Tuesday, April 14, 2009

The Red River at Winnipeg is almost clear of ice blocks and ice jamming, however there are still dangers from the Red River flood.

Ice blocks which were as high as two storey buildings were ripping out trees, fences and railway ties. “You’ll see huge pans of ice standing vertical, up to 20 feet (6.1 m) high,” said Steve Topping, an official with the provincial Water Stewardship Department. “Ice was shoved up on the shore and took out trees with a very devastating effect. It has changed people’s view of the river.”

“It is incredible, the force. One piece of ice pushed out of the river about 20 feet. You watch the force push this up right in front of your eyes,” said Dean North, of the Selkirk Golf and Country Club.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police are ticketing sight seers who are driving through road closure signs and approaching excavators, cranes and crews breaking up the ice. Vehicles, people, boats, and kayaks are getting in the way.

An eight year old boy is in critical condition after slipping on a culvert Thursday. He was pulled underwater by the speed of the flowing water and remained under for about five to ten minutes until adults could rescue him. The air ambulance supplied by Alberta’s STARS (Shock Trauma Air Rescue Society) remains in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba.

“This is not a spectator sport. It’s not about getting the best pictures for the family albums. I know floods are seen as a bit of an event, but some of the instances I’m hearing about, people should give their head a shake, they really should,” said Steve Ashton Manitoba Emergency Measures Minister, “Those who fall into the river or get into trouble in another way would be not only endangering themselves but the emergency response crews trying to rescue them. I don’t want to see a situation … where we’re trying our darndest to prevent flooding and save lives and somebody [who] decides to go have a white-water experience ends up killing themselves.”

Early Easter Sunday morning floodwater reached the rural municipalities of St. Andrews and St. Clements north of Winnipeg. Residents were sent an evacuation advisory Good Friday, however some residents remained. Rescue efforts commenced Saturday night to find those stranded and unable to leave as their vehicles cannot travel in the swollen overland floodwaters. Some people were rescued from roof tops as entire houses were swept off of their foundations by the large ice blocks hurtling down the river.

Highways in the area remain closed. Neil Gobelle, of Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation said to “definitely continue to watch the Red River Valley and north of the city up in the Selkirk area. Things are changing quite a bit, quite quickly, so we’ll keep an eye on those areas.”

As of Easter Sunday, Winnipeg is expected to be ice free on the Red River. The River rose 4 feet (1.2 m) in the course of 24 hours. Rain is in the forecast and the higher temperatures of 17 °C (62.6 °F) will cause melting of snow and ice.

A weather system caused by La Niña is being watched by the United States National Weather Service and its potential effects between April 16-18 for residents along the Red River Valley. “We want people to be aware there is a very real possibility of the river going higher than what is out there,” said Mark Ewens, data manager at the NWS, “To have spring floods like this back-to-back is just an unfortunate series of events that have come along to plague us this spring. We’re wanting people to understand that this is a potentially serious problem.”

Thursday, July 28, 2005

The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) early morning Thursday, with a narrow vote of 217 in favor, 215 against. Voting was held open for an hour, 45 minutes past the House’s 15-minute voting rule as the President along with other supporters lobbied into the night.

The vote was so close, if one House member changed a “Yea” vote to a “Nay” vote, CAFTA would have failed in a 216-216 tie.

In tallying the votes, 25 Republicans, mostly from Midwest Corn Belt and Rust Belt states and the Southeast United States’s textile industrial belt, broke party line to vote against the measure. Two Republicans were present, but refused to vote.

The Democrats presented a more united front. All but 15 Democrats present voted against the treaty. Independent House members, who usually vote with the Democrats also voted against the measure.

Supporters of the measure include President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. Opponents included most House Democrats.

The trade agreement already passed the Senate in June. President Bush has said he will sign it into law.

DR-CAFTA encompasses the following components:

• Services: all public services are to be open to private investment.
• Investment: governments promise to grant ironclad guarantees to foreign investment.
• Government procurement: All government purchases must be open to transnational bids.
• Market access: governments pledge to reduce and eventually to eliminate tariffs and other measures that protect domestic products.
• Agriculture: duty-free import and elimination of subsidies on agricultural products.
• Intellectual property rights: privatization of and monopoly over technological know-how.
• Antidumping rules, subsidies and countervailing rights: governments commit to phase out protectionist barriers in all sectors.
• Competition policy: the dismantling of national monopolies.
• Dispute resolution: the right of transnationals to sue countries in private international courts.
• Environmental protection: the enforcement of environmental laws and improvement of the environment.
• Labor standards: the enforcement of the International Labour Organization‘s core labor standards.
• Transparency: the reduction of government corruption.
• Test-Data Exclusivity for pharmaceutical corporations

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

As gas prices have risen in the United States, the regional transport authority for southeastern Pennsylvania, SEPTA, has seen a sharp increase in ridership, which has caused overcrowding on the trains.

“As fuel prices have continued to rise, SEPTA ridership has steadily increased and is the highest in 18 years,” said SEPTA General Manager Joseph Casey. Monthly ridership was 22 percent higher last month than a year ago.

“They have crushed loads on their rail lines, already where people are standing, and there’s not enough seats,” said Rich Bickel, the director of the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission.

“At peak times some railcars are standing room only and commuter parking lots are nearly full. All Regional Rail lines are running near full capacity and the train station parking lots are at about 90 percent capacity or more,” SEPTA spokesperson Felipe Suarez said.

While SEPTA awaits new Silverliner V trains from Hyundai Rotem, which begin arriving in 2009, it had hoped to lease eight rail cars from New Jersey Transit, at an agreed-upon rate of US$10,000 per month. However, due to problems with insurance and liability indemnification, the deal fell through, according to Casey.

SEPTA has entered a new agreement to purchase the eight rail cars from NJ Transit. The transit authority will pay US$670,000 for the cars and assorted supplies plus one additional inoperative car which will be used for spare parts. The rail cars will be operated using a SEPTA provided locomotive as they are not self-propelled.

The cars are being disposed of by NJ Transit because it has switched from single-floor cars to double-decker cars.

SEPTA is expecting to raise US$3.1 million by selling rail that has been out of service since 1981 at auction.

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Recently, Wikinews spent time with with New Zealand Paralympic skier Adam Hall who was at Copper Mountain, Colorado for the IPC Nor-Am Cup.

((Wikinews)) We’re interviewing famous Kiwi Paralympic legend Adam Hall, Paralympic skier. What classification are you?

Adam Hall: An LW1.

((WN)) LW1. So you are a standing skier?

Adam Hall: Stand up skier.

((WN)) And how does a Kiwi end up skiing? Because it’s not known as the world’s greatest country for skiing.

Adam Hall: Oh, actually we have quite a lot of good resources down in New Zealand for skiing and a lot of world class athletes and countries from all over the world come down to New Zealand and train during the off season. So, actually, kind of world-renowned for skiing.

((WN)) New Zealand’s had a couple of really famous skiers compared to their neighbour [Australia], right?

Adam Hall: Yeah I guess so. Especially in the able bodied world. Back in the early 90s we had some good success at the Olympic medal.

((WN)) You’re the most decorated New Zealand Paralympian on the winter side?

Adam Hall: Uh, no, not yet. We’ve also had a very successful Winter Paralympics ski racing team also in the 90s as well and also in the 80s as well when Paralympic skiing first evolved. We have had quite a successful team over the years, and we try to continue that[?].

((WN)) Are you from the South Island?

Adam Hall: From the South Island.

((WN)) So you ski in Otago?

Adam Hall: Yeah, I am from Otago and I train out of Wanaka.

((WN)) After the Summer Olympics, your government had all sorts of budget issues. Has that impacted the Paralympic stuff on the winter side or in general, or is it just the Olympics where they are like “we don’t want to fund everything”?

Adam Hall: I’d much rather stay out of all that political side of things, and I don’t really know much about it…

((WN)) They are giving you money to ski?

Adam Hall: Based on your results you’re pretty well supported, and you have to obviously show your results to get the kind of resources and help. If you’re successful you’re lucky enough to get world class resources to help you along.

((WN)) Do you think you’re better resourced than, say, the Americans?

Adam Hall: It’s hard to say what each country gets, but I’m really happy and definitely privileged to have the support that I have behind me.

((WN)) Are you going to go to Sochi?

Adam Hall: Definitely, yeah. That what my eyes are set on at the moment and it’s for Sochi in 2014.

((WN)) Have you qualified points-wise points already?

Adam Hall: Yeah, right now I have the qualifications and [?] points to qualify for the games.

((WN)) What’s your favourite skiing events?

Adam Hall: Slalom and Super G, and the two combined.

((WN)) It’s because you like to go fast?

Adam Hall: I like to go fast and I like the technical things as well.

((WN)) Anything that people should know about disability sport in New Zealand?

Adam Hall: No, not really, the whole disability world, world-wide, is moving in a positive way and continues to when you look back in previous years with people with disabilities were kind of classed as second-hand[?] citizens and it is moving in a positive way and continues to.

((WN)) Okay, cool. Thank you very much.