Wednesday, October 23, 2002

The Borough has been studying the parking situation for some time,
particularly in the area of the business district. As a result of a review
of the current condition of the mechanical parking meters and committee
recommendations the Borough Council authorized the replacement of the
parking meters on an incremental basis. The first step of the process has
taken place.

Seventy (70) new electronic, digital parking meters have been purchased.
Sixty-eight (68) have been installed. The purchase of another seventy (70)
meters has been authorized for the next fiscal year.The first meters
replaced were those with shorter parking durations, 30 minutes and one
hour. As new meters are received they will replace the shorter-term meters
first and work toward the long-term mechanisms. The 12-hour meters will be
the last to be replaced.New domes are also being installed so the meters
are easier to see. The rate plates inside the meter housing are also being
updated.

These meters provide a number of advantages. They require less maintenance,
are more reliable, and the timing mechanisms are more accurate.
Additionally, they scan inserted coins to detect slugs and foreign currency
so they do not register. These meters are programmable. The Borough opted
for a program that counts down an additional five minutes after the meter
has expired. The red flag will not be visible until five minutes past the
expiration time. Officers issuing parking tickets will now be confident
that the person who inserted coins in the meter received their allotted
time plus five minutes.

The new meters have been tested and found to work properly.If you encounter
a problem with a new meter you must contact the police department
immediately. If you insert a coin and it does not properly register please
let us know so we can attempt to duplicate the problem or determine the cause.

The second matter of interest is an increase in the cost of a traffic
citation. When a traffic ticket is issued the actual fine is usually the
smallest portion of the total cost. Added to the fine are various costs and
fees mandated by law. Effective November 1,2002, the fees will rise.
Previously a traffic violation with a $25.00 fine would result in a total
cost to the violator of $95.00. As the result of Act 122 of 2002, one of
those fees was raised from $1.50 to $10.00. Please be aware that, as of
November 1, 2002, a routine traffic offense will result in a cost of
$103.50. Committing a traffic violation in Pennsylvania just became more
expensive.

*****

* Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose attempted to contact the
Washington DC area sniper again on Tuesday, saying “in the past several
days, you have attempted to communicate with us. We have researched the
option you stated and found it is not possible electronically to comply in
the manner that you requested. However, we remain open and ready to talk to
you about the options you have mentioned. It is important that we do this
without anyone else getting hurt.” CNN.com cites sources close to the
investigation as saying that a note found in the vicinity of the shooting
on Saturday requested ten million dollars. Moose also announced on Tuesday
that the sniper had left a message threatening the safety of children in
the DC area.

* A gathering of Iraqi citizens protested on Tuesday in front of the
Information Ministry demanding information about missing relatives. Many of
the protestors had not heard from their relatives for over ten years, and
when officials announced that not a single prisoner remained in Iraq, the
protestors gathered to make their anger known. The crowd made it clear to
reporters that they were not against Saddam Hussein, but simply hoping for
information about their relatives. Protests in Iraq are usually carefully
orchestrated by the government for official reasons and a spontaneous
demonstration like this one was considered extremely unusual.

* North and South Korean officials finished ironing out the details of an
agreement committing the two countries to striving for a peaceful
resolution to the issues raised by North Korea’s recent admission that it
has a nuclear weapons program. Officials conducted talks in Pyongyang for
four days, starting on Saturday. However, the final agreement does not
contain a commitment on the part of North Korea to eliminate its nuclear
weapons program.

*****

Lecture by Aaron Goldman ’03: “Extraterrestrial origins of life in our
solar system”
Kirby Lecture Hall – Martin, 5:00 p.m.

Lecture by Emi Koyama: “Visions for the Second Decade of the Intersex
Movement: Strategies for Building Stronger Alliances.”
Location TBA, 7:30 p.m.

Chem 10 Study session sponsored by the SAM program
Kohlberg 119, 8:00 p.m.

JATO meeting
Memorial Hall – Bond, 8:00 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Helen Leitner ’04 scored a goal and Kate Nelson-Lee ’03 made six saves
contributing to Swat’s 1-0 victory over Muhlenberg yesterday. The win gave
the team a 7-6 record overall with a 3-1 record in the Centennial Conference.

*****

Today:
Volleyball at Washington, 7:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Field hockey (scrimmage) at West Chester, 4:00 p.m.
Swimming (scrimmage) with Suburban Swim Club, 5:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“There are many humorous things in the world; among them, the white man’s
notion that he is less savage than the other savages.”
–Mark Twain

*****
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