‘Tribute of Light’ Will Mark WTC

— -- A temporary "Tribute of Light" will fill the sky over the World Trade Center site. Hundreds of New York firefighters are battling stress-related ailments since the terrorist strikes. U.S. officials are studying the ties between American extremists and foreign terror groups.

Temporary ‘Tribute of Light’ at WTC

N E W Y O R K, Feb. 28 — A temporary memorial for the victims of the World Trade Center attacks will soon shine.

The "Tribute of Light" will consist of two diffused, vertical beams of light, rising from 50-foot bases in a vacant parking lot near the trade center site, said Marian Fontana, president of the Sept. 11 Widows' and Victims' Families Association.

Fontana discussed plans for the memorial after meeting with Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Wednesday. The mayor says he supports the idea.

The memorial will run from March 11 to April 13, and the beams will be illuminated nightly until 11 p.m.

The project would be shut down in cloudy conditions so light doesn't spill into surrounding apartments, Bloomberg said.

The families who met with Bloomberg also asked him to help slow the pace of the trade center site redevelopment and to secure a private, indoor viewing space for families wanting to observe recovery of human remains from the site. Group representatives said the mayor was receptive to both requests.

Bloomberg had said Tuesday that the rebuilding process should be slowed rather than expedited.

—The Associated Press

Stress-Related Ailments Plague Firefighters

N E W Y O R K, Feb. 28 — Hundreds of firefighters and emergency medicalworkers who responded to the World Trade Center attack havereported nightmares, sudden anger and other psychological symptomsso severe that they were taken off active duty.

The 14,000-member Fire Department said it has put about 350people with stress-related problems on light duty or medical leavesince Sept. 11.

Nearly 2,000 more firefighters, fire officers and workers in thedepartment's Emergency Medical Service unit have seen a counselorsince Sept. 11 through the FDNY's counseling services unit.

The number is unexpectedly large for an institution thattraditionally prefers to handle problems within the close-knitfirehouse fraternity.

"Few people would have predicted as many firefighters wouldcome forward looking for help," said Terence Keane, a counselingunit consultant who heads the National Center for Post-TraumaticStress Disorder in Boston.