Luke_Wilbur

The Maryland Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have extended the period for public comment on the Intercounty Connector Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) from February 15 to February 25, 2005. All comments must now be received by 5:00 p.m. on February 25th through the project website or by mail to the Study Group offices located at the State Highway Administration’s Baltimore headquarters. This is the second time the ICC Study Team has expanded the comment period from the 45 days required by law. “By extending the comment period once again to a full 95 days, the ICC Study Team has demonstrated its ongoing commitment to obtaining public input on the DEIS,” said Transportation Secretary Robert L. Flanagan. “This is more than double the amount of time required by law. To date, well over a thousand comments have been received from interested citizens and organizations. I urge those who still want to participate in this process to take advantage of this extension and use any of the variety of avenues available to provide their input.” Secretary Flanagan added, “Granting this extension required us to balance our desire to maximize public input on the one hand and the cost of delay on the other hand. Considering the $12.5 million cost of one months delay in the project, further delay beyond February 25th would not be in the public interest.”

According to CNET News.com, Thriftway introduced biometric systems in its Seattle stores as far back as 2002. The customer would have to be identified first and submit his own fingerprints, as well as register credit cards with the grocery store. But then a Pay By Touch system became quite popular among the store regulars. According to CNET, "one man even drove 400 miles to use the technology". The store also reports 0% of such transactions being fraudulent

Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) has become an ICANN-accredited domain name registrar, but insists that it has no immediate plans to start registering domains. The Web search giant was awarded a registrar number last week and can now act as a registrar for top-level domains such as .biz, .com, .info, .name, .net, .org and .pro. The move has prompted speculation about the company's plans in this area. One theory is that the move could allow Google to offer cheaper domains to the cost-conscious blogger community. But Google insists that becoming a registrar will help with its search business . "Google [has] become a domain name registrar to gain better visibility into the infrastructure of the Internet," a representative told vnunet.com. "While we have no plans to register domains at this time, we believe this information can help us increase the quality of our search results. "We are not registering domains today and have no immediate plans to do so. We continue with our mission to organize the world's information and make it accessible and useful, and we believe this information can help us increase the quality of our search results."

I would imagine now that the elections are over that you must be a little more optimistic about your country's future.

This ship you a "plug-and-play" box that routes your calls over your broadband service - simply plug it into your cable or DSL modem. The problem is that my DSL and telephone is a package deal for $49.00. This may be good for people using cable.

Dan Snyder's latest marketing ploy did not sit well with MasterCard. At the request of the company, the Redskins have dropped a requirement that fans use a special Redskins Extra Points MasterCard when using a credit card to purchase season tickets. The Redskins now say they'll accept any type of MasterCard, though they won't accept other brands.

- President George W. Bush - State of the Union

- President George W. Bush

- James S. Brady

Article II, Sec. 3, U.S. Constitution

President Bush prepares to layout his ambitious social security agenda.

- President George W. Bush State of the Union

With thundering claps from the Congressional Floor President George W. Bush renewed his duty to the Nation. The President has caught the attention of the world on his every statement.

I am looking to start a venture group in the Washington DC (District of Columbia) that works together to develop one business idea. © 2005 DC VENTURE GROUP Feel free to contact me if you are interested in joining the group

Looks like its the Birds All the Way

Here is the latest photo of 'The Exporer' being tugged safely to port.

This message is to my Spring 1993 Semester at Sea shipmates

What do you think about the Washington Redskins forcing you to use their credit card to purchase tickets?

How is it able to stay in orbit?

Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi today released the District of Columbia government’s fiscal year 2004 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR). The financial statements, which received an unqualified, “clean” audit opinion from independent auditors, show that the District ended FY 2004 with a local fund surplus of $230.5 million. The CAFR also reflects that the District ended the year with a cumulative general fund balance of $1.2 billion, exceeding the billion dollar mark for the first time ever. “The District of Columbia is in the strongest financial shape it has ever been,” said Dr. Gandhi. “The mayor and the council continue to make sound financial management a top priority, and these results reflect that effort.” The District’s general fund balance consists primarily of bond escrow and other reserved and restricted use funds. It also includes $285.4 million in congressionally mandated cash reserves. This cash reserve requirement, which totals 7 percent of the operating budget, is among the highest for government jurisdictions nationwide. Mayor Anthony A. Williams said, “As a result of the District’s fiscal strength, we can continue to focus on the goals that are most important to our citizens – strong schools, safe streets, affordable housing, and improved health care; and, we can continue to spread the District’s financial success to all of our neighborhoods.” Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp said, “Those of us in Washington should be proud of our fiscal progress – the latest evidence of which is the strong results of FY04. It is important to remember that our progress has been accomplished within the constraints of a structural deficit.” Councilmember Jack Evans, chair of the Council’s Committee on Finance and Revenue, added, “The fiscal year 2004 CAFR highlights the turnaround the District has made going from junk bond status and a Financial Control Board to reestablishing fiscal responsibility and a bond rating that is the envy of most cities and states. Through the exercise of responsible government, the District of Columbia has once again become a good place to do business. The challenge that we continue to face is ensuring that the prosperity reaches all people, in all communities of our city. I am committed to meeting that challenge.” Even though the District was able to close fiscal year 2004 successfully and has a five-year balanced budget plan, Dr. Gandhi foresees fiscal challenges in the long-term. The District must find remedies to its inherent structural imbalance, which prevents it from addressing pressing infrastructure needs and requires it to maintain higher than average tax rates. In May 2003, the US General Accounting Office confirmed that the District of Columbia government has a structural imbalance estimated at between $470 million and $1.1 billion. This large, long-term imbalance is caused by the District’s large percentage of tax-exempt real property, its inability to tax non-resident income generated within its borders, and the state-like functions that it must support. KPMG LLP, under the auspices of the District’s Inspector General, served as the independent auditor for this year’s CAFR.

The Government of the District of Columbia is beginning the process to acquire the land needed to build the ballpark for the District's major league baseball team. Small, disadvantaged, minority-owned businesses located in the District of Columbia metropolitan area providing any of the services listed below are encouraged to register with the District's Office of Contracting and Procurement and apply for certification as a local, small, or disadvantaged business with the District's Office of Local Business Development. Real Estate Appraisal Services Real Estate Title Services Real Estate Brokerage and Relocation Services Land Acquisition Related Investigation Services Demolition Services Environmental Testing and Remediation Private Investigation

Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced activities taking place during “Re-Entry Week” to bring attention to the more than 2,000 men and women who each year return from prison to our city’s neighborhoods. "I am proud of our work with CSOSA—the federal Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency—to provide these individuals with services to help them re-establish their lives as productive citizens," said Mayor Williams. "Many of you joined me last summer at the opening of the District’s Re-Entry Service Center on H Street, NE, where we demonstrated in a very concrete way how District agencies and the community are helping ex-offenders facing the challenges of re-entry. I invite you to join me at any one of the events scheduled for Re-Entry Week, which are detailed in the schedule we’re handing out." Re-Entry Week 2005 Events Saturday, January 29: Previously Incarcerated Persons Community Forum DC Youth Facility 1000 Mt. Olivet Road, NE 9 am – 1 pm Sunday, January 30: Re-entry Worship Services (Christian) The Holy Christian Missionary Baptist Church for All People Reverend Stephen E. Young Sr. 5110 Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue, NE Noon Monday, January 31: Open House, DC Re-entry Service Center 609 H Street, NE 10 am – 2 pm Tuesday, February 1: Employment Open House, Bellevue Center 4415 S. Capitol Street, SW 1 pm – 4 pm Wednesday, February 2: Winter Cookout for Mentors, Mentees and Community Supervision Officers 633 Indiana Avenue, NW 2 pm – 5 pm Thursday, February 3: Project Empowerment Plus Graduation, Kellogg Center Gaulledet College Campus 800 Florida Avenue, NE Noon Citywide Assembly, St. Luke Center, 4923 East Capitol Street, SE 6 pm – 9 pm Friday, February 4: Reentry Worship Services (Muslim) Howard University Blackburn Center 1:15 pm

The Government Accounting Office released this information that might be of interest to all the men and women serving in the United States Armed forces.

Very well written Ron. Thanks for sharing with our community.

Now you are going to make me want to purchase a pair of glasses