| UWI at 60 - Its role in nation building
The University of the West Indies officially begins its 60th anniversary celebrations today. Those 60 years were directed at producing a new Caribbean from out of the old. The next 60 years will have to be about producing a global Caribbean and happily the UWI has a strategic plan in place to equip it to do so. The UWI was a product of many things happening at once - modernisation, decolonisation, regionalisation, and nation building. One of the sins ofcolonialism was that for 300 years the British never saw it fit to build a university in the region. It was only after a series of riots in the 1930s that a British commission realised the need to promote a middle class in preparation for eventual self-government. Before adult suffrage, there was no university in Jamaica. By the start of the new century, almost 15 per cent of Jamaicans had access to tertiary education.
NEWS IN BRIEF
PASSPORTS: No final word yet on when U.S. citizens will need a passport or an as-yet-to-be-created alternative for land and sea border crossings involving Canada, Mexico, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean. But the State Department is preparing now.
As early as next month, department officials will begin accepting applications for a "passport card" that is cheaper and smaller than a passport and good only in the circumstances noted above. The limited-use card, which lasts 10 years, will cost $45 for adults ($25 of that will be waived if you already have a passport, including one up for renewal). Children 16 and younger pay $35 for a five-year card.
And, a reminder: As of Jan. 31, to cross the U.S. border by land or sea into Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the Caribbean (except for Puerto Rico and the U.S.
Giuliani's work for drug maker probed
Brownlee found himself on the telephone last year with a political and legal superstar, Rudolph W. Giuliani. For years, Mr. Brownlee and his small team had been building a case that the maker of the painkiller OxyContin had misled the public when it claimed the drug was less prone to abuse than competing narcotics. The drug was believed to be a factor in hundreds of deaths involving its abuse. .
So, get out there, support the Mountaineers and share your fun with ...
You don't need me to tell you the last few years have been nothing short of exciting at WVU. I have had the opportunity and privilege to be at every one of the Mountaineers games over the last three seasons home and away. Who can forget the excitement of the amazing comeback against Louisville in 2005 to win in triple overtime? The 2006 game against Rutgers was also exciting. Another triple overtime win, and this one propelled the Mountaineers to another Gator Bowl. But my favorite moment was covering the 2005 team and enjoying the Sugar Bowl followed by the celebration. You could not help but be so happy for those players. We get to know them fairly well during the course of a season. That was a lot of fun. Greg Chandler This will be my fourth season covering WVU Football, and when I look back on my time with the program a few moments come to mind.
Granholm backs Cobo expansion
She said the proposed 120,000 square-foot expansion shows the region is fighting other states to retain the North American International Auto Show, an economic juggernaut held at Cobo that generates almost $600 million a year for the local economy. "We must have it stay in the city from here on out," Granholm said. "We will fight to keep it." The plan faces legislative hurdles, tax extensions and approval of several financial transactions in order to work. Barring roadblocks, construction could be finished and Cobo ready for the 2011 auto show, Assistant Wayne County Executive Matthew Schenk said. The one key player missing from Thursday's unveiling was long-time skeptic L. Brooks Patterson, the Oakland County executive who has offered rival expansion plans and questioned expenses and tax spending.
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