[naviga:h3]Springhill Suites to host grand opening[/naviga:h3]

The Springhill Suites by Marriott on East Jefferson Street is holding a grand opening and a Butler County Chamber of Commerce mixer from 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday.

The 76-room hotel, which opened in early April, is having food, beverages and a raffle at the grand opening. Proceeds will be donated to Emily Brittain Elementary School’s art program in conjunction with Springhill Suites by Marriott’s “Save Art” program, which provides schools with art supplies.

[naviga:h3]Transit authority OKs road contract[/naviga:h3]

The Butler Transit Authority on Tuesday awarded a $269,965 contract to replace an asphalt road in front of its office on Hollywood Drive and garage facility with a concrete road.

At a special meeting, authority board members awarded the contract to Holbein Inc. of Sarver.

The concrete road will be needed for a 50-space park and ride the authority is planning to build near the facility on Pullman Square.

The existing asphalt road was not designed to handle heavy traffic, said John Paul, executive director.

A room for 20 to 30 passengers to wait for buses is part of the park and ride project, which is in the preliminary design phase, Paul said.

[naviga:h3]Uber adds fast way for riders to dial 911[/naviga:h3]

Some have already taken to calling it the “panic button.” But for Uber, adding the ability to call 911 directly from within its app is meant to provide a better sense of security for its riders.

On Tuesday, Uber rolled out the 911 capability in its app across the United States, after saying in April that the feature was in the works. Riders can find the option in a new safety center area that can be accessed from the app’s home screen.

To dial 911, riders will need to swipe up on the safety center icon, and then tap “911 assistance.”

They will then be asked to confirm their intention of dialing 911.