Suicidal Man who Caused Hawk Alert Found Dead, SSMID to Hold Closed Meetings, Branstad Ed Reform Makes Progress: Iowa City Daily Links, Feb. 23

Bird Lives.

On to the Links!

From this Site

Lynn Campbell of Iowapolitics.com writes about the continuing effort to .

There may be this coming summer.

We have of Bowl for Kids' Sake, a Big Brothers Big Sisters of Johnson County fundraiser that is coming up. Still time to help donate, though!

Need a dog or a cat? Take a look at adopting , two great animals at the Iowa City Animal Shelter in need of homes.

In our Parent Talk this week, we ask what parents should do to handle the poor behavior of their children .

From Other Sites

The Washington County man who was feared suicidal and who triggered a Hawk alert yesterday was found dead yesterday writes Josh O'Leary of the Iowa City Press-Citizen.

Tara Bannow of the Iowa City Press-Citizen writes that the SSMID board of directors has decided to close its meetings to the public. Sort of a strange move considering that the organizers asked the downtown business community to make a leap of faith to start SSMID in the first place. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.

Emily Schettler of the Press-Citizen writes about an interesting restaurant that will have a branch in Iowa City.

Jason Clayworth of the Des Moines Register writes that the Iowa Senate passed a bill that will attempt to address workforce skill shortages in the state by paying for additional training. The bill passing required a spirited debate between Democrats and Republicans over, you guessed it, spending.

A chief official from the American Cancer Society admits Obamacare isn't perfect, but said there is enough good about it to give it a try.

Gov. Terry Branstad's education reform package took a step forward after it was narrowly approved for debate on the senate floor by an education committee in the narrowly Democratic controlled Iowa Senate, writes Jason Noble of the Register.

Camp Euforia has announced its 2012 lineup.

Samantha Gentry of the Daily Iowan previews a Los Angeles based rapper's appearance in Iowa City on Saturday.

Among other things, the Synesi Report's critique of the Iowa City School District may lead to the creation of a new safety committee, writes Jordyn Reiland of the Daily Iowan.

Daily Links Excerpt of the Day

Karen Kubby, president of the SSMID board and owner of the downtown business Beadology, said the organization is classified under the Internal Revenue Service code as a 501c6 private, nonprofit organization, and private nonprofits are not subject to the Iowa open meetings law.

“I think, especially at the beginning — we have such a diversity of stakeholders that we just want to do our work,” Kubby said. “People might have lots of different kinds of things to say and want to feel free to work though that in a private setting.”

The Iowa City Council approved the SSMID’s formation in December. The board is designed to promote and beautify downtown businesses. To fund its efforts, all property owners within the established downtown district must contribute an additional $2 per $1,000 of assessed property value beginning in September.