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Two laurels worth noting
Updated: May 20, 2012 8:13AM
LAUREL
Lake County commuters who took public transportation instead of driving saved $1,000 last month and could save up to $12,000 a year if they kept up that habit, a new study says.
The American Public Transportation Association calculated the savings by comparing the cost of public transportation with the cost of owning, driving and parking a vehicle. The report also took into consideration the national average price of gas late last month: $3.897. The Chicago region ranked fifth out of 20 cities where ditching your car could yield the most savings. New York, Boston, San Francisco and Seattle rounded out the top five. Those cities also have the highest transit ridership. The study aimed to examine how one person in a two-person household could save money by taking public transit and living with one less car.
LAUREL
To students at Washington Elementary School in Waukegan who recently collected more than $3,000 in The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Olive Garden’s Pasta for Pennies program, which raises funds for blood cancer research and patient services.
Since Washington students began participating in the Pasta for Pennies program five years ago, they have collected and donated $11,183.33 to support Illinois families fighting cancer. Washington Elementary’s fourth and fifth grade student council organized this year’s Pasta for Pennies drive in February and March.
