BLACK HISTORY

CAPE CANAVERAL-They speak the language of Zero-G and payload. They travel to their off-earth assignments in spacecrafts. Some have walked in space.

They are United States astronauts, and on June 5, four of them, including the first African American to go on a mission to space, were inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame during an outdoor ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center visitor Complex.

Guion "Guy" Bluford Jr., a four-time Mission Specialist aboard space shuttles Challenger and Discovery, received his medal and his place in the pantheon of excellence, joining such astronauts as John Glenn, Alan Shepaid and Sally Ride. The other inductees were Kenneth Bowersox, Frank Culbertson Jr., and Kathryn Thornton.

Michael Coats, fellow crew member, hall of famer, director of the Johnson Space Center, and who introduced Bluford at the ceremony called Bluford's career a remarkable achievement.

"He was an unflappable, capable, reliable crewman with a good personality," said Coats.

Coasts pointed out that in addition to being the first African American in space, Bluford was on the first shuttle mission to launch and land at night, first to fly on a shuttle with eight astronauts; and first to be in a crew with two people whose height measured more than six feet.

Space shuttles launch into space like rockets, orbit the earth to about 250 miles up and return as gliders. They are NASA's main source of transportation into space, especially to the International Space Station and to repair satellites, for instance.

None of the more than 20 astronauts spoke of the end of the storied if not deadly shuttle program, which ends after Discovery and Endeavor complete their final missions later this year, scheduled for mid-September and mid-November respectively. Last month, shuttle Atlantis completed its last mission. It is estimated that about 8,000 people associated with the shuttle program in the Cocoa Beach area will lose their livelihood, and about 23,000 people in all of NASA. Some have wondered how supplies and astronauts will continue to go to the International Space Station after the shuttle's retirement.

Inductee Bowersox, who knows only too well what it is like not to have a ride home from the space station, works for a company that may have the technology to take parts and, later humans, into space. After the shuttle Columbia accident, and the fleet was grounded, Bowersox, who was on the space station, had to remain for five and a half months, hitching a ride with the Russians to get home.

On June 4, Space Exploration Technologies, also known as SpaceX, launched successfully its privately operated Falcon 9 rocket into space.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the launch puts SpaceX closer to being able to carry cargo to the International Space Station.

"This launch of the Falcon 9 gives us even more confidence that a resupply vehicle will be available after the space shuttle fleet is retired," Bolden said in a statement.

Blufoid said that the various milestones in his career came from chasing dreams. He applied to join the space program when the National Aeronautics and Space Administration started using scientists and engineers in the space program.

He recalled the phone call inviting him to join the astronaut corps.

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Nov 22, 2009

When you see some of the holidays masquerading as ecotourism you'd be forgiven for thinking the term "greenwash" was invented for the tourism industry. Oh, it was. In fact this pejoratively used hybrid was coined in the 1980s by American environmentalist Jay Westervelt, who was incensed by the way hotels put signs up pleading with guests to reuse their towels thus "saving the environment" when they were doing nothing to promote recycling elsewhere and really, he suspected, just wanted to save on laundry bills. Since then things have improved, but there are still lots of trips wearing a bogus "ecotourism" tag. These include swimming with captive dolphins (the feature documentary The Cove on the annual dolphin slaughter in Japan is a reminder of the truth behind their capture and trade) and hunting holidays with "sustainable" quotas. Tanzania has received criticism for the sale of ancestral lands to monopolies for under the market price, leaving local tribes high and dry. But often holidaymakers mistake sustainable ideas such as lower-impact transport with ecotourism. Incidentally research by the Heidelberger Institute for Energy and Environmental Research comparing the pollutant parameters and ecological effects of different holiday transport found coach travel to use six times less energy than planes. But this still doesn't make your coach trip ecotourism.

British travellers to the United States are getting a better deal thanks to the renewed strength of the pound against the dollar, a holiday company has said. Hayes & Jarvis said they would get 24 percent more today than at the pound's low point against the dollar in March 2009. In other destinations that use the dollar, like Dubai and Hong Kong, the pound is also worth at least 13 percent more. On Tuesday, one pound was worth USD1.6795 - a significant improvement on the 52-week low of USD1.375. Nov 19, 2009

Sporting events and eco-tourism will have a great effect on our choice of holiday destinations in 2010 according to a new travel trends report. International competitions like the World Cup and Winter Olympics will increase visitor numbers to South Africa and Vancouver, and other tourists will be inspired to visit cities like Stockholm due to its title of European Green Capital for 2010. The research, by British Airways, has outlined the top ten hot destinations for next year, showing we have not lost our taste for adventure despite a tightening of the purse strings. Topping the list of popular destinations is Cape Town, which is expecting around half a million supporters for the world's biggest international football competition. The city and its visitors will see the benefits of greater investment in its plethora of Roman and Byzantine tourist attraction,s which make the cultural center of Turkey so fascinating. Alongside more established destinations, including Las Vegas and New York, and beach hotspots Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic and the Maldives, some more unusual destinations have also made it on to the top ten list. 

Atlantic City Express Service

The ACES (Atlantic City Express Service) train connecting New York and Atlantic City is helping South Jersey customers kick off Black Friday with the Shopaholics Train, offering free giveaways and a hotel discount in New York City.

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THE sun shone on a revived Brecon Jazz Festival after a combination of old and new acts dazzled the crowds.

Veteran saxophonist Pee Wee Ellis, known as the man who invented funk, got the Christ College Stage jumping with his Funk Ensemble at the festival which has taken over the town for three days.

The Godfather of Soul, James Brown's Revue in 1965 and became band leader within six months, formed a line-up which was assembled to combine classic crowd-pullers with emerging Welsh talent.

The team that saved it from the brink of closure in March 2009 is spearheaded by Peter Florence.

He said: "People are coming out of events having discovered world class musicians they didn't know." See the Brecon Jazz picture gallery on WalesOnline

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WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS - Pete Johnson of Oak Hill is staying in a camper at Fairlea to be at The Greenbrier at the crack of dawn to pick up trash during this week's PGA Greenbrier Classic tournament.

He and about 100 others have paid for their gas to drive to White Sulphur Springs, found their own lodging and are putting in 11-hour shifts sweeping out skyboxes on the fairways and emptying trash bags.

We're doing all that for the benefit of others," said Bob Browning, a retired Pineville lawyer.

Browning and Johnson are Lions, an international service group with 5,000 members in the four West Virginia districts.

In exchange for their labor, the tournament is donating $25,000 to the Lions to provide eye care for needy people.

Johnson is the incoming secretary-treasurer for West Virginia Lions' Sight Conservation Foundation. He estimates that the tournament donation will account for 20 percent of the foundation's annual budget.

Other charitable and non-profit groups also have benefited from The Greenbrier snagging a PGA event. Golf fans who bought entrance badges through the Badges for Charity program could select a favorite charity to receive 30 percent of the purchase price. Likewise, alumni of four universities - WVU, Marshall, UVa and Virginia Tech - could buy an Alumni Badge with 30 Benfica Lisbon percent of the purchase proceeds going to their alma mater.

Nearly $400,000 has been distributed to 120 charities, including the four universities, said Lynn Swann, director of communications for The Greenbrier.

Other Greenbrier County area groups, such as Wellspring of Greenbrier County Inc. and Habitat for Humanity of Greenbrier, are earning extra income by supplying volunteers to work in concession stands operated by Prom Management Group. The company describes itself as "one of the largest catering and event food service companies in professional golf."

The amount each group receives is dependent on net sales and the number of shifts each group worked. Prom instructions forbid volunteers from wearing cargo and denim pants or shorts. Otherwise, shorts can be no shorter than 5 inches above the knee. No open-toe shoes or sandals of any kind will be allowed and "anyone wearing flip-flops will be asked to leave and will not receive credit for their shifts," cautions a Prom handout.

Concession volunteers are asked to wear a white, non-logo, collared shirt with khaki shorts or pants.

Who's who on Old White course appears to be color-coded. Greenbrier personnel are in yellow shirts, volunteers in red shirts and Lion members in purple with "Pickin' it Up for Sight" emblazoned on the back.

It's the same motto that the Pennsylvania Lions used when they had the cleanup contract for the 84 Lumber-sponsored golf tournament at Nemacolin resort in southwestern Pennsylvania.

Monty Ortel was director of operations at Nemacolin when the resort put on the tournament. When he learned about The Greenbrier Classic, Browning made a pitch for the Lions to take on the ecology duties of the tournament. (Technically, the Lions are providing the staff for the ecology contract, which is held by Kiser Consultants.)

Browning is a past district governor and is a Lions International representative. He got lucky when Ortel, who was familiar with the Lions role, was named assistant tournament director for The Greenbrier Classic.