MetroLink will celebrate the grand opening of the new Cross County MetroLink Extension with a Welcome Aboard Weekend on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27, featuring special ceremonies, a community festival, and two days of free rides.
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MetroLink Prepares to Open New Cross County Extension
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), August 22, 2006 - Regular passenger service on the new Cross County MetroLink Extension begins on Monday, August 28, 2006.
Prior to opening day, Metro will celebrate the grand opening with a Welcome Aboard Weekend on Saturday, August 26 and Sunday, August 27 2006. Citizens are invited to enjoy special ceremonies, a community festival, and two days of free rides on the new extension.
The Grand Opening Ribbon Cutting Ceremony will kick off at the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday with a progressive ribbon cutting. A MetroLink light rail vehicle will cut through a ribbon to officially open the stations at Skinker, Big Bend, Forsyth, Clayton, Richmond Heights, Brentwood I-44, Maplewood-Manchester, Sunnen and Shrewbury Landsdowne.
A community celebration will be held from 2:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. across from the Shrewsbury Lansdowne Station. The public is invited to attend any of the ceremonies. Customers are welcome to ride the Cross County Extension free on Saturday, August 26 from 12:15 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. and on Sunday, August 27 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Passengers will be required to pay the regular fare between Airport Main and Shiloh-Scott Stations. Metro staff will be on the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station platform selling tickets for passengers who wish to continue beyond the Cross County Extension.
Construction of the Cross County MetroLink Extension began in the spring of 2003 and was funded 100% locally from the Proposition M sales tax passed in both St. Louis City and St. Louis County in August of 1994. The Cross County Extension will add 8 miles to the existing rail system, which currently spans 38 miles from Shiloh, Illinois (at Scott Air Force Base) to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport.
In an announcement, Larry Salci, president and CEO of Metro, said, "The opening of Cross County connects seven municipalities from the Forest Park-DeBaliviere Station to Shrewsbury, and will provide more access to jobs, schools, medical facilities, shopping and entertainment destinations throughout the region."
For MetroLink and MetroBus schedules and route maps, call Metro's Transit Information in Missouri at (314) 231-2345 or TTY (314) 982-1555, or from Illinois call (618) 271-2345 or TTY (618) 875-1200, Monday through Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Large Majorities of Public Support Surveillance
of Suspected Terrorists
ST. LOUIS, (PRNewswire), August 20, 2006 - A Harris Poll conducted in late July, before news of a terrorist plot to blow up U.S.-bound airplanes broke, found that large majorities of U.S. adults support strong surveillance measures when dealing with suspected terrorist activities.
Given that this poll was conducted prior to the British arresting people suspected of a plot to blow up planes between the U.S. and the U.K., it is possible that opinions about government surveillance in the U.S. may have changed.
This Harris Poll found that when law enforcement agencies are investigating terrorism:
-- 70 percent of all adults favor "expanded camera surveillance on streets
and in public places" - something which is currently more widespread in
Britain than the United States.
-- 61 percent favor "closer monitoring of banking and credit card
transactions".
-- 62 percent favor "law enforcement monitoring of Internet chat rooms and
other forums."
-- While the public was still divided on whether the government should
expand the "monitoring of cell phones and email," a modest 52 percent
to 46 percent majority supported it. In February, a modest 55 percent
to 44 percent majority had opposed it.
Harris Interactive asked Dr. Alan Westin, the noted authority on privacy issues, and the publisher of Privacy and American Business, to review these findings.
According to Dr. Westin, "Since 9/11, the Bush Administration has maintained that it has the constitutional mandate to conduct a wide range of anti-terrorist surveillance operations under the president's own executive authority. While majorities continue to support these investigative programs as necessary, 59% to 66% of Americans now feel that such programs should be done 'only with Congressional authorization.'"
"This reflects the historic American belief that serious intrusions into the civil liberties of individuals -- even when justified -- need Congressional standards and oversight, to guard against potential abuses and over-reaching by the executive branch," said Dr. Westin.
James S. McDonnell Planetarium Anticipates the Addition of
Three Celestial Bodies to Current Roster of Planets
ST. LOUIS, (SLFP.com), August 13, 2006 - The debate has been going on for more than two centuries, and a definitive decision from the worlds leading astronomers regarding what constitutes a "planet" has been in the making for at least the past two years.
The International Astronomical Union (or IAU) is currently debating a draft resolution which will distinguish the difference between "planets" and other "small solar system bodies," and will put the resolution to a vote during its 12-day General Assembly meeting in Prague, Czech Republic. The voting assembly includes nearly 2,500 top astronomers from 75 nations worldwide.
"The best thing about this debate (besides putting an end to the blatant discrimination against "icy dwarves") is the increased coverage of current, fascinating discoveries in space," said Gregg Maryniak, Vice President of Space Science and Director of the James S. McDonnell Planetarium in St. Louis.
The approval of the IAU resolution would mean the current solar system would expand from nine to twelve planets with the addition of Charon, Pluto's largest moon and a part of the Kuiper Belt; Ceres, a large asteroid previously considered a planet during the 1800s; and the recently discovered 2003 UB313 (nicknamed "Xena"). Each planet's predominate proximity to the sun would rearrange the order of planets to Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Ceres, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto, Charon and the provisionally named 2003 UB313.
If the decision is made to approve the IAU resolution, the Science Center will hold a contest that invites the public to devise a new mnemonic to help memorize the new line-up of planets, in order (for example: Mother Very Easily Made a Jelly Sandwich Using No Pickles.)
"Obviously, if they decided to officially add planets, that mnemonic phrase will no longer work. So I'm announcing that we'll be collecting nominations for a new mnemonic, and will display the winner within two weeks of the decision," Maryniak said.
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