Credit Suisse reports $1.41 billion 2ndQ profit

Swiss bank Credit Suisse Group has reported a 29 percent rise in second-quarter net profit to 1.57 billion francs ($1.41 billion).

The bank says the results include one-time charges, legal costs and tax benefits.

It says …

Co-pilot Denies Shuttle Has Spy Radar

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Radar instruments aboard the space shuttleEndeavour are strictly for science even though they reputedly aremore powerful than U.S. spy satellites, the shuttle's co-pilot saidTuesday.

Astronaut Kevin Chilton and five others were in the fourth dayof a research mission 138 miles above Earth.

Chilton fielded questions from 16 viewers of the C-SPAN cabletelevision network briefly Tuesday.

"This is strictly for scientific purposes, this radar - andthis whole laboratory, in fact," he told a caller who asked whetherthe instruments in Endeavour's cargo bay could hunt down hostileencampments around the world.

The National …

Health fund urges donors not to abandon patients

GENEVA (AP) — A financially troubled global health fund says millions of people will suffer if donations continue to dry up, as European and United States budget constraints bite and a backlash continues over losses to corruption and other misspending.

"The poor and the vulnerable must not be made to pay the price for the global financial crisis," Michel Kazatchkine, the fund's executive director, said in a statement Wednesday. "Now is not the time to abandon millions of people who are still in need."

The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria has disbursed $15 billion since 2002. It provides HIV treatment to patients in poor nations, along with two-thirds of all …

Some oil spill events from Sunday, May 16, 2010

Events May 16, Day 27 of a Gulf of Mexico oil spill that began with an explosion and fire on April 20 on the drilling rig Deepwater Horizon, owned by Transocean Ltd. and leased by BP PLC, which is in charge of cleanup and containment. The blast killed 11 workers. Since then, oil has been pouring into the Gulf from a blown-out undersea well at about 210,000 gallons per day.

CAPPING THE LEAK

Oil company engineers on Sunday finally succeeded in keeping some of the oil gushing from a blown well out of the Gulf of Mexico, hooking up a mile-long tube to funnel the crude into a tanker ship after more than three weeks of failures. Millions of gallons of crude are …

St. John Bosco Church Closes Elementary School

Carmen Rivera found a home at St. John Bosco Parish in the city'sNorthwest Side 15 years ago and now she was praying for its survival.

As she did so, she thought of the celebrations she has sharedwith the 60-year-old Catholic church. And, she thought of death.

"It is sad," Rivera said. "My daughters were married here, mygrandchildren were baptized here. I buried my husband, mother-in-lawand sister-in-law here. It is sad to see so many people move."

She and hundreds of other parishioners had come together thisPalm Sunday in the midst of a financial crisis that has forced thechurch to close its elementary school.

Once, its student body numbered 850 …

Marhenke named new CEO and president at Grabill Bank

Michael C. Marhenke was named the new chief executive officer and president at Grabill Bank effective June 1.

Marhenke joined Grabill Bank in 1998 as vice president of business development, and had been its vice president and chief operating officer since 2000. He replaces the outgoing Brent L. Clifton, who had been Grabill Bank's president since 1986. Clifton now serves as vice chairman on the financial institution's board of directors.

Marhenke earned his bachelor's degree in business administration from Indiana …

Militants kill 2 alleged spies in NW Pakistan

Militants killed two Afghan men accused of spying for the United States and dumped their bodies in a Pakistani border region at the center of an intense campaign of American missile strikes, an official said Saturday.

Fighting reported elsewhere in Pakistan's volatile northwest left 29 militants and three Pakistani soldiers dead.

Police found the bullet-ridden bodies of the alleged spies on Saturday morning in the North Waziristan tribal region after a tip from residents, police official Gul Marjan said.

Each of the bodies found in the village of Ghulam Khan had a note pinned to it reading: "See the fate of this man. He was an American …

Bt Cotton all fluffed up ; A surge in prices has transformed cotton farmers' lives, helped by Bt Cotton in no small measure.

On a hot afternoon late in April, about a dozen of farmers atHalvad tehsil in Gujarat's Surendra nagar district, 160 km southwestof Ahmedabad, are busy cleaning their fields and tilling the soil.The sowing season will begin from the middle of May and most farmersare anticipating the hybrid Bt (Bacillus Thuringiensis) cotton seedswill, like last year, yield a bountiful harvest again.

Ashwin Babulal, a 27-year-old in the group, has been farming Btcotton since 2003. His cotton cultivation on six acres has given himmuch higher yields - around Rs 40,000 each acre - apart fromreducing his expenses on pesticide by Rs 4,000 per acre. Theincreased income over the past …

Rove Saw Coaching of Prosecutor Witness

WASHINGTON - A senior Justice Department official who testified about performance shortcomings of several fired U.S. attorneys has told congressional investigators he was coached the day before at a White House meeting attended by political adviser Karl Rove.

The witness, Associate Deputy Attorney General William Moschella, said he was urged during the dinner hour meeting on March 5 to publicly specify reasons for the dismissals, according to a transcript of the investigators' April 24 interview with him.

Until the March 6 hearing before a House Judiciary subcommittee, Justice Department officials had said publicly only that some of the firings were based on performance, …

US man's knife attack on sisters rattles suburb

With her long hair and model's poise, 17-year-old Samantha Revelus exuded confidence when she recited an original poem Saturday afternoon about a strong woman who stood up to "ignorant souls."

An hour after she finished rehearsal for an upcoming poetry reading, Samantha was dead on the floor of her family's home. She had been stabbed, police say, by her 23-year-old brother. Kerby Revelus then decapitated his 5-year-old sister as her birthday cake from the day before sat on the kitchen table, before turning on his 9-year-old sister, who called police.

Responding officers broke down the door and saw the man decapitate 5-year-old Bianca, Milton …

For emigres, gloom turns into elation

Delight tinged with a bit of skepticism was the reaction heretoday among Lithuanian, Latvian and Russian emigres hearing reportsof the crumbling coup in the Soviet Union.

"It's for real," said Al Domanskis, president of the LithuanianWorld Center in Lemont. "These were the most important crucial days,and the choice was freedom or totalitarianism.

"If you have democracy, freedom and independence in that part ofthe world, it's incredible," he said.

Democracy seemed doomed Monday when coup leaders announced theouster of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, tanks and troopsstreamed into Soviet cities and media outlets were seized.

It got gloomier for …

Garbajosa retires from Spanish national team

MADRID (AP) — Former NBA player Jorge Garbajosa says he is retiring from Spain's national basketball team, which is set to defend its European championship title later this summer.

The 33-year-old power forward was a key part of the Spain teams that won the 2006 world championship and 2009 European title. He also won a silver medal at …

Give Citicorp credit for optimism

Despite the hand-wringing over bad commercial real estate loansand higher interest rates, prominent money people see good timesahead.

John Reed, chairman of Citicorp, the largest U.S. bank companyat $231 billion in assets, told financial analysts recently thatCiti's profits would grow to $5 billion in this decade, three timesthe $1.6 billion operating profit the company earned in 1989.

Reed was looking beyond 1990 to the rest of the decade whenmillions of consumers in Europe and Japan, and perhaps Latin America,too, will get the American credit card habit. That's when Citicorp'sprofits will treble.

That means the standard of living is rising worldwide, whichshould give Americans a star to steer by when contemplating your owninvestments - whether interest on savings deposits or mortgages orthe outlook for stocks.

And Reed is not alone in being optimistic. John Paulus, chiefeconomist of the investment firm of Morgan Stanley, predicted thatinterest rates in the 1990s would remain at the relatively highlevels of the last decade - that is, about 4 percent over inflation,or 8.5 percent to 10 percent. But they would remain high for a verygood reason: worldwide consumer demand has seldom been as strong asit's likely to be this decade.

So the bad news in Paulus' forecast, high interest rates, ismore than offset by the good: rapid economic growth in Europe andAsia - plus a continuation of the U.S. economic expansion rightthrough 1991.

Peter Lynch agrees. The renowned investment manager of FidelityMagellan Fund, who last week announced his retirement, says the onlything investors should fear is double-digit inflation - which coulddevelop if, say, the Soviet Union disintegrated and oil becamescarce.

But short of catastrophe, Lynch says the economies of Europe andquite possibly Mexico and Brazil, too, will be growth markets forconsumer goods and services.

Citicorp is ready, having invested $1 billion a year in buildingup consumer banking operations.

The effort has paid off. Citicorp's consumer business has grownfrom a money loser in 1980 to the bank's largest profit maker - $842million of operating income last year. And before the new decade isover, according to Reed, Citi's consumer earnings will have grown toroughly $3.25 billion. That's a fourfold increase, thanks in largepart to growing business in Europe, where the 12 Common Marketnations will unite their economies in 1992. A new report fromSalomon Brothers investment firm calls Citi "The Only Clear-CutAmerican Bank Winner" in Europe.

Why? A big reason is credit cards. Citi has become a leadingissuer of Visa and MasterCards in the United States, where 23 percentof all retail sales - excluding automobiles - are done on plastic.

And now it sees opportunity in Europe where fewer people havecredit cards and almost no one uses the card as a revolving creditline - incurring interest charges but also increasing theirpurchasing power.

It's not that European consumers are different from Americans,necessarily, but that European banks have been fearful of handing outcredit lines to the masses. But Citi has no such fears, havinglearned from experience that credit card losses are consistently lessthan 5 percent of outstanding loan balances - better than bigcorporations.

What's the upshot? Not only is Citicorp's future bright, butits vision promises a bullish decade in which people around the worldget a little better standard of living.

And make no mistake, for all the jokes about plastic money andlectures about spendthrift shoppers, that's what increased consumercredit means: higher living standards and more individual choice.

Copyright 1990, Los Angeles Times. Distributed by Los AngelesTimes Syndicate.

Bangladesh wins final ODI vs. West Indies

CHITTAGONG, Bangladesh (AP) — Bangladesh won the third and final one-day international against West Indies by eight wickets to conclude the three-match series on Tuesday.

The hosts, who lost the previous two games, reached the winning target of 62 in just 20 overs after West Indies was bundled out for 61 in 22 overs.

Opener Tamim Iqbal was not out on 36 along with skipper Mushfiqur Rahim on 10 at the end of the match at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium.

Kemar Roach (1-16) claimed opener Imrul Kayes for 11, caught by Kieren Pollard, while Marlon Samuels (1-15) dismissed Shahriar Nafees for a duck.

West Indies was dismissed earlier amid tight bowling by Bangladesh led by former skipper Shakib Al Hasan who claimed four wickets, while conceding only 16 runs.

Bangladeshi bowlers Nasir Hossain and Shafiul Islam also took two wickets.

Shakib trapped skipper Darren Sammy lbw for 2 while bowled Danesh Ramdin (4), had Carlos Brathwaite lbw for 11 and dismissed Anthony Martin (1).

Nasir Hossain (2-3) dismissed opener Kieran Powell for 25, the highest score for West Indies, while he caught and bowled Pollard for a duck.

Shafiul Islam had Samuels (5), caught by Sohrawardy Shuvo, and claimed Darren Bravo for a duck, caught behind by Rahim.

Nazmul Hossain claimed other opener Danza Hyatt (3). Shuvo caught and bowled Andre Russel for 2.

Don't hinder haven's efforts to aid people

I write this letter in deep admiration for the excellent effortsthe Rev. Ignatius McDermott has achieved and continues to accomplishat Haymarket House.

I am an associate, servicing various programs in the Near WestSide community focusing on the many unfortunate individuals plaguedwith alcoholism and substance abuse.

Haymarket House provides a haven geared toward the recovery andrehabilitation of people who do not have the ability to helpthemselves and, more importantly, the tools with which to do so.

I can not suggest strongly enough Father McDermott'scomprehension of the circumstances of people in the Near West Sidecommunity. His efforts to improve the quality of all life should notbe obstructed.

I implore city officials to take into consideration the benefitsof this worthwhile organization as opposed to any negativedisadvantages. And I would ask that the city reconsider the zoningissues regarding the division of the Near West Side and the effectsit will have on this community as a whole. Talmadge R. Young, prevention specialist, Near West Side Community Committee Super display

Our city is a gem - and it never glittered and gleamed morebrightly than at Venetian Night's spectacular fireworks display.

From our Near West Side vantage point, Chicago's sparkling Loopskyline "lights up my life" every night. Joan Angelini, University Village True hero

On the early morning of June 30, firefighter Ray Caballero ofthe Chicago Fire Department risked his life to rescue his next-doorneighbor from her burning home. Ray suffered second- andthird-degree burns and was hospitalized at Loyola Medical Center forsome weeks.

Ray's efforts were truly in the highest tradition of the ChicagoFire Department, and we wish him a speedy recovery. We would like tothank Commissioner Raymond Orozco, Chief Stanley Span, 2nd DistrictChief John Nance and chaplain Father Mulcrone for all the support andassistance they gave Ray, his wife Maria and their family during thistraumatic crisis. Their endeavors are also truly commendable. Charles Vazquez Diatribe fallout

The Rev. Ronald P. Stake, chaplain of the Catholic Lawyers Guildof Chicago, and others have taken offense at questions from theChicago Council of Lawyers asking whether anything in the backgroundof some Catholic judicial candidates, including their religiousaffiliation, could prevent them from deciding particular cases fairlyand in compliance with the law. I agree with him that the samequestion should be put to all candidates of every faith.

I submit, however, the Rev. Stake's outrage is misdirected.This problem would never have arisen had it not been for publicpronouncements from certain Catholic bishops threateningexcommunication or diatribes from Catholic spokesmen such as JosephScheidler of the Pro-Life Action League critical of U.S. JudgePatrick Kelley and others for not following the Roman Catholicteachings instead of following the law of the land.

I know of no clergy or lay leaders of other religions who demandthe same servility from their co-religionists. Rev. Stake shouldinstead direct his criticism against those who use religion in anattempt to force judges and legislators to violate their oaths ofoffice.

It is unfortunate that the religious issue we thought JohnKennedy had put to rest years ago had to be resurrected by Catholicsthemselves, but it will not go away again until other John Kennedysand other Patrick Kelleys speak up in force and make it abundantlyclear that the Joseph Scheidlers and those few bishops do not speakfor mainstream Catholics. It ought to be done soon, before thisissue's roots sink any deeper. Bernard M. Peskin, Near North Side Saving plan

While the final figures are far from in, St. Charles TownshipSupervisor Walter Sava expects an approximate $70,000 shortfall inrevenues needed to cover next year's budget.

According to Sava, to cover this shortfall, the board will betaking a hard look at all township programs, especially those notmandated by the state. Of those, the two topping the list, he said,are senior services ($20,000 in this year's budget) and mosquitoabatement ($33,061 this year, $35,045 next year).

Before the board does any serious damage to existing seniorservices, I suggest they take yet another look at both theirabatement budget and recent media reports regarding programeffectiveness and comparative costs in other Fox Valley communities.

On the off chance they missed those reports, I'll summarize thesingle most salient point in question form one more time:

How can the township justify spending $68,106 over the course oftwo years on a spraying program of questionable safety when, sayentomologists with the Illinois Public Health Department, thatprogram is only effective "zero to 10 percent" of the time? Kay Catlin, St. Charles Tiresome gripes

I hope the people of Chicago are getting tired of hearing gripesfrom the owners and tenants of Lake Point Tower. I know it irks me.

Navy Pier has been around a lot longer than Lake Point Towerand, if memory serves me correctly, the pier was built by dimedonations from the people of Chicago, which in a broad sense meantthe people own it and not the City of Chicago.

I don't remember reading that Lake Point Tower was built withany donations. It was built for the purpose of allowing some peopleto make money in their endeavor, and they must have considered thepossibility of some problems along the line. If they didn't, theyshould have erected the building in Lower Slobbovia where there isalways peace and quiet. W. J. Brunhardt, Uptown Mayoral hypocrisy

Mayor Richard Daley deserves a vote of no confidence. A recentproposal of his is another example of political hypocrisy.

The O'Hare military has contributed considerably to the Chicagoarea. With its nearly 1,000 full-time employees, those contributionsare both monetary and community-related.

Mayor Daley was quick to jump on the bandwagon when the Chicagoarea troops returned from the Persian Gulf war. He gladlyparticipated in the welcome home parade because it was politicallyfavorable.

He has now shown his true colors with the proposal to close anddisband the military unit at O'Hare. Had we known his intentions,perhaps some of us in the military stationed at O'Hare would havechosen not to participate in the parade. The people in Chicagoshowed genuine pride in their armed forces, but the mayor obviouslyshowed up for political gain.

Since his election I have been a Daley backer. I actuallythought he was a man who had great character and concern for the cityand its people. He now shows no consideration for the trust many ofus bestowed on him. In a 1989 agreement with the Air Force, heinitiated a land swap and vowed a friendly relationship with themilitary at O'Hare. Now just two years later that agreement meansnothing to him. Steve Buske, O'Hare military True solution

I empathize with Mayor Daley's frustration with theintractability of the drug problem. The police raids have only atemporary effect. The courts are too lenient. And perhaps thefederal government could do more to interdict drugs at the border.

However, the core of the problem, the breakdown of the familyand the mores and responsibility it teaches and fosters, is beyondgovernment's reach. In fact, government programs designed to fightpoverty have indeed exacerbated the problems of drugs, illegitimacyand even the very poverty such programs were designed to eradicate.

The solution to most of our urban social problems lies in theaffected individuals' taking responsibility for their own lives.This is not good news. The politicians and the social theorists likesolutions that involve social engineering and lots of federal money.Both have contributed to the problem at hand.

Furthermore, the social theorists and politicians have madecareers telling the victims of poverty, drug abuse, crime, etc. thatthey have no responsibility for these problems, that these problemsare caused by discrimination, a lack of compassion and, especially, adearth of federal money.

Can the victims of our urban plagues find a solution to theirproblems when they have been conditioned to abrogate responsibilityfor their own lives, to blame an indifferent and callous federalgovernment? Mark M. Quinn, Near North Side Job losses

Today, I represented a former steelworker who lost his job to aKorean steel mill. In the past year, I represented a former AmericanMotors worker who lost his job to Canada, a former tool and die makerwho lost his job to Japan and a former assembler who lost his job toMexico.

Kodak laid off 7,500 workers in 1989 and 6,500 more last weekand transferred all 14,000 jobs to Mexico. Thirty-five percent ofthe average American-made car has parts from foreign countries.

The Democrats cannot find a candidate for president. I suggestthey look among the millions of Americans who lost their jobs in thepast 10 years. Tom Flynn, Morton Grove Protect our ears

The current practice at the World Music Theatre of havingearplugs for concert goers available only at the first aid stationfor $1 each is appalling. Those patrons who have reserved seats nearthe stage must walk a considerable distance to purchase earprotection that everyone sitting in the pavilion should have.

The markup is obscene as well. It is shameful that the theaterinstalls a profit margin on a device that protects patrons from theattack on their hearing they endure at popular music concerts.

The earplugs should be readily available at all the concessionstands at the World Theatre for a reasonable price, thus encouraginguse.

Protecting one's hearing should not be a time-consuming quest;it should be as convenient as purchasing a beer in the concessionsplaza. Ken Salkover, Evanston

Giving blood important during holidays

When making the gift list, don't forget blood.

Holidays always are a slow time at the nation's blood banks, butthis year the shortage might be even more than usual.

With Christmas and New Year's Day falling on Wednesday, choppingup the work week, blood banks are asking that people make a specialeffort to donate.America's Blood Centers has a toll-free number for executiveswho want to know how to set up blood drives: (888) 872-5663.

European stocks rise

European stocks moved higher Friday, with the insurance sector leading from the front amid speculation that Axa SA is exploring a takeover of its domestic peer CNP Assurances.

Mining shares rose alongside the price of copper and zinc, while HSBC raised its recommendation on Anglo American.

The Dow Jones stoxx 600 Index rose 1.7 percent to 357.74. In terms of national markets, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index added 1.7 percent to 6262.10, while France's CAC-40 Index jumped 1.9 percent to 5521.17. Germany's DAX Index advanced 0.6 percent to 7608.96.

Stocks closed out the week on a positive note, but analysts and strategists were quick to point out that worries remain about whether slowing growth will erode corporate earnings.

"We think the world can muddle through, although the chances of a U.S. recession are clearly rising as the credit crunch widens and deepens," said Neil Dwane, who helps manage US$157.3 billion (euro105.9 million) as chief investment officer for Europe at RCM Ltd. in Frankfurt.

Merger and acquisition fever gripped the insurance sector after French newspaper Les Echos said insurance giant Axa is looking at a takeover of CNP Assurances.

The main shareholders of CNP Assurances however jointly said they aren't interested in selling their stakes in the company.

The news nonetheless sent CNP 11 percent higher , while Axa advanced 4.3 percent. In terms of the broader sector, ING Groep rose 3.4 percent and Munich Reinsurance jumped 0.9 percent.

Mining stocks racked up gains as the price of copper and zinc pressed higher.

Three-month copper last traded at US$6,655 a metric ton, up US$90 a ton from the London Thursday afternoon kerb, while zinc was US$24 a ton higher at US$2,319.

An HSBC upgrade of Anglo American, to overweight from neutral rating, also helped shore up sentiment.

Anglo American raced up 6.1 percent, while Antofagasta climbed 7.1 percent. Vedanta Resources added 7.2 percent.

HSBC shares rose 1.2 percent. Chairman Stephen Green said that markets remain difficult in the U.S. but that his bank isn't looking to pull out of the country. He said, though, that HSBC isn't planning any major banking acquisitions in that country.

__

Tim Falconer is a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires

UAL's Tilton will trade cash severance for shares

United Airlines Chairman and CEO Glenn Tilton has agreed to give up cash severance of $4.6 million in exchange for restricted shares worth the same amount if his airline combines with Continental, United said in a filing Tuesday.

The agreement between Continental and United calls for Tilton to be chairman of the combined company for two years. Continental Chairman and CEO Jeffery Smisek will be CEO.

Tilton's employment agreement includes compensation if he loses his CEO job in a merger.

He will fully own the restricted shares as long as he stays chairman for two years, or if he retires with the consent of the board.

Tilton would have also been entitled to immediate vesting of his stock options and restricted shares, instead of having to wait a fixed number of years to get them. He waived the right to the immediate vesting of the shares and options, which the company valued at a total of $14.4 million. The shares and options will now vest by the time he finishes as chairman.

The company also said in the filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it signed retention agreements United's top five executives, which will pay out if they lose their jobs after the merger.

The agreements include cash severance worth their salary and target bonus times 2.75. The agreements cover Graham Atkinson, who runs the airline's frequent flier program; Peter McDonald, its chief administrative officer; Kathryn Mikells, its chief financial officer; Thomas Sabatino, its general counsel; and John Tague, president.

United and Continental announced their plan to combine on Monday. If antitrust regulators and shareholders approve, the combined airline would be the largest in the world. The companies have said they are aiming to close the deal by the end of 2010.

Shares of United parent UAL Corp. fell $2.34, or 10.6 percent, to close at $19.77 on Tuesday. Continental Airlines Inc. shares fell $2.33, or 10.2 percent, to $20.53. The shares have been trading in tandem because the deal is structured as a stock swap.

PBS presents Prince Among Slaves, story of African prince Abdul Rahman

Today at 9 p.m., the National Black Programming Consortium will present on PBS, Prince Among Slaves, a one-hour documentary film on the inspiring story of an African prince who survived 40 years of enslavement in America before finally regaining his freedom and becoming one of the most famous men of his day.

Winner of the Best Documentary at the 2007 American Black Film Festival, this true story is told through feature-film styled reenactments directed by Andrea Kahn and Emmy Award-winner, Bill Duke, through contemporary artworks, archival letters and diaries, as well as through on-camera interviews with distinguished scholars and experts. Artfully narrated by actor and hip hop artist Mos Def, Prince Among Slaves is based on Dr. Terry Alford's biography of the same name.

Prince Among Slaves tells the compelling true story of Abdul-Rahman, an African Muslim Prince who was captured in 1788 and sold into slavery in the American South.

He endured the horrific Middle Passage, and ended up the "property" of a poor and nearly illiterate planter named Thomas Foster from Natchez, Miss.

He remained enslaved for 40 years before finally regaining his freedom under dramatic circumstances, becoming one of the most famous men of his day, and returning back to Africa with his royal status acknowledged. The film ends with a family reunion between Abdul-Rahman's African and American descendents in Natchez, Mississippi.

"Abdul-Rahman survived the harsh ordeals of slavery through his love of family and his deep abiding faith," says Co-Executive Producer Michael Wolfe. "The film depicts a universal story of perseverance and hope. Abdul endured unimaginable indignities and faced immeasurable odds, yet managed to survive his long fall from royalty with character and integrity intact."

"I was immediately attracted to this story because of its powerful message," re-enactment director and supervisory producer Bill Duke says.

"Too many people continue to be enslaved by poverty, drugs, and bad decisions. But like Abdul-Rahman, they can come out of it, and regain their dignity and respect."

The film contains insight from a distinguished and diverse group of experts such as Terry Alford, whose historical biography inspired the film; best selling journalist and popular historian, Adam Hochschild; K. Anthony Appiah, professor of philosophy at Princeton University.

Also contributing to the film, the late novelist, Bebe Moore Campbell; Sylviane A. Diouf, renowned scholar and author; Michael Gomez, Professor of History at NYU; historian, David S. Dreyer; Artemus Gaye, living descendant of Abdul-Rahman; and Hamza Yusuf Hanson and Zaid Shakir, Mamie scholars at the Zaytuna Institute. Blacknews.com

Pegasus Players hit home with `For Colored Girls'

For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow IsEnuf Lady in Blue Audrey Morgan Lady in Green Cherise Thurman Lady in Orange Glenda Starr Kelley Lady in Purple Lisa M. Duncan Lady in Red Janis Henri A play by Ntozake Shange, directed by Charles Finister. Live musicby Tomas de Utrera. Presented by the Pegasus Players atCrossCurrents, 3206 N. Wilton, 472-7884. Performances through Sept.7. "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow IsEnuf" is a beautiful and touching experience. It's a play aboutbeing a black woman in today's society, and it is done well by thePegasus Players.

The play, which opened to good reviews last April at theEdgewater Presbyterian Church, is currently running at CrossCurrents. The intimate atmosphere of the club suits the production. When theactresses speak, they are not reciting words to an estrangedaudience. They're so close, and they look and talk directly at you. You feel as if you're sitting in on an open confession. Somemembers of the audience even venture to talk back to the actresses.This doesn't faze them one bit.

The women are splendid in their roles. They cover subjectssuch as rape, virginity, murder and prejudice without being preachyor having chips on their shoulders. Each one sings, dances and actsher heart out. Each is differentiated from the others by the colorof the scarf she wears. Everything else, including their dresses,is black and gray.

The wardrobe reflects the mood of the play, which is somberdespite occasional bursts of laughter and song.

With little else than the accompaniment of a guitarist, thePegasus Players bring to life their tales of black women who havebeen mistreated by their men and society. Glenda Starr Kelley sumsit up when she says, "I couldn't stand being sorry and colored at thesame time. It's so redundant in the modern world."

Though the play gets off to a slow start, the momentum changesonce the poetic flow of the women's tales takes effect. Theaudience becomes mesmerized by the candor, wit and despair.

A showstopper occurs when all five women gather on stage to havea good time at the expense of their past and present lovers. Theimitations of their boyfriends range from cocky to abusive, but neverloving.

In a production such as this, where words convey more meaningthan action, the proper accompaniment is crucial. The producersmade a wise choice in Tomas de Utrera, a guitarist and flutist whoplays with subtlety.

Throughout "For Colored Girls . . ." the actresses shed realtears and laughter. Because they are so convincing, and because wecare about them so much, we find ourselves doing the same.

Workshop needs 60 participants to create a new piece of music

ICIA (Institute of Contemporary Interdisciplinary Arts) at theUniversity of Bath extends its programme with a new strand of musicworkshops bringing some of the most inspiring performers andteachers to Bath.

The first in the series brings music workshop specialistsCreative Sound Factory to the University to run a weekend musicworkshop.

Led by seven professional musicians, the weekend brings a rangeof up to 60 participants together to improvise and create anoriginal piece of music, leading up to a final rousing publicperformance in ICIA's Arts Theatre.

The weekend is open to all levels and types of players, frombeginners to trained musicians - music reading is not a requirement.

Creative Sound Factory calls for anyone from beat boxers toviolinists, electric guitarists to oboe players, keyboardists todrummers to sign up to work together to create something totallynew.

Michael Bassett, ICIA music co-ordinator said: "If you want toperform live, create music in an exciting new way, and wish to learnfrom outstanding professional musicians - this is the workshop foryou.

"This really is the best music workshop around and is tons offun."

Suitable for those aged 16 and over, the workshop takes placebetween Friday, February 19 and Sunday, February 21 and costs Pounds20. The deadline for applications is tomorrow and participants cansign up at: www.creativesoundfactory.org. uk/otherprojects.

Tickets for the performance, which takes place on Sunday,February 21, cost Pounds 5 with concessions available. Call 01225386777.

The playing is the thing // World's largest game fair creates fantasy land for devoted gamers

MILWAUKEE Although Alan Christesen has played Dungeons & Dragons fora decade, he attended the 24th Gen Con Game Fair at the MECCA herelast weekend just as a spectator. He passed up the chance for somechallenging play so he could protect the 21 D & D characters he hascreated and nurtured for as long as three years.

"The dungeon masters here are professionals," said Christesen,18, a student at Purdue University, who came to the convention fromwest suburban La Grange Highlands with his brother and mother. "Theyhave the ability to think of traps the characters may not be able toget out of. I have two really evil characters I especially like.They could die off. So I don't play here."

This was the big-time for players of fantasy games, all right -the world's largest convention for role-playing, military andminiatures gamers. At the four-day Gen Con (short for GenevaConvention, named for Lake Geneva, Wis., where the convention washeld the first several years), characters and adventures that liveonly in the minds of conventioners came vividly to life, as avidplayers from all over the nation - and even a few from foreigncountries - sat down for one long game after another.

While most role-playing aficionados didn't seem to give it muchthought, a favorite character developed playing with friends backhome could have met his match in an adventure set forth by anexperienced dungeon master, a sort of storyteller/rulekeeper whoguides the players through the scenarios. For a player likeChristesen, who takes his role-playing seriously, that would havemeant he could never use that character again.

Still, this was Christesen's second Gen Con. He attended lastyear, too, with his brother, who has been coming even longer. Thisyear, Christesen decided to check out war games, which may be basedon real or fantastic past battles, or on futuristic ones. War gamesusually have gameboards, more structured rules than role-playing, andclearcut winners and losers.

More than 13,000 people attended Gen Con, many of them from theChicago area; heaven only knows how many imaginary cyborgs andstarship commanders and wizards and Napoleonic infantrymen taggedalong.

While most conventioners just came to play, some of the moreavid gamers brought their own games. One was Neil Northway of west suburban Villa Park, whorecreated the Civil War battle of Shiloh. Tiny lead soldiers inblue and gray went at one another on a historically accurate terrainthat covered a couple of lunchroom tables and presented thepossibility that the North could emerge victorious this time.

Northway, who clerks in a Mobil service station in west subur ban Lombard, read several books about Shiloh before transferring ascale map of the battlefield on to his 16-by-4-foot gameboard.

Northway is active in the Chicago chapter of the HistoricMiniatures Gaming Society, and he ran his game for interested playersthroughout much of the convention. Northway, like many Gen Conattendees, is a zealous games fan. When he finished up each night at11:30 p.m., he joined friends for a couple of drinks and then wentoff to "play more games" - the World War I air battle game Blue Maxis a favorite - till 3 or 4 a.m. Then he caught a couple of hours'sleep and came back at 8 a.m. to run his game again.

Some of the wars fought here were strictly science fiction, suchas the 31st-century struggle in the FASA Battletech series.

Other games were based in the mythical, often Arthurian past.One such role-playing scenario used Advanced D & D rules to pit eightwizards against one another in an internecine contest for leadership.

Most fantasy games simulate war in one way or another. Most ofthe games are really stories, and the plots advance as players rolldice or use powers their characters are assigned, or have accumulatedin past games, to overcome perils and, hopefully, achieve variousgoals.

D & D is a major influence in fantasy games; many gamers beginplaying D & D as teenagers and move on, in many directions, fromthere.

In role-playing, each game has a dungeon master, or referee, butthe group - the players as a whole - decide how the adventure isplayed out; there is no right or wrong way to proceed.

Players at Gen Con were teenagers or young adults, and themale-to-female ratio looked to be about 100 to one (althoughconvention organizers insist 15 percent of attendees were women).

Sean McLane, 21, of Lafayette, Ind., was wearing a pair of hornswhile he perused the manufacturers' displays at the convention. Hegot started with D & D and still likes role-playing games. McLanewants to be a game designer and is striving toward that goal whilealso working at a Lafayette Wal-Mart.

Peter Hildreth, 40, a traffic court hearing officer in Concord,N.H., comes out to Gen Con every year; this year he drove out as partof a group with his 24-year-old sister, also a gamer.

Hildreth got involved in D & D in the late '70s, working his waythrough law school as a counselor in a Boy Scout summer camp. NowHildreth plays Advanced D & D and other role-playing games with a group of five other people about once a week. Hildreth usuallyserves as dungeon master back home. "Here, I get to play," he says.

Alan Christesen's mother, Barbara, who teaches kindergarten inwest suburban Berwyn, said she doesn't agree with the criticism thatfantasy games estrange young people from reality.

"(Fantasy gaming) is an excellent way to develop thinkingskills," she said. "It teaches kids to use their minds."

"Before 12, kids don't need rules to role-play," said DarwinBromley, president of Mayfair Games of northwest suburban Niles,which produces railroad-oriented board games, DC Heroes and Chill, ahorror role-playing game, among others. On the other end of thespectrum, when men leave college, they may find they don't have thefree time for gaming. "Role-playing chews time," Bromley said.

"Gaming is a way to play army, or cowboys and Indians, forsomebody older than 10," said Ross Babcock, executive vice presidentof FASA, a Chicago manufacturer of a line that includes two hotfuturistic games, Battletech and Shadowrun.

While some players were dressed as Vikings or medieval monks ormonsters or Desert Storm troopers (a costume contest on Saturday drew75 participants), the standard uniform was T-shirts and comfortablepants - from jeans to combat fatigues. And the T-shirts said it all:

"So many monsters, so little time"

"The only good troll is a fireballed troll"

"Peace through superior firepower"

"Conan the Librarian"

"Reality is a crutch for people who can't handle playing games"

Gaming presupposes a certain interest in bookish things; gamersare by definition readers.

"Ten years ago, everybody at Gen Con looked alike," said the33-year-old Babcock, who as a teenager was himself an avid gamer."They were the stereotypical gamer, the classic nerd-type - glasses,overweight, smarter than average, lacking the social skills of theaverage teenager.

"But since then, games have become more than just variations on(Lord of the Rings, a series of fantasy books by J.R.R. Tolkien).They're a lot more tongue-in-cheek now. Every game company wants tolower the entry point for new players, and you're seeing the basebeginning to broaden. The new kids are more mainstream, but they'rejust as hooked."

Celebrando el Cinco de Mayo

El pasado viernes 3 de mayo el Instituto Mexicano de Cultura en asociacion con la Camara de Comercio Hispana de San Francisco y Alameda celebro en el Ayuntamiento de San Francisco su "VIII Annual Cinco de Mayo Gala Dinner", ofreciendo "The Best of Oaxaca", con especialidades de aquella region como "Quesadillas de Huitlacoche, Hongos con Epazote y Tinga", "Tostadas de Chapulines", Ensalada Tlahuica", "Gallina en Mole Oaxaqueno", "Amarillo de Pollo", "Tamales de Chipil" y bebidas como Tepache, Agua de Tuna con Horchata y Tamarindo, Nicuatole y Camote en Piloncillo con Chile.

A dicha fiesta asistieron todo el cuerpo diplomatico hispano de la ciudad de San Francisco sobresaliendo el Honorable Consul de Espana, Don Lorenzo Gonzalez Alonso, asi como los Consules de Nicaragua, Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela y Ecuador.

Tambien pudimos ver a varios supervisores como Gerardo Sandoval, la Tesorera del Ayuntamiento Susan Leal, el Doctor Jorge Partida, celebre por sus inteligentes conversaciones en Television y todos los Consules que forman la directiva del Consulado de Mexico.

Lilia Aguilera, Directora Ejecutiva del Consulado de Mexico, en todo momento, atendio a los invitados con su proverbial simpatia y amabilidad.

La cena fue amenizada por la orquesta de Los Cumbacheros y en el fin de fiesta hubo un magnifico espectaculo por el Ballet Folklorico Mexicano de Carlos Moreno, que ejecuto bellos bailes de Oaxaca, como la "Danza de la Pluma", "Sones del Valle Flor de Pina", "Jarabe Mixteco, La Llorona y Sandunga". El Mariachi Jaliscience nos deleito con su extraordinaria musica y sorpresivamente el consul de Mexico Don Ricardo Hernandez-Locanda canto, con una potente y melodiosa voz, unas bellas canciones tipicas regionales, que el publico vitoreo con entusiasmo.

La Consul General de Mexico, Honorable Georgina Lagos Donde, no pudo asistir a la fiesta debido al alumbramiento de su nuevo hijo que tuvo lugar el dia 1 de mayo.

Desde estas paginas de El Bohemio News damos la enhorabuena a la Honorable Georgina Lagos por el feliz acontecimiento del nacimiento de su segundo hijo Andres.

Sri Lankan military: Clashes leave 28 rebels dead

Heavy fighting in Sri Lanka's north has left at least 28 separatist Tamil Tigers dead close to the last rebel-held town, the military said Saturday.

They were killed near Puthkkudiyirippu, where fierce battles between government troops and the rebels have been raging for several weeks, said military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara.

"There were a total of 28 LTTE fighters killed, and there are confrontations still taking place," he said, referring to the rebels' formal name, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

The military does not give casualty figures for its troops. Independent accounts of the fighting are not possible because access to the war zone is restricted.

The army has ousted the Tamil rebels from all but one of their strongholds in an all-out offensive the government hopes will soon end the island's 25-year-old civil war.

The rebel holdouts _ along with tens of thousands of terrified civilians _ are confined to about 11 square miles (28 square kilometers) of jungle and beach on the northeastern coast.

The safety of the civilians trapped in the war zone has attracted significant international attention, with the United Nations, European Union and numerous countries voicing concern.

Nanayakkara denied a report posted on the pro-rebel TamilNet Web site that said Sri Lanka army artillery shelling had killed 46 civilians over the last three days. He called the reports "exaggerated" and said they don't "engage the no-fire zones."

The U.N. has said 2,800 civilians caught in the fighting have been killed since late January, though the government disputes that figure.

The U.N. estimates at least 150,000 civilians are trapped in the war zone. The government says the figure is closer to 50,000 to 60,000, and accuses the rebels of using them as human shields in a bid to avoid defeat. Nanayakkara said nearly 1,200 civilians crossed safely into government-controlled areas on Friday.

In the latest sign of rising international concern over the fate of the civilians, the European Commission and Australia urged the government and rebels to prevent further bloodshed and ensure civilian safety.

The LTTE has fought since 1983 for an independent state for the Tamil minority, which suffered decades of marginalization at the hands of governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the fighting.

Ellison Leads Reds to Win Over Giants

SAN FRANCISCO - Pinch-hitter Jason Ellison hit his first home run of the season, a solo shot against his former team, and Homer Bailey shut down the San Francisco Giants in the Cincinnati Reds' 4-2 victory Thursday night.

Ellison hit the first pitch he saw from Dan Giese into the left-field seats for his second career pinch-hit homer and his first home run since June 18, 2006, against Seattle while with the Giants.

The game was noticeably minus the power of two of the game's greatest sluggers - home run king Barry Bonds and his Reds pal, Ken Griffey Jr. Both are injured and Griffey won't play again this season.

Jorge Cantu added a pinch-hit RBI double in the eighth and Norris Hopper singled in his first three at-bats in the leadoff hole for Cincinnati, which scored two runs on Jeff Keppinger's fifth-inning single that followed a wild pitch by San Francisco starter Matt Cain.

Nate Schierholtz's RBI single in the first put the Giants ahead, but they couldn't manage much offense against Bailey (3-2).

Cincinnati recalled the rookie right-hander from Class-A Sarasota to make his seventh major league start and first since a no-decision July 7 against Arizona. He was sent down following that outing.

After allowing the hit to Schierholtz, Bailey retired the next 15 batters in order before Randy Winn's two-out double in the sixth. The 21-year-old Bailey singled to start the second.

He allowed one run and three hits, struck out three and walked one in 5 2-3 innings. Marcus McBeth gave up Kevin Frandsen's RBI double in the seventh. David Weathers worked a perfect ninth for his 32nd save in 38 chances.

Cain (7-16) lost his third straight decision and saw his winless stretch reach four starts with his first career defeat to Cincinnati. The right-hander had won his previous two starts against the Reds, including on July 4 this year.

Bonds, nursing a sprained big toe on his right foot, could play two of the next three games against the Reds if the injury improves and also against the San Diego Padres next week in the team's final home series.

"I feel good," the 43-year-old Bonds said after working out Thursday.

Griffey will miss the rest of the season after straining his groin Wednesday at Chicago.

Griffey left the game against the Cubs in the eighth inning after injuring himself while fielding a ball in right field. As he started to make a throw, Griffey stopped in pain and had to underhand the ball back to the infield before falling to the ground.

The Reds originally announced the injury as a strained lower abdomen, and Griffey returned to Cincinnati to be examined. On Thursday, the team said he was diagnosed with a high groin strain and will be examined again in four weeks.

Notes:@ Ellison was batting .050 and his last 13 appearances have been as a pinch-hitter, pinch-runner or defensive replacement. ... San Francisco is shutting down hard-throwing rookie RHP Tim Lincecum as a precaution. The team's top draft pick in 2006 was scheduled to start Friday but will be replaced by LHP Pat Misch. ... The Giants will reach the 3 million mark for the eighth straight year of their waterfront ballpark's existence Friday night, needing 791 fans to do so.

Hamlin Feels Some NASCAR Wins Got Away

RICHMOND, Va. - Denny Hamlin is proving that his surprising success last year in NASCAR's Nextel Cup Series wasn't a fluke. But as much as the reigning rookie of the year enjoys his fifth-place standing after nine races, he's also frustrated by the growing list of victories that got away.

"We've got all the pieces," Hamlin said as he prepared to try to turn one of those close calls into a trip to Victory Lane at Richmond International Raceway. "You know, we can get it done, it's just we are not getting it done at the right time."

Hamlin won twice last season at Pocono Raceway, his only two victories in 52 career starts in the series, and his list of near misses is long for such a brief history:

-He was leading at Talladega last week with 10 laps to go courtesy of a fuel gamble, but had to pit because of a late caution and overtime and finished 21st.

-He led twice for 177 laps at Bristol in the Car of Tommorow's first race, but was passed by eventual race winner Kyle Busch with 16 laps to go and wound up 14th.

-He led 125 laps in the second COT race at Martinsville, but saw the stirring Jimmie Johnson-Jeff Gordon duel for the victory from his No. 3 finishing spot.

-He led early at Phoenix, but went from the front to the back of the field when penalized for speeding on pit road and made a dazzling rally, but against was third.

And that's just this season. A year ago at RIR, he led the race late, dropped from first to third place on pit road and again had the best view in the house as Dale Earnhardt Jr. ended a 27-race winless streak by claiming the Crown Royal 400.

Hamlin finished second, one of 27 top 10 runs in his career.

Just another frustrating close call for the 26-year-old driver from Chester.

"If it's not speeding, it's a loose wheel, it's a real bad pit stop or got to come in, top off with fuel. If we could just race out on the racetrack and not have to come in, we could have easily three or four wins and they all could be in a row," he said.

"It's getting old and it's been frustrating. But I'm still really, really happy that I can go to the racetrack and know that I'm a top two or three car every time."

The next step will be putting it all together to be the top car, and Hamlin said he is as eager to share that moment with his Joe Gibbbs Racing teammates as any.

"You find out how good your team is when you go through the bad times. You can get to the good times; it's just who is going to stick it out," he said. "I'll share the frustration with them, and, you know, I'm going to give away races, too."

Winning within 20 miles of his home would be even sweeter, of course, although Hamlin expects a more somber tone than usual at the track. NASCAR plans to honor the victims of the Virginia Tech massacre before Saturday night's race, and this will be the third week in a row that the Nextel Cup cars display the school's logo.

Hamlin, Elliott Sadler of Emporia and other Virginia drivers have worked with NASCAR is raising funds for the victims, and will make a pre-race presentation.

"That really touched everyone in the garage, not just the Virginia drivers," he said of the April 16 shootings that left 32 dead before the gunman killed himself.

"We're going to try it win it for them," Hamlin said.

`Double Exposure' revue combines music and satire

Comedy gets personal in "Double Exposure," a new two-act musicalcomedy revue by Tony Alcantar, with music by Mimi Lange.Discount-price previews will continue tonight through Sunday; therun will begin next Friday and continue through Sept. 4 at VictoryGardens Studio Theater, 2271 N. Lincoln (871-3000).

Alcantar, a Chicago actor featured in Level X's "That Was Zen,This Is Mao" musical comedies a couple of seasons ago, says hissatire deals with problems "we can all solve in our own lifetime"rather than global politics.

David Murphy, also of Level X, directs Alcantar and FrancescaRollins, who won a Jeff Citation this year for her role as Maureen inBDI 361 Theater Company's "Stags & Hens." Gitta Jacobs, formerly ofthe Apollo Theater, is the producer.

CAFFE DI COMEDY: The Caffe Di Falco's soup du jour will have anutty flavor tonight when Milton Coykendall's "Patients WithoutTherapists" is served alongside the coffeehouse-trattoria's regularfare.

A mechanic unable to understand the mechanics of hisrelationship with a sex therapist dogged by her memories of treatinga patient with canine tendencies are among the kooky characters inCoykendall's 50-minute collection of five comedic monologues.Subtitled "A Group Meeting in One Act," the show will continuethrough Sept. 16 at Michele Di Falco's eclectic night spot at 1855 W.Armitage (342-4555).

"Patients Without Therapists" is a joint effort of Di Falco,Michael O'Toole of In One Ear Productions and Coykendall'sUnrealistic Theatre Company. It features a cast mostly new to thelocal theater scene.

NEW GUIDE: A new free map-format guide to current areaproductions has hit the streets. It's called the Theatre ChicagoGuide, and it's published by the League of Chicago Theatres.Listings and advertisements cover productions and events atprofessional theaters, with schedules, ticket info and phone numbers.

The monthly guide is available at hotels, tourist informationcenters, stores, League member theaters and the League's Hot Tixbooths at State Street, between Madison and Monroe; Park Square,second level; 1100 W. Lake on the Oak Park Village Mall, and 1616Sherman, Evanston.

NEW DEVELOPMENT: The Illinois Theatre Center is opening a newcenter for novice and produced playwrights this fall.

The ITC will offer professional individual and group instructioncovering creation of a script as well as the marketing of it, saysSteve S. Billig, ITC artistic director. At the conclusion of the10-week, $75 program, professional actors and directors will giveparticipants' plays staged readings.

Ron Mark will lead the initial program, starting Sept. 6.Mark's resume as a writer lists more than a dozen professionallyproduced plays, including "My Papa's Wine." He also has taughtplaywriting at Victory Gardens Theater and Steppenwolf Theatre. Nowhe's an associate professor at St. Xavier College.

The deadline for the ITC's playwright program is Aug. 25. Fordetails, call 445-7409.

QUICK PIX: The Riverside Theater Guild will do William Gibson's"The Miracle Worker" (the Helen Keller-Anne Sullivan story), directedby Stephen Kolack, tonight through Aug. 27 at the Riverside TownshipHall, 27 Riverside in Riverside (447-0390). . . . Thecomedy-thriller "The Butler Did It" will continue through tomorrow atthe Chicago Park District's Theatre on the Lake, at Fullerton Parkwayand Lake Shore Drive (348-7075).

On Stage is a weekly column presenting highlights of theweekend's theater scene. Information may be sent to Joe Pixler incare of Chicago Sun-Times Features, 401 N. Wabash, Chicago 60611.Items to be considered for inclusion should be received at least twoweeks before publication.

Amtrak train kills 2 people near Philadelphia

A high-speed passenger train struck and killed two people south of Philadelphia.

Police say the two people were struck by the Amtrak Acela train around 10:30 a.m. Thursday in Norwood, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Philadelphia.

Amtrak says rail traffic is moving, but passengers should expect delays.

Putnam officials present $16.9 million in requests for fiscal year

Putnam County elected officials have presented $16.9 million inrequests for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the countyadministrator said.

The requests were about $800,000 more than the current fiscalyear, Brian Donat said Tuesday.

But unlike previous years, Donat presented no estimate ofrevenues for the upcoming fiscal year. Instead, that figure will bedetermined using projected tax revenues at a work session with thecommissioners scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. Saturday.

And commissioners declined to make a decision on a $5,000 requestfrom the current budget until after their work session.

Linda Bush, commission representative on the Gateway HeritageArea, asked for the money toward supervision and materials for nineor 10 AmericCorps volunteers arriving this week for seven weeks towork on projects in Buffalo, Hurricane, Hometown, and Winfield.

Looking at the list commissioner Gary Tillis said, "That's morethan I would expect for a return on $5,000."

Commissioner Joe Haynes agreed. "They are all good projects, butI'd feel more comfortable after looking at the budget."

The commission likely will make a formal decision at theirmeeting next Tuesday.

At that meeting they also expect to sign a letter to the stateexpressing their disappointment in being excluded from any fundingfrom the state's share of the federal stimulus package for roads.

"They pitched it as job creating," Tillis said.

Putnam County ranks with the Eastern Panhandle and Monongahelacounties for economic growth potential, officials said.

"I hope we are given due consideration for (other) infrastructurefunds." The county still has rural areas without public water orsewer service.

Following the request from Gateway Heritage, which also seeks$12,500 for the upcoming fiscal year, a parade of officials fromcounty agencies and offices presented their proposals for the nextbudget cycle.

Those included $2.6 million for law enforcement, up from $2.4million requested last year; $853,000 for the prosecutor's office,up $1,000; $733,236 for the clerk's records and election offices, a$32,300 decrease.

The budget work session Saturday is open to the public,Commissioner Joe Haynes reminded public officials. Last year acouple of county officials complained they were not aware they couldattend the session to defend their spending requests.

In other business, the commission on Tuesday:

nWon praise in an audit exit review by Mary Ann Claytor of thestate auditor's office, who has been conducting the audit for anumber of years and commended county staff for their good accountingpractices. A problem with accurately computing base values for taxincrement funding projects has occurred in all counties, but is notsubstantial and is being addressed by the software programmers, theaudit found.

* Was informed that bids for the Jim/Bee Ridge water lineextension project, opened while commissioners conducted budgethearings, attracted what Donat called "really good bids." RoverConstruction of St. Albans submitted the lowest of eight bids forthe water lines, at $802,699.

MidAtlantic of Ohio was the lowest of three bids for a watertank.

Donat anticipates that work may begin by early April to extendwater service to about 50 families.

NAMES AND GAMES

Calhoun in charity golf event The season finale of The Big BreakAll Star Challenge will pit legendary NCAA basketball coaches JimCalhoun (University of Connecticut), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), GaryWilliams (Maryland) and Tom Penders (Houston) against each other in aspecial charity golf event, airing Tuesday night at 10:30 on The GolfChannel.

The coaches will compete in a series of golf challenges, includingthe glass breaking challenge and long-drive competition.

Youth coach faces lesser charge, court sanction

STOCKTON, Calif. -- An assistant youth football coach whoallegedly rushed onto the field and tackled a boy on the opposingteam was charged with misdemeanor child abuse Thursday.

Cory Petero was initially arrested on a felony charge, butprosecutors decided to pursue a misdemeanor instead because the youthwasn't seriously injured and Petero has no prior criminal record,Deputy District Attorney Xapuri Villapudua said.

NAMES AND GAMES

Calhoun in charity golf event The season finale of The Big BreakAll Star Challenge will pit legendary NCAA basketball coaches JimCalhoun (University of Connecticut), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), GaryWilliams (Maryland) and Tom Penders (Houston) against each other in aspecial charity golf event, airing Tuesday night at 10:30 on The GolfChannel.

The coaches will compete in a series of golf challenges, includingthe glass breaking challenge and long-drive competition.

Youth coach faces lesser charge, court sanction

STOCKTON, Calif. -- An assistant youth football coach whoallegedly rushed onto the field and tackled a boy on the opposingteam was charged with misdemeanor child abuse Thursday.

Cory Petero was initially arrested on a felony charge, butprosecutors decided to pursue a misdemeanor instead because the youthwasn't seriously injured and Petero has no prior criminal record,Deputy District Attorney Xapuri Villapudua said.

NAMES AND GAMES

Calhoun in charity golf event The season finale of The Big BreakAll Star Challenge will pit legendary NCAA basketball coaches JimCalhoun (University of Connecticut), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), GaryWilliams (Maryland) and Tom Penders (Houston) against each other in aspecial charity golf event, airing Tuesday night at 10:30 on The GolfChannel.

The coaches will compete in a series of golf challenges, includingthe glass breaking challenge and long-drive competition.

Youth coach faces lesser charge, court sanction

STOCKTON, Calif. -- An assistant youth football coach whoallegedly rushed onto the field and tackled a boy on the opposingteam was charged with misdemeanor child abuse Thursday.

Cory Petero was initially arrested on a felony charge, butprosecutors decided to pursue a misdemeanor instead because the youthwasn't seriously injured and Petero has no prior criminal record,Deputy District Attorney Xapuri Villapudua said.

PSV faces Inter Milan with a slim hope of advancing in Champions League

PSV Eindhoven must beat Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday and hope that Fenerbahce loses at home in order to advance to the knockout stage.

That's a tall order for a team that lost 4-2 at home against Roda JC in its last league game Friday, and is missing top striker Danny Koevermans because of a strained hamstring.

But PSV coach Jan Wouter said his side has a lot to be thankful for.

With Inter already assured of first place in group G, coach Roberto Mancini is expected to take the opportunity to swap out top players with substitutes.

Inter is sure to be without striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic _ who has five Champions League goals already this season _ due to a suspension.

David Suazo and Hernan Crespo will likely take the place of Ibrahimovic and the team's other usual starter, Julio Ricardo Cruz.

Reserve goalkeeper Paolo Orlandoni is expected to start, with Marco Materazzi _ who recently returned from thigh surgery _ also getting playing time to help his recovery.

Wouter didn't mince words about his team's league defeat to Roda, calling it "thoroughly deserved."

"We left too much space, we lost balls, we were unable to switch between offense and defense," he said.

But he said Wednesday's game provided an opportunity to turn things around.

"We're certain to play some kind of European football after the winter break, and we still have a chance to reach the second round of the Champions League," he said.

Fenerbahce plays CSKA Moscow, which has already been eliminated. Fenerbahce leads PSV by one point and would win a head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning the Turks will still advance if they lose and PSV only manages a draw.

Malibu Fire Is Labeled An Arson; At Least Three Dead; Blaze 70% Contained

The mystery of the Malibu fire rests here, on a blackened knoll inthe shadow of two squat, beige water tanks that were crucial in thebattle this week against one of Southern California's worstfirestorms.

Through a process of elimination, investigators have labeled thiskiller fire an arson. No natural cause was found after three days ofsearching. No rational source, such as downed power lines sparkingbrush, could be deduced, they said.

This blaze that raced down from Calabasas to Malibu was the latestterror in two weeks of fiery destruction here. It was one of morethan two dozen blazes whose origins, some of them suspicious, countyand state arson experts are trying to determine.

"We're still sorting through tips," said Capt. William Franklin ofthe Los Angeles County Fire Department's arson unit. How many tips?"I don't think I can count that high," he said. "I have 150 fromyesterday and today alone."

Lisa Boyd, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestryand Fire Protection, said: "It's likely that many of the fires werehuman-caused. Whether they were arson or not, we don't know. It canbe even a hot tailpipe that sparks a fire."

Firefighters made progress today against lingering flames and saidthey had contained more than 70 percent of the Malibu blaze. At leastfive days of relief are in sight, forecasters said, with oceanbreezes and cooler weather, a welcome contrast to the Santa Ana windsthat fueled the infernos.

Authorities said arson is suspected in a majority of the blazesthat have ravaged six counties of Southern California since Oct. 26.About 200 people have been reported injured in fires that destroyedmore than 1,100 buildings and burned across more than 200,000 acres.The Malibu blaze was the only one known to have resulted in deaths.

Duncan Gibbins, 41, a British film director, died Wednesday ofburns suffered when he entered a house a few hundred yards from thewater tanks to find his cat. Today, two other charred bodies wererecovered from an isolated section of Carbon Canyon, above MalibuBeach, after neighbors reported two longtime residents missing.

The county coroner was conducting autopsies to determineidentities and cause of death, authorities said, after the bodieswere retrieved by helicopter this afternoon.

One body was found inside a pickup truck and the other beside thetruck, both burned beyond recognition, authorities said. Officials inthe coroner's office said dental records would be needed to determineidentities.

Discovery of the bodies heightened interest in determining how thefire began. Fire officials said anyone charged in the fire could faceadditional charges of homicide in the three deaths.

The Malibu blaze was reported at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday by Bob Selman,who lives down a hill from the water tanks. He said he calledauthorities after electricity went off in his home office and he wentoutside to investigate and saw flames near the tanks.

When Selman, who conducts a mail-order gem business from his ranch-style home, hung up the phone, he said, the flames "were five timesmy size. There was no way to stop it." Ten minutes later, when fireequipment arrived, he said, flames had crossed Old Topanga CanyonRoad and were steamrolling toward the coast below.

Selman was one of more than a dozen people interviewed by arsoninvestigator Ron Ablott, who pronounced this blaze arson after threedays of investigation. Ablott said today that he was sure the firewas "no accident."

Several people, including Selman, reported seeing two men near thesuspected source of the blaze, but Ablott described them today aswitnesses, not suspects. After the blaze had passed, he said, the twowalked the fire's path and were able to help him pinpoint the routeof flames that ate through a landscape of dry manzanita and scrub oakwithin minutes.

"We have witnesses who actually saw the fire and where itstarted," Ablott said. "There was traffic on the highway, and thatmade it a lot easier to determine. The fire scene was actually theeasiest part of this investigation" because of the number of peoplethere.

Ironically, the fire began just feet from Old Summit Tank, a keypart of the water network used to contain brush fires that oftenoccur here when treacherous Santa Ana flare for about a month eachyear.

The 500,000-gallon tank was sorely tested during the three daysthat the blaze hopscotched from Topanga Canyon down to the beach andsouth toward Tuna Canyon. By the last hours of the assault by firecrews Thursday, the reservoir was almost depleted, county waterofficials said.

Malibu Fire Is Labeled An Arson; At Least Three Dead; Blaze 70% Contained

The mystery of the Malibu fire rests here, on a blackened knoll inthe shadow of two squat, beige water tanks that were crucial in thebattle this week against one of Southern California's worstfirestorms.

Through a process of elimination, investigators have labeled thiskiller fire an arson. No natural cause was found after three days ofsearching. No rational source, such as downed power lines sparkingbrush, could be deduced, they said.

This blaze that raced down from Calabasas to Malibu was the latestterror in two weeks of fiery destruction here. It was one of morethan two dozen blazes whose origins, some of them suspicious, countyand state arson experts are trying to determine.

"We're still sorting through tips," said Capt. William Franklin ofthe Los Angeles County Fire Department's arson unit. How many tips?"I don't think I can count that high," he said. "I have 150 fromyesterday and today alone."

Lisa Boyd, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestryand Fire Protection, said: "It's likely that many of the fires werehuman-caused. Whether they were arson or not, we don't know. It canbe even a hot tailpipe that sparks a fire."

Firefighters made progress today against lingering flames and saidthey had contained more than 70 percent of the Malibu blaze. At leastfive days of relief are in sight, forecasters said, with oceanbreezes and cooler weather, a welcome contrast to the Santa Ana windsthat fueled the infernos.

Authorities said arson is suspected in a majority of the blazesthat have ravaged six counties of Southern California since Oct. 26.About 200 people have been reported injured in fires that destroyedmore than 1,100 buildings and burned across more than 200,000 acres.The Malibu blaze was the only one known to have resulted in deaths.

Duncan Gibbins, 41, a British film director, died Wednesday ofburns suffered when he entered a house a few hundred yards from thewater tanks to find his cat. Today, two other charred bodies wererecovered from an isolated section of Carbon Canyon, above MalibuBeach, after neighbors reported two longtime residents missing.

The county coroner was conducting autopsies to determineidentities and cause of death, authorities said, after the bodieswere retrieved by helicopter this afternoon.

One body was found inside a pickup truck and the other beside thetruck, both burned beyond recognition, authorities said. Officials inthe coroner's office said dental records would be needed to determineidentities.

Discovery of the bodies heightened interest in determining how thefire began. Fire officials said anyone charged in the fire could faceadditional charges of homicide in the three deaths.

The Malibu blaze was reported at 10:45 a.m. Tuesday by Bob Selman,who lives down a hill from the water tanks. He said he calledauthorities after electricity went off in his home office and he wentoutside to investigate and saw flames near the tanks.

When Selman, who conducts a mail-order gem business from his ranch-style home, hung up the phone, he said, the flames "were five timesmy size. There was no way to stop it." Ten minutes later, when fireequipment arrived, he said, flames had crossed Old Topanga CanyonRoad and were steamrolling toward the coast below.

Selman was one of more than a dozen people interviewed by arsoninvestigator Ron Ablott, who pronounced this blaze arson after threedays of investigation. Ablott said today that he was sure the firewas "no accident."

Several people, including Selman, reported seeing two men near thesuspected source of the blaze, but Ablott described them today aswitnesses, not suspects. After the blaze had passed, he said, the twowalked the fire's path and were able to help him pinpoint the routeof flames that ate through a landscape of dry manzanita and scrub oakwithin minutes.

"We have witnesses who actually saw the fire and where itstarted," Ablott said. "There was traffic on the highway, and thatmade it a lot easier to determine. The fire scene was actually theeasiest part of this investigation" because of the number of peoplethere.

Ironically, the fire began just feet from Old Summit Tank, a keypart of the water network used to contain brush fires that oftenoccur here when treacherous Santa Ana flare for about a month eachyear.

The 500,000-gallon tank was sorely tested during the three daysthat the blaze hopscotched from Topanga Canyon down to the beach andsouth toward Tuna Canyon. By the last hours of the assault by firecrews Thursday, the reservoir was almost depleted, county waterofficials said.

Hollywood Studios Send Writers New Offer

Film and TV writers who've been on strike for nearly a month are mulling a new contract offer from Hollywood studios. Producers said the offer they presented Thursday, dubbed the "New Economic Partnership," would pay writers millions of dollars extra for work shown on the Internet, a central issue in negotiations.

The writers asked for a recess in the talks until Tuesday to consider their options, but called on members to continue picketing Friday and Monday.

The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers said it was willing to offer $130 million in extra pay over the life of the proposed three-year deal. The offer is "above and beyond the more than $1.3 billion writers already receive each year," the alliance said in a statement.

The Writers Guild of America countered with a lengthy response, saying the producers' proposal only dealt with advertising-supported programs streamed for free and jurisdiction over shows created for the Web "and it amounts to a massive rollback."

The writers said their plan, also presented Thursday, would cost producers $151 million over three years.

"That's a little over a 3 percent increase in writer earnings each year, while company revenues are projected to grow at a rate of 10 percent," the statement said. "We are falling behind."

No further details of the terms were released in the first statements since both sides imposed a media blackout Monday.

The conflicting details and tone of the statements is confusing, said Jonathan Handel, an entertainment lawyer who served in the 1990s as an associate counsel for the writers guild.

"None of this computes," he said. "It's very difficult to analyze this in any rigorous way."

The tone of the writers' statement seems angry, Handel said, while the producers' statement seemed more upbeat.

He said both sides should end the confusion by publishing the full details of the proposals.

Meanwhile, about 30 protesting writers converged on NBC's studios in suburban Burbank on Thursday night to rally against restarted production of the late-night show "Last Call With Carson Daly."

Several people said Daly circled the lot before entering a gate with no pickets.

"Last Call" was the first late-night show to resume production since the strike began on Nov. 5. The walkout has also idled production on many scripted television series.

Daly has defended the move, saying he still supports the writers but did not want to see all 75 members of his staff and crew lose their jobs because of the work stoppage.

Conan O'Brien has promised to cover the salaries of about 75 nonstriking "Late Night" staffers next week, an NBC spokeswoman said Thursday.

"He's paying the staffers' salaries out of his own pocket," Rebecca Marks said.

Through this week, NBC had been covering the salaries of its nonwriting staffers, along with those of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and "Last Call," which are also in reruns.

But the network thus far has not said whether it intends to continue paying employees of any show on hiatus. All three programs are owned by Universal Media Studios, which, like NBC, is owned by General Electric.

About two weeks ago, staffers of CBS's "Late Show with David Letterman" and "Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" were promised continued payment at least through December by Letterman, whose production company, Worldwide Pants, owns both shows. They continue in reruns.

Staffers for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" continue to be paid by ABC, according to a network spokesperson.

As news of the producers' new offer went around, the protesters gave their initial impressions.

"It's sad that the producers aren't coming forward with a real offer," said David Grae, a writer for "Gilmore Girls."

David Kidd, a screenwriter from Glendale, said he was hopeful, but not overly optimistic, about what he described as an apparent "sweet offer" from producers.

"I don't know what sweet is until I taste it," Kidd said. "Nobody wants to go in and accept a bad offer."

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AP Television Writer Frazier Moore in New York and Associated Press writer Solvej Schou in Los Angeles contributed to this report. Raquel Maria Dillon in Burbank also contributed.