| STATEHOUSE: Rep. Jones pushes Internet safety policies for public ...
BOSTON — You can lock the doors and windows, hold their hand at the mall and buy training wheels for bicycles. But a major danger facing kids today is right above the keyboard. "The Internet is one of the biggest risks we have for kids safety right now," said Lawrence Lt. Sean Burke, who is president of a national school safety group. And, a North of Boston lawmaker wants to make sure the time kids spend on school computers is safer. Rep. Bradley H. Jones Jr., R-North Reading, is pushing legislation to require every school district to have a policy for making the Internet safe for minors and make the policy known to parents and legal guardians. "It's important that any parent be able to know what (the school system's) policy is, and even if there is no policy in particular," Jones said.
For Bellingham’s Mark Wheatley, the bicycle is way of life
Sitting behind a computer all day is Mark Wheatleys job. But his passion is outside out anywhere he can get to on two wheels. Im not the kind of guy who really likes to sit still, says Wheatley, 53, an instructor and systems engineer who bikes often from his home in Bellingham for overnight trips to his job in Bellevue at computer-training company SQLSoft. I like to do something bigger, he says, getting out and seeing a big horizon. In that spirit, Wheatley takes his bicycle everywhere: he rides it to and from work, on tours and even on vacation. He spent a week before and after a Microsoft conference in November 2006 in Barcelona to tour Europe on his bike. Its sustainable transportation, and I never feel like a road trip (in a car) is at all satisfying to me, he says of his work-and-play biking habits.
Veteran who faked hero status sentenced to jail
Former East Naples resident Raymond Gauthier, 72, was convicted of breaking his probation by possessing a forged veteran document in his new Cocoa Beach residence. Gauthier will now serve 90 days in the Collier County Jail in addition to his previous punishment. Enlarge photos | View thumbnails .
County settles on car registration price tag
Multnomah County commissioners have settled on a price tag for their bridge-funding measure planned for the May 20 ballot: a $24 annual increase in car registration fees. The money would be earmarked to replace the Sellwood Bridge and make other improvements to the county's six Willamette River bridges. In past weeks, county officials had talked about creating a local vehicle registration fee, with voter approval, costing between $15 to $27 a year. Now they have fixed the amount at $24 a year for 20 years. The county will take the proposal out to the community for feedback, and to begin developing support for an expected vote on the fee increase. Four town halls are scheduled to brief the public on the plan for a bridge safety fund: Thursday, Jan. 31, 6 to 8 p.m., Multnomah County East, Sharron Kelley Room, 600 N.E.
Tour de France U.S. Style Comes To Bay Area
Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition will provide free and secure public valet bike parking, noon-4 p.m., at San Jose City Hall Plaza. If you have any questions, or would like additional information regarding the Amgen Tour of California, please visit www.amgentourofcalifornia.com or by calling the San Jose Office of Cultural Affairs, (408) 277-5144, Ext. 21. .
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