Wikipedia:Today's featured article/requests

Featured content: Featured articles ← Featured lists Featured pictures Featured topics Featured article candidates (FAC) Featured article criteria Featured article log Featured article statistics Featured article review (FAR) Former featured articles Unreviewed featured articles/2020 Today's featured article (TFA): This month's queue About Today's featured article Recent TFAs and statistics Current TFA requests Potential TFA requests TFA oddities Most viewed TFAs Featured articles yet to appear as TFA Script to track TFA recent changes Featured article tools: Mentoring for FAC Nominators of featured articles promoted Recent changes to featured articles Random featured article Toolbox (updates daily)

Articles suggested here must already be Featured Articles. Articles do not have to be suggested to appear on the main page. Requests must be for dates within the next thirty days that have not yet been scheduled. There may be no more than five requests on this page at any time.

Requests are not the only factor in scheduling Today's Featured Article; the final decision rests with the Featured Article Director (Raul654). Please confine date requests to this page, and remember that community endorsement on this page does not mean the article will appear on the requested date.

Generally speaking, preference will be given to requests for older featured articles (articles that have been waiting longest for a TFA slot, provided they clearly meet the current standard), articles whose nominators have multiple featured articles pending, core topics of widespread interest, subject matter that has not been recently on the mainpage, and requests that are particularly relevant to a given date (especially major anniversaries). When nominating, editors should describe the article in terms of these considerations.

Requests

April 16

The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting comprised of two separate incidents about two hours apart on April 16, 2007, on the campus of Virginia Tech. The shooter killed thirty-two people and wounded twenty-three others before committing suicide, making it the deadliest shooting in U.S. history. The perpetrator had been court ordered to seek treatment at the University's Cook Counseling Center seventeen months earlier, but the order was neither obeyed nor enforced. Additionally, the University's administration had failed to heed warnings from the shooters' professors on numerous occasions. The incident sparked intense debate in the U.S. and globally about gun violence, gun laws, gaps in the U.S. system for treating mental health issues, the perpetrator's state of mind, the responsibility of college administrators, privacy laws, journalism ethics, and other issues. The incident prompted immediate changes in Virginia law that had allowed the shooter, an individual adjudicated as mentally unsound, to purchase handguns. It also led to passage--with support from both the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign--of the first major federal gun control measure in more than thirteen years, a law that strengthened the National Instant Criminal Background Check System, on January 5, 2008.
(more…)

The one-year anniversary.

March 30

Celine Dion singing "God Bless America" at a May 2, 2002 concert aboard the USS Harry S. Truman

Céline Marie Claudette Dion, OC, OQ (born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian singer, and occasional songwriter and actress. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990 she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world. Dion first gained international recognition in the 1980s after she won the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to Sony Records in 1986. With the help of her husband, she achieved worldwide success with several English and French albums, ending the decade as one of the most successful artists in pop music. However, in 1999, at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retraction from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the music scene in 2002 and signed a four-year contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from pop, soul and rock to gospel and classical, and while her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. In 2004, after accumulating record sales in excess of 175 million, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award from the World Music Awards show for becoming the "Best-selling Female Artist in the World." In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold more than 200 million albums worldwide. (more…)

Date she turns 40. Buc (talk) 09:21, 10 March 2008 (UTC)

• Support. Though preferably with a better free-use image than the out-of-focus one currently used in the top infobox, which is not of the best quality. Cirt (talk) 09:32, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Comment There's a Creative Commons version on Flickr, here, which could be used. PeterSymonds | talk 17:25, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
    • Yes, something like that would be preferable. Cirt (talk) 22:59, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
      • Support That image is not licensed properly for Wikipedia. –thedemonhog talk • edits 23:18, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support But perhaps there should be her personal life in there. Or does "other activities" qualify for that?--Sunsetsunrise (talk) 16:16, 10 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support Relevant date. Epbr123 (talk) 13:53, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support GlassCobra 19:07, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

April 7

Exit 50 in Wichita

The Kansas Turnpike is a tolled freeway that lies entirely within the U.S. state of Kansas. The road runs in a general southwest-northeast direction from the Oklahoma border south of Wichita via Wichita, Topeka, and Lawrence to Kansas City, Kansas. The Kansas Turnpike Act, defining a turnpike from Oklahoma to Kansas City, Kansas. The Turnpike is owned and maintained by the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA), headquartered in Wichita. The Kansas Turnpike was built from 1954 to 1956, predating the Interstate Highway System. The Turnpike presently has 27 interchanges and two barrier toll plazas. Exit numbers are assigned by mileage from south to east. After passing the Bonner Springs interchange, exit numbers change to match the mileage of Interstate 70 east from the Colorado border. In the median at mile 97 is the Matfield Green Service Area, which contains a memorial to football coach Knute Rockne, who died in a plane crash near Bazaar, Kansas. (more…)

The Kansas Turnpike Act, creating the turnpike became effective April 7, 1953. Halgin (talk) 00:54, 15 March 2008 (UTC)

• Weak support Relevant date and has been waiting for a year. Although, the last road TFA was only on February 28. Epbr123 (talk) 01:48, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support Relevant date. –thedemonhog talk • edits 02:08, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support, I see nothing wrong with this article being on the main page five weeks after the last - after all, the only thing in common is that cars drive on them. Will ^(talk) 02:43, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Strong Support, This is the perfect artcle for April 7. ComputerGuy890100^Talk_Polls 06:17, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Weak oppose 3 sentences doesn't seem enough for tha main page. Needs a better summary. The article is very good, though, and it is a good date for it. Juliancolton ^{(St. Patrick's day)} 17:40, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Raul usually rewrites the summaries anyway, so this doesn't really matter. Epbr123 (talk) 18:14, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
    • Oh, ok. I guess I support, then. Juliancolton ^{(St. Patrick's day)} 18:19, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
      • The lead as a whole should probably be expanded before Raul gets to it. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 08:56, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support as the one who took it through FA. Image:Kta towanda ramp.jpg or Image:Kta view.jpg would probably make a better image, though. —Scott5114↗ [EXACT CHANGE ONLY] 01:14, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support, relevant date and a well-written article. Even though it would be the second road-related TFA in a couple of months, M62 was the first one in three years. So three road-related TFAs in the span of three years doesn't seem too much IMO. --TMF ^{Let's Go Mets - Stats} 01:25, 16 March 2008 (UTC)
• Issues:

"The Kansas Turnpike Act, defining a turnpike from Oklahoma to Kansas City, Kansas." - fragment

You can make the intro longer by placing facts such as:

How old is the turnpike?

What kind of services does the turnpike offer?

How many interchanges? etc. miranda 04:45, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

Raul writes the blurbs himself; the one above is meaningless. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 10:02, 20 March 2008 (UTC)

April 14

Hailstones from the 1999 Sydney hailstorm

The 1999 Sydney hailstorm was the costliest natural disaster in Australian history, causing extensive damage along the east coast of New South Wales. The storm developed south of Sydney on the afternoon of April 14, 1999 and struck the city's eastern suburbs, including the central business district, later that evening. The storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in its path. Insured damages caused by the storm were over A$1.7 billion, with the total damage bill (including uninsured damages) estimated to be around A$2.3 billion, equivalent to US$1.5 billion. It was the costliest in Australian history in terms of insured damages, overtaking the 1989 Newcastle earthquake that had resulted in A$1.1 billion in insured damages. Lightning also claimed one life during the storm, and the event caused approximately 50 injuries. The storm was classified as a supercell following further analysis of its erratic nature and extreme attributes. During the event, the Bureau of Meteorology was consistently surprised at the frequent changes in direction, as well as the severity of the hail and the duration of the storm. The event was also unique as the time of year and general conditions in the region were not seen as conducive for an extreme thunderstorm to form. (more…)

This is 32 days away, so I'm sure we can bend the rules by ~6% :) Daniel (talk) 08:06, 13 March 2008 (UTC)

• Support Anniversry. Blnguyen (vote in the photo straw poll) 08:10, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support as above. SlimVirgin ^{(talk)(contribs)} 08:35, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support as anniversary. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 08:44, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support, but could do better in 12 months time. Will ^(talk) 09:58, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
  • May not be a FA then :) Daniel (talk) 11:42, 13 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support per relevant anniversary. In the last four months, we've only had two meterologically-related articles on the main page, and those have both been on hurricanes. Nice weather diversity. :) Awadewit | talk 13:30, 14 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support I prefer Image:Hail Hagel.jpg because the caption does not make it clear what the other stuff in the picture is. –thedemonhog talk • edits 00:38, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
  • Those hailstones are generic, while this one was the iconic shot which was featured a) on the front page of The Australian the day after and b) in all books that I've come across which have a chapter on the storm. Daniel (talk) 08:20, 17 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support Very interesting article, and a good date. Juliancolton ^{(St. Patrick's day)} 17:37, 15 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support. Good science/weather/nature article for the main page. Nick (talk) 00:04, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support per anniversary and other comments. Very interesting article and good work by its authors! Orderinchaos 00:05, 23 March 2008 (UTC)
• Support per anniversary. Well written article, but pretty much everything has already been commented on. Good job, and nicely picked date. --haha169 (talk) 03:27, 23 March 2008 (UTC)

April 5

Southerndown beach in Wales was used as the backdrop to the Doctor's farewell to Rose

"Doomsday" is the thirteenth and final episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was first broadcast on 8 July 2006 and is the conclusion of a two-part story; the first part, "Army of Ghosts", was broadcast on 1 July 2006. The two-part story features the Daleks, presumed extinct after the events of the 2005 series' finale; and the Cybermen, who appeared in "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel". Both species unexpectedly arrived on Earth at the conclusion of "Army of Ghosts". The concept of the Daleks and the Cybermen both appearing on-screen was first proposed in 1967, but was vetoed by Terry Nation, the creator of the Daleks. The episode is the first conflict between the two species in Doctor Who's 45-year history, and features the final regular appearances of Billie Piper as companion Rose Tyler, Noel Clarke as Rose's ex-boyfriend and previous companion Mickey Smith, and Camille Coduri and Shaun Dingwall as Rose's parents Jackie and Pete Tyler. The episode was filmed in December 2005 and January 2006, alongside the episodes "Rise of the Cybermen" and "The Age of Steel". The plot consists mostly of the Daleks and Cybermen waging a global war, the first conflict between the two species in Doctor Who's 45-year history, and humanity is caught in the crossfire. The Doctor, the Tyler family, and Mickey Smith fight for their lives trying to revert the situation. They are successful, but at an emotional cost to the Doctor and Rose as they are split apart in separate universes. The episode is one of the most popular Doctor Who episodes since the show's revival. It was nominated along with "Army of Ghosts" for the 2007 Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation, Short Form, which was won by the fourth episode in the series, "The Girl in the Fireplace". As of March 2008, it shares the new series' highest Audience Appreciation rating of "89" with "The Parting of the Ways", and is favoured by most critics for both the Cybermen–Dalek conflict and the farewell scene between the Doctor and Rose.(more…)

First episode TFA in over nine weeks. First Doctor Who TFA in nearly three years. Date has been chosen to coincide with the airing of the new series, starting with "Partners in Crime". Will ^(talk) 06:44, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

• Hmm...if there were something that had a more relevant date, I'd prefer that...this, to me, seems to work better on 8 July. But not opposed unless a better alternative is brought forward. dihydrogen monoxide (H₂O) 09:29, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

  Inspiration for using this date comes from "Through the Looking Glass (Lost)" (being on the main page on 1 February 2008, the UTC airdate of the fourth season premiere) and "Homer's Phobia" (main page on 27 July 2007, release date of The Simpsons Movie). Will ^(talk) 14:27, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

• Comment - The last episode TFA was actually March 15 - "Trapped in the Closet (South Park)". Gran² 14:15, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

  Yeah. From what I understand, it was controversial because of the Scientology protests on that day. Sceptre ^(talk) 14:24, 22 March 2008 (UTC)

• Support The article will achieve maximum traffic on this date. –thedemonhog talk • edits 17:09, 22 March 2008 (UTC)