Iowa City, Iowa
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TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 2009 Utility fee passes 1st test By NICOLE KARLIS [email protected] Iowa City residents are one step closer to seeing an increase in their utility bills. The Iowa City City Council voted 6-1 to pass its first consideration of the city’s franchise fee at its meeting Monday night. The council needs to vote in favor of the fee two more times before the measure is approved. The proposed fee would charge Bailey MidAmerican Ener- mayor gy between 1 and 5 percent of its total services, which would in turn tax consumers 2 per- cent on their monthly utility bills. Many residents and business own- ers have voiced concern about another tax during a recession, but councilors DAVID SCRIVNER/THE DAILY IOWAN made it clear they think it’s a necessi- UI freshman Jeremy Kaemmer watches his vegetable cart roll down a ramp on the roof of the Seamans Center on Monday. Associate Professor Madhavan Raghavan ty to fund public-safety initiatives. led the project in his course Engineering Problem Solving 1 for first-year engineering students, who had to choose the best fruits and vegetables to win the race. “I’ve always been supportive of this,” said Iowa City Mayor Regenia Bailey. “I’m not sure everybody real- izes this, but the franchise fee VEGGIE HOT RODS enables us to get the fee from these property owners who don’t currently pay a property tax.” FACE OFF SEE COUNCIL, 3 The ‘Vegetable Car Derby’ promotes hands-on engineering tactics. By PARKER SMITH cars capable of moving down an incline DAILYIOWAN.COM UIHC [email protected] using only ingredients from vegetation. Check out photos of the speed Participants shivered from the cold wind racers at dailyiowan.com/photo. Tiny cars made out of peppers, onions, racing over the rooftop and across their faces grapes, corncobs, and more raced on the as they lined up to introduce their entries roof of the Seamans Center on Monday and explain their design process. Veggie-car submissions loses in morning. Among the dozen cars, the Potato • Veggie Stew Speedster: squash with First-year engineering students at Prius and the Squash Speedster looked onion wheels and carrot spoiler the UI gathered at the “Vegetable Car more like hybrids than hot rods. The Derby” to race custom-designed vehicles • El Torro Gourdo: angry gourd with pump- Prius featured a potato body and used vaccine made exclusively from fruits and veg- kin and apple wheels tiny pumpkins for wheels, and the etables as part of their course Engineer- • Potato Prius: pumpkin wheels and spud frame speedster had limes attached to its ing Problem Solving 1. • Squash Speedster: squash with limes for squash frame. Roughly 100 students, divided into wheels SEE DERBY, 3 Source: UI engineering students ruling groups of four, designed and developed Though vaccines are no longer required, union leaders still urge Energy-drink logo battle looms members to get them. By REGINA ZILBERMINTS A company plans to continue distributing [email protected] energy drinks featuring Herky and the UI Hospitals and Clinics employ- ees will not be required to receive flu Tigerhawk against the UI’s wishes. vaccinations, a neutral arbitrator ruled Monday. By PARKER SMITH food-vending contract with Coca- The decision applies to vaccines [email protected] Cola gives it, among many other against both the seasonal and H1N1 flu. things, exclusive license to use It’s all about the Tigerhawk. The ruling comes as a result of a the university’s signature An energy-drink company Sept. 8 injunction filed by the Ser- images on its beverages, said contracted with the UI says the vice Employees International Union university is unfairly trying to Carroll Reasoner, the UI’s gener- Local 199 to prevent UIHC officials terminate its contract after al counsel. from implementing a plan that being pressured by Coca-Cola. But UI symbols such as Herky would have required all employees, The UI notified TNT Energy the Hawk and the Tigerhawk students, and volunteers to be vacci- Products LLC on Oct. 1 that it logo appear on the label of Power nated against the seasonal flu. was terminating its licensing Up! Energy Drink, which is Union and hospital officials agreement and TNT would no made by TNT, in Las Vegas, and reached an agreement Sept. 23 — longer be licensed to manufac- sold off-campus in Iowa City. pending the arbitrator’s ruling — ture, produce, or distribute prod- The athletics department that exempted union members from CONTRIBUTED PHOTO ucts bearing trademark logos of handled the agreement with the disciplinary action employees Herky helps market Power Up! at this year’s Fry Fest. Less than one month later, the university effective on Oct. 30. TNT, which is now coming up faced if they refused to be vaccinated. the UI notified TNT, which distributes the drink, that its license agreement was The university’s beverage terminated. vending, fountain syrup, and SEE DRINK, 3 SEE UNION, 3 DAILY IOWAN TV INDEX WEATHER CORRECTIONS To watch Daily Iowan TV, go online at dailyiowan.com or tune Arts 5 Opinions 4 The person pictured in the Oct. 29 Dance Gala photo for Annett Schädlich-Hendrix’s into UITV. The 15-minute newscast is on Sunday through Classifieds 11 Spot light 6 52 34 piece on page 3B was wrongly identified. She is UI sophomore Erin Fitzgerald. The Thursday at 9:30 and 10:30 p.m., with reruns at 12:30 and 1:30 Crossword 8 Sports 12 11C 1C woman identified as Lisa James in Monday’s DI was also incorrect. The DI regrets a.m. and 7:45 and 8:45 a.m. the following day. the errors. 2 - The Daily Iowan - Iowa City, Iowa - Tuesday, November 3, 2009 News dailyiowan.com for more news 3 economic indicators up The Daily Iowan Volume 141 Issue 92 BREAKING NEWS STAFF By MARTIN CRUTSINGER up to 55.7 in October, the measured by the gross rose 6.1 percent in Septem- Publisher: Associated Press third-straight reading above domestic product, expanded ber to a reading of 110.1. Phone: (319) 335-6063 E-mail: [email protected] William Casey. 335-5788 50, which signals growth in at a 3.5 percent rate in the That’s the highest level Editor: Fax: 335-6297 WASHINGTON — the sector. It was the highest July-September quarter. since December 2006. And Kelsey Beltramea. 335-6030 Hopes for the fledgling eco- level since April 2006. That number provided com- it’s more than 21 percent CORRECTIONS Managing Editor: nomic recovery got a boost “It clearly looks like we pelling evidence that the above a year ago. Call: 335-6030 Kurtis Hiatt . 335-5855 Monday from better-than- Policy: The Daily Iowan strives for Metro Editors: are seeing a turnaround in longest recession since the The eighth straight month- Alyssa Cashman . 335-6063 expected news on manufac- the manufacturing sector,” 1930s was ending. Wyss ly gain came as the housing accuracy and fairness in the report- turing, construction, and Clara Hogan . 335-6063 said David Wyss, the chief said he expects GDP growth market rebounds from the ing of news. If a report is wrong or Brian Stewart . 335-6063 contracts to buy homes. misleading, a request for a correc- economist at Standard & to slow to around 1.7 per- worst downturn in decades. Opinions Editor: The surprisingly strong tion or a clarification may be made. Poor’s in New York. cent in the current quarter The improvement has been Shawn Gude . 335-5863 readings provided some com- PUBLISHING INFO Sports Editor: Economists cautioned and to remain sluggish in aided by federal intervention fort that the economy is pack- The Daily Iowan (USPS 143.360) is Ryan Young . 335-5848 that the manufacturing the first half of next year. to lower mortgage rates and ing more momentum than published by Student Publications Arts Editors: pattern seen in the past Other economists are bring more buyers into the Melea Andrys . 335-5851 assumed going into the end of more optimistic, with some Inc., E131 Adler Journalism Building, two post-recession recover- market. For example, the con- Iowa City, Iowa 52242-2004, daily Jake Jensen . 335-5851 the year. Still, with jobs forecasting that GDP Copy Chief: ies likely will be repeated tracts to buy homes rose as except Saturdays, Sundays, legal and scarce, lending tight, and con- Beau Elliot. 335-6063 this time: In each case, growth could come in buyers scrambled to qualify university holidays, and university sumers wary about spending around 3 percent in the cur- Design/Graphics Editor: early strength in manufac- for a tax credit for first-time vacations. Periodicals postage paid money, it’s unclear whether rent quarter.They pointed to Kurt Cunningham. 335-6063 turing, led by companies’ buyers that expires at the at the Iowa City Post Office under the Photo Editor: the gains can be sustained as the government report Mon- end of this month. Congress Act of Congress of March 2, 1879. government stimulus pro- restocking of inventories, Amy Oleson . 335-5852 day that construction spend- is moving to extend the credit SUBSCRIPTIONS Web Editor: grams wind down. faded within a few months. ing rose a bigger-than- Wyss agrees that the until April 30. Call: Pete Recker at 335-5783 Tony Phan. 335-5829 The Institute for Supply expected a 0.8 percent in Business Manager: institute index could dip “We think this recovery E-mail: [email protected] Management’s gauge of September, fueled by the is sustainable,” said Sal Debra Plath.