Last Saturday's 'Cambridge Evening News' said that four police sergeants and an inspector from Cambridgeshire have been suspended from duty while claims of 'irregularities' at their stations are investigated.
Apparently a statement made by the Police Complaints Authority said: 'It is alleged that the officers involved had failed to follow the procedure, laid down in the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984, in detaining people in custody...'.
The 'Cambridge Evening News' of 6/5/95 reported that 'TOP police officers came under fire.. ...for running an enquiry from Cambridge's 4-star Holiday Inn hotel - at local taxpayers' expense'.
The criticism made by county councillors concerned expenses incurred during an investigation by Merseyside police into complaints made against the Cambridgeshire, Suffolk and Norfolk police forces.
Isleham was officially twinned with the French village of Nesles (about 12 miles south of Boulogne) at the weekend it said in the Soham and Ely Journal of 25/5/95.
The 'Ely Weekly News' of 25/5/95 said that due to the discovery of the unsatisfactory condition of a water main under Ely High St during 'environmental improvements' that the work will be 're-programmed' to allow Anglian Water to lay a new main.
A spokesman for the contractors doing the 'environmental improvements' said that they were confident of meeting the scheduled completion date in September.
Tonight's front page story in the 'Cambridge Evening News' reveals that the future of traffic calming features installed in Romsey at a cost of £285,000 is to be reviewed following a petition being handed in to the council containing 1,600 signatures. A council engineer said that a report would be ready in September.
Tonight's Cambridge Evening News says that at a meeting last night Cambridgeshire Police Authority voted to accept sponsorship cash to a limit of £600,000 - but that the proposal has caused fierce controversy.
Today's 'Cambridge Evening News' has the story of Cambridge's Arts Theatre good fortune. The theatre is to be awarded £6.64 million pounds from National Lottery funds for rebuilding and improvement work.
A £250,000 development project to improve Soham's town centre should have been completed by now - reports the Soham Advertiser of 18/5/95.
Apparently a scheme on which the town council, Soham Association of Commerce and Trade and the town's residents can agree has yet to be found.
Work has been postponed until January.
Also in tonight's 'Cambridge Evening News' is the story of Aaron McLaughlin's man-haul across Greenland to raise money to buy equipment for Addenbrooke's Hospital to help children with cerebral palsy.
CEN reports how McLaughlin dragged a 250lb sledge for 400 miles in 32 days.
CEN gives the phone numbers of Louise Burns at Addenbrooke's (01223 245151) and Maj Renfrey (01962 887607) for people wishing to donate money.
Todays 'Cambridge Evening News' front page story describes how the Cambridge branch of the Citizens Advice Bureau dealt with 8,768 inquiries about debt over the last year. The total debt of the Bureau's clients is said to currently be £4,819,274 and the average debt is £9,000.
Last week the new Mayor of Cambridge, Dr Sonja Froggett was inaugerated at the Guildhall. Dr Froggett replaces Cllr Joye Rosenstiel.
Conservative MP for South Cambs, Sir Anthony Grant has announced that he won't be standing for Parliament at the next election.
After 31 years in politics, he has apparently become critical of the way things are done in Westminster.
Yesterday's 'Cambridge Evening News' said 'In a speech to local constituents at Little Gransden, Sir Anthony said "hysteria" had built up in the House, where debate had been reduced to "media soundbites"'.
In last Friday's Cambridge Evening News it was reported that school heads in Cambridgeshire were set to defy National Curriculum procedure over sending away test papers written by eleven year olds for marking.
One teacher said "We believe the results belong to the children, the parents and the school.".
In yesterday's 'Cambridge Evening News' it was announced that the 'East Anglia Roads to Prosperity' group had urged transport minister Brian Mawhinney to speed up the planning process to upgrade the congested A14. This request was made at a conference held by the group to launch a document in which they have described what they anticipate are the road building and road enhancement projects needed in the region over the next ten years. As well as improvements to the A14, the paper says that the A10 between Cambridge and Ely should be converted into dual carriageway.
Apparently there is little hope of extra cash for big road projects becoming available. However, road planners are expected to produce draft proposals for A14 improvents in the Autumn.
See also A14 - Improvements needed urgently - (24/4/95)
The Home Office has said that it will not contest a Court of Appeal hearing against the deportation of Cambridge resident Abdul Aldebs.
A petition signed by thousands of Cambridge residents in support of Mr. Aldebs is thought to have been an important factor in the decision made by the Home Office.
On 9th May, the Cambridge Evening News reported that a £1.15M cash injection from pharmaceutical giant Zeneca 'is a shot in the arm for the [Cambidge] university's global reputation.'
'The money, the largest chemistry sum ever awarded by the multi-national firm, will fund a five-year research programme which will help wage war against a variety of illnesses by rapidly increasing the rate at which new cures are developed and put into use.'
On 10th May, the Cambridge Evening News gave a different perspective on this story. Shaun Connolly wrote...
'MONEY continues to flood into Cambridge University from multi-national conglomerates to fund research - but at what cost to it's independence?'
'With yet another large donation being awarded to the chemistry department by an international drugs company, should we be concerned about the growing links between commercial industry and education?'
'....Dr John Maunder, director of the medical entomology centre at the university, who is particularly concerned about asthma treatment, said that there could be unease about relations with drug companies in some circumstances.'
'He said: "It does seem to be a somewhat unhealthy situation when you consider that research centres like this one can't be funded in some areas by companies because we will put them out of business if we find a cure for asthma."...'
In East Cambs, it was reported in the Ely Town Crier on 6/5/95, the number of polling stations required was dropped from 65 to 44 due to eight district council seats and some parish council seats being uncontested. This follows a national trend in election apathy, which according to Cambridgeshire Senior Elections Officer Shelagh Monteith, is being looked at by the government through its Commission for Local Democracy.
In Cambridge, the Conservatives lost three seats, two to Liberal Democrats and one to Labour but the council remains with no party having overall control. In East Cambridgeshire, the council remains in the control of Indepedents in spite of the Liberal Democrats gaining six seats. However in Forest Heath, the Conservatives lost overall control after losing seven seats.
The hypertext links reveal more details.
The U.S. Vice-President, Al Gore, was at the American Military Cemetary at Madingley on Saturday - to pay tribute to people who died in the war.
In a speach to the estimated 4,000 people attending, he warned of an 'uncertain future' if the lessons of the war went unheaded.
He said "The most important of these lessons is that government without the consent of a free people is tyranny. Because men and women are born free, tyranny is a monstrous affront to nature itself."
In a week where temperatures have soared to levels higher than those in Greece - the problem of air pollution has become painfully apparent to many people in the region.
Cambridge MP, Anne Campbell, has called for a full Commons debate on mounting air pollution in Britain's towns and cities - said the Cambridge Evening News of 6/5/95.
In the Ely Town Crier of 6/5/95 came the stark warning that 'Green belt areas may no longer remain protected if Cambridge is to solve its traffic problems'. The paper quotes Cambridge City Transportation Officer, Peter Studdert as saying 'We're not going to say no to cars but we need to first provide an attractive alternative and then produce pressure on people to reduce car use'' The Crier says that government policies made it difficult for local authorities to offer cheap public transport.
In the Cambridge Evening News of 13/4/95 there was a story about how county public transport could get a £4 million pound cash boost if plans to charge drivers entering Cambridge were to go ahead. However the county council has no plans for such a scheme.
Cambridge cyclists have the opportunity of registering their feelings about cars at the monthly Critical Mass demonstration.
The Ely recycling group W.A.S.T.E. (We're Against Senseless Threats to the Environment) held it's last recycling drive at their Lisle Lane site on 6th and 7th May. The site has been reclaimed by Ely District Council for use by the Post Office.
W.A.S.T.E. activist John Marsh told ECOLN that although W.A.S.T.E. were losing their site, Ely is under renewed pressure to provide recycling facilities. An Audit Commission report recently pointed out East Cambridgeshire's poor record of waste recycling.
In the Soham and Ely Journal, East Cambs chief executive, Richard Carr, was quoted as saying: "We currently recycle three per cent of the district's waste but we are aiming for 15 per cent"
"Obviously we need the public's help to achieve this and we have set aside grant money to help set up more village recycling banks."
John Marsh says that W.A.S.T.E. members are available to help and advise the council as required.
On 27th April, Cambridge City councillors voted to scrap the unpopular plan for a fountain to be built in Market Square. The rejected design by Angela Conner was 20 feet high, had 'swaying arms' and would have cost £70,000. It was proposed after another design, also by Ms Conner, involving a raised golden sphere on a stalk proved to be unpopular with the public.
Apparently a fountain is required in Market Square as part of a general refurbishment of the market set to proceed next January
Colen Lumley, co-editor of Cambridge Archetecture, has suggested that the 'waving arms' fountain should be built at the Milton Country Park, which according to the Cambridge Evening News 'is already home to a contraversial floating sculpture by 'Spitting Image' puppeteer Peter Fluck, which has been the target of criticism and vandalism since it became a permanent feature of the lake there in December 1993.'
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