CONDO WATCH Lawyer needed to handle barred renters

Q. We have a situation at our six-unit condo building. A unit wassold by its original owner to an individual, who later sold it toanother individual. The new owner is renting out the condo to a womanwith unruly children. Per our by-laws, we do not allow renters in ourunits.

We were not given the name, address and phone number of the newestowner until recently. At this point, a renter has already moved in.

We want the renters out. The police have already been calledtwice about their behavior. She leaves them at home without anyguidance.

What kind of recourse do we have? Do we go after the originalowner or …

Power company acquires composting sites

Minnesota utility subsidiary creates synergy by sending organic residuals from refuse derived fuel process to composting operations, which in turn sends noncompostables to RDF production.

IN 1983, Carl Bolander and Sons, Inc., a Minnesota construction and demolition company, established SKB Environmental in St. Paul to function as its environmental arm, allowing cost-effective disposal and recycling alternatives for C&D debris. Over the years, SKB initiated recycling programs for the full range of construction and demolition materials, including wood residuals. Eventually, its services expanded to include yard trimmings management and mulch production, with a total of eight …

Deputy uses his Taser to try and wake inmate

A Pinellas County detention deputy was suspended for using the sound of his stun gun to try and wake up an inmate. According to an internal affairs report, the deputy thought the crackling sound of his Taser would rouse an inmate on July 27. It did not.

The inmate had fallen asleep at on the …

Bozo's circus has nothing on Cubs

Some thoughts while waiting for next year at Wrigley Field . . .

The dear old ballpark has become our country's favoritetelevision studio for live audiences. How else can you explain whythe Cubs, when 23 games out of first place, drew 33,343, despite grayskies and persistent rain, for yesterday's doubleheader with the Metsand had averaged 30,407 for the previous 13 home games?

It has become a "must" for fans from the hinterlands, passingthrough Chicago in vacation time, to stop off at Wrigley and see inperson the show they have enjoyed on cable TV. Winning and losingdon't really matter. The show is the thing.

Unlike WGN-TV's other popular long-running show, …

Night lights

Boats sparkle and the sun sets over the Kanawha River during theclosing of this year's Charleston Sternwheel Regatta. Next year,organizers want to …

Death toll from Joplin, Mo., tornado climbs to 116

JOPLIN, Mo. (AP) — Rescue crews dug through piles of splintered houses and crushed cars Monday in a search for victims of a half-mile-wide tornado that blasted much of this Missouri town off the map and slammed straight into its hospital.

At least 116 people died, making it the nation's deadliest single tornado in nearly 60 years and the second major tornado disaster in a month. An unknown number of people were hurt.

Authorities feared the toll could rise as the full scope of the destruction comes into view: House after house reduced to slabs, cars crushed like soda cans, shaken residents roaming streets in search of missing family members. And the danger was by no means over. …

Cops: Break-in suspect reports his car was stolen

OLD SAYBROOK, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man was arrested after police said he burglarized three condos then called officers to report that the car he allegedly used in the break-ins had been stolen. Police said 33-year-old Geraldo "Tito" Figueroa, of Waterbury, reported late Monday to Fairfield police that his car had been taken.

An officer responding to the burglaries in Old Saybrook, …

Organic Coffee: Sustainable Development by Mayan Farmers

Maria Elena Martinez-Torres Organic Coffee: Sustainable Development by Mayan Farmers Auiens, Ohio: Ohio University Press, 2006, xiv + 176 pp.

In Organic Coffee, Maria Elena Martinez-Torres argues that organic coffee farming can provide a viable approach to "sustainable" rural development in cases where local communities have constructed and invested in sufficient "social capital" and "natural capital." Her assessment is based on fieldwork conducted in Chiapas, Mexico from 1996 to 2000 in which she gatiiered ecological data and surveyed 150 farmer families from six major small coffee organizations in the region.

The short, accessible book is primarily descriptive in nature, …

New NY Governor Admits Affairs Years Ago

A day after his predecessor's sex scandal propelled him into office, Gov. David Paterson revealed Tuesday that he had affairs with a "number of women," including a state employee, but said that does not affect his ability to lead.

Paterson had admitted one affair in a newspaper interview hours after taking office Monday, but gave a fuller accounting at a news conference with his wife at his side.

"Several years ago, there were a number of women," Paterson said. "The public wants to know who its elected officials are and sometimes, even though you are human, and you are someone who just has feelings and has faults, there comes a time, …

ENOS SLAUGHTER: 1916-2002 Slaughter dead at 86;Cards' hustling 'Country'

DURHAM, N.C.--Enos "Country" Slaughter, the hustling Hall of Famerwho made a "Mad Dash" home to win the 1946 World Series and thentangled with Jackie Robinson the next year, died Monday at age 86.

Slaughter had been in the intensive care unit of Duke UniversityMedical Center after colon surgery July 25 and an operation to repairperforated stomach ulcers July 29. He was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins lymphoma in June.

He batted .300 in 19 seasons and played in five World Series. Hespent the first 13 years of his career with the St. Louis Cardinals.

"He was one of the great hustlers of baseball," Hall of Fameteammate Stan Musial said Monday. "He loved baseball. He …

`Hav Plenty' is entertaining

`Hav Plenty' is entertaining

Kay Bourne

Lee Plenty has plenty of talent, specifically a writing bent, while Havilland Savage has plenty of sex appeal as far as Lee is concerned. An off-beat romantic comedy, "Hav Plenty" (Miramax/Wanderlust) follows the travails of struggling artist Lee as he plumbs whether Hav has more going for her than chic looks.

An exploration of the lifestyles of today's rich and would-be famous young urban black professionals, this unconventional screenplay from Christopher Scott Cherot, who has also directed and starred in the movie, has a measure of charm but is also a little choppy.

Worth a look, even so, not only because of the …

Police: US man facing eviction sets home on fire

PEMBROKE PINES, Florida (AP) — Police say a Florida man facing eviction set fire to his condo and was shot after he got into a fight with officers.

Authorities say a Broward County deputy was serving an eviction notice Friday morning when a Pembroke Pines resident refused to answer the door. The deputy called local police for backup, but before another officer could arrive, …

Nureyev Squabble Hits Our Town

The Rudolf Nureyev Dance Foundation has filed suit in Cook CountyCircuit Court seeking an injunction against the late dancer's sisterand niece. The lawsuit, filed late Monday, is aimed at blocking RozaNureyeva and her daughter, Gouzel Noureev, from contesting Nureyev'swill, which bequeathed his multimillion-dollar cooperative apartmentin New York's posh Dakota building, artwork, antiques and othervaluables to establish the foundation in his memory.

The reason for the local lawsuit? The foundation and a numberof Nureyev's attorneys are based here.

THE MEMORY BANK: Let's hope Colin Powell has a good memory.Random House is betting $6 million he does. That's the reportedadvance the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs is being paid for hismemoirs. The catch? Powell claims he's never kept a journal ornotes of meetings during his long years of top-secret service. Also,the general is taking computer lessons so he can whip out his book ona spiffy new word processor.

BILL DIGS DOGS: As he always does on every Chicago visit, BillCosby ordered four Gold Coast dogs his favorite way: with chili,onions, hot peppers and mustard. But his Friday request also calledfor two "very, very cold" Dad's root beers. Since owner BarryPotekin only stocks Barq's, he ran to the store, snapped up two Dad'sand stuck 'em in the freezer for a fast chill. On Saturday, Cosby called in a repeat order, but ran late getting tothe Cubs game (where he threw out the first pitch) and had to cancel.He called later from his Drake Hotel suite to re-order - but afterthe popular doggery had closed. No problem. Barry fired up thegrill, to Cos' delight. Word has it that Cosby, the king of TV, is here working on a realestate deal and seeking local investors for his "still-alive"proposed buyout of NBC.

Obama promoting manufacturing on western trip

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pointing to a rebound in manufacturing, President Barack Obama in Wednesday is visiting a plant that has brought back jobs to the United States. But he shares the day's spotlight with the visiting vice president of China, which has seen many more jobs migrate from the U.S.

Before going on an extended West Coast fundraising spree, Obama was visiting a padlock manufacturer that was cited in his State of the Union address last month for bringing back 100 jobs to the U.S. from China in response to higher labor and logistical costs in Asia.

Obama has repeatedly talked up the nation's manufacturing base as an engine of growth and a sign of a recovering economy. He has urged companies to promote "insourcing," promising new tax incentives for businesses that bring jobs to the U.S. instead of shipping them overseas and eliminating tax breaks for companies that outsource jobs.

The U.S. manufacturing sector was hard-hit for more than a decade. Manufacturers shed 5.8 million jobs from 1999 to 2009 as many companies shifted jobs overseas to take advantage of lower costs and many plants were modernized and automated, allowing firms to do more with fewer workers.

But the sector has shown more vitality in recent months, bolstering Obama's case. Manufacturers added 50,000 jobs in January, the most in a year, and added 237,000 jobs in 2011, the largest annual boost since 1997. Of the 3.2 million jobs added by the economy since February 2010, about 400,000 are in manufacturing.

Obama's visit to Wisconsin has its political side as the president prepares for a Republican challenge in the November election. He carried Wisconsin by 14 points in 2008 but is expected to face a more difficult challenge this year after Republicans captured nearly every statewide office two years ago. The weak economy is the top election issue this year.

Meanwhile on Wednesday, neighboring Iowa will see a visit from Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, who briefly visited the state years ago on an agricultural study mission.

Most of Obama's trip will be devoted to fundraising. The president is holding eight fundraisers for his re-election campaign in the Los Angeles area, San Francisco and Seattle.

Vietnam confiscates 1 ton of elephant tusks

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Vietnamese authorities say they have uncovered more than a ton of elephant tusks that smugglers were attempting to illegally take to China.

Customs official Ly Tran Tuan says the 221 pieces of tusks were discovered Sunday hidden in rolls of fabric that were being transported on a boat on the Ka Long river bordering the two countries.

Tuan said Monday that a Chinese man who was escorting the boat and the Vietnamese captain were detained by local police for further investigation.

Vietnam bans the hunting of its dwindling elephant population. In 2009, authorities confiscated nearly 7 tons of elephant tusks smuggled from Tanzania in the country's biggest ivory seizure.

Tusks are used for ivory jewelry and home decorations.

YouTube enlists big-name help to redefine channels

CULVER CITY, California (AP) — YouTube is enlisting Hollywood's help to reach a generation of viewers more familiar with smartphones than TV remotes.

The online video giant is aiming to create 25 hours of programming per day with the help of some of the top names in traditional TV. The Google-owned site is spreading its wealth among producers, directors, and other filmmakers, using a $100 million pot of seed money it committed last fall. The fund represents YouTube's largest spending on original content so far.

YouTube believes it is laying groundwork for the future. While the number of traditional TV watchers has leveled off in recent years, more and more people are watching video on mobile phones, tablets and computers, especially the 18- to 34-year-old age demographic that advertisers covet.

The idea is to create 96 additional YouTube channels, which are essentially artists' home pages, where viewers can see existing video clips and click "subscribe" to be notified when new content goes up.

Well-funded videos by a select roster of stars are likely to be more watchable than the average YouTube fare of cute cats and webcam monologues. YouTube is betting that a solid stream of good content will attract more revenue from advertisers, bring viewers back frequently and bolster its parent company's fledgling Web-connected-TV platform, Google TV.

The cash has enticed some of TV's biggest stars, including "Fast Five" director Justin Lin, who directs episodes of "Community," ''CSI" creator Anthony Zuiker and Nancy Tellem, the former president of CBS entertainment.

Zuiker is teaming up on a horror series for YouTube after observing his own family's behavior. His three pre-teen sons spend more time on phones, iPads and computers than watching TV these days.

"We want to jointly take the risk with YouTube and roll the dice on the future," Zuiker says. "The old regime is going to falter because everybody thinks the TV is the only device that really counts, and that's just not the case."

For producers, it's a chance to create shows that are completely free of meddling from major studios. They can also stay relevant with a younger crowd whose viewing is moving increasingly online.

Several new channels such as the extreme sports-focused Network A and Spanish-language Tutele have launched already. YouTube hopes to have them all up and running by this summer.

"This was really about galvanizing the ecosystem at large," says Alex Carloss, global head of original programming for YouTube. "We see the portfolio (of funded channels) really representing the best of TV meeting the best of the Web."

YouTube isn't the only Web video service that has started to pay for original content. Netflix Inc. recently launched the original series "Lilyhammer," while Hulu premiered "Battleground." But YouTube videos tend to be under 10 minutes, instead of fitting into traditional half-hour or hour-long TV slots. And aside from a few guidelines, ultimate control is given over to the artist, including what is uploaded and when new episodes appear.

YouTubers also get away with far edgier stuff than the middle finger that rapper M.I.A. flashed during the Super Bowl halftime show.

Although YouTube's entire investment is less than half of what some studios spend on one blockbuster movie, about a third of the new channels were awarded to scrappy YouTube veterans who already know how to make it big online while keeping production costs low.

YouTube expects to recoup what it spends on the grants by sharing ad revenue the new videos generate.

At Maker Studios, which received money for three new channels, the funds have turbo-charged an already teeming operation that has about 160 full-time staff spread across several buildings crammed with props and computers in west Los Angeles.

On a recent visit, two scenes were being shot in an alley. One was for a parody of a Christmas movie trailer. The other was for a new series about a crime-fighting van called "Si, Es I, Pepe."

Maker cranks out about 300 YouTube videos each month at a bare-bones cost of about $1,000 each.

The studio's videos generate a whopping 500 million views each month, thanks largely to established hits that include Ray William Johnson's roundup of crazy videos and such viral giants as "Epic Rap Battles of History."

Advertisers pay up to $10 per thousand views for video ads that precede the featured content, according to TubeMogul, a major buyer of YouTube ads for the nation's biggest advertisers including Proctor & Gamble Co. and News Corp.'s 20th Century Fox movie studio.

Established YouTube partners share roughly half of their revenue with the site. So if Maker videos generate $1 or $2 in ad revenue per thousand views, it would just be scraping by.

Maker co-founder Danny Zappin, who quit film school to buy a high-end camera to start a career on YouTube, says it's a "tricky balance" to keep the studio's share of ad revenue higher than the cost of video-making. The undisclosed amount it got from YouTube, on top of the $4 million venture capital it received about a year ago, lets Maker put up more videos without waiting for the views and cash to roll in.

"It gives us resources and runway that we wouldn't otherwise have," Zappin said.

For other less-established players in online video, the money has given them an added reason to get involved.

Former CBS executive Tellem teamed up with TV entrepreneur Brian Bedol to create Bedrocket Media Ventures, an upstart production company behind several new YouTube channels, including Network A. The funding "allowed us, or caused us, to focus on YouTube ahead of other platforms," Bedol says.

Analysts believe YouTube has made a wise investment at a time ad rates for online video are rising.

YouTube can be successful with just a few big hits — think of Rebecca Black's "Friday" — even if thousands of videos fall flat. It's similar to the hit-or-miss approach to traditional TV and movies.

"The investor community does not look at this as money wasted," Macquarie analyst Ben Schachter says.

Since promising to share ad revenue with its most popular uploaders in 2007, YouTube has invested in original content mainly by paying for equipment and training new artists, but it was never as big as this.

Backing up its new strategy, YouTube also revamped its homepage to prioritize channels and recommendations above just the most-viewed videos. The revamp allows advertisers to target popular channels or categories of content more easily.

YouTube's funding plan takes a page from Apple Inc.'s playbook. When the iPhone maker launched its App Store in 2008, a $100 million seed fund created by Silicon Valley investor John Doerr spawned hundreds of thousands of new apps.

"Our developers are not software engineers," YouTube's vice president of global content partnerships, Robert Kyncl, told a convention in January. "Our developers are Hollywood stars, are online stars, are regular folks like you and I."

If nothing else, the injection of funds will spawn content never before been seen on any screen, large or small.

"Fast Five" director Lin, who is teaming up with YouTube stars Ryan Higa and Kevin "KevJumba" Wu on the "YOMYOMF" channel, said his focus is not to try to find audiences with stereotypical Asian-American content. Rather, the idea is to give a platform to people who have unique voices but haven't been heard yet.

He says Higa and Wu didn't follow any set rules when they jumped to popularity with a mix of oddball humor, brutal honesty and rap.

"They just did what they loved, and people came," Lin said. "If we're going to fail, I would rather go out with that philosophy."

___

Online:

KassemG's parody of Christmas movies, http://bit.ly/yzTt5i

Si, Es I, Pepe, http://bit.ly/AquLL8

Epic Rap Battles of History, http://bit.ly/xsjKks

Ray William Johnson, http://bit.ly/wYDiaC

YOMYOMF, http://bit.ly/ygxnuH

Network A, http://bit.ly/wDeiZY

Anthony Zuiker's partner, BlackBoxTV, http://bit.ly/yQFM13

Comcast: Cable industry to standardize network in '08, enabling new services without cable box

Facing pressure from U.S. regulators, the cable TV industry plans to make good on a promise to standardize its technology and open the door to televisions and other gadgets that do not need cable boxes to receive video-on-demand programs and other interactive services.

An industry initiative, to be renamed "tru2way" after a decade in the works, is expected to allow electronics manufacturers to make TVs and other gear that will work regardless of cable provider. By making devices compatible, the standard also could encourage the development of new services and features that rely on two-way communication over the cable network.

Comcast Corp., the largest U.S. cable provider, will roll out the platform in all its markets by the end of 2008, Chief Executive Brian Roberts said in an interview with The Associated Press ahead of a speech Tuesday at the International Consumer Electronics Show.

Time Warner Cable Inc. is even closer to completion, Comcast executives said. A spokesman for No. 3 provider Cox Communications Inc. said the company will have "widespread deployment" this year.

"Our business model has changed completely, from a closed, proprietary model to an open architecture that will work across cable companies _ not just across Comcast," Roberts said. "That was a Herculean job to accomplish."

Craig Moffett, senior analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said the industry is sending a hands-off signal to the Federal Communications Commission. Last summer, FCC officials said they would soon take on the issue of two-way compatibility between consumer electronics and cable systems.

"They don't have a lot of friends at the FCC right now. The cable industry has every reason to be nervous," Moffett said. "I suspect a lot of this is trying to beat the FCC to the punch."

CableLabs, the cable industry's research and development arm, which Roberts leads, was to announce Monday that its OpenCable platform, which began development in 1997, will now be branded as "tru2way."

Cable providers and device manufacturers have long disagreed over the technical specifications for two-way communication among their devices. There are TVs and set-top boxes in the market that can receive digital programming, but they can't talk back to the network, which would allow advanced interactive services. That leaves consumers with having to rent a box from the cable company.

And even with the new standards some discord remains.

Though the cable industry has inked separate deals with electronics companies, including Panasonic, Samsung and LG, consumer electronics giant Sony isn't on board.

The FCC _ where Chairman Kevin Martin supports a more open and competitive environment _ is also considering a different standard put forward by a group of consumer electronics companies.

CableLabs said it has inked licensing agreements with Intel Corp. and Broadcom Corp. to develop chips to run the software. And Microsoft Corp. is expected to integrate the standard into future versions of its Windows operating system for personal computers.

Comcast foresees "tru2way" branding on TVs, set-top boxes, PCs and other devices to signal their compatibility with cable systems.

On Monday, Panasonic and Comcast plan to unveil a slew of products that will be compatible with "tru2way," including a plasma high-definition television, high-definition digital video recorders and a portable DVR.

"You'll see a number of new 'tru2way' devices, and this is just the beginning," Roberts said. "This is Day One."

The Panasonic Viera Plasma HDTV with "tru2way" will go on sale this year. Panasonic's portable DVD player and recorder, called "AnyPlay," lifts off a docking station and allows consumers to watch the programs they have recorded anywhere they like, on its 8.5-inch (22-centimeter) LCD screen. It is to go on sale in early 2009.

Other products are expected to reach retail stores as early as the end of 2008. The timeframe gives cable leverage over the competing standard proposed by consumer electronics makers, whose devices might not make it to retail until 2009 at the earliest.

Moffett said cable operators are telling the FCC that the industry can work with consumer electronics makers on two-way cable-compatible products.

"That could tip the scales in their favor," Moffett said.

Bees force allergic woman to abandon Texas home

A woman allergic to bees had to abandoned her Houston-area home after the buzzing insects were found crawling in her 8-year-old daughter's bed a few days ago. The Houston Chronicle reported Saturday that a hive beneath the floorboards is so big that the floor rattles. Bees are also in the interior walls.

Tangela Perkins said she's hired three different exterminators, including spending $1,000 in January to kill the bees, but the insects keep returning.

Perkins said she's had problems with bees at her house for about five years. Experts said the scent of previous bees attracts new ones.

Her homeowners association sent letters asking perkins to get rid of the bees.

Gatlin hopeful for 2012 Olympics ahead of comeback

Returning from a four-year doping ban, Justin Gatlin says he'll be running for his fans, friends and infant son.

A day before the track meet in Estonia, the 28-year-old American sprinter said Monday he wants "to go out there and be able to show my son that I'm a good athlete."

Gatlin won gold in the 100 meters at the 2004 Athens Olympics and in the 100 and 200 at the 2005 world championships. He tested positive in April 2006 for excessive testosterone.

He will be competing in the 100 on Tuesday at a small meet in Rakvere, northeastern Estonia.

Gatlin expects to compete in the Olympics in two years, saying "I think of myself as a championship athlete ... "I can't wait for London 2012."

Mistake Cost City $288,932 in Gas Bills

For nearly three years, the cash-strapped City of Chicagomistakenly paid gas bills totaling $288,932 for the privately ownedInternational Amphitheatre, city officials admitted.

Law Department spokeswoman Andrea Brands said city lawyers madeno legal effort to recover the payments "because documents needed topursue a lawsuit are missing from the files. They disappeared."

The gas bill payments started in December, 1986, when theDepartment of Streets and Sanitation rented part of the amphitheatrefor overnight parking of snowplows and salt spreaders. Although theparking arrangement ended four months later, the city continued topay gas bills until 1990.

Savings to the amphitheatre from the payments exceeded by$38,000 the $250,000 purchase price paid by real estate investorsLouis Wolf and Kenneth Goldberg when they bought the deterioratingexhibition hall at 4200 S. Halsted at auction in 1984.

But Wolf and Goldberg said they knew nothing of the citypayments. They said the former amphitheatre operator, Sam Frontera,who is in federal custody on drug importation charges in Florida,would have been the one who benefitted from erroneous city payments.

Also, the Streets and Sanitation official who is shown on PeoplesGas Co. records as having given telephone authorization for the citypayments said he never made such a call.

A Cook County grand jury is investigating the payments, aspokesman for State's Attorney Jack O'Malley said.

Brands said the Daley administration "inherited" the erroneouspayments and "put a stop to them as soon as they were discovered. Wewere blameless in all of this."

That was questioned by machinist James Mulligan, a Streets andSanitation Department worker who said he encountered the strangepayments in February, 1990, and attempted to have them stopped. Hesaid that three weeks after he reported the payments to his bossesand pushed hard to stop them, he was removed from his post as acitywide troubleshooter. Mulligan was transferred, withoutexplanation, to the city's North West Incinerator.

Mulligan said that after his superiors repeatedly refused toexplain his transfer and instead targeted him for discipline, he toldthe city inspector general's office that he thought he was beingharassed because he reported the gas bill payments and urgedaggressively that they be stopped.

Terry Levin, Streets and Sanitation spokesman, said Mulligan"doesn't know all the facts" and that his charges of retaliation are"ridiculous."

Levin said Daley administration officials, examining Streets andSanitation expenditures, discovered the gas bill payments in early1990. According to Levin, when no explanation for the payments couldbe found, Mulligan was sent to the amphitheatre to check the gasmeter. But Mulligan said: Nobody explained why he was assigned to check the meter. He saidthat when he learned of the city payments from the gas company andasked Peoples Gas to end them immediately, the Daley administrationalready had been in office for nearly 10 months and had taken noaction. It took his department nearly three weeks, under prodding byMulligan, before a required cutoff letter was sent to Peoples Gas.The gas bill was nearly $20,000 a month at that point.

In explaining the city's decision not to take legal action torecover the money, Brands said that in October, 1990, after Streetsand Sanitation had unsuccessfully asked the gas company for a$288,932 refund, city lawyers began exploring the possibility ofsuing someone to get back the money. But Brands said the city didnot sue because documents from the administrations of Mayors HaroldWashington and Eugene Sawyer, which the city would have needed toprove its case, "couldn't be located anywhere."

She said the only document Daley administration personnel couldfind was a partly illegible copy of the first page of the$15,000-a-month truck parking lease. "With just that, we'd have beenthrown out of court on any claim for repayment. . . . We wouldn'thave gotten to first base," she said.

Levin said a Streets and Sanitation financial control officer,who gas company records show gave permission by telephone for thecity gas bill payments, "denies he ever made such a call. His jobwould have had nothing to do with such arrangements."

He said Streets and Sanitation aides attempted to questiondeparted Washington and Sawyer administration officials about themissing documents and the mysterious payments. "Those inquiries werenot fruitful," he said.

John J. Halpin, commissioner of Streets and Sanitation from 1985until March, 1989, said nobody ever questioned him.

He said he had helped arrange the truck parking lease, "but Idon't remember anything about gas bills, and I had no idea any suchpayments continued after the lease stopped."

Forever Friends Appeal stalwart leaves on a high

A popular fundraiser who has persuaded dozens of firms to opentheir cheque books for a hospital charity appeal has retired on ahigh.

Forever Friends Appeal corporate officer Nina Rack has justhelped the charity hit a target of Pounds 3.1 million to contributeto the cost of a new neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) at theRoyal United Hospital.

Mrs Rack, who was responsible for getting donations out ofbusinesses, decided the time was right to retire after the appeal'sSpace to Grow campaign came to an end.

She celebrated her last day with a party, which was attended byrepresentatives of the many of the businesses she had dealt withduring her eight years with the charity.

Forever Friends is now moving on to raise money for new cancerequipment.

She said: "I thought the time was right to leave now, at theclose of the NICU campaign.

"If I stayed for the start of another campaign I would have gottoo involved and would never leave.

"I have enjoyed my time with the appeal and will miss everyone Iwork with.

"I have met many new people through my role as corporate officerand a lot have become close friends."

During her time with the appeal she helped set up the BrownswordChallenge, where former Bath Rugby owner Andrew Brownsword promisedto match money raised by the public.

She also liaised with inventor Sir James Dyson and his wife LadyDeirdre, who donated Pounds 500,000 towards the unit, which will benamed the Dyson Centre for Neonatal Care.

She has met a number of celebrities through her work, includingCasualty actor Tristan Gemmill, who has become a friend, andmusician Jamie Cullum, whose father John is appeal chair man.

She said one encounter with the singer stood out.

"I remember when Jamie Cullum put on a performance to support theappeal.

"We had a medium-sized Forever Friends bear which sat on thepiano, and I had to sew its legs together to try and stop it fromfalling off."

She added: "I am so pleased we have now raised the full amount ofmoney.

This new unit will benefit so many vulnerable babies in the area.I am so proud to have been a part of it."

Appeal head Tim Hobbs said: "Nina will be greatly missed by allof us. She worked really hard to get donations out of businesses,which in this current climate was not easy.

"Businesses have to like the person they deal with before theyagree to support a charity. Nina has a wonderful personality -people buy Nina Rack."

Mrs Rack is looking forward to spending more time with hergrandsons, four-year-old Ethan, and Owen, who is 10 months.

She will still be a familiar face around the hospital, as sheheads up its Look Good, Feel Better project.

This allows women who have cancer to be pampered once a month byhairdressers and beauticians.

She has previously had cancer and knows how important it is tolook good to boost confidence.

She said: "This will allow women who are going through a toughtime to have some time to look after themselves.

"They will feel good when they look good, and will be able totalk to people who are going through the same thing as them."

Marines learn lessons from tragedy in Afghanistan

PATROL BASE FULOD, Afghanistan (AP) — The first time U.S. Marines went on patrol from this base in southern Afghanistan, the Taliban were ready. The militants shot and killed a 21-year-old lance corporal just 150 feet from the perimeter.

Irvin Ceniceros, from Clarksville, Arkansas, was one of nine Americans who died in the four days after Marines assumed command of Afghanistan's most dangerous district — a sign that no amount of training can fully prepare a unit for the battlefield.

The Marines patrolling through the green fields and tall mud compounds of Helmand province's Sangin district say they are literally in a race for their lives. They are trying to adjust their tactics to outwit Taliban fighters, who have killed more coalition troops here than in any other Afghan district this year.

"As a new unit coming in, you are at a distinct disadvantage because the Taliban have been fighting here for years, have established fighting positions and have laid the ground with a ton of IEDs," said Lt. Col. Jason Morris, commander of the 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment. "You have to evolve quickly because you have no other choice."

Many of the younger Marines also have had to cope for the first time with seeing their best friends die or suffer grievous wounds. Fifteen Marines have been killed and about 50 wounded since the battalion arrived in October — many by improvised explosive devices or IEDs.

"You really can't prepare a Marine to lose his good buddy or see another one of his buddies with both his legs blown off," said Capt. Chris Esrey, commander of the battalion's India Company. "The best way to overcome that is to get right back out on a patrol the next day because it doesn't happen every time you go out."

Ceniceros, who was killed on Oct. 14, was a member of India Company's 3rd Platoon stationed at Patrol Base Fulod — a dusty outpost just up the road from the district center that Marines inherited from British forces. The British withdrew in September after four years of fighting that killed more than 100 British soldiers.

Despite the previous occupants, the Marines who pushed out with Ceniceros that fateful afternoon said they didn't realize how dangerous the mud compounds to the south of the base were until the Taliban unleashed a stream of machine-gun fire, pinning down two Marines.

"We kind of snuck our nose in the south to see what the south was about and we found out real quick that you don't go south unless you have a lot of dudes," said Sgt. Adam Keliipaakaua, who was leading the patrol.

Ceniceros managed to save the two Marines who were pinned down by covering their escape with a hail of bullets. He later took a fatal round to the chest just above his body armor as the Marines were trying to make their way back to base.

"He died like he lived, a freaking hero caring about other people," said Lt. Joe Patterson, 31, of Owasso, Oklahoma. Patterson is the 3rd Platoon's commander.

Keliipaakaua, 26, of Newport News, Virginia, said Ceniceros' tragic death offered critical lessons that can be learned only on the battlefield and might help save others.

"You learn from it, you adapt to it and you give it back to the enemy," he said.

The Marines now have a better idea of where they will be ambushed around their base and have doubled the size of their patrols to increase the amount of firepower they can direct toward the Taliban. On Thursday, the Marines killed 15 militants in an hourlong firefight, according to NATO.

Those who patrol through the main bazaar in the district center now know to look to the skies. They said the Taliban often fly white kites over the local mosque to signal the presence of the Marines.

The Taliban like to attack using so-called "murder holes" — small holes carved into strong mud walls that allow the insurgents to shoot without exposing themselves.

The militants also scout the routes the Marines will likely use to evacuate their casualties so they can attack them. As four Marines carried Ceniceros up an alleyway toward the base, they had to dodge a stream of bullets, said Keliipaakaua.

To avoid walking into a firefight, the Marines look to see whether kids are around. Their absence could mean an impending attack, but the Taliban also use children as spotters, so the tactic isn't foolproof.

"A little kid will run around the corner and run back, and a minute later you are being shot at," said Keliipaakaua.

But the threat of an ambush pales in comparison to the biggest danger lurking in Sangin and much of Afghanistan: the scores of IEDs buried in roads, trails, compounds and even canals. Many are largely constructed out of wood or plastic, making them very difficult to detect.

Three days after Ceniceros was killed, another member of 3rd Platoon, Cpl. David Noblit, stepped on an IED in a compound located in dense vegetation across the street from Patrol Base Fulod. Noblit survived the explosion but lost both his legs.

The battalion has been hit with about 40 IED attacks and has found more than 100 other bombs before they exploded.

"You want to vary up your routes to go where the enemy doesn't expect you to travel," said Esrey, 33, of Havelock, North Carolina. "I can walk through water ankle-high, but the bad guys probably know that's where I want to go, so I want to go somewhere the water is chest-high."

But the Taliban are always watching and adapting as well. One of the last Marines from the battalion who was killed stepped on an IED buried underwater in a canal.

"The tactics keep changing because they're smart and they watch us," said Esrey. "They don't have TV here. We're their TV."

Jury selection begins in OJ Simpson robbery case

Jury selection for O.J. Simpson's robbery-kidnap trial began Monday with the judge trying to head off any influence from the former football star's 1995 acquittal on double-murder charges.

Outside the presence of prospective jurors, Judge Jackie Glass rejected defense attorney Yale Galanter's request to ask if they thought Simpson was a murderer, and when the panel was brought in for questioning she sternly lectured the group.

"If you are here thinking you are going to punish Mr. Simpson for what happened in Los Angeles in 1995, this is not the case for you," she said. "If you're looking to become famous because of your service in this case, write a book, then this is not the case for you."

Simpson and co-defendant Clarence "C.J." Stewart are accused of robbing two sports collectibles dealers at a Las Vegas hotel last year.

In the Los Angeles case, Simpson was found not guilty of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson later was found civilly liable for their deaths.

"A significant issue is if you disagreed with that verdict in the criminal case, can you put aside your feelings about that verdict?" Glass asked the prospective jurors.

During initial questioning, two prospects said they could not put aside what they knew about the case and were dismissed. A dozen others were dismissed from service in the projected five-week trial because of hardship. They included students who had just begun new semesters and a man starting a new job.

Simpson's arrival at the courthouse Monday morning was much more subdued than previous appearances there, with no protesters and few people to greet him.

He declined to answer questions, but smiled and waved when one person called out "Good Luck!"

Simpson, 61, and Stewart, 54, chatted amiably with each other and with acquaintances in the courtroom before proceedings began.

Glass rejected a motion by The Associated Press and the Las Vegas Review-Journal to make public the blank jury questionnaire, but said she would research the law and possibly reconsider.

The judge said responses to the questionnaire, which contained 116 questions, had eliminated more than half of the original 500 prospects.

Jury selection could take a week or longer, court officials have said.

When the 12-member panel and six alternates are seated, the prosecution will tell them that Simpson and Stewart walked into a Las Vegas casino hotel room on Sept. 13, 2007, with four other men and robbed two sports collectibles peddlers at gunpoint of items that Simpson said had been stolen from him.

Simpson, now living in Miami, maintains he didn't ask anyone to bring guns and that he didn't know anyone in the room was armed.

He and Stewart have each pleaded not guilty 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery, conspiracy, burglary, coercion and assault with a deadly weapon.

The stakes are high _ a robbery conviction would mean mandatory prison time, and a kidnapping conviction carries the possibility of life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Four of the men who accompanied Simpson _ Charles Cashmore, Walter "Goldie" Alexander, Michael "Spencer" McClinton and Charles Ehrlich _ pleaded to lesser felony charges and agreed to testify for the prosecution.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

Ex-Red Army Faction member goes on trial

BERLIN (AP) — A former member of the leftist Red Army Faction went on trial Thursday over her alleged role in the murder 33 years ago of West Germany's chief federal prosecutor, one of the group's most notorious killings.

Prosecutors have charged Verena Becker, 58, with three counts of murder for allegedly playing a leading role in the fatal ambush of prosecutor Siegfried Buback, his driver and a bodyguard.

Becker, wearing a pair of sunglasses, declined to respond to the charges at the Stuttgart state court.

"Ms. Becker does not want to give further details at this time about herself or the matter at hand," defense lawyer Walter Venedy told the court, the German news agency DAPD reported.

Becker could face life in prison if convicted.

An original investigation into Becker's role in the April 7, 1977 slaying, which took place during an especially bloody period of leftist violence in then-West Germany known as the "German Autumn," was closed in 1980 because of a lack of evidence.

Becker had already been arrested in May 1977 and convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder stemming from a shootout with police that preceded her arrest. She was sentenced to life in prison, but pardoned in 1989 by then-President Richard von Weizsaecker and released.

Three other Red Army Faction terrorists were convicted of involvement in the Buback shooting in Karlsruhe, in which driver Wolfgang Goebl and bodyguard Georg Wurster also were killed. It remains unclear who fired the gun.

Becker was arrested in August 2009 after a new investigation was opened, but set free in December by a federal court that said she didn't pose a flight risk.

The new investigation was based in part on new evidence generated using DNA samples, including one linking Becker to a letter from the RAF sent on the day of the attack.

The Red Army Faction emerged from German student protests against the Vietnam War, and launched a violent campaign against what members considered U.S. imperialism and capitalist oppression of workers.

The organization killed 34 people and injured hundreds. It declared itself disbanded in 1998.

Injured umpire Young out 2-3 weeks

Umpire Larry Young will miss two to three weeks after being hit inthe face by a throw during the Arizona-St. Louis game Monday at BuschStadium.

Young, of Rockford, suffered a non-displaced fracture of the nasalbone and bleeding into the upper eye after taking a throw in the facefrom Diamondbacks second baseman Jay Bell, said Mark Letendre, MajorLeague Baseball's director of umpire medical services.

Bell hit Young, 47, with a blind throw after ranging into shallowcenter field in pursuit of an Albert Pujols grounder. Young wasescorted from the field and taken to a hospital for observation.

He received stitches to close a cut on his forehead and wasreleased today. He returned to Rockford, where he will recuperateunder the care of an ophthalmologist, Letendre said.

MCGWIRE TO DL? The pain in Mark McGwire's right knee might forcehim to go on the disabled list.

Dr. George Paletta of the Cardinals is leaning toward recommendingthat McGwire be placed on the 15-day disabled list to facilitatehealing. McGwire experienced more soreness in the knee during theweekend. He did not play Monday or Tuesday against Arizona.

"All I know is, I'm not myself," McGwire said. "I have to play ata certain level, and I'm not there. If I don't play at a certainlevel, I think I'm embarrassing myself and I'm no good to aballclub."

McGwire is 2-for-21 (.095) with one home run and one RBI.

GRIFFEY OUT INDEFINITELY: Ken Griffey Jr. will be out of the Reds'lineup indefinitely because of a partially torn left hamstring thatis healing slowly.

A magnetic resonance imaging test found the partial tear in thelower part of the hamstring, which Griffey pulled during a spring-training game one week before Opening Day.

Although Griffey could aggravate the injury by running, the teamplans to continue using him as a pinch hitter.

The Orioles placed right-hander Sidney Ponson on the 15-daydisabled list with tendinitis in his right elbow.

A-ROD DRILLED: Seattle fans are intensely mad and passionatelyangry.

All over Alex Rodriguez and a little thing like $252 million.

They showered Rodriguez, a Mariner from 1994 to 2000, with boosevery time he came to the plate and even booed him when he made aplay at shortstop on his return to Safeco Field on Monday.

The Mariners won for the third time in four games againstRodriguez and the Rangers, improving their AL West-leading record to10-3.

A sellout crowd of 45,657 threw fake money from the upper deckswhen Rodriguez came to the plate, showing its displeasure overRodriguez's departure Dec. 11 to take Texas' $252 million contract,the biggest in sports.

"I've been in this game 15 years, and that is the hardest thingI've seen a player go through," Rangers teammate Rafael Palmeirosaid. "I don't know how he did it. Those were the same people whocheered him last year when he took them to the playoffs."

The four-time All-Star shortstop refused to criticize Seattle'sfans.

"I think it's all in fun," Rodriguez said. "That's why they'resome of the greatest fans. They were in postseason form. If I waswearing a Mariners' uniform, they would have been cheering for me."

CONE MAKES PROGRESS: Boston Red Sox pitcher David Cone threw allof his pitches during a bullpen session for the first time sincegoing on the disabled list with tendinitis in his right shoulder.

Cone threw approximately 50 pitches during his fourth bullpensession before the Red Sox played the Tampa Bay Devil Rays. He couldbegin throwing batting practice by next week.

Freedom seen for 2nd hostage // Lebanese vow to release Reed

BEIRUT Lebanese kidnappers said Sunday that American hostageFrank Herbert Reed would be freed by tomorrow.

A previously unknown group, the Organization of the IslamicDawn, announced the release in a statement to an international newsagency in Moslem west Beirut. An earlier unsigned announcement saidReed was to be freed within 48 hours.

The statements, which were accompanied by photographs of Reed,followed the release a week ago of hostage Robert Polhill after 1,183days in the hands of the pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad for the Liberationof Palestine.

Polhill was the first American hostage released in Lebanon since1986. Until Sunday, Reed, director of the Lebanese InternationalSchool, had not been heard of since his abduction on Sept. 9, 1986.

In a color photograph accompanying the first announcement onReed, sent to the Moslem west Beirut-based an-Nahar newspaper and toan international news agency, he looked clean and shaven and wasdressed in a blue shirt.

The Libyan-backed Arab Revolutionary Cells said in 1986 that ithad abducted Reed, but the claim was never verified.

The kidnappers' second statement sought to clarify theiridentity. "We assert that the statement issued by us did not carry the signature of the ArabRevolutionary Cells-Omar al-Mukhtar Forces," it said.

It was accompanied by a black and white photo in which the57-year-old Reed, a convert to Islam, appeared tired and haggard.

It was written in Arabic and delivered Sunday night. It said,"We have decided to release American hostage Frank Reed within 48hours, carrying a message addressed to the American administration."

There are 16 Westerners, including seven Americans, missing inLebanon. Most have not been heard of since they were abducted.

The announcement on Reed follows a week of speculationthroughout the Middle East that another American was to be freed.

Most hostage-takers link the release of Westerners in Lebanon tothe freeing of Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails.

Israel's chief of operations in Lebanon, Uri Lubrani, said therewould be no swap of Arab prisoners for Western hostages unless threecaptured Israeli servicemen were part of any deal.

Lubrani told Israel's Maariv newspaper that Arabs jailed inIsrael would be exchanged only if missing Israeli soldiers werereturned.

Israel believes three of its six soldiers missing in Lebanon arebeing held by the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, or Party of God. Hezbollahdenies it.

Hopes of a breakthrough on hostages rose after Iran's PresidentAli Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi andLebanon's most influential Shiite cleric, Sheikh Mohammed HusseinFadlallah, called on the kidnappers to free their captives.

There have been reports in recent months of negotiationsinvolving Iran and the United States, but Tehran and Washington havedenied there have been direct contacts.

Fairview leadership caps a life of service [Fairview Mennonite Home]

When Fairview Mennonite Home residents moved to the new building here on September 1, Elmer Shantz stayed on the sidelines. He had concluded his nine years on the board in June and intends to "walk away, so that I don't hamper the work of people who follow."

Shantz was a key figure in stick-handling negotiations for the new long-term care residence through formidable obstacles. He recalled in a recent interview that the feasibility study was tabled at his first meeting as a board member. The project appeared to be "in slow motion."

By the end of the year, Shantz was named board chair and went to work to secure funding for the project. It took almost a decade of work.

"I don't like all the hoops you need to go through [with governments]," he said, but he persisted. His mother was a resident at Fairview and visiting her gave him an inside view of the need for a new building.

"I'm happy for the residents and future residents," he said after a tour of the new facility at the end of August.

The Fairview board is only one of Shantz's volunteer contributions. Service at his church, Stirling Avenue Mennonite in Kitchener, included chairing church council and managing a $700,000 building project.

He helped to found Habitat for Humanity's Waterloo Region affiliate in 1988. During eight years on the building committee, he worked on almost all of the region's 22 building projects, as well as leading projects in Georgia, South Dakota, Newfoundland, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia.

Shantz's building expertise derives from 19 years in construction, a job he left in 1971 to build his own business, Shantz Coach Lines Ltd. The bus business actually began in 1958 when his eldest son, Robert, started school. Negotiations with the school board resulted in the family purchasing a station wagon in which Elmer's wife, Eileen, transported Robert and neighbourhood children to school. Soon she was making three trips twice a day.

They put their first school bus on the road in 1966 and by 1970, they were operating 13 routes. Eileen did most of the business from their home, catching up with Elmer by phone on construction sites. After a fierce blizzard created chaos for the buses and Eileen couldn't reach Elmer, they decided he should devote full time to the bus business.

When Elmer retired in 1993, the company had 150 bus routes, 118 vehicles and 140 employees. He is still president, but sons Robert and Larry run the business. The company's hallmark is providing transportation for special education students with 60 vehicles, 20 of them equipped to accommodate wheel chairs.

They also began giving kindergarten children and their parents a bus ride to school in late summer to ease the trauma of going to school for the first time. The program has spread across Ontario.

A successful business has allowed the Shantz family to give generously to their church and community, both financially and by supplying buses for Conrad Grebel College and Rockway Mennonite Collegiate trips, and for numerous charities.

Shantz said people donated funds to pay for the churches he built and tax dollars paid for the school bus service he provided. "Now it's time for me to give back."

What's next for Elmer, with the Fairview work completed?

"I don't make a lot of plans ahead," said Elmer, "but I want to be selective in the future and do things that include Eileen who has been very supportive."

The next couple of hours, however, would be devoted to a golf game with his grandsons.

Tim O`shaughnessy, CEO, Livingsocial

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot guarantee its accuracy.)

TIM O'SHAUGHNESSY, CEO, LIVINGSOCIAL, TALKS ABOUT LIVINGSOCIAL AT BLOOMBERG TV

MARCH 31, 2011

SPEAKERS: EMILY CHANG, BLOOMBERG NEWS ANCHOR

CORY JOHNSON, BLOOMBERG NEWS ANCHOR

TIM O'SHAUGHNESSY, CEO, LIVINGSOCIAL

18:12

EMILY CHANG, BLOOMBERG NEWS ANCHOR: We are joined by Tim O'Shaughnessy, CEO of LivingSocial. He joins us from our newsroom in Washington D.C. Tim, welcome to "Bloomberg West". So you said you are going to overtake Groupon's U.S. sales by January 2012. How is that going for you?

TIM O'SHAUGHNESSY, CEO, LIVINGSOCIAL: …

Police: Ukrainian killed by exploding bubble gum

Ukrainian police say a 25-year-old chemistry student has been killed by exploding bubble gum that tore off half of his face.

Police spokeswoman Elvira Biganova told The Associated Press on Thursday that the student accidentally dipped the gum into explosives he was using for studies. She said the student, Vladimir Likhonos, mistook the powder for the …

Aurilia's 4 Hits Spark Reds Over Padres

SAN DIEGO - Bronson Arroyo kept San Diego off-balance for seven innings and Rich Aurilia tied his career high with four hits, including a homer, as the Cincinnati Reds beat the Padres 6-2 on Friday night to snap a six-game losing streak.

Arroyo allowed four hits in seven innings to win for only the second time since June 19. The Reds snapped their skid in time to avoid dropping below .500 for the first time since opening day.

The Padres saw their lead in the NL wild-card race shrink to a half-game over the Reds and the Philadelphia Phillies, whose game against Atlanta was rained out.

The Padres, who dropped to 33-37 at home, entered the night three games behind …

Making Changes in Midstream.

Like wine, technology improves with age. Take streaming, for example. The first time I heard anything streamed--let's not forget that audio delivery is where streaming really broke ground--was a news broadcast on a RealAudio player from what was then called Progressive Networks and is known as RealNetworks. Okay, it didn't sound very good. It was more like hearing a conversation held completely underwater. But it had wow factor. A computer brought me content that I'd previously received only from radio and television.

Today, streaming doesn't really cause one to raise an eyebrow. We've all heard and read-even in the pages of this magazine--about how broadband …

Holiday Gift Cards to Ring Up $30 Billion in Sales, Purdue Expert Says.

Byline: Purdue University

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Nov. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- For many holiday shoppers, a merry Christmas is in the cards - gift cards.

When Christmas shopping begins in earnest the day after Thanksgiving, an estimated $30 billion will be spent on gift cards, a 10 percent increase over last year, says Richard Feinberg, a researcher with Purdue University's Retail Institute.

"We estimate that over 60 percent of gift givers will be purchasing gift cards this year," Feinberg says. "Each buyer will purchase five cards or more. Other research shows that 50 percent or more of people who expect gifts would like gift cards."

Gift …

CHRIS ROCK: STREETWISE ON STANDUP CIRCUIT.(Showtime)

Byline: SCOTT WALTON Knight-Ridder

The first glimpse of comedian Chris Rock in his suite in Dearborn's Ritz-Carlton is not a pretty one. Dressed in an oversized shirt, baggy jeans and combat boots, he's a skeletal figure doubled over as if he's in pain.

Considering the breakfast sitting on his coffee table, it could be something he ate. But a look at the television reveals the reason for his pained expression.

He's watching black entertainers stooping in ways he deems tasteless in order to get a laugh. And he's determined not to suffer a similar fate.

"Look at Jimmie Walker. And look at that hair," Rock exclaims while flicking the remote …

Kaine to take over as DNC chairman

President-elect Barack Obama has selected Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine as the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee, two Democrats said Sunday.

The officials spoke to The Associated Press on a condition of anonymity because the decision had not yet been officially announced. The Washington Post first reported the selection Sunday on its Web site.

Kaine plans to work at the party part-time until 2010, when his term as governor is up and he can take over the DNC full-time.

Current DNC chairman Howard Dean plans to step down Jan. 21, the day after Obama's inauguration.

Obama has also chosen Jennifer O'Malley Dillon, who directed his …

Talk Back

How did campus shooter get two guns?

I want to know how the shooter at Virginia Tech could get hishands on two handguns. He's not a natural citizen. I was born andraised here and served in the military, yet I can't have a gun toprotect myself from boneheads like this. Where's the justice?

STAND UP TO THE NRA

Tragedies like the Virginia Tech massacre will continue to happenunless the government does something about the easy availability offirearms. Our leaders need to stop being bullied …

Battle stations.

The copyright issues involving the Internet are legion and complicated, but one thing is pretty clear: If Internet companies are allowed to retransmit local broadcast signals without permission, as one Canadian Internet company is doing with some Buffalo TV stations, then the free, over-the-air broadcasting system is in big trouble.

The whole notion of market exclusivity for programming goes out the window when anyone, anywhere can get shows virtually identical to those on his/her local broadcast station. The government spent two years hacking through the thorns of these issues before coming up with a scheme to permit satellite TV operators to carry local TV signals. …

SPAIN CRASH SITE 'CLOSEST THING TO HELL'.(Main)

MADRID, Spain - It was a troubled flight from the beginning. One attempt at takeoff was aborted. Departure was delayed by more than an hour. Passengers, many of them parents traveling with their young children, were grumpy and hot, eager to get on with it, to start their holidays in the alluring Canary Islands.

Several used their cellular telephones to call relatives and report the problems. Finally, they said by phone, the flight was going to take off. It tried. But seconds after Spanair flight JK5022 barreled down a new runway at Madrid's Barajas airport and began to lift off, the jet jerked to the right and plowed into a tree-covered ravine. The fuselage broke into two pieces, maybe more, and burst into flames, according to witnesses at the airport.

At least 153 people …

STRATTON IS 52 VOTES AWAY FROM VICTORY.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: MIKE GOODWIN Staff writer

Brian U. Stratton will have to wait at least one more day to find out if he'll be the city's next mayor.

The 46-year-old Democrat had a 275-vote lead over Republican Peter J. Guidarelli after election commissioners and attorneys counted 332 absentee ballots Wednesday. Another 381 ballots remain to be opened today, but Stratton only needs 52 to win.

``Things are going the way we expect them to,'' Stratton said shortly before the vote was suspended for the night. ``At the end of the counting, I'm still going to be the next mayor.''

Stratton increased his lead by 22 votes from where it stood after affidavit …

BICYCLE SAFETY MAKES SENSE.(Living)

Byline: Rick Karlin

While there is likely to be debate for some time over the pros and cons of aerodynamic handlebars, there are plenty of other things to consider in bike safety. Many are dictated by common sense, such as:

*Wear a helmet. The odds of dying in a bike accident increase drastically without this basic piece of protection, experts say. Head injuries cause about 75 percent of the almost 1,000 cycling deaths that occur each year, according to the National Safety Council.

When you get a helmet, look for one that's been approved by the Snell Memorial Foundation or American National Standards Institute, (ANSI). It should have a chin strap and …

Iceland cuts key rate half a point to 9 pct

Iceland's central bank cut its key interest rate by half a point to 9 percent Wednesday.

It also cut the current account rate half a point to 7.5 percent.

The seven-day collateral lending rate peaked at 18 percent in October 2008, when Iceland's banking system collapsed under the strain of a global credit crisis.

"If the krona remains stable or appreciates, and if inflation develops as forecast, there should be scope for continued gradual monetary easing," according to a statement from the Monetary Policy Committee of Sedlabanki, the central bank.

"However, as long as there is significant uncertainty about Iceland's …

Sizemore, Indians Eliminate Yankees

NEW YORK - Joe Borowski threw the final strike and the Cleveland Indians ran onto the infield to start the celebration.

Alex Rodriguez, one leg on the top step of the New York Yankees dugout, the other a step below, stared straight ahead.

The Indians were on their way to an AL championship series matchup with the Boston Red Sox. The Yankees were braced for a showdown with their boss, one that could cost Joe Torre his job.

Believe it, Indians fans. Grady Sizemore homered to put Cleveland ahead for good on the third pitch of the game, then Paul Byrd and the bullpen closed out New York 6-4 in Game 4 Monday night to complete the third straight first-round debacle for …

Wheeling Island Gaming.(issues bonds)(Brief Article)

LOCATION: Wheeling, WV

PACKAGE AMOUNT: $40 mil.

AMOUNT: $40 mil.

ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT: BankAmerica

SYNDICATION AGENT: Wells Fargo Bank NA

BOOKRUNNER: BankAmerica Corp

OTHER LENDERS: Wesbanco Bank

TYPE: Rev Cred Fac

PURPOSE: General Corp. Purp., Working Capital

PRICING: LIBOR+275.000bps initially

LIBOR +175.000 bps,ABR +75.000 bps

LIBOR +200.000 bps,ABR +100.000 bps

LIBOR +225.000 bps,ABR +125.000 bps

LIBOR +275.000 bps,ABR +175.000 bps

LIBOR …

Sharon inspired by brave Katie.

A BUSINESS woman has been inspired by a Bridlington cancer victim to set up her own business and support research into the disease.

Sharon Marshall's niece Katie Walker, 20, lost her battle with a rare form of cancer last year and the tragedy was the push she needed to fulfil her dream.

Sharon, a business coach who is based in Deepcar, Sheffield, said: "I realised that while I had been helping other businesses achieve their goals and grow, I had put my own ambitions on the back burner.

"Inspired by Katie's "don't just dream it, do it" attitude I established SLK People with the dual purpose of developing a successful business in its own right as well …

VITAMIN C HELPS SMOKERS, STUDY SAYS.(MAIN)

Byline: Associated Press

Injections of vitamin C given to smokers reverse one of the most harmful cardiovascular effects of smoking, according to a study being published today.

However, more research is needed to determine whether vitamin C pills help reduce heart disease associated with cigarettes, said the authors of the study, published in the American Heart …

Police: Officers shoot gunman near US Capitol

WASHINGTON (AP) — Authorities in Washington say police shot a man who pointed a gun at them in an area near the U.S. Capitol, where Congress is based.

U.S. Capitol Police spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider says a lookout went out around 5 a.m. Friday for a man with a gun.

Officers later saw the man, who pointed the gun at them. Schneider says the officers …

Helpful vocal techniques

[Graph Not Transcribed]

Canadian Musician: When did you first start singing? Tell us your history...

James LaBrie: I started singing when I was five years old, which was mainly due to my home environment. My father was always singing in barber shop quartets, so he was playing albums from Tony Bennett and Nat King Cole. When I started elementary school, the school had a really good music program, and I also started getting involved in plays by Grade 3 and 4. I really started to immerse myself in that scene. From the age of 10 to 13, I sang barber shop with my father, and when I was 14 I started my own rock 'n' roll band. At the age of 16 or 17, I decided to focus just on …

Tulare County's general plan.(draft environmental impact report)(Brief article)

Tulare County's general plan and re-circulated draft environmental impact report contain "serious and critical deficiencies ... that undermine both the Plan and the DEIR and render them legally inadequate and ineffective as tools for implementing the county's goals," according to a recent letter from Deputy Attorney General Susan Fiering on behalf of Attorney General Jerry Brown. The letter praises the county's goal of maintaining its agricultural and natural resources but says that the plan itself does not lay out a clear …

SANTA'S SLEIGH IS FULL OF RED, WHITE AND BLUE.(LIFE & LEISURE)

Byline: AMANDA ROGERS Knight Ridder

Everyone is feeling more patriotic these days it seems, maybe even Santa. Put some red, white and blue spirit into your holiday giving with these toys that playfully promote national pride.

Holiday Celebration Barbie Mattel, $36.99, ages 6 and up

The second in the series of holiday Barbie dolls that marks the new millennium. This one looks like she's celebrating America as well with a shimmery white gown with silver stars and a red silky stole with faux white fur. The classic doll still has her movie-star good looks at 42. The line includes white- and black-skinned dolls.

Matchbox Rescue Net Map & Go …