Lenexa allocates $350,000 for wayside horns to reduce noise in Old Town
A new signaling system should substantially reduce noise pollution around Old Town. Photo credit city of Lenexa.The more than 1,200 homes and businesses that sit within a half mile of the busy railroad crossings in Lenexa’s Old Town should be in for some relief in the coming year or so.One of the wayside horns mounted on a pole in Merriam. Photo credit city of Merriam.The city council has approved the expenditure of $350,000 on a new wayside horn system for the crossing that will substantially reduce noise pollution from the train horns that are required by law to blast as the moving trains approach crossings with roads.Lenexa’s move to the wayside signaling system, which will have the horns sound from posts mounted alongside the tracks instead of from the trains themselves, would dramatically reduce the spread of the horn noise. About 30 trains per day pass through the crossings at Noland Road and Pflumm Road along Santa Fe Drive, with the horns emitting ear-splitting blasts for blocks in every direction.Here’s a look at the spread of the signal noise under the current system:And here’s a look at the reduced contours with the wayside horns, which send concentrated signals in the direct vicinity of the railroad crossing:Lenexa tested the wayside signals last month. The city expects the installation process to take a year or so, as it works with BNSF Railroad on the installation of the system and the move away from signals from trains.Merriam recently made the transition to wayside horns at rail crossings near its downtown area.
Briefs August 15, 2007 Regular News Briefs THE GWEN S. CHERRY BLACK WOMEN LAWYERS Association celebrated its 22nd Anniversary with the installation of new officers. Kisha’sha Sharp was installed as the 14th president of the association. Pictured from the left are board members Paulette Taylor and Darien Doe, Treasurer Flora Jackson Holmes, President-elect Marrva Wiley, President Kisha’sha Sharp, Immediate Past President Erica Wright, First Vice President Tiffany Torain, board members Robin Hazel, Olanike Adebayo, and Terra Smith, and Secretary Nikki Lewis Simon. Not pictured is Second Vice President Chery Linton Barnes. Judge Teretha Lundy Thomas received the association’s Outstanding Member Award. “Judge Thomas was nominated for her long-standing service as a member of the association and her active service during this year,” said Janice McIntyre, awards chair. “Judge Thomas suggested many ideas for the association which the association implemented to become better connected with the community during this year.” THE CLEARWATER BAR’S inaugural Student Legal Intern Program concluded July 20. The high school interns were paid $7 per hour for the six-week program and attended three job skills workshops. The program was funded by private firms, The Florida Bar Foundation, and The Clearwater Bar Foundation. The program was co-chaired by Susan S. Demers and Gregory K. Showers. Completing the program were, from the left, Jacqueline Zahralban, who interned with Tinny Meyer & Piccarreto; Blaire Guitterrez, who interned with Judge Michael Andrews; Roger Walker II, who interned with Judge James Pierce; Chris Munoz, who interned with Kwall Showers Coleman & Barack; Vonyae Reed who interned with Pinellas County Attorney’s Office; Melissa Marchman (and Dyimond Johnson not shown) who interned with the Clerk of Court’s Office; Bryanna Dunne, who interned with Johnson Pope Bokor Ruppel & Burns; and Mary Ellis Glymph, who interned with the St. Petersburg College Legal Department.
August 1, 2010 Managing Editor Regular News Lawyer with MS makes a difference for thousands with autoimmune disorders Lawyer with MS makes a difference for thousands with autoimmune disordersMark D. Killian Managing EditorAfter being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2007, Plantation lawyer David Weiss began to notice that many of his MS symptoms worsened proportionate to the rise in temperature. The hotter he was, the more likely he experienced numbness in his extremities, fatigue, and blurred vision. And what’s hotter then getting into a car that has been parked under the Florida sun?One day a friend suggested he get a darker tint on his car windows. Then Weiss began thinking, and, being a lawyer, he started researching Florida’s laws on vehicle sunscreen tinting. He soon learned F.S. §316.29545 laid out an exception to the tinting restrictions for those suffering from lupus or whose medical conditions might be worsened by exposure to excessive light.“After consulting with experts in the field, I reasoned that a similar exception should be extended to those with MS or other autoimmune diseases who also could benefit by having additional automotive sunscreen tinting,” said Weiss, a corporate lawyer, real estate developer, and inventor.“This seemed logical and translated to a great benefit for all Floridians seeking to improve their automotive driving experience by having less exposure to both light and heat.”Working through the MS Society, Weiss brought his idea to Rep. Gary Aubuchon, R-Cape Coral, and Sen. Eleanor Sobel, D-Hollywood, who pushed to include the statutory inclusion for all autoimmune diseases in the Department of Highway Safety and Moter Vehicles bill.It passed both chambers unanimously this year and is now law.“There was not one legislator who was opposed to the idea,” Weiss said.He also credits Rep. Evan Jenne, D-Ft. Lauderdale, former Rep. Ken Gottlieb, and his wife, Lynn Epstein, a Nova Southeastern University law professor, with helping bring the Florida Motor Vehicle Sunscreen Initiative to fruition.Weiss’ MS symptoms had gone undiagnosed for some 25 years, with his early symptoms being brushed off as the byproducts of stress or sports injuries.“I never really put it all together until I had my first really full-fledged flare-up.”Practicing law with MS requires him be a little smarter — to think more about his body and the signals it sends him. He has not cut back on his practice, but makes sure he gets plenty of rest and allows himself more time to accomplish what needs to be done.Now that Florida’s law has been amended, Weiss wants to use the heat and light exemptions to the tinting laws as a template to amend similar statutes across the Sun Belt.“The acceptance right now seems to be very high, and through the MS Society we have been in touch with other states. There seems to be a kind acceptance and people saying, ‘Of course, we want it here,’” Weiss said.The experience also has taught him that one lawyer can make a difference, and he encourages other lawyers to follow suit.“If we think outside the box, we can help people in so many different ways we have not even thought about before,” Weiss said. “The first thing to do is think about what affects you in your life. Take your education and apply it, and look what happens. I have ultimately helped thousands of people, and it feels really good to know I did that because I am a lawyer.”
The New York Times:I put on lipstick to meet my future self.I was nervous. When Mike Wehner of The Daily Dot tried to talk to his future self — that is, the one rendered by the communication company Orange’s new Future Self tool — he encountered a “disfigured monster.” Future Self takes a picture of your face, “ages” you by 20 years and then lets you chat with your 2034 self — but as Mr. Wehner learned, it’s susceptible to fooling. He writes:“I first noticed that the site’s facial recognition might be a bit wonky when it tried to capture a wrinkle on my shirt, thinking it was a human face. The app really tries its hardest to find a face anywhere it can, and the fact that you can upload any image you want — instead of letting the site use your webcam to find its own — only leads to disturbing results.”Read the whole story: The New York Times More of our Members in the Media >
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Do you see a typo or an error? Let us know. Published: September 19, 2017 9:59 PM EDT COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (WWJ) It certainly stinks, but a news story out of Colorado is making headlines nationwide due to its bizarre nature.Residents in a Colorado Springs have asked police to investigate, identify and step in to stop a yet-unidentified jogger who has been leaving a mess around the neighborhood for nearly two months now.According to reports, the woman — nicknamed the “Mad Pooper” by local residents — has been popping a squat wherever she pleases, defecating on the side of the road, close to people’s homes, and even in front of kids.The Gazette in Colorado Springs spoke with one fed up neighbor who said the offender does this nasty business at least once a week, and she wants it to stop. The perpetrator could face charges of indecent exposure and public defecation, police told the Kansas City Star.Luckily for metro Detroiters this is happening far from home; but the Southeast Michigan area is certainly not immune to such an offense. In a similar case back in 2014, police spent months searching a so-called “mystery pooper” responsible for defecating on playground slides in an Ypsilanti park. Police made contact with the suspect in May of that year and the slides have been feces-free ever since.Anyone who can identify the woman captured on camera in the Colorado case is asked to call the Falcon division of the Colorado Springs Police Department at 719-444-7240. Jogger Nicknamed ‘Mad Pooper’ On The Run In Colorado SHARE
A law firm director failed to notice his employee was misappropriating funds and misled regulators about the firm holding client money, a tribunal has found.James O’Connor, sole director of Preston-based Barrington Lewis Law Ltd, also told indemnity insurers and the Solicitors Regulation Authority that his firm practised only personal injury work, when in fact it was involved in a number of other areas. He was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal following a three-day hearing in April.In addition to dishonesty, O’Connor also admitted failing to prevent one of the firm’s solicitors from misappropriating £140,000 from monies held in the client account. The solicitor in question, Giles Guy Robertson, was struck off at the same hearing.The tribunal heard that the firm, which operated in Lancashire and Bedfordshire, did not submit accountants’ reports to the SRA for seven consecutive years before it was shut down by the regulator in 2016.Supervision of funds by O’Connor, a solicitor for 22 years, was said by the SRA to be ‘wholly lacking’. The tribunal found he left branch offices ‘to their own devices’ as long as he received payment from them, and had no control over the staff.‘He left them to carry out work with little if any supervision,’ said the tribunal. ‘Whilst he undertook supervision of some files, and made some visits to the offices, he paid very little attention to the finances of the subsidiary offices. His main concern was that he received monies from those offices each month.’O’Connor denied acting dishonestly in his dealings with insurers and regulators, but the tribunal found he ‘knowingly and deliberately’ included incorrect and information on forms submitted to both.In his mitigation, O’Connor stated he had been a victim of a ‘clever and consummate lier’ in Robertson. The SRA made no allegation of missing monies from any of the other offices he oversaw, and could cite no client complaints about the standard and conduct of work.Robertson, a solicitor for almost six years, did not appear at the hearing and consented to being struck off the roll. The tribunal said he was motivated by financial gain and had breached the trust placed in him to safeguard client monies.The tribunal imposed joint costs of almost £57,000, with Robertson ordered to pay an extra £616.
Australia: Toll opened an A$20m freight terminal at Townsville in early May. A joint venture of Toll and Pacific National began running 1067mm gauge freight services from Brisbane to Cairns in March.Brazil: Portugese construction firm Somague Engenharia has completed a feasibility study for a US$570m rail link between São Paulo and the regional airport at Campinas, 90 km away.Canada: On May 20 the Canadian Transportation Agency revoked Prairie Alliance for the Future’s railway operating licence. PAFF was unable to afford liability insurance after poor harvests hit traffic on the 300 km of grain branches it leased from CN.Chile: EFE has taken delivery of the second of five Class 444 EMUs purchased for US$3·5m from Renfe for the Santiago – Chill
ROBEL: At this year’s InnoTrans, Robel will introduce its 34.02 clipping machine with a petrol engine and Fastclip and e–clip fastening modules.The clipping machine can be used universally, according to the company, and it is designed to be transported more easily, be simpler to operate and offer enhanced ergonomic qualities. The 34.02 clipping machine consists of three basic components: a work module, transverse travelling gear and powerpack. Offering a total weight of between 60 kg and 80 kg, the 34.02 provides a weight saving of at least 60 kg compared to previous designs. The 34.02’s standard adaptor for work with Pandrol’s Fastclip and e-clip will be shown in Berlin, but adaptors for FCX and FE fastenings are also being prepared. A Honda GX200petrol powerpack with an air-cooled four-stroke engine rated at 4·1 kW at 3 600 rev/min will be used for the display clipping machine, but an electric unit with a 400 V 50 Hz motor is also available. The operator can also switch between a combustion engine and an electric motor to allow working in a sensitive environment, such as a residential area or tunnel