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Travel

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Free Coffee! Free Tolls! And More Thanksgiving Travel Tips

Here are some tips from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to make your Thanksgiving travel a little easier.

Will you be driving on Thanksgiving night? If so, you can snag a free cup of joe courtesy of the state. And if you're hitting the Turnpike on Wednesday afternoon, you can also get on I-90 (for one hour) without having to pay the toll. Free coffee will be served at all 18 Massachusetts Department of Tranportation (MassDOT) service plazas between 10 p.m. on Thanksgiving night until 5 a.m. on Friday, Nov 23, courtesy of McDonalds, Burger King and Gulf.  Meanwhile, Plymouth Rock Assurance will sponsor free tolls at the Allston-Brighton interchange on I-90 from 3-4 p.m. on Wednesday, November 21.  Thanksgiving holiday traffic is expected to be at its peak on Tuesday, Nov. 20, Wednesday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 25, according to MassDOT. To …

mplo

10:18 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012

That's a great idea, but why don't they let commuters drive toll-free during the morning and late-afternoon/evening rush-hours all the time, instead of just on the holidays?   more ›

Friday, October 5, 2012

New Airport Full-Body Scans: Addresses Privacy Concerns, or Still Worrisome?

The Boston Globe reports that the Transportation Security Administration unveiled new body scanners that show less details to TSA screeners. Does this cool the debate over the scanners, or are they still worrisome?

When full-body scanners at airports became prevalent at airports in recent years, it stoked a debate over whether the scanners are too invasive. Yesterday, however, the Boston Globe reported that the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) unveiled new body scanners that show less details to TSA screeners. Instead of detailed images viewed in a private room by security personnel, the scanners initially only produce generic outlines of passengers, while still picking up on weapons or suspicious objects on a would-be traveller's body.  When full-body scans were introduced, some protested that the images were too intrusive and that the scans themselves would be ineffective because they would not detect "low-density" materials like …

quasimodo

1:09 pm on Thursday, February 14, 2013

Like always, it’s all about money, and these controversial x-ray scanners are apparently here to stay! Back in Oct, 2012, TSA signed a $245 million contract with American Sciences & Engineering (AS&E), although, at present, the TSA has about 250 mothballed such machines, which cost the government $40 million. It now intends to have these machines installed in federal government buildings in order…   more ›

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