What Mandela left behind

After the passing of Nelson Mandela in December, many awaited the release of his will. The 41-page will was read to his family Monday in Johannesburg. At a press conference, it was released that Mandela left behind a $4.1 million estate for the current ruling African National Congress, his family, local schools and former staff. Parts of the estate will be maintained by three trustees, hand-picked by Mandela prior to his death. Many disputes were raised about who in the family would continue his legacy and hold his investments, but it was stated in the will that his children and a select few of his grandchildren would receive $300,000. An additional trust was created to provide for 30 of his grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Generating snow in Sochi

With the opening ceremonies of the Winter Olympics just a day away, the snow preparation is more than underway for the Caucasus mountain peaks separating Europe and Asia. Seventy-five percent of the snow is man-made and the other 15 percent is natural snowfall accumulation. The snow, which measured 16-million cubic feet, was stored from last winter to put on the mountain if perhaps a warm winter did occur this past year, according to NBC. Through 403 operated forms of machine control, more than 20 million gallons of water were pumped from the two man-made ponds that sit at the mountain base.

Future of New Haven

The Mayor of New Haven, Toni Harp, took the stage Monday night for her State of the City address, and spoke of her hopes for the city in the near future. Harp talked about the safety of the streets of New Haven. Twenty homicides and 67 shootings were reported last year in New Haven, according to the New Haven Register. Although other crime numbers did have significant drops, 2013 had three more homicides reported than in 2012. In addition, Harp says she wants to calm the traffic in the city. A new director of Traffic and Parking in the Department of Transportation was introduced at the start of January, and Monday night Harp spoke of her plans to put safe bike lanes on as many streets as possible. Harp has many plans for the future of New Haven, which could potentially have an impact on students traveling to New Haven for internships and leisure time on the weekends.