Looking Ahead

Union restored

Three years ago on Feb. 5 a tornado destroyed 18 buildings with 125,000 square feet of space at Union University in Jackson, Tenn. Last year Union dedicated five new buildings: That makes 330,000 square feet constructed over the past three years.

Happy birthday, Gipper

Feb. 6 would have been President Ronald Reagan's 100th birthday had the Gipper lived that long. In California, the state has set aside the day as an annual Ronald Reagan Day where school­children study the accomplishments of the 40th president. In Germany, government officials hope to name a street after the leader who helped bring down the Berlin Wall and speed the end of European communism.

India counts

Beginning Feb. 9, India will begin counting, and counting and counting. In only its 15th census since 1872, the massive Asian nation will set out today to tally its more than 1 billion residents. Officials with India's Census-2011 hope to complete the counting in just over two weeks with the help of nearly 2.5 million census workers.

New money

Starting Feb. 10 the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve will begin rolling out the newly designed $100 bill. The latest incarnation of the Benjamin will feature a 3D security ribbon as well as a good amount of orange ink to go with the traditional green.

Space date

Far from romantic, NASA's Stardust probe will be all about business on its Valentine's Day date with the comet Tempel 1. The two celestial objects will have a close rendezvous on Feb. 14 when the Stardust photographs the Tempel 1 comet from a distance of 125 miles.

Dog day

Well-heeled dog owners will be breaking out the cornstarch ahead of the Best In Show competition on Feb. 15 at the 135th annual Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show at Madison Square Garden. Last year, a report in The Wall Street Journal revealed that the competition's dog owners shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars on advertising campaigns, dog handlers and, of course, cornstarch to remove pesky tear stains.