Campus brief AU given Arbor Day honor
The Arbor Day Foundation named AU a 2009 Tree Campus USA University, the university announced during the annual Campus Beautification Day Thursday.
The status is granted to campuses around the United States that meet five standards to "promote healthy trees and student involvement" developed by the Arbor Day Foundation, according to the organization's Web site. The five standards include having a campus tree advisory committee, a campus tree care plan, an Arbor Day observance, proof of allocated finances to campus tree program and a service-learning project.
Before submitting its application to gain recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation, the campus had to establish a campus tree advisory committee. AU formed a committee with several students from EcoSense, an environmental science department faculty member and employees on the arboretum staff, according to an AU press release.
AU is the first school in the D.C. area to receive the Arbor Day Foundation Tree Campus USA University recognition award.
-ANNA TUMAN
Metro brief Grocery chain near AU to close
Upscale grocery store chain Balducci's announced it will close its New Mexico Avenue store at the end of June, The Washington Post reported.
The store is one of four that are being closed, according to the Post. The other three are in Connecticut and New York.
Many customers are shopping at Balducci's less frequently due to the economy, the Post reported.
The store on New Mexico Avenue is the only location in D.C., but Balducci's spokeswoman Jennifer Barton told the Post that the three other locations in the area will remain open. Other stores in Connecticut and New York will also remain open.
-CLINT RICE
National brief Fair ride tumbles, injures six
A children's ride at a fair in Washington state tipped over Friday, injuring six people, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
Five children and one adult went to the hospital after the accident, which occurred at the Puyallup Spring Fair, according to the Post-Intelligencer. None of the injuries were serious.
Puyallup Fair spokeswoman Karen LaFlamme told the Post-Intelligencer 14 children were on the ride, which consisted of swings rotating around a central column, when it toppled. Rain-drenched ground may have helped cause to the accident.
The ride passed an inspection two days before the accident, LaFlamme told the Post-Intelligencer.
-C.R.
International brief Snakes escape onto plane
Four baby pythons escaped from their container in the cargo hold of a passenger plane Tuesday en route to Melbourne, Australia, the Associated Press reported.
A Qantas spokeswoman told the AP the escaped snakes were four from a group of 12 Stimson pythons that were being transported on the flight, which originated in Alice Springs, Australia.
Although the snakes are non-venomous and only about six inches long, the officials grounded the plane in Melbourne and had the plane searched by a reptile expert, who was unable to find them, the AP reported. Workers fumigated the airplane and returned it to service.
Stimson pythons can grow up to three feet in length and are native to central and western Australia, according to the AP.
-C.R.
