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Saint Louis News - "All the news that is Saint Louis"
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ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com) Dec 7, 2001 - Southwestern Bell Long Distance, an affiliate of SBC Southwestern Bell, has launched a comprehensive, no-nonsense long distance service in the Missouri market as part of a "Simple Solutions" package. According to an announcement, the long distance service has no restrictions or complexities and is available at a basic rate of 10 cents-per-minute any time for domestic out-of-state calls and 12 cents-per-minute for in-state calls, with no monthly fee. SBC Long Distance, the newest member of the SBC family of companies in Missouri, is launching its long distance service for consumers and businesses following a decision on Nov. 16 by the Federal Communications Commission authorizing the company to enter the Missouri long distance market, and the ensuing approval from the Missouri Public Service Commission. FCC approval allows the company to provide long distance service for voice calls and data transmissions originating in Missouri. In July 2000, the FCC approved SBC to offer long distance service in Texas, the first SBC Southwestern Bell market authorized to provide long distance since the Bell divestiture in 1984. In January 2001, the FCC authorized the company to expand its services to Kansas and Oklahoma.  Jewel Box to Close for Renovation ST. LOUIS, MO (SLFP.com) Dec 7, 2001 - The Christmas Poinsettia Show will be the last exhibit at the Jewel Box in Forest Park until this time next year. The facility, built by the City of St. Louis in 1936 and operated by the Department of Parks, Recreation and Forestry, will undergo a much needed renovation. The Jewel Box is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily; 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Christmas Eve and closed on Christmas Day. The facility will closed at 5 p.m., December 31 for the repairs. It is expected to open for the Christmas Poinsettia Show in early December 2002. WASHINGTON, D.C. (PRNewswire) Dec 6, 2001 - The study released Thursday by the National Academy of Sciences shows the failure of the Federal Aviation Administration in monitoring and regulating air quality in the aircraft cabin and raises questions about potentially serious consequences to the health of people breathing aircraft cabin air. "This study reveals a conspiracy of ignorance between the FAA and the airlines to ensure that we never really know how severe a public health risk cabin air poses," said Patricia Friend, International President of the Association of Flight Attendants, AFL-CIO. "That's unconscionable, the jurisdiction for monitoring and regulating cabin air must be taken out of the hands of the FAA." The AFA is comprised of over 50,000 flight attendants at 26 carriers. The NAS completed an airline air quality study in 1986 and presented the FAA with a number of recommendations for monitoring and regulating cabin air quality. The FAA failed to independently implement all but one of the programs the NAS recommended. AFA fully supports the NAS in its call for monitoring carbon monoxide and ozone in the aircraft cabin. AFA also supports the Academy's quest for more data to study the health effects of the items it lists as high or moderate concern, including: cabin pressure, ozone, airborne allergens, carbon monoxide, hydraulic fluids and engine oils, infectious agents and pesticides. The monitoring systems recommended by the NAS could also help protect, monitor and investigate aircraft in the event of a biological or chemical terrorist attack on an aircraft. The NAS study was hindered by the refusal of a number of airlines to share their records on air quality. The Aircraft Clean Air Act of 2001, introduced by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY), will force airlines to lift the shroud of secrecy that surrounds the problems with aircraft air quality. The legislation mandates that carriers turn over the pertinent records so flight attendants and passengers can obtain critical information that may help characterize their illnesses that are likely linked to air quality problems onboard aircraft. Court Rules in Favor of Domain Name Owners WASHINGTON, D.C. (PRNewswire) Dec 6, 2001 - In an important decision issued Dec 5 by a U.S. federal court, it was ruled that a domain name owner who has lost a domain name in an Internet ICANN proceeding can obtain a U.S. court decision to permit him to keep the name. The decision was issued in a lawsuit that was filed to overturn a decision of the World Intellectual Property Organization ("WIPO"), a Swiss organization which has been granted decision- making authority by the Internet governing body, ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers). In a decision in July of 2000, WIPO had decided that the domain name corinthians.com should be transferred to a Brazilian corporation named Corinthians Licenciamentos. The domain name had initially been owned by a U.S. citizen for the posting of Biblical quotations. The initial owner of the domain name requested that the federal court declare that he was not a cybersquatter under the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act ("ACPA") and that the domain name should not be transferred from him. In an initial decision by the district court, it was decided that federal courts did not have jurisdiction over the dispute involving the WIPO decision. The initial decision was overturned, however, in the appellate court decision issued yesterday, which ruled that U.S. federal courts can make a determination that a domain name should not be transferred if a plaintiff can prove that he has not violated ACPA. "This is an important decision," according to Stephen H. Sturgeon, a Washington, DC Internet lawyer specializing in domain name disputes, "It establishes a precedent for domain name owners to obtain reversals of decisions issued by ICANN arbitration organizations." Mr. Sturgeon, who practices in the U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia, said that a number of new lawsuits will probably be filed by disenfranchised domain name owners to obtain decisions permitting them to keep their domain names. The U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Virginia has been a major forum for cases involving domain names because Network Solutions, the central registry of domain names, is located in Virginia.
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