Tickets still available for next community breakfast March 14

CHARLESTON — The foundation of area leaders is growing brick by brick, and another row looks to be added next week at the Community Leaders Breakfast featuring bricklayer-turned-author Lynn Donohue.A junior high dropout who became a professional mason and eventually established her own construction company, Donohue now operates a non-profit organization for at-risk youth about 20 miles from where she grew up in Massachusetts."I got out of the situation I was in and created a different life for myself," Donohue said in a telephone interview. "It really only happened because I didn’t accept doing what I was doing."The Community Leaders Breakfast will last from 7 to 9 a.m. March 14 at Eastern Illinois University’s Grand Ballroom in Charleston.

In addition to Donohue’s keynote address, the event will feature the 2008 Class of 20 Under 40 — individuals under the age of 40 who have met with success in their fields — as well as the latest five recipients of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service.Tickets cost $15 and must be purchased in advance.


Read More

We are, literally, stereotypical

The British buy books by television personalities, Americans are obsessed with self-improvement, French choices are more highbrow, the Germans like holidays while the Japanese have more eclectic tastes. If it were not for Harry Potter, the survey by Amazon of global reading tastes would look like a very lazy exercise in national stereotyping.

The internet retailer has listed the bestselling books on its sites in Britain, the United States, France, Japan and Germany. There are tens of millions of titles to choose from, but Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tops the charts in four of the countries.

In Japan it nestles in third place, behind two health-and-beauty titles: Yukuko Tanaka’s Face Massage and Inspiring Exercise. The list embraces the first Michelin guide to Tokyo restaurants, a scientific treatise on (human) viruses, a comedian’s autobiography and three volumes of Manga.

Read More

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois to Offer ABMS(R) Patient Safety Improvement Program to Network Physicians

Program incorporates key patient safety topics, methods of assessment and improvement activities for individual physician practices

EVANSTON, Ill., March 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) announced today that Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL) is offering the ABMS Patient Safety Improvement Program to HMO and PPO network physicians as a resource to help improve quality and safety in patient care. BCBSIL is the first health insurance company to adopt the program.

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) estimates that nearly 15 million instances of medical harm occur in the U.S. each year, based on data collected over several years. This translates to a rate of more than 40,000 incidents per day.


Read More

Heroes, in their words

Tim Duncan is in the NBA and has won three world championships. Lastly, he is a very good role model.Therefore you can see that Tim Duncan is my favorite African-American of achievement. Tim Duncan does not drink, smoke or do drugs and he doesn't hang out with people who make negative choices. Tim, does not complain if he loses a game. He shows good sportsmanship. Tim Duncan is my favorite African-American of achievement because of the way he lives his life.- Joey MontesanoCasey Park Elementary SchoolLarry BellMy favorite African American of achievement is Dr. Larry Bell. He has helped teachers all over the world. He runs workshops for teachers to help them educate. He is a 25-year veteran of education. He even traveled to South Africa to share his ideas.He is an educational consultant, a motivational speaker and an author.


Read More

Council Members Approve Extension, Expansion Of SMID District

After six weeks of discussion, including nearly three hours Monday night, Sioux City council members vote to continue the self-supported municipal improvement district, with expanded borders. By a vote of 4-to-1, with Mayor Mike Hobart being the lone dissenting vote, the council approved a five year agreement... and then voted to waive the second and third readings of the ordinance. The council had considered a three year proposal, but councilman Brent Hoffman urged the group to recognize the mandate downtown businesses gave on the SMID. "In this case 8% of the people are protesting," said Brent Hoffman, Sioux City City Council Member. "We need to hear and acknowledge that, and try to improve it, but we can't let that to drive the overall vision of the city. Council Member Dave Ferris called the whole ordeal a quote "embarrassment" and a "fiasco." Roger Caudron of Downtown Partners, the group that administers the tax, says he recognizes that not every property owner is happy about tonight's decision.


Read More

Twin Pines Task Force Presents Findings

CEDAR RAPIDS - The Twin Pines Golf Course Task Force presented its findings on ways to pay for improvements Wednesday night.They suggested creating a one-year local option sales tax, selling a three acre portion of the course, selling the naming rights to the course or using property taxes to pay for the renovations.The group said selling any more than three acres doesn't make sense.Council members will likely decide which options to pursue sometime in the next six months. Complete Text of the Twin Pines Task Force Report Task Force Formation, Purpose and Scope of Work The Twin Pines task force was created in August, 2007 at the request of the Mayor and City Council after significant public input was received at two public open houses concerning the concept to improve Twin Pines Golf Course with financing from the sale of a portion of the 150-acre course.


Read More

Black students fare better in Vigo Schools

In 2006-07, the high-school graduation rate for Vigo County School Corp. black students was 63.2 percent, according to the Indiana Department of Education.That exceeded the statewide graduation rate for black students, which was 57 percent.Vigo County's black graduation rate also showed improvement over 2005-06, when it was 48.1 percent.The graduation rates for the past two years use a new state formula based on students who complete their high-school education in four years or less. Individual students are tracked through a Student Test Number system that began in 2002.Last month, the Indiana Youth Institute published a column praising the school district's efforts to raise the graduation rates of its black students, although IYI's numbers and methodology are different than what the state now uses.The IYI column — published by various media outlets — states that the black graduation rate increased significantly between 2001 and 2005.


Read More