| Ad bomb scare fiasco
The Transportation Security Administration continues to shake down little old ladies in wheelchairs, lest able-bodied Arab men be offended at being subjected to added scrutiny. And in Boston last week, police hyper-reacted to a bomb actually a flashing circuit board that only a deluded Lost in Space junkie would believe to be a bomb. Now two young advertising staffers for Turner Broadcasting face felony charges. Welcome to the age of thoughtless bureaucratic over-reaction, in which earnest people insist upon following procedure when common sense shouts otherwise.
The Turner stunt, in this post-9/11 era, certainly was tasteless and stupid. But to stir a major emergency in a major city over a blinking circuit board a high-tech version of a Lite Bright design requires a special kind of unthinking, bureaucratic stupidity.
For Hungerford School, a joyous student celebration
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul may not have been on hand, but when Hungerford School student Michael Roccomboli belted out the Taylor Hicks tune "Do I Make You Proud," he earned a standing ovation worthy of an "American Idol" from his fellow students, teachers and parents. The 20-year-old Dongan Hills resident wanted the 300 people in the audience to know that he was proud of Hungerford's 40 years serving mentally disabled students on Staten Island. But he also wasn't bashful about his own aspirations. "I always think I want to be the next American Idol," he said, before launching into a rendition of a Sean (P. Diddy) Combs rap song. "I like the music to the beat. I've been practicing at home with karaoke." Michael was one of many students who performed yesterday at a lively celebration of the Clifton school's 40th anniversary.
Reason for Yearsley Bridge Centre closure revealed
YORK's council has revealed why it failed to consult people over the controversial plans to close a day care centre - it knew they would object. City of York Council chiefs say it would have been unfair to ask parents and customers what they thought when they would have said they did not want Yearsley Bridge Centre to shut, and the authority had already decided to close it down. However, officers said they apologised if people "felt they were misled" by letters from the council about the proposals to close the centre, which is attended each week by more than 70 adults with learning disabilities. .
Group is finalist for $300,000 playground
For some students at McCullough Elementary School, the playground is off limits, no matter how well-behaved they are. Because the play area's mulch surface is too difficult to navigate with a wheelchair or a walker and equipment isn't easy to use by all, a team of parents and one teacher are working to make it handicap accessible and then some. Scott Mickey, a third-grade teacher, and mother Lisa Popovich entered an essay contest to win a $300,000 new playground. Their essay, along with 19 others, was selected as a finalist for Playskool's "Win a Boundless Playground" contest. Boundless Playgrounds builds play areas specially designed to be used by children of all ability levels, including those with physical, developmental, cognitive and sensory disabilities.
|
