SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
April 21, 2012
Sullivan’s Salvos 4/17/12 In this edition: *RIP Dick Fath *Earth Day *World Book and Copyright Day *Hospice Walk *PATV Public Hearing *Gov Doesn’t Get EITC *Did You Know? *RIP Dick Fath Melissa's Dad passed away late on Easter. It was actually a good ending in several ways: he was aware of the fact that he was surrounded by his family. He received a final communion, which was extremely important to him. And he suffered through a tough 9th to see the Cubs win for the first time this year. Dick was a really good man; I was lucky to have him as a father-in-law. Thanks to everyone for the prayers. *Earth Day The Metropolitan Planning Organization of Johnson County recently voted to drop their Climate Change Advisory Committee. I wrote the following piece in 2009. THREE YEARS AGO! Unfortunately, it is even truer today. This is SO disappointing! Here is the piece: One year ago, Johnson County signed on to the Sierra Club “Cool Counties” program. At roughly the same time, Iowa City, Coralville, and North Liberty signed on as Sierra Club “Cool Cities”. That is great, right? We are all green here! Regrettably, very little has happened since these agreements were signed. One of the key components of becoming a Cool County or Cool City is the creation of a citizen advisory committee. I was one of many folks who thought it made sense to make this advisory committee regional, rather than having 4 separate committees. Most elected officials felt similarly, so it was decided that the advisory committee would be a committee of the Johnson County Council of Governments (JCCOG). The JCCOG committee finally met in very late March. Better late than never, obviously. One would think that applying green principles to flood recovery would have made a lot of sense. What’s more, much of the Federal Stimulus Plan had a green focus. We may have really missed out by delaying so long! Meanwhile, no big initiatives have come from Johnson County or our cities. Discussion of green ideas keeps getting pushed to the back burner. The people assigned to this committee are great people. They can advise all they want, but at some point, elected officials need to get moving. So, next time you hear something from Johnson County, North Liberty, Iowa City or Coralville touting how “green” they are, hold them accountable. Make sure they are doing more than lip service. What actual steps have been taken? Earth Day is coming up. Hold your local elected officials accountable when they show up for their photo ops. Let’s demand some real progress! (END.) That was written in 2009. Earth Day is upon us once again. Local governments have done some good things. But have they worked together? No. Have they engaged the expertise of the community? No. But we sure are good at posing for pictures! *World Book and Copyright Day By celebrating World Book Day throughout the world, UNESCO seeks to promote reading, publishing and the protection of intellectual property through copyright. The idea for this celebration originated in Catalonia where on 23 April, Saint George's Day, a rose is traditionally given as a gift for each book sold. How can you celebrate World Book and Copyright Day? By joining us at 12PM for COMMUNITY BOOK TALKS in the Iowa City Public Library, Meeting Room A. The program features community and business leaders from around the Iowa City area discussing a favorite or meaningful book, with time after each presentation for a few questions. Nancy Willis, a City of Literature board member who is with Willis & Willis and Security Abstract Co., will moderate. Our Book Talkers are: Charlie Funk, president of MidWestOne Bank; Nate Kaeding, former Hawkeye football player and current San Diego Charger; Mary Ferentz, community volunteer; Terry Dickens, co-owner Herteen & Stocker and Iowa City Council; Kembrew McLeod, UI associate professor of communications studies; Nancy Quellhorst, president of the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce; and Paul Ingram, buyer with Prairie Lights Books. A great line up! Attendees are encouraged to bring a brown bag lunch; drinks and dessert will be provided thanks to sponsorship from Willis & Willis. In addition to the Community Book Talks, more than a dozen area businesses, public libraries, florists, independent bookstores, artists, poets and scholars will celebrate in honor of UNESCO World Book & Copyright Day. Visit your area public library and receive an Iowa Wild Rose stamp when you check out a book. Bring your stamp to Capana Coffee Company in downtown Iowa City for free artisan rose gelato (while supplies last). Shop your area independent book shops and boutiques for in-store specials. Iowa City's Every Blooming Thing is partnering with Prairie Lights Books to provide beautiful live roses to enhance the celebration. Purchase a book from Iowa Book and receive a St. George's Day memento. At The Haunted Book Shop you will receive a rose photo postcard on which you can make a book recommendation to a friend. Finally, stop by Murphy Brookfield Books and receive a live tea rose with every purchase. All events and activities are open to the public. *Hospice Walk The Iowa City Hospice 13th Annual Walk for Dignity is Sunday, April 22 at 1:00 pm at Willow Creek Park in Iowa City. Donation drop-off starts at 11:00 am; fun activities begin at noon. The Walk for Dignity is a community event that gives friends and families an opportunity to celebrate the lives and honor the memories of their loved ones, and show support for Iowa City Hospice. The best part is that 100% of the donations support Iowa City Hospice. We’re encouraging everyone to walk individually or form teams and join us to walk in support of Iowa City Hospice. Choose the more challenging 3-mile course or the less hilly 1-mile course. Call 319-688-4213 to get more information. *PATV Public Hearing From my friends at PATV: Have you, your organization, band, team, festival, charity, non-profit, special event, etc, etc, etc, ever been featured on any of the many great PATV shows dedicated to covering the Iowa City community? Do you enjoy the programming (and ability to create programming) that PATV provides? Public Access Television is renewing our contract with Iowa City, and we need your help! At 5:30 PM on April 23, we need a large group of our supporters standing with us in Harvat Hall (Council Chamber) at 410 E. Washington Street in Iowa City. If you can’t make it, we’d appreciate short notes in support of PATV, which will be read aloud that Monday evening. Please email us at contact@patv.tv with your remarks. OK – now my own thoughts: Iowa City has been slowly giving away public goods to private corporations. I am certain their inclination is to “give back” a few of these “unimportant” channels to Mediacom. And I’ll bet Mediacom promises lower rates in exchange. How to put this gently… screw Mediacom! They are an unresponsive monopoly, bent on squeezing every last penny out of the people of this community. It would be really nice to see the Council stand up for their citizens, and against Mediacom. But I’m not holding my breath. *Gov Doesn’t Get EITC Governor Branstad said last week that an increase in the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) “does not create jobs.” The Governor is 100% incorrect! Our economy struggles from a lack of demand. People are not purchasing goods and services. If you put more money in the hands of low-income workers, they will spend it! The additional money they spend on food, clothing, autos, home repairs, and durable goods IS what drives our economy! An increase to the EITC is the very best medicine we can prescribe! *DID YOU KNOW? Iowa City is one of only 5 Cities of Literature worldwide, and the only one in the Western Hemisphere. Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website- www.johnson-county.com. "Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents. These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned. If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line. If you know anyone else who might be interested, just forward this message. They can E-mail me at rodsullivan@mchsi.com with "subscribe" in the subject line. As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you! ---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 8:37 AM
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