City Manager: IC backyard chickens ordinance feasible

The Iowa City City Council is scheduled to once again discuss the possibility of implementing a backyard-chicken ordinance during a work session on July 31. City Councilors will decide whether the item merits a place on a future meeting agenda.

City Manager Tom Markus addressed the City Council in a memorandum dated July 24, noting a backyard-chicken ordinance would be feasible in Iowa City with a change to the city’s zoning code.

The code currently prohibits citizens from raising farm animals — including chickens — in any residential area.

“There is no doubt some violations are likely to occur; therefore, it is essential that effective standards for keeping backyard chickens be adopted to ensure accountability, avoid nuisances, and to protect a neighbor’s right to the enjoyment of their property,” Markus wrote.

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The Daily Iowan's summer in review

The DI recaps everything from the landfill fire to the Moen development downtown to the new dorm on the UI campus. 

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The Tool Box ‘sex-positive’ shop signs new lease

After receiving a lease-termination notice from MidWestOne bank in November 2011, the Tool Box has come to an agreement with the property trustee and signed a lease for another year.

Owner Julia Schaefer said she is relieved to know she will not have to move when the lease originally expired.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled,” she said. “I couldn’t wait to start planning for the future.”

The Tool Box, a “sex-positive” boutique will stay at its second-floor location at 128½ E. Washington St. for another year.  

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Rummage in the Ramp starts today, focuses on sustainability

While some would consider hauling heavy couches and bookshelves in the heat of summer to be rather unpleasant, Rummage in the Ramp is designed to be a convenience for those arduous lease changeover days at the end of July.

“Such a large portion of the student population lives off campus and when those leases come up Aug. 1 this is a great opportunity for those moving out to donate their reusable household items for someone who is moving in,” said Liz Christiansen, director of the UI Office of Sustainability.

Along with providing cheaper, secondhand alternatives on household furnishings for college apartments, the initiative also aims to benefit low-income families and any other residents looking for great deals on household items.

The event — which takes place in the Chauncey Swan parking ramp — also serves as an important fundraising opportunity for the 32 local nonprofit, environmental and student groups that will staff the event and will divide the profits of the sales.

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Hawks cautiously pursuing a Penn State player

CHICAGO — Bill O’Brien compared the past few days to “NFL free agency, without the rules.”

So it makes sense that Kirk Ferentz, with his background in the professional league, would be one of the Nittany Lion suitors.

O’Brien, the first-year Penn State head coach, told ESPN Radio on Wednesday morning that Ferentz was one of a handful of coaches who had contacted him about potential interest in a player. Penn State players and commitments became free to transfer anywhere in the country as part of NCAA sanctions levied against the school on Monday.

Iowa Athletics Director Gary Barta confirmed the Hawkeyes had been in contact with one Penn State player on the league’s media day on Wednesday.

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Column : Flip-flops and Busch, a summer theme

The Internet is horrible. Yeah, OK, I realize it’s awesome, but it has one huge flaw: No delete button.

We all have those little, embarrassing things out in the public space: that provocative photo you didn’t want your grandma to see; that drunk jumble of a love letter you posted on your ex-girlfriend’s Facebook wall; that time when you dressed up in a Batman Snuggie and ran around Daum yelling, “Teen Titans, go.”

We’ve all had to pay the toll in some way.

And now it’s the UI administration’s turn.

When Anhueser-Busch came out with the notorious “fan cans” in 2009 sporting the Hawkeye colors, along with many other colleges’ colors, the UI administration was reportedly outraged. 

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