Watercooler Stories

Massive mosque planned for London

LONDON, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- A massive London mosque holding 40,000 worshippers has been proposed beside the Olympic complex, to be opened in time for the 2012 Games.

The project's backers hope the three-story mosque and its surrounding buildings would hold a total of 70,000 people, only 10,000 fewer than the Olympic stadium. The complex is designed to become the "Muslim quarter" for the Games, acting as a hub for Islamic competitors and spectators, the Sunday Times of London said.

"It will be something never seen before in this country. It is a mosque for the future as part of the British landscape," said Abdul Khalique, a senior member of Tablighi Jamaat, a worldwide Islamic missionary group that is proposing the mosque as its new United Kingdom headquarters.

The east London complex would have by far the largest capacity of any religious building in Britain. It would include a garden, school, library and accommodation for visiting worshippers.

Middle class applying for energy aid

NEW YORK, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- Middle-class people from the suburbs of New York are seeking government help for high heating bills -- and getting turned down.

The Suffolk County office that administrates the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program had few people applying for heating assistance in the past, but many are applying now.

Few are being accepted because of the federal income limits -- $41,616 for a family of four, or $28,296 for a family of two, reported the New York Times Sunday.

The cost of natural gas -- already high last year -- has risen 50 percent since last year, while home heating oil prices has risen 30 percent.

"We have more people applying for help, and more of them are in a higher income group than we've seen before," said Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors Association, a group of state directors in charge of administering a federal home energy assistance program. The program offers an annual grant of $100 to $500 for those that qualify.

O.C. parents urged to buy $1,500 laptops

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 28 (UPI) -- An Orange County, Calif., school district's request that parents buy their children expensive laptop computers is raising a furor among parents and activists.

They say the pricey obligation is segregating the children into haves and have-nots, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Nearly 2,000 of the Fullerton School District's 13,000 elementary and middle-school students carry laptops between class and home as part of a year-old pilot program that expanded this year to four of the district's 20 schools.

The American Civil Liberties Union is considering filing a lawsuit against the school district, arguing that it is violating the state's constitutional guarantee to provide a free education, and is creating a two-tiered learning environment.

The Fullerton district contracted with Apple to purchase the laptops, software and insurance. Parents can pay the nearly $1,500 tab at once, or over three years with monthly installments of about $50. Financial aid and loaner laptops are available to families with demonstrable needs, the newspaper said.

More considering gifts involving saving

TAKOMA PARK, Md., Nov. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. adults are showing signs of financial anxiety about the coming holiday season and some are looking for gifts involving saving.

Sixty-two percent of the Americans polled by Widmeyer Research and Polling for the Center for a New American Dream say they are planning to or are possibly considering giving family members gifts such as savings bonds or piggy banks this year.

More than 9 out of 10 say the cost of living has increased compared to last year, and more than 2 in 3 of those surveyed blame the price of oil or gas.

"American consumers are encouraged to spend. At the same time, they are being told to save money," said says Betsy Taylor, president of the Center for a New American Dream, an organization based in Maryland that helps Americans consume responsibly for a better world. "This holiday season, a growing number are shopping for piggy banks and leaving their credit cards at home."