Josh Johnson scattered six hits over eight innings and lowered his major league-leading ERA to 1.70 to help the Florida Marlins to a 4-0 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday night.
Johnson (9-3) threw 117 pitches and came within three outs of his first shutout in 94 big league …
On Kip Wooten's south-central Idaho farm between Kimberly and Hansen, University of Idaho scientists have begun a five-year research study "to put science into the art of adding compost to agricultural soils," writes Marlene Fritz of the University. With 160,000 dairy cows in the Magic Valley region, the raw materials to make compost and apply it at rates up to 20 tons per acre on typical crop rotations are available. (As reported in July BioCycle, a regional company called Compost West, Inc. is processing and marketing cow manure.)
According to Bob …
Three longtime British residents held in the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay returned to Britain on Wednesday and two were arrested on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts, police said.
Jamil el-Banna, 45, of Jordan, Libyan-born Omar Deghayes, 38, and Abdennour Sameur, 34, of Algeria, landed at Luton airport, north of London, at about 1900 GMT, said Clive Stafford Smith, a lawyer for the British legal charity Reprieve, which has assisted the men.
Police said officers accompanying the three arrested Deghayes and Sameur under the Terrorism Act shortly before their chartered aircraft landed. They were arrested on suspicion of preparing acts of terrorism …
The result: Our planet was left with a single bulked-up and ever-so-slightly lopsided moon.
The astronomers came up with the scenario to explain why the moon's far side is so much more hilly than the one that is always facing Earth.
According to the theory, outlined Wednesday in the journal Nature, this happened about 4.4 billion years ago, long before there was any life on Earth to gaze up and see the strange sight of dual moons. The moons were young, formed about 100 million years earlier when a giant planet smashed into …
With U.S. officials warning that time is iunning out on an initiative to rollback restrictions on global nuclear trade with India, that country's coalition government failed March 17 to persuade its leftist allies to drop their opposition to the U.S.-Indian effort. Another meeting to sway the holdouts is supposed to take place sometime in April.
The government of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is trying to win over the leftist parties because they have threatened to withdraw support for the ruling coalition if it takes certain steps toward implementing what the leftists charge is a deal that will erode India's sovereignty and security. Such a split could trigger early elections that …
BEIT LAHIYA, Gaza Strip - Palestinian militants armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades battled Israeli helicopters and tanks Thursday in the bloodiest day since Israel invaded Gaza over a soldier's capture. At least 21 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier died.
Israeli troops retook three empty Jewish settlements nearly a year after abandoning them, seeking to carve out a temporary buffer zone in the northern Gaza Strip to prevent militants from firing more rockets into Israel.
After touring Gaza main hospital, Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh of the Islamic militant group Hamas called for international intervention to stop the Israeli offensive, which …
Rashied Ali, a free-jazz drummer who backed John Coltrane and accompanied him in a duet album in the final months of the jazz master's life, has died. He was 76.
The Philadelphia native died at Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital of a blood clot in his lung on Wednesday, said his wife, Patricia Ali.
When Coltrane decided to use two drummers at a performance at the Village Gate in November 1965, he chose Ali to back up drummer Elvin Jones. He recorded with both men on the 1965 album "Meditations," and accompanied Coltrane alone on the duet album "Interstellar Space," recorded shortly before Coltrane died of cancer in 1967.
After the …
VATICAN CITY Roman Catholic bishops from Africa, meeting in Romeat a special congress, are seeking to match the demands of theirfaith with the social, political and economic needs of a hungry andoften violent continent.
For about 300 bishops from the 53 nations of Africa attendingthe monthlong synod, "inculturation" - the melding of RomanCatholicism with African traditions - is as an overriding concern."It is the marriage of faith and life," said the group's interimdocument.
The secular context for a church transported to Africa in thelast century by European missionaries emerges with painful clarity asthe bishops recite a litany of continental need.
…
Today is Wednesday, Nov. 24, the 328th day of 2010. There are 37 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Nov. 24, 1859, British naturalist Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species," which explained his theory of evolution by means of natural selection.
On this date:
In 1784, Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the United States, was born in Orange County, Va.
In 1863, the Civil War Battle of Lookout Mountain began in Tennessee; Union forces succeeded in taking the mountain from the Confederates.
In 1939, British Overseas Airways Corp. (BOAC) was formally established.
In 1944, during World War II, U.S. bombers …
A strong magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit off the eastern coast of Japan on Sunday, rattling buildings across a broad swath of the country, including the crowded capital.
There were no reports of casualties, with only light damage to structures near the epicenter, according to local officials.
The quake hit at 5:08 p.m. and was felt most strongly in central Fukushima prefecture about 130 miles (210 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
"It was fairly strong, but didn't knock over anything in the office," said Ken Yoshida, a town official in Naraha, one of the hardest-hit areas. He said an earthen wall in …
NAPERVILLE - It's better to have loved and lost -- unless thewoman keeps your $48,000 engagement ring and threatens to sell it.And that's just what the former fiancee of businessman RichardPhebus did, his attorney said.
Now, after having to go to court, he has the ring back.
Phebus popped the question to 43-year-old Renee Mingilino inDecember and presented her with a 5.03 carat, center pear-shapeddiamond engagement ring. The ring's value was appraised at a cool$48,000.
But the love affair soured soon after and, by February, theNaperville couple was meeting with a counselor in hopes of savingtheir rocky relationship, court papers indicate. The …
LEBANON, Mo. (AP) — A 35-year-old man was charged in Missouri with possessing marijuana after his girlfriend called 911 and said she was tired of him smoking pot all day instead of working. Dispatchers in the southwestern Missouri town of Lebanon got a 911 hang-up call Saturday night from a motel room. Police said officers went to the motel and were told by the woman that her boyfriend did nothing …
A Clarksburg woman involved with opening a new video lotterycasino at the former Risk's 35th Street Farmers Market said she hadno idea Charleston officials had determined the establishment is aviolation of a city ordinance.
Nancy Stumpo of Clarksburg applied for a city business license forThe Hot Spot, which would be operated by the Fraternal Order of theOwls. Stumpo said she talked Monday to Lottery Commissioner JohnMusgrave and he never mentioned the venue would be denied itslicense.
"The commissioner didn't come out and say we would not be able toput an establishment in (Risk's) with video lottery machines," Stumposaid. But Musgrave, like Stumpo, was unaware of the city'sconclusion.
Charleston Mayor Danny Jones announced at Monday's City Councilmeeting that the city attorney determined the establishment is inviolation of a city ordinance. Councilman Mark Sadd did some researchand sent a letter to the city planning director stating that theordinance does apply to the proposed business.
The ordinance, passed Feb. 2, regulates a new business with videolottery machines from opening within 2,000 feet of an alreadyestablished video casino. The former Risk's building is that close toMurad's at 35th Street and the Park-Mart Sunoco, which both housevideo lottery machines.
Jones said the ordinance doesn't state that any establishment inthe process of applying for a lottery license is grandfathered in andbecause the proposed casino has yet to get its license it violatesthe ordinance.
When the lottery commission reviews The Hot Spot's application forits lottery license, Jones said the city would recommend the licensebe denied because of the violation.
"It's exciting to see the distance requirements put on theseestablishments actually work," said Councilwoman Mary Jean Davis, aco-sponsor of the ordinance.
Councilman John Miller from Kanawha City shared Davis' excitement.He, along with State Senate Minority Leader and Kanawha City residentVic Sprouse, organized a community meeting last week to rallyresidents against the establishment.
"It sounds like really good news from the city perspective,"Sprouse said.
Sprouse said he can't imagine the lottery commission granting thebusiness its license now.
Stumpo declined to answer most questions about the city'sopposition, but said: "Hopefully, we'll do what we can. Nothingofficial has really happened."
She said her partners planned to meet with Musgrave today todiscuss the license. She said they took into consideration the twonearby video lottery venues but chose the former Risk's marketbecause of its location and price.
Building owner Thomas King of Marmet declined comment.
Also at Monday's meeting, council:
* Authorized the mayor to invest $20,000 in the Florida StreetStreetscape project. The money for the West Side NeighborhoodAssociation Grant originally was approved to be used for housingprojects, but the funds cannot be used for private property projects.
* Agreed to reimburse the Charleston Housing Authority 50 percentof funds received from the Federal Emergency Agency for repair tostorm sewers damage by flooding.
Writer Mike Andrick can be reached at 348-1796 or by e-mail atmandrick@dailymail.com.
Your guide to business and accounting on the Internet
As accountants, we're immediately tagged as number experts, regardless of the career we are in. But even the trusted number-cruncher will occasionally deal with calculations that don't easily come to mind.
When we get a tad rusty, we might need a wee bit of a refresher, or even some help with certain types of calculations. And that's perhaps one of the benefits of the Internet from an accounting perspective: you can use it to locate a vast number of financial calculators that come in handy for many different circumstances.
For example, there are online calculators for mortgages, RRSPs, taxes, loans for buying a car or other matters. At these Web pages, you can enter some financial information and get the results instantly.
The level of sophistication and range of options available through these calculators is impressive. Take the issue of mortgages, for example. If you are considering a new home purchase, or selling your existing home for a larger one (or advising a client on such matters), online mortgage calculators can help you explore the ramifications of various financial approaches. These calculators let you examine the mortgage decision from a variety of perspectives, such as your total monthly costs, or how much of a mortgage you could obtain based on current income.
There are also specialized financial calculators available on the Web that relate to business activities, such as the internal rate of return, net present value and other common financial concepts. SolveIT!, a company that develops software that makes these nifty e-- tools tick, has placed a variety of very good financial calculators on its site that you can access and use for free.
One caveat, though: many of these calculators are developed in the US, so the results won't always add up for Canadians. For example, you can't use US retirement calculators for RRSP decisions (US retirement plans differ from ours) or for mortgages (mortgage interest is tax deductible in the US). Hence, you should be sure to use Canadian-specific financial calculators whenever possible.
Two good starting points for Canadian-specific calculators are the Independent Online Financial Marketing site and Dinkytown. The websites of most major Canadian financial institutions are also excellent resources, since they feature a number of calculators worth exploring.
If you want to go beyond Canadian-specific calculators, take a look at investment site TheStreet.com as well as AccountingWeb, both of which feature a variety of innovative calculators. Finally, the best overall directory for online calculators is Martindale's Reference Desk - it features more than 14,000 models. Some are Canadian-specific, and a number of others can be used for any purpose.
[Sidebar]
Choice calculators
[Sidebar]
Independent Online Financial Marketing www.independentfinancial.on.ca/calculators.htm DinkYtown
[Sidebar]
www.dinkytown.net/java/ca.html Martindale's The Reference Desk Calculators www-sci.lib.uci.edu/HSG/Ref.html AccountingWeb
www.accountingweb.com/tools/calculators.html TheStreet.com
www.thestreet.com/tsc/financenter/FC_calc.html
[Author Affiliation]
Jim Carroll, FCA, is a wellknown keynote speaker, author and columnist. He can be reached via e-mail at jcarroll@ jimcarroll.com or log on to his website at www.jimcarroll.com
The gaudy ambition is the Super Bowl in Miami, amid the palms andthongs and Colin Farrell wannabes, which couldn't be further awayspiritually from a sleepy campus in Kankakee County where a slingsupports Cedric Benson's arm. As it is, we have no idea if RexGrossman can stay in one piece long enough to prove if he's any good,and we have no idea if his receivers are of ample quality to help.
Now, the anointed No. 1 running back is out with a shoulder injurythat complicates an already controversial situation and prompts aserious question about the Bears: Are they going to be a one-dimensional letdown again, a champ defense bogged down by a chumpoffense, a team that should win a mushy division but can't hang withCarolina, Seattle, Washington and Dallas when it counts?
"Super Bowl," is what the coaches are selling.
"Super Bowl," is what the players are echoing.
But is it a legitimate quest? And does anyone dare buy into it asthe scorch marks only begin to heal from Steve Smith's afterburners,the latest in the succession of one-and-done postseason bummers onthe lakefront?
Saturday brought news that Benson's left shoulder isn't broken,that he'll apparently miss weeks and not months. Still, I want toknow if he'll stay healthy for his guaranteed $16million, and rightnow, I'm less sure about Benson and the ever-critical running gamethan I am about Rex the Hex. If I paid a guy that kind of up-frontmoney to carry a football, I sure as hell wouldn't let my defensiveplayers treat him like a Brett Favre dummy in effigy, as they havemuch of camp. I might even put him in an off-limits red jersey, ifnot a hermetically sealed bubble, and let him lush out until thepreseason games.
Yes, this is a violent, traumatic sport that requires fierce formsof contact to acclimate a player to a long season.
But I also know Benson, in a curious move, had been promoted atopthe depth chart because Thomas Jones -- a 1,335-yard rusher last yearand a well-respected favorite of offensive and defensive players --
didn't attend offseason "voluntary workouts" at Halas Hall. Thisis the sort of political wedge that can create a conspiracy theory,if not a dangerous locker-room chasm. Was it coincidence thattacklers have been taking uncommonly aggressively licks at Bensonsince the first grunts of camp, leading to speculation he was beingtargeted by teammates who like Jones, didn't appreciate Benson's longholdout last year and are demanding he prove his worth as a featuredback for a contending team?
Constant shots
These are the questions that drive men to bourbon in Bourbonnaisafter Benson, 37 days from the first regular-season game, was cartedaway Friday evening. No one is accusing Brian Urlacher and Mike Brownof conspiring to awkwardly double-whammy Benson after he caught aflip from Grossman. The hits were love taps compared to the abuseBenson had taken in earlier practices, including crunching shots fromUrlacher and Lance Briggs and a borderline-dirty clothesline tackleby Ricky Manning, he of the alleged assault of a computer nerd atDenny's. So sore was Benson last week, when he missed practicebecause of soreness in his right knee, he alluded to the beatings.
In a Saturday chat with reporters in Bourbonnais, he admitted towondering about intent. "Initially you tend to think bad things,"Benson said. "You start to wonder why they hit you and if they arelooking to hit you, but we watched the film, and I definitely don'tthink they were trying to hurt me or anything like that. ... It wasjust a combination of bad timing, where I got hit, and it's just badluck."
Certainly, the Bears suffer more August bad luck than most. Lastyear, Grossman saw much of his season dashed in a preseason game inSt. Louis. Now the victim is Benson, who has received rave reviewsfrom the coaches in their persistent mission to push him into thestarting role ahead of Jones. Even if you agree with me that Jones isthe better man for the job this year -- given his experience,dependability and proven performance level -- the Bears have to beconcerned after spending the fourth pick in the 2005 draft on aplayer who keeps limping away.
How can Jerry Angelo and Lovie Smith make Benson the alpha dogwith so much at stake? Last season, as the Bears were trying to easehim into situations and get him carries, he missed the last six gameswith a strained knee ligament. If he isn't reliable, Smith shouldreturn the starting job to Jones, whose slight hamstring strainlikely will disappear immediately. Unless, of course, he and smarmyagent Drew Rosenhaus start stumping again for a contract extension,now that they have new leverage. Stop the talk, by the way, abouttrading Jones.
"We said all along you need two, possibly three good running backsto make it through an entire season. We're just using up ourmulligans a bit earlier," said Smith, who has Adrian Peterson as afallback. "I'd say Cedric was having an excellent camp, just like hehad an excellent offseason."
Could force the proper call
In the end, the injury could be a blessing. Not that I wish to seeanybody nicked, but it's hard to entrust an unproven second-year backwith such an important role. Armed with a potentially magnificentdefense, the Bears need their runner to control the ball. WillBenson, in the tradition of first-round busts Rashaan Salaam andCurtis Enis, be a fumbler and a bumbler? Though his pounding stylefits the formula of controlling the ball and draining the clock,Jones already has proved himself a fine fit in the offense.
Team-wide credibility is especially vital at quarterback andrunning back. Jones has it. Benson does not, at least not yet. Ithasn't stopped him from talking big, though.
"If they want to see C.B. shine, put me in the game, and I'llshine," C.B. said one day.
"I have never thought of myself as being anything less than agreat player," C.B. said another day.
As for his minicamp prediction of a 1,700-yard season, he wassmart enough to put a lid on that talk. Sort of. "That was just somefun stuff," Benson said last week. "I mean, it's back there, yeah.Once we get close to it, I'll start bringing it back up again."
For now, how about staying on the field and playing a while beforemaking sassy forecasts? Same goes for the Bears, a team that nevershould press its luck. Twenty-one years since their last one, theSuper Bowl is a dream they should whisper and never, ever broadcast.
Jay Mariotti is a regular on "Around the Horn" at 4 p.m. on ESPN.Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytimephone number. Letters run Sunday.
Carlos Sastre won the grueling 16th stage of the Giro d'Italia in an uphill finish Monday made even tougher by severe heat.
Denis Menchov held onto the overall leader's pink jersey.
Sastre clocked 7 hours, 11 minutes, 54 seconds over the lengthy 237-kilometer (147-mile) leg from Pergola to Monte Petrano, over three major climbs.
The temperature at the base of the final climb measured 38 degrees Celsius (100 Fahrenheit).
Menchov finished second, 25 seconds behind, and Danilo di Luca was third, 26 back.
After a rest day Tuesday, the race resumes Wednesday with another uphill finish in a short 83-kilometer (52-mile) stage from Chieti to Blockhaus.
The race ends May 31 in Rome.
For former Puerto Rican Gov. Carlos Romero Barcelo, the federal indictment of the current governor is sweet revenge indeed.
Barcelo, now a statesman for the main opposition party, had previously identified himself as the person who alerted the FBI to possible corruption by Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila.
And at a news conference Friday, Romero did a bit of gloating, saying he decided to finger Acevedo after his rival raised questions about his own campaign finances almost a decade ago.
"He who is responsible pays for it," Romero said, using a Spanish adage whose English equivalent is: "You've made your bed, now lie in it."
Romero told reporters he alerted federal investigators in September 2004 to suspicious fundraising for Acevedo's bid to become resident commissioner, the island's nonvoting member in the U.S. Congress. He said he went to the media with the same information the same year, but little came of it.
"There is something rotten there and it smells," Romero said. "To the press it didn't stink."
The FBI, apparently, did smell something.
The federal indictment handed down Thursday accuses Acevedo and a dozen associates of raising and concealing thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions, much of it from Philadelphia-area businessmen.
Luis Fraticelli, the special agent in charge of the FBI in Puerto Rico, would not reveal the name of the tipster but said Thursday that he launched the investigation after meeting in 2004 with a "complainant" who provided specific allegations and witnesses' names.
Romero was governor from 1977 to 1984 and later served as resident commissioner _ until losing the position to Acevedo in the 2000 election.
During the campaign, Acevedo had urged authorities to investigate a witness' claim that Romero received an illegal $175,000 donation. The witness later recanted.
Thursday's indictment alleges Acevedo won the resident commissioner seat in 2000 with the help of illegal fundraising schemes. It also claims he used illegal contributions during his 2002 campaign for resident commissioner, and in his 2004 bid for governor.
In the cutthroat world of fashion, a designer can quickly lose rising star status _ a fact that Alessandra Facchinetti knows only too well.
For the second time in her career, the 36-year-old designer on Friday faced the prospect of losing her job after only two seasons at the helm of a major design house.
Rumors that Italian label Valentino was on the verge of replacing Facchinetti spread like wildfire at the Paris ready-to-wear shows, sending shivers of fear through other designers who, as a result of the global financial crisis, face growing pressure to deliver results quickly.
"The very class of people that have driven the whole boom in all these international brands are the very people who are going to lose their jobs in the financial sector," Godfrey Deeny, senior fashion critic at Fashion Wire Daily, told AP Television News.
"I think in the West, it's really going to hurt the bottom line and I think heads will roll."
VALENTINO
Facchinetti was hired last year to replace the house's founder, Valentino Garavani, who retired in January after 45 years in business.
Stefano Sassi, chief executive of Valentino Fashion Group, said the company would make a statement in the next few days to clarify its position.
"We know there are a lot of rumors regarding Alessandra and her future at Valentino," Sassi told reporters backstage. "The board of directors has every intention of making things as clear as possible for the market."
Trade newspaper Women's Wear Daily reported on possible replacements Friday. Facchinetti declined any comment.
The situation was eerily reminiscent of events at Italian label Gucci three years ago. Facchinetti was replaced after two seasons as its women's designer by Frida Giannini, also an accessories specialist.
Friday's uncertainty overshadowed a fine collection that contrasted clean lines with lavish embellishment.
A charcoal gray silk tunic dress with a scalloped hem was embroidered with circles of black and gold sequins. One-shouldered draped chiffon vestal gowns came in Valentino red or a barely there shade of beige.
Cedric Charbit, general merchandise manager at French department store Printemps, deplored the quick turnaround of designers at major brands.
"You have to give people the time to settle in, or not, as the case may be," he told The Associated Press.
"Facchinetti is being told, give us Facchinetti, but put in some red, because it's Valentino. So you end up with something that is slightly mixed. It's neither a blatant failure, nor a resounding success," he added.
CHANEL
If anyone is immune to the impending shakedown in the luxury goods sector, it is Chanel supremo Karl Lagerfeld. Retailers have described the French brand as a safe haven in turbulent times.
The German designer gave them what they came for, staging a spring-summer show worthy of a Hollywood production on a film set reproducing Chanel's headquarters in the exclusive rue Cambon _ five-storey facade, pavement and all.
Models stepped out of a mock Chanel boutique wearing the house's classic tweed suit, updated with an oversized grid pattern in graphic white or holographic sequins. A self-confessed compulsive shopper, Lagerfeld offered leather tote versions of the label's paper carrier bags.
"It's a little wink. And in the times we are living in, I think the guarantee of quality and stability of the big brands is what will survive in the end," he told reporters after the show.
ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
British designer Alexander McQueen gave evolution a helping hand, unveiling a radical silhouette combining hourglass hips with androgynously slim legs.
With the debate over skinny models still unresolved, it seemed unlikely that women's bodies will naturally morph into this kind of shape anytime soon.
For the time being, they will have to rely on the padding that underlaid his thigh-grazing molded dresses, which were heavily encrusted with mineral looking crystals that sparkled like a million stars.
Models emerged between a Noah's Ark of life-sized stuffed animals that underlined McQueen's evolution theme.
A skintight sheath with cutout panels at the hips featured a black-and-white vertebra print on the back and a skull-like pattern on the chest. Lest the mood get too pensive, the designer took his bow dressed in a rabbit suit.
Stain prevention
Don't you hate that orange stain left in your plastic containersby foods like spaghetti sauce and chili?
Next time, try this tip, courtesy of Fine Cooking magazine:
Lightly spray the container with cooking spray before pouring inthe tomato-based sauce and the container will wash out like new.
Emergency food
My middle desk drawer is reserved for some very important officesupplies: emergency food.
This stash is for afternoons when I just can't make it untildinner, days when I forget to pack my lunch or days when it's justtoo hot, cold, rainy or snowy to run out and pick something up.
This desk pantry can vary, but often includes: a can or two ofsoup (I also keep a bowl, can opener and spoon handy), peanutbutter, energy bars or granola bars, crackers and packets of instantoatmeal.
I try to have stock that is good enough for days when I'm reallyhungry, but not so good I'm tempted to eat constantly (no M&Ms orpotato chips, for example).
Co-workers tell me they keep things like tea, cereal, peanuts,Pop-Tarts and microwave popcorn.
Fall promise
Once school starts, so do all the extracurricular activities.
And a couple nights a week, I'm faced with panic over dinner: Iforgot to take something out of the freezer in the morning, I'mtired and we're all hungry. And it's 6 p.m.
I remain determined not to rely on fast food on these nights.
It really isn't hard to come up with quick dinners, as long as westay prepared.
Linda Gassenheimer's "Dinner in Minutes: Memorable Meals for BusyCooks," (Houghton Mifflin Co., 1995) reminded me that keeping astocked pantry is key.
If you have items like pasta, canned or bottled pasta sauces,tomato sauces and prepared pizza crust, you can come up with a 20-minute dinner that even the kids will eat.
A quick salad or some cut up or canned fruit rounds out one ofthese meals (and helps allevi- ate any guilt over nutrition).
COMPILED BY
MONICA OROSZ
You don't have to travel to Woodstock to experience the shrewdmarketing of a pop culture happening. Like losing your virginity,Woodstock happens only once. Its feeling cannot be re-created. Yetthese are a few of the folks who are trying: Lettuce Entertain You's flagship restaurant, R.J. Grunt's, 2056 N.Lincoln Park West, is hosting a "psychedelic special event" with itsSalute to the 25th Anniversary of Woodstock Friday through Aug. 14.According to a press release, waitresses will be dressed "hippiestyle" with "flowers in their hair." Grunt's is encouragingcustomers to dress the same, and they should plan to "enjoyWoodstock-related contests and sing-alongs" while 1969 music is pipedthrough the restaurant.
Lettuce Entertain You missed the boat. It should have turnedEd Debevic's into Ed Sanders', in tribute to the Fugs founder andlongtime Woodstock resident. Tower Records, 2301 N. Clark, is handling a line of officalWoodstock T-shirts, golf shirts, baseball caps and jean jackets. Inmid-July, Tower administrative assistant Cherie Breaux ordered justone blue-denim jean jacket that retails for $115. No one has boughtit yet.
"Right now, there's no interest," Breaux said last week. "Butthe actual event hasn't taken place. Once there's televisionfootage, people might get more interested."
Breaux said Tower plans to cross market its Woodstockmerchandise, incorporating clothing, books, music and the CD-ROM andCD-video combination that's being peddled through late-nightinfomercials. Woodstock promoter Michael Lang dreams of bring out an entire lineof Woodstock clothing and even starting a bunch of Woodstock Cafes,not unlike the Hard Rock Cafe chain.
Next weekend's festival will have its own electronicnewsletter, published on-site by Apple, and automatic tellermachines. Pepsi-Cola, one of several corporate sponsors, will sellsoft drinks in commemorative Woodstock cans.
The last of 10 Americans detained while trying to take 33 children out of Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake was freed Monday when a judge convicted her but sentenced her to time already served in jail.
Laura Silsby, the organizer of the ill-fated effort to take the children to an orphanage being set up in the neighboring Dominican Republic, returned to her cell briefly to retrieve belongings before quickly heading to the Port-au-Prince airport.
"I'm praising God," Silsby told The Associated Press as she waited for a flight out of Haiti. She declined to answer further questions before clearing immigration and heading through a gate to catch a plane to Florida. The flight she was supposed to be on landed in Miami on Monday night, but waiting journalists couldn't locate her.
In Idaho, Mel Coulter, the father of missionary Charisa Coulter, who was released in March, said Monday night that friends and relatives were excited about Silsby's release and looking forward to a celebration Tuesday at the Boise airport.
"The 10th of 10 is coming home and we'll rejoice when we see her tomorrow," he said.
The judge's decision "may not have been exactly what we were looking for," Coulter said of the conviction, but he added, "We're very thankful."
"We knew the motives and the intent of the 10 people who went down to Haiti and there was absolutely no intent for wrongdoing," he said. "It was simply a mission of mercy."
Coulter said he and his daughter, as well as Silsby's father, John Sander of Twin Falls, Idaho, flew to Haiti on May 2, with Charisa Coulter and Sander remaining "to help Laura and give her the moral support she really needed." The three were returning to Idaho together, Coulter said.
The Idaho businesswoman had been in custody since Jan. 29. She was originally charged with kidnapping and criminal association, but those charges were dropped for her and the nine other Americans who were previously released. Silsby was convicted of arranging illegal travel under a 1980 statute restricting movement out of Haiti signed by then-dictator Jean-Claude Duvalier.
Prosecutor Jean-Serge Joseph said she was convicted and sentenced to the 3 months and 8 days she spent behind bars. Last week, the prosecution had recommended a six-month sentence and she faced a maximum of three years on the charge.
"She is free," Joseph said.
The 40-year-old Silsby told the court earlier she thought the children were orphans whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake. But she lacked the proper papers to remove them from the country at a time when the government was restricting adoptions to prevent child trafficking in the chaos that followed the disaster.
An AP investigation later revealed all the children had at least one living parent, who had turned their children over to the group in hopes of securing better lives for them.
Silsby and others in the group, mostly members of the same Baptist church in Idaho, insisted they had only come to Haiti to help. They unwittingly helped draw attention to the dark side of the adoption industry in Haiti, where children for many years have been abandoned by their parents or sold into slavery.
In February, a Haitian judge released eight of the Americans after concluding they had not knowingly engaged in any crime. The judge released Coulter, Silsby's friend and former nanny, in March.
Silsby was held the longest because she organized the venture and prosecutors insisted she knew that she did not have the proper authorization to take the children out of Haiti.
She was prosecuted with Jean Sainvil, an Atlanta-based pastor born in Haiti who allegedly helped find the children for the missionaries. The pastor, facing the same charge as Silsby, was not in Haiti and was being tried in absentia. The status of his case was not immediately clear.
BOGOTA, Colombia - A landslide at a makeshift mine in southern Colombia killed at least 21 people and injured another 18 on Saturday after local residents began digging for rumored deposits of gold, authorities said.
Efforts were under way to find about 10 people missing and presumed trapped under the wave of dirt and rock in the open pit mine, located near the town of Suarez, 220 miles southwest of the capital, Bogota.
"There are still a lot of people to rescue, and we don't know what conditions they're in," police officer Jose Delgado said by telephone from the mine. "Initially they said there were around 50 people trapped."
Officials had recovered 21 bodies and rescued 18 people who were hurt in the morning accident in the open pit mine, Delgado said.
The landslide occurred after local residents began digging in the mine following reports that gold had been found underground, Delgado said. He added that many of them appeared to have little experience in tunneling or mining, and that rescue efforts were hampered by the lack of any registry or count of how many people entered the mine.
Rich in resources, but with limited government presence across much of the country, Colombia is home to many such makeshift mines, particularly in zones where gold or emeralds have been found.
With little to no oversight, mining accidents are a frequent occurrence in this Andean country.
In February a mine explosion killed 32 people. The same month another accident killed 8 more miners.
Myth: Eggs are orbs of death.
Truth: Eggs may be the most maligned food in history-British cuisine notwithstanding. Seems all they're good for these days is pelting hapless motorists on Halloween. But the cholesterol in eggs doesn't translate into cholesterol in your blood-and is much less harmful to your arteries than saturated fat. So unless you have high triglycerides and need to cut your cholesterol intake aggressively, an omelet now and then is no nutritional sin. Unless, of course, you fry it in tons of butter, and serve it with hash browns and rashers of bacon. Do that on a regular basis, and your arteries will clamp shut tighter than a pit bull on a mailman's leg.
PHOENIX - The biggest forest fire in Arizona history is all butcontained, and authorities are shifting their focus to preventingmassive flood damage as summer storms begin to hit.
The specialized firefighting management teams that had battledthe blaze in eastern Arizona's Apache-Sitgreaves National Forestpulled out Tuesday. Patrolling the completed fire lines andcorralling the last 5 percent is now up to local forest officialsand the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
Officials say rains will be the next disaster to avert, since asubstantial part of the fire area suffered severe soil damage. Theysay the worst runoff will happen where the fire burned the hottestand prevented the soil from absorbing rainfall.
Two other major fires that burned in recent weeks will raise thesame concerns.
Apache County engineer Ferrin Crosby says a small thunderstormMonday night quickly turned the Little Colorado River into a ragingtorrent. Such a storm normally wouldn't affect flows.
Born 28 July 1932, Dayton, Ohio
Daughter of Ralph Z. and Genevieve Converse Moore; married Samuel F. Babbitt, 1954; children: Christopher, Thomas, Lucy
Despite its intimacy, all of Natalie Babbitt's work for young readers has a dramatic scope and is celebratory in nature. Her verbal pageantry, often accompanied by prologues and epilogues, imparts a sense of theatricality. The roots of theater go back to her earlier history. In high school, Babbitt coauthored a musical comedy; at Smith College, she began her studies as a theater major, although she soon changed her major to art, claiming she was a "wooden actress."
That Babbitt should venture into drawing as well as writing is consistent with her life history. Her mother, an amateur artist,encouraged Babbitt's early painting efforts. Babbitt began her career illustrating books written by her husband, Sam. Eventually, he became too busy with his job as a president of Kirkland College to work with her, and she moved into illustrating her own works and then to writing longer prose. Even when her books provide no visuals, her imagistic language creates the landscape and brings substance and believability to the characters. Her settings have the majesty and sweep of the air, the sea, the forest, the woods; her characters have the dignity of individuals and the power of archetypes. The ritualistic quality inherent in place and person pervades her work; a mythic lyricism serves both to quiet and excite the reader.
With her mastery of tone and mood, Babbitt's stories resonate beyond their particulars to embrace the universal and to speak of broad truths. In her well-loved Tuck Everlasting (1975) the highly credible eleven-year-old Winnie faces ultimate questions about the meaning of life and death, and the novel speaks poignantly about the place of death in the life cycle. The book's gentle and poetic wisdom places it among the classics in children's literature.
Despite the importance of her themes, Babbitt infuses her work with genuine levity, and her wry, humorous perspective attracts younger readers. Her early The Search for Delicious (1969), Kneeknock Rise (1970), a Newbery honor book, and The Something (1970) are the stages for her homey tales with levels of meaning beyond their apparent lightheartedness. Twice, in The Devil's Storybook (1976) and The Devil's Other Storybook (1987), Babbitt claims the devil as her protagonist. He is a comic earthbound fellow victimized by his mischievous pranks as he plots against others. Babbitt's restrained satire renders him an endearing character.
Babbitt enjoys providing her readers with characters outside the mainstream of children's literature. In Eyes of the Amaryllis (1977) Jenny's Gran, an irascible woman who has not made loving her easy, must grow in ways more expected of her young granddaughter. Reality and illusion crash up against one another along the stormy shoreline of the novel to challenge the readers' belief in things they cannot explain. Her quirky Herbert Rowbarge (1982), Babbitt's personal favorite, does not have an appealing character with whom young readers can identify. Even as a child, Herbert is distant and inaccessible. The novel's philosophic truth about sense and self, and loss of self, remains more ambiguous, less tangible, though no less wise than her other writings. Although Babbitt's canon has wide appeal to adults as well as children, the characters and theme of Herbert Rowbarge presume adult experience. Publishers Weekly proclaimed it "her crowning achievement."
In 1989 Babbitt returned to her painterly antecedents and produced her first full-color picture book since The Something (1970), Nellie: A Cat on Her Own. She says she ran out of ideas for longer works around this time, and she went on to publish another picture book in 1994, Bub: Or the Very Best Thing. The story of a king and queen's search for the best thing for their child, Bub is set in medieval times, and Babbitt painstakingly hand-sewed costumes for her models in order to achieve the precision she wanted for her illustrations. The book took her four years to complete. After Bub, Babbitt became absorbed in smaller projects, such as composing acrostics for the children's magazine, Horn Book. She also wrote another picture book published in 1999, Ouch! This adaptation of a story from Grimms' fairytales was illustrated by Fred Marcellino.
The Forty-Ninth Magician (with S. Babbitt, 1966). Dick Foote and the Shark (1967). Phoebe's Revolt (1968). Goody Hall (1971). Curlicues (1980).
Illustrator for V. Worth titles: Small Poems (1972). More Small Poems (1976). Still More Small Poems (1978). Small Poems Again (1986). All the Small Poems and Fourteen More (1987).
Harrison, B. and G. Maguire, eds., Innocence and Experience: Essays and Conversations on Children's Literature (1987). Haviland, V., ed., Children and Literature (1973). Silvey, A., ed., Children's Books and Their Creators (1995). Ward, M. E., et al., Authors of Books for Young People (1990).
CA (1975). CANR (1987). CLR (1976). DLB (1986). SATA (1987). TCCW (1989).
Horn Book (Nov./Dec. 1984, March/April 1986, Sept./Oct. 1988, Nov./Dec. 1989, Nov./Dec. 1990). NYTBR (14 Mar. 1999). PW (21 Feb. 1994).
—SUSAN P. BLOOM
UPDATED BY ANGELA WOODWARD
HERE'S WHAT I MEAN
Good news: Jews are finally abandoning the human rights industry that has turned against their interests.
Earlier this month, Sherry Alpert of Canton, Mass., sent me a copy of her letter to the American Civil Liberties Union explaining why she won't renew her membership of 30 years.
She cites the ACLU's failure to support groups and individuals against lawsuits by Muslims meant to silence critics such as those brought against the Boston media outlets and the David Project by the Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), and against Rachel Ehrenfeld by Sheikh Khalid Salim bin Mahfouz, named as a financial supporter of terrorism in her 2003 book, Funding Evil: How Terrorism Is Financed - and How to Stop It.
But Alpert's complaints stretch back to the ACLU's support of the Nazi attempt to march through Skokie in 1978.
The ACLU's "10 best and worst developments in civil liberties for 2007" reveals their agenda.
Their top issues are:
*warrantless surveillance by the National security Agency (NSA);
*habeas corpus rights for prisoners in Guant�namo; and
*full legal treatment for illegal aliens.
Their chief focus is alleged abuses by the U.S. government.
DOESN'T THE ACLU defend everyone's free speech?
No. Nazis marching through Skokie was deliberately provocative and offensive - especially to the many Holocaust survivors who lived in the Chicago suburb - but the ACLU defended it on strict First Amendment, free speech grounds.
But, Alpert asks, how does this square with their refusal to speak out about the Muslim lawsuits, which seemed aimed at stifling free speech?
Here's another example: When a pro-Israel student at Columbia University was intimidated by a professor who silenced her rebuttal in class of his claim that the Israelis committed a massacre in Jenin, the ACLU refused to help defend her free speech.
Free speech is for all or for none. It should be defended - even if the cause happens to be Jewish.
All attempts to destroy free speech have to be exposed for what they are: illegal and anti-democratic.
In the ISB case, people who raised questions about a foreign funded group with possible connections to terror were sued to keep them quiet.
In the Mahfouz case, a Saudi billionaire sued to shut down an author who investigated funding of terrorists.
Where was the ACLU? They were AWOL.
LIKE AMNESTY International and Human Rights Watch, the ACLU is happy to take money from Jews while ignoring their concerns.
So far, most Jews who want to feel good about their liberalism and activism, and want to be accepted as the "good Jews" by their progressive friends, have been content with this arrangement.
Resigning from the ACLU after decades of loyal support is no small thing. It required the willingness to see the problem for what it is and to stop dithering or rationalizing.
Alpert was tired of the ACLU supporting the wrong side, and of abandoning their own stated principles.
It's time more Jews woke up and followed suit.
Kudos to Sherry Alpert who quit the ACLU to support civil liberties of victims of "shut-up" lawsuits, students who are told to leave a class if they disagree with the professor, and authors who are sued to prevent them from publishing their books.
[Sidebar]
A group supporting the wrong side
[Author Affiliation]
By Charles Jacobs
THE DAVID PROJECT
Former Ferrari boss Jean Todt said the decision to hire Kimi Raikkonen as driver instead of Fernando Alonso was proven right by the way the last Formula One season unfolded.
Todt said he passed up two-time world champion Alonso as the replacement for Michael Schumacher, who retired in May 2006, because he believed Raikkonen's character fit Ferrari better.
"Is Kimi better or worse than Alonso? I can't answer that _ for me they are both excellent drivers. The car makes the difference," Todt said in an interview with the German trade magazine Auto, Motor und Sport released Thursday. "But I am sure, or at least as sure as you can be on something like this, that Kimi is happy at Ferrari."
Raikkonen and Ferrari overcame a bumpy start and caught McLaren and its two drivers, Alonso and Lewis Hamilton, in the season's final races. The Finn became world champion and the team claimed the constructor's title, after McLaren was kicked out of the team standings because of the F1 spy scandal.
"Kimi has been one of the best drivers for five or six years," Todt said. "That's why I never could understand the people who were disappointed by his performances in the first half of the season."
Todt quit as Ferrari's sports director after the season ended, and was replaced by Stefano Domenicali. However, he said Schumacher had been the ideal successor.
"He was the best candidate for this job, but he didn't want it," Todt said.
The 61-year-old Todt said he will no longer be involved in Ferrari's daily business, but will still attend some of the races.
The Illinois Supreme Court isn't like any other.
It's more political.
That's why the high court struck a term-limits proposal from theNov. 8 ballot. Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan and CookCounty Democratic chairman Thomas G. Lyons are against term limits.And so is the Illinois Supreme Court, by a 4-3 vote.
More than 400,000 Illinois residents signed petitions to placethe term-limits proposition on the general election ballot. Sixteenstates already have approved term limits for state legislators.Early polling indicated that Illinois voters would haveoverwhelmingly favored eight-year term limits for state legislators.But there was never much doubt that the Illinois Supreme Court wouldprotect the career politicians from the reformers.
Because Illinois doesn't have merit selection of judges, thepoliticians are the dominant influence in the selection of SupremeCourt justices. Members of the high court haven't forgotten theirallegiances.
Illinois voters have been given the opportunity to vote for anew state constitutional convention and to reduce the size of theIllinois House of Representatives. But term limits are anothermatter. The justices of the Illinois Supreme Court are denyingIllinois residents the chance to vote on term limits. It might upsetthe balance of power.
Even before the Illinois Supreme Court announced its ruling,there was little optimism that the court would give voters a chanceto have a voice in such an important question. The high court has along tradition of aligning itself with the political establishment.
The Illinois Supreme Court threw the Harold Washington party'sslate of Cook County candidates off the ballot in 1990 because theDemocratic party wanted the third party removed as a threat. TheU.S. Supreme Court restored the third party to its rightful ballotposition.
The Illinois Supreme Court was blatantly political in shootingdown a 1991 legislative reapportionment plan. But Speaker Madiganhad problems with the new map and the court went along with Madigan.
During the 1980s the Illinois Supreme Court held that apreviously untested law on statewide election challenges wasunconstitutional. Former Gov. James R. Thompson was the beneficiaryof the ruling, which protected Thompson's 5,074-vote squeaker overformer Sen. Adlai E. Stevenson in the 1982 gubernatorial election.Despite numerous irregularities in the vote, Stevenson and the peopleof Illinois were denied a recount. It was a political decision.Thompson had better connections to the bench than Stevenson.
The Illinois Supreme Court also rejected a 1986 referendum thatwould have changed the way Chicago elects its mayor. The proposedreferendum would have changed citywide offices, including mayor, froma partisan to nonpartisan office with a runoff if the leadingcontender failed to win a majority. Local aldermen have long beenelected under such a system. Polling showed that Chicago residentsfavored the '86 referendum. But influential political figuresopposed it. The Supreme Court sided with the politicalestablishment.
Sometime the good justices ought to give voters an even break.
Steve Neal is the Chicago Sun-Times political columnist.
While the Bears have huddled in high-level meetings all week,finalizing their draft strategy, one player has reached out and said,Pick me."
Miami defensive tackle Vince Wilfork wants to come to the Bears sobadly, he has told them he will agree to weight clauses in hiscontract that would provide remuneration for the organization shouldhe tip the wrong side of the scale.
Wilfork's size is an issue that has weighed heavily on coach LovieSmith since his visit to Halas Hall earlier this month. He showed upfor the combine at 323 pounds and remained at that weight during animpressive individual workout later on, but he was up more than 10pounds after his honeymoon a few …
| EASTERN CONFERENCE |
|---|
| Atlantic Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| Boston 36 21 .632 _ |
| Toronto 31 28 .525 6 |
| Philadelphia 22 37 .373 15 |
| New York 20 39 .339 17 |
| New Jersey 6 53 .102 31 |
| Southeast Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| Orlando 41 20 .672 _ |
| Atlanta 38 21 .644 2 |
| Miami 29 31 .483 11 1/2 |
| Charlotte 28 30 .483 11 1/2 |
| Washington 21 36 .368 18 |
| Central Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| Cleveland 47 14 .770 _ |
| Chicago 31 29 .517 15 1/2 |
| Milwaukee 30 29 .508 16 |
| Detroit 21 38 .356 25 |
| Indiana 20 39 .339 26 |
| WESTERN CONFERENCE |
| Southwest Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| Dallas 40 21 .656 _ |
| San Antonio 34 24 .586 4 1/2 |
| Houston 30 29 .508 9 |
| New Orleans 31 30 .508 9 |
| Memphis 30 30 .500 9 1/2 |
| Northwest Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| Denver 39 21 .650 _ |
| Utah 38 22 .633 1 |
| Oklahoma City 35 23 .603 3 |
| Portland 36 27 .571 4 1/2 |
| Minnesota 14 47 .230 25 1/2 |
| Pacific Division |
| W L Pct GB |
| L.A. Lakers 45 15 .750 _ |
| Phoenix 38 24 .613 8 |
| L.A. Clippers 25 35 .417 20 |
| Sacramento 20 39 .339 24 1/2 |
| Golden State 17 41 .293 27 |
| ___ |
| Monday's Games |
| Dallas 89, Charlotte 84 |
| Cleveland 124, New York 93 |
| Orlando 126, Philadelphia 105 |
| Atlanta 116, Chicago 92 |
| Portland 103, Memphis 93 |
| San Antonio 106, New Orleans 92 |
| Houston 116, Toronto 92 |
| Phoenix 101, Denver 85 |
| L.A. Clippers 108, Utah 104 |
| Tuesday's Games |
| Boston at Detroit |
| Golden State at Miami |
| Sacramento at Oklahoma City |
| Indiana at L.A. Lakers |
Sydney increased its lead in Australia's A-League despite being held to a scoreless draw by Perth Glory on Sunday.
Second-place Melbourne, which trailed Sydney by three points going into the weekend, missed a chance to move closer when it lost 3-2 to Newcastle. The results left Sydney with 39 points, four ahead of Melbourne.
Goals by Matthew Thompson, Michael Bridges and Labinot Haliti secured Newcastle's win, with Melbourne's goals coming from skipper Kevin Muscat and Costa Rica international Carlos Hernandez a minute into stoppage time.
Jets coach Branko Culina was thrilled with the result against a strong Victory lineup.
"It was terrific," Culina said. "An outstanding performance by an outstanding team who showed today if they really want something, there's nothing stopping us."
Striker Shane Smeltz's 19th goal of the season in stoppage time gave Gold Coast United a 1-1 draw with Adelaide United. The draw moved Gold Coast to 34 points _ one behind defending champions Melbourne and five behind Sydney.
Gold Coast skipper Jason Culina, back from a knee injury which prevented him from playing in Australia's midweek Asian Cup game in Kuwait, provided the pinpoint cross for Smeltz to score.
Travis Dodd gave Adelaide the lead in the 20th minute Saturday.
Central Coast drew 1-1 with North Queensland. Nik Mrdja scored in the third minute for Central Coast and Jeremy Brockie replied for the Fury in the 19th.
Central Coast coach Lawrie McKinna wasn't impressed with his team's performance in the second half.
"The first-half performance was very positive, we created chances and had good shape," McKinna said. "There wasn't a lot of positives in the second half. The big thing is we never lost."
Wellington beat Brisbane 3-1 _ the Phoenix' first win over the Roar in nine matches.
MACERATA, Italy An Italian tenor, shot in the left foot duringan execution scene in last week's opening night of the opera "Tosca,"hobbled back to work - and broke his right leg.
Organizers at the summer festival in eastern Italy said tenorFabio Armiliato lost his balance while leaning on a crutch off-stageafter the first act Friday. He broke his right leg in two places andwent back to the hospital in an ambulance.
Armiliato, whose injury will force him to rest for two monthsand will mean the cancellation of commitments in the United States,had been using the crutch backstage for support after injuring hisleft foot last week.
The tenor …
DECEMBER 3, 2008, RIO GRANDE, P.R.
At about 1205 Atlantic time, the airplane was destroyed when it impacted terrain. The airline transport pilot and two passengers were killed. Instrument conditions prevailed for the Part 135 on-demand flight.
According to preliminary data, While descending at 250 knots groundspeed, ATC queried the pilot about his altitude. The pilot advised he was …
Byline: STEVE WILSTEIN Associated Press
Deliciously scandalous, terribly tragic, and occasionally comic, the sports world in 2003 boiled over with stories of murder, rape, drugs, cheating, gambling, boozing and buffoonery.
Sports beats merged with police beats in strange places:
A rock quarry near Waco, Texas, where the body of Baylor basketball player Patrick Dennehy was found;
A courthouse in Eagle, Colo., where Kobe Bryant faced a charge of sexual assault;
A laboratory and grand jury room in San Francisco, where Barry Bonds, Marion Jones and dozens of other pro and Olympic athletes were linked to a probe involving steroids; …
Financial Profiles Inc, Carlsbad, Calif., named David Oates marketing director.
DEI Incorporated, Cincinnati, named Christi Elam accountant, and John Baker and Dave Garber site managers.
Security Service Federal Credit Union, San Antonio, texas, named Eileen Killen manager of its Southwest Military Service Center.
Point Mugu Federal Credit Union, Ventura, Calif., named Thomas E. Newhaus executive vice president and general counsel.
Marion & Polk Schools Credit Union, Salem, Ore., named Leona Esplin stellar teller of the month.
The William Mills Agency, Atlanta, named Andy Payment and Meredith Fletcher account associates, Heather …
LONDON (AP) — A fire that broke out at Olympic Park caused no major damage or injuries, London 2012 event organizers and the city's fire brigade said Tuesday.
The brigade said the fire in containers holding 100 kilos (220 pounds) of dry wood ash at the renewable energy center on the north plaza of the park started late Monday .
Four engines and 25 firefighters responded to the 10:30 p.m. GMT (1730 EDT) blaze, …
What on earth would possess vandals to set a fire at a school?
The worrying thing is that those responsible might even have beenpupils at Hazlehead Academy.
This school is there to serve them and their friends.
To set a blaze and smash windows is only hurting themselves andothers their age, as well as costing taxpayers - including theirparents - a small fortune to put right the damage.
Perhaps the answer here is to find those responsible - someonemust know who did it - then present their parents with the billfor all the repairs.
If we as a society start …
The Borders Party claims that Borders schools have not improved over the last decade and in fact the number of pupils gaining five Standard Grades 1-3, or equivalent, has actually fallen from 58 per cent to around 50 per cent.
Borders pupils are actually doing better than the national average in both Scotland and England, but the Borders Party argue that the national figures include education authorities with severe social and economic problems.
"These figures are deeply worrying," said Sandy Aitchison, Borders Party councillor.
"They show that, despite the best efforts of our excellent teachers, Borders pupils are being let down.
"Half of …
Byline: Brian Nearing
May 22--TROY -- Biodiesel made from Midwestern soybeans may help heat homes in the Capital Region this winter.
Fuel supplier John Ray & Sons of Troy is the first in the area to offer bioheating oil, a blend of biodiesel and regular No. 2 heating oil, said President Ken Ray.
The blend, which uses 5 percent biodiesel, is less polluting than straight oil, he said. Ray's 104-year-old company last year started selling biodiesel for vehicles and other uses.
"We did some testing of this product on our own, and it came through with flying colors," he said. "It's ready."
The biodiesel portion of the blend, made from …
Byline: Washington Post
JERUSALEM -- Two representatives of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government delivered a carrot-and-stick message to Yasir Arafat in the first session ever held between envoys from Israel's right-wing Likud Party and the leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
Government officials confirmed Friday that Thursday's meeting at Arafat's Gaza Strip residence took place, but they refused to discuss the session. Israeli sources and news reports indicated that Arafat was told Netanyahu is committed to continuing talks with and financial support for the PLO-led Palestinian Authority.
At the same time, however, …
Byline: Children's Hospital Boston
BOSTON, March 29 (AScribe Newswire) -- Since 2000, U.S. infants have been routinely immunized against pneumococcal (Streptococcus pneumoniae) infection. Now, Boston researchers have made a surprising discovery about natural immunity to pneumococcus. Two related studies, led by Dr. Richard Malley of the Children's Hospital Boston Division of Infectious Diseases and Dr. Marc Lipsitch of the Harvard School of Public Health, suggest that natural protection from pneumococcal disease may derive from some previously unrecognized immune mechanism, which could possibly be exploited for a new vaccine. The latest study appears in the current (March 29) issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In the U.S., before the advent of the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine, known as Prevnar, S. pneumoniae caused more than 7 …
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., the world's largest investment bank, on Tuesday reported higher fees from asset management and stock underwriting pushed second-quarter profits well above Wall Street's lowered expectations.
The company reported a profit of $2.05 billion, or $4.58 per share, compared to $2.29 billion, or $4.93 per share a year earlier. Revenue fell 7 percent to $9.42 billion from $10.18 billion a year earlier.
That easily surpassed Wall Street expectations for a profit of $3.42 per share on $8.74 billion of revenue, according to analysts polled by Thomson Financial.
Shares of the company rose $3.29 to $185.38 in premarket trading.
…
Thanks to the numerous advances in veterinary medicine, many of the cancers to which cats are susceptible are now controllable, sometimes curable--and even preventable (in the case of mammary cancer, for example). This does not always hold true, however, for osteosarcoma, a highly destructive feline bone cancer for which there is no known cure unless it is detected early.
Once osteosarcoma has invaded a cat's body, the best that the animal's owner can hope for is early diagnosis and management of the disease. If the cancer is confined to a limited area of an affected cat's body, successful treatment will almost always involve surgical excision--the amputation of a leg, for example, or the removal …
Byline: Associated Press
HOUSTON - Michelle Snow scored a career-high 24 points to lead the Houston Comets to their fifth consecutive victory, 85-62 Sunday over the Minnesota Lynx.
Snow fell one rebound short of her first double-double of the season, and the Comets won their third in a row at home to remain on top of the Western Conference standings.
Houston is off to its best start since 2001, when it opened the year by winning nine of 10.
"Right now this team is just focused on defense, and I think everyone just wants to play really good defense," Snow said. "We are …
Byline: Irene Gardner Keeney
A Defreestville couple's experience with a luxurious new motor home may have far-reaching effects.
Besides resulting in changes in the state's Lemon Law, the experience may affect the time in which repairs are made on motor homes and also define who is responsible for alleged defects - the company who made the "propulsion part" of the vehicle, or the manufacturer who put the component parts together.
The experience marks the first time an amendment to the Lemon Law was used to address alleged problems in a motor home.
It was a challenge however, that was over before it actually got started when the principals in the case decided to refund the couples' money rather than go through the arbitration process.
The story began last August when John (Jack) and Verna Fox purchased a brand new, 34-foot Pace Arrow motor home from Hyde's Boats and Travel Trailers in Rexford. The vehicle cost $56,000, including sales tax.
"It was for our retirement, our dream," says Verna Fox. "My folks live in Florida and we figured it would be easier for us to go back and forth."
The Foxes say the purchase agreement was contingent upon the motor home being ready for them to use for a trip to Florida to attend a family wedding.
"We were assured by David Hyde that it would be ready," Verna Fox recalls.
…
Oil prices have spiked to a new trading high, sweeping past US$129 a barrel.
The June contract for light, sweet crude traded as high as US$129.31 in pre-opening trading Tuesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Prices are currently being driven higher by supply …
Ferryhill
I played softball at school and our team came first in acompetition. I also took part in some school plays which were good.
full-time mum,
Kingswells
I did pretty well in my exams …
Byline: Arlena Sawyers
Chrysler LLC will maintain a commitment to minority dealers as it reduces the number of stores in its dealer network, a top executive said.
Chrysler co-President Jim Press told members of the Chrysler Minority Dealer Association that Chrysler must move beyond its traditional buyers in Detroit and other Midwestern manufacturing markets. That means Chrysler needs a diverse dealer body, he says.
"The key element is to make sure the dealer organization in our own company represents the customer base we should be moving'' toward, Press said in his keynote address to the …
