Time flies by, we are already on the doorstep of spring but we keep you up to date on the local news with a daily dosage of Znüni News, here is this week’s news roundup.
Tuesday March 13
Travelling without a valid ticket on public transport has just got more expensive. From April 2019 onward anyone who is caught without a ticket on any type of public transport will be entered into a register, if it’s a first time it will cost CHF 100.-; second time CHF 140.-; third time CHF 170.-. Meaning that should you decide to take a bus, train, tram without buying a ticket you would end up paying CHF 410.- for your troubles. Every year over 800 000 people are caught without tickets and it costs companies several million francs. There are some great apps to help make sure that you always have a ticket. We explain how public transport works here and the SBB app has been reviewed here.
There is more and more bilingual tea in the secondary pillar of education. Not only are children able to do their Matura at the Kantonschule in English and German but there also is the possibility for children in technical high schools to learn in both languages. A third of classes are taught in English and students are encouraged to discuss and write in English. Teachers say that the advantages are multi-fold. On the one hand there is the obvious advantage of getting an excellent opportunity to improve their English, but also the students are more concentrated and finds the classes more interesting. On the downside teachers are having to teach the same classes in both languages to make sure that all students understand the topic and are prepared for their exams. This could also mean that potentially students doing an apprenticeship would be able to do it abroad as well as in Switzerland. This programme has been running for 5 years now, and is proving popular with the students. At this stage it is still run on a volunteer basis but there is possibility that as of next school year this bilingual education might be mandatory.
Wednesday March 14
A massive accident caused chaos on the A14 highway this morning. The accident happened shortly before 7 a.m. at the height of the Rathaus tunnel and caused traffic jam backing onto the A2 from Hergiswil all the way through to Sempach. At this time it is unclear whether there were any casualties .
The highest court in the country has argued that it is perfectly safe for mobile transmission antennas to be installed on top of high rises in the city to meet the demand of our ever more voracious smart phones. This will specifically affect the inhabitants living at the Villastrasse 2. They now have to pay for the costs of having taken Swisscom to court.
Would you like to decide how much rent you pay for the first 6 months of your tenancy? Apparently this is the “gift” some landlords are offering in exchange of people moving into their apartments. Apparently there are many empty apartments in the canton of Lucerne. And that is the catch, these apartments are not to be found in or around Lucerne itself but further in the countryside. So if you do not mind commuting you could be getting yourself a deal. A great place to look for places to rent or buy is on comparis.
Thursday March 15
Shoppers at the Mall of Switzerland were in for some excitement yesterday when the entire mall was evacuated shortly before noon due to a bomb alert. The evacuation was peaceful and no one was injured. The mall remained closed for the rest of the day but is due to reopen on Thursday morning.
It might have seemed like the KKL was also having a forced evacuation but actually today they conducted an exercise using 1600 students as standings to make sure that should an evacuation be necessary everyone knew what to do.
The Swiss Museum of Transport is planning to redo their train building and create a new entrance hall, as well as conference and office spaces all to the tune of CHF 36 million francs. The reason is better access to public transport and the need to renovate the building which was originally built in 1959. The current exhibition will be moved to another space in the museum, meaning that visitors will continue to enjoy a full experience at the museum.
Friday March 16
We live in the fifth happiest place on earth, that’s according to the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network who publish a yearly report where they look into the matter. This year Finland tops the ranking followed by Norway, Denmark, Iceland then Switzerland. All the top countries tend to have high values for all six of the key variables that have been found to support well-being: income, healthy life expectancy, social support, freedom, trust and generosity. The United States comes in at number 14, Germany at 16, United Kingdom at 19, France is 31st and the least happiest place on earth is Burundi (in front of Syria).
Children living in Kriens certainly have reason to rejoice because as of next year, all primary schools in Kriens are abolishing homework. Instead the children will get more one on one time at school to work in their various projects and subjects. Other towns will be observing the outcome of this pilot project closely to see whether they should also implement this system.
One of the most infamous court cases came to a close this week. The case of the paedophile from Rupperswil, who took a whole family hostage after tricking them into letting them into their house. He tied all of the members up, raped the youngest son and then murdered the entire family. The man was caught as he was about to do the same to another family. He has been sentenced to life.
If you are planning to drive between Weggis and Vitznau next week except long delays. From March 19 until March 29, there will be a spring clean along the sides of the road, clearing up the debris which fell from the cliffs during the winter.
