Or is it getting crazy out there?
We’ve been following the pregnant woman who was shot during a bank
robbery in Indianapolis. She was five months pregnant, and while her
twins weren’t hit when she was shot in the stomach, both twins have died.
For more on the story go to-
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5i9YBEhCdBv3CFJUfHSF6bw1lMchgD90926880
This should be a death penalty crime. This jerk ruined more than two
lives. And if caught, he’ll probably get twenty years and paroled in ten.
Capital punishment has been called cruel and inhumane treatment for the
offender. Would you supporters of this belief please tell us what you
call what this 30 year old woman and her family has gone through?
We as a society cannot continue to condone this type of action. The
person who did this does NOT deserve a chance, he deserves forfeiting
his life. Bring back public executions, sell popcorn, cover it in the
media, and I’d bet violent crime rates would drop.
Our condolences to this woman and her family and friends.
Comments on any subject are welcome.
April 26, 2008 at 8:13 am
Davenport again this weekend is spending huge sums of cash to pay 80 employees overtime to protect the downtown from flood waters. Dee justifies this by saying that the City will apply for funds and grants from the Feds. She must not realize that those dollars come from the money we just sent in April 15th, so it is not Free money, it is money we already paid, and will have to be replenished next April 15. If Davenport does not qualify for any of the money, then it will come out of the general fund, and something else cut out, like fix a street, pothole, sewer, or something that is really needed.
It is difficult to understand why this is the general taxpayer`s responsibility to pay for flood protection. First of all, it is the property owners financial responsibilty to pay to have this done, either out of their wallet, or by buying flood insurance to pay for cleanup. If they want property in the downtown, where it floods almost every year, let them pay for it, or tear their building down, and rebuild it someplace where it will be high and dry.
People would have some sympathy to buildings that would be affected by a 100 or 500 year event, but this flood is just your average run of the mill crest height.
This will be interesting to see how John Odonnell and the skatepark will survive after this minor flooding. Cruiser said on a post awhile back about how everything that is built in the floodplain causes more/higher flooding someplace else. This is so true.
April 26, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Dee may be a nice person, but she has been there way to along. She is clueless now and has always been. Some one explain to me why we pay these employees over time? If you need them to work in the evening, send them home during the day. Same for snow plowing.
Why do we all pay for it? I Guess the same reason we pay for city bus. I have never understood why its MY responsibility to get these low income and no income people to and from Wal-Mart every 1/2 hour. Thank you state house for killing the Davenport Promise [to over tax me again] program. I am sure it will come up again and again until they get what they want. Is it just me or is what they really want is for me to leave Davenport??
April 26, 2008 at 2:10 pm
Today is another prime example on how disorganized Dee is at running that Department. The Times is is reporting that Dee held a news conference mid morning, and at that time requested volunteers meet downtown to help fill sandbags AT NOON. You can bet that the turnout will be low with only two hours or less notice.
Why couldn`t the City and Dee have better planning when they knew yesterday(or before)that volunteers would be needed today, and a time and place set so someone that wanted to help could set aside that time. It`s no wonder things are so screwed up in this city.
April 26, 2008 at 6:07 pm
Why not build a flood wall? Oh. wait. We can’t do that. We have to see the river. That view of the Rock Island flood wall is the most beautiful sight in the world.
April 26, 2008 at 6:55 pm
If Davenport needs labor to fill sandbags, why not press into service the 100’s of people who get free meals from JLCS and the Vinyard to work an hour for each free meal.
You can bet that most of them would catch the next freight train to their next free meal.
April 27, 2008 at 8:10 am
Nitrous is right - Davenport should build a permanent flood wall to protect the downtown. Check out the nice job that Clinton did on one after the flood of `65. They built a nice 2 lane road with parking all along, plus a jogging trail and park benches and picnic tables. You can see better from on top of their wall than before it was built.
Davenport should do the same.
April 27, 2008 at 9:06 am
I hope you’re ready to donate over $100 million, because the Feds and locals have both decided that it makes more sense to build a temporary wall around 2 blocks every few years than build permanent flood protection. Even if we spend $1 million on overtime, and it floods this bad every 3 years (which it doesn’t) we’d be coming out ahead for the next 300 years. That doesn’t even count money that would be spent maintaining a flood wall, or lost in tourism money.
April 27, 2008 at 11:05 am
Tourism? There are only three reasons people go the riverfront: 1) They want to get drunk and loose their money on the boat. 2) They are homeless and looking for their next crack score. 3) They are married and sneaking around on their other half, and trying to score a prostitute.
April 27, 2008 at 1:11 pm
Strange, because I just spoke to people from Houston, Wisconsin, and Kentucky on the skybridge when I was down there taking pictures of the flood Saturday morning. They didn’t seem to be doing any of your 3 stereotypes.
You negative people who really have this sour view of Davenport are misleading yourselves, and I’m not sure why. Does it make you happier to believe false negative stereotypes about our city?
April 27, 2008 at 1:52 pm
QCI, just read the paper a little closer. That is how we find out what is happening down on the riverfront. The Times loves reporting about the unsavory things happening there. The only tourism I have ever read about is bus loads of people being dropped off to gamble.
April 27, 2008 at 1:53 pm
We don’t think a floodwall would be a bad idea. The one by Ice Harbor in Dubuque is our favorite. As for tourism, we’re on the fence. We need the tax dollars, but other than the Bix Fest, and Blues Fest, we don’t think Davenport has other cities worried about tourism.
QCI, you mention people from three other states, but did they come just to see the skybridge, or were they visiting with family and killing time? Everytime we’ve been on the skybridge later it’s local kids and people going to or from the gambling boat.
April 27, 2008 at 4:28 pm
QCI, go to Lindsay Park and take a look at the riverview. Now, compare this to the view at LeClaire Park. Which is the better view? Rock Island has theirs set up so you can see the river. Just not as you drive along on the street and I doubt that the flood wall would hamper your view of the river from the lofts.
April 27, 2008 at 4:44 pm
Those `tourists` from Houston are going to feel silly when they go back to work in Texas an explain to their co-workers that they spent their vacation time in Davenport Iowa taking photo`s on a half completed bridge, overpaid to see some junky paintings at the art museum, were overcharged to visit the River Music Experience, and didn`t even go to the Adler because tickets were so overpriced.
They probably got drunk at Mac`s and then lost their life savings on the boat. Welcome to Davenport !
April 27, 2008 at 4:46 pm
Nitrous: The seawall wouldn`t block QCI’s view from the Lofts anyways. He moved out of the downtown back with his parents.
April 27, 2008 at 6:30 pm
The fact that you guys think there’s nothing in Davenport worth traveling to see really explains a lot of why we frequently disagree.
My question: Why do you still live here?
April 27, 2008 at 7:40 pm
QCI,
That’s exactly the reason we do live here. If we want to go to an aquarium, we go to Chicago; if we want to go to a theme park we go to Des Moines or Orlando, if we want to go to good zoo, we’ll go to San Diego; and if we want to go on a prime rib river cruise, or a river museum we go to Dubuque. So we’ll agree to disagree again.
April 27, 2008 at 8:03 pm
I live here in the SOLO area because I do like living here. I prefer living here over any other place. I don’t go to many of the attractions in Davenport, but that is due to what interests me.
I think it is good to have these things. It does help to attract or retain the population. I’ll be going to my 20th reunion this year and I still remember classmates whining that there was nothing to do here.
April 28, 2008 at 12:57 am
Another bad point to Davenport`s temporary dike is that after the flood is over, all that material has to be landfilled as a contaminated product. Scott County charges us by the ton for disposal at the landfill.
April 28, 2008 at 7:33 am
As buildings are rehabbed downtown, it would be a smart move if Davenport required them to only have parking on the first level if the building sets in the 500 year flood plain. That way the city eventually wouldn`t have to scramble like they did this weekend, and it would be possible to just let the water take over the downtown, and then just hose down the parking stalls on the bottom floor of each building. Under this plan, millions of taxpayer dollars would be saved.
April 28, 2008 at 7:50 am
I don’t know about the 500 year part, but that’s pretty much being done now for the 100 year flood plain. The stadium, the Figge, the QC Sports Center, Ground Transportation Center, Radisson, and skatepark were all built up out of the flood waters or otherwise protected.
April 28, 2008 at 9:11 am
They must not have had it right at the stadium then, as channel 8 showed them sandbagging there yesterday.
April 28, 2008 at 9:29 am
QCI- are you saying that if the city didn`t build the berm down river drive, or sandbag anything during either the flood this year, or a 100 year flood height, that the Radison would only have water in their parking area, and no water would damage the usable part of the building with no protection?
April 28, 2008 at 2:13 pm
The berm doesn’t go around the Radisson, and the entire point of the berm is to protect against a 22-foot flood so… yes, I am saying that.