| County settles on car registration price tag
Multnomah County commissioners have settled on a price tag for their bridge-funding measure planned for the May 20 ballot: a $24 annual increase in car registration fees. The money would be earmarked to replace the Sellwood Bridge and make other improvements to the county's six Willamette River bridges. In past weeks, county officials had talked about creating a local vehicle registration fee, with voter approval, costing between $15 to $27 a year. Now they have fixed the amount at $24 a year for 20 years. The county will take the proposal out to the community for feedback, and to begin developing support for an expected vote on the fee increase. Four town halls are scheduled to brief the public on the plan for a bridge safety fund: Thursday, Jan. 31, 6 to 8 p.m., Multnomah County East, Sharron Kelley Room, 600 N.E.
Young entrepeneur vies for £20,000 prize
A TRAINEE architect who hopes to develop a new bicycle security product has been named one of Britain's top 10 student entrepreneurs.
Anthony Lau, of Lakeside, Beckenham, is in the running for the £20,000 first prize in the new HSBC Unipreneurs Awards.
His invention, Cyclehoop, has already out-performed entries from hundreds of young business hopefuls.
The device allows cyclists to lock their bikes on signposts.
The 26-year-old trainee architect, who is doing a part-time architecture course at the University of Westminster, said he hoped his invention would encourage more people to cycle.
He said: “It's essentially a steel hoop that clamps onto signposts and turns the post into a bicycle rack. People use street furniture to lock their bikes anyway, but the problem is they can fall over and cause an obstruction, and people can steal them by lifting them over the signpost.
Now, saline water worries flood-hit Malwa farmers
After suffering heavy losses due to water logging this kharif season, farmers of the Malwa region are a worried lot with their fields still inundated and the wheat-sowing season already in the offing. With over 50 per cent of their paddy and cotton crops totally perished, the land tillers in villages of Bahmanwala, Takhtmalana, Jhabelwali, Chadhewan, Thandewala, Widing, Udaikaran, Chauntara, Bajja, Vattoo, Haraj, Sarainaga and Jammuana helplessly watched the migratory birds in their flooded or marshy fields. They are looking for remedies to get rid of the menace of sem (saline water logging in fields). As one walks over these sem-affected fields, the feet sink in the earth as if the water below is waiting to come up. The sem has blackened the top layer of soil. A farmer will have to plough such a piece of land at least four times to make it fit for cultivation.
Scooter rider, 87, dies of injuries
AN elderly man has died from injuries he suffered when he was struck at a pedestrian crossing in Brisbanes bayside last Wednesday. The man, 87, died at the Princess Alexandra Hospital yesterday, a police statement said. The retiree had been riding a motorised scooter and attempting to cross Wynyard St in Cleveland about 9am when he was hit by a utility vehicle driven by a 24-year-old Indooroopilly man. The Forensic Crash Unit is investigating the fatality but the driver of the vehicle has not been charged. Share this article What is this? .
More colleges
After enduring postponements or cancellations to four dual matches already this season, the Gators (3-1) were anxious to compete against a highly-ranked squad, but it was the Blue Devils (2-0) who rallied from a 2-0 deficit to snap a five-match losing streak to Florida, which now holds a 30-4 all-time record against Duke. The Gators' last loss to the Blue Devils was a 4-3 decision on Feb. 9, 2003 in the finals of the National Team Indoor Championships. Florida went on to win the NCAA title later that season. The Gators opened Friday's match winning the doubles point, sweeping all three positions. The No. 1 pair of sophomore Megan Alexander and newcomer Marrit Boonstra produced the clinching 8-5 win over Amanda Granson and Melissa Mang, after Whitney Benik and Lolita Frangulyan topped Tara Iyer and Reka Zsilinszka, 8-6, on court No.
'Bikeability:' Does the region have the right stuff?
Cyclists ride past the Roanoke River on Saturday, a spot growing in popularity with bikers, runners and walkers. The greenway is an asset as the League of American Bicyclists comes to Roanoke this week to check out how bicycle-friendly the area is. Related Want to ride? Roanoke-area cyclists with the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club will ride 30.5 miles today to show the region to visitors from the League of American Bicyclists. To ride, show up at the Hotel Roanoke at 1 p.m. A helmet is required, but a reservation is not. See the route at www.routeslip.com/routes/68872. A Bicycle-Friendly Community is one that scores high marks for: Bike lanes on streets, bike trails, bike parking and a bicycling master plan Easy access to information that teaches safety to motorists and riders of all ages Ample promotion of bicycling through events, signs and other support Enforcement of practices that keep riders and drivers safe Efforts to continually improve bikeability Drop the keys According to the 1995 Nationwide Personal Transportation Survey, 25 percent of all trips are made within a mile of the home, 40 percent of trips are within two miles of the home, and 50 percent of workers commute five miles or less.
March 2007
Monday Massachusetts State Fire Marshall Stephen Coan together with Rochester Fire Chief Scott Ashworth told CWN how they believed the fire started and issued a warning for people throwing out trash. Coan told CWN, "The fire was caused by an explosion in one of the shredders." He added, "Investigators have ruled out any intentional act." Coan added, "Apparently someone inappropriately threw away an item such as a small propane or butane tank. These pressurized cylinders cannot be sent to an incinerator and it usually says so right on the container." He added, "Plant staff has pulled many similar inappropriate items from the trash in the past such as LP-gas grill cylinders, preventing many similar incidents. I would ask citizens across the Commonwealth to dispose of this kind of refuse safely and properly." Ptown man charged with OUI after "suicide alley" crashORLEANS - A Provincetown man was arrested for his second offense OUI after flipping a pickup truck on Route 6 near the Orleans rotary Friday.
No. 5 Maryland rides Toliver's 24 past Florida St. in OT
Toliver hit a 3-pointer and Crystal Langhorne made a layup to put Maryland up 83-81, and after the Seminoles got within a point, Marah Strickland scored in the lane and Toliver made two free throws to make it 89-84 with 55 seconds to go. Langhorne, who had her No. 1 hung from the rafters after the game, finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Harper contributed 12 points and 10 rebounds, and Coleman had 13 points and nine rebounds. It was the fifth time the Terrapins finished undefeated at home, the first since 1988-89. Maryland had never won more than 15 home games in a single season. Coach Brenda Frese made her first appearance on the sidelines after giving birth to twins on Feb. 17. She didn't coach the first half, but returned after the break to guide the team from an oversized chair at the end of the bench while assistant Daron Park roamed the sidelines.
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