All Categories - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

Next Green Drinks June 27, 2019

6/17/2019

Green Drinks - Thursday, June 27th from 5:00-7:00 pm

Fresh Deli at the Freight House
421 W River DR, Davenport, IA (map)

Environmental Forum

Our next Green Drinks event will be on Thursday, June 27th from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. Karen Neder from the Earth Keepers group at the Trinity Lutheran Church in Moline will share with us her recycling program with Terracycle - Quad Cities. You’ll be surprised at what all you can recycle and keep out of the landfill. Set a reminder on your smart phone calendar, so you don’t miss this event. See our Green Drinks - Quad Cities website for the next meeting days.

We’ve been discussing various environmental issues, and brainstorming what we need to do to raise awareness of climate change and to encourage everyone to vote. Come join us on the last Thursday of each month at Fresh Deli, from 5 pm to 7 pm.

Susan Leuthauser

Green Drinks After Action Report

6/17/2019

Green Drinks - After Action Report
The Last Thursdays - March through May

Fresh Deli at the Freight House in Davenport
Environmental Forum

March 28th -
We had an enthusiastic crowd for our first Green Drinks event. Everybody was excited to start this tradition in the QCA.

April 25th -
On a stormy evening, Tara Witherow shared how she turned her lawn into a garden with native plants, which provide food for native insects and birds. Under the Davenport Native Roots Program, when a yard contains more than 80% native plants, it no longer needs to be mowed. Doing so, Tara no long used lawn chemicals, which end up in our water; eliminated emissions from lawn care equipment; brought back biodiversity; provided food for the pollinators; and brought carbon back into the soil. The added benefits are the time and cost savings in lawn care. That sounds like a win-win. You can learn more about what Tara did to her lawn the following Quad City Times article ("Lawns are Wasted Space") or contact Tara on her Facebook page.

May 30th -
Flood water covered the parking lot in front of Fresh Deli, but Green Drinks went on as scheduled. Dawn Temple, Administrator of the Rock Island County Soil and Water Conservation District brought her bin of worms and food wastes, and shared with us her Vermicomposting experience. In the US, we each generate about 277 pounds of food waste a year and only 3% of that is composted. Vermicomposting uses red wiggler worms, available from the bait shop, to compost. These worms eat their own weight in food every day, and produce nutrient-rich compost in about 3 months. This is done in a well-ventilated, covered storage bin that is kept indoors. The system is amazingly clean and odorless. It would be a great activity for the young environmentalist. For more information contact Dawn Temple on her Facebook page.

Susan Leuthauser

Juvenile Assessment Center Training - Monday, June 24th, 2019

6/16/2019

Juvenile Assessment Center Training - Monday, June 24th from 9:00 am to 11:00 am

Do not miss this important training in Davenport at Eastern Iowa Community College (map). Molli Barker, the Executive Director of the Juvenile Assessment Center in Centennial, Colorado, shares her experience and expertise working to address systemic youth issues.

Local leaders are working together to bring a Juvenile Assessment Center to Scott County. Learn more in this June 9th Big Story article from the Quad-City Times.

Download a flyer below. If you have questions call Nicole Mann at 563-326-8221 or email (below).

Registration is required. Email Nicole Mann at nicole.mann@scottcountyiowa.com.

juvenile_assessment_center.pdf
File Size:	851 kb
File Type:	pdf

D-CAP - Davenport Citizens Advisory Panel

6/10/2019

Civil Rights Forum Meeting - Racial Profiling
Sunday, June 23rd at 4:00 pm

Greatest Grains
1600 N Harrison St, Davenport, IA (map)

Civil Rights Forum

During our recent Race: Are We So Different discussion circles we heard stories of recent racial profiling by police in Bettendorf. At this monthly meeting, we will update members about the Car Theft Accountability Program and our efforts on immigration, but most of the meeting will be devoted to the issue of racial profiling.

The Davenport Citizens Advisory Panel (D-CAP) has been working on racial profiling in Davenport for about 10 years. Representatives from LULAC, Quad Cities Interfaith, and the NAACP meet monthly with the Davenport Chief of Police and his command staff to monitor racial profiling. They have had a significant impact on the problem.

Loxi Hopkins and others from D-CAP will give us information we can use to set up citizens advisory panels in other cities in our area. As a resident of Bettendorf, I want to help start a B-CAP! Join us to learn more.

Alta Price

Volunteer for QC Unity Pride Celebrations

6/3/2019

QC Unity Pride
Saturday, June 22nd at 11:00 am
and Friday, June 28th to Sunday, June 30th

Civil Rights Forum

We Need Volunteers Now!
March with us in the parade wearing PACG t-shirts to show our support! We also need help staffing display tables the weekend of June 28th!

Saturday, June 22nd, the parade starts at E 2nd and Warren St in Davenport (map) and crosses the Centennial Bridge to 3rd AV in Rock Island, IL (map).

The Pride Fest Celebration is a street festival beginning Friday, June 28th (map).

PACG is a Proud sponsor of QC Unity Pride 2019. Join us to march in the Pride Parade Saturday, June 22nd at 11am. Meet at Mary's on Second (map) at 10:30 am to get a t-shirt. The parade starts at E. 2nd St. Davenport then proceeds across the Centennial Bridge and ends at 3rd AV Rock Island.

Pride Fest is the following weekend, Friday, June 28th from 4pm - midnight and Saturday 12pm -midnight. PACG will have a booth there. If you are interested in volunteering at our booth contact Amber Bordolo.

For more information, check this Pride Fest link.

QC Unity Pride week of events are as follows:
June 22 - Unity Pride Parade
June 22 - Parade After-Party
June 23 - Dinner Cruise (Tickets available now!)
June 24 - Stonewall Movie
June 25 - Family Skate Day
June 26 - Pink Squirrel Pub Crawl (Davenport)
June 27 - Pink Squirrel Pub Crawl (Rock Island)
June 28 - Quad Cities Festivals Pageant Queen and King
June 28/29 - QC Pridefest

Information about additional events is on the QCUnity Pride website: qcunitypride.org.

Environmental Forum Meeting

5/28/2019

PACG Environmental Forum Meeting -
Monday, June 3rd at 6:30 pm

Cobblestone Place
1212 W 3rd Street, Davenport, IA (map)

The PACG Environmental Forum will meet on the first Monday of each month. We welcome newcomers to our Forum ~ this week’s topics include:

June 27, 2019 PACG Environmental Forum Green Drinks on the last-Thursday-of-the-month (5:00-7:00 p.m.) networking opportunity at Fresh Deli (map) at the Freight House.

Earth Day 2020!!! Planning the 50th anniversary

Meeting with Iowa and Illinois state legislatures and federal representatives. Please bring a question you would like to ask your legislator to our meeting Monday evening.

Voters deserve to know: Which candidates commit to acting on climate change as a "Day One" priority when in office. Whether presidential candidates support the Green New Deal or can offer their own climate plan that also meets the scale of the crisis.

Sixty-two percent of voters believe that the federal government should do more to address climate change. (Jennifer Marlon et al., "Yale Climate Opinion Maps 2018," Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.)

Join us for this planning meeting!

Shirley Johnson

Vote Smart - Educate Yourself on Important Issues and Candidates

5/25/2019

Vote Smart - Educate Yourself on Important Issues and Candidates

Be an informed voter! Make sure your potential candidate represents your values and beliefs. One important way to do this is to use online guides like VoteSmart.org.

Vote Smart is a one-stop website where you can find information on state and national legislation and politicians. This non-partisan site is easy to use. There are links to every candidate's bio and contact information; voting record; ratings and endorsements by national and local organizations; speeches and public statements; and campaign finance and funding.

The website explains the work of their volunteers and staff this way: "Vote Smart is a historic undertaking. Citizens come together, not in selfish interest or to support one candidate over another, but to defend democracy. It is an extraordinary gathering of people committed to one purpose: to strengthen the most essential component of democracy -- access to information -- even as it suffers grave attacks from candidates and political parties, many who are now willing to manipulate information and deceive voters."

Vote Smart has additional information, such as:

VoteEasy -- this powerful, interactive research tool lets you instantly see which candidates are most like you
Publications -- Free to all citizens -- order your Voter's Self-Defense Manual, a 100-page report on your congressional delegation. A video, which describes what the Vote Smart does, how we do it, and how you can use it, is also available.
Voter Registration -- For every state, find out policies and procedures, locate voter registration forms, where to send them, where you can register in person, and where your polling place is.
Ballot Measures -- Descriptions of ballot measures for every state, including complete text, sponsors, and election results.

It is never too early to research issues of concern to you both locally and nationally. Vote Smart! But, most importantly, VOTE!

Restorative Justice - Car Theft Accountability Training

5/20/2019

Restorative Justice: Car Theft Accountability
Training Date To Be Determined

Scott County Juvenile Center
500 W. 4th Street, Davenport, Iowa (map)

A recent PACG Blog post detailed the importance of this incredible new program.

If you’re interested in being a volunteer for this initiative where you would be part of a restorative justice circle, you must attend a four-hour training. For more information, contact Michelle Bancroft at 563-326-8228

Michelle Bancroft

June Book Club Meeting

5/20/2019

June PACG Book Club Saturday, June 1st at 10:30 am

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

The PACG Book Club continues to read books on racial justice this month:
Dear Martin by Nic Stone.

From Goodreads: "Raw, captivating, and undeniably real, Nic Stone joins industry giants Jason Reynolds and Walter Dean Myers as she boldly tackles American race relations in this stunning debut." This book is highly recommended by one of our book club members.

Contact Alta Price with questions or to learn more.

Iowa Federal Aid Swap Program - What You Can Do Now

5/19/2019

Oppose the Iowa Federal Aid Swap Program

What You Can Do Now

You may be aware from recent media reports, there is a growing coalition of organizations opposed to the new Iowa Federal Aid Swap program. Under this program millions of federal dollars allocated to the Quad Cities for road construction and other infrastructure projects are “swapped” for state dollars. Why does this matter?

Federal dollars contain certain protections, including Davis-Bacon Act “fair wages,” “BUY AMERICAN” sourcing restrictions, environmental regulations as well as women and minority-owned business engagement incentives. State dollars do not. This creates a competitive advantage for contractors outside the QCA to import less skilled, under-paid, transient workers in order to underbid our reputable local contractors. Bottom line, this leads to greater local unemployment and more money draining away from our local economy. Most importantly, it’s not right. This community needs to “opt-out” of this ill-conceived program, now. And, there will be a vote to do so on Tuesday, May 28th.

Please make your voices heard in opposition to the Iowa Federal Aid Swap program by going to: https://noswaps.com/. There you can learn more and “TAKE ACTION” by sending an email to local elected officials telling them “No SWAPS!” It’s easy. It’s quick. And, all the information you need is right there, including a sample email you can use. Please act today. And then encourage others to give input as well.

Click this link more information about the Iowa Federal Aid Swap program and the reasons to oppose it.