| Hit the road
For years, many Illinois schools have been shortchanging tens of thousands of young drivers. Instead of the state-required six hours of behind-the-wheel practice, the Tribune reported in 2006, many kids were getting as little as 1 hour 40 minutes to 3 hours of street driving. The rest of the time was spent on indoor simulators and converted parking lots. As anyone who has driven with an inexperienced teen knows, the more supervised time behind the wheel, the better.
Illinois fixed that shortsighted practice and greatly strengthened its teen driving laws last year. As of July 1, every driver's ed student must complete six hours of teacher-supervised street instruction.
But now, even before that part of the law takes effect, schools are lining up to be excused.
Woman killed when minivan hits school bus
There were no students on the West Clark Community school district bus. Police say the bus driver, 66-year-old Anna Marie Klein of Floyds Knobs, had minor injuries. A coroner pronounced Anderson dead at the scene. Police say the Pekin woman was driving west in her 2008 Dodge Caravan shorty before 4 p.m. today when she crossed the center line and hit the eastbound bus. Anderson was alone in the van. Police don't know if she or Klein were wearing seat belts. .
Minnesota House candidate pleads guilty to DWI
WINONA, Minn. Winona Senior High School social studies teacher and state House of Representatives candidate Linda Pfeilsticker on Monday pleaded guilty to drunken driving in Wabasha County District Court.Pfeilsticker, 36, was convicted and ordered to pay a $400 fine and $257 in court fees. She paid both balances Monday.
Judge Jeff Thompson also put Pfeilsticker on unsupervised probation for a year.According to police reports, Pfeilsticker drove off Hwy. 60 near her Wabasha home early Dec. 9. A Wabasha County sheriff's deputy who helped her get the vehicle out of the ditch noticed she was under the influence of alcohol.Pfeilsticker failed field sobriety tests and was found to have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.17 percent, more than twice the legal driving limit. She was cited for misdemeanor drunken driving.Pfeilsticker apologized for her "poor choice" in a Dec.
Walton deputies to get driver training facility
Walton County deputies should be using a new 10-acre training facility this year. A driving facility to help train officers in backing, emergency braking, serpentine maneuvers, parking, J-turns and other precision actions should be complete by the spring. There will also be a skid pad where drivers will learn to control skids, fishtailing and spin outs. The cost for the facility is $357,823 and will be one of the most comprehensive and advanced driving training sites in the Panhandle, according to a Walton County Sheriff’s Office news release. The facility will be open to other emergency response agencies outside Walton County. It’s also expected to be used by the school district for teen driving programs. .
Get a new view of a destination from a cemetery
The hilly land once belonged to Jesuits who came here on retreat, including Father Francois de la Chaise, confessor of Louis XIV and the cemetery's namesake. Built on wooded hills where stone paths wind below trees and around shrubs and flowerbeds, Pere Lachaise is part park, part burial ground. Parisians come to stroll. Visitors search for tombs. More than 1.5 million people a year wander this maze of monuments and mausoleums. Maps in hand, they seek the final resting spots of the famous, including actress Sarah Bernhardt, painters Camille Pissarro and Georges-Pierre Seurat, French intellectual Marcel Proust, lovers Heloise and Abelard, writers and companions Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas and composer Frederic Chopin (his body is here, but his heart is buried in Warsaw). The tomb of novelist, poet and playwright Oscar Wilde stands out among the flat grave markers and telephone booth-size monuments.
Golden Globe nominees speak out
I'm gonna have to make some calls and talk to some of the other nominees in the category to figure what we should do. I kinda wanna talk to Tom Hanks about it because I imagine he always does the right thing." - Ryan Gosling, nommed for actor, comedy/musical for "Lars and the Real Girl" * * * "Tim (Burton)'s assistant gave us the news. We're in the hospital because I'm supposed to have a baby tomorrow. It comes at a time when there's a larger event happening, an event almost as large as my stomach right now. (Stephen) Sondheim's a big challenge and learning to sing in three months was difficult but the material was so fantastic and my passion for Sondheim and the part got me through it. The part was so well written, you can't really go wrong, though I knew I had to take it in a different direction than Angela Lansbury.
Under the Hood With Knight Rider 2.0: Trans Am vs. Ford Mustang ...
The Camaro could have been a good choice, but after its use in Transformers it would have seemed like a ripoff idea. GM has dropped the ball for the past decade and a half, and has no one to blame but themselves. Finally, I have to say that the vehicle stats presented in the article were honestly an embarrassment. I do not know where this information originally came from, but the abilities of the Knight 3000 should be within believable limits. For example, it would have been better to say the attack mode was “unmeasured" rather than “cannot be measured". 2623. RE: Under the Hood With Knight Rider 2.0: Trans Am vs. Ford Mustang (Featuring Exclusive New KITT Specs—and Classic Hasselhoff!) Sadly KITT is no 2009 revamped/retro-styled/500hp-plus Firebird because GM doesn´t have one!!! so what dou you want? a 4-door charger? a BMW M5? an RX-8? give me a break, the mustang is a nice choice and looks fantastic, maybe a Corvette could have fitted the bill, but in my opinion the Corvette is no longer a muscle car but an exotic wannabe.
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