A Scott County judge ruled Tuesday (June 15) in favor of the city of Bettendorf over when appointees to city council and park board vacancies must stand for election.

Scott County Auditor Roxanna Moritz informed city officials earlier this year that newly appointed park board member Frank Baden should be on the ballot this fall in the November general election. The city appealed the decision to Scott County District Court arguing past practice and state statute did not require Baden to face voters until the next city election in the fall of 2011.

In the June 10, 2010 New York Review of Books, noted British American physicist and mathematician Freeman Dyson reviewed a new book by Nobel Prize winner physicist Steven Weinberg. The tone is largely positive, but toward the end Dyson makes an interesting observation.

He says that Weinberg juxtaposes “militant atheism” on the one hand and absolute faith in the ability of science to explain everything on the other. He tells us that Weinberg believes that science will soon have developed a “Final Theory” with a set of mathematical rules precisely describing every aspect of our universe.

A new five-year transportation improvement plan approved by the Iowa Transportation Commission includes $31 million for the Interstate 74 corridor/bridge reconstruction.

The cost to replace the I-74 bridge and make corridor improvement from 23rd Avenue, Moline, to 53rd Street, Bettendorf, has been estimated at more than $1 billion. More than $20 million already has been spent on bridge design, engineering work, the environmental impact study, replacement of the Lincoln Road overpass and right-of-way acquisition.

City voters should "determine their own representation as quickly as possible," Scott County attorneys argue in the district court lawsuit challenging Bettendorf's procedure in filling vacancies on the city council and park board.

Image of the Ascentra Credit Union office design proposed for 53rd Ave. and 18th St., Bettendorf

A long-dormant and highly visible corner of 18th Street and 53rd Avenue, Bettendorf, appears headed for commercial development as an Ascentra Credit Union location.

Ascentra applied for and received approval from the city Board of Adjustment recently for a special use permit to allow its use for a drive-in banking facility.

Ever see 'True Lies'? It’s an action-comedy flic in which, early on, main protagonist spy Arnold Schwartzenegger returns home after a few days of violence and intrigue in Switzerland. Unknowing wife, played by Jamie Lee Curtis, asks “How’d it go at the trade show, you make all the other salesmen jealous?”

The City of Bettendorf has filed a court challenge to the Scott County auditor's ruling that would have allowed citizens to vote to fill city council and park board vacancies at the same time as state and federal elections.

The auditor's decision would have meant appointees to council and park board vacancies would stand for election in the next election involving city voters, rather than wait for the next city only election. State and national elections are held on even-numbered years and city elections are held in odd-numbered years.

Judging from the dollars, number of yard signs and the sign locations, incumbent Republican State Senator David Hartsuch appears to be in trouble in his re-election bid.

Hartsuch defeated long-time Republican Maggie Tinsman in the District 41 primary four years ago by just 68 votes, and then won the general election by a 51-49 percent margin against Democrat Phyllis Thede.

The state's 10 percent funding cut for schools will likely push the Pleasant Valley School District into deficit spending over the summer months.

The school board at its April meeting approved a resolution authorizing the district to borrow funds under the Iowa School Cash Anticipation Program (ISCAP).

The board approved a 5 percent increase in property taxes last month, but the impact on district revenues won't be felt until this fall.

Scott, Muscatine and Clinton counties all received an "F" in air quality from the American Lung Association (ALA) because of high fine particulate levels over the 3-year period, 2006-2008.

The three counties received the failing designation for having a weighted average of nine days or more over the 24-hour pollution standard for particulate matter 2.5 microns and smaller (PM 2.5).