News & Notes

On Campus Road race to honor Sept. 11 hero The first annual "Welles Remy Crowther Red Bandanna Run" will be held Saturday to honor the 1999 Boston College graduate who died in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. All proceeds from the 5K road race will go to the Welles Remy Crowther Charitable Trust, a group that supports various youth programs. Crowther was a member of the Upper Nyack, N.Y. volunteer fire department, and after the initial explosion he led a number of people to safety before being killed in the tower's collapse. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. in Gasson 100 the day of the race, with fees being $25 for non-students and $20 for students and senior citizens. For more information visit www.redbandannarun.com.

Local Two suspended for Fenway shootings

The two Boston police officers who fired pepper pellets at Red Sox fans outside Fenway Park last October, killing 21-year-old Victoria Snelgrove and injuring another fan, will be suspended for 45 days without pay, Police Commissioner Kathleen M. O'Toole said Friday, according to The Boston Globe. Department investigators concluded that Officer Rochefort Milien, who fired the fatal pellet that struck Snelgrove in the eye, and Officer Samil Silta, who fired multiple shots at close range at another fan, used excessive force and displayed poor judgement. They will be transferred out of the special operations unit and required to attend a special training class on using force.

State highway signs don't add up

Massachusetts highway officials acknowledged Friday that some of the new mileage signs on state highways give the wrong distances, according to The Boston Globe. A sign on Interstate 93 north near Exit 45 in Andover states that Manchester, N.H., is 42 miles away, though it is actually 28 miles. Another sign on Route 128/95 in Needham says Wellesley is seven miles away, when the actual distance is less than three miles. Highway officials are still determining how many of the 164 new signs have errors. The signs were part of a $1.4 million project.

Universities LSU students take up bicycle riding

Students at Louisiana State University are taking up bicycle riding after frustration with stand-still traffic, expensive gas, and elusive parking, according to The Reveille, LSU's student newspaper. Bicycle shops and the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, an organization devoted to developing alternative means of transportation in Baton Rouge, are hoping the sudden increase of carless residents will force the city to expand usage of bicycles and walking. When New Orleans residents evacuated for Hurricane Katrina, many left their cars behind. Upon arriving in Baton Rouge, they have flooded bicycle shops looking for affordable transportation. With hundreds of more bikes on the road, the Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee hopes the city will be forced to become bike-friendly.

UF protests against campus preachers

University of Florida students decided to take a stand against campus preachers Thursday by protesting, holding up large signs and playing music to drown out the preachers, according to the Independent Florida Alligator. Students organized against Jeremiah Baldwin and Frank Zaccaro, two traveling preachers who speak on public college campuses across the nation. Three students held up signs that formed the sentence "Love is Beautiful." Gator Gay-Straight Alliance member Kyle Orta held up another sign that read, "Hate is not a family value." "I'm so tired of being pushed around by these guys," said Orta.

Nation Schwarzenegger to seek re-election California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger announced Friday that he will run for reelection in 2006, according to The Washington Post. "I am here as your warrior," the actor-turned-politician told a crowd of 200 hand-picked supporters in San Diego. Schwarzenegger took office after capturing the 2003 gubernatorial recall election on a platform of eliminating partisanship in the state government. His inability to reach compromise with the Democratic-controlled legislature on many of his proposals, however, has led opponents to paint him as a partisan figure in his own right. The announcement comes as his approval ratings fell to the lowest point since he took office in 2003, as only 36 percent of voters think he is doing a good job.

Chicago train derails, killing two A commuter train headed north to Chicago derailed Saturday morning, killing two riders and seriously injuring 17 others, according to The Chicago Tribune. The train, headed north on the Rock Island District Line, left the rails in almost the exact spot as a 2003 crash. Although the speed of the train is not yet known, some regular passengers said the train was moving faster than normal. Metra officials said the train should have slowed down to 10 mph as it changed tracks, but failed to do so. The accident marks the first people to be killed in a derailment in Metra's 21-year history.