This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Northern California roller coaster appears to have been a little too much fun.
The Gold Striker at Great America in Santa Clara had to be taken offline this week because riders were screaming too loudly.
The San Jose Mercury News reports that the shrieks were exceeding the decibel limit agreed upon in a settlement with Prudential Real Estate, which owns adjacent properties.
So Great America had to cover a portion of the track in a sound-dampening tunnel. The wooden roller coaster reopened on Wednesday after the work was completed.
Gas line spills 25K gallons on Crow Reservation
Officials say just over 25,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from an 8-inch underground Phillips 66 pipeline on the Crow Reservation in southeastern Montana. A U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman says the cause is under investigation, but there's no immediate public safety threat from the leak. The environmental impact remains uncertain. The DOT spokesman says no waterways were immediately impacted. Officials from the Environmental Protection Administration and the Crow Tribe also are investigating. The same pipeline broke twice in a week in 1997, spilling a combined 2,300 barrels of gasoline near Lodge Grass and Banner, Wyo..
S&P further downgrades
Nokia after NSN purchase
Ratings agency Standard and Poor's on Friday downgraded Nokia Corp.'s credit rating, citing the deal this week to buy out Siemens from its Nokia Siemens Networks joint venture for $2.21 billion. The agency lowered the Finland-based company's long-term corporate credit rating to B+ from BB-, warning that its strong balance sheet will weaken as a result of the acquisition.
U.S. airlines resume
Mexico City flights
U.S. airlines have resumed all flights to Mexico City after voluntarily cancelling several dozen because of an eruption from the nearby Popocatepetl volcano. Mexico City International Airport information chief Richard Jimenez says United and American Airlines resumed flights Thursday night. On Friday, there were no reports of cancellations by any airline. At least six U.S. airlines canceled 47 flights into and out of the Mexico City and Toluca airports on Thursday as the volcano spewed a mile-high (1.5 kilometer-high) plume of ash that drifted over large parts of Mexico City, 40 miles (65 kilometers) away.
BART trains in Bay Area resume service
Commuter rail service has resumed in the San Francisco Bay Area after unions called off a strike and agreed to extend a labor contract for a month while bargaining continues. The Bay Area Rapid Transit agency said 35 trains were put into service Friday afternoon. Dozens of commuters were lined up awaiting the first trains at the West Oakland station after nearly five days without service due to the strike. BART and its two largest labor unions agreed to an extension of the current contract.
Miners in Congo petition
to resume digging
Miners in eastern Congo are seeking to go back to work in territory that has been under a mining ban for three years and is blacklisted by U.S. legislation, according to a petition made public Friday. Their petition, which calls for mines in Walikale territory to be allowed to restart production, was signed by five cooperatives of artisanal miners as well as mine owners, traditional chiefs and other supporters. The ban was imposed across much of eastern Congo on the grounds that minerals were funding armed groups.