Trading-in Capitol statues

October 7th, 2009 Statue of Helen Keller to be installed in CapitolWASHINGTON — Alabama installed the first statue honoring a disabled person in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, unveiling a bronze of a 7-year-old Helen Keller at her moment of epiphany when she solved "the mystery of language" without sight or hearing.

October 5th, 2009 Ghost tours of Albany, NY, State CapitolALBANY, N.Y. — Is the State Capitol haunted? Visitors to the historic building in downtown Albany can determine for themselves this month.

August 14th, 2009 States shelving US Capitol statues for new modelsMILAN, Ohio — Lawmakers looking for a famous Ohioan who best represents their state have a diverse group to choose from: a Rat Pack crooner, brothers who were first in flight, or maybe a great inventor. The group is working to come up with a replacement for the statue at the U.S.

August 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Wednesday said that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati is insensitive to the suffering of the people of the state where 58 of 71 districts have been declared drought-hit. "Mayawati government is insensitive to the problems of farmers and common people of the state where people are facing hardships because of drought, Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmad told IANS.

July 15th, 2009 Police seal off part of CapitolWASHINGTON — Police sealed off some of the entrances to the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday after apparent gunfire erupted a few blocks away.

July 11th, 2009 Central Park's stolen bronze eagles finally homeNEW YORK — Two bronze eagles stolen from Central Park more than 30 years ago by a drug dealer who used them to store his stash are finally back at home. Prosecutors say the statues were stolen from the City Employees War Memorial at the Mall in the mid-1970s.

July 1st, 2009 LUCKNOW - Seeking to justify use of state funds in erecting statues of Dalit icons in the state capital, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday said the money earned from visitors to the memorials would be put to good use. "Since the monuments built to commemorate our ideologues would eventually come up as attractive tourist spots and would naturally make a lot of earnings through entry fee, I have decided to use all the gate money towards development of villages named after Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram," Mayawati told reporters here.

July 1st, 2009 LUCKNOW - Seeking to justify use of nearly Rs.3,200 crore (Rs.3.2 billion) of public funds for building grandiose memorials and statues of Dalit icons, including of herself, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Wednesday said the money earned from tourists visiting the spots will be used for development. "Since the monuments built to commemorate our ideologues would eventually come up as attractive tourist spots and would naturally make a lot of earnings through entry fee, I have decided to use all the gate money towards development of villages named after Babasaheb Ambedkar and Kanshi Ram," Mayawati told reporters.

June 30th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Defending Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati against the Congress' criticism, her confidant and Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) national general secretary Satish Chandra Misra Tuesday reiterated that the drive to build memorials and install statues of Dalit icons would not affect the state's welfare schemes. "While undertaking the construction of memorials and statues, we are not in any way compromising with the programmes meant for the development of the state or for the upliftment of the poor," Misra said in a release issued by the state information department.

June 30th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Tuesday urged the Election Commission to serve a notice to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati for using public money to install statues, including of herself, in Lucknow. "We request the Election Commission to serve a notice to Mayawati on the issue.

June 29th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress party Monday suggested Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati spend public money more on people's welfare than for putting up memorials and statues, including of herself. "Mayawati has been lavishly spending public money on building memorials and statues.

June 25th, 2009 LUCKNOW - Prompted allegedly by a petition in the Supreme Court, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati Thursday night surprised many and unveiled as many as 15 projects, including memorials and statues eight days before the schedule. Officials admitted that the unveiling ceremony was to take place July 3 but Mayawati changed the schedule as Delhi-based lawyer Ravi Kant filed a public interest litigation in the apex court seeking to prevent her from inaugurating projects.

May 12th, 2009 Power outage blacks out Missouri CapitolJEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Missouri legislators have spent about an hour in the dark because of a power outage at the state Capitol in Jefferson City.

April 28th, 2009 First lady honors abolitionist Sojourner TruthWASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama on Tuesday reflected on her own family's rise from slavery to the White House as she helped to unveil a statue of abolitionist Sojourner Truth — the first black woman to be so honored at the Capitol. "I hope that Sojourner Truth would be proud to see me, a descendant of slaves, serving as the first lady of the United States of America," Mrs.

April 28th, 2009 First lady to honor abolitionist Sojourner TruthWASHINGTON — Sojourner Truth, a former slave who met with Abraham Lincoln and was an early crusader for women's right to vote and an end to slavery, is the first black woman to be honored with a bust at the Capitol. First lady Michelle Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are expected to take part Tuesday in unveiling the abolitionist's statue at the Capitol Visitor Center.