October surprise? ... Visitor center ... Send your name heavenward

WASHINGTON -- Could there be an October surprise headed our way from the Caribbean? That's what some Cuba watchers are warning.After being pummeled by four hurricanes, Cuba is a wreck, with 500,000 homes damaged, 200,000 people homeless and 30 percent of all crops ruined. Schools and hospitals are out of commission, the electrical grid is damaged and food is scarce.What better time for another boat exodus from the communist island?That's the thinking of Lawrence Wilkerson, who was chief of staff for Colin Powell when he was secretary of state. Wilkerson now is chairman of the U.S.-Cuba Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation.Faced with similarly dire domestic circumstances in 1980 and 1994, Fidel Castro opened his country's doors and allowed more than 150,000 Cubans in all to leave. Most wound up on Florida's shores.Wilkerson says it might be hard for the current Castro regime to resist the opportunity to loosen the societal pressure valve and, perhaps, have an impact on the U.S. election as well.Even if there is no officially sanctioned mass exit, it is likely Florida will see a surge of Cuban and Haitian refugees taking to the sea on their own, once hurricane season ends.X...X...XMore than 100 members of Congress are blasting the overseers of the soon-to-open Capitol Visitor Center for "censoring God, faith and religion." Led by Rep. J. Randy Forbes, R-Va., the lawmakers have sent a letter to the Architect of the Capitol's office protesting that the national motto "In God We Trust" appears nowhere in the mostly underground structure through which an estimated 15,000 visitors a day will pass once the center opens in December.The 108 legislators also are upset that no photos of the annual National Day of Prayer or March for Life events are displayed, although space has been found to show pictures of Earth Day celebrations and an AIDS rally.The architect's office says it gets its marching orders from House leaders.X...X...XOriginally expected to open in 2005, the massive visitor center's planned Dec. 2 debut will come nearly four years late and at more than double the original $265 million projected cost.The U.S. Government Accountability Office, which has been monitoring the center's progress, said this past week that the final price tag looks to be $621 million. Part of the inflated bill is a result of increased security measures added after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.X...X...XLooking for a vicarious thrill from space? NASA says you can send your name into the heavens along with its Glory satellite, which will explore the effects of particles in the atmosphere and the sun's variability on Earth's climate.Reach the "Send Your Name Around the Earth" Web site at http://glory.gsfc.nasa.gov, click on the Glory link and enter your name, which will be recorded on a microchip that will become part of the satellite. You can also print out a certificate commemorating your participation. There's no cost to you to join in this public-relations gimmick.The deadline for names is Nov. 1. Launch is scheduled for June 2009.X...X...XWe're doing better about buckling our seat belts during our more pedestrian voyages here on Earth. The U.S. Department of Transportation says 83 percent of drivers have been using them this year, compared to 82 percent at the same point last year.That translates into about 270 saved lives, the department estimates.The West is best in buckling up, with 93 percent complying. Next is the South (81 percent) and Midwest and Northeast (both 79 percent).By vehicle: van and SUV occupants (86 percent); passenger cars (84); and pickup trucks (74).(SHNS correspondent Lee Bowman contributed to this column. E-mail Lisa Hoffman at hoffmanl(at)shns.com.)