Thursday, March 20, 2003

HOMELAND SECURITY New Jersey has a Web site with information and advice for responding and preparing for terrorist attacks. Will include information in the event of an emergency. http://www.njhomelandsecurity.com U.S. Department of Homeland Security offers tips on preparing your family for a possible terrorist attack. http://www.ready.gov Coast Guard: Special tip line established for boat owners and coastal residents to report suspicious activity. 1-800-424-8802

TRANSPORTATION NJ Transit: The agency is running its trains and buses on regular schedules. As part of a security plan, NJ Transit will increase the number of uniformed and plainclothes police officers patrolling its main terminals. Officials also will assign additional officers to ride trains on a random basis. NJ Transit has asked passengers who see anything suspicious to call the agency's hotline at 1-888-TIPS-NJT (1-888-847-7658). NJ Transit also has set up security checkpoints at the freight entrances at its main stations and terminals, but those measures should not affect commuters or the general public. Bridges and tunnels: Police have stepped up their inspection of cars going into the tunnel. Officials will continue their ban on single-occupancy vehicles at the New York-bound tube of the Holland Tunnel. Those restrictions, which do not apply to small trucks, are in effect from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. on weekdays. The Port Authority is continuing its ban on all commercial traffic at the Holland Tunnel in the New Jersey-bound lanes and its ban on tractor trailers heading into New York. The Port Authority has set up an anti-terrorism hotline 1-800-PAPD (7273) for the public to report suspicious activity at Newark Liberty International Airport, the agency's bridges and tunnels and PATH system. Newark Liberty International Airport: Travelers should leave extra time to get to the airport because cars entering the airport grounds are being subjected to random searches. The Transportation Security Administration has a Web site listing what can and can't be taken aboard planes at www.TSATravelTips.us Airlines: Continental Airlines and other major carriers implemented a new policy allowing customers to immediately change their domestic and international travel plans without the standard change fee. Continental customers who have purchased tickets for travel through May 18 may make a one-time change to their plans without paying the standard fee. To take advantage of the new policy, customers must make the change by April 19 or their originally scheduled date of travel, whichever comes first. Travel may be rescheduled for any date through Dec. 31, 2003. Because of a drop in passenger demand, Continental Airlines will cut seven flights a week beginning April 6 from Newark, Cleveland and Houston to London, Paris and Tokyo. The Israeli airline El Al said it was cutting 29 flights a week, 15 percent of its capacity, including 2 to New York, because its passenger levels have dropped 40 percent so far this month. Other U.S. airlines say they'll wait until hostilities begin before deciding what to do.

SCHOOLS K-12 schools: The state's Department of Education has sent reminders to all county superintendents that the decision to lock down or evacuate a school would be made locally, by the district superintendent and local emergency management officials. All districts in New Jersey are required to have an emergency response plan, including under what circumstances parents are to be called. These plans were developed after the Columbine shootings and have been refined since the Sept. 11 terrorist attack.

BUSINESSES

New Jersey Business & Industry Association: Its Web site (www.njbia.com) has a new section devoted to information employers may need during wartime, including their obligations to reservists called to active duty and links to other helpful sites.

First Union (Wachovia Corp.): The bank will extend its military leave policy for employees who are on active duty from 180 days to 52 weeks.

FirstEnergy Corp.: The parent company of Jersey Central Power & Light is offering a Military Deferred Payment Plan for customers who are on military leave. Qualified customers can defer all or part of their electric bills until they return from active duty. Phone: 1-800-662-3115.

Verizon Communications Inc.: All business travel to Asia and the Middle East has been suspended because of security concerns. ENTERTAINMENT Television: Executives at various broadcast and cable television networks were not disclosing contingency plans yesterday. Many shows will be pre- empted during the first few days of the fighting, but not all. Keep a clicker handy. The Oscars: The stars will still come out for the 75th annual Academy Awards show at 8:30 p.m. Sunday night. ABC (Channel 7) may interrupt the broadcast with news as events dictate. The E! network will go ahead with its Oscar-related coverage starting at 6 p.m. Fashion fury Joan Rivers will not be stationed inside the theater, but she will go on. ABC's pre-show, produced by the Academy, will be shown, but they will change it from its original format. Expect more movie history, less glamour. Theaters: Artistic directors at all New Jersey theaters with shows on the boards say it will be business as usual, and performances will not be canceled unless Gov. James E. McGreevey calls a state of emergency. Extra-security measures were obvious in New York's theater district, where a half-dozen emergency vehicles were parked in the center of Times Square. All attractions were maintaining normal schedules, with spot searches of showgoers' bags being conducted at many theaters. SPORTS

Fans attending games: The professional leagues are advising fans to arrive more than an hour before any games being played during a war. Security, already beefed up after 9/11, will be even more intense. Searches of vehicles and fans are likely to create long lines and delays. Local high school and college games could be canceled or postponed.

Fans watching games on TV: Be prepared to channel-surf to find your favorite teams. With the networks and major cable outlets switching to war coverage when the fighting starts, NCAA Tournament games and other sports events could be bumped to other channels. CBS, which has a plan to move NCAA Tournament games to ESPN and ESPN2, said yesterday it still plans to show first-round NCAA Tournament games. That, of course, is subject to change. NBC is expected to move weekend coverage of the Bay Hill Invitational golf tournament to CNBC. Networks say they will provide on-screen information to direct viewers to the proper channels, but won't announce switches until the war starts.

HOUSES OF WORSHIP Many religious organizations are offering counseling opportunities or prayer for people anxious about the war. Some churches may extend their hours. Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark sent priests a letter yesterday asking them to "open your church(es) to allow people of all faiths an opportunity to pray as possible during the day and in the evenings." Here are telephone numbers and Internet sites for counseling, houses of worship near you, prayer sessions, or referrals: Catholic Community Services, Newark Archdiocese, (973) 596-4100. Catholic Charities, Metuchen Diocese, (800) 655-9491 Catholic Charities, Paterson Diocese, (973) 523-4456 Jewish Family Services for Union and Somerset counties: (908) 352-8375 Family Services, United Jewish Communities of MetroWest New Jersey: (973) 765-9050 or Resource Line (973) 929-3100 Islamic Circle of North America, New Jersey: (877) 363-4262. Or check www.icna.org/nj/directory/ html. Islamic Center of America, Masjidu Ahlis Sunnah, East Orange, (973) 672-6690 Council of Mosques and Islamic Organizations, Newark, 973-642-6211 To contact a Methodist church near you, go to www.unitedmethodist.org/heart5.htm and enter your ZIP code. To pray with someone over the telephone, call The Upper Room, a prayer service affiliated with the United Methodist Church, at (800) 251-2468. The Upper Room's web site is www.upperroom.org. COUNSELING The 125 community mental health agencies that comprise the New Jersey Association of Mental Agencies Inc. are ready to provide services for residents having difficulty coping with the stress created by the imminent onset of war and fear of terrorism. A listing of local community mental health agencies may be found by visiting www.njamha.org or by calling 609-838-5488 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. For more details on coping, please turn to Page 61.

NEWS SOURCES The Star-Ledger's Wayne Woolley is on the front line with U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf. Read his dispatches from the frontline on NJ.com.www.nj.com/ iraq The Associated Press, the not-for-profit cooperative with 242 bureaus around the world. Access its news ticker via www.ap.org or through www.nj.com/ iraq. For maps, try the collection at www.lib.utexas.edu/ maps/iraq.html. Color maps are also available on the Central Intelligence Agency's Web site, www.cia.gov, by clicking on "The World Factbook" under the "Library and Reference" section. Military information has been gathered by the Federation of American Scientists on its Military Analysis Network, www.fas.org/man. There are also links to the United Nations forces and even a list of anti- war Web sites. More timely military deployment information may be found at www.globalsecurity.org/ military. An online edition of Stars and Stripes is available at www.estripes.com International radio broadcasts can be heard live at www.ituner.com/category/English/News.html. For the British perspective, try the British Broadcasting Company, www.bbc.co.uk. WNYC, the New York public radio station, is now broadcasting BBC programs as well. The AM station (820) offers BBC World Service reports through the night, beginning at 9 p.m.. The FM station (93.9) carries BBC news shows at 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. To keep track of the French outlook, try the world's largest news and photo agency, Agence France-Presse, at www.afp.com. Middle Eastern news reports, which often toe a government-imposed line, are available at http:// aljazeera.org.uk. (This is not the Al-Jazeera television station of recent fame.) This Web site has links to the Tehran Times, Turkey Update and Kurdish Media, all in English. A University of Chicago political science professor, Charles Lipson, has links to many English- language newspapers throughout the Mideast. Go to www.charleslipson.com. HOW TO SUPPORT THE TROOPS They are thousands of miles away, living and fighting in the dust of the desert. For a list of organizations that are soliciting everything from money to e- mail to gum to send to U.S. troops overseas, please