Cornmarket chaos The resurfacing works on
Cornmarket Street face further delays because the city and county
councils cannot decide what material to use for the top surface.
The next phase of resurfacing was due to start on Monday, but has
been postponed while one of the materials is tested on Queen
Street. By Caleb Liu Oxford Devolved A motion to devolve greater
power to the areas outside Oxford is on the agenda for this
week’s meeting of the county executive council. This would
allow area councils to draft policy in areas such as transport,
crime and councillors’ budgets. Council leader Keith
Mitchell cautioned, however, that any immediate changes are
unlikely. By Caleb Liu End of AS Levels In the future, secondary
school students will not be subjected to three successive years
of public exams. Mike Tomlinson, the head of a government enquiry
into exam reform, suggests that the AS and A-level systems should
be “decoupled” as soon as possible, just three years
after their introduction in 2001. This would mean that students
would not sit the AS level in subjects they continue to A2
standard. By Rachel Von Simson Policeman in Court The policeman who was
driving the car that knocked down and killed a Brookes student on
Cowley Road in November has been charged with death by dangerous
driving. Street trading A campaign to make Oxford more welcoming
has led to the extension of a new by-law, which clamps down on
street trading. It aims to stop people causing an annoyance or
creating litter problems by handing out leaflets. Gem Theft Auto An Oxfordshire man had £1m.
worth of gems stolen from his car as he was paying for petrol at
Sainsburys. The gems were in a black leather suitcase underneath
the steering wheel . The man was gone for less than five minutes. Radcliffe Re-Opened Visitors were allowed
into the Radcliffe Observatory last Sunday to mark the completion
of the first phase of a £750,000 restoration project. The 18th
Century building is currently being used as a library and common
room by Green College. The designs for the carvings at the top of
the building based their design on an anceint Greek observatory
built for Andronicus. Dickensian Digs A survey has revealed that
23% of students say they share their houses with vermin and that
50,000 are living in digs with no proper heating. The survey
described these conditions as “Dickensian”. The NUS has
consequently called upon the government for proper monitoring of
student accommodation, and an end to ‘landlord
exploitation’.ARCHIVE: 3rd week TT 2004
News in Brief
