|
The '''Manchester Congestion Charge''' is a proposed scheme of [[road charging]] for the Greater [[Manchester]] area. Unlike the current version of the [[London Congestion Charge]], two cordons will be used, covering both Greater and inner Manchester It is proposed that vehicles entering the area bordered by the M60 will be charged £2.00 in the morning peak, with a further £1.00 for those entering the city centre itself. In the evening, a further £1.00 will be charged on exit of each cordon, making a maximum daily payment of £5.00.
'''''The Daily Illini''''' is an independent, student-run newspaper published for the community of the [[University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign]]. The newspaper was founded in 1874. Twenty-thousand copies are produced each weekday during the university's fall and spring semesters and distributed free at more than 250 locations throughout [[Champaign, Illinois|Champaign-Urbana]].
Although the area covered (most of Greater Manchester) is greater than the London Congestion Charge, charges are lower and the charging hours are much shorter. Inbound charges will apply between 7am and 9.30am, outbound ones between 4pm and 6.30. There will be no charge during the middle of the day, later in the evening or at the weekend. There will also be no charge for journeys against the peak flow- i.e. to leave the city in the morning or to enter it in the evening.
The student paper publishes news, sports, features, comics, opinions and special sections. It has regularly received awards such as the Columbia Scholastic Press Association Gold and Silver Crowns and the Associated College Press Pacemaker Award. [http://www.illinimedia.com/DI/DI.html]
Payment of the charge will be via a pre-pay 'tag and beacon' system. Credit will automatically be deducted from a drivers account as they pass each of the cordons. Occasional visitors to Manchester without a pre-pay 'tag' will be able to pay via call centre or internet, although there may be a surcharge for this. It is hoped to have the scheme up and running by 2012.
''The Daily Illini'' is a publication of [[Illini Media]] Company, a not-for-profit corporation which also publishes the ''Illio'' yearbook and ''The Illinois Technograph'', an engineering magazine, and operates [[WPGU-FM|WPGU]] 107.1 FM, a student-run radio station. While the IMC has no official ties to the university, university professors and others in the academic community serve on its board of directors.
The newspaper's editorial, business and production departments are staffed by students, who might come from any of the University's degree programs. Several full-time professionals, including the newspaper's publisher and the advertising and circulation managers, are employees of IMC. Students also are paid for their jobs in reporting, editing, production and advertising—although they are paid a wage comparable to interns.
A key aspect of the proposed Manchester Congestion Charge is that in the setting up of the system, that will be paid for with part of a grant of 3 billion pounds of goverment money.
The newspaper's offices are currently located on Green Street in Champaign. However, new offices, that are closer to campus, are scheduled to be ready for use by Illini Media companies at the start of the 2006 academic year.
2 billion of which is a loan for which the congestion charge will be the main way of paying back the loan.
Notable alumni of the newspaper include movie critic [[Roger Ebert]], novelist [[Dave Eggers]], folk singer [[Dan Fogelberg]], Playboy founder/CEO [[Hugh Hefner]], columnist [[Robert Novak]] and several [[Pulitzer Prize]] winners [http://www.news-gazette.com/special/answerbook2005/index.cfm?page=story&number=61931].
Phase two the system is planned to be a satellite-based charging in which drivers would pay for exactly the number of miles they travel.
==Controversies==
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1007/1007736_ccharge_details_revealed.html
A ''Daily Illini'' columnist was accused of being anti-Semitic because of a column misquoting [[Ariel Sharon]], [http://www.camera.org/index.asp?x_context=2&x_outlet=131&x_article=676][http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12664], as well as the publication of a November 2004 comic strip by Matt Vroom. The comic in question was the [http://www.ihatepam.com/03_archives/view.php?page=7&comicID=56 November 5, 2004] strip of [http://www.ihatepam.com I Hate Pam], a popular yet controversial staple of the Daily Illini comics page from September, 2003 until Vroom graduated in May, 2005. Supporters of I Hate Pam point out that the strip was noted for its edgy humor, and few complained as it poked fun at other groups, suggesting that the claims of anti-Semitism originated from a small, overly sensitive minority. No evidence has been identified to demonstrate systemic bias within the newspaper itself.
The newspaper's editor in chief [[Acton Gorton]] and editorial page editor [[Chuck Prochaska]] made a controversial decision in February 2006 to print the cartoons from the [[Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy]] that had previously been printed in Europe and had led to violent rioting by Muslims who were offended by them. Gorton's column that accompanied the cartoons [http://www.dailyillini.com/media/paper736/news/2006/02/09/Opinions/Editors.Note-1622265.shtml?norewrite&sourcedomain=www.dailyillini.com] was cited to support the first view. Prochaska and Gorton were also criticized by fellow editors in a later editorial [http://www.dailyillini.com/news/2006/02/13/Opinions/Editorial.Staff.Breaks.Ranks-1610154.shtml] for not previously discussing their printing, though it was revealed later that some of the staff did know about it in advance. A firestorm of letters and calls from all over the country and the world came into the ''Daily Illini'' expressing both support and outrage. Gorton and Prochaska were suspended with pay for 2 weeks to investigate whether proper procedures were followed. As of [[March 14]], [[2006]], Gorton was terminated from the Daily Illini. Prochaska was offered the opportunity to return to his position but refused.
* [http://www.dailyillini.com Daily Illini]
[[Category:United States student newspapers]]
[[Category:Newspapers of Illinois]]
* http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/manchester/6691683.stm
* http://www.gmfuturetransport.org/
*[http://www.notolls.org.uk/manchester.htm National Alliance Against Tolls - Manchester] Information etc from those campaigning against the plans.
[[Category:Transport in Greater Manchester]]
| 