PACG - Blog

Celebrate Earth Day in Davenport

4/15/2019

Earth Day Celebration - Saturday, April 20th at 9:00 am

Freight House
421 W River DR, Davenport, IA (map)

Environmental Forum

Join us in celebrating Earth Day on Saturday, April 20th from 9-1. There will be mini TED talks throughout the day, live music, 20 demonstration tables, and a full activity tent for kids with reptiles from Nahant Marsh and birds from the raptor center. And there will be door prizes! Food will be available at the adjacent restaurants. The interior portions of the Farmer's Market are up and running. The flood has not defeated us, but it does remind us that Climate Change is real.

Lori McCollum

Paris to Pittsburgh Film on Climate Change

4/15/2019

Paris to Pittsburgh Film - Wednesday, April 17th at 7:00 pm

Rogalski Center
St. Ambrose University
W High ST, Davenport, IA
(the parking lot is at Lombard ST and Ripley ST) (map)

Environmental Forum

Join us in viewing Paris to Pittsburgh, a free screening of the film produced by Bloomberg Philanthropies and RadicalMedia in 2018. We are co-sponsoring this event with the Green Life Environmental Club of St. Ambrose University to kick off the Earth Day weekend. There will be a panel presentation after the screening to discuss climate change and ways you can personally address this issue.

Author Jason Reynolds to Visit the Quad Cities - Book Club

4/8/2019

Author Visit: Jason Reynolds - Thursday, May 2nd at 6:00 pm

Davenport Main Public Library
321 N Main St, Davenport, IA (map)

PACG Book Club

The PACG Book Club is excited about having a chance to meet prize-winning author of Young Adult fiction, Jason Reynolds. We read and enjoyed many of his works, which we discussed at our April Book Club meeting.

Read more at the Davenport Library website. Note: you are requested to register for the event.

There are also two presentations at the Rock Island High School auditorium (map) on Tuesday, May 3rd, one at 9:30 am and one at 1 pm. Both are open to the public. To reserve a seat for either presentation, visit rockislandlibrary.org, and select the online calendar at "find events" or call 309-732-7341.

Alta Price

UPDATE - Race: Are We So Different Tour and Discussion

4/8/2019

Sign up for the “Race: Are We So Different?” Tour and Discussion - Update

Tuesday, April 23rd at 4:00 pm (full)
Monday, May 13th at 4:00 pm (new)

Putnam Museum
1717 W 12th St, Davenport, IA (map)

Civil Rights Forum

The Civil Rights Forum is arranging two tours followed by a guided discussion of Race: Are We So Different? at the Putnam Museum. Only 15 people can attend each discussion, and you MUST register to attend. Our April 23rd tour is full.

To register for the May 13th event, click here.

Attendees must pay their own admission to the Putnam, but PACG will pay the fee for the guided discussion.

Alta Price

Health Care Reform Forum Meetings

4/8/2019

Health Care Reform Forum Meeting - Tuesday, April 16th at 6:00 pm

St. John's Lutheran Church
45070 7th AV, Rock Island, IL (map)

Our Forum is now meeting twice a month.

At our April 2nd meeting we decided to first focus our efforts on "Health Care 101," a program to educate (especially) people who are uninsured on the basic concepts and terminology of health insurance, and to encourage them to check out how they may get insurance through Government programs and the ACA. This will be a primary focus of our next meeting.

The second focus will be on planning an event celebrating the (almost) 10th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. This event will be in late October to help jump start the ACA open enrollment period which begins November 1st.

Other priorities will be to refine "Health Care 201" which we "premiered" at St John's congregation last month, to get the results of the ACA petitions used with students at Augustana and to consider other venues to collect signatures.

We have ambitious goals. Please join us in planning and accomplishing these goals.

Volunteers for Earth Day at Davenport Farmer's Market

4/8/2019

Earth Day Volunteers Needed - Saturday, April 20th at 9:00 am

Freight House Farmers Market
421 W River Dr. Davenport, IA (map)
Environmental Forum

Your Environmental Forum is asking for all hands on deck to help with the Earth Day event. We need volunteers!

Early set up - need people to be there by 7:30 or 8:00 am
Check-in table
Demonstrators Coordinator - arrive at 8:30 am
Activity Tent - Two shifts 9-11, 11-1 (need several volunteers for this)
Working the PACG table - need 2 people per shift 9-11, 11-1
Social Media Station - need 4 volunteers for 1 hour shifts.
Break down - 1:00 pm need at least 4 people

Contact Amber Bordolo or Lori McCollum.

Green Fire Film and Discussion

4/1/2019

Community Connections: Green Fire - Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time
Thursday, April 18th at 1:30 - 3:00 pm

Bettendorf Public Library
2950 Learning Campus Dr, Bettendorf, Iowa 52722 (map)

Out and About
Join PACG Out and About for a screening of this Emmy Award-winning Aldo Leopold documentary.

Bettendorf Public Library and Humanities Iowa present a special screening of "Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time."

"Green Fire" is the first full-length documentary film ever made about legendary environmentalist Aldo Leopold, author of A Sand County Almanac, who was born and raised in Burlington, Iowa. "Green Fire" highlights Leopold’s extraordinary career, tracing how he shaped and influenced the modern environmental movement. "Green Fire" provocatively examines Leopold’s thinking, renewing his idea of a land ethic for a population facing 21st-century ecological challenges. The film describes the formation of Leopold’s idea through his life and experiences, exploring how it changed one man and later permeated through all arenas of conservation today. Through these examples, the film and discussion challenge viewers to contemplate their own relationship with the land community.

Following the film, there will be a discussion with Thomas Dean, Senior Presidential Writer/Editor at the University of Iowa. Thomas is trained as a Land Ethic Leader through the Aldo Leopold Foundation, a program with the goal to both introduce Leopold’s land ethic to a wider audience and also to deepen understanding and engagement through dialogue about the meaning and value of conservation.

Registration is not required for this event. This program is funded by Humanities Iowa and the National Endowment for the Humanities with additional support from the Friends of the Bettendorf Public Library. See Community Connections - Green Fire on Facebook.

Amber Bordolo

Responding to the Many Faces of Hate Symposium - One Human Family

3/25/2019

Attend the "Responding to the Many Faces of Hate" Symposium - Saturday, April 13th from 9:00 am to 3:30 pm

Eastern Iowa Community College
101 W 3rd St
Davenport, IA 52810 (map)

PACG Civil Rights Forum

"Responding to the Many Faces of Hate" Symposium
The Civil Rights Forum is promoting this One Human Family QCA event. Please download the flyer below and share this event widely.

From the OHFQC website:
One Human Family has teamed up with some of the best voices in our area to present an action-oriented day of workshops on solutions in the areas of 1) race-based hate, 2) faith-based hate,
3) LGBTQ hate, and 4) immigration hate. Attendees choose 3 of the 4 sessions.

Keynote speaker is Sen. Zach Wahls.

Please be sure to register at this link. Tickets are $15 at the door, $10 in advance. Students $5.

many_faces_of_hate_-_ohfqc.pdf
File Size:	68 kb
File Type:	pdf

Sign Up for Discussion and Tour of the Putnam - Race: Are We So Different?

3/25/2019

Sign up for the “Race: Are We So Different?” Tour and Discussion - Tuesday, April 23rd at 4:00 pm

Putnam Museum, 1717 W 12th St, Davenport, IA (map)

Civil Rights Forum

The Civil Rights Forum is arranging a tour followed by a guided discussion of Race: Are We So Different? at the Putnam Museum. Click for more information about the event and a link to registration. Only 15 people can attend the discussion, and you MUST register to attend.

Attendees must pay their own admission to the Putnam, but PACG will pay the fee for the guided discussion.

If there is enough interest, we will arrange a second tour/guided discussion in early May. Email Alta if you can't go on April 23rd but want to attend a second tour/guided discussion.

Alta Price

Call Your Reps - Voter Suppression Bill in Iowa - What You Can Do Now

3/24/2019

Contact Your Iowa State Legislators Regarding Voter Suppression Bill

Iowa Senator Roby Smith has introduced Senate File 575 that impacts Iowans' ability to vote. Read more about it at:

Senate File 575

PACG members kept the focus of the March Scott County Legislative Forum on the voter suppression bill. Read this excellent article in the Quad-City Times for coverage of the reactions of the audience and legislators when questioned about the bill. The article also provides in-depth information about the threat to voting rights included in this legislation.

Call your Iowa State legislators to express your views on NOT restricting the voting rights of Iowans.

Senate Switchboard: 515-281-3371
House Switchboard: 515-281-3221

To find your representative's email information click here.