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St. Louis Front Page P.O. Box 1354 St. Louis, MO 63188 Voice: 314-771-0200 Fax: 314-771-0300 To submit news, contact: editor@slfp.com To advertise, contact: advertising@slfp.com  |
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WASHINGTON, (Newstream), December 18, 2002 - Ford Motor Company will further its involvement in the aviation centennial by taking part in the Experimental Aircraft Association's "Countdown to Kittyhawk". As part of that effort, Ford is providing technical support for a reproduction of the Wright Brothers first flyer to be flown at Kittyhawk on December 17, 2003 - exactly 100 years after that first flight. Aviation pioneers and enthusiasts gathered, December 17, in Washington for a ceremony marking the yearlong 100th anniversary celebration of the first powered airplane flight. The ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum honored pioneers in flight, including the Wright Brothers, Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh and Henry Ford. Those in attendance included former astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong, and actor and aviation enthusiast John Travolta. The inclusion of Henry Ford may come as a surprise to some, but the man who put the world on wheels also helped to nurture and develop aviation in the United States. He was a pioneer in air mail delivery, developed the first modern airport, and devoted a factory to the production of a bomber that was indispensable to the allied war effort in World War II. Edsel B. Ford II represented the Ford family in accepting aviation pioneer honors for their great-grandfather. Public Library of Science to Launch New Free-Access Biomedical Journals Online SAN FRANCISCO, (BUSINESS WIRE), December 17, 2002 - The Public Library of Science (PLoS), a non-profit, international grass-roots organization of scientists, has announced that it is launching a new scientific publishing venture that will make the published results of scientific research more accessible and useful to scientists, physicians and the public. This new effort is backed by a five-year, $9 million grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation and by an important policy decision from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. The PLoS initiative has been led by Dr. Harold E. Varmus, president of the Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, former director of the National Institutes of Health and 1989 Nobel Laureate; Dr. Patrick O. Brown of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Stanford University; and Dr. Michael B. Eisen of Lawrence Orlando Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California, Berkeley. The senior editorial board of the new journals is an international group of scientific luminaries includes Sean Eddy, Ph.D., Washington University of St. Louis. PLoS will publish two new journals -- PLoS Biology and PLoS Medicine. The PLoS journals will retain all of the important features of scientific journals, including rigorous peer-review and high editorial standards, but will use a new business model in which the costs of these services are recovered by modest fees on each published paper. This new model will allow PLoS to make all published works immediately available online, with no charges for access or restrictions on subsequent redistribution or use. "By making the published results of biomedical research available for free, and allowing them to be redistributed and used without restriction, these new journals will substantially increase the value -- to both the scientific community and the public -- of the tremendous investment our society makes in scientific research," explained Dr. Varmus. The PLoS initiative is confident that the open access publication will:
"We think that Web publications that are instantly available for free and are readily searchable and downloadable very much support HHMI's mission," noted Thomas R. Cech, president of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) and a Nobel Laureate in Chemistry. "They are clearly 'the wave of the future' in terms of our investigators disseminating their research discoveries and learning from the findings of others. In addition, we have a strong commitment to international science and the current subscription system puts many journals out of the reach of our colleagues in poorer countries," said Dr. Cech. Astronaut Hall of Fame Reopens to Public KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL, (PRNewswire), December 15, 2002 - The Astronaut Hall of Fame, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex's newest attraction chronicling the personal side of the NASA story, reopened its doors to the public Saturday, December 14, 2002.
"This is a proud moment for us," said Dan LeBlanc, chief operating officer of Delaware North Parks Services of Spaceport (DNPSS), operators of Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex for NASA. "The Astronaut Hall of Fame tells the personal side of human space exploration history through astronaut-owned artifacts, interactive exhibits and astronaut training simulators." "It's an excellent addition to the Visitor Complex experience, and a fitting complement to our existing hardware-themed exhibits, such as the Rocket Garden and Apollo/Saturn V Center. We're pleased to invite the public to experience this new Visitor Complex attraction and to be inspired by the human side of the NASA story," he continued. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will now offer a new two-day "Maximum Access Admission" ticket combining the Visitor Complex and the Astronaut Hall of Fame for $31 plus tax for adults and $21 plus tax for children 3-11. The Maximum Access Admission ticket, valid for two consecutive days, includes all Astronaut Hall of Fame exhibits and simulators and all Visitor Complex attractions, including Astronaut Encounter, IMAX(R) space films and the KSC Tour of restricted areas, plus special values on food and merchandise. The Astronaut Hall of Fame houses the world's largest collection of astronaut memorabilia, as well as displays, exhibits and tributes dedicated to the heroes of Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. The Exhibit Hall houses an historic collection of spacecrafts, including a Mercury Sigma 7 capsule, a Gemini training capsule and an Apollo 14 command module. In the "Simulator Station," realistic astronaut training simulators allow guests to feel the pressure of four times the force of gravity, ride a rover across Mars, and land a Space Shuttle. "We're currently developing in-depth, experiential programs - for children and adults alike - that will take our educational offerings to a whole new level," LeBlanc said. "We'll unveil our new educational programs to the public during the Astronaut Hall of Fame's formal grand opening ceremonies next spring," he continued. The Visitor Complex's current educational programs attracted more than 100,000 participants last year and include Camp KSC spring and summer day camps; educational field trips; job shadowing programs for students with disabilities; Overnight Adventure campouts; and Salute to Scouts days. Located 45 minutes east of Orlando, Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and the Astronaut Hall of Fame are open from 9 a.m. until approximately dusk every day except December 25 and certain launch days. A formal grand opening celebration and unveiling of new educational programs at the Hall of Fame will take place in Spring 2003. Missouri Receives $2 million in Federal Funds for Homeland Security WASHINGTON, D.C., (SLFP.com), December 15, 2002 - The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has approved more than $2 million in federal funds to help Missouri with state and local homeland security efforts. "These funds are a good start at ensuring our state and local communities are prepared for all kinds of disasters, natural or manmade," said Senator Kit Bond, ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee that funds FEMA. The federal dollars for Missouri are funded through the fiscal year 2002 Supplemental Appropriations Act For Further Recovery From and Response to Terrorist Attacks. Of the $2,400,741 granted to Missouri:
The EOP grants will help local governments develolp comprehensive plans, linked through mutual aid agreements, and in outlining the specific roles for all first responders (fire service, law enforcement, emergency medical service, public works, etc.) in responding to terrorist incidents and other disasters. Administered by FEMA's Office of National Preparedness, at least 75 percent of the grant amount is required to go to local governments. Grants for Citizen Corps will address the formation of Citizen Corps Councils and the expansion of the CERT program, which trains individuals in emergency response skills. The state is required to pass through at least 75 percent of this grant award to local governments. Nixon Sues Nextel, Sprint for Deceptive Charges on Billing ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), December 8, 2002 - Attorney General Jay Nixon has filed a lawsuit to stop telecommunications companies Nextel and Sprint from listing charges on consumers' cell phone bill in what Nixon said was a misleading and deceptive manner. Nixon is asking the St. Louis City Circuit Court to issue a temporary restraining order and preliminary and permanent injunctions against the companies. A hearing on the temporary restraining order is scheduled for today at 2 p.m. in Division 3. Nixon said Nextel and Sprint have raised their rates in the past year - which is permitted - but have itemized the rate increase on consumers' bills in such a way to make the increase appear to be a tax or other government-mandated fee. The lawsuit states that Nextel is listing the charges under the heading "Unit Taxes, Fees and Assessments" as a line item labeled "Federal Programs Cost Recovery," while Sprint terms the charges "USA Regulatory Obligations and Fees" under the heading "Other Surcharges and Fees." "Consumers are being led to believe that these charges are part of a tax or other government fee, when they are actually part of the companies' overhead cost of complying with governmental regulations," Nixon said. "Nextel and Sprint are understating their monthly rates by deceptively listing this amount on the bills. Other cell phone companies are incorporating the rate increase as part of the basic charge, and these two companies need to do that as well." The amount Nextel charged for the "Federal Programs Cost Recovery" was 55 cents per month from January through September 2002; Nextel increased the charge to $1.55 in October. The amount Sprint charged under "USA Regulatory Obligations and Fees" was not disclosed to consumers, but appears to be a percentage of the bill, Nixon said. Nixon is asking the court to prohibit Nextel and Sprint from failing to fully and fairly disclose the nature of the "Federal Programs Cost Recovery" fee and "USA Regulatory Obligations and Fees" charges if the companies impose such fees. He also wants the defendants to fully disclose to their customers under contract that the imposition of the charges gives customers the right to terminate their contracts with Nextel or Sprint. Nixon also wants the defendants to pay appropriate civil penalties, as well as the costs to investigate and prosecute the matter.  The Saint Louis Front Page is owned and maintained by the Moore Design Group for the sole purpose of disseminating news and information about the Metropolitan Saint Louis area. Text or graphics may not be copied, rewritten or distributed in any manner whatsoever without written permission. For more information, contact editor@slfp.com All rights reserved world wide © 1996 - 2008 Moore Design Group . |
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