Better economy, more jobs means more riders on the bus

King County Metro is experiencing its second highest ridership year and is closing in on a new record as demand for transit continues to strengthen along with the local economy and job market.

Preliminary data shows that Metro has delivered nearly 400,000 transit rides each weekday so far in 2013, hitting the second highest average weekday ridership ever in May at 408,000 rides ? numbers not seen since 2008, before the recession and rising unemployment. Demand for bus service continues to grow despite a 5 percent drop in gas prices and elimination of the downtown Seattle Ride Free Area. These numbers suggest more people are relying on Metro as they re-enter the local job market.

While transit demand is up across the county, Eastside ridership appears particularly strong. Metro is seeing double-digit growth on Eastside routes such as the 221 between Redmond and Eastgate, 226 serving downtown Bellevue and Eastgate, 234 between Kenmore and Bellevue, and the 245 serving Bellevue, Kirkland and Factoria.

?This preliminary ridership data shows we?re poised to achieve a third straight year of ridership growth as our economy continues to strengthen,? said Metro General Manager Kevin Desmond. ?Instead of gearing up to meet this growing demand as it should be, Metro is preparing to dramatically cut service if a transportation funding package is not approved by the state Legislature.?

Other emerging trends point to growing demand.

Metro?s four RapidRide routes also continue to grow. The A, B, C and D lines have seen a combined 30 percent increase in ridership compared to the bus routes they replaced. These trends are moving Metro ever closer to the record 119 million trips it delivered in 2008, prior to the recession.

Park-and-ride usage is also up and has surpassed levels not seen since the recession, with demand strongest among suburban commuters, especially on the Eastside.

This snapshot of Metro ridership comes as it begins planning for a 17 percent reduction in bus service if the state Legislature fails to authorize funding to fill the agency?s projected $75 million annual budget gap. Sixty-five routes are at risk of being canceled, and service reduced on another 86 routes without a permanent and sustainable source of revenue.

METRO ticket books are

discontinued,

riders directed to ORCA cards

Metro will discontinue the sale of ticket books and gift certificates, and will no longer provide information at 624-PASS. However, all ticket books and gift certificates sold before July 1 will be valid until used.

The ORCA card and cash will eventually become Metro?s only payment options. ORCA cards can be purchased and re-loaded with additional value at ticket vending machines on the mezzanine or plaza level of each downtown Seattle Transit Tunnel station, at Sound Transit Link and Sounder Stations, and at the Bellevue transit center.

Many neighborhood retailers also now sell ORCA cards, in addition to revaluing any ORCA card including QFC and Safeway stores. Go to www.orcacard.com or call 1-888-988-6722.

Bicycles for Humanity to collect bikes at Summer Celebration

Again this year, ?Bicycles for Humanity Seattle? (B4HS) will be collecting good, used bikes at Summer Celebration!

Last year, Islanders donated 55 bikes during the two-day festival by dropping the bikes off at the Bicycles for Humanity booth.

Bicycles for Humanity, Seattle (B4HS) is dedicated to shipping thousands of bicycles to South Africa every year to help poor and impoverished villagers improve their lives with transportation. Since 2010, BFHS has collected and sent over 2,500 bicycles to Kwa Zulu Natal, SA from the Puget Sound region.

Why are bikes so important in South Africa? There is very little modern transportation as we know it. Bicycles can help health care workers reach distant villages that have no medical facilities. Because the high incidence of HIV has caused the orphan population to literally explode, donated bicycles can help South African children travel miles to school where a hot lunch ? possibly the only full meal of the day ? and an education await. And, in an area where one out of every two people is unemployed, bikes can also help villagers get to work or start a small business.

You can help by donating a bike, money or by volunteering. Mountain bikes are best, but B4HS will take any working bicycles, even ones needing minor repairs. For more information, go to www.b4hs.org.

By the numbers

Park-and-ride usage, and transit ridership? are closely tied to economic growth.

Several Eastside lots continue to operate at or above capacity, including South Bellevue (107%), Bear Creek (110%), Redmond (100%) and South Kirkland (104%).

The 447-space Mercer Island Park-and-Ride has been at or above capacity since 2010.

?

Contact Mercer Island Reporter Staff Reporter Staff at editor@mi-reporter.com.

Source: http://feeds.soundpublishing.com/~r/mirnews/~3/crgqX66ub-A/215112491.html

Tamar Braxton Prism

The Expedient Services Of A Car Hire Sunshine Coast

The sunshine coast is one of the most premier and popular holiday destinations in Queensland. It is much visited by both locals and international tourists from around the globe and is a perfect destination to spend a refreshing holiday with both friends and family. One can experience a relaxed lifestyle surrounded by alluring white sand beaches, subtropical rains forests, fresh water lakes and rivers, a perfect glaze of sunshine and myriad of local attractions. The Noosa heads, Caloundra and Maroochy are the three distinctive areas having a distinctive charm of their own. One can shop, relax, dine and enjoy in a number of ways without trolling much in this coastal area. The region has some great national parks offering seamless opportunities to get close and admire nature at its best. Some of the most visited and famous national parks of the sunshine coast have been talked about in brief below.

Located at about a distance of 100 kilometers to the north of the Australian city of Brisbane, the Mapleton Falls national park is on the Blackall Range. You can witness some unsurpassed scenic views of the Mapleton falls and the Obi valley here. A number of walking trails have been made through heavy bush lands and rainforests which give a great natural experience to nature enthusiasts.

Situated alongside the Bruce highway, The Glass house mountain national park is a group of 13 craggy and volcanic peaks that overlook the pine plantations. The park is home to a number of plants and animals and a number of endangered plants species are a highlight of the park. The park is also well known for picnics, bushwalking and rock climbing.

The Conondale national park is an area sprawling over acres consisting of magnificent forests, gorges, beautiful scenic views and some of the endangered wildlife species like the Red goshawk and tree frog. The park was formerly called the Kenilworth forest reserve and is one of the largest national parks of the region.

Situated at 160 kilometers to the north of Brisbane, the Noosa national park is much known for its picturesque coastal scenery. Animals such as Koalas, Cockatoos, froglets and ground parrots can be found in the park.

The Great sandy Marine Park and national park are some of the other well-known national parks of the region.

Exploring these magnificent and sprawling natural areas require some comfortable and convenient travel options. Especially when travelling with kids, one cannot rely on the swarming public transport to experience these beautiful natural panoramas. A car hire sunshine coast ensures that you travel with ease, relief, comfort and relaxation. These expedient services of car hire sunshine provide you with well-maintained cars which take care of all your travelling and commuting problems. The cars are well equipped with all modern facilities and promise to deliver a comfortable and opportune experience for family vacations. After resorting to these value for money services, you can ensure the safety and contentment of your kids and the handiness which your own car would have given you in this beautiful place.

About the Author:
Author is associated with Hertz, they provide Luxury Car Rental Melbourne in AU and worldwide. Book a car with Hertz and get special offers and discounts on all types of luxury car.

Source: http://www.articlesnatch.com/Article/The-Expedient-Services-Of-A-Car-Hire-Sunshine-Coast/4538314

marian hossa philip humber red sox white sox chuck colson ufc 145 results orrin hatch

Android phones are helping New York City cops fight crime

NYPD

The New York Police Department has secretly equipped officers with a new weapon to help them fight crime. Roughly 400 Android smartphones have been distributed to officers since last summer as part of a pilot program taking place in New York City, The New York Times reported. The phones are unable to make or receive calls and instead use a data connection to gain access to an individual?s arrest files. An application on the device can look up a person?s criminal history, verify his or her identity with a police photograph and even display information from the Department of Motor Vehicles.

[More from BGR: BlackBerry will ask regulators to investigate analyst who made false return rate claims]

By typing in an address into the application, an officer will be able to see the names of every resident with an arrest warrant, any registered gun owners, previous police summons and specific information about earlier disputes.

[More from BGR: Dear Microsoft: Giving the next Xbox an always-online requirement might be suicidal]

?You can see that in this one 14-story building there are thousands and thousands of records,? Officer Tom Donaldson said to the Times while on patrol in Harlem. ?If I see that in the last month, there have been six arrests on the seventh floor for drug trafficking, maybe I want to hang out on the seventh floor for a while.?

The new technology does have its critics, though.

The executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, Donna Lieberman, believes the application has ?enormous promise to improve policing and public safety,? however she is worried that it could ?become a vehicle to round-up the usual suspects, to harass people? based on previous information in the police databases.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/android-phones-helping-york-city-cops-fight-crime-152025635.html

triple play james neal virginia tech emancipation proclamation april 16 tornadoes mitch hedberg

Portia de Rossi: No Kids on the Way!

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2013/04/portia-de-rossi-no-kids-on-the-way/

Hurricane Sandy new jersey atlantic city ocean city maryland Nexus 7 KDKA Pumpkin Carving Ideas

96% War Witch

All Critics (46) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (44) | Rotten (2)

Canadian writer-director Kim Nguyen spent nearly a decade researching this docudrama about child soldiers in Africa, and the film feels as authoritative as a first-hand account.

A haunting take on unspeakably grim subject matter, shot on location in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A powerful and upsetting portrait of a young girl compelled into unimaginably horrific circumstances.

Nguyen, astonishingly, manages to wring something vaguely like a happy ending from this tragic story.

War Witch is most effective not when we are looking in on Komona but when we are inside her head.

The powerful things we expect from "War Witch" are as advertised, but what we don't expect is even better.

You're likely to ponder its images, its insights into a very foreign (for most of us) location and the tragic situation of Komona (and others like her) for a long time to come.

Is it accurate depiction of Africa's child soldiers? I don't know, thank God. But it feels authentic to its very core, and that makes it as hard to forget as it is to ignore.

Brutal without turning exploitative, the result is harrowing and heartbreaking.

Nguyen creates a mesmerizing tone through his camerawork, editing, sound and the infusion of African folk imagery and ritual, but it's Mwanza's performance as Komona that makes "War Witch" feel so miraculous.

Nguyen reportedly worked on "War Witch" for a decade, and it shows in both the immediacy and authenticity of his tale, and the meticulous craft with which it's told.

Made with extremely clear-eyed restraint from harangues, sentiment, message-mongering, or anything else that would cheapen its central character's suffering and fight.

War Witch features a standout performance by Rachel Mwanza, but the supernatural visions don't really suit the film's tone and mood.

Nguyen's compassion and commitment to the issue is admirable, and at its best, War Witch is devastating.

War Witch is remarkable for the fact that it never strays into sentimentality or sensationalism.

...a love story between youngsters who are forced to become adults all too early in their lives.

This is a straight ahead essay on warfare at its worst and the survival of the human spirit at its best.

An astonishing drama set in Africa that vividly depicts the courage and resiliency of a 12-year-old girl whose spiritual gifts enable her to survive.

It is astonishing that film that contains such violence can have such a serene tone. The source of the serenity is the measured, calm narration by Komona (voice of Diane Umawahoro) that is the telling of her story to her unborn child

An exquisitely made film in direct contrast to the ugliness of its subject matter

The portrait of a girl who retains her dignity and strength, her faith in the future, in the face of unimaginable horrors. It's inspirational in a very real way.

No quotes approved yet for War Witch. Logged in users can submit quotes.

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/war_witch/

Is The World Going To End Mayans camilla belle instagram Robert Bork mark sanchez christina aguilera

Avril Lavigne Toasts New Song With Chad Kroeger: 'Here's To Never Growing Up'

The couple opens up about the single and falling in love in the studio.
By Jocelyn Vena

Avril Lavigne and Chad Kroeger
Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1705239/avril-lavigne-chad-kroeger-heres-to-never-growing-up.jhtml

atlanta falcons voting hours election results Doug Martin Barack Obama & Joe Biden Am I registered to vote Voter registration

North Carolina reptile and exotic pet show | Pet Expert

most of them were captive bred, I do not support selling? of wild caught animals at all. As long as a responsible owner buys the animals I?m happy, because there are worse homes for them and irresponsible owners and uneducated kids who buy them cheap and let them die. Once they?re at a show its too late to let them free or any nonsense like that. By the way it?s ?bred? not ?breeded?. Stop making up words, and im sure the animals are happy to not go home with you.

Source: http://petexpert.org/?p=2633

groundhog soulja boy punxsutawney phil ground hog groundhog day 2012 serrano staten island chuck