Regardless of the fact that cell-phone use while driving is far less likely to cause an accident than talking to other passengers or changing radio stations, a state representative is sponsoring a bill regulating an activity which he admittedly knows nothing about. Rep. Mike Jaros does not own a cell phone.
Jaros states that the biggest risk is when drivers use one hand to hold the phone and the other to dial. Apparently, Rep. Jaros has never seen a cell phone.
If he had, he d realize that they are designed for one-handed use. I m not sure which is more dangerous, a two-handed cell-phone user or a state representative who knows nothing about the activities he s attempting to regulate. I propose a simple test for cell-phone drivers: Are you signaling turns or lane changes while you re talking on your phone?
If you re not, then it s time to hang up the phone. You aren t qualified to talk and drive. What the president has been suggesting is not a surge -- it is an escalation.
An escalation of a war that was wrong from the start. An escalation of a war we cannot win. Donald Rumsfeld, John Abizaid and George Casey out; Robert Gates, David Petraeus and William Fallon in -- shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic?
A report released recently by the Minnesota Office of the Legislative Auditor expressed concerns that "the state s approach to managing grants to nonprofit organizations is fragmented and inconsistent, and does not provide adequate accountability (Star Tribune, Jan. 6)." The Charities Review Council provides just such a tool to help both government and individual donors make smart charitable choices.
Accountability Wizard is a voluntary online assessment tool designed to help nonprofits demonstrate responsibility, integrity and transparency to the public. Adherence to the council s accountability standards is an indication that a charity has taken steps to align its structure, policies and procedures with commonly accepted, reasonable expectations of the giving public. The council s standards have evolved over its 60 years, with broad participation from Minnesota s nonprofit and philanthropic communities.
Results of the public reviews are posted online at . Nonprofits that meet all of the accountability standards are granted use of the council s "Meets Standards" seal. The seal provides a public, concise and accessible indicator of a nonprofit s commitment to accountable and ethical practices.
To date, more than 250 nonprofit organizations have demonstrated their commitment to openness by voluntarily participating in these public reviews. By expecting no less from the nonprofit sector, all funders of nonprofits -- individual donors, grantmaking institutions and government -- can help accountable, well-managed nonprofits advance their important work of serving the community. While our regional transportation policymakers appear to be content with an incremental, go-slow, approach to expanding our light-rail system, it s important to understand just how fast and how far we re falling behind our competitors.
In 2004, when we opened the Hiawatha light-rail line, we could take some comfort in the fact that at least we were ahead of Phoenix and Seattle. But in the next two years those cities will both open light-rail lines. And, with funding in place, they will open their first extensions long before our first extension -- the Central Corridor, which has no funding -- nears completion.
The number of light-rail vehicles in service is a straightforward measure of system capacity. Metro Transit s 27 ranks us ahead of Detroit, which has none, and ties us with Buffalo, N.Y.
, a struggling Rust Belt city one-third our size. But cities like St. Louis, Dallas, Denver, San Diego, Los Angeles, San Jose and Portland are all operating 100 or more light-rail vehicles -- four times the size of our fleet.
And they re still growing. Dallas has started a $2.4 billion system expansion; Denver a $4.
7 billion expansion. Even St. Louis is knocking off an extension every six years.
Is being ahead of Detroit really the best we can do? Wild animals that end up in accredited sanctuaries after being held captive in private homes, game farms, roadside zoos or circuses are the fortunate ones ("In Pine County, a haven for big cats," Jan. 8).
They will be able to live the rest of their lives in a caring, safe environment where their wildness is respected instead of exploited. Circus Reform Yes, a Twin-Cities based nonprofit organization, shares a bond with the Wildcat Sanctuary. Through education and legislation, we work to eliminate the use of big cats and other wild animals in circuses.
If wild animals were no longer a part of circuses, fewer would need lifetime care in sanctuaries. Star Tribune. All rights reserved.
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