
Harrison St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night w/ Stevie J. -Biscuits Bar
& Grill, 600 Front St Buffalo, IA
Lee Blackmon -Cool Beanz Coffee-
house, 1325 30th St. Rock Island, IL
Live Lunch w/ Tony Hoeppner (noon)
-RME Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd
St. Davenport, IA
Marvels -Purgatorys Pub, 2104 State St
Bettendorf, IA
Maupenei Lelaulu (6:30pm) -RME Com-
munity Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Dav-
enport, IA
Open Mic Coffeehouse -First Lutheran
Church of Rock Island Parish House,
Orangadang -RI BCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Peter Mayer Group - Whoozdads
-Adler Theatre, 136 E. 3rd St. Dav-
enport, IA
Rick K & the Allnighters -Riverside Ca-
sino and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway
22 Riverside, IA
Rootless Experience -Generations Bar
& Grill, 4100 4th Ave. Moline, IL
Russ Reyman Trio (5pm) -The Rusty Nail,
2606 W Locust Davenport, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke & DJ
-Hollars Bar and Grill, 4050 27th St
Moline, IL
Tallgrass - John June Year - The Iowa
Beer Band - Iowa City Yacht Club,
13 S. Linn St., Iowa City, IA
Tangent -Martinis on the Rock, 4619
34th St Rock Island, IL
The Knockoffs -Fargo Dance & Sports,
4204 Avenue of the Ci ti es Mo-
line, IL
Troy Harris, pianist (6pm) -Phoenix,
111 West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
2011/11/12 (Sat)
Avian Swarm -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse,
1325 30th St. Rock Island, IL
Bad Fathers - Black Market Maven
- Porch Builder -Gabes, 330 E.
Washington St. Iowa City, IA
Cake Tribute w/ Nugget - Chili Pep-
pers w/ First Born Unicorn -Iowa
City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa
City, IA
Cosmic -Uptown Neighborhood Bar
and Grill, 2340 Spruce Hills Dr. Bet-
tendorf, IA
Danika Holmes -The Grape Life Wine
Emporium - Davenport, 3402 Elmore
Ave. Davenport, IA
Byron, IL
Dueling Pianos: Piano Fondue (6pm)
-Rhythm City Casino, 101 W. River Dr.
Davenport, IA
Funk Daddi es -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
Icarus Himself - Alex Body - American
Dust -Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
John Wasem -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St.
Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Moes Pi zza, 1312
Camanche Ave Clinton, IA
Karaoke Night -The Mill, 120 E Burling-
ton Iowa City, IA
Icarus Himself @ Rozz-Tox - November 12
9 WEDNESDAY
10 THURSDAY
12 SATURDAY
11 FRIDAY
1611 W. Locust St. | Davenport, IA 52804 | 563.326.1847
www.dolandjewelers.com | Look for us on Facebook.
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select from a range of beautiful jewelry to
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Free
jewelry for your
Mommys Little Monster -Purgatorys
Pub, 2104 State St Bettendorf, IA
Night People -Len Browns North Shore
Inn, 7th Street and the Rock River
Moline, IL
Open Mic Morning (9am) -Whistle Stop
Java Shop, 400 W. 4th St. Milan, IL
Pati o -Rascal s Li ve, 1418 15th St.
Moline, IL
Rachael Yamagata - Mike Viola -The
Redstone Room, 129 Main St Dav-
enport, IA
Red Pepper Sage (6pm) -Toucans
Cantina / Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st
Street Milan, IL
Rick K & the Allnighters -Riverside Ca-
22 Riverside, IA
Russ Reyman, Pianist (7pm) -Phoenix,
Simon Says Uncle -Hawkeye Tap, 4646
Cheyenne Ave. Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Martinis on the Rock,
Songwriters in the Round (3pm) -RME
Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Moline, IL
Terry Quiett Band -The Muddy Waters,
1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
The Knockoffs -Fargo Dance & Sports,
4204 Avenue of the Ci ti es Mo-
line, IL
Third Rail -Uptown Nei ghborhood
Bar and Grill, 2340 Spruce Hills Dr.
Bettendorf, IA
Toology: A Tribute to Tool - The BJesus
Belt -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Vodkaseven - The Rusty Nail. 2606 W.
Locust St., Davenport, IA
Wicked Nature -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady
St. Davenport, IA
Zither Ensemble (10am) -German
American Heritage Center, 712 W.
2nd St. Davenport, IA
2011/11/13 (Sun)
Arthur Lee Land (4pm) -Englert The-
atre, 221 East Washington St. Iowa
City, IA
Damon Fowler (5pm) -The Muddy Wa-
ters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
Five Bridges Jazz Band (10:30am)
-Brady Street Chop House, Radisson
QC Plaza Hotel Davenport, IA
Jazz Brunch w/ the Josh Duffee Band
(10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Black-
hawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Joe Pena Memorial Benefit: Serious
Business & Friends (1pm) -The
Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Daven-
port, IA
Karaoke Night -11th Street Precinct,
2108 E 11th St Davenport, IA
Keir Neuringer - Sinjo Thraw Mash
-Rozz-Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Is-
land, IL
Kiran Ahluwalia -CSPS/Legion Arts,
1103 3rd St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Russ Reyman, Pianist (10am) -The
Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce Hills Dr.
Bettendorf, IA
Stephanie Vinar Memorial Fundraiser:
Ellis Kell (1pm) - Jim Ryan & Kenny
Carleton (3pm) - Jordan Danielsen
(5pm) -Martinis on the Rock, 4619
34th St Rock Island, IL
2011/11/14 (Mon)
Jason Carl -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W
Karaoke Night -Bier Stube Moline, 417
15th St Moline, IL
Metal Mondays -Gabes, 330 E. Wash-
ington St. Iowa City, IA
One Night Stand Open Mic -I owa
City Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa
City, IA
Open Mic w/ J. Knight -The Mill, 120 E
Burlington Iowa City, IA
River Bend Foodbank Musical Benefit:
Relentless Approach - Sleeper
Wakes Society - Powerslop - Nerv
-The Mol i ne Cl ub, 513 16th St.
Moline, IL
The Legendary Shack Shakers - Split
Lip Rayfield - Mountain Sprout
-RI BCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock I s-
land, IL
2011/11/15 (Tue)
ABC Karaoke Contest Night -The Rusty
Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -OMelias
Supper Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd.
Rock Island, IL
Karaoke Night -Sharkys Bar & Grill,
2902 E. Kimberly Rd. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night w/ Stevie J. -Davenport
Eagles Lodge, 4401 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Cool Beanz Coffee-
Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410
2nd St Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Alan Sweet -Green-
briar Restaurant and Lounge, 4506
27th St Moline, IL
Open Mic w/ Pat Willis -Bier Stube
Davenport, 2228 E 11th St Daven-
port, IA
Open Mic w/ Steve McFate -Salute,
1814 7th St Moline, IL
Quad-Cities KIX Band -RME Com-
munity Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Dav-
enport, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke & DJ -Mc-
Manus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
The Chris and Wes Show - Stacks Bar,
525 14th St., Moline, IL
The New York Steinway Experience
-West Music Quad Cities, 4305 44th
Ave., Moline, IL
2011/11/16 (Wed)
Aaron Kamm & the One Drops - Jam
Session -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13 S
Linn St Iowa City, IA
Moline, IL
Jeff Miller (6pm) -Gs Riverfront Cafe,
102 S Main St Port Byron, IL
Karaoke Night -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Karaoke Night -Sharkys Bar & Grill,
2902 E. Kimberly Rd. Davenport, IA
Keller Karaoke -Martinis on the Rock,
Not a Planet - Pisces Cult - Muddy
Rails - Gabes, 330 E. Washington
St., Iowa City, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Alan Sweet and Siri
Mason -RME Community Stage, 131 W.
2nd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Karl, Mike, & Doug
-Boozies Bar & Grill, 114 1/2 W. 3rd
St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Luis Ochoa -Up-
town Neighborhood Bar and Grill,
2340 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf, IA
Paul Simon -i wireless Center, 1201
River Dr Moline, IL
Rich Baumann (6:30pm) -Bettendorf
Public Library, 2950 Learning Cam-
pus Bettendorf, IA
Ruth Moody Band -CSPS/Legion Arts,
1103 3rd St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke -Hollars
Bar and Gri l l, 4050 27th St Mo-
line, IL
The Chris & Wes Show -Mound Street
Landing, 1029 Mound St. Daven-
port, IA
The Coveralls -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W
Locust St, Davenport, IA
2011/11/17 (Thu)
Locust St, Davenport, IA
C.J. Chenier & the Red Hot Louisiana
Band -The Redstone Room, 129 Main
St Davenport, IA
DJ Jeff & Karaoke -Greenbriar Restaurant
and Lounge, 4506 27th St Moline, IL
DJ Scott Ferguson -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
Jam Sessions with John OMeara and
Friends -The Muddy Waters, 1708
State St. Bettendorf, IA
Just Chords -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd St.
Davenport, IA
Karaoke & Retro DJ w/ BMAX Enter-
tainment -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady
St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Purgatorys Pub, 2104
Karaoke Night -The Gallery Lounge,
3727 Esplanade Ave. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -The Lucky Frog Bar
and Grill, 313 N Salina St McCaus-
land, IA
Kieth Soko -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse,
Mixology -Gabes, 330 E. Washington
St. Iowa City, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Kung Fu Tofu
-Stickmans, 1510 N. Harrison St.
Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ The Dukes of Hag-
gard -Bier Stube Moline, 417 15th
St Moline, IL
Ra Ra Riot - Mates of State -The Blue
Moose Tap, 211 I owa Ave. I owa
City, IA
Troy Harris, Pianist (6pm) -Red Crow
Grille, 2504 53rd St. Bettendorf, IA
University of Iowa Jazz Performances:
Jazz Rep Ensemble -The Mill, 120 E
2011/11/18 (Fri)
Battery -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave. Rock
Island, IL
Big Al -The Odeon, 8025 Avenue N.
Clinton, IA
Bucktown Revue -Nighswander The-
atre, 2822 Eastern Ave Davenport,
IA
Charles Hayes Trio (6pm) -Toucans
Cantina / Skinny Legs BBQ, 2020 1st
Street Milan, IL
Clint Black -Riverside Casino Event Cen-
ter, 3184 Highway 22 Riverside, IA
Byron, IL
Erica Martin & Kick Start -Riverside Ca-
22 Riverside, IA
Greg Brown -Englert Theatre, 221 East
18 FRIDAY
16 WEDNESDAY
17 THURSDAY
15 TUESDAY
14 MONDAY
13 SUNDAY
Rootless Experience -Martinis on the
Rock, 4619 34th St Rock Island, IL
Rude Punch -The Pub, 4320 N. Brady St.
Davenport, IA
Russ Reyman Trio (5pm) -The Rusty
Nail, 2606 W Locust Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
Moline, IL
The Nields -CSPS/Legion Arts, 1103 3rd
St SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Troy Harris, pianist (6pm) -Phoenix, 111
West 2nd St. Davenport, IA
uneXpected -Purgatorys Pub, 2104
X+X - travis - ARU - Shock Tactic -Rozz-
Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
2011/11/19 (Sat)
An Intimate Evening with Mark Schultz
-Centennial Hall, Augustana College,
3703 7th Ave. Rock Island, IL
Cosmic -Mound Street Landing, 1029
Mound St. Davenport, IA
David Killinger & Friends -Gs Riverfront
Cafe, 102 S Main St Port Byron, IL
Gray Wolf Band -Crabbys, 826 W. 1st
Ave. Coal Valley, IL
Groove Dynasty -Ri versi de Casi no
and Golf Resort, 3184 Highway 22
Riverside, IA
Holiday Pops featuring Todd Eldredge
-i wi rel ess Center, 1201 Ri ver Dr
Moline, IL
Justin Morrissey & Friends -Martinis
on the Rock, 4619 34th St Rock
Island, IL
Karaoke Night -Generations Bar & Grill,
4100 4th Ave. Moline, IL
High Cotton Blues Band -Davenport
RiverCenter, 136 E. 3rd St Daven-
port, IA
Hot Club of Davenport -Cool Beanz
Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St. Rock
Island, IL
Ian Cooke w/ East Fourteen -RME
Community Stage, 131 W. 2nd St.
Davenport, IA
Jazz After Five w/ Equilateral (5:30pm)
- Jeremy Messersmith - Lucy Mi-
chelle & the Velvet Lapelles - Joe
Fassler (9pm) -The Mill, 120 E Burl-
ington Iowa City, IA
Jon Faddis (3pm) -Deere-Wiman Carriage
House, 817 11th Ave. Moline, IL
Karaoke Night (members only) -Moose
Lodge - Davenport, 2333 Rockingham
Rd Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Circle Tap, 1345 Locust
St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Stickmans, 1510 N. Har-
rison St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night w/ Stevie J. -Biscuits Bar
& Grill, 600 Front St Buffalo, IA
Kevin Presbrey -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd
St. Davenport, IA
Lonesome Road - The Rusty Nail, 2606 W.
Locust St., Dvenport. IA
Mercury Brothers Reunion Show -Ras-
cals Live, 1418 15th St. Moline, IL
Mississippi Blues Journey -The Muddy
Waters, 1708 State St. Bettendorf, IA
Pert Near Sandstone - Pre-Apocalyptic
Junkyard Orchestra -Iowa City Yacht
Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
River City 6 -Rhythm City Casino, 101 W.
River Dr. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -Moes Pizza, 1312 Ca-
manche Ave Clinton, IA
Keep Off the Grass -11th Street Precinct,
Kevin Presbrey -Kilkennys, 300 W. 3rd
St. Davenport, IA
Lonesome Road - The Rusty Nail, 2606
W. Locust St., Davenport IA
Maylane - One Night Standards -Rozz-
Tox, 2108 3rd Ave. Rock Island, IL
Nitrix -Deeters Hometown Bar, 402 Main
St New Boston, IL
North of 40 -Uptown Neighborhood
Bar and Grill, 2340 Spruce Hills Dr.
Bettendorf, IA
Open Mic Morning (9am) -Whistle Stop
Java Shop, 400 W. 4th St. Milan, IL
Orquesta Alto Maiz -The Redstone
Room, 129 Main St Davenport, IA
Poket Vinyl -RME Community Stage, 131
W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
River City 6 -Rhythm City Casino, 101 W.
River Dr. Davenport, IA
Rob Dahms & Detroit Larry Davidson
(6pm) -Toucans Cantina / Skinny
Legs BBQ, 2020 1st Street Milan, IL
Russ Reyman, Pianist (7pm) -Phoenix,
Secret Squirrel -Hawkeye Tap, 4646
Cheyenne Ave. Davenport, IA
Smooth Groove -Edj e Ni ghtcl ub at
Songwriters in the Round -Cool Beanz
Coffeehouse, 1325 30th St. Rock
Island, IL
Moline, IL
Steph Johnson -Rascals Live, 1418 15th
St. Moline, IL
The Lustalots -RIBCO, 1815 2nd Ave.
Rock Island, IL
The Mike & Carrie Show -The Pub, 4320
N. Brady St. Davenport, IA
Trevor Hall -The Mill, 120 E Burlington
Iowa City, IA
Uniphonics - Funk Trek - Twin Cats
- More Than Lights -Gabes, 330 E.
Wade Braggs & the Lucky Cheats -The
Muddy Waters, 1708 State St. Bet-
tendorf, IA
Whiskey of the Damned - Phantom
Vibrations -Iowa City Yacht Club, 13
S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Widetrack -Tommys, 1302 4th Ave
Moline, IL
Zi ther Ensembl e (10am) -German
American Heritage Center, 712 W. 2nd
St. Davenport, IA
2011/11/20 (Sun)
Barb Ryman -Cool Beanz Coffeehouse,
Bitch -The Mill, 120 E Burlington Iowa
City, IA
Buddy Mondlock (6pm) -Paul Engle
Center for Neighborhood Arts, 1600
4th Ave SE Cedar Rapids, IA
Funday Sunday w/ Dave Ellis (6pm)
-The Muddy Waters, 1708 State St.
Bettendorf, IA
Jazz Brunch w/ the Josh Duffee Band
(10:30am & 12:30pm) -Hotel Black-
hawk, 200 E. 3rd St. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night -11th Street Precinct,
Russ Reyman, Pianist (10am) -The
Lodge Hotel, 900 Spruce Hills Dr.
Bettendorf, IA
Terry Hanson Ensemble (10:30am)
-Brady Street Chop House, Radisson
QC Plaza Hotel Davenport, IA
Third Sunday Jazz Series featuring
Tony Sconyers & Fri ends (6pm)
-The Redstone Room, 129 Main St
Davenport, IA
2011/11/21 (Mon)
Jason Carl -The Rusty Nail, 2606 W
Karaoke Night -Bier Stube Moline, 417
15th St Moline, IL
Metal Mondays -Gabes, 330 E. Washing-
ton St. Iowa City, IA
One Night Stand Open Mic -Iowa City
Yacht Club, 13 S Linn St Iowa City, IA
Open Mic w/ J. Knight -The Mill, 120 E
2011/11/22 (Tue)
ABC Karaoke Contest Night -The
Rusty Nail, 2606 W Locust Dav-
enport, IA
Glenn Hickson (5:30pm) -O Mel i as
Supper Club, 2900 Blackhawk Rd.
Rock Island, IL
Karaoke Night -Sharkys Bar & Grill, 2902
E. Kimberly Rd. Davenport, IA
Karaoke Night w/ Stevie J. -Davenport
Eagles Lodge, 4401 W. Locust St.
Davenport, IA
Mandolin Junction: Bluegrass & Old
Time Music Jam -RME Community
Stage, 131 W. 2nd St. Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night -Cool Beanz Coffee-
Open Mic Night -The Dam View Inn, 410
2nd St Davenport, IA
Open Mic Night w/ Alan Sweet -Green-
briar Restaurant and Lounge, 4506
27th St Moline, IL
Open Mic w/ Pat Willis -Bier Stube
Davenport, 2228 E 11th St Daven-
port, IA
Southern Thunder Karaoke & DJ -Mc-
Manus Pub, 1401 7th Ave Moline, IL
The Chris and Wes Show - Stacks Bar,
525 14th St., Moline, IL
22 TUESDAY
20 SUNDAY
21 MONDAY
Split Lip Rayeld @ RIBCO - November 14
19 SATURDAY
Slug_0-7
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