February 2018 » Lynda Waddington

28Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Anamosa police chief ouster is a good start

Gazette Column

Anamosa’s police chief was released from duty Monday night with little fanfare. It’s the beginning, but hardly the end, of a lengthy trail of community distrust. Following years of largely unchecked inappropriate behavior by former chief Bob Simonson, city officials seemed determined to make the process of his termination as low-key as possible. Council members held a closed session Monday afternoon to discuss Simonson’s transgressions and consider a proposed retirement agreement. Back in public view, council formally rejected further negotiations and then quickly voted to adjourn without additional explanation or discussion. Two hours later, when the body met again in regular session, the agenda was shuffled. The first action item was a motion for summary termination of the police chief with an order for Simonson to surrender all city equipment…

25Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

No room for racism, sexism

Gazette Column

In any political climate, actions in Anamosa demand accountability. Imagine opening an email message from your boss and discovering a video clip of a woman in a Santa hat peeling off her clothing and presenting her breasts like a gift. Now imagine that your boss is the police chief, and that the email was sent to a group that included at least one City Council member and several of your fellow law enforcement officers. Finally, imagine the email isn’t an isolated incident, that it is one of several disturbing lewd and/or racist messages. That’s part of the situation that led former Anamosa police officer Amy Ford to file a gender discrimination lawsuit against the city, and also part of why the lawsuit was settled for $750,000 earlier this year. Anamosa City Hall,…

24Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Consider legislative solutions to recidivism

Gazette Column

Key pathways in Iowa’s quest to reduce recidivism are initiatives the Department of Corrections can’t initiate. About 95 percent of the Iowa prison population will eventually be returned to local communities. For several years, the Iowa Department of Corrections has explored ways to reduce the number of those who return to state custody. And, until recently, departmental efforts have been paying off. In 2014, recidivism fell to 29.7 percent — down from a staggering 45 percent 15 years earlier. But recidivism is once again climbing. It was 34.2 percent for 2016, the most recent figures available. A look inside Housing Unit #2 at the Iowa State Penitentiary in Fort Madison on Friday, Apr. 10, 2015. (Stephen Mally/The Gazette Archives) This year marks the end of a $3 million, three-year Second Chance…

22Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

This is what democracy looks like

Gazette Column

Hundreds of area residents who took time this past snowy Saturday morning to attend a League of Women Voters’ Legislative Forum also should take a moment to pat themselves on the back. It was a job well done, and all participants — residents, lawmakers and organizers — deserve kudos for creating and being part of such a civil political display. Despite inclusion of hot-button issues like abortion, state finances and gun rights, Democratic and Republican lawmakers sat side-by-side and answered questions while people listened — a refreshing exercise of democracy that has lately become the exception instead of the rule. And, given the most recent national revelations, such events may serve as a cure for our political dysfunction. [caption id="attachment_1945" align="alignright" width="500"] Local members of the Iowa Legislature answered questions…

19Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

More than reactionary gun violence plans needed

Gazette Column

Pro-gun legislation in the Iowa Statehouse has succumbed to a barrage of bullets. Unfortunately, this is not a metaphor. The nation’s latest mass shooting, this time at a Florida high school, contributed to the demise of an Iowa bill aimed to loosen gun-permitting regulations. Instead, lawmakers want school districts to adopt security plans that address “active shooters” and other disasters. Sen. Jason Schultz, R-Schleswig, who managed Senate File 2106, said the untimely and unnecessary deaths of 17 Floridians “apparently changed the optics.” Well, it’s about damn time. [caption id="attachment_1934" align="aligncenter" width="690"] Students, friends and family gather at the memorial crosses at Pine Trails Park in Parkland, Fla., to remember those where were killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, on Friday, Feb. 16, 2018. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times/TNS)[/caption]…

18Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Feminine hygiene product drive began with dignity

Gazette Column

As Iowans extend a helping hand to those in need, feminine hygiene supplies are too often forgotten. A local group is stepping up to help. Members of the Cedar Rapids National Organization for Women are collecting pads and tampons to help support homeless and incarcerated women and girls. “The idea for the feminine hygiene product drive followed discussions on initiatives like the Dignity for Incarcerated Women Act,” said Bailey Mendenhall, chapter president. “Throughout our last few meetings we had been discussing legislative solutions, as well as other organizations’ efforts to assist women abroad and at home with access to these products. We decided that we should be doing something right here, within our own community.” The women learned that there is a near constant need for feminine hygiene products in local transitional housing…

15Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Nothing to love about food deserts

Gazette Column

Trump administration budget aims to slash SNAP by $213 billion It’s Valentine’s Day, and I hoped to write a column appropriate for a love and indulgence holiday, however contrived. But that’s mentally difficult when new Trump administration proposals promote food deserts and scarcity. On Monday, the administration announced its plan to slash food assistance for low-income families and replace it with a “Blue Apron-type program.” “What we do is propose that for folks who are on food stamps, part — not all, part — of their benefits come in the actual sort of, and I don’t want to steal somebody’s copyright, but a Blue Apron-type program where you actually receive the food instead of receive the cash,” said Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney during a policy briefing. The Trump administration plans to cut…

12Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Family planning services thin under Iowa GOP program

Gazette Column

Despite Republican promises to the contrary, changes to family planning services has resulted in less access that will cost Iowans more. Last spring, Iowa Republicans crafted a new family planning program funded only with state dollars. They did so for the sole purpose of excluding providers that perform abortions or are part of a health network that does. Although abortion providers could accept public money under the previous program that was primarily funded at the federal level, none of the funds could be used for abortion services. The state’s new rules not only resulted in the expected exclusion of Planned Parenthood, but of other significant health care providers like the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and the statewide UnityPoint network. Promises of expanded access haven’t materialized, according to a…

11Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Iowa Republicans are devaluing women – again

Gazette Column

Iowa Republicans are once again making clear that they value the potential of pregnancy more than they value women. Their latest missive is Senate Study Bill 3143: “An act relating to the prerequisites for and prohibition against an abortion related to the testing for, and following the detection of, a fetal heartbeat, providing for a repeal, and providing penalties.” A nearly identical bill, HF2163, was introduced in the Iowa House: “An act recognizing the rights and protections accorded each life from the moment of fetal heartbeat detection, prohibiting the performance of an abortion if a fetal heartbeat is detected, providing for licensee discipline, and providing a repeal.” Both bills basically state that, once a fetal heartbeat is detected by ultrasound, a pregnant woman cannot legally obtain an abortion. Doctors who defy the…

08Feb 2018 by Lynda Waddington

Iowans memorialized as face of opioid epidemic

Gazette Column

Seven Iowa men are featured on a national map that has become a living memorial to the thousands of Americans lost to opioids. The Iowa list of victims is noticeably incomplete. From 2002 to 2014, as many as 1,239 people died from a prescription opioid overdose in Iowa, according to the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center. And, in each year since, the state has witnessed an increase in the number of people lost in opioid-related incidents. In 2016 — the year the seven men featured on the map died — there were 180 opioid-related deaths across the state. The Iowa Department of Public Health has projected 201 such deaths for 2017. The online map, developed in 2016 by ESRI engineer Jeremiah Lindemann, relies on users to add images and…