Happy Birthday, LIRR!

Long Island Rail Road Marks 175th Anniversary

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Long Island Rail Road is marking its 175th birthday by giving riders Broadway tickets and other prizes.

The railroad has announced monthly customer appreciation days with free prize drawings, starting Tuesday at Pennsylvania Station in Manhattan. Railroad officials say free tickets to several Broadway shows are this month's prize.

The LIRR was chartered on April 24, 1834. It has become North America's busiest commuter railroad, carrying more than 87 million riders last year.

The LIRR says it is also the oldest railroad still operating under its original name.

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Stacy Andrews addresses media at Philadelphia airport

Andrews, 27, the brother of Eagles right guard Shawn Andrews, said the prospect of playing alongside his brother was thrilling.

"That would be great. It'd be a great feeling. It'd be a boost for Shawn and me, (and) the organization. It's something I'm looking forward to .. It'd be great to be playing right beside my brother, dominatin' over there.

"It was something we've been talking about every since we first got to the league" in the 2004 draft, he said. Shawn went from Arkansas to the Eagles in the first round, Stacy went from Ole Miss to the Bengals in the fourth.


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AF heritage, history on display at BWI airport

2/6/2009 - BALTIMORE (AFPN) -- The rich diversity, heritage and history of the Air Force can be seen as part of an exhibit on display at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport through July 30.

Nearly 50 pieces from the Air Force art collection are part of a rotating exhibit in the airport's international terminal which sees thousands of travelers each month.

The exhibit features "an extraordinary assortment of really great art," said Timothy Campbell, executive director of the Maryland Aviation Administration, during the exhibit's official opening ceremony Feb. 5 at the airport.

Mr. Campbell said the airport is fortunate to have these pieces on display documenting the achievements and history of military aerospace and aviation.

"The location of this exhibit in the international terminal is wonderful," said William Davidson, administrative assistant to the secretary of the Air Force. "The venue is beautiful; the natural lighting is wonderful but more important is its close proximity to our Air Mobility Command's passenger terminal.

"It's from this terminal that a large majority of our Airmen, Soldiers, Sailors and Marines leave for overseas deployments and return home," Mr. Davidson said. "Having these pieces from our Air Force art collection on display here gives us the opportunity to tell the story of what our men and women in uniform are accomplishing."

Mr. Davidson said having this exhibit on display during the month of February is special.

"February is African American History Month and this exhibit gives us a forum to recognize the diversity of our Airmen, past and present, and their vital contributions," he said. "Many of the pieces here today feature the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African American pilots to serve in combat during World War II."

At that time, these Airmen not only were fighting the enemy abroad, but also discrimination at home and among their fellow soldiers, Mr. Davidson said. Despite these challenges, these Airmen served with distinction.

Even the red-painted tails of their aircraft, initially designed to warn other pilots that an African American was flying that plane, eventually became a point of pride, courage and determination of the Tuskegee Airmen to accomplish their mission despite racial barriers. This determination is something that those in the Air Force today are very proud of, Mr. Davidson said.

"We're also proud that our art collection does not focus solely on Airmen," he said. "We're members of a joint team and we've asked our artists to document not only our Airmen, but also the Soldiers, Sailors and Marines we work so closely with.

"Our artists aren't told what to paint, sketch or draw," Mr. Davidson said. "We just provide them the opportunity to accompany our Airmen on training, humanitarian and even combat operations to see for themselves what we're doing. They interact with our people accomplishing their missions and interpret what they see and experience firsthand to tell the true story of the Air Force and our people."

All of the artwork in the Air Force collection is donated by the artists, explained Russell Kirk, director of the Air Force Art Program.

"Our artists, a part of the larger Air Force family, sacrifice their time to travel the globe and cover our mission, produce beautiful pieces of art and then donate them to us," Mr. Kirk said. "Most say they do it because they want to give back something to the men and women who are defending our country and who sometimes make the ultimate sacrifice in service to the nation."
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NIH Awards $15.9 Million to CCNY and Memorial Sloan-Kettering to Create Partnership to Address Cancer Disparities

New York, NY - The National Institutes of Health's National Cancer Institute (NCI) has awarded The City College of New York (CCNY) and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) a $15.9 million grant to implement a unique partnership in cancer research, education, and outreach. The five-year, renewable award is funded by NCI's U54 program, an initiative created to develop partnerships between minority-serving institutions and NCI-designated cancer centers.

“We want to have these successful approaches to address cancer disparities serve as new models for other minority-serving institutions and NCI-designated cancer centers.”
-- Tim A. Ahles, Director of MSKCC's Neurocognitive Research Laboratory and U54 Co-Principal Investigator
The Partnership for Cancer Research, Training, and Community Outreach will build upon a previous collaboration between the institutions. The grant will help support key research activities that provide a multidisciplinary, but unified approach to several objectives set forth by MSKCC and CCNY.

"We are looking forward to partnering with CCNY to improve cancer research, training, education, and outreach for underserved communities in the New York area," said Dr. Tim A. Ahles, Director of MSKCC's Neurocognitive Research Laboratory, and U54 Co-Principal Investigator. "We also want to have these successful approaches to address cancer disparities serve as new models for other minority-serving institutions and NCI-designated cancer centers."

"By combining our talents and some of our resources, CCNY and Memorial Sloan-Kettering will be well equipped to build and nurture programs in areas such as cancer research and community outreach that will help address cancer disparities in underserved minority and economically disadvantaged communities," said Dr. Karen Hubbard, Professor of Biology at CCNY, and a U54 Co-Principal Investigator.

The Partnership for Cancer Research, Training, and Community Outreach includes four primary objectives:

Investigators will work to develop translational research programs in cell biology, immunology, and biomedical research. Translational research is a concept in which basic science discoveries are applied in clinical practice and clinical observations are studied in the laboratory.
MSKCC and CCNY will collaborate with diverse communities to help define and address cancer disparities. The proposed Partnership for Community Outreach Program (PCOP) will provide an infrastructure to work with members of the community to identify and prioritize specific areas for action. Other elements of this effort include at least two large-scale annual outreach events and several smaller, topical activities featuring experts on issues such as healthy eating, smoking cessation, and cancer screening.
A collaborative effort will be made to recruit and retain students from high school to the post-graduate level, in particular those of minority backgrounds, who are interested in pursuing careers in cancer research. Enhanced education and training opportunities, as well as increased mentorship and support, will be made available.
The partnership will recruit new faculty members at both institutions. U54 resources will help support appointments in key CCNY divisions. At MSKCC, faculty lines will add to the capacity to conduct community-based intervention research and to the development of the PCOP.
About The City College of New York
For more than 160 years, The City College of New York has provided low-cost, high-quality education for New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. Over 15,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences; The School of Architecture, Urban Design and Landscape Architecture (SAUDLA); The School of Education; The Grove School of Engineering; and The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education. For additional information, visit www.ccny.cuny.edu.
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NJ TRANSIT Cross-honoring Tickets on Monday

NEWARK, NJ — As winter weather moves into the region, NJ TRANSIT operations, customer service and police personnel across the state are preparing to keep the system running smoothly and minimize delays.

To give customers additional travel options during expected winter weather conditions, NJ TRANSIT will offer full systemwide cross-honoring on Monday, March 2, 2009. Customers holding any NJ TRANSIT ticket or pass will be able to use it on any mode—rail, bus or light rail. For example, customers who normally take the bus from Rutherford to the Port Authority Bus Terminal will be able to use their bus tickets on the train from Rutherford to New York Penn Station.

NJ TRANSIT asks its customers to follow these winter travel tips:

Before starting your trip, visit the Travel Alerts page at www.njtransit.com for up-to-the-minute service information. This information is also available by calling (973) 275-5555 or from broadcast traffic reports.
Allow extra time getting to and from your destination. Use extreme caution when walking on exposed sidewalks or station platforms and when boarding trains and buses.
Report slippery or unsafe conditions to bus operators, train crews or
NJ TRANSIT staff.
Listen closely to public address announcements at stations for late-breaking service information.

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