Sobering Signs In February, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that David Bell could not avoid being charged with driving under the influence merely because he had been sober enough to pass all six “field sobriety tests” administered during a traffic stop. It was enough, the court said, that he had
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in News of the Weird
March 19, 2014 by justin
in Sound Notes
In honor of April being Jazz Appreciation Month, the Community Jazz Center (CJC) will host an 11-hour jazz festival at Java Joes on Sunday, April 6. The event will kick off at 9 a.m. and is both open to the public and free to attend, though donations are being accepted
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Political Mercury
Governor names Greene County lead Home Base Iowa community
Gov. Terry Branstad’s designation of Greene County as the state’s first Home Base Iowa community distinguishes the west-central county as one of the most supportive locations for returning military veterans in the United States, said Maj. Gen. Timothy E. Orr, adjutant general of the Iowa National Guard and a former
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Tech Talk
Tune in to network TV, but for a fee
The rise of high-speed Internet and online streaming video over the last decade has definitely shaken the broadcast and pay TV business. While burgeoning Web technology has contributed to lower ratings and dipping revenues, it appears what the TV industry is most afraid of is a tool older than the
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Civic Skinny
Kum & Go eyes downtown, Microsoft Willow Creek. U.S. Judges Gritzner and Bennett to step down
Don’t be surprised if the undisclosed site of that data project being proposed for West Des Moines turns out to be the south part of Willow Creek Golf Course along Highway 5. And don’t be surprised if the company is Microsoft. … No one will confirm anything, but the Kum
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in On The Tube
Latino boy makes good, then bad
In a stunning one-man show called “Ghetto Klown” (Saturday, 9 p.m., HBO), John Leguizamo presents a “cautionary tale.” He details his progression from a poor Latino boy to a showbiz star to a jerk. Leguizamo may be the most appealing jerk in Broadway history. He gets the live audience laughing
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Your Money
Paid for by taxpayers in…Polk County
Amount: $10,119.65 To: Carpenter Uniform For: Purchase of uniforms for the Sheriff’s Office, including $275.70 for patrol ($2,993.40 for vests); $938.80 for detectives; $4,647.34 for jail staff; $879.93 for court staging; $384.48 for court services. Amount: $651.73 To: Clive Power Equipment For: Purchase of parts, repair and maintenance for
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Your View
Go giant, Iowa
Jackson Pollock Mural worth $150 million (Civic Skinny, March 13)? Sell it. Build the $75 million Iowa City art museum. Then — like those art projects all over Iowa such as the giant Herkys in Iowa City, the giant ice crème cones in LeMars and the giant rabbit heads (?) in Council Bluffs
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March 19, 2014 by justin
in Book Review
‘Someone Else’s Love Story’ is good gossip
Courtesy of Beaverdale Books Review by Fay Jones William Morrow & Company 11/19/13 $26.99 300 pp. Shandi Pierce is 21 years old living life with her precocious 3-year-old son, Natty, and her best friend, Walcott, in tow while trying to better her life. She’s taking herself and Natty from her
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42 reflections
The coming baseball season — it can’t come soon enough after such a long and terrible winter — reminds me of the summer day in 1947 when three aspiring young journalists from the University of Iowa visited Chicago’s Wrigley Field to interview Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Robinson, of
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