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Sorry, there is no article this week.
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previous articles in the archives
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| Civic
Skinny: ISU investigated Partnership |
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Attempts to smear Blouin fail,
though
An investigation last summer
into a program that is funded
by the U.S. Department of Agriculture
through Iowa State University
and run under the umbrella of
The Greater Des Moines Partnership
turned up nothing, according to
the Iowa State professor, Wolfgang
Kliemann, who ran the audit. A
source had been trying to tie
gubernatorial candidate and former
Partnership head honcho Mike Blouin
to the misappropriation of funds
of the MATRIC Program, which is
funded by the USDA (at the urging
of Sen. Tom Harkin) for the benefit
of farmers around Iowa, by stating
that Blouin pushed for the grant
money to be used to pay for projects
not tied to MATRIC, including
lobbying trips to Washington for
the Partnership and helping ease
strains on the bottom-line at
the Partnership after 9/11. "A
whistleblower contacted the sponsor
(USDA) and made various allegations,"
Kliemann told Cityview. "We
looked into them and came to the
conclusion they were not correct."
Kliemann said that using federal
funds to lobby federal officials
is against the law, and his group
investigated whether or not the
Partnership had used MATRIC money
for traveling and lobbying expenses
to the nation's capital, but had
not investigated any claims of
misappropriated funds. A source
close to Blouin called the people
involved "politically desperate."
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| Food
Dude : La Bamba |
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By Jim Duncan
CVFDude@aol.com
 La
Bamba is a great study in budget remodeling.
Instead of gutting an old KFC and spending
half a million dollars (standard operating
procedure these days), owner Juvencio
Ramirez preserved most of the interior
and furnishings, added tables and a
bar (margaritas and beer), and warmed
the place up with simple dècor
and a creative paint job. Hot pink,
the in-color of the year, turns the
abundant natural light into an asset.
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| Scene
Scribe : Big acts, bigger ticket prices |
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By Michael Swanger
michael@dmcityview.com
 It's
feast or famine when it comes to seeing
big-name rock acts in Des Moines, and
this week is no exception when Paul
McCartney, Bon Jovi and The
Moody Blues roll into town. But if you
want to see all three, you better be
willing to dig deep into your wallet.
If you thought paying face value a
few months ago for tickets that ranged
from $49 to $176 for McCartney's sold-out
Thursday show at Wells Fargo Arena was
ridiculous, consider yourself lucky.
Fans left on the outside who desperately
want to hear the veteran rocker sing
songs from his Beatles and Wings catalogs
(no one really cares about Sir Paul's
new album, "US," do they?)
are faced with the sobering reality
of having to fork over big bucks to
scalpers to see the show. Single tickets
for nosebleed seats... >>more
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| City
Sounds : Pt 1-Bluesbreaker Pt 2-Steps
ahead |
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By Michael Swanger
michael@dmcityview.com
 John
Mayall still carries the torch
for the blues after all these
years
English blues legend John Mayall
says he doesn't know what drew
him to the blues. He discovered
them at an early age through his
father's record collection while
growing up in Macclesfield, Cheshire,
far away from the Mississippi
Delta... >>more
 Jazz
pianist Fred Hersch is always
moving forward
Only a "poet of a pianist"
like jazz musician Fred Hersch
could possess the fortitude and
creativity to tackle an array
of projects as diverse as reinventing
Walt Whitman's "Leaves of
Grass" in a large-scale setting,
adapting standards by Thelonious
Monk to solo piano and composing
24 variations on a Bach chorale.
>>more
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