river cities reader vol 19 issue #796

8/3/2019 River Cities Reader Vol 19 Issue #796

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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

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4/28


ILLINOIS POLITICS

As you might know already, Moodysearlier this month slapped Illinoiswith the worst credit rating o any

state in the nation. But while Moodys reportwas damaging, S&Ps rating was ar morenegative about the states uture.

Moodys cited Illinois weak managementpractices as one reason or its ratingsdowngrade. he states ailure to implementany pension-unding reorms and to pay oits mountain o overdue bills were the two

top reasons or the downgrade. But Moodysmoved Illinois rom a negative to a stableoutlook or the uture.

Fox Chicago Newsquoted a spokespersonor Governor PatQuinn saying thatthe Moodys ratingdrop was an outlierbecause ratingsagencies S&P and

Fitch had decided notto lower the statescredit rating last week.On the surace, thatstrue. Underneath, notso much. rouble is,S&Ps rating containedmuch harsher languageabout Illinois credituture, the agency alsoput Illinois on negative watch, and it issued

a sternly worded warning that the state is indanger o another ratings downgrade thisyear.

S&P ocused mainly on the states overduebills, which the governor estimated at about$7 billion last week. Without meaningulchanges to balance the books, S&P warned,we could lower the rating this year.

he ratings agency also strongly warnedagainst implementing the governors planto use long-term bonding to pay o itspast-due bills. he outlook also relects ...the possibility that [Illinois] might issue asigniicant amount o additional debt as parto its eort to address the large accumulatedbudget deicit was the blunt message romS&P, and it added that a downgrade could betriggered i debt levels increase signiicantly.

In other words, pay o the past-duebills, but do so without issuing signiicantnew debt. he governors budget oiceseemed to be taken somewhat aback bythis warning, saying that its capital-markets

manager would have to work with S&P onthe structure o a bond plan that wouldminimize impact on near-term cash low.But backloading the repayment o such aplan would also likely create howls o protest,

and, in any case, getting a three-iths vote inboth legislative chambers has been next toimpossible, and is now probably even moreunlikely (i that was even possible) with S&Pslatest pronouncement.

All three ratings agencies also highlightedIllinois pension problems. Moodys ocusedon unding the pensions, not with theever-rising costs o paying o old debtsto the pension unds. S&P worried aboutdeteriorating pension unding levels.

But even with the downgrade and all thewarnings, the state still managed to get thelowest interest rate on January 11s tax-

exempt bond sale sinceat least 1976, accordingto the governorsbudget oice, whichcouldnt ind anyrecords beore thatdate.

How the heck did

that happen?Essentially, the

strong demand ormunicipal bonds(billions o dollars inmunicipal bonds arematuring around thecountry this monthwhile ew are beingsold, and investors

continue to look or sae havens) and the

current record-low interest rates (the rateon the latest ederal issue was a mere 1.9percent) combined to make the bond salehighly attractive to investors.

he predictions o gloom and doomsimply didnt materialize. Illinois beat everypublished expectation. Yes, the interestrate wouldve probably been even loweri the state had a better credit rating, andthe states interest rate was about triple thespread between top-rated bonds and whatIllinois got when compared to the states lasttax-exempt bond sale in 2009. And nobodywould say that this sale signals any particularstrength in our states inancial situation.

But as Quinns capital-markets directortold reporters last week, it would be prettytough or any state to get an interest rate allthat much lower than the 3.9 percent Illinoisgot.

So while the Moodys downgrade did havean impact, it wasnt nearly as negative as youmightve thought by reading the editorials

and political press releases during the pastcouple o weeks.

Rich Miller also publishes Capitol Fax (a dailypolitical newsletter) and CapitolFax.com.

by Rich Miller

States Dropping Credit RatingBarely Affects Bond Sale

Despite credit-agency

warnings, the strong

demand for municipal

bonds and the current

record-low interestrates combined to

make Illinois bond

sale highly attractive to

investors.

MITSUBISHI

11 MITSUBISHI

ENDEAVOR11 MITSUBISHI

OUTLANDERSPORT

MITSUBISHI


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deserve tax relie just as much as everybodyelse, Paulsen said. he other thing is theirplan does not remove any taxing authority.Its built upon tax credits, which then thestate has to go back through and und. Andwe dont have a great history o undingthose things.

Branstad, a Republican, on January 10

released details o his 2012 property-tax-reorm plan. He again called or a rollbackon commercial and industrial property taxesrom 100 percent to 60 percent o valuation.But this year, hes calling or it to happen overeight years rather than ive. Branstads planalso would limit residential and agriculturalproperty-tax increases to 2 percent, ratherthan the current 4 percent. And it wouldlimit city and county property-tax increasesto the rate o inlation.

he governor has said that Iowanswould see their property taxes increaseby $1.3 billion during the next ive yearsi lawmakers dont approve property-taxreorm. he estimate was based on theassumption that local governments wouldincrease their tax levies each year by the 4-percent maximum permitted by state law.

Local government leaders last year decriedthe Republican plan to reduce propertytaxes, saying it would be crippling andwould lead to service reductions, layos, and

increased tax rates.Linda Hinton, government-relations

manager or the Iowa State Association oCounties, said January 9 that county oicialsonce again are wary o property-tax reorm,and are especially concerned about theproposal to cap residential and agriculturalproperty-tax increases at 2 percent.

We certainly are in the same position wewere in last year, which is very concernedabout what the overall picture is going to be,

and the overall impact, and whether localgovernments ... have the resources to makesure services are provided, Hinton toldIowaPolitics.com.

Branstad said he has worked with localgovernments to alleviate their concerns.Under his plan, the state would reimbursea portion o the tax revenue lost by localgovernments $50 million the irst year,then eventually growing to $240 million.We oresee that were going to be able to

protect local governments, Branstad said.

This article was produced by IowaPolitics.com. For an expanded version of this article,and more stories on Iowa politics, visitRCReader.com/y/iapolitics.

Key Differences Remain

on PropertyTax Reform

by Lynn Campbell

IowaPolitics.comIOWA POLITICS

Governor erry Branstad and the Iowa

legislature on January 9 renewed e-

orts to overhaul the states property-

tax system. I they can do it, it will be the irst

time in more than 30 years that property taxes

have been reormed in the Hawkeye State.

he problem: Iowa businesses pay taxeson 100 percent o the assessed valuation o

their commercial and industrial properties,while homeowners and armers pay taxes onabout 50 percent o the assessed valuation.Iowa is second-highest in the nation orurban and rural commercial-property taxes,according to a 50-state property-tax study bythe National axpayers Conerence, a not-or-proit that analyzes state and local taxesand spending.

Reorming the property-tax systemis a top priority this year or both IowaRepublicans and Democrats. However, thereis some evidence already o the same kind odisagreements that prevented reorm romhappening last year.

Iowa Senate Majority Leader MikeGronstal (D-Council Blus) and Iowa SenatePresident Jack Kibbie (D-Emmetsburg)made clear on the opening day o 2012legislative session that they still avor a moremodest plan proposed last year by SenateDemocrats which would create a $600property-tax credit or businesses at an

initial cost to the state o $50 million, andwould grow incrementally to $200 million istate revenue increased by at least 4 percent rather than a more sweeping Republicanplan that could cost as much as $1 billion.

It is the only proposal that does notsimply shit more o the cost o localschools and local services onto the backs ohomeowners and armers,Gronstal said othe Senate plan. hats because the Senatesproperty tax is paid or. Most importantly,

the Senates property-tax cut ocuses the helpon the people who need it, Iowas small andMain Street businesses.

Iowa House Speaker Kraig Paulsen(R-Hiawatha) also called or property-taxreorm on the opening day o the legislature.House Study Bill 500 was introducedMonday in the House chamber. Paulsen saidthe amount o property taxes paid by Iowanshas increased by $1.75 billion over the past10 years.

But Paulsen told IowaPolitics.com thatthe property-tax plan advocated by SenateDemocrats doesnt cut it.

One o the things with their plan is itcompletely leaves the residential property-taxpayer out o the equation, and they


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Americas troops may be re-turning home from Iraq, butwere far from done paying the

costs of war. In fact, at the same timethat President Obama is reducing thenumber of troops in Iraq, hes replacingthem with military contractors at fargreater expense to the taxpayer. In thisway, the war on terror is privatized, theAmerican economy is bled dry, and the

military-security-industrial complexmakes a killing literally and figura-tively speaking.

The war efforts in Iraq, Afghanistan,and Pakistan have already cost taxpayersmore than $2 trillion and could go ashigh as $4.4 trillion before its all over.At least $31 billion (and perhaps $60billion or more) of that $2 trillion waslost to waste and fraud by militarycontractors, who do everything from

janitorial and food-service work toconstruction, security, and intelligence jobs that used to be handled by themilitary.

Over the past two decades, Americahas become increasingly dependenton military contractors to carry outmilitary operations abroad. Accordingto the Commission on WartimeContracting in Iraq & Afghanistan, theUnited States can no longer conduct

large or sustained military operationsor respond to major disasters withoutheavy support from contractors. As aresult, the U.S. employs at a minimumone contractor to support every soldierdeployed to Afghanistan and Iraq. Forthose signing on for contractor work,many of whom are hired by privatecontracting firms after serving stintsin the military, it is a lucrative, albeitdangerous, career path. Incredibly,while base pay for an American soldierhovers somewhere around $19,000 peryear, contractors are reportedly pullingin between $150,000 and $250,000 peryear.

The exact number of militarycontractors on the U.S. payroll is hardto pin down, thanks to sleight-of-handaccounting by the Department ofDefense and its contractors. However,according to a Wartime ContractingCommission report released in

August 2011, there are more than260,000 private contractors in Iraq andAfghanistan, more than the number ofground troops in both countries.

Unfortunately, fraud,

mismanagement, and corruptionhave become synonymous with theU.S. governments use of militarycontractors. McClatchy News foundthat U.S. government funding for at least15 large-scale programs and projects[in Afghanistan] grew from just over$1 billion to nearly $3 billion despite

the governments questions about theireffectiveness or cost. One programstarted off as a modest wheat programand ballooned into one of Americasbiggest counterinsurgency projects insouthern Afghanistan despite misgivingsabout its impact. Then there was the$300-million diesel power plant thatwas built despite the fact that it wouldntbe used regularly because its fuel costmore than the Afghan government

could afford to run it regularly. RWA, agroup of three Afghan contractors, wasselected to build a 17.5-mile paved roadin Ghazni province. They were paid $4million between 2008 and 2010 beforethe contract was terminated with onlytwo-thirds of a mile of road paved.

Mind you, with the U.S. spendingmore than $2 billion a week inAfghanistan, these examples ofineptitude and waste represent onlya fraction of what is being funded byAmerican taxpayer dollars. Yet whatmost Americans fail to realize is thatwere funding the very individuals weclaim to be fighting. The war effort hasbecome so corrupt that U.S. taxpayersare not only being bilked by militarycontractors but are also being forced toindirectly fund insurgents and warlordsin Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as theTaliban which receives money frommilitary contractors in exchange for

protection. This is rationalized awayas a cost of doing business in thosecountries. Furthermore, the boom incontracting work in the war zones isntnecessarily aiding U.S. employment,

Privatizing the War on Terror:

Americas Military Contractors

by John W. Whitehead

[email protected]

GUEST COMMENTARY

given that large numbers of contractorsare actually foreign nationals.

Despite the high levels of corruption,waste, mismanagement, and fraudby military contractors in Iraq andAfghanistan, the U.S. governmentcontinues to shield them, resistingany attempts at greater oversight oraccountability. War, after all, has becomea huge money-making venture, and

America, with its vast military empire,is one of its best customers. Indeed, theAmerican military-industrial complexhas erected an empire unsurpassed inhistory in its breadth and scope anddedicated to conducting perpetualwarfare throughout the world.

What most Americans fail torecognize is that these ongoing warshave little to do with keeping thecountry safe and everything to do

with enriching the military-industrialcomplex at taxpayer expense. Its themilitary-industrial complex (the illicitmerger of the armaments industry andthe government) that President DwightD. Eisenhower warned us against morethan 50 years ago and has come torepresent perhaps the greatest threat tothe nations fragile infrastructure today.

Unfortunately, Americans have beeninculcated with a false, misplaced sense

of patriotism about the military thatequates devotion to ones country withsupporting the war machine so that anymention of cutting back on the massivedefense budget is immediately met withoutrage. Yet the military-industrialcomplex is engaged in a deadly game,one that all presidents, includingObama, foster. And the consequences,as Eisenhower recognized, are grave:Every gun that is made, every warshiplaunched, every rocket fired signifies, inthe final sense, a theft from those whohunger and are not fed, those who arecold and are not clothed. This world inarms is not spending money alone. It isspending the sweat of its laborers, thegenius of its scientists, the hopes of itschildren. ... This is not a way of life atall, in any true sense. Under the cloud ofthreatening war, it is humanity hangingfrom a cross of iron.

Constitutional attorney and author JohnW. Whitehead is founder and president ofThe Rutherford Institute Rutherford.org).His book The Freedom Wars is availableat Amazon.com.

The U.S. employs

at a minimum one

contractor to support

every soldier deployed

to Afghanistan and

Iraq.


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Terry Branstads Education Proposal Aims to Be Palatable to Varied Legislators and Interests. Theyre Open to Reform but Leery.

No Poison Apple?

by Jeff Ignatius

[email protected]

Meaningul education reorm isalways raught with political peril.By deinition, it challenges the

status quo. here are also disparate vestedinterests rom teacher unions to parents toschool administrators, districts, and boards.Depending on the approach, reorm can beonerous on schools, teachers, or taxpayers(or all three). And, o course, children andtheir utures are at stake, and by extension sois the long-term health o the state itsel.

So education reorm is inherently diicult.Consensus education-reorm is even morechallenging, but that hasnt stopped theadministration o Iowa Governor erryBranstad rom trying. Even with Democratscontrolling the state Senate, the Republicangovernor is trying to get his 26-elementeducation-reorm package through thelegislature this year.

he inal proposal was unveiled January6, and the drat legislation ollowed on

January 11. It has three thrusts: greatteachers and leaders, high expectations andair measures, and innovation. In broadterms, the proposal aims to: improve thequality o classroom teachers (increasingselectivity, allowing nontraditional pathwaysinto the teaching proession, and givingschool districts more lexibility in personneldecisions); evaluate student progress moreconsistently and add new requirements such as third-grade reading proiciencyand end-o-course exams or high-schoolstudents; and remove barriers to neweducational approaches. (See sidebar.)

Jason E. Glass, the director o the IowaDepartment o Education, told the RiverCities Readerlast week that some education-reorm eorts add too many requirementswithout the unding to meet them. Othersincrease unding without accountability.With this proposal, were trying to get tothe right balance o pressures and supports,he said.

he proposal has a irst-year price tag o$25 million, $17 million o which would benew money coming rom the states general

und. (he remainder would be redirected

existing education unding.) hats a minorincrease compared to the Fiscal Year 2012

K-12 state unding level o almost $2.8 billion

(according to the Iowa Policy Project), butGlass said education unding would likely

increase in the coming years although thats

not discussed in Branstads inal proposal. My

expectation would be that this $25 million ...would be a starting point, and I would expect

to see us build on that expenditure over thenext several years, he said.

He conceded that several elements oBranstads plan could result in increased

costs at the local level that might not beully oset by the proposals increased stateunding or school districts. He cited threecomponents: the kindergarten-through-third-grade literacy program (unded at$10 million in Branstads proposal), theshit to annual teacher and administratorevaluations (rom the current every-three-years model), and the optionalSchool Administration Managementprogram (which rees up principals to

ocus on instruction rather than buildingmanagement).

But he also said several elements o theplan could reduce costs to districts, such asthe state paying or all 11th-graders to takecollege-entrance exams.

Glass said that any reorm eort should bejudged in a decade on a number o actors:whether Iowas educational system is againheld in global high regard, whether Iowastudents are getting into top colleges and

top jobs, and whether the states educationalsystem brings jobs and businesses to thestate. On a quantitative level, he said,Iowa ninth-graders should score as wellon the Programme or InternationalStudent Assessment test as students in thenations and the worlds top school systems Massachusetts, Canada, Singapore, SouthKorea, Finland. hat test is one componento the governors proposal.

he ultimate goal is to reverse a 20-yeartrend. As a document prepared or lastyears Iowa Education Summit noted, on theNational Assessment o Education Progresstests or reading (in ourth grade) andmath (in eighth grade), Iowa has movedrom being a national leader to the nationalaverage, partly due to declining results butlargely because o gains made in other states.... Iowa has remained stagnant while mucho the nation is moving ahead. he state wasin the bottom three in the country on thechange in its test scores in both areas rom

2003 to 2009.

Poison Pillsand Radioactivity

A blueprint for Branstads plan wasreleased in October and emphasizedthat it was not a list of options to becherry-picked based on special interests,ideology, political affiliation, or whetherone is within or outside of the education

profession. ... Lasting and meaningfulchange requires this sort of commitmentand transformation.

That suggests an all-or-nothing rigidity,

COVER STORY

Governor Terry Branstads education-

reorm proposal contains 26 componentsin three basic areas. Below are short sum-

maries o each element.

A PDF o the proposal can be ound atRCReader.com/y/edproposal. A PDF o the

legislation Senate Study Bill 3009 and

House Study Bill 517 as introduced can

be ound at RCReader.com/y/3009.

Section I: GreatTeachers and Leaders

1) Iowa Education Job Clearing-

house. Establishes a statewide Web-

based education employment system

where every public preK-12 educationjob in the state is posted and applicants

complete one application.

2) Improving Teacher PreparationProgram Selectivity and Student Teach-

ing. Include[s] raising standards or entry

into teacher-preparation programs toinclude having at least a 3.0 cumulative

college GPA and passing a pre-proes-

sional skills test in the top 75 percentnationally.

3) Alternative Pathways into the Edu-

cation Profession.Includes wideningalternative pathways to allow teachers,

principals, and superintendents to comeinto the proession rom non-traditionalpathways. Quality is paramount, so the

same GPA and assessment requirements

o the traditional pathway also wouldbe required o alternative pathways.

Candidates in alternative routes would be

required to undergo training in teachingor administration and have practical expe-

rience under a mentor beore gaining ull

licensure status.4) Bringing Educator Licensure into

the Iowa Department of Education.

Moving licensure [rom the Iowa Board oEducational Examiners] into the Depart-

ment o Education, where a new internal

structure will be created ocusing oneducator eectiveness.

5) Educator Evaluation.Calls or all

teachers and administrators to be evalu-ated at least annually, rather than the

every-three-years model we have in place

now or non-probationary educators. The

proposal ormally creates a standing taskorce to continually improve the evalua-

tion systems or educators and calls orthe state to build uniorm systems o

evaluation with supporting electronic

data-collection programs.

6) Extending Teacher and Admin-

istrator Probationary Status to Five

Years. Giving schools more time to make

a good judgment about whether a personis going to be an eective educator beore

additional job protections are provided.

7) Educator Non-Renewal and

Dismissal.Would have probationaryeducators (in their irst ive years) who are

under-perorming be subject to contractnonrenewal at the end o any school year.

For non-probationary educators (sixth

year and thereater) who are under-perorming and any educator being

dismissed or good cause, this proposal

calls or the school board to make a de-termination on terminating an educators

contract based on the employees annual

evaluation or other evidence. One outsideadjudicator review would be allowed to

make sure the employee was evaluated

airly and provided due process in theevaluation and nonrenewal process.

8) Ending Seniority-Based or Last-

In-First-Out Layoffs. Would require thatperormance be the primary determinant

in making layo decisions. While seniority

could be considered as part o the deci-sion, it would be secondary to employee

perormance and needs o the school

district.9) School Administration Manager

Program. Helps give principals the time

to ocus on instruction by delegatingsome time-consuming tasks o building

management to other sta members.

10) Strategically Aligning Profes-

sional Development. Would have the

Department o Education annually target

areas or proessional development basedon state needs and direction.

11) A Task Force on Teacher Lead-ership and Compensation. Asks thelegislature to create a state task orce to

study these important issues and to make

recommendations in time or the 2013legislative session.

Section II: High Expecta-tions and Fair Measures

12) Continuing and Expanding the

Work of the Iowa Core. A tightly alignededucation system should have consisten-cy rom the standards to the curriculum

and in the assessments.

Whats in Branstads Proposal?

Continued On Page 17Continued On Page 16


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21 program at the Figge, Lau says theirrepertoire that evening will include thewidest variety of pieces that work welltogether, and with quite a bit of moderneffects. I think people might be expectingreally pretty, laid-back, slow pieces, butactually, these pieces are quite exciting.

As the Chicagoans explain in a recent

phone interview, the flutist and harpistfirst met when Hong Kong native Laujoined the Quad City Symphony in 2006,four years after Huntingtons debut in theorchestra.

But the reason we started playingtogether, says Huntington, is thatI was working on my doctorate atNorthwestern, and there were a coupleof pieces I wanted to do with the harp.Lillian also has a background as apercussionist, and I think she plays withreally great rhythm, so we got togetherto play them. And we worked so welltogether that we thought wed make it abit more of a regular thing, instead of justgetting together once in a while to play apiece.

Once we started our ensemble, saysLau, Ellen discovered this big list ofrepertoire, and we would get togetherand go through the music, and see whatworked for us what we thought would

be interesting for an audience, and funto play, and challengingto play. I mean,were constantly discovering new music.

Their partnership led to the LyrebirdEnsemble playing in, among other

events, the Lincoln Park

Cultural Centers UnusualClassical Delights concert,the Wisconsin Flute Festival,and the national conferenceof the American Harp Society.Yet while their repertoireextended through centuries ofcompositions, what Huntingtonand Lau found they respondedto most were works composedbetween 1890 and the presentday, 14 of which eventuallywound up on Taking Flight.

Flute and harp actually playtogether a lot, says Huntington.Theres some majorrepertoire

for those two instruments together. Andwhat we really liked [about the 1890-to-the-present era] were that a lot ofthe pieces were very melodic, and hadelements of nature the pieces wereeither inspired by nature or evokednatural sounds. Theres one piece by a

New Zealand composer [Gareth Farr]which is all about waterfalls. And anotherone is called The Seaside Reflection.

And also, adds Lau, most of thesepieces, it turns out, havent been recordedmuch, and some of them are newlydiscovered. So in that way, we think wehave something really special to offer.

Several of these Taking Flightinclusions will be performed in theLyrebird Ensembles Figge concert,

which will be held in the gallery housingthe museums new traveling exhibit ofchildrens book art, titled Fins & Feathers.

When I heard that this concert wouldbe at the Figge museum, says Lau, I wasreally excited. Of course, were used toperforming on a stage. But I think beingin a gallery just being surrounded byart, and having the audience so closeinstead of being so far away will make itmore interesting for the audience.

And since, with our CD, we have somany pieces that are inspired by nature,adds Huntington, we thought we couldmaybe enhance the Fins & Feathers

Vol. 19 No. 9January 19 - February 1, 01

River Cities Reader532 W. 3rd St.

Davenport IA 52801

RiverCitiesReader.com

(563)324-0049 (phone)

(563)323-3101 (fax)

[email protected]

Publishing since 1993

The River Cities Readeris an independent newspaper

published every other Thursday, and available free

throughout the Quad Cities and surrounding areas.

2012 River Cities Reader

AD DEADLINE:5 p.m. Wednesday prior to publication

PUBLISHERTodd McGreevy

EDITORKathleen McCarthy

EDITORIALManaging Editor: Jeff Ignatius [email protected]

Arts Editor, Calendar Editor: Mike Schulz [email protected]

Contributing Writers: Amy Alkon, Rob Brezsny, Lynn Campbell,

Michelle Garrison, Rich Miller, Bruce Walters, Thom White

ADVERTISINGAccount Executive:

Jason Farrell [email protected] Patrick - [email protected]

Advertising Coordinator: Nathan Klaus

Advertising rates, publishing schedule, demographics,and more are available at

QCAdvertising.com

DESIGN/PRODUCTIONArt Director, Production Manager: Shawn Eldridge

[email protected] Artist: Nathan Klaus [email protected]

Production Intern:Corey Wieckhorst

ADMINISTRATIONBusiness Manager: Kathleen McCarthy

Office Administrator, Classifieds Manager, Circulation Manager:Rick Martin [email protected]

Distribution: William Cook, Cheri DeLay, Greg FitzPatrick,Tyler Gibson, Daniel Levsen, J.K. Martin, Jay Strickland

N

ot long after meeting

through their participa-tion in the Quad CitySymphony Orchestra, secondflutist Ellen Huntington andprincipal harpist Lillian Laudecided to form their own two-person ensemble. Yet while theyknew they had more than enoughflute-and-harp repertoire to sus-tain a professional partnership,what they didnt have was a name.

We were looking forsomething that kind of broughtout the flute andthe harp, saysHuntington. And the sound ofthe flute is often associated witha bird, and a predecessor of the harpwas the lyre, and we discovered theresactually a real bird called the lyrebird, sowe thought that was perfect.

The lyrebird, she continues, is anAustralian bird thats said to be able toimitate any sound it hears. Actually,

if you go on the Internet, you can seevideos of it imitating, like, a camera anda chainsaw.

Needless to say, the sounds createdby Huntingtons and Laus LyrebirdEnsemble which will perform ina January 21 concert at the FiggeArt Museum are nowhere near asuncharacteristic as the rev of a chainsawemanating from a bird. But for thoseanticipating merely sedate, lulling

chamber music from this flute and harpcombo, what Huntington and Lau insteaddeliver might prove just as surprising.

Reviewing the Lyrebird Ensembles2010 debut CD Taking Flight: Musicfor Flute & Harp, a compilation ofcompositions from the modern era,Flutist Quarterly raved, These pieces,while intricate and well-developedfrom a musicians standpoint, are alsoincredibly fun to listen to, and such a

treat to discover. Rendered so beautifullyby the Lyrebird Ensembles virtuosic,spirited playing, I am left wanting more,and thrilled by the possibility of learningmore through their ears.

And describing the musicians January

The Lyrebird Ensemble, January 21 at the Figge Art Museum

Symphony Spin-Off

by Mike Schulz

[email protected]

MUSIC

Continued On Page 19

Ellen Huntington Lillian Lau


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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 9Business Politics Arts Culture Now You Know RiverCitiesReader.com

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THE IRON LADYIts hardly a newsflash that over the

past several years well,forever, really Meryl Streep has treated us to a run

of extraordinary performances, andher Margaret Thatcher in the screenbiographyThe Iron Lady is one of the

most extraordinary of them all. Yetthe vexing question regarding Streepsindelible work of late isnt How doesshe keep doing it? Its How does shekeep doing it with so little help from herdirectors?

You might easily be knocked out by theactress transformation during Thatchersyears in parliament and as the newlyelected British prime minister, because

Streep, as usual, gets the externals almoststunningly right: the accent, the vocal

cadences, the physicality, the eyes thatpop with impassioned self-righteousnessand ideological zealotry. Those scenes are

nothing, however, compared with Streepschanneling of Thatcher during the earlystages of dementia; with the aid of somerather jaw-dropping aging makeup, this

miraculous performer gives what mightbe the definitive cinematic portrait of anintensely intelligent senior at war withfailing mental health. (The sequence inwhich Thatcher quietly dresses down her

physician arguing for her sanity whilethe truth is heartbreakingly apparent toboth of them makes you want to sobandapplaud.) Clearly, a performance

this inspired doesnt happen in avacuum, and director Phyllida Lloyd isto be commended for giving Streep thebreathing room required to deliver sucha rich, nuanced, thrillingly entertaining

portrayal.Its nearly

everything else that

Lloyd manages tomuck up. Workingfrom Abi Morgansdishearteningly

blithe, greatest-hits

screenplay, TheIron Ladys helmerseems colossallyuninterested in the

complexities behind Thatchers rise to powerand professional tenure and the heated socialclimate of her day; generic sexism leads togeneric approval leads to generic street riots.

(We actually learn more about Thatcherspolitical career in one 30-second TV-news

voice-over here than in the whole of themovies dialogue.) And sadly, the experience

is tarnished further by Morgans unfortunatedecision to have the elder Thatcher engagein frequent, imagined conversations withher late husband Denis, whose momentum-stalling appearances mightve been touching

if Lloyd hadnt directed Jim Broadbent tobe so insufferably adorable. Vacillatingbetween traditional bio-pic blandness andoverstaged hysteria, and with the films everysubtle moment and nicely low-key portrayal

(including Olivia Colmans as the Thatchersdaughter Carol) matched by obvious, arm-twisting ones, Lloyd seems unable to finda consistent tone, and I came to resent the

movie for not coming closeto the greatnessof its lead. Thankfully, unlike with theachingly forced whimsy of LloydsMamma

Mia!, The Iron Lady isnt at all damaging toStreep. But it might be time for her to take

a breather from star vehicles that are barelyrecommendable beyondtheir star, before

Streeps unofficialmoniker is switchedfrom Americas

Greatest LivingActress to AmericasGreatest LivingActress in Movies

Fundamentally

Unworthy of Her.

CONTRABANDo derive much pleasure rom the action

thriller Contraband, its best to enter withlow expectations which, given the moviesJanuary release, orgettable title, and posterimage o a typically grim-aced MarkWahlberg holding a gun, probably shouldnt

be a problem. Yet in a happy surprise, directorBaltasar Kormkurs Cajun-cooked outingis a more-than-air amount o disreputableun. With amily loyalties orcing Wahlbergsreormed smuggler to carry out the heist omillions in countereit bills, theres little hereyou havent seen in dozens o ilms just likeit; everything rom the shoot-outs to theshocking character reversals to the increasing

victimization o Wahlbergs wie (a miscast butappealing Kate Beckinsale) eels like a hand-me-down rom decades o scuzzy B movies.

(Giovanni Ribisi, playing a heavily tattooedcreep with a nasal New Orleans squawk,and squeezing his acial muscles to resembleBrandos Don Corleone with that orange rindin his mouth, appears to be going or B-movieimmortality here. He ails.) Still, Kormkurstages Contrabands numerousgetaways andclose calls with vitality and visual wit, andWahlberg in a rereshing change rom his

recent action-stud portrayals appears tobe having an absolute blast. Not long aterre-entering his lie o crime, Wahlbergsthie is told by an ally that he looks ecstaticabout the crime hes supposedly committingagainst his will. Is it that obvious? repliesWahlberg with a 100-kilowatt grin. Yes,

Mark, it is. Thank you.

JOYFUL NOISEImagine The Blind Side redesigned

as a super-sized episode oGlee. hatsJoyful Noise, writer/director odd Grasinspirational musical dramedy about a

Southern gospel choir seeking a nationalchampionship, and the amily struggleso the choirs warring ringleaders. Haveyou run screaming yet? I so, its hard toblame you; the movie is shamelessly trite,

manipulative, and pandering. Its also,every once in a while, an example o howlittle that matters when a movies musicalnumbers are illed with so much legitimate

exhilaration and spirit. You can hateJoyfulNoise or all sorts o perectly valid reasons.But when Queen Latiah delivers a deeplysoulul version o Fix Me Jesus, or DollyParton (despite now resembling something

that shouldve been operated by WaylandFlowers) perorms a tender duet with KrisKristoerson, or Keke Palmer shakes the

raters with her glorious wailing, or aew brie moments, you dont want to beanywhere else. Sing it, sisters!

For reviews ofCarnage and other current

releases, visit RCReader.com.

Follow Mike on Twitter at Twitter.com/MikeSchulzNow.

by Mike Schulz [email protected] Mike Schulz [email protected]

Listen to Mike every Friday at 9am on ROCK 109 FM with Dave & Darren

Movie Reviews by Mike Schulz [email protected]

Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady

Meryl Marky Mark Melee


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doesnt always blend well.And while Carter mostly beneits rom her

sincerity, David Bryant Johnsons Danny suers

rom a lack o it. he actor delivers all the rightmoves, tics, and vocal inlections, but theydont seem motivated beyond this is the wayIm supposedto do this. here isnt a sense ospontaneity to his Danny; its as i hes inserting

his lines where appropriate instead o oeringgenuine reactions to his cues. Johnson is quite

impressive during his solo number Alone atthe Drive-in Movie, but thats likely because

hes alone, and we arent witnessing practicedresponses to his castmates.(On January 22, Johnson was

replaced by actor Aaron Alan.)

Still, there are some

excellent moments in Circa21s production, includinga pleasing sense o sororityamong the actresses playing

the Pink Ladies and, though

to a lesser degree, a inecamaraderie evident among theBurger Palace Boys (the stage

versions name or the movies

-Birds). Andy Pollock andJennier Ambler shine in theirperormance o Mooning;with humor courtesy o the

songs double-entendres, the sweet romanceo the loving lyrics comes through clearly inthe chemistry between the two. Pollock alsoshares some beautiul harmonies with Matthew

Wiggins Doody on Rock N Roll Party Queen,which just or the chance to see more o theseactors impressive work had me wishing thetwo characters had bigger presences in the show.

For some o the other numbers, though,a aster tempo on the scores tracks wouldve

added energy to the perormances. Mostnotably, Elizabeth Flemming wouldve beneitedrom a aster-paced, punchier Look at Me, ImSandra Dee, as her Rizzo seems held back bythe slow speed o the teasingly mean-spirited

song. Flemming would also beneit rom

adding at least one more layer to her character,perhaps a tortured resentment behind her toughexterior; as is, Rizzo is just a rebellious teen

popping o derogatory quips, making it morediicult to eel or her when shes strugglingwith a possible pregnancy and exposing herinternal pain in here Are Worse hings ICould Do.

While Circa 21sGrease doesnt exceed

expectations, it is, at least, a reasonable replay

o the much-loved musical, particularly or the

memorable songs. Perhaps with a ew more

perormances under its belt, the cast will come

into its own, making or a stronger show.

For tickets and information, call 309)786-7733

extension 2 or visit Circa21.com.

Iadore the movie version oGrease, and think

its one o the ew musicals in which the ilm is

an improvement on the original stage version.

he theatrical musical is less cohesive in terms o

the timelimes low, orcing the audience to ill in

the gaps between scenes, and I kind o hate that

about it unless a stage production transcends the

scripts weakness, in which case, like the movie,

I love it. However, while I did not hate Fridays

perormance oGrease at the Circa 21 Dinner

Playhouse, I didnt exactly love it, either.Director/choreographer Ann Neimans

production, with its notably amusing dancenumbers, isnt bad. But theshow is an unsurprising and, toa certain degree, schizophrenicone. Its hard to ind anyone,

I imagine, who isnt amiliarwith the story o the RydellHigh School class o 1959, withits ocus on the relationship o

Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny

Zuko set against a backdrop ogreasers versus goody-goodies.Neimans cast, unortunately,oers a mixture o sincerity

and caricature in this tellingo the tale, and while eitherchoice would work individually,together they weaken the

overall eel o the piece.Because oGreases nostalgic elements, it can

be appropriate or them to be played up, withthe characters turned into enjoyable one-note

stereotypes. And among Neimans cast, ristanLayne apscott brings Eugene to lie as theexpected, nasally dork we all love; Liz J. MilleasPatty Simcox is an always-smiling goody-two-shoes; Kelly Anna Lohrenz shades her Cha

Cha DiGregorio with unorgettable naughtyun (showcasing especially smart choices whenlirting with Eugene in the background), and Idont think Andrea Moores Miss Lynch could beany more prudishly authoritarian. (While Moore

is good in the role, her most clever momentcame with her in-character announcement o

the reception ollowing Fridays opening-nightperormance, which, unortunately, will not be

repeated during the rest o the shows run.)Yet while some o the actors play their

characters deining traits to great eect, othersattempt more realistic approaches, whichsometimes works, but creates a constant contrastthat proves problematic. Lisa Carters Sandy, or

instance, exudes a believable sweetness in herinnocent inatuation with Danny. Its beautiulwork, but would workbetteri the goals oNeimans production were to turn the greasers

into realistic characters, and deliver a nuanced,multi-layered exploration o love in the midsto social dierences. hose dont seem to beintended eorts in Neimans show, though, sowere let with a mix o silly and serious that

Kind of Smooth, Kind of StickyGrease, at the Circa 21 Dinner Playhouse through March 3

By Thom WhiteTHEATRE

David Bryant Johnson and

Lisa Carter


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talent, but leaves her mark with the ew minutes

shes on stage. (he same is true o Pat Flaherty

one o the most impressive actors in the Quad

Cities whose minutes in the spotlight here I

could probably count on one hand.) And Ami

Leichsenrings chie strength is the eortlessness

in her portrayal o Annes best riend, Diana

Barry.

Karen Decker easily holds her own opposite

Crumbleholme, her Marilla still possessing that

motherly authority edged with loving patience,wisdom, and subtlety that made her, in the same

role, a much welcome

addition to 2008s cast.

However, not even

she can prevent Ben

Klocke rom stealing

scenes. As Davy Keith,

one o the twins that

Marilla and Anne take

into their home or a

spell, Klocke outdoeshis ellow actors with

his explosive delivery

and humorous

bravado. Deckers

Marilla describes Davy as a demon, and shes

right, although Klockes moxie makes it hard not

to adore this little devil o a child. Yet Decker

and Klocke also share beautiul chemistry,

particularly when Davy describes a conversation

he had with his mother on the day beore her

death. he scene is dripping with tenderness,

and the connection between the two actors is

so strong that its hard not to love both o them

through their love or each other.

I could also go on and on about Weeks

graceul staging, and the multitude o moments

that had me smiling rom ear to ear. here are

the hints o humor hints about to bust out

in ull orce behind every line Alec Peterson

delivers as Dianas love interest Fred Wright.

heres the realism o costume designer Michelle

Heatons wardrobe choice or Anne, as i it were a

dress actually purchased in an early-1900s storerather than a itted costume created or the run o

a show. Sara Lauers lighting eects shit between

scenes with a grace similar to Weeks overall

eort. And I cant orget irst-grader Xavier

Potts Paul Irving, a student o Annes whose

pint-sized presence is completely endearing.

Oh, and Noah Kellys brat o a student, Anthony

Pye, whose sweet shit to a respect or Anne

deserves a mention. I only I werent inching up

on my word-limit, Id also applaud ... pretty much

everythingabout Saturday nights perormance oAnne of Avonlea.

For tickets and information, call (309)762-0330 or

visit Playcrafters.com.

Sydney Crumbleholme is maturing. Not

only is she physically more mature than

the impressive young acting prodigy

I ondly recall rom the Playcraters Barn

heatresAnne of Green Gables our years ago,

shes also much more skilled as an actress and

that much more is particularly impressive

considering that Crumbleholmes previous work

was astounding, particularly or her age. In her

return to the title role o Playcraters current

production,Anne of Avonlea, Crumbleholmeshows distinct growth as an actress, showcasing

knacks or nuance and

subtlety. She alone is

worth the money and

time spent seeing the

show.

Yet she isntalone.

So much worked so

well in Donna Weeks

original endeavor

that the director waswise to bring back

several o her 2008

cast members or this

sequel. And while I

would say playwright Joseph Robinettes script

descends into silliness, especially relative to the

irst play (and especially regarding the parrot

thats a little more luent in human speech than

I think parrots are capable o being), Weeks

latest executes the storys charm perectly, with a

luid pace appropriate to the simpler liestyle o

early-1900s Avonlea on Canadas Prince Edward

Island.

Anne of Avonlea continues the story o the

girl who seems to me to be the Canadian Laura

Ingalls Wilder. Here, Anne has graduated school

and has her sights set on a college scholarship.

However, a health problem with her adopted

mother, Marilla, changes those plans, orcing

Anne to stay home and attempt to raise enough

money, as a schoolteacher, to prevent Green

Gables rom being sold.

Like Weeks 2008 production, this pieceeatures many notable perormances, with 26

actors all o them deserving accolades I dont

have space enough to give taking the stage

throughout the evening. Playing the younger

Anne in lashback, Katie Moore channels the

precociousness and conidence that marked

Crumbleholmes perormance our years ago.

Cayte Rivera tackles no less than three roles,

and manages to make them so distinct that I

had to check the program to be sure it was the

same actress in each. Anna unnicli, anotherperormance prodigy I irst noticed on the

Playcraters stage (in 2009s The Childrens

Hour)and havent seen a weak showing rom

since, is under-utilitzed given her remarkable

The Gables Are Always Greener Anne of Avonlea, at the Playcrafters Barn Theatre through January 22

By Thom WhiteTHEATRE

Sydney Crumbleholme and Ben Klocke

Australias No. 1 magician,James Galea, will mix magicand stand-up comedy.

Saturday, Jan. 28, at 8 p.m.

Augustana College,Centennial Hall, Rock Island

Tickets: $8 general public

To order tickets, go towww.augustana.edu/ticketsor call (309) 794-7306.

MagicTHE

JAMES

GALEA

of

This magician I think you willLOVE, LOVE, LOVE Hes not likeother magicians. Hes notcreepy.

Ellen DeGeneres


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Predicting the 2012 Academy Award Nominees

by Mike Schulz

[email protected]

A

nother year; another set of Mikes

sure-to-be-off-the-mark-with-at-least-a-couple-choices-in-just-about-every-category Oscar predictions!

The following are my best guesses forthe 2012 Academy Award nominations subject to change within minutes ofpublication which will be announcedon the morning of Tuesday, January24. (The ceremony will be held on theevening of Sunday, February 26.)

Best PictureThe ArtistThe DescendantsThe Girl with the Dragon TattooThe HelpHugoMidnight in ParisMoneyball

As youve likely heard, in yet anotherdesperate attempt to keep the Oscarrace fresh and vital, the Academyhas decreed that this year will see five

to 10 nominees in the Best Picturecategory, with films needing to secureat least 5 percent of first-place rankingson voters ballots or roughly 250number-one votes to make the lineup.(Theoretically, this should mean thatas many as 20 movies could make thelineup, but lets hope Academy officialsdont figure that out, or theyll justchange the damned rules again.) Withthat in mind, Im banking on seven

contenders in this category ... and am alittle worried that there might only besix.

The Artist, The Descendants, andMidnight in Paris have all been short-listed by the five most reliable indicatorsof Best Picture heat: the ProducersGuild of America (PGA), DirectorsGuild of America (DGA), and ScreenActors Guild (SAG) Awards, the CriticsChoice Awards (CCA), and the GoldenGlobes. So theyre in. The Helps TateTaylormissed with the DGA, whichwasnt very surprising, and Hugo wasntcited for SAGs Best Ensemble prize,which also wasnt surprising, so theyfeel safe, too. Dragon Tattoo is a really

late-bloomer, having been excluded

from top contention in DecembersSAG-, CCA-, andGlobe-nominationannouncements. But a January surgefrom the producers and directors (andwriters and cinematographers and artdirectors ...) guilds makes it a likelychoice. Meanwhile, I should be feelingmore confident about the PGA-, CCA-,and Globe-nominatedMoneyball, butthe lack of a DGA nod for BennettMiller stings a bit; Im going to predict,and hope, that overall affection for thefilm and for the SAG-cited Brad Pittand Jonah Hill carries it through.

And that, I think, is where this BestPicture train stops. Once upon a time, Iwouldve thought that given the intenseadmiration it elicits among die-hardfans, finding 250 voters willing to placeThe Tree of Life at the top of their ballotswouldnt be all that difficult. Given themovies near-complete dissing by theprecursors, with the PGA even unable

to find room for it among a roster of10 titles, I may have been wrong aboutthat. War Horse is the anti-DragonTattoo,a movie that started strong(with PGA, CCA, and Globe nods)but eventually wilted so badly that notonly was Steven Spielberg denied DGArecognition, but the movie was alsodissed by the writing, art-direction,and cinematography guilds. As forBridesmaids , nominated by the PGA,

SAG, and Globes, it wouldve made foran enjoyable 10th inclusion in the pastcouple of Oscar races but will probablyhave to remain content with its happilysurprising precursor run. With Globeand PGA nominee The Ides of Marchthe only other mildly conceivablecontender here, your Best Picture lineupis no doubt somewhere amidst theaforementioned titles. Many apologiesto all of the incredibly patient Harry

Potter fans out there; it aint gonnahappen this year, either.

Best DirectorWoody Allen,Midnight in ParisDavid Fincher, The Girl with the

Dragon TattooMichel Hazanavicius, The ArtistTerrence Malick, The Tree of LifeMartin Scorsese, Hugo

So heres the thing: Given his films

scope, its ambition, the degree towhich he pulled it off, and his statusas a living legend among directors, Idont see how Malick misses in thiscategory. Even his being ignored by the

DGA isnt necessarily a deal-breaker;when the Academys directors branchveers from the guilds choices, theynearly always go with the directors ofchallenging, edgy, oftentimes polarizingworks with passionate fan bases butminimal support in other categories. Inthe last decade alone, Oscar nomineeswithout an accompanying DGA citationinclude David Lynch forMullhollandDr., Pedro Almodvar for Talk to Her,Fernando Meirelles for City of God, PaulGreengrass for United 93, and JulianSchnabel for The Diving Bell & theButterfly, and Malick and Tree of Lifewould seem to fit that assemblage toperfection.

But heres the otherthing: Among thefive directors who were short-listed bythe DGA, whose place does he usurp?With his film the current Best Picturefront-runner and himself the likely BestDirector victor, Hazanavicius seems a

done deal. Scorsese will be rewarded forHugos technical brilliance and artfulargument for film preservation (way toplay to your base, Marty!), and in caseyou hadnt noticed, 2011 was Woodyslatest comeback year (did you catch thatincredible, two-partAmerican Mastersbio on PBS?), so chalk up a seventh BestDirector nod for each of them. FinchersDGA recognition was a tad surprising,but Dragon Tattoos increasing precursor

strength bodes well for him, as does Iwould hope the residual guilt felt forhis losing last years Best Director Oscarfor The Social Network.

So my guess is that Malick willinstead steal a spot from the DGAs fifthcontender, The Descendants AlexanderPayne. I fully concede that this might

just be my anti-Descendants bias talking,as Payne hasnt yet missed a singleprecursor nod, and his latest outing

is enormously well-regarded. But ashes guaranteed a nomination for themovies screenplay, does Payne reallyneed another one here, especially whenhis direction isnt noticeably stronger

and, in my humble opinion, is actually

a good deal weaker than Malicks?Plus, lets not forget the rather shockingomission ofInceptions ChristopherNolan last year; unpredictable dissingshappen all the time in this category.Im going out on a major limb (punintended) and saying Tree of Life overDescendants , although Id love to see

Moneyballs Bennett Miller and DrivesNicolas Winding Refn awarded therecognition they deserve and likelywont receive. Oh, and as for the chancesof Steven Spielberg? Insert the lame-or wounded-horse metaphor of yourchoice.

Best ActorGeorge Clooney, The DescendantsLeonardo DiCaprio,J. EdgarJean Dujardin, The ArtistBrad Pitt,MoneyballMichael Shannon, Take Shelter

Im hardly one for statistical analysis,

even though I am working on it throughincessant repeat viewings ofMoneyball.So lets just say that the percentage ofperformers who earn SAG, CCA, andGlobe nominations and then dontgoon to earn Oscar nominations is really,really low. (Over the past five years,its only happened to The DepartedsLeonardo DiCaprio,A Mighty HeartsAngelina Jolie, Lars & the Real GirlsRyan Gosling, and Black Swans Mila

Kunis.) I consequently feel incrediblysecure about predicting citations forClooney, Dujardin, and Pitt, the latterof whom seems more and more assuredof an eventual victory. DiCaprio alsonabbed the precursor trifecta, but

J. Edgars middling reception putshim on shakier ground; I think hellstill make the cut for fine, decade-crossing work under occasionallytrying circumstances, for his braveryin playing a (maybe) gay historicalfigure, and for delivering so manyrecent performances in The Departed,Revolutionary Road, Shutter Island, andInception for which he was probably


MOVIES

Jean Dujardin and Brnice Bejo inThe Artist

Woody Allen directs Marion Cotillard and

Owen Wilson in Midnight in Paris

Michael Shannon in Take Shelter


14/28


ExhibitFins & FeathersFigge Art Museum

Saturday, January 21,

through Sunday, April 22

On display fromJanuary 21 through April 22,

the newest touring exhibition at the

Figge Art Museum is Fins & Feathers:Childrens Book Illustrations from theEric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art.As its title suggests, the exhibit willcelebrate the colorful and creative imagesthat accompany many beloved literaryofferings, including, according to theFigges Web site, stories of a turtles questto find a new home, a chameleon whodreams of being like other animals, andthe adventures of a chickens beachtowel.

Man, if I had a nickel for every bookIve read about the adventures of achickens beach towel ... . Are there nonew ideas in childrens lit?!?

Seriously, though, this special showingof 43 original illustrations from the late19th Century through the present daywill no doubt be an informative, visuallyabsorbing treat for young readers andtheir adult chaperones. Showcasing awide variety of techniques among

them colored pencil, watercolor, and

painted-tissue collage employed tohelp transform funny and touchingparables into true works of art, thisfamily-friendly exhibition will introducemuseum guests to a host of memorablefish, birds, and other creatures designedto spark readers imaginations. Perhapsyou, or your kids, are already acquaintedwith some of them?

Try matching the illustrators abovewith their works on display in Fins &Feathers.

For more information on Fins &Feathers: Childrens Book Illustrationsfrom the Eric Carle Museum of PictureBook Art, call (563)326-7804 or visit

FiggeArtMuseum.com

Whats HappeninComedyPimprovCirca 21 Speakeasy

Saturday, January 28, 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Heres a stumper: Based solely on theaccompanying photo, what would you guessare the proessions o the our gentlemen pictured?

Wow thats right! One is a police oicer, oneis a ireman, one is a computer technician, and

one is a community coordinator or a Head Startprogram! Nicely done!

O course, those are just their day jobs. By night,this quartet Mark Bratton, Jonathan Keaton,Keith Smitherman, and Marz imms donssuiciently garish wardrobes or their roles asHoLease, Poochie, Grand Finale, and imepiece,

the ber-wild characters in

the acclaimed comedy troupePimprov. Appearing locallyin two January 28 shows atthe Circa 21 Speakeasy, thisChicago-based ensemblepromises an evening oimprovisational sketch comedyas memorable as it is hilarious.Or, in the words oNow Magazine Toronto,holarious.

Pimprovs setup inds its perormers playinggold-chain-laden alter egos, our Windy City ahem businessmen who wound up accidentaltaking Second City improv classes. Consequentlthey ormed a hardcore comedy team eager toshow o their newound skills through improvissketches and audience participation i they caonly stay in character long enough to do so.

In short, Pimprov inds actors playing pimps

TheatreGuys on Ice: An Ice-FishingMusical ComedyRiverside Theatre

Friday, January 20, through Sunday,

February 19

The latest production atRiverside Theatre is Guys

on Ice: An Ice-Fishing MusicalComedy, it runs at the Iowa

City venue January 20 throughFebruary 19, and its described atFolkloreTheatre.com as a kind ofWaiting for Godotwith regionalaccents. Im presuming, though,

thats if Godot was a perch, and ifPozzo was a beer-guzzling mooch,and Vladimir and Estragonspent their time pining over thecheckout girl at the Pick n Save.

With native Wisconsinites andbest buddies Marvin and Lloydsharing stories, and the occasionalsong-and-dance, while holedup in a ramshackle ice-fishing

shanty, Guys on Icebe a huge hit withaudiences, so much

marks the third timbeen produced atthe past six years. Araves of critics, its etheMilwaukee Jourpraises Guys on Icecharm, abundant horiginal music [thacatchy, and the WiJournalstates, Unlis colder than a Wi

youll fall hook, linthis light-hearted r

Featuring a gitecomposed o JohnSandersield (both

1) Ashley Bryan

2) Eric Carle3) David Harrison

and John Par Miller4) Leo Lionni5) Arnold Lobel6) Petra Mathers

A) Beautiful Blackbird

B)An Extraordinary EggC) The Foolish TortoiseD) The Ice Cream Cone Coot

& Other Rare BirdsE) Little Turtles Big AdventureF) Lotties New Beach Towel

Answers:1A,2C,3E,4B,5D,6F.Lottie,bytheway,isthenameofthechickenwhoseheroictowelprotectsherfromsunburnsandbeinglostatsea.Theheroictowel,Iregrettosay,hasnoname.MuchlikeEastwoodinthoseSergioLeoneWesterns.

Leo Lionnis Fish Is Fish

The White Rose

Exhibit open through February 24.

An exhibit exploring one of Germanys most

famous resistance groups formed by a smallgroup of university students in 1942-43.

712 W 2nd St Davenport, IA 563-322-8844 www.gahc.org

The German American Heritage Center presents:

Films at the Figge:

Sun. Jan 22, 4pm The White

Rose

Sun. Feb 5, 4pm Sophie

Scholl: The Final Days

Readers Theater play at

GAHC:

Sat. Feb 11, 1:30pm and 3pm

The White Rose: A True Story of

Freedom in Nazi Germany

Support provided by Rauch Family Foundation II,

Doris and Victor Day Foundation, and

the Rock Island Community Foundation

The Magic FluteThe German American Heritage Center and Saint Ambrose

University Music Dept. will present the Des Moines Metro

Opera in Davenport on Tuesday February 7th at 7pm for a one

night only performance. OPERA Iowa will present a two-hour

version of Mozarts The Magic Flute in English at the Rogalski

Centeron the SAU campus. 518 W. Locust St. Davenport, IA

$15 General Admission or

$25 Premium Seating

Tickets available in person,

through mail, or by phone at

GAHC: 712 W. 2nd St.

Davenport or 563-322-8844

visit gahc.org for details


15/28

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 1

by Mike Schulz

[email protected]

What ElseIs Happenin


MUSICThursday, January 19 TobyMac

Unplugged: A Night of Stories & Songs.

Performance with the acclaimed Christian re-cording artist, featuring special guest Jamie

Grace. Adler Theatre (136 East Third Street,

Davenport). 7:30 p.m. $25-45. For tickets, call

(800)745-3000 or visit AdlerTheatre.com.Thursday, January 19 The Java

Jews. The seven-piece klezmer ensemblein concert, in a presentation by the Jewish

Federation of the Quad Cities. Moline Public

Library (3210 41st Street, Moline). 7 p.m. Freeadmission. For information, call (309)793-

1300 or visit JFQC.org.Saturday, January 21 The Big Dance.

Fifteenth-annual competition between a

dozen high-school show choirs from three

states, with competing schools includingBettendorf, Davenport Central, and Daven-

port West. Davenport North High Schools

Holzworth Performing Arts Center (626 West53rd Street, Davenport). 11:30 a.m. prelimi-

naries, 7:30 p.m. finals. $7-12 at the door. For

information, call (563)388-9884.Friday, January 27 Battle of the

Bands. The first night of the annual competi-

tion, featuring three sets by local musicians.Rock Island Brewing Company (1815 Second

Avenue, Rock Island). 9 p.m. For information,

call (309)793-4060 or visit RIBCO.com.Friday, January 27 Tim Stop. Pop, rock,

and soul musician in concert. The Redstone

Room (129 Main Street, Davenport). 9 p.m.

ly,

d

playing characters trying notto be

pimps. And the resulting comicmelee between the perormersand their delighted crowds has ledto requent tours, a regular gig atChicagos Chemically Imbalancedheatre, and plaudits rom thelikes o the Chicago Tribune,whose January 4 rave began,

Outrageous and tacky as all get-out, Pimprov isthe rare show that truly nails political correctnessright between the eyes with style and exuberantwit.

Pimprov perorms on January 28 at 7 and 9:30p.m., reservations can be made by calling (309)786-7733 extension 2 or visiting Circa21.com, andtickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.(Feel ree to throw in a ew bucks extra, though.Remember, as the Oscar-winning song told us, itshard out there or a pimp.)

has proven toidwesternof one that this

e the show hasiverside overnd reading theasy to see why;nal Sentinelor its sweetmor, and

s] melodic andconsin Statess your heartconsin winter,

, and sinker formp.castatkins, Randal

ictured), and

Ryan Westwood the latter a St.Ambrose University graduate whoportrayed the title characters in

recent productions oPippin andSweeney Todd Riversides outingis sure to be a delightul seasonaltreat. And I have to give the theatrepoints or bravery, as audiencesmay have easily wanted to shy awayrom a musical about ice and snowand miserable winter weather inthe middle o January. Who knewthat, this year, those elementswould seem so reakin novel?

For more information andtickets to Guys on Ice: AnIce-Fishing Musical Comedy,call (319)338-7672 or visitRiversideTheatre.org.

ACTING SMARTHelpful Tips on Appearing More Intelligent Than You Actually Are

The latest guests in Quad City Arts Visiting Artist series are the gited modern-dance masters oRioult, whose exhilarating expressiveness and acrobatic intensitywill light up St. Ambrose Universitys Galvin Fine Arts Center on Saturday, January28. It should go without saying that anyone with an appreciation or the thrill o

contemporary dance wont want to miss this perormance. But i youre a dance novicewhod like to attend but are leery about going in completelyblind, here are ive ways to get yoursel a bit more up-to-speedon the Rioult experience.

1) Know where Rioults name comes from. he companywas ounded in 1994 by amed French choreographer (andormer track-and-ield star) Pascal Rioult, who serves as the

groups artistic director, was a ormer principal dancer or the Martha Graham DanceCompany, and was described byBackstage magazine as one o the most adept andcourageous choreographers in mainstream modern dance today.

2) Know where Rioult has performed. Based in New York City, the companypresents an annual season o New York-based productions, and has perormed in suchesteemed North American venues as Lincoln Center, Philadelphias Annenberg Center,and Canadas Le Grand htre de Qubec. Across the Atlantic, Rioult has toured insuch countries as France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, and Belgium.

3) Know what the critics have to say about Rioult performances. Among thedance troupes many accolades, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette describes Rioult as rich intradition and intellectually and musically satisying, New Jerseys Daily Gazette callsthe groups choreography vibrant, soulul, and painterly, and Cleveland.com ravesabout the limber and urgent strength that is a hallmark o the company.

4) Know how topronounce Rioult. Its RAY-yoo.5) Know how to use it in a sentence. When asked about your weekend plans, say,

Im actually going to be busy that night seeing those amazing dancers o Rioult, Ray.

You? Only say this, o course, i youre speaking to someone named Ray. And i youdont mind sounding like an overly sel-amused ass.

Rioults January 28 performance starts at 7:30 p.m., and more information is available bycalling (309)793-1213 or visiting QuadCityArts.com.


16/28

River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 20121

No Poison Apple?

by Jeff Ignatius

[email protected]

and Glass called the governors plan boldand sweeping. Yet he also stressed thatBranstad was open to compromise andalternative strategies to accomplish hiseducation-reorm goals.

We are committed to the values that arebehind every part o this ... , he said. We aregoing to be very rigid and stand behind thevalues that are behind this, but we are openand lexible on the speciic strategies andhow we get there. ... It needs to go throughthis democratic legislative process. ... Iwe can get the majority o these elements

through, I think that would be a short-termsuccess.

Glass said the plan was crated to bepalatable to Democrats and Republicans.Our proposal is an attempt to get at abipartisan consensus on a number ocontentious issues, he said. We tried topitch a proposal that would be receivedwith optimism and that wouldnt containany poison pills or either ... chamber oreither party. Its an attempt to put together

a proposal that we can stand behind or thelong term or both chambers and regardlesso what administration is in charge. his is not about trying to get a short-termpolitical victory.

He added that hes encouraged so ar bythe leadership in both chambers and bothparties. Im very optimistic that well get aneducation-reorm bill passed in Iowa thissession, he said. I think the governor hasworked very hard to try to keep the dooropen to both chambers and both parties ... .

hey also are trying very hard not to makethis discussion radioactive to the other side.

he Branstad administration has certainlybeen inclusive in its process. We have beenat the table in several meetings, said ChrisBern, president o the Iowa State EducationAssociation (ISEA). Were relatively happywith the amount o input weve had into this.... I believe the governor and his sta and theDepartment o Education and the sta therehave been listening.

Yet ater the release o the governorsinal plan (but prior to the legislation beingmade public), Bern sounded lukewarm:Overall, we like that the governor is makingeducation a priority in the state. But theresstill a lot o missing detail in what theyve putout, and until we see the detail, its hard totake a position on things.

Berns reaction was echoed by others. Ithink that we share a lot o the same goals,said Senator Herman Quirmbach, chair o theSenate Education Committee and a Democratrom Ames. I think that we have somecommon ground in some o the proposalsthat have been made. As or Glass promiseo trying to build a two-party consensus,Quirmbach sounded warily optimistic. Im

going to give him the beneit o a doubt untilI have reason to doubt. ... I want to keep theocus on this on the kids. ... Im hopeul thatwell do something serious this year.

Quirmbach said his goal is to geteducation reorm through the SenateEducation Committee by the February 24unnel deadline. Adjournment o thelegislature is scheduled or April 17.

here were several changes to thegovernors proposal between the Octoberblueprint and the January version. eachercompensation was punted to a proposed

legislative task orce both because thegovernors proposal was unpopular andbecause it was potentially expensive.

We elt that the state system wasnt readyto engage in that conversation, Glass said.Very skeptical reactions and low level ounderstanding around what we were tryingto accomplish with it. We have work to do tohelp people understand what our approachwas. ... his is not an idea thats taken hold inIowa yet. So we have to work to do to build

understanding ... .Funding was also a actor. We want totake that issue on at the top o a new budgetcycle, Glass said. Right now were halwaythrough a two-year budget cycle in Iowa,so most o the resources have already beenallocated or next [iscal] year. When youtalk about educator compensation, thats thelargest expenditure in education, so we wantto engage in that discussion at a time whenwe have all the chips on the table in terms othe resources that are available.

He added that Iowas relatively strongeconomy and state-budget situation presentan opportunity to direct ... additionalresources into education in the comingyears. he state has low unemploymentcompared to many states, its likely torun a budget surplus this iscal year, andits revenues have been coming in aboveorecasts in the current iscal year.

Yet even with the teacher-compensationdiscussion removed rom the reorm

proposal and other changes to the blueprint,the path to serious reorm appearschallenging.

Withholding JudgmentAlthough the basic proposal was released

more than three months ago, legislatorsand interest groups remain cautious. hebill is 156 pages, ater all, and it will takesome time to evaluate it. RepresentativeLinda Miller, a Bettendor Republican who

serves on the House Education Committee,said she needs to talk to teachers about thelegislation, and I dont think theyve had thechance to digest the bill yet, either.

I dont know i we have as many dislikes

as we just have questions, said the ISEAsBern prior to the bill being made public.I dont think that theres anything that weactually dislike conceptually. Its all going todepend on the details.

he devil is always in the detail, and untilwe have a chance to analyze the speciics,Im tending to withhold at least some o myjudgment on this, Quirmbach said a dayater hed received the bill. A poison pill isoten buried pretty deeply.

But i problematic details arejustdetails,they can be overcome. What should concern

Branstad is the resistance to a couple keyaspects o his proposal.

Quirmbach said he has philosophicalissues with at least two elements o theBranstad plan: retention o third-graderswho cant pass a reading test, and the 3.0-grade-point-average requirement or entryinto college teacher-prep programs.

On third-grade retention, he said, hehas talked to school superintendents in hishome county as well as people involved

in education generally. here is a lot oreluctance at least to the idea o lunkingevery third-grader who cant pass some state-mandated test, he said. hats a signiicantconsequence. Really what youre doing long-term is taking away a year o the kids adultlie. hey graduate high school a year later,they get a job or go to college a year later. ...hats not something you undertake lightly.

he GPA requirement or teachingprograms, he said, would be diicult toenorce (in terms o private and out-o-

state institutions), would have unintendedconsequences, and would amount tomicromanagement o Iowas publicuniversities. Plus, it could exacerbate teachershortages in hard-to-ill areas. Are wegoing to make it that much more diicult torecruit people in the SEM areas science,technology, [engineering,] and math ... ? heasked. Im on board with the goal. I havequestions whether this is the right way toimplement it.

Republican Miller was similarly skepticalo those two legislative mandates. On both,she said, she supports the goal. I think therehas to be leeway instead o absolutes ... , shesaid o the GPA requirement. Im not averseto that as an expectation, but as black-and-white legislation demanding it ... Im notsure Im ready to go that ar. ... he act thatwe expect more rom them [teacher-prepprograms] than they are delivering currently,... I think everybody in the state o Iowa canagree with [that].

Miller similarly said she supports the goalo having all students read at grade levelin third grade. I do think its important totell parents this is what our expectation is,she said. Weve never done that beore. We

havent been clear about what our goals are.But she stressed that shes hesitant to

support such rigid rules. We have to becareul o the unintentional consequenceswhen we make Band-Aids, she said. Imkind o a less-is-better person at this pointin time ... . But I do believe that we haveto be clear in what our expectations are inimproving education.

And she added that sometimes thediscussion itsel can produce change withoutthe legislature taking action. he act thatwe are actually discussing this is good, she

said, because it actually does bring aboutchange kind o just by consensus, rather thanlegislative change. She said that Branstadsreorm proposals have prompted discussionabout teacher-preparation programs inIowas higher-education community.

Bern said that while the ISEA supportsan increased emphasis on early-childhoodliteracy, it too has issues with third-graderetention. He said theres a contradictionbetween the governors support o

competency-based education in whichstudents advance at their own pace and thethird-grade-retention proposal.

Toothless Noble Reforms?here are several dangers to Branstads

plan in these speciic objections.First, third-grade literacy/retention has

arguably the highest proile among hisproposals, and Glass said teacher selectivityhas the potential to have a lot o stand-

alone impact. I those get watered down oreliminated, the plan overall loses a good dealo its boldness.

Second, a reluctance to attach a genuinepressure (in Glass terminology) tothe early-literacy and teacher-selectivitycomponents might relect a generalreluctance to put teeth in education reorm.Noble goals without clear repercussions areunlikely to have the desired impact.

Quirmbach said hes not opposed to

gauging progress through testing. But thestate needs to be sure that its not over-testingstudents. We absolutely have to measurewhat were doing, he said. But on the otherside, time taken up in testing is time takenaway rom instruction. esting is not ree.

he ISEA also rets about the Branstademphasis on testing. heres a lot o talkabout assessments theres kindergartenassessments and end-o-course exams andcollege-entrance exams and so orth, Bernsaid. One o the questions is: What are wegoing to do with all that inormation? Howsit going to be used?

he ISEA worries that school districtswill place undue weight on student-achievement scores in evaluating teachers

COVER STORY Continued From Page 7


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River Cities Reader Vol. 19 No. 796 January 19 - February 1, 2012 1

and making personnel decisions. I they usea standardized test, and make it a major part

o the teacher evaluation, we would not be inavor o that, Bern said.

Glass addressed that concern, saying thatstudent achievement should be used asa validating component o an evaluationwhere available and appropriate. A positiveteacher evaluation should be accompaniedby large student-achievement gains. Wherethose things arent lining up, then I thinkthere are some questions to be raised atthe local level about the capacity o the

evaluation system, he said. School districts,however, would make decisions about howmuch student assessments play into teacherevaluations, he said.

he ISEA is also concerned that newmandates arent accompanied by new tools.heres no talk about how were going tosupport educators in doing their jobs ingetting students ready or these assessments,Bern said. For example, theres no talk aboutproessional development. And theres no

talk about preparation time ... . (Branstadsplan actually does address proessionaldevelopment by having the Department oEducation dictate target areas or the statesnine Area Education Agencies.) heresurther concern, Bern said, about unundedmandates.

hese are details, yet theyre importantones rooted in philosophical dierences.And its in the details rather than theoverarching goals that any reorm will (orwont) be ultimately successul.

To listen to interviews with Glass andQuirmbach, visit this article at RCReader.com/y/iowaeducation.

13) Kindergarten Readiness Mea-

sures. Would have all our-year-olds in

the state voluntary preschool programcomplete a kindergarten-readiness assess-

ment that would determine early literacy

and numeracy skills.14) High School End-of-Course

Exams. Calls or the development o

[standardized] end-o-course exams incore areas such as algebra, English, science,

and U.S. history. ... Over time, the results onthis suite o assessments would be used asa component o graduation.

15) The Programme for International

Student Assessment. Calls or a samplingo about 3,000 students in the ninth grade

to take the PISA every three years, ollow-

ing the same procedures o countries allover the world. Data rom this assessment

will give Iowa inormation on how well

our education system is doing versus the

international competition our students willace once they graduate.

16) College and Career Readiness

Measures. Calls or all 11th-grade stu-

dents to take a college-entrance exam.

17) Value-Added Measures (VAM).A method o analyzing assessment data

that accounts or student background and

demographics in determining whetherstudents are making expected growth

rom year to year. ... Calls or making VAM

available at the individual student, teacher,

grade, school, and district levels.18) Statewide Literacy Program. Calls

or all students, beginning in preschool, to

be taught with an evidence-based readingprogram that covers the ive components

o reading. ... Students inishing third grade

who do not meet basic literacy require-ments across a broad set o measures

would be retained and provided intensive

reading assistance that could include one-on-one or small-group reading supports,

summer-school programs, or specialized

tutoring.19) Project Lead the Way. A project-

based and hands-on middle school and

high school science, technology, engineer-ing, and math curriculum. ... Makes Project

Lead the Way eligible or concurrent enroll-

ment supplemental weighted unding orhigh-school/community-college credit.

Section III: Innovation20) Innovation Acceleration Fund.

Calls or the creation o an InnovationAcceleration Fund with money rom the

state, rom philanthropies and ounda-tions, and rom the business sector. Theseunds would be available to schools and to

community-based nonproit organizations

across Iowa through a competitive-bidprocess. O the $25-million price tag or

Branstads proposals, $2 million would go

toward this und.21) Competency-Based Education.

This [current] time-based system is

the root o the outdated industrial oractory model o education. The truth is,

some students dont need the seat-timere

river cities reader vol 19 issue #796

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