Public safety

August 13, 2008 -- MONTGOMERY - Alabama Governor Bob Riley announced that more than 125 additional state troopers will hit the roads Aug. 18-24, ramping up DUI, seat belt and aggressive driving enforcement during a statewide “Take Back Our Highways” traffic safety campaign.

Public Safety Director Col. J. Christopher Murphy joined the governor at a Montgomery news conference to unveil plans for the traffic safety and enforcement effort, which DPS successfully pioneered last year to combat Alabama’s rising fatality rate. Trooper-worked fatalities dropped by 62 in 2007, and troopers have worked 93 fewer fatalities this year, compared with the same period last year.    » read more »

McCain Touts Plan at Nuke Plant That Partially Melted Down, Gave Rise to Term "China Syndrome" & Caught Fire Just This Past May

August, 2008 -- Washington, D.C.--As John McCain is paying a visit today to the Enrico Fermi nuclear generating station in Monroe, Michigan he can be expected to tout his costly plan to build 45 new nuclear plants by 2030 and 55 more after that. This plan would effectively double the number of nuclear reactors and the amount of dangerous high-level nuclear waste that would need to be transported across the country.    » read more »

August, 2008 -- Solomons Island, MD - A coalition of safe energy advocates warned today that the third reactor proposed at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant is not in the public’s best interest and likely will become an extremely costly and dangerous mistake for the region’s energy policy. The advocates were scheduled to testify at Maryland Public Service Commission’s first public meeting Monday night on the proposal to build a new atomic reactor on the Chesapeake Bay.

UniStar, a consortium of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy and the French electricity operator EDF, has selected the Calvert Cliffs nuclear power station in Lusby, Maryland, for the construction of the first 1,600-megawatt Evolutionary Power Reactor (EPR) proposed for the United States.    » read more »

Statement of Lena Pons, Policy Analyst, Public Citizen

In announcing that it would extend its cross-border trucking pilot project for two more years, the Bush administration continues to flout Congress at the expense of highway safety. This is the latest of many moves by the administration to give Mexico-domiciled carriers operating authority in the United States beyond a limited border zone despite lawmakers’ clear instructions to the contrary.    » read more »

March 19, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and U.S. Representative Jason Altmire (D-PA) today announced $42,312,000 they secured along with Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Representative Mike Doyle (D-PA) for rehabilitation of Emsworth Locks and Dams in Allegheny County. This project was one of the members’ top priorities in the FY08 Energy and Water Appropriations Bill.    » read more »

March 17, 2008 -- “We are pleased with the Court’s decision upholding the scientific reliability of the Alcotest and the admissibility of its results in evidence. The Court’s ruling provides a firm foundation for using this next generation of breath testing instrument in the enforcement of our drunken driving laws.    » read more »

February 08, 2008 -- Montpelier, Vermont – Today Vermont DPS Director of Public Advocacy Sarah Hofmann attended a meeting of the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards (ACRS) in Washington, DC. The ACRS is an independent review committee of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) made up of scientists with expertise in the area of reactor safety. In the past, the ACRS has provided guidance on Entergy’s requests for a 20 increase in output at Vermont Yankee. In relicensing cases, ACRS approval is required.    » read more »

01/28/2008 -- California Governor Schwarzenegger today sent the following letter to the leadership of the Senate and House Appropriations Committees urging them to restore critical Justice Assistance Grant funding which supports efforts of local police and sheriffs' departments, mainly centered on fighting violence and drugs and supporting crime victims.

January 28, 2008

Dear Senator Byrd, Senator Cochran, Mr. Obey and Mr. Lewis,    » read more »

Increased Patrols Lead to 35 Percent More Traffic and Criminal Citations

1/25/2008 -- Raleigh - North Carolina Governor Mike Easley announced today there were 559,588 traffic and criminal citations issued by state and local law enforcement officers across North Carolina during “Click It or Ticket” and “Booze It & Lose It” campaigns last year. That is a 35 percent increase from the 414,351 citations issued in 2006. Officers conducted more than 46,000 checkpoints and patrols during the 2007 campaigns, a boost of more than 64 percent from 2006.    » read more »

December 10, 2007 -- LOS ANGELES – California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. and Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton today announced the seizure of 541 handguns, rifles and assault weapons during a “statewide crackdown” on 1,000 dangerous individuals barred from firearms possession because of violent felony convictions.    » read more »

Three Part Strategy to Focus on Enforcement, Prevention and Re-entry

October 9, 2007 -- TRENTON - New Jersey Governor Jon S. Corzine today introduced the first piece of a comprehensive three part strategy to enhance public safety and combat violent street crime in the Garden State. The strategy addresses issues of enforcement, prevention and re-entry with an emphasis on reducing gang violence, violent crime and recidivism.    » read more »

IBM and Key Business Partners Incorporate Industry's Most Advanced Security Capabilities Into City's "Operation Virtual Shield" Project

CHICAGO, IL - 27 Sep 2007: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a new project with the City of Chicago Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC) to implement one of the most advanced city-wide intelligent security system ever conceived. The engagement is a part of Chicago's Operation Virtual Shield, a project that encompasses one of the world's largest video security deployments.    » read more »

09/24/2007, FLUSHING, N.Y. -- The New York Mets and MTA Long Island Rail Road today announced a new public information campaign promoting customer safety. As part of the campaign, the Mets will post messages on the scoreboard at home games at Shea Stadium along with public address announcements advising riders to "Watch the Gap" between trains and the platform. In addition, the LIRR and the Mets have developed a new flyer and presence campaign featuring Mr. Met - who two weeks ago was inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame - urging fans to watch the gap.    » read more »

27 August 2007 -- U.S. aviation authorities have ordered emergency inspections of newer model Boeing 737 airliners in response to last week's explosion and fire that destroyed a China Airlines plane in Japan.

The Federal Aviation Administration on Monday ordered all U.S. airlines to check for loose hardware in panels which are extended on the wings to increase lift for take-off and landing.    » read more »

SAN JOSE, California - August 20, 2007 - Etherstack, a global wireless technology licensor, today announced that Cisco and Etherstack intend to cooperate on the development of a range of new public safety radio network infrastructure products aimed at the first responder segment of North American markets. Etherstack has been licensing public safety wireless air interface protocol technologies to equipment manufacturers around the world for over 10 years.    » read more »