Friday, November 5, 2004
Local news briefs
Board member disputes increase
Tom Luken, one of nine members of the board governing the Metro bus system, opposes the bus fare increase proposed this week. Luken, a former congressman, said that he presented to his fellow trustees on the Southwest Ohio Regional Transit Authority Board a list of Metro budget cuts in the past two months that would have eliminated the need for a fare increase.
"It's outrageous," he said of the proposed increases. Metro officials say that in the past two years, they have slashed $2.1 million in administrative expenses and jobs, cut or froze 50 jobs and restructured service for efficiency.
They cited soaring diesel fuel costs and health insurance premiums and flat city tax revenues as reasons for the fare increase. Under the proposal, fares would increase by an overall rate of 13 percent with the basic fare rising from 65 cents to $1 per ride.The fare increase would take effect on Feb. 1 if approved by the transit board and Cincinnati City Council.
WWII camp liberators honored
Guided tours of the exhibit, part of the center's "Mapping Our Tears'' interactive museum on the experience of European Jews during World War II, will be available 3-4:45 p.m. Tuesday at Mayerson Hall on the Hebrew Union College campus at 3101 Clifton Ave.
The tours will be followed by a program with Elmer Reis, a Cincinnatian who, as a young soldier, helped liberate the Ohrdruf concentration camp, and Henry Meyer, a Cincinnati musician who was a survivor of Ohrdruf. Information: (513) 221-1875.
To report news, call our tip line at 768-8651.
