QUESTION:
After emerging from the shadow, the first two-way communication between
Earth and the spacecraft is from "flight managers at JPL" -- is this
accurate?

ANSWER from Richard Cook:
This is not quite correct. The spacecraft begins transmitting when it
separates from the third stage (at about 3:25 am). The Deep Space Network
station in Goldstone, California should detect this signal about five
minutes later, and we should begin to get engineering data from the
spacecraft. We don't actually try and send a command to the spacecraft for
several more hours (about 4-5 hours after launch). All of these operations
are conducted by engineers at JPL.

--Richard Cook, Mars Pathfinder Mission Operations Manager