This was posted originally in our open threads area, but I wanted to give it wider circulation...
Hi everyone, I wanted to post a comment about an issue going on here in Iowa right now that many people probably don't know about. Recently a plant that produces cattle feed was built in a residential area of Jefferson, Iowa enticed by the city of Jefferson to bring more industry to the town. However, shortly after the plant opened neighbors within a mile radius started getting sick, plant and wildlife started to die and disappear, paint began to peel on vehicles, windows and siding began to pit and corrode, and outdoor pets became sick and began to die such as small kittens and dogs.
The DNR has found several times that the plant was emitting way over the legal limit of hydrochloric acid into the atmosphere, but the plant has never faced any fines or repercussions and the city that brought the plant in to the town in the first place will do nothing to help the problem. A couple hundered of the local residents have began working on a lawsuit but it looks like they'll have a long road ahead of them, so in the mean time they are faced with a choice: Move and live, or stay and slowly die from the hydrochloric acid poisoning. Not to mention the fact that their property is now basically worthless since no one in their right mind would move into the area.
You can find several articles taken from the Des Moines register over the last year that goes into detail about this issue as well as phone numbers and addresses for the city, mayor, and all of the city councilmen at http://www.iowahealthinsurance.biz/articles/soychlor.htm
FEBRUARY LEGISLATIVE FORUM/PART B
As promised, I am giving a second report on the Senators' and
Representatives' Legislative Forum held at St. Ambrose University,
Davenport, IOWA, which took place Saturday, February 25th.
A question from a young man, Andrew, drew applause from many in the
audience. He wanted to know, especially from the Republicans,
what was going to be done in the state of IOWA regarding
bullying. Andrew said gays, lesbians, bisexuals, and transgender
persons (GLBT's) are not given the same protections as "other minority"
groups. He wanted to know what was going to be done to protect
him and others of the GLBT group.
First to respond was Rep. Jim Van Fossen (R), "…they (school
administrators) all say there is a bullying policy in place, and is
this something that the state of IOWA needs to get involved?…We try to
allow the school boards to set their own policies on hours, numbers of
days that they're working…" Take a stand here Jim, take a stand.
(((It is going to be so sweet to see your opponent, the articulate
ELESHAGAYMAN, take you to task on so many issues, including this
one.)))
Andrew said, "Kids now use 'gay' in a slang term as something
bad. We don't go around saying: 'That's so black. That's so
Asian. That's so Jewish.' We don't do that…I'm just wanting my
officials of the state of IOWA regardless of party to do something to
insure my rights as an American citizen."
When asked by the senior Rep. Jim Van Fossen what rights Andrew himself
did not have that he, Van Fossen, had, the young man's answer was that
he lost his job. He was "actively and maliciously sought out for
being a homosexual."
Senator Joe Seng (D-Davenport) said he was on the Davenport city
council when they passed a law regarding no discrimination on credit,
housing, and employment. He said we (Democratic legislators) are
working on getting a law standardized. Although, Sen. Seng said
he was not sure the Republicans were working on one. "We're
working to try to get a statewide anti-bullying bill. I am.
I think it's needed." He thanked Andrew for coming forward
with his concerns.
But it was Representative Jamie Van Fossen (R-Davenport) who really
seemed out of touch. He said he didn't understand the problem
after Andrew had described being fired from his job for being gay and
for nearly being run off the road 5 times by the same individual just
because he was gay. Andrew said he learned that the IOWA hate
crime law does nothing to protect him as a gay person.
So, for Rep. Jamie Van Fossen not being more aware, more in touch, more
inclusive-thinking about this, well, I guess it's time to step aside
and let someone govern who does. Step down Jamie, step down.
Though this episode has nothing to do with environmental issues, please still take time to CPR…CONSERVE/PARTICIPATE/RECYCLE.
Blog for Iowa’s New Running Conversation! Several
people have expressed an interest in being able to have a running
conversation on Blog for Iowa. It seems feasible now that we
actually have quite a few people who are interested in posting!
So, I’d like to re-introduce our “new” feature called Open Threads.
Blog for Iowa will keep an open thread up and running in a prominent
position – top, left sidebar of the blog. This way, people can
post in the open thread and a real back-and-forth can take place.
How to Post a Comment on Blog for Iowa
In order
to post a comment on Blog for Iowa, you need to first create a reader
account. Go to the Log In component on the left sidebar, and
click on Create Reader Account. Then, once you’ve confirmed your
email address, you need to Log In on the main page of BFIA (left sidebar). THEN
you’ll be able to post a comment.
The
usernames have to be one word - no spaces, all lower case. But you can
choose a nickname which will be displayed when you post a comment, and
the nickname can include spaces, like My Full Name.
We will
not harvest your information after you create a reader account.
You are actually creating a reader account for the entire BlogHarbor
system, our host company, and we have no access to the list.
This post will now be at the top of the Open Threads category, so in order to post in the Open Thread, comment on this post.
Of course, you are still welcome to comment on other posts. You can use the same procedure mentioned above.
Here's a great little idear that came in from the grassroots today (thanks, Bev!). Why not create a topic in the Topics component in the right sidebar of Blog for Iowa for posts that don't really fit any of the current main blog posts but, nevertheless, need to be seen?
This will work a little bit differently from the way Blog for America uses open threads. Of course, Blog for America has a much higher traffic volume than we have, so they need frequent Open Threads. (More on that tomorrow, as I file our one-month anniversary report!)
We, on the other hand, as Bev pointed out, need a place to go where off-topic posts will not get lost.
So, I've added the Topic "Open Threads" and you can go there to post about anything at all. That will be the central location where we can keep track of such things.
Of course, I would like to add, just FYI, that I do see all the new posts in the comments each day because there is a feature on the control panel that lists all the comments in chronological order. But the Open Threads topic would allow everyone else to track idears, too.
So, consider this the Open Thread. For easy access, this post will appear on the main blog and in the Open Thread topic at the same time.
One last note to facilitate using Blog for Iowa: when clicking on a link on Blog for Iowa, use this system to open the link into a new window.
Right click, Open in New Window
That way, you won't have to reload the blog over and over again.
*IBLTV is a group of citizens from the Iowa City/Cedar Rapids area who are concerned about the decline in the quality of local television. Fight local media consolidation, as it leads to an unaccountable medium that enriches itself while disregarding the need to serve the public good.
*The rational counter to 'The Point,' 'The Counterpoint' critiques and corrects the daily editorial by Sinclair Broadcasting's corporate vice president, Mark Hyman, that is broadcast on all Sinclair-owned television stations across the country
FEBRUARY LEGISLATIVE FORUM/PART B 
Blog for Iowa’s New Running Conversation!