Way of the Cross march at noon

The 21st annual Way of the Cross/Way of Justice Good Friday procession takes place from noon to 3 p.m. today beginning at Fountain Square. The walk proceeds around City Hall, past the Elm Street Clinic, down to Tender Mercies and concludes at Washington Park.The procession traces the journey of Jesus in his final hours by recalling worldwide suffering at each station. A coalition of churches and religious organizations in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky is sponsoring the event. Hospitality will be offered by Nast-Trinity United Methodist Church after the procession. Wheelchair accessibility and signing for the hearing impaired will be provided. Information: 579-8547.

Kings Island opens today

Paramount's Kings Island will open today for the 2004 season. This year the theme park is focusing on putting its 3 million-plus annual visitors behind the scenes of its parent company's movies with an interactive theater, additional Nickelodeon characters, and other changes. The park also added sound effects to The Beast, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

NBC to revisit Thomas shooting

Three years after the fatal police shooting of 19-year-old Timothy D. Thomas in Over-the-Rhine, the incident that led the 2001 rioting is again getting national media attention. Dateline: NBC tonight will use the Thomas case to ask the question: "In an effort to fight crime, do police deny African-Americans their constitutional guarantee of equal protection under the law, or are allegations of racial profiling unfounded?" The program airs on WLWT (Channel 5) at 8 p.m. The program doesn't break much news. It recaps the events of April 2001 and reports traffic-stop data analyzed in a University of Cincinnati study released last year. City Manager Valerie Lemmie said Dateline producers last visited District 1 police headquarters in 2002.

TRAFFIC WATCH

Reading Road will be closed Monday through Friday next week in Sharonville for replacement of a railroad crossing. Detours will be posted.