Meth awareness day

National Methamphetamine Awareness Day is November 30. To learn more about meth, what it is, how it’s made, what it does to users, and many more facts go to the
Meth Awareness website. This is a United States Department of Justice webpage. I’ll warn you ahead of time that some of the pictures are graphic, but it does get the point accross.

anti-crime programs

Here is a short list of programs that have reduced the crime in other communities. While Davenport hasn’t done much, to my knowledge, these communities showed their ingenuity by working this out. Can we learn, and possibly use one of these programs? I don’t know, but I certainly hope so. In no particular order, and by all means not all the programs, here they are-

Turn Off the Violence- Minneapolis, MN. (National program) Go toTOTV.
Turn Off the Violence is a movement that has engaged hundreds of organizations and thousands individuals to implement and advocate violence prevention. The message promoted by Turn Off the Violence is “Violence is a learned behavior. It can be unlearned.” Turn Off the Violence asks people to turn off violence in all its forms: physical, sexual, and verbal.
Turn Off the Violence aims to make people aware of nonviolent ways to deal with anger and conflict and to help people realize that violence as entertainment is one form of violence we can choose to turn off. The campaign operates on a limited budget and relies heavily on volunteers and collaborative relationships to develop and promote the campaign. The focus of the organization is on helping to promote and support local grassroots efforts to raise awareness.

Texas City Action Plan to Prevent Crime (T-CAP) Go to t-cap.
T-CAP involves grassroots citizens, community organizations, local leaders, and municipal agencies in developing comprehensive plans to address their communities’ crime problems. It proceeds from the belief that crime prevention requires resident involvement; a joint planning effort that engages city leaders with municipal agencies; a thoughtful combination of efforts undertaken with firm resolve; and a process that asks, challenges, and engages all that is vital to making the community safer and better.

Police Homeowner Loan Program- Columbia, S.C. Go to PHLP
This program addresses two major problems of inner-city neighborhoods: crime and deteriorated housing. Columbia’s Community Development Department in partnership with Columbia’s Police Department created a loan program that expands the city’s community-based policing initiative. It offers low-interest, no money down, 20-year mortgage loans to police officers who work in Columbia. Police officers who live in the city receive a $500 end-of-year bonus and become eligible for promotion to the rank of captain or above. This program offers an incentive for them to become homeowners and permanent residents of the neighborhood.

Illinois Council for the Prevention of Violence(ICPV)-chicago, Ill. Go to
ICPV.
ICPV is a statewide organization formed to address the prevention of violence in all its forms: family violence (child, spouse, and elder abuse), sexual assault, youth gangs, gun related violence, hate crimes, and other violent behaviors.

Court Alternatives Division Volunteer Program-Melbourne, Fl. Go to CADVP.
The Court Alternatives Division provides administrative services to the Brevard County Court by facilitating misdemeanor probation, pretrial release, pretrial diversion, alternative dispute resolution, alternative community service, and the operations of the drug court. Through the alternative community service program, offenders are allowed to demonstrate their positive behavior and attitudes by serving as court-appointed volunteers under supervision. Discretion is used in the type of work they are allowed to perform in place of a court penalty or fine.

Community Board Program (CBP)-San Fransisco, Ca. Go to
cbp
CBP promotes conciliation and mediation as effective strategies for resolving disputes without violence. Nearly 300 volunteer mediators trained by CBP help resolve conflicts referred from communities, the police, small claims courts, and juvenile probation and other organizations in San Francisco. Nearly 20 percent of cases are youth related, and the inclusion of teenage mediators on the panels assures young disputants that their views will be heard. Increasingly,mediators assist in disputes involving gangs and in cases where prejudice triggers hostility among youths.

The Alliance for a Safer, Greater Detroit-Detroit, Mi. Go to ASGD.
In May 1992, leaders from Detroit’s business, community, and criminal justice organizations formed the Alliance for a Safer, Greater Detroit to establish a comprehensive anti-crime coalition.

The Alliance reviewed recommendations from executive committee members to develop a series of initiatives for its crime and violence prevention strategy. The initiatives were grouped into topic categories ranging from criminal apprehension, dangerous buildings, and handgun safety to crime prevention and school safety.

The Mission Valley River Preserve-San Diego, Ca. Go to
MVRP.
The Mission Valley River Preserve is a multiagency collaboration to revitalize the environment through crime reduction. Because arrests and environmental cleanups were not alleviating the problems — including illegal lodging, illegal dumping, drug violations, and murder — the San Diego Police Department formed alliances with the River Bed Task Force, the University of San Diego, the Parks and Recreation Department’s Parks Rangers, the California Native Plant Society, the office of city council member Valerie Stallings, and concerned citizens to develop a permanent solution to erase the criminal element from the river.

All of these programs and more are on this web page.

Drugs, gangs, sex offenders and inmates

On the National Drug Intellegence Center website is the National Drug Threat Assessment 2007 page. It has some interesting things in it; one being that Des Moines is listed as the first principal distribution center in the eastern half of the region for illicit drugs. They list Methamphetamine as the greatest drug threat; and also powder and crack cocaine, Mexican black tar and Mexican brown powder herion. They also mention the involvement of Mexican and Asian gangs.

Methamphetamine production is declining throughout the region; however, Mexican DTOs have more than supplanted lost domestic production with increasing quantities of low cost, high purity ice methamphetamine produced in Mexico. Consequently, drug-related crimes including identity theft, retail theft, burglary, forgery, and currency counterfeiting often linked to increased availability and abuse of ice are increasing.
Variations on National trends is also listed for this area.

Also the United States Department of Justice has a National Sex Offender Public Website where you can check for sex offenders by state.

And on the Federal Bureau of Prisons website is a federal inmate locator. Of course these sites have links to other things also.

Catching up open thread

Thought I’d post an open thread so I can get some work done I put off over the Holiday. Here are some of my thoughts, or give us some of your own. Until I get back, keep the shiney side up.

I said a while back that it should get interesting with IOC and downtown, and I still believe this. I have a feeling that Rythm City is going to push for a site on the Interstate, and I also feel most on the City Council are going to push to keep it downtown. If the boat moves and some of the development plans included it, the council would have a problem. Was part of the monies recieved contingent on the boat being on the riverfront? If so; how much is it going to cost us? If not; how much is it going to cost us?

It’s no secret Ethanol is not my fuel of choice. The more I read on Butanol the more I can’t understand why we’re not getting behind it 110% as a real answer to gas shortages. It still couldn’t replace gas because we don’t have the corn, but it would be better for the environment, better for the cars, and better for us. Ethanol plants could be converted to make Butanol, the farmers still sell the grain; and we, the consumers, get a more efficient, cleaner choice.

If I heard correctly, the city goes to court to close Sugar’s on December, 5, 2006. I wonder if there are alot in town who won’t be listening to hear how it turns out.

An Arizona Congressman wants to cut teh pork on Capital Hill. To read more go to CBS News. It seems he has some opposition.

Crime is still out there, but not getting much media coverage it seems. Maybe all the criminals played nice for Thanksgiving.

Oil change checklist

The Redneck Oil Change Checklist

1. Go to O’Reilly auto parts and write a check for $50 dollars for oil, filter, kitty litter, hand cleaner and scented tree.
2. Discover that the used oil container is full. Instead of taking it back to O’Reilly to recycle, dump in hole in back yard.
3. Open a beer and drink it.
4. Jack car up. Spend 30 minutes looking for jack stands.
5. Find jack stands under kid’s pedal car.
6. In frustration, open another beer and drink it.
7. Place drain pan under engine.
8. Look for 9/16 box end wrench.
9. Give up and use crescent wrench.
10. Unscrew drain plug.
11. Drop drain plug in pan of hot oil; get hot oil on you in process.
12. Clean up.
13. Have another beer while oil is draining.
14. Look for oil filter wrench.
15. Give up; poke oil filter with screwdriver and twist it off.
16. Beer.
17. Buddy shows up; finish case with him. Finish oil change tomorrow.
18. Next day, drag pan full of old oil out from underneath car.
19. Throw kitty litter on oil spilled during step 18.
20. Beer. No, drank it all yesterday.
21. Walk to 7-11; buy beer.
22. Install new oil filter making sure to apply thin coat of clean oil to gasket first.
23. Dump first quart of fresh oil into engine.
24. Remember drain plug from step 11.
25. Hurry to find drain plug in drain pan.
26. Hurry to replace drain plug before the whole quart of fresh oil drains onto floor.
27. Slip with wrench and bang knuckles on frame.
28. Bang head on floor board in reaction.
29. Begin cussing fit.
30. Throw wrench.
31. Cuss and complain.
32. Clean up; apply Band-Aid to knuckle.
33. Beer.
34. Beer.
35. Dump in additional 4 quarts of oil.
36. Beer.
37. Lower car from jack stands
38. Accidentally crush one of the jack stands
39. Move car back to apply more kitty litter to fresh oil spilled during step 23.
40. Test drive car
41. Get pulled over; arrested for driving under the influence.
42. Car gets impounded.
43. Make bail; get car from impound yard.

Money Spent:

$50 parts
$42 beer
$75 replacement set of jack stands; hey the colors have to match!
$1000 Bail
$200 Impound and towing fee

Total: $1367

Editorial

This is an editorial written by an
American citizen, published in a
Tampa, FL Newspaper. He did quite a job; didn’t he? Read on, please!

IMMIGRANTS, NOT AMERICANS, MUST ADAPT.
I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we
are offending some individual or their culture Since the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11,
we have experienced a surge
in patriotism by the majority
of Americans. However…… the dust from the attacks had barely settled when the “politically correct! ” crowd began complaining about
the possibility that our patriotism was offending others.

I am not against immigration, nor do I hold a grudge against anyone who is seeking a better life by coming to America .
Our population is almost entirely made up of descendants of immigrants.
However, there are a few things that those who have recently come to
our country, and apparently some born here, need to understand.
This idea of America being a multicultural community
has served only to dilute our sovereignty and our national identity.

As Americans…… we have our own culture, our own society, our own language and our own lifestyle. This culture has been developed over centuries of struggles, trials, and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom.

We speak ENGLISH, not Spanish, Portuguese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language.
Therefore, if you wish t o become part of our society, learn the language!

“In God We Trust” is our national motto. This is not some Christian, right wing, political slogan.. We adopted this motto because Christian men and women…….on Christian principles…….founded this nation….. and this is clearly documented.
It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools.
If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as
your new home……..because
God is part of our culture.

If Stars and Stripes offend you, or you don’t like Uncle Sam, then you
should seriously consider a move to another part of this planet .
We are happy with our culture and have no desire to change, and we really don’t care how you did things where you came from.
This is
OUR COUNTRY,
our land, and our lifestyle.
Our First Amendment gives every citizen the
right to express his opinion and we
will allow you every opportunity to do so !
But once you are done complaining…… whining….. and griping……. about our flag…….
our pledge….. our national motto……..or our way of life I highly encourage you to
take advantage of one other Great American Freedom……

THE RIGHT TO LEAVE.

It is Time for America to Speak up

crime and an comment on the last post

On this blog, and also on davenport snarkiness, we have posted facts, figures, reasons, methods, causes, and theories on the crime rate. We have both asked for opinions on how to solve the problem, with varying degrees of success. Our whole goal as citizens of Davenport should be to lower the crime rate and make the entire city a safe place to be. Most of the problem, I feel, is misinformation. Having lived in the East end of SOLO most of my life, I know about bad reputations. At one time it was deserved here, but even after a rigorous clean-up effort, several Crime Watch groups, and seeing our crime rate drop, we still have the reputation. Now it has spread to our downtown.

I don’t wish to see all of Davenport get a bad reputation. When I am at an out of state funtion, I would really like to hear, “It must be great living there.” Not, “You must be awful tough living where you do.” We have been getting a lot of negative press in all the media. The Quad Cities, as a group, needs to stand up and say- Enough! I think rumors do more damage than the truth. Just look at the people who won’t go to certain sections of town. They think SoLo is a wall to wall drug infested war zone. Downtown isn’t safe anymore according to “them”. It’s always puzzling to talk to these people because they KNOW it’s unsafe, they just don’t know why. I’ve had way more hassles at 3rd. and Warren than I have had at 3rd. and Main. And even then it’s been either a streetwalker or homeless guy looking for change.

My last post seemed to rub some sore spots, if anyone was offended by it, that wasn’t my intention, and I’m sorry. I just stated an opinion. But look at where we stand now. Most people didn’t realize we had a crime problem until it came out in different blogs. Now, we have a crime problem, a poverty level problem, and a bad reputation. Where does it end? One would hope with a sharp downturn in crime, an easing of poverty level, and an end to an undeserved bad reputation downtown. Davenport has too much invested in the downtown area for it not to be used, often and by many. We, the citizens, can change these problems. If we don’t like where it’s heading we can vote out certain politicians. We can become more involved ourselves through interaction on the blogs, attending city council meetings and getting informed, keeping an eye out for suspicious behavior, actually going downtown, and practicing what we preach. Or we can do nothing, complain to deaf ears, and hope things go away. I know which way I’m going.

Addendum-
Starting now I will not post my comments in the comment section unless I’m asked a question. I will continue to moderate, just in case, but I haven’t felt it necessary to delete any comments to this point. So just play nice.

clarification

I probably threw some people a curve with my post about the neighbors of Sugar’s. Stop and think for a moment though; it has been in business at the same location for over 20 years, it has been doing the same type of business for all that time while going through two owners. Why then, is it so important to close it now? It is illegal and should be closed, but is it a threat to the public? I’m saying, yes close it; but, don’t lose sight of the big picture. It will not lower crime anywhere in the city except for the building it is in. We need to keep in mind that violent crimes are up. Murders, rapes, assaults, etc. We need to remember that orginizations like JLCS, PedCor and others don’t help, but hurt when it comes to crime. All one has to do is look at Castlewood, Goose Creek, the low income housing on Jersey Ridge, or talk to neighbors, to know where the crimanals are. It’s been proven poverty, and undereducation are two of the biggest factors in crime, along with single parent families. Let’s keep looking for solutions to solve the crime problem we have, not put a band-aid on a broken leg.

words and phobias

WORDS THAT DON’T EXIST BUT SHOULD

1. Aquadextrous (akwa deks’ trus) adj. Possessing the ability
to turn the bathtub faucet on and off with your toes.

2. Carperpetuation (kar ‘pur pet u a shun) n. The act, when
vacuuming, of running over a string or a piece of lint at least
a dozen times, reaching over and picking it up, examining it,
then putting it back down to give the vacuum one more chance.

3. Disconfect (diskonfect’) v. To sterilize the piece of candy
you dropped on the floor by blowing on it, assuming that somehow
it will ‘remove’ all the germs.

4. Elbonics (el bon’ iks) n. The actions of two people
maneuvering for one armrest in a movie theater.

5. Frust (frust) n. The small line of debris that refuses to be
swept onto the dustpan and keeps backing a person across the
room until he finally decides to give up and sweep it under the
rug.

6. Lactomangulation (lak’ to man gyu lay’ shun) n. Manhandling
the ‘open here’ spout on a milk container so badly that one has
to resort to the ‘illegal’ side.

7. Phonesia (fo nee’ zhuh) n. The affliction of dialing a phone
number and forgetting whom you were calling just as they answer.

8. Pupkus (pup’ kus) n. The moist residue left on a window
after a dog presses its nose to it.

9. Telecrastination (tel e kras tin ay’ shun) n. The act of
always letting the phone ring at least twice before you pick
it up, even when you’re only six inches away.

Think you have a phobia, scroll down on this page of the Phobialist

Inspections, riverboat, Sugar’s

Here’s a comment from an earlier post, and what I found out-

Ask him how the fire department is coming with the NEO. Heard that after 6mo. the NEO has fallen behind on all aspects of their job. What have these people been doing for the last 6 months? Who are doing the inspections and when are the inspection going to start? Who is doing the enviromentals because my neighborhood looks crappy. Then ask him if he is running for mayor.
Annonymous
6:02 PM, November 22, 2006
Anonymous said…
Don’t foget to remind him that sending the Neo to the fire department was his idea!!!

I asked Alderman Lynn and Alderman Meyer some questions about this by email Wednesday night. I did forget to ask about running for mayor due to a another brain fart. Alderman Lynn said-
Inspections are being done. I have information on that and will provide it. We
may be somewhat behind schedule because of the change over that will be taken
care of. As for environmental inspections, I found the response much better
than previously. While some people may be critical of the fire department they
seemed to ignore the lack of response by the old department. I am finally
getting a property cleaned up that I filed a complaint on repeatedly over the
last three years. The old department not only did nothing, it defended its
doing nothing. Also the old department did not do complaint inspections in most
cases. We have done over 150 complaint inspections since July 1.
Alderman Meyer said he waiting to hear, but should get some answers at the next council meeting.

Also, if I read the council update correctly; along with the possibility of the Rythm City moving, it would also take more city money. It will be interesting to see where the investment and sustained commitment is going to come from to expand the tax base.

And how come when the city leaders go to check out riverfront projects they go to cities with a lot more people? It would make more sense to go where the population is close to our own. Wundram brought this up, but I tend to agree.

Earlier in the week I talked to a few people who live, work or both near Sugar’s. They all said Sugar’s has been a pretty quiet neighbor. One person who lives close said sometimes in the summer, if he leaves his windows open he can hear their music. Other than that they all felt since it had been there 20 years, leave it alone. And they all defended the owner of the building and felt the city was wrong for closing him by nuisance abatement. They also said they felt safe at night and didn’t feel they had a crime problem in the area. I really didn’t think this sentiment was there. While this is in no way a scientific survey, this group informed me that they did get the owner of a nearby duplex to evict some tennants because they were trouble.