Dubuque Archives » Lynda Waddington

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…

24Sep 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Concert Across America remembers victims of gun violence

Gazette Column

A national coalition of gun violence prevention artists, activists and organizations are coming together for a second annual Concert Across America. Iowa voices will rise up as part of organized events Sunday, but readers can sing out now. Last year, more than 5,200 artists performed at 350 events across 43 states to call for universal background checks and stronger laws in every state to reduce gun violence. As I write this column, more than 180 concerts across 40 states had been announced for 2017 — including the Iowa communities of Cedar Rapids, Dubuque and Clinton. The events are planned for Sept. 24 because Congress designated the day for remembering murder victims. For this year’s series of events, national organizers hope individuals and groups from coast-to-coast also will take part in a world…

31Jul 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Statewide conversation on affordable, supportive housing begins

Gazette Column

Spotlight reveals challenges within the Creative Corridor DUBUQUE — Every county in Iowa lacks a sufficient number of affordable housing units, which, in turn, contributes to the prevalence of homelessness most apparent in the state’s population centers. Although intensity varies, this lack of housing is a statewide challenge that affects the ability of communities to attract business and sustain a workforce, the need for taxpayer-funded safety net programs and overall health and well-being. So, this week, the Iowa Finance Authority launched the first of three statewide conversations on housing with a specific focus on the overwhelming need for supported living arrangements. “What we’ve learned from recent experiences in Cedar Rapids and Iowa City,” explained Carolann Jensen, chief programs officer with the IFA, “is that the push for housing, especially supportive…

21May 2017 by Lynda Waddington

Keep it honest, take it personally

Gazette Column

Dubuque letter writer Barbara Rank struck a chord, according to a Washington Post headline. I have another assessment: Rank took it personally. Rank attended the Dubuque town hall event hosted by U.S. Rep. Rod Blum. She heard her Congressman say it was time to end some “crazy” Affordable Care Act regulations, “such as a 62-year-old male having to have pregnancy insurance.” The following day, as she walked through her community, she thought about that statement and other past controversies surrounding how taxpayer funds are used. Then, she penned a short, authentic response to Blum that she submitted as a letter to the editor. “I ask, why should I have to pay for a bridge I don’t cross, a sidewalk I don’t walk on, a library book I don’t read? Why…

31Jul 2016 by Lynda Waddington

Iowa nuns pledge to ‘mend gaps’

Gazette Column

PHILADELPHIA — Just when I had written off the idea of finding Iowans volunteering with one of the advocacy groups in town for the Democratic National Convention, a group of wagon-pulling nuns rolled up and offered a cup of lemonade. Needing to meet a deadline and in a hurry, I initially refused. The nuns persisted. They were sweet and kind, so I snapped a photo to post on Twitter with my thanks. But when I tried to post it, the only group with the “Nuns on the Bus” name I found was based in Ohio. “Is this organization out of Ohio?” I asked. “No,” a sister replied. “Is that where you’re from?” I explained that I was a member of the Iowa media in town for the convention. She smiled…

18Jul 2016 by Lynda Waddington

On the road to Philly: Pasquale Luz

Gazette Column

One man proudly representing generations of immigrants Family photos tell the story of just how many of Pasquale Luz’s 24 years have been spent in politics as well as how important it has been for his family, descendants of immigrants, to let their voices be heard. Currently a resident of Dubuque, Luz grew up in Chicago where his mother, grandmothers and aunt were very involved with the National Organization for Women. “As far as I can remember, I’ve always been involved and attending political rallies,” Luz said. “My mom has a picture of us marching on Washington, D.C. before I could actually march. I was carried along the route.” When he was older, Luz worked on political campaigns and for the local Democratic Party going door-to-door and making phone calls.…

24Mar 2016 by Lynda Waddington

Why ’70 Acres in Chicago’ matters in Iowa

Gazette Blog

Documentary screening, discussion planned for Friday night My first introduction to Cabrini Green, a 70-acre housing complex in Chicago, came via sitcom. This was likely your introduction too, even if you didn’t recognize it. The name Cabrini Green was never used in the 1970s sitcom “Good Times,” although the housing project was featured in video during the opening and closing credits. And while some of the challenges of living in poverty within a housing project were part of the scripts, the show barely scratched the surface and provided a warped view of the real people who made a life there. “Good Times” was set in inner-city Chicago, a CBS sitcom spun off the earlier shows “Maude” and “All in the Family.” It featured two families — the Evans and Woods…

14Mar 2016 by Lynda Waddington

Marion should maintain housing discrimination high ground

Gazette Column

There are economic advantages to keeping municipal ordinances aligned throughout a metropolitan area, but such benefits should never outweigh protections against discrimination. Area landlords, speaking during a public comment period at the March 3 Marion City Council meeting, advocated for eliminating a piece of the rules governing the community’s relatively new Civil Rights Commission. It’s a battle the same landlords fought and won five years ago in Cedar Rapids, and it appears that past success is a key reason for wanting changes to the four-year-old Marion rules. Garry Grimm, a Cedar Rapids resident and landlord in both Cedar Rapids and Marion, told council members that there’s a difference in how he promotes properties and screens prospective tenants in the two communities. “For Cedar Rapids properties, if they call and ask…

03Aug 2015 by Lynda Waddington

Got milk? Stay home with baby

Gazette Column

Did you hear the breaking news report this week that a female breast was displayed at a Dubuque swimming pool? OK, there were actually lots of female breasts on display, but the one that made the news had a baby attached to it. Some poor woman obviously ignored Victoria’s Secret memo that only decorative models are suitable for public display. So, let’s review: Breasts selling hamburgers? Acceptable use. Breasts displayed at car shows or professional wrestling matches? Time-honored acceptable use. Breasts adorned with owl eyeballs? Restaurant genius! Breasts nourishing a child? Clear indicator of society’s moral decay. Women must stop spreading the lie that breasts have a function other than marketing and sexual arousal. To think that such a myth was promulgated at a public swimming pool after so much…