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houseboat expo new

  June 23, 2010
Vol 6, No 1-10

MAKING OUR WATERS GREENER

July is all about sustainable boating

 

The ongoing drama unfolding in the Gulf of Mexico helps all of us to focus on eco-friendly, sustainable boating. That's what the July HeartLand Boating is all about.


HLB JUL Cover


Mike Bush, who took us around the Great Loop with him, writes about his new duties as a RiverKeeper. Speaking of the Great Loop, Ottawa,Ill.'s RiverWalk is designed to welcome both loopers and just people who enjoy nature. Here's part of what boaters see there.

Shoreline Boat Club from the river. Photo by Joel Miller
Wear It 


Ironically, Joan Wenner talks about (our small private) oil spills. Avoiding oil altogether, Capt. Fred Davis 
takes a second look at electric boats in the Boat Smart column, including these two.
 

Island Pilot  American Beauty
Capt Davis visits an Island Pilot.         The American Beauty. Photo by Rob   
  Photo by Pat Davis                               Hoberman  
 
The first Marina Profile for July is located on Lake Erie. It's Monroe's Marina at Barcelona Harbor and PierNewcomer Randy DeVaul writes about it. The second Marina Profile is Jamestown Marina & Resort
on Lake

Cumberland, by Bobbye Kenyon.


  
Wear It
Jamestown Marina by air. Photo by John Kenyon, Offshore PR

Barcelona Harbor
Barcelona Harbor at twilight. Photo by Wendy Gollnitz

Our own Mark Gentry, an advertising rep for HLB, participated in a Mississippi River cleanup when Chad Pregracke's Living Lands and Waters came to St Louis.

Chad Pregracke
 Pregracke, on the river. Photo by Mark Gentry

Here's what the crowd that turned out to work looked like before they set off to their various assignments. Who knew the Mississippi had so much sand?


People talking
Photo by Mark Gentry

So keep your eyes on the mailbox for the next issue, and keep thinking about our beautiful heartland lands and waters.


FUN EVENTS IN THE HEARTLAND
Davenport Celebrates Bix Beiderbecke

It's summer at last, and that means it's time for fun! The folks in Davenport, Iowa, agree, which is why July 22-25 is set aside to celebrate native son, Leon "Bix" Beiderbecke, a pioneer of jazz.BIX

During the Roaring '20s, he was a legendary cornetist, pianist and composer. The Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival has taken place since 1972 to honor the young genius whose career was cut short in 1931. When he died, Beiderbecke was only 28 years old. 

Never heard of the musician with the interesting name? Come to the festival and sop up information in the happiest way as it celebrates "Bix and Friends" in numerous locations. More bands are scheduled to play this year than in previous year.


Le Claire Park
Band concert, Le Claire Park
 

        Exterior Col Ballroom           Wear It
Exterior, Col Ballroom                  Interior, Col Ballroom 
                        Photos courtesy Quad Cities CVB

For the complete schedule, click here
Or, just call the Bix Memorial Jazz Society office at 1-888-BIX-LIVS (249-5487) or (563) 324-7170.

Six bands are performing at the Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival for the first time. Dan Levinson's Roof Garden Jass Bandwill be the featured band at the gravesite ceremony on Saturday at Oakdale Memorial Gardens, along with other performance times. 

Other new bands include the Ballyhoo Foxtrot Orchestra,

an ensemble dedicated to early jazz, the Buffalo Ridge Jazz Band, and the Firecracker Jazz Band that pays homage to the roots of jazz in New Orleans. As a special treat, Vince Giordanoof The Nighthawks has put together an 11-piece ensemble that performs on Saturday night at the Col Ballroom. The band includes Andy Stein on violin who is part of the house band on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." Returning bands include the New Red Onion Jazz Babies and Josh Duffee & His Orchestra.

For information about the Quad Cities, contact the Quad Cities Convention &Visitors Bureau at 1-800-747-7800 or visit its Web site.

The Quad City area, on the Mississippi River, is made up of the Cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa, and Moline, East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois.


Remember, you can find a list of heartland events any time on our Web site.

OIL SPILL UPDATES


The National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium,  featured on the cover of our June issue, has drastically changed its exhibit about the Gulf of Mexico. An empty 40,000-gallon fish tank is now a main feature of the exhibit, according to a recent report on thehawkeye.com.

Museum officials said they had grappled with an appropriate way to recognize the crisis that the BP oil spill, now perhaps amounting to 120 million gallons of crude oil and natural gas, has produced.


Museum exterior
National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium in Dubuque, Iowa

On the up side, The Miami Herald's Cammy Clark reported on June 22 that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has effectively downgraded the risk to the Florida Keys. Billy Causey, southeast regional director of NOAA's National Marine Sanctuary Program, said that due partly to changes in currents, the oil spewing from the well site does not have a clear path to the Keys.

But the Florida Panhandle hasn't escaped. Here is a slide show from another Miami Herald story,
by Laura

Figueroa and Carol Rosenberg. It talks about the "tar patties" washing up on the shores of Okaloosa County, near Destin.

 

On Sunday, Jennifer Lebovich reported from the rig drilling the relief well that everyone hopes will be the solution to the huge spill.
Click here to find out about 

the technical details, and the urgency that crews feel about the work.


SOME MONEY NOTES 

Beware of Tax Bills Under the Welcome Mat


Our friends at the Boat Owners Association of The United States, BoatUS, write to warn about  revenue-

starved states targeting boaters who make long journeys. Apparently, budgets are now so tight that if boaters stay too long in one place, you may become subject to local sales, use, excise, or property taxes.


Wear It

Planning to stay a while in a distant state? Be aware of

local tax implications. Photo courtesy BoatUS


In most states, a privately owned recreational boat must be registered in the state where it is principally used, and any taxes paid to that state. Problems can arise when the boat leaves this principal-use state and enters a new one for a long visit, extended cruise or lengthy repairs. States often offer "grace periods" ranging from 60 to 90 days. To help boaters understand this issue, BoatUS offers an online map highlighting state sales and

property tax rates with links to state tax departments, as well as registration information and "grace periods."

 

You're presented with a U.S. map, and simply click on the state you need to learn about. I discovered, for example, that Missouri offers a grace period of 60 days.

 

Our Waterway Law columnist, Joan Wenner, JD, writes to say that BoatUS--and probably other insurance companies as well--is advising policyholders they are covered for oil-spill damage in many cases. Click here
for more information. A discussion forum, The Hull Truth, offers information, too, Wenner said.

 

"Take care of the pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves," Grandmother always used to say. Hard to think of a better summer to remember the saying.

 

Enjoy these warm days with cool breezes,

 

Lee Braff 


Editor
HeartLand Boating

Editorial Offices                                                       

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