Federer Gets Commemorative Coin; Emergency Room Fee Contemplated; Parking Frustration Spills Over

Swissmint is dedicating a commemorative coin to Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer – the first living person to receive the honor. Born in Basel in 1981, Federer has won more Grand Slam men’s singles titles than any other tennis player.  On Sunday, Swissmint confirmed that it's celebrating Federer with a 20-franc silver coin, which will have an issue date of January 23, 2020. It plans to release a second coin with a different design – the “Roger Federer” 50-franc gold coin – in May. In a statement, the government said Federer is the best-known Swiss person both on and off the court. In addition to his countless tennis records, he also runs a charitable foundation for children in southern Africa and was the first Swiss UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. Swissmint wrote: "Federer is the perfect ambassador for Switzerland. He has a unique way of embodying likeability, down-to-earthness, success, and eloquence." In response to the commemoration, Federer took to Twitter, where he said, "Thank you Switzerland and Swissmint for this incredible honor and privilege." Anticipating high demand for the coin, Swissmint has launched for the first time a pre-sale of an “uncirculated quality” of the coin. Federer fans can purchase the uncirculated coin for CHF30 ($30) from December 2-19 through the Swissmint website. Proof-quality coins will only be available from the issue date onwards.

**********

Have you visited the emergency room lately? In an effort to discourage visits by those with trivial medical issues, the Swiss National Council is contemplating the imposition of a minimum CHF50 surcharge for those visiting a hospital emergency room, and are not subsequently hospitalized.  On Tuesday, the council took a preliminary vote and the results were 108 in favor with 85 votes against the measure.  

**********

Last Sunday, customers visiting the Drachen Center in central Basel were treated to a nasty surprise.  After the normal business hours of the mall, customers returning to their cars in the underground parking lot found that the parking lot gate refused to open.  After pressing the "security" button on the gates, the remote attendant was only able to refer the captured customers to the private security company which is responsible for the facilities after hours.  It took more than an hour before technicians arrived to free the captive motorists who complained of being "deprived of their liberty".  According to Migros, operator of the parking lot, the fault lay with a motorist that exited the lot without submitting a validated ticket.