| City's two-wheel transformation
London is likely to become one of the most cycle-friendly places in the world, with a series of two-wheeler superhighways cutting a swath through traffic and congestion. Plans for the super-cycleways will be unveiled next week as part of an initiative to stimulate a 400% increase in the number of people pedalling round the capital by 2025. At a cost of £400m, the 12 routes are intended to be the motorways of cycling and are likely to be emulated by other cities across the UK. Londoners without bikes will be able to use one of the city's free bicycles. "We want nothing short of a cycling transformation in London," said the mayor, Ken Livingstone. "We are announcing the biggest investment in cycling in London's history, which will mean that thousands more Londoners can cycle in confidence, on routes that take them quickly and safely to where they want to go." The cycle scheme is one of several environmental announcements expected in the capital over the coming weeks, including a decision on plans for a £25-a-day congestion charge on the highest-polluting vehicles and a proposal to re-fit 900 civic buildings across the capital to make them more energy-efficient.
White House Press Briefing on President Bush's 2009 Budget Plan
Well, we've learned from experience that in order to get to that destination, you've got to take some bite-sized chunks, and I think the president has done that. And together with the Congress, in a bipartisan way, yes, we've made a determination to drive up the deficit in order to stimulate the economy and get some economic growth through a tax package that they are now considering. But, again, it's a manageable deficit. It isn't the largest in history by any stretch of the imagination. And it's one that can be managed if we get economic growth back on track. QUESTION: You talked about the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 and the bipartisan cooperation which spawned it. But what in the world are you thinking when you project that you can get a bipartisan budget agreement in an election year, please? NUSSLE: It is challenging, there's no question about it.
Tracking the cycle - a topsy turvy year in M&A
Downtown, almost the very tip of the island. It's a freezing grey day outside. Sat in the twentieth floor of a deep-carpeted office of a leading M&A lawyer. For all the talk of the shift in power to London, this is it. This spiky concrete jungle is still the hard-wired centre of global money-flow and still knows it. Like the steaks – they still do it bigger and better here. Talk in the meetings is of covenant-lite deals, EBITDA holidays, and private equity and bulge bracket clients tearing up the rulebooks. Barbarians at the gate? More like the barbarians guarding the gates. ‘But how long can the rule-bending last?' says my interviewee, his caution rings in my ears as I rush to my gate at JFK and the Christmas break. The New Year, however, will bring yet more record-breaking buyouts: TXU ($44bn), First Data ($27bn), and Alltel ($27bn).
Ritchie finishes final scene
It all becomes very clear as the story continues," she said. "We will revisit a lot of the history, in particular mine. "Knowing I'm leaving and that Sally's days are numbered on the show, it has been nice to tidy up a few things." Next year, Ritchie embarks on a new adventure, joining FM station Nova 96.9's breakfast crew with Merrick and Rosso .
Teen 'beggar' kills Pakistan's surgeon general in suicide attack
A teenage boy allegedly dressed as a beggar blew himself up Monday near a military vehicle carrying the Pakistani Army's surgeon general; seven other people also were killed. Meanwhile, gunmen burst into the offices of a British-based aid group in northwest Pakistan, shooting four local staffers to death and burning down their building. The assaults, both blamed on Islamic extremists, were the most serious outbreak of violence since parliamentary elections a week ago, in which the ruling party affiliated with President Pervez Musharraf was routed by two main opposition parties. In the attack that killed Lt. Gen. Mushtaq Ahmed Baig, the army's top medical officer, the "beggar" approached the general's car on foot on a busy street in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, authorities said.
Getting ready to Relay in '08
Two days before her 34th birthday, Ladelle Smothers was diagnosed with breast cancer. After surgery, she got more bad news -- the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, chest, abdomen and groin area. After the ordeal of more surgery, chemo and radiation therapy, the mother of two young boys has a positive attitude. "I have cancer, but it didn't have me," she told those attending the 2008 Relay for Life kickoff banquet Thursday night at First Pentecostal Holiness Church. That sentiment was echoed by other cancer survivors at the official start to the Relay, which will be May 16-17 at Wayne Community College. Mrs. Smothers is one of two adult honorary co-chairmen of this year's Relay. Carol Mitchell is the other co-chairman. Cooper Bryan was named the honorary children's chairman.
Bicycle Helmets Recalled by Specialized Due to Failing Helmet Standard
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed. (To access color photos of the following recalled products, see CPSC's Web site at http://www.cpsc.gov.) Name of Product: Specialized Bicycle Helmets Units: About 3,000 Manufacturer: Specialized Bicycles, of Morgan Hill, Calif. Hazard: The helmets fail testing required under CPSC's safety standard for bicycle helmets. This can pose a head injury hazard to riders in a fall.
Jury awards $350,000 in Blacksburg triathlon lawsuit
A Montgomery County jury late Tuesday night awarded $350,000 to a woman involved in a crash that killed a bicyclist during a Blacksburg triathlon more than seven years ago. Sharon Knight, a Blacksburg resident, had filed a civil lawsuit against the town and the director of the third annual Greater Blacksburg Triathlon, claiming they were negligent in failing to warn passing motorists of the race course. Triathlon participant Gary Wayne Taylor, a 30-year-old sports promoter from Lynchburg, died midway through the June 18, 2000, competition after his bicycle crashed into Knight's car. Knight was heading to church east on Southgate Drive toward Lane Stadium about 9 a.m. that morning when Taylor crashed into the side of her car at the intersection with Tech Center Drive.
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