Winners

As predicted, the TouchPlay industry is laying its cards on the table in the wake of a statewide ban on the gambling machines slated to go into effect May 4. At least five TouchPlay operators/ distributors have filed suit against the state, claiming the ban is unconstitutional and blaming the state for flip-flopping its stance at the expense of bar and convenience store owners, who will no doubt suffer financially with the removal of the machines. Many distributors have pretty much bet the farm on these moneymaking machines, and they're no doubt hoping their last-ditch lawsuits will be the ace in the hole needed to keep the ka-chings coming.

Legislature tested, libertarian approved. After months of haggling at the Capitol over the hot-button issue of eminent domain (see our March 2 cover story, "Common Ground") it appears that legislation regarding the government's ability to seize private property for public gain might actually make it out of the statehouse this session. In February, the House approved a drastic reduction of eminent-domain powers, and the evenly divided Senate followed suit with its own slightly softer version this week. There are some differences between the two bills that still must be hammered out, but both give property owners a firmer grip on their land.

Ramona Cunningham, her overpaid cronies and various friends and family members of CIETC and Iowa Workforce Development insiders aren't the only winners in the ongoing employment fiasco. According to a U.S. Department of Labor employee, the situation here in Central Iowa has proved to be such a clusterfuck that it has forced federal officials to rethink job training overall, and it is quite possible across-the-board changes could be implemented. Said Emily DeRocco in a story published Sunday by the daily, "The system is burdened with waste and outdated, outmoded and uncontrolled layers of bureaucracy." Somebody give that lady a raise.

Losers

Regaled with publicity worthy of nothing less than the second coming of Christ, the new Central Library in downtown Des Moines opened to much fanfare last week with public officials, local residents and scores of reporters lining up to heap praise on the metallic oddity that allegedly represents the kind of innovative architecture that will put Central Iowa on the map. But, while the external structure looks like more like oversized exposed plumbing than a bastion of public enlightenment, the interior is even more uninspiring. A cross between a government archives warehouse and a poorly executed IKEA outlet, the new library has the odd distinction of feeling both overdone and half-finished, both empty and constricted. Granted, with more computers than the entire Des Moines Public School system and a space to hold a collection worthy of the capital city, the new digs are certainly a step up from the cramped riverfront location. But with local media and government pundits pimping the library as the Ninth Wonder of the World, they set up the public for certain disappointment.

Somewhere among reading, writing and leaving no child behind, Des Moines teachers may need to introduce a new course: Navigating the Penal System. A school board committee wants to grant administrators the authority to search students' lockers and personal property, including their backpacks and purses, without warning. Although officials must have "reasonable suspicion" in order to initiate a search, it isn't clear how the board will choose to define "reasonable" when it takes up the issue at its meeting this week. Advocates say the policy would make schools safer by rooting out guns, drugs and, presumably, inappropriate Ashlee Simpson photos and cheap Hello Kitty knock-offs. The recommendation comes a week after the board considered allocating $165,000 to install two police officers in area middle schools. Perhaps the district is attempting to prepare students for the grown-up world, where they'll be subject to domestic wiretapping, random e-mail searches and library-records seizures. CV

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