1/31 Column: Idyllwild’s dilemma

People nodded in agreement when a woman in the second row actually said it:
“We have the sense, as a group, that the city really doesn’t give a flying fig about our situation. Would you address that?”
Iowa City Public Works Director Rick Fosse paused, looking out at roughly 40 people who’d come to Thursday night’s flood [...]

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Cash in on those kids

We’re approaching that time of year where it actually pays to have kids. And I don’t mean in sticky hugs and crayon masterpieces.
 
In my inbox today was a reminder from the Child and Family Policy Center that low and moderate income families could qualify for tax credits to offset the cost of child care and other expenses, including:
 

Up to $2,100 [...]

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1/28 Column: Iowa cities aim to be bike friendly

We’ve already had the best of times and the worst of times. Now it seems we might be headed toward the most bicycling of times.
Cedar Rapids and at least two other Iowa cities plan to apply this year for designations as Bicycle Friendly Cities by the League of American Bicyclists.
Plans also are in the works [...]

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A nod from The Simpsons

Did you watch the Simpsons last night? Did you hear them reference our own Iowa Writers’ Workshop?
I was on the couch, drifting in and out of a beef Wellington-induced coma,  when I half heard Lisa’s new friend drop the name. It woke me up.
“What did she say?” I asked my husband.
“She was talking about the workshop,” he [...]

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1/24 Column: A small part of a big problem

Some readers disagreed with The Gazette’s editorial last week that said state legislators shouldn’t ban cell phone use while driving.
But I’m siding with the newspaper because cell phones are only a small part of a much bigger problem: drivers don’t pay attention.
That’s not saying people should gab while they drive. Cell phones are a dangerous [...]

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The enemy is distraction, not the cell phone

I’m working on Saturday’s column about why cell phone bans are stupid, and ran into a one-pager by John D. Lee, director of Human Factors Research at the National Advanced Driving Simulator here in Iowa City. Here’s some of what he had to say:

Drivers’ surprisingly limited attentional capacity makes them vulnerable to distraction—people cannot look at or [...]

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The race for first dog

The campaign events might not drive big crowds, and the candidates aren’t as eloquent, but the Christian Science Monitor reports today that the race for First Dog is in full swing.
Rescue operations see this as a great way to bring attention to the plight of an estimated 6 to 8 million dogs and cats taken in [...]

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Nice work, Iowa

According to the governor’s office, Iowans helped out with a record 125 service projects on Martin Luther King Day this year.

It was the 14th Day of Service and the best so far. Got a release in my inbox with the governor’s thanks:

“With the help of hundreds of Iowans, we made this MLK Day the most successful [...]

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1/21 Column: A refreshing effort for Iowa City kids

All a kid wants to do during the dog days of summer is find a body of water and jump in.
But for the thousand or more kids in Iowa City’s Grant Wood and Wetherby neighborhoods, there hasn’t been any easy way to cool off in the summer.
Those low-income neighborhoods are separated from the nearest pool [...]

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“… and I thank President Bush for his service…”

We were watching the inauguration ceremony here in the Iowa City newsroom, when newly sworn-in President Barack Obama began his speech.
No sooner did he say ” .. and I thank President Bush for his service .. ” than the cable went out.
It’s back on now. I’ll leave the meaning making to you all out there.

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