Results tagged “change”

In the wake of America's first fatal airline accident in 30 months, the Times takes a look at how the FAA has responded to other crashes over the years. Perhaps unsurprisingly, reporter Matthew Wald's tour of the FAA sausage factory concludes that the bureaucracy is a tad "cumbersome." The National Transportation Safety Board, which advises the FAA on regulations, currently cites 429 "outstanding recommendations" which have still not been acted on by the FAA. 146 of them are more than five years old, such as a proposed fix for the malfunction that caused the explosion of T.W.A. Flight 800 (pictured) over Long Island in 1996, which investigators concluded was caused by an electrical flaw in the fuel tank. (Many others have speculated that a shoulder-fired missile took down the plane.) After some 12 years of debate about a solution, the FAA now reports that airlines should finally have the problem fixed... in another eight years.

Manhattanite Mame McCutchin has been picking up your loose change and blogging about it. Her Found Money blog isn't the only one in town, however. The Daily News reports that there are dozens of change bloggers nationwide, all trying to fill up their piggy banks for rainy days. In New York, there's also Barbara Humphrey, a Staten Island mom whose gotten the whole family involved and records her findings at Change Pot. So far this year she's already up to $47.05, and has saved over $1,000 since starting three years ago. The paper notes that "Oddly, in wealthy Manhattan neighborhoods, they rarely find anything," which may explain why McCutchin is only up to $16.63 since last June. That could be up one cent by the end of the day, however—she wrote on her blog earlier: "Today I found a penny but it was frozen solid into some dirt near the base of a tree. I can't decide if I should go back with a cup of hot water or a screw-driver."

Orthodox Jewish fitness buffs are outraged that the Kosher Gym in Flatbush, Brooklyn was sold earlier this month to non-Jewish owners who plan to open the gym on Shabbos and make other non-Kosher changes to the facilities. According to the Jewish Press, gym members recently received a letter announcing the sale, for $2 million, to a "national fitness group that focuses on gender specific clubs."

Since opening last November, the 2,000 square foot Radegast Hall in Williamsburg has been packed with patrons enjoying the massive mugs of beer, the hearty food, and the debate about the old world dirndl peasant dresses worn by the waitresses. (Humiliating or part of the ambiance?) One group strongly opposed to the vintage Czech ensembles are the employees themselves, who say the tight bodices and short skirts are provoking come-ons from grabby drunken tools. Not cool, bros!