| On the trail of the Berlin Wall
I was in Germany during June 2007 along with 14 other professors from Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Karnataka, for a training programme at the Bosch Rexroth plant in Lohr, near Frankfurt. After the hectic training programme, we got the much deserved break to relax for a couple of days and the unanimous choice was a visit to Berlin. The superfast inter-city express train took just about three and a half hours for the journey of nearly 500 km. We checked into a hotel near the railway station ‘Ostbahnhof’, that is, Berlin East Railway station. Frank called on us as soon as we checked into the hotel and we decided to go for the ‘Berlin Wall tour’. The 1.1 km stretch of the Wall near Ostbahnhof in Friedrichshain was at a walking distance from our hotel. We followed the pink umbrella held aloft by Frank in the light drizzle.
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Panel: Build 'Early Action' projects on time
The staff came back Friday with other options: Delay other projects while carrying the Trolley forward, delay all of the early projects, or keep all of the projects on schedule and work to fill the gap later.The panel opted to keep every highway, rail and bus project on schedule.But in doing so, Santee Councilman Jack Dale reminded colleagues that they were committing themselves to "a mission to find additional dollars."And Del Mar Mayor Dave Druker, representing coastal North County on the panel, warned that if the mission fails, the agency will have to leave other projects behind in the second go-round of TransNet.Besides the Early Action Program, TransNet proposes to fund a slew of other projects. Those include popular North County projects such as car-pool lanes on Highway 78 between Oceanside and Escondido and widening of Interstate 5.The discussion was prompted by the need to adopt a TransNet financing plan as the agency prepares to sell $600 million in bonds this April to jump-start the 40-year campaign to make traveling around the county a little easier.The panel was persuaded to stay the course by John Meyer of Escondido, chairman of a regional watchdog group that oversees TransNet spending.
Eric Halvorson's Blog
He said they did not discuss Ballard's plan to take control of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. The merger of the former IPD and the Marion County Sheriff's Department put that power in the Sheriff's hands. Ballard has said the authority belongs in the Mayor's Office. Sheriff Anderson says the question of control should be put forward in a referendum. He says voters should decide who controls the department. And, he says voters should decide whether the consolidation should be reversed. I asked the Mayor-elect about that proposal. He said, "I don't think we're ever going to come to that. People know what I ran on. I said that up front, repeatedly. I think we've had that referendum. That said, Sheriff Anderson is a great public servant. A great man. No problem whatsoever on that. I'm not here to pick a fight.
Abordo pins his hopes on big day
He has it in mind that he might have it within himself to push beyond the fate of a small-school lineman. He is, after all, a football player from tiny Mary Star High in San Pedro, a school that doesn't send many players onto any level of college football. Abordo wonders if he can change that. He is realistic and knows he's not going to ever be on anybody NFL's draft chart, but that's OK. His two weeks of practice with players from larger schools around the South Bay in preparation for Saturday's Lions Club All-Star football game has encouraged him and served as an inkling of what levels of football may await him. "I'm not the biggest guy and I know for sure that I'm not the fastest guy," Abordo said. "But I know I'll try to play at the highest level I can. I'll try. I won't give up that easily." Abordo envisions himself one day playing at the Division II level after spending two years playing junior college football locally to increase his strength and skills.
Ottawa fires nuclear safety commission head
The federal government has fired the head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, days after she publicly accused Natural Resources Minister Gary Lunn of interfering with the independence of the arm's-length watchdog. The former head of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, Linda Keen, says she will appear at a parliamentary committee about the reactor closure on Wednesday.(CBC) "The president was aware of the importance of maintaining Canada's and the world's supply of medical isotopes," said the statement from Lunn's office. "However, given the growing crisis, she did not demonstrate the leadership expected of the president under the existing legislative provisions of the Nuclear Safety and Control Act to put the commission in a position to address the situation in a timely fashion." Lunn and Keen have been at odds since the 50-year-old Chalk River nuclear reactor was shut down in November, prompting a worldwide shortage of medical isotopes.
Parents often fumble on financial aid forms
High school seniors have been scrambling for months to complete their applications for college. Now it's their parents' turn to sweat.
The start of the year marks the launch of financial aid season, when parents fill out exhaustively detailed forms in an effort to get their share of the billions of dollars of assistance available. Unfortunately, aid forms can be every bit as unnerving as college applications. Missteps can cost thousands.
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