Hummingbirds ready to fly south for winter

By David Heitz | Friday, October 12, 2007

Q: When are we supposed to stop feeding the hummingbirds?

— Kay, Columbus City

A: Mark Graham, manager of Wild Birds Unlimited in Davenport, said the hummingbirds will head for South America just about any day now, regardless of whether you keep feeding them.

“We recommend you leave the feeders up for two weeks after you last see them, just in case there’s a straggler who needs to recharge before the long flight home,” he said. It’s a myth that the birds will stay all winter if you keep feeding them, just as it is a myth that they fly home on the backs of geese.

Q: At a local store when I wrote out a check for my purchases with identification, they asked for my phone number. I pay extra to keep my phone number unlisted. Is it mandatory to give out your phone number to businesses?

— Virginia, Davenport

A: Bill Brauch, chief of the consumer protection division of the Iowa Attorney General’s Office, said retailers can ask for a phone number as a requirement of cashing or accepting a check. “Customers can decide either to provide the number or do business elsewhere.”

Something worth nothing is that under Iowa law, a retailer cannot record a customer’s credit card number as a condition of accepting a check, but can ask to see the card.

Q: Is KWQC’s morning anchor, Jessica Tighe, any relation to 1970s television show “Emergency” star Kevin Tighe? The unusual last name and the matching red hair to the former paramedic character has made me wonder about the connection for several months. I recently saw the former “Emergency” star in a creepy role on “Law and Order: SVU” and I questioned the connection once again.

— Brent, Quad-Cities

A: “Jessica laughed when I asked her if she’s related,” said April Samp, KWQC-TV6 news director. “She’s heard of the actor Kevin Tighe, but no, there is no relation.” Jessica grew up in Wisconsin. You can watch her beginning at 4:30 a.m. Monday through Friday on “Quad-Cities Today.”

Q: Why are we getting so much in the way of sidewalks on 53rd Street and Kimberly Road in Davenport? We have gone years without sidewalks in some areas that really need them. Now we seem to almost have everything getting sidewalks. It sure is great to see it being done. Just where is the money coming from to pave them?

— Davenport resident

A: “As continuous areas along 53rd Street, Welcome Way and Kimberly Road have developed, the city has been requiring the property owners to construct sidewalks along their properties,” said City Engineer Gene Hellige. “Many of the sidewalks in these areas were not constructed at the time of building construction because either the street was not full width or the next stretch of sidewalk was a long distance away. The majority of the costs are assessed to the properties. Any costs which the city is responsible for are paid from the local-option sales tax.”