Metro Briefs

NO ARRESTS IN GIRL'S SHOOTING

Chicago Police detectives have strong leads but no arrests inThursday night's apparent drive-by shooting of an 11-year-old girl,who remained hospitalized Friday in serious but stable condition. Thegirl was not the intended target in the South Side shooting, saidpolice spokeswoman Monique Bond. Shots were fired about 8:15 p.m.from a passing car in the 11400 block of South Prairie, hitting thegirl in the abdomen. In the wake of the shooting, Ald. Anthony Beale(9th) called Friday for Police Supt. Phil Cline to step down,charging the department has been ineffective in stemming violence onthe South Side and particularly in his ward. However, Bond …

OBITUARIES: ADRIAN MARROQUIN, 1943-2003

Adrian Marroquin passed away on 30 September 2003 from complications of cancer after about a half-year of chemotherapy. Almost to the end, Adrian managed to come in daily to the Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL), where he had worked as a CIRA research scientist for 18 years.

Marroquin's work at FSL was concentrated in three main areas: 1) formulating and implementing numerical weather prediction (NWP) models, of one to three dimensions, both hydrostatic and nonhydrostatic; 2) developing and verifying diagnostic turbulence prediction algorithms, convection and radiation parameterizations, and boundary layer formulations for NWP models; and, 3) applying dynamical meteorology and …

Ancient Phoenician pottery found in Lebanon

Archaeologists say they have unearthed pottery up to 3,000 years old in southern Lebanon that ancient Phoenicians used to bury the remains of the dead after cremation.

Archaeologist Ali Badawi tells The Associated Press that a team of Lebanese and Spanish experts discovered more than 100 earthen jars at an excavation site in the southern port city of Tyre.

…

`Gladiolas' humor wide awake // Play's poingnant scenes hit home

Amidst the Gladiolas Francine Defanie Mary Marro Sammy Lucchesse Daniel Ruben Bernard Gus Buktenica Connie Barbalottio Josette DiCarlo Maryanne Carolyn Kodes Phyllis Gilmary Doyle Rosa Patti Hannon Jenny Mary Potts A play by Vito A. Gentile Jr., directed by Joyce Fox. With sets byAnn Dillon and sound by Zachary Gass. Presented by Human MediumEnsemble at the New Lincoln Theater, 3443 N. Lincoln, 525-5104.Performances through Aug. 23. When a playbill gives as much credit to a casket as it does itsstars, you know you're in for a good time.

"Amidst the Gladiolas" is a good play on two levels. While itprojects genuine humor, the production also is poignant with …

LA Cardinal Apologizes to Plaintiffs

LOS ANGELES - Cardinal Roger Mahony, leader of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, apologized Sunday to the hundreds of people who will get a share of a $660 million settlement over allegations of clergy sex abuse.

"There really is no way to go back and give them that innocence that was taken from them. The one thing I wish I could give the victims ... I cannot," he said.

"Once again, I apologize to anyone who has been offended, who has been abused. It should not have happened, and it will not happen again."

Mahony said that he has met in the past 14 months with dozens of people alleging clergy abuse and that those meetings helped him understand the …

Saudi women sue male guardians who stop marriage

CAIRO (AP) — Year after year, the 42-year-old Saudi surgeon remains single, against her will. Her father keeps turning down marriage proposals, and her hefty salary keeps going directly to his bank account.

The surgeon in the holy city of Medina knows her father, also her male guardian, is violating Islamic law by forcibly keeping her single, a practice known as "adhl." So she has sued him in court, with questionable success.

Adhl cases reflect the many challenges facing single women in Saudi Arabia. But what has changed is that more women are now coming forward with their cases to the media and the law. Dozens of women have challenged their guardians in court over adhl, and …

Lahontan Cutthroat Trout

Oncorhynchus clarki henshawi

Status	Threatened
Listed	Endangered: October 13, 1970
Reclassified	Threatened: July 16, 1975
Family	Salmonidae (Trout)
Description	Green to greenish blue with a bright red cutthroat mark.
Habitat	Cool, well-oxygenated water.
Food	Aquatic insects.
Reproduction	Spawns in April and May.

RURAL IN-VESSEL COMPOSTING PLANT IN UK TO PROCESS 35,000 METRIC TONS/YEAR

Countrystyle Composting recently opened a �3 million (5.84 million USD) in-vessel composting plant in Kent, United Kingdom. Located on an eight-acre site that previously processed woody materials, the new system will process 35,000 metric tons/year, including residential and commercial food scraps. The operation has six bunkers with ventilated floors and …

Earthquake strikes southern Greece but causes no damage or injuries

An earthquake has struck southern Greece, but there have been no reports of any damage or injuries.

The U.S. Geological Survey says the …

My Spidey senses let me down again

I've long been a fan of natural beauty, whether it is amesmerising sunset or a stunning woman.

I was gutted when the naturally gorgeous Demi Moore went under theknife.

I suspect she was conscious of how much younger her husband AshtonKutcher is, and I'm sure she didn't have the procedure withoutcareful consideration.

But I think it has spoilt her.

She now looks like a woman who has had surgery, instead of thebeautiful, natural, foxy lady she once was.

I know I'm not the only red-blooded male who remembers her inGhost!

Sometimes, of course, you have to be up close and personal tofully appreciate somebody's natural radiance.

I was …

Oprah delves into experience of slavery for `Beloved' film

Oprah delves into experience of slavery for `Beloved' film

Kay Bourne

If what you do alters you, then Oprah is a different person because of making the movie "Beloved."

Based on Toni Morrison's emotionally wrenching yet transforming novel, the story follows Sethe, played by Winfrey, who flees slavery but cannot leave its horrors behind her.

The magnetic Winfrey, a TV talk show host who has parlayed her visibility into arenas beyond television, visited Boston last week. She wanted to excite interest in the film she has produced and stars in.

For a change of pace, the questions flowed her way.

Dressed comfortably against the fall cold in …

Altria Group buys UST for about $10.3B

After failing to grab much consumer attention for its own smokeless tobacco products, Altria Group said Monday it would buy the maker of Skoal and Copenhagen for about $10.3 billion.

Altria's acquisition of UST will give it a strong position in smokeless tobacco, a segment of the U.S. market that is growing as cigarettes decline. Altria owns the Marlboro brand and the nation's biggest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA.

American smokers are buying fewer cigarettes as smoking bans and health concerns dampen demand by 3 percent to 4 percent a year. That has forced tobacco companies to look for sales growth from alternatives such as cigars, chewing tobacco and …

Growers say buying W.Va. tree boosts local economy

West Virginia Christmas tree growers want you to buy a tree grownin West Virginia. Buying a tree grown in the Mountain State is aboost for the local economy, said Bob Whipkey, 64, who runs theWhipkey Tree Farm off the Big Chimney exit of Interstate 79. Yourebuying off West Virginia folks and buying West Virginia trees, hesaid. Were trying to promote that fact: first getting a real treeand buying from a West Virginia tree farmer. Customers should makesure the trees they buy are not shipped in from out of state,suggested Donald Farley, manager of Lillys Landscaping nearPrinceton. Were just plain against out-of-state trees, he said. Ourmotto is: if you dont have a West Virginia tree, take it somewhereelse. While there are several small farms in the state, the majorityof Christmas trees sold come from out of state, said Ed Grafton, aBraxton County tree farmer. Most of them that come into this stateare for the big retailers like Walmart and Lowes, Grafton said. Hesaid there currently arent enough small farms in the state tosatisfy the demands that those larger retailers have from theirsuppliers, so most trees sold in the state come from North Carolina,Michigan and Oregon. Theyre looking for 100,000 of trees or morethat are marketable, so youve got to have a big farm to have thatmany trees that are marketable, Grafton said, noting it would take a300- to 400-acre farm to meet that need. He said the tree growersorganization is working with the West Virginia University ExtensionService to promote tree farms throughout the state. We need toexpand the growers in the state thats what wed really like to do,he said. Our goal is to get enough growers around to get a localtree farm within 25 miles of anyone in the state.

Obituaries in the news

Claude William Black Jr.

SAN ANTONIO (AP) _ The Rev. Claude William Black Jr., an influential civil rights advocate in San Antonio, has died. He was 92.

Black died Friday night after a lengthy illness, said his grandson Taj Matthews.

He was pastor emeritus of Mount Zion First Baptist Church, the largest African-American church in the city.

Black served on the San Antonio City Council in the 1970s and was its first black mayor pro-tem.

He was among religious leaders who fought against segregation and helped integrate San Antonio's parks, swimming pools and department store lunch counter.

Black also became an associate of Martin Luther King, A. Phillip Randolph, Thurgood Marshall and Adam Clayton Powell Jr., the San Antonio Express-News reported online Saturday.

He was appointed a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging by President Clinton. During the Johnson administration, he was a delegate to the White House Conference on Civil Rights.

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Bill Davidson

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) _ Bill Davidson, the Detroit Pistons' Hall of Fame owner and noted philanthropist, has died. He was 86.

Davidson died Friday at his Bloomfield Hills home with family at his side, team spokesman Matt Dobek said. The cause of death wasn't immediately known.

Davidson, inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September, also owned the WNBA's Detroit Shock and Palace Sports & Entertainment, comprising The Palace of Auburn Hills and DTE Energy Music Theatre.

Davidson was chairman and president of Guardian Industries Corp., a major manufacturer of glass products for the construction and automotive industries and fiberglass insulation products. He also was an honored philanthropist, giving away more than $80 million in the 1990s alone.

Spurned in his bids to buy the NFL's Detroit Lions and NHL's Detroit Red Wings, Davidson became majority owner of the Pistons in 1974 and acquired the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999, spending lavishly on both teams.

The Lightning and the Pistons won the NHL and NBA titles eight days apart in June 2004, making Davidson the first owner of concurrent champions in major North American team sports. Under Davidson, the Pistons also won NBA titles in 1989 and 1990. The Shock had won the WNBA championship eight months earlier, and did so again in 2006.

Davidson sold the Lightning last year.

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Alan W. Livingston

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Alan W. Livingston, the music executive who created Bozo the Clown and signed the Beatles during his tenure as president of Capitol Records, has died. He was 91.

Livingston died Friday of age-related causes in his Beverly Hills home, said his stepdaughter Jennifer Lerner.

Livingston began his multifaceted career in show business as a writer and producer of children's read-along record albums for Capitol Records. He came up with the Bozo the Clown character for the 1946 album "Bozo at the Circus," which became a hit and spawned a cottage industry of merchandise and the television series featuring the wing-haired clown.

When he moved into executive positions at Capitol Records in the early 1950s, Livingston signed Frank Sinatra, then at a low point in his career, and introduced him to arranger Nelson Riddle. Together, the pair produced "I've Got the World on a String" and "Young At Heart," which led to Sinatra's comeback.

Livingston left the record label in the late 1950s to work in television, where he produced the western series "Bonanza." He returned to Capitol Records as president in the 1960s, when he signed the Beach Boys and Steve Miller and the Band.

When Livingston heard the Beatles song "I Want to Hold Your Hand," he agreed to release the single and brought the Fab Four to the United States in 1964 to promote it. Capitol, which was partly owned by the Beatles' record company EMI in the United Kingdom, earlier had rejected the group's initial hit singles as unsuitable for the American market.

AP-Petside poll: Pet or paramour? Many say pet

NEW YORK (AP) — Your sweetheart or your pet. Who would you choose to dump if one had to go?

Most current pet owners said they would hold on to their spouse or significant other (84 percent), but a sizable 14 percent picked their pet, according to an AP-Petside.com poll.

Put Sally Roland, 53, of Omaha, Neb., down in the dog-first column. "I'm divorced, so that might explain it," she joked.

The unmarried, like Roland, are more apt to choose their pet over their mate — 25 percent among unmarried pet owners versus 8 percent among the married.

Count Fidel Martinez, 30, of Akron, Ohio, as forever loyal to Killer. That's his mix-breed, 100-pound rescue dog.

"I would absolutely give up my girlfriend for him," Martinez said. "I know it sounds insane but I've had numerous relationships with women. My dog has never let me down."

For the record: Martinez and Killer have been together for seven years. Martinez and his girlfriend have been together for four. The two-legged pair have no immediate plans to cohabitate, he said, but she does like the dog a lot.

Women are far more apt than men to say the human-pet choice would be a tough one (40 percent among women compared with 26 percent among men). Both genders were equally likely to go with their spouse or significant other, according to the poll conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications.

There was also no difference between dog and cat owners: 35 percent of each said the choice would be a hard one and more than eight in 10 would choose their spouse.

Urban dwellers (47 percent) are more apt to say they'd have a difficult time choosing than did suburbanites (35 percent) or rural residents (25 percent).

Giving up a pet for any reason can be really tough — unless you are the owners of Princess the canine escape artist.

David Rosenthal and his family in Missouri City, Texas, were ready with what they considered an ideal fenced backyard when they welcomed the 2-year-old American Eskimo from a shelter. Then things went from pretty good to not at all.

"She kept getting away," he said. "She'd dig underneath the fence, sneak out through every little crack. It would usually take about an hour or so to corral her."

Even worse, the 49-year-old Rosenthal discovered the hard way that the bushy sago palm plants in the backyard were poisonous to dogs (and humans, too). Princess sampled them and nearly died. Treatment cost about $2,000.

"Plus she was nipping at kids," said Rosenthal, who has three. "We were told it was friendly to kids." So off Princess went, back to the shelter after a year. "It was sad but we knew there was already somebody there to adopt her."

The family now has two other rescue dogs.

About six in 10 adults (57 percent) have had to give up a pet at some point in their lives, with current pet owners (64 percent) a bit more likely to have done so.

The most common reasons had to do with the pet's health: 69 percent said their pet was too sick to live on, 52 percent too sick to be cared for at home. But there are other reasons as well, including about one in 10 (9 percent) who, like Rosenthal, said their animal was too dangerous to keep.

One-third (34 percent) of current pet owners said it would be "extremely" or "very" difficult if they were forced to choose between a pet and a family member who became allergic. Another 20 percent would find the choice somewhat difficult and 46 percent said it would be "not too difficult" or "not difficult at all."

Christopher J. Hampton, 67, in Bellingham, Wash., has loved Pembroke Welsh corgis since he was a kid. He had a 5-year-old he had raised from a pup when he and his wife realized 40 years ago that their year-old son's asthma was dangerously exacerbated by their pet.

"I couldn't give up my son, so that was it," Hampton said.

The AP-Petside.com Poll was conducted October 13 to 20, 2010 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,501 adults nationwide including 1,000 pet owners. Results among all adults have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points; for results among pet owners it is 4.0 percentage points.

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Deputy Director of Polling Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

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Online:

Poll questions and results: http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com.

Petside: www.petside.com/giving-up-a-pet

Doing time // Koppel takes sobering look at prison system

Just when we were beginning to confuse Sam Donaldson with MarthaStewart - one of them has been obsessed lately with a stained dressand other dirty laundry - along comes Ted Koppel with a seriesreminding us just how powerful TV news can be.

Broadcast journalism is at its worst when trying to sustain astory despite a dearth of solid new information. It's best whenexposing us to places we otherwise wouldn't go, people we normallywouldn't meet and ideas we usually wouldn't consider.

ABC's (STAR)(STAR)(STAR)(STAR) "Nightline in Primetime: Crimeand Punishment," which begins at 9 tonight on WLS-Channel 7 and runsthe next four Thursdays, is just such a program.

Inspired by a renewed push for law and order and drawing fromfour years of "Nightline" reports on the state of our prisons, it isnothing short of sobering. You begin to see that dealing with crimeis not as simple as building more prisons and making their conditionsharsher.

Koppel goes into these dehumanizing places and shows you thehumanity inside. He makes no effort to minimize the prisoners'sometimes horrific crimes, and he also talks to their victims andfamilies, so you never feel like you would want to be as close tothese felons as he is.

With many of those behind bars eventually returned to society,however, the show hints at how the failure to rehabilitate thesecriminals can haunt us.

Next week's edition ups the ante, with Koppel spending a nightin maximum security armed with only his wits and a camera. And whenKoppel asks a convicted murderer who pretends to be Elvis Presleywhether it's necessary to play the fool to survive in prison, you canonly admire his wherewithal.

Successive weeks will take us inside the newest supermaximumfacilities and examine the death penalty we Americans overwhelminglyfavor.

A few years back, we talked to Koppel in his Washington officeand noticed a hanger marked CBS dangling from the back of his door.It turned out the souvenir was sent by a fan and had once belonged toEdward R. Murrow.

It was apropos. If anyone working in TV news today is fit towear Murrow's trenchcoat, it's Koppel.

OUT, OUT, DAMN SPOT: If the creation of "Nightline" is one ofthe the best things to come out of the Iran hostage crisis, thenumbering of days at the end of a newscast for emphasis is not.

Poor ESPN alumnus Keith Olbermann is stuck with that duty,marking the time since the Monica Lewinsky story broke at the end ofhis MSNBC time-slot filler, "White House in Crisis."

The National Journal and USA Today quote Olbermann's Maycommencement speech at his alma mater Cornell that the Lewinsky storygives him "dry heaves."

The endless stories, he said, "make me ashamed, make medepressed, make me cry."

How does he think we feel?

HEY, WE LIKED `TRUMAN': MSNBC and NBC anchor Brian Williams,heir apparent to Tom Brokaw on "The NBC Nightly News," told us hedoesn't think format and the need to fill time is driving the contenton shows such as "White House in Crisis." It's audience-driven, hesaid, meaning we're getting only what we want.

"If `The PBS NewsHour' sold (with viewers), there would be 12 ofthem," Williams said. " `Extra' would be `The NewsHour.' Jim Lehrerwould be making $15 million a year, Letterman money. But it doesn't(sell).

"It's like all those people who swear they finished (the book)Truman by David McCullough. The number of people who tell pollstersthey get their news from the `NewsHour' is in the billions, but theyget smaller audiences every night."

CRISIS POINT: That said, the Lewinsky story dominated themorning news shows last month, according to one report, with 179segments dedicated to it in July. That's more than three times thesegments for the No. 2 story, the Florida fires.

CHANNELING: "Maximum Bob" was ABC's top-rated summer seriesdebut since 1991. Its ratings were especially high in Chicago. Jonathan Taylor Thomas is leaving "Home Improvement" at midseasonbecause he wants to focus on his education. Sideshow Luke Perry iscoming back to "Beverly Hills 90210" because it will have him.Anthony Edwards is staying with "ER" through 2002 because they'repaying him a ton of money.

Tesco food volume falls in main UK market

LONDON (AP) — Tesco PLC, the world's third-largest retailer, says food sales revenue in its main British market fell in the 13 weeks ending November 26 as the company cut prices on thousands of products.

Tesco said Thursday that the volume of food sales rose by 1 percent compared to a year earlier, but the value of sales excluding petrol and sales tax dropped by 0.9 percent.

Total sales including petrol were up 7.2 percent , led by an 8.2 percent gain outside the U.K.

Tesco's Fresh & Easy stores in the United States posted a 12 percent sales gain on a comparable stores basis, which excludes sales from stores opened since last year. Total U.S. sales rose by 29 percent, driven by larger customer numbers and higher average spend, the company said.

In Asia, sales on a comparable stores basis rose by 0.8 percent, well down from 3.9 percent in the previous 13 weeks. The company said floods in Thailand were a big factor behind the slower rate of growth.

Tesco shares were down 1.2 percent at 392.1 pence on the London Stock Exchange.

November construction spending drops 0.6 percent

U.S. construction activity fell for a seventh consecutive month as spending on both residential and commercial projects declined, a worrisome sign that lingering troubles in construction will act as a drag on the overall economic recovery.

The Commerce Department said Monday that construction spending in the U.S. dropped 0.6 percent in November, a bigger decline than the 0.4 percent drop that economists had been expecting.

The weakness was widespread with spending on housing falling by the largest amount since June and non-residential building dipping for an eighth consecutive month. While the overall economy began growing again this past summer, the worry is that weakness in such areas as construction will dim prospects for a recovery strong enough to reduce double-digit unemployment.

The 0.6 percent drop in construction activity in November followed a 0.5 percent decline in October which was revised downward from an original estimate showing a much smaller dip. The seven straight declines pushed construction spending down to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $900.1 billion, the slowest pace in more than six years and 13.2 percent below the level of activity a year ago.

Private residential activity dropped by 1.6 percent in November to an annual rate of $250.7 billion after a big 4.8 percent surge in October, an increase that had been driven by builders trying to finish projects before the original November expiration for a popular home buyers tax credit, a tax break that has since been extended by Congress.

Spending on commercial projects from office buildings to factories and shopping centers edged down a slight 0.03 percent, the eighth straight drop.

Commercial building activity has been hurt by a severe credit crunch as developers are having trouble getting new financing from banks leery to extend further credit as default rates rise sharply for commercial real estate projects. The November drop pushed nonresidential building down to an annual rate of $330.5 billion.

Spending on government projects fell 0.4 percent to a rate of $318.8 billion reflected a 0.5 percent fall in state and local construction projects, an area that has been hurt by deep budget shortfalls caused by the recession. Spending on federal construction projects rose by 1.1 percent in November.

When serving your customers, commit to the gold standard

In August, I had the pleasure and privilege to work with a Denver-based client in the mountains of Colorado. We were at the Peaceful Valley Lodge and Resort in Lyons at an elevation of 5,400 feet. Such a lofty location was the perfect setting because my client, Linx, is ascending. Fast!

That month, it was named for the second consecutive year to the Inc. 5,000 list of America's fastest-growing companies.

Iinx is a system integrator for network cabling, audio -visual and security systems. What that means, plain and simple, is it makes sure your stuff works. When you move to a home or office, renovate one or erect a building, school, hotel or hospital, the company ensures that your phones, computers, televisions, conference rooms and security are up and running.

While some of this country's most recognizable and respected companies rely upon "Team Linx" talent, expertise and technical knowhow, what they especially value is the execution of the Linx Gold Star Service commitment.

That commitment starts at the top with Linx's president, Erik Isernhagen, and his dedicated leadership team.

Erik and his team are smart, hardworking, fun and focused. They, their project managers, project foremen and support teams all know little things matter.

For example, for my two-hour journey from Denver to Lyons, my travelmate was Erik. Yes, the president picked me up at the airport.

For the room setup the afternoon/night before our results session, we had a talented crew rearranging tables and chairs: Erik, Jay, Ivan, Tom, Dale and Damon. That's right, the executive leadership team was the setup team.

To give depth, meaning and significance to its service commitment, Linx has created eight points of what it enthusiastically and passionately calls Linx Gold Star Service.

Whether you sell a product ora service, are a manufacturer ora retailer, a veteran corporate player or a young, hungry entrepreneur, these eight points should have immediate applicability or adaptability for you and your business.

Iinx Gold Star Service requires:

INTEGRITY

* Be the client's advocate.

* Do what you say you are going to do. Follow through.

* No shortcuts to quality. Do it right the first time.

LISTENING

* Take the time to listen to what our client wants.

* Be the expert at discovering our client's hidden needs.

* Listen actively. Restate what the client asked for to ensure you got it right.

EXPERTISE

* Professionally trained staff.

* Explain technology in layman's terms.

* Set realistic expectations that are jointly shared.

* Understand client needs and tailor solutions that meet the client's definition of value.

COURTESY

* When on the jobsite, act like a guest.

* Be polite and respectful.

* Leave the site clean at the end of every day.

ATTITUDE

* Be likable.

* Hustle with a "can-do" attitude.

* Enjoy what you are doing.

COMMUNICATION

* Provide clear, consistent, meaningful and prompt communication.

* Identify how the client wants to receive the information (content, frequency, format).

* Express our desire to serve and give our clients the comfort of understanding we won't stop working until they're happy.

PROFESSIONALISM

* Be prepared, considerate and on time for appointments.

* Maintain a clean and professional appearance.

* Strive for perfection; deliver excellence.

OWNERSHIP

* If a client expresses a need to you, or around you, you own it.

* Our client hired us to do a job - deliver it regardless of challenges.

* Partner with our customer to get the job done - we're on the same team.

A note to readers

Central Penn Business Journal accepts only electronic versions of press releases and all other announcements, including submissions for our Awards, Calendar, Newsmakers and On the Move sections. This streamlines our information management and helps us get your news into the paper more quickly. Here is a rundown of e-mail addresses we use:

Promotions, new hires and board appointments: people@journalpub.com

Free and low-cost seminars and events: calendar@journalpub.com

Story tips, ideas, questions and comments about content: editorial@journalpub.com

Real estate and construction: onthemove@journalpub.com

Top List questions and requests: lists@journalpub.com

You also can submit press releases through our website, www.centralpennbusiness.com/submitnews and click on the appropriate link. If you have any questions, call us at 236-4300, and ask for Editor Chris Passante.

[Author Affiliation]

Jeff Blackman is an Illinois-based speaker, author, success coach, broadcaster and lawyer. E-mail him at jb@jeffblackman.com.

Magnificent Seven

1. LeBron James, Cavaliers

Unlike in Game 1, the King didn't hold his ''A'' game in abeyance. ... With the Bulls at the door, James showed why he is the greatest player on the planet. ... His 15-point surge during the final 7:56 was Jordanesque. ... And it was his jumper, not his physicality, that got the job done.

2. Joakim Noah, Bulls

Without question, one of the most intriguing, complex fellows ever to don a Bulls uniform. ... Cleveland fans might boo him, but they could leave ''The Q'' with nothing but respect. ... There were reasons Florida won back-to-back NCAA titles, none bigger than Noah.

3. Jamario Moon, Cavaliers

''Moon Man,'' bombardier, stealth take-out man. ... Forward augmented James with a 3-for-3 effort from behind the arc in the final quarter. ... Three-pointer with 5:43 left pushed Cavs' lead to 94-88 and loosened Bulls' defense just enough for James to bring it on home.

4. Derrick Rose, Bulls

Unflappable, significantly more poised than in Game 1. ... Ran more patient offense throughout, a critical reason the Bulls matched thrust for thrust into the closing minutes. ... Single turnover in 43 minutes after seven in opener, plus 23 points and eight assists.

5. Mo Williams, Cavaliers

Consistently made an impact once again by making Rose work at both ends and keying snappy ball movement. ... Helped set up three of Cavs' four first-half three-pointers and bagged the fourth himself. ... Rose must school him once series hits United Center.

6. Taj Gibson, Bulls

Has he been playing in the league under an assumed name for the last few seasons? ... He had 11 points and seven rebounds and consistently held his own against formidable Antawn Jamison. ... Missing in the fourth quarter when Vinny Del Negro went small, but notable inside energizer.

7. Flip Murray, Bulls

Murray's 14 points were vital, especially two three-pointers in the first half that kept the Bulls within 52-50 at the break. ... Cooled later, but he has to get minutes to get to his shot. ... ''Small ball'' might be the key in Game 3, and Flipster should be right in the middle of it.

Photo: (See microfilm for photo description).

LeBron reaches 2,000 points for 7th straight year

MIAMI (AP) — Miami Heat forward LeBron James has now scored 2,000 points in seven straight seasons.

James entered Wednesday night's game against the Milwaukee Bucks with 1,998 points this season. He made a pair of free throws with 2:12 remaining in the first quarter to reach the 2,000 milestone.

The NBA's two-time reigning MVP is the eighth player to score 2,000 points seven times. At 26, he's the youngest member of that club.

He's also the seventh person in NBA history to score 2,000 in seven straight seasons, joining Wilt Chamberlain, Alex English, Michael Jordan, Karl Malone, Oscar Robertson and Dominique Wilkins.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar also scored 2,000 points seven times, though not consecutively.

No shuttle for Chicago, but Adler lands ‘next best thing’

NASA bypassed the Adler Planetarium — and all of America's interior — when selecting the sites for three retired space shuttles and a shuttle prototype.

Adler will receive NASA's fixed-base flight simulator, a three-story-high training device that is a replica of the shuttle crew compartment, NASA officials said Tuesday.

"The shuttle would have been a game changer," said Paul Knappenberger, Adler's president. "The simulator is the next best thing."

Shuttle Discovery is going to Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum annex in suburban Washington. Enterprise, a prototype that is currently housed at the D.C. museum and was never used on a space mission, will go to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Atlantis, which is scheduled for one last trip into space June 28 before its retirement, will go to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttle Endeavour, which is preparing for its final flight on April 29, will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.

Olga Dominguez, NASA assistant administrator in the Office of Strategic Infrastructure, said when selecting the sites NASA sought out places offering the "best value to the American people" with the "potential for broad national and international access." Museum attendance levels, access to transportation and regional population levels also factored in, she said.

When asked how Chicago, the country's third-largest city, and the Adler Planetarium, with its focus on space exploration and location on the well-visited museum campus, fell short, Dominguez didn't answer.

"The four locations had the largest regional population and visitation," she said. "I wish we had more orbiters."

Knappenberger didn't have an estimate of the cost of transporting the simulator or constructing a new building, possibly on the parking lot southwest of the planetarium, to house it. That lot is currently a popular tailgating spot at Chicago Bears games.

Much of the simulator's technology is outdated, and Knappenberger said he was interested in updating it. He also said he wants to give visitors a hands-on experience, though how close visitors can come to the simulator is ultimately up to NASA.

John O'Connell, vice president of the advocacy group Friends of the Parks, said Adler should put the simulator below ground like the Museum of Science and Industry did with the U-505 submarine.

"We would be concerned with any above-ground structure being added to that area of the lakefront park system," he said.

Officials in several states that did not get the orbiters have called for an investigation into the process. Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk said he was "discouraged" that Adler was not chosen and that he hoped the selection process was transparent. But Sen. Dick Durbin and Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel were pleased the flight simulator was coming to town.

The announcement by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. came on the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch and the 50th anniversary of the first man in space, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

The fixed-base flight simulator is three stories high and has been used to train astronauts for flying space shuttles.Bryan Cressey (left), chairman of the Adler board of trustees, with Adler President Paul Knappenberger. | Jean Lachat~Sun-TimesJean LachatBryan Cressey (left), chairman of the Adler board of trustees, with Adler President Paul Knappenberger. | Jean Lachat~Sun-Times

Feds get picky over what makes oil 'extra virgin'

Extra virgin, light, with lemon, unfiltered, cold-pressed: the variety of olive oil on most supermarket shelves is dazzling. But what does it all mean?

These terms might be common currency among foodies and the farmer's market crowd, but they have never been enforceable, or legally defined in the United States _ until now.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture in April adopted scientifically verifiable standards for nomenclature such as "virgin" or "extra virgin." They will start enforcing them in October, just in time for the harvest of trees that are now in full flower.

The definitions will differentiate cheaper impostors from the best oil: those cold-pressed, pure, golden-hued products that lead connoisseurs to talk of grass tones, apple or nut flavors, and peppery finishes, in a language usually reserved for wines.

"It will put an end to marketing terms that are confusing to the consumer, such as light, extra light _ language that really doesn't meant too much," said Patricia Darragh, executive director of the California Olive Oil Council, a trade association of producers responsible for most US-grown olive oil.

The standards will also conform to international and trade group definitions, reassuring buyers they can be sure of what's behind that fancy label before they plunk down $15, $20 or more for a bottle.

"You have so much to chose from, it's good to know there will be a way to weed out the masses," said shopper Katheryn Kealey, 23, who stopped in the olive oil aisle of an upscale San Francisco supermarket to read the fine print on a jar.

The regulations also were welcomed by Dean Griggs, whose Tres Osos olive oil won Best in Show in the COOC's competition this year. But when he talks of his oil _ made mostly of taggiasca olives from the western Italian coast and bottled by Griggs himself in small batches _ he doesn't use the language of chemical composition.

"You put it under your nose, the first thing you notice is grass," he said. "You pull it back over your tongue, there a little fruitiness, a little nuttiness with that grass. It finishes off, you get that pepper burn."

Years before the federal standards, the California Olive Oil Council adopted their own mandatory quality test for its members in 2003. To get their seal of approval, an oil purporting to be "extra virgin" had to meet requirements including an acidity test and a taste test.

Soon after that, the association petitioned the USDA to adopt a similar approach to protect their boutique products from competition with refined olive oils of lesser quality, or even oils altered with cheaper products like hazelnut or sunflower seed oil.

The last time the USDA visited the issue was right after World War II, when they graded olive oils with old-fashioned terms like "choice" or "fancy," decades before California's olive oil industry took off. Almost all U.S.-grown olive oil comes from California, and production expands about 20 percent per year.

"There has been a concern for some time about the quality and truthfulness of oil brought into the United States," said Darragh. "In the absence of a federal standards, some unscrupulous importers have flooded the market."

Olive oil fetches a higher price than nut or seed oils, but is far more costly and labor intensive to produce. Adulteration scandals in the 1990s led the European Union, which produces the majority of the world's supply, to establish an investigative task force to handle the matter.

It also hurt the developing U.S. industry, said Darragh.

The new regulations provide specific chemical parameters of purity and freshness that provide a basis for enforcement. They include indicators for fatty acid composition, which helps separate olive oils from seed oils, and the ultraviolet light absorption, which indicates the oil's state of preservation, as well as a taste test by experts.

Rayne Pegg, an administrator with the the USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service, said the standards establish "a common language for trade while providing consumers more assurance about the quality of olive oil that they purchase."

Local oil producer Griggs has had trouble breaking even, though he loves what he does. "This is my soul right here," he says of the rolling hills of Monterey shale, where olives and wine grapes grown within reach of Pacific Ocean's cooling breeze.

The standards will ease the pressure on price and make it a little easier to have a presence in the market, Griggs said.

"Now it'll be a level playing field," he said. "I'll still put out the same product, but I won't have to compete with garbage that's out there."

MethylGene appoints CMO

Montreal - MethylGene Inc. has appointed Robert E. Martell, M.D., Ph.D., as VP and Chief Medical Officer. Most recently, Dr. Martell was Director of Oncology Global Clinical Research at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company. In this role he worked with moleculartargeted drugs in areas such as multi-target kinase inhibitor, CDK2 inhibitor, and panHER inhibitor programs. He also was significantly involved in the Biologic Licensing Application for Erbitux. Dr. Martell concurrently held an appointment as Assistant Clinical Professor of Oncology at Yale University School of Medicine and Staff Physician at the Veterans Affairs hospital. Previously, Dr. Martell worked at Bayer Pharmaceutical Division; his last position was as Deputy Director Medical Science Unit, where he oversaw the Phase I and Phase II studies for BAY 43-9006 (Sorafenib, a RAF Kinase/VEGF/PDGF inhibitor) and the post-marketing clinical development of Viadur.

Chiefs' Roaf Tells Paper He's Retiring

RIVER FALLS, Wis. - Willie Roaf says he's retiring and going back to college. The Kansas City Chiefs are holding out hope the 11-time Pro Bowl tackle will return for a 14th season.

The 36-year-old Roaf told The Kansas City Star on Friday that he was retiring, a move that would leave a large hole on the Chiefs offensive line.

Carl Peterson, president and general manager of the Chiefs, said neither he nor coach Herm Edwards had spoken with Roaf in several weeks and they were "leaving the door open."

"Certainly I am aware of what was written," Peterson said Friday, the first day of Kansas City's training camp. "I'd say right now, because of who Willie Roaf is, what he has contributed to the Kansas City Chiefs and what he's contributed to the National Football League, we're going to keep the door open for a while.

"Players do change their mind."

Roaf told the Star for a story posted on its Web site Friday he told Peterson and Edwards of his intentions weeks ago, including in a letter sent to the team.

"I guess they want me to reconsider," Roaf said. "I'm solid on retiring and going back to school."

After the Chiefs went through their first practice Friday in the 90-degree heat of western Wisconsin, Edwards said he would worry only about the players on hand.

"Whatever Willie decides, Willie has to do," Edwards said. "Right now he says he's retiring. I've heard that before from players, too. Sometimes they change their mind."

The offense struggled last year without Roaf, 36, who missed several games with a hamstring injury. Candidates to replace him include Jordan Black, who backed him up last year, Will Svitek and newcomer Kyle Turley, who missed the last two years with a back injury.

If Roaf does step down, the Chiefs still have guards Will Shields and Brian Waters, the other Pro Bowlers who have anchored one of the league's most productive lines. Also back are center Casey Wiegmann and Pro Bowl tight end Tony Gonzalez.

"We still have our three interior outstanding players, which is still the guts and the core of your offensive line," Peterson said.

Peterson said he was sure money was not the issue. "He has a contract this year for a sizable amount of money, if he comes and plays," he said.

Andre Roaf wiped tears from her eyes when discussing her son's retirement.

"It hurts me to think I'll never see him play again," she told The Associated Press. "I knew something was up. His heart wanted to play but his body was telling him it was over."

Andre Roaf, a state appellate court judge in Arkansas, said it was getting harder and harder for Willie to work the soreness out of his body.

"It used to be Monday or Tuesday, he was OK. Now it's almost time for another game before he's feeling all right," she said.

Peterson also said the former Pro Bowl running back Priest Holmes would begin training camp on the physically unable to perform list. Doctors are still evaluating the effects of a spinal injury Holmes sustained last year.

SCRS to update paint capping information

NEWS

Repairers will be able to use data as negotiation tool to work with insurers

The livelihood of repairers and their shops depends on getting paid for all their work and materials. However, some insurance companies have decided to cap expenses by placing an arbitrary dollar amount on paint and materials. This ultimately keeps the shops from getting paid for their work.

In response to these practices, the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) in 1996 contacted insurance companies and state insurance commissioners to determine whether each of these entities considered paint caps illegal and to what extent.

In late February this year, SCRS began work to update this information on paint capping. Dan Risley, SCRS executive director, says SCRS has begun to contact the major insurance companies and state insurance commissioners to find out whether their policies or laws have changed since 1996. Paint caps are considered illegal, but policies as to how this is defined vary. According to SCRS, paint caps are illegal when a consumer has an actual cash value (ACV) auto policy and the insurer places a cap on anything in the policy without notifying the policyholder of the limit in the original policy.

If a threshold cap is reached, both the insurer and repairer should work together to determine exactly what type of paint is being used, what color it is, and what stage of paint is (i.e. two-stage or three-stage paint). These data should then be used in conjunction with one of the information providers' refinishing materials guides or the computer in your paint departmentor another means of paint and material documentation--so the adjuster and repairer are able to agree on the final cost for paint and materials.

The first time that SCPS conducted the paint cap research, it found that 11 states said that paint capping "may be illegal," four said they never received a complaint, one state (Massachusetts) never responded to the query and New Jersey said the issue was being reviewed at the time.Twelve insurance companies said paint capping was against their policy and four would not give their positions on the issue. Thirty-six states and the US. territories, Guam and Puerto Rico, had said that they considered putting an arbitrary cap or limit on the cost of paint materials to be illegal.

"Now we're going to reaffirm and see if anything has changed:' Risley says. "We're using the information to combat any insurance company or independent appraisers trying to cap out materials."

Jeff Hendler, SCRS past chairman, says that gathering this paint cap information has both provided the documentation necessary for repairers to receive just compensation for their work and has created a milestone in dealing with insurance companies throughout the United States.

"This has been one of the grassroots level projects that SCRS has undertaken that has really enhanced the shop owners' ability to deal with the issues of paint and materials with regard to repairers,"

Hendler says.

Gary Wano Jr., owner of G.W and Son in Oklahoma City, says the updating of the SCP,S paint cap information is important because repairers are continually faced with insurers suggesting that thresholds and caps should be in place. He added that repairers get grief from insurers when they ask to be compensated for increased costs of a particular brand of paint.

"If you say,'I use ABC paint and it went up 3 percent this year, but I'm not getting the opportunity to increase sales and that is hindering me even more: the insurer may still refuse;'Wano says. An insurer might come back at the repairer and say that if he or she used the paint that only went up 2 percent, the costs wouldn't be as much. By doing an overall average for paint costs in general, it can serve as a base for negotiating with insurers, he says.

"A lot of us think we can go before an insurance company and say we can't allow a paint cap because of this or that,"he says. "But if we go about it in a more business-like fashion, grab all the data at hand and say here are all the costs, it will be more effective. I think this will be a wonderful tool that repairers as a whole will be able to use."

Boyd Dingman, owner of Dingman's Collision Center in Omaha, Neb., says insurers use paint caps as a way to make body shops do additional paperwork to prove that they have spent more money than what the cap was set at. For the most part, body shops are too busy to go back into files and look up invoices and other documentation to determine the true costs, so a high percentage of shops just let the issue go--and insurance companies know this, he says.

Dingman says when this happens, insurers are then able to argue that other repair facilities accept the cap. However, it's because there wasn't enough time to endure all the red tape. "The truth is, they didn't accept it," he says. "They just didn't have enough time to go back and figure out the true cost. They know we're

busy... we're swamped. However, if we put a little teeth into making paint caps illegal, then they won't be able to use these loopholes."

Additionally, Dingman says that insurers' claims of using a threshold instead of a paint cap are simply an issue of semantics. "What's the difference between threshold and paint cap?" he says. Either way, it's illegal, Dingman says. What really needs to be done, he says, is to either establish some sort of regulation and stick to it-instead of putting a cap at $250 or $400, for example. Or, repairers need to document everything and break it down into another estimate. For example, a repairer would have to record that he or she is going to use 27 sheets of sandpaper, a pint of reducer and three pints of paint.

"But we don't need any more clerical work," he says.

[Author Affiliation]

By Tina Grady Senior Associate Editor

Workers battle vs. cresting Mississippi Officials don't expect large-scale flooding woes

Praying that rain wouldn't raise precarious river levels, workersalong the Illinois side of the Mississippi River filled and placedeven more sandbags in preparation for crests above 20 feet.

"I'm praying real hard," said Christi Rutledge, a volunteerfirefighter in Niota, a tiny town where the river is expected tocrest Wednesday. "We have die-hard workers."

The river peaked at 2 a.m. today in Bellevue at 22.6 feet. Latethis morning the river was at 22.53 feet, according to Terry Simmons,meteorologist with the National Weather Service in the Quad Cities.Flood stage is 17 feet.

The Mississippi was expected to crest farther south at Clinton,Iowa, today at 23.2 feet.

At Bellevue and Clinton, the Mississippi will remain near crestlevel for about 36 hours, Simmons said.

Officials at the Illinois Emergency Management Agency inSpringfield don't foresee any large-scale flooding problems or leveebreaks, said spokeswoman Chris Tamminga. Even with the river aboveflood stage, sandbags and flood walls stop towns from gettingswamped.

"It's still business as usual," Tamminga said. "The waters arehigh, and everyone is concerned about it, but there are no citiesmore important (to help) than another."

The river peaked at East Dubuque, Ill., on Sunday at 23.7 feet and25.4 in southern East Dubuque.

This morning the river was still at crest level but was expectedto begin receding, Tamminga said.

"Our big concern is still the rain," East Dubuque Mayor GeoffBarklow said Sunday. "It's been nothing heavy, and if it stays thatway we can handle it. But we could have issues if we get heavy rain."

Communities downriver continued to brace for possible flooding byshoring up defenses.

"We had the National Guard walking the levee all night to see ifthere were any soft spots in it," said Eugene Flack, mayor ofSavanna, where less than a half-dozen homes were flooded as ofSunday.

In Niota, workers are still trying to build up the 21-foot leveesholding back floodwaters. The river was supposed to crest thereWednesday between 20.5 and 21.5 feet. This morning, the river alreadyhad reached 20.5 feet.

"With it already at 20.5 and two more days to go, I don't knowwhere we're going to go," Rutledge said. "We're going minute byminute."

Today, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was optimistic that thelevees, sandbags and pumps in use along the river could handle thefloodwaters.

The only problem with the levees were boils-spots where waterbubbles between the bottom sandbags and the ground, said JustineBarati, spokeswoman for the corps' Rock Island office.

"If a boil is left unattended, then water from the river can beleaking onto the land side," said Barati, who added that boils can beeasily fixed by surrounding them with sandbags.

The corps has distributed more than 1.1 million sandbags.

Daimler taps German former top judge as ombudsman

court judge, christine hohmann-dennhardt, as its integrity officer — a newly created post.BERLIN (AP) — Daimler AG has appointed a former German supreme court judge as an ombudsman whom potential whistleblowers can approach.

Daimler announced Winfried Hassemer's appointment as an "independent neutral intermediary" on Thursday.

It adds to an anti-corruption drive following Daimler's 2010 agreement on $185 million in civil and criminal payments to U.S. authorities over bribes paid to win sales in various countries.

A year ago, Daimler tapped another former supreme court judge, Christine Hohmann-Dennhardt, as its integrity officer — a newly created post.

Hohmann-Dennhardt says Hassemer's appointment expands "the possibilities for external and internal whistleblowers to contact us confidentially and if desired also anonymously, and to report any breaches of rules and regulations."

Lack of skilled workers threatens companies

Penn State educators say the future of Pennsylvania manufacturing is threatened by a lack of young, skilled workers.

"Manufacturing jobs offer high-tech status, solid pay, challenging work and security," according to James A. Wall, instructor in work force education and development at Penn State. "For instance, the average wage nationwide for a tool and die maker is $53,000. The degree of computerization is extremely high in machining, with operators in charge of both operating and programming highly complex equipment," Wall said in a press release.

"Despite these benefits, a recent national survey indicated that the average tooling firm has four open positions for tool and die makers or precision machinists," said David L. Passmore, professor of education. "The word still hasn't reached the public that manufacturing offers high-skill, high-paying positions. Most Americans still think that management, certain service industries such as real estate and insurance, and the traditional professions offer the only paths to social and economic mobility."

Thus, people may tend to overemphasize academic curriculums in college when post-secondary vocational training might provide an equally good return for the time and money invested, he added.

Skilled workers in manufacturing are much older on average than employees in other professions. Soon they will need to be replaced, according to Wall.

"If we don't replace these skilled workers, other countries will outstrip the United States in manufacturing competitiveness," Wall said. "The Asian countries, for instance, have already made it clear they want to dominate precision machining. Without a trained work force in manufacturing, we will see a continued flight of quality jobs overseas."

Wall and his colleagues recently received a $228,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education to bring the state's work-force training programs up to standard in precision machining. Wall, a former machinist and owner of a machine shop, taught machine shop at a vocational school for 15 years. Passmore and Richard Walter, assistant professor of education at Penn State, and Cynthia Pellock and Kathleen McNally, both instructors in work-force education at Penn State, are also involved in the project.

"A perception seems to exist in this state that manufacturing is dead," Passmore said. "This has resulted from the decline of big smokestack industries like steel. However, the eclipse of large manufacturers has been counterbalanced by an increase in the number of small manufacturers. Today, less than 5 percent of manufacturing done nationwide is done by companies with 500 or more workers."

One-sixth of the work force in Pennsylvania is still employed in manufacturing, Passmore said.

"It is true that there are fewer people being employed in manufacturing today," said Wall. "But that is because unskilled and semi-skilled jobs have vanished. Due to more automated equipment, manufacturing productivity is at an all-time high. One of the highest concentrations of tool and die makers in the world is located between Erie and Meadville."

While some manual machines are still around, most of them today are equipped with computerized numerical controls, Passmore said. This enables the worker to be both accurate and fast. The machines are also much safer than before, since the operator is physically removed from the cutting operation, he said. Serious accidents are now rare in a machine shop, he said.

"Furthermore, while there are exceptions, most machine shops today are climate-controlled and often cleaner than a typical office," Wall added.

Machine shops and manufacturing companies in general require a high level of training, which usually involves two years of post-secondary education in a vocational school or community college (e.g. Penn College, Northwest Pennsylvania Technical Institute, Harrisburg Area Community College) or four-year industry-based apprenticeship program.

The tool and die industry will need 10,000 new employees next year and many more for each year in the foreseeable future, said Larry Sippy, chairman of the project's industry steering committee and president of SIPCO Inc., Meadville.

"If more people would take time to learn about a career in tool and die making, they would find a lucrative alternative to a college degree with excellent opportunity and pay, unbelievably clean and desirable working conditions, and a challenging job that can last a lifetime," he said.

"In an apprenticeship, not only is there no fee for a person's education, but the apprentice is actually paid to learn," Sippy added.

Bargain bin: Winter sales

POST-HOLIDAY SALES

January is typically rife with bargains, as stores start clearingout their fall and winter wares to make room for spring (which, ofcourse, still feels light-years away). Natick Collection's onlinelist of sales includes some good post-holiday deals, among them:Burberry's autumn/winter sale (ends Jan. 31); a semi-annual sale atClarks (up to 40 percent off on select styles, also until the end ofthe month); and a fall and winter sale at Zara (ends Jan. 26). Findthe full list at www.natickcollection.com/sales.

WARM UP THE KITCHEN

Williams-Sonoma's winter sale is on now, and at the Copley Placestore, we found glassware and jacquard table linens (tablecloths,placemats, napkins) marked down up to 75 percent. Select plates,platters, bowls, soaps, and lotions are discounted as well, as areholiday holdovers including mulling spices and sugar cookie and cakemixes. We suspect the stock will run down quickly. Williams-Sonomais at Copley Place, Boston, 617-262-3080; find all other locationsat www.williams-sonoma.com. (Call ahead to check on availability ofsale items.)

CLOTHING MARKDOWNS

Serenella's fall/winter sale is on until Saturday, with selectclothing and shoes marked down 40-60 percent. Among the finds:gorgeous Joey McMakin strappy patent leather heels for $410(originally $825); a Thakoon rose wallpaper-print pleated skirt for$500 (originally $1,250); and a Narciso Rodriguez iris scoop-neckdress with corset detail for $975 (originally $1,620). Pretty piecesby Blumarine and Roberto Musso figure among the markdowns as well.Serenella is at 134 Newbury St., Boston, 617-262-5568. www.serenella-boston.com

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Jewelry and accessories spot Topaz has everything marked down 20percent until Sunday, with a little something for every taste.Elaborate and colorful creations by Israeli designers Ayala Bar andDori Csengeri share space with bold, nature-inspired metallic piecesand delicate drop earrings, pearls, and gold and silver selections.The store also carries Tano handbags, hair accessories, scarves, andclothing. Topaz is at 11 Dunster St., Cambridge, 617-492-3700.www.topazcambridge.com

SPECIAL NAILS

Rihanna does it. Lady Gaga does it. So, naturally, the questionis: Why not you? Keldara Salon and Spa is offering 20 percent offits Minx nail applications until Jan. 31. For the uninitiated, Minxinvolves a flexible film that's heated and applied to your nailswith the result that your fingers or toes are adorned with littleflowers, paisley patterns, even argyle (or just straight silver orbronze). The application is normally $25, so is $20 with thespecial; add a manicure or pedicure and get 20 percent off the totalcost. (Appointments must take place by the 31st.) Keldara Salon andSpa is at 650 Washington St., Dedham, 781-251-6600. www.keldara.com

Get bargain advice every day online at boston.com/bargainbin. E-mail ideas for Bargain Bin to bargainbin@globe.com.

Bargain bin: Winter sales

POST-HOLIDAY SALES

January is typically rife with bargains, as stores start clearingout their fall and winter wares to make room for spring (which, ofcourse, still feels light-years away). Natick Collection's onlinelist of sales includes some good post-holiday deals, among them:Burberry's autumn/winter sale (ends Jan. 31); a semi-annual sale atClarks (up to 40 percent off on select styles, also until the end ofthe month); and a fall and winter sale at Zara (ends Jan. 26). Findthe full list at www.natickcollection.com/sales.

WARM UP THE KITCHEN

Williams-Sonoma's winter sale is on now, and at the Copley Placestore, we found glassware and jacquard table linens (tablecloths,placemats, napkins) marked down up to 75 percent. Select plates,platters, bowls, soaps, and lotions are discounted as well, as areholiday holdovers including mulling spices and sugar cookie and cakemixes. We suspect the stock will run down quickly. Williams-Sonomais at Copley Place, Boston, 617-262-3080; find all other locationsat www.williams-sonoma.com. (Call ahead to check on availability ofsale items.)

CLOTHING MARKDOWNS

Serenella's fall/winter sale is on until Saturday, with selectclothing and shoes marked down 40-60 percent. Among the finds:gorgeous Joey McMakin strappy patent leather heels for $410(originally $825); a Thakoon rose wallpaper-print pleated skirt for$500 (originally $1,250); and a Narciso Rodriguez iris scoop-neckdress with corset detail for $975 (originally $1,620). Pretty piecesby Blumarine and Roberto Musso figure among the markdowns as well.Serenella is at 134 Newbury St., Boston, 617-262-5568. www.serenella-boston.com

ALL THAT GLITTERS

Jewelry and accessories spot Topaz has everything marked down 20percent until Sunday, with a little something for every taste.Elaborate and colorful creations by Israeli designers Ayala Bar andDori Csengeri share space with bold, nature-inspired metallic piecesand delicate drop earrings, pearls, and gold and silver selections.The store also carries Tano handbags, hair accessories, scarves, andclothing. Topaz is at 11 Dunster St., Cambridge, 617-492-3700.www.topazcambridge.com

SPECIAL NAILS

Rihanna does it. Lady Gaga does it. So, naturally, the questionis: Why not you? Keldara Salon and Spa is offering 20 percent offits Minx nail applications until Jan. 31. For the uninitiated, Minxinvolves a flexible film that's heated and applied to your nailswith the result that your fingers or toes are adorned with littleflowers, paisley patterns, even argyle (or just straight silver orbronze). The application is normally $25, so is $20 with thespecial; add a manicure or pedicure and get 20 percent off the totalcost. (Appointments must take place by the 31st.) Keldara Salon andSpa is at 650 Washington St., Dedham, 781-251-6600. www.keldara.com

Get bargain advice every day online at boston.com/bargainbin. E-mail ideas for Bargain Bin to bargainbin@globe.com.

Briefs

TIME WARNER SETS ASIDE $3 BIL.

Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, is settingaside $3 billion in reserves to settle shareholder lawsuits filedagainst the company in the wake of its disastrous merger with AOL.Time Warner said it had reached a tentative settlement with the leadgroup of shareholder plaintiffs, who claimed they were cheated inthe merger by inflated revenue claims and improper accounting atAOL. The announcement came as Time Warner released its second-quarter earnings report. For the three months ending in June, thecompany posted a net loss of $321 million, or 7 cents a share,versus a profit of $777 million in the year-ago period.

AON EARNINGS LAUNCH SHARES

Shares of Chicago-based Aon Corp. soared today after the world'ssecond-biggest insurance broker blew by analysts' expectations forsecond-quarter profits. The strong performance indicates Aon mayquickly recover from New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's fraudinvestigation. Aon on Monday reported net income rose 10 percent to$191 million, or 57 cents a share, topping analysts' consensusestimate of 48 cents a share. Shares rose $4.32 to $29.88.

P&G BORROWS $24 BILLION

Procter & Gamble Co. is taking a $24 billion loan, the largest bya U.S. company in five years, to buy back its own shares and thoseof Gillette Co. Citigroup Inc. is leading banks arranging thecredit, according to a filing with the Securities and ExchangeCommission. The loan is the biggest in the U.S. since AT&T Corp.borrowed $25 billion in 2000.

SERVICE SECTOR SLOWS

Activity in the service economy grew at a slower pace in Julythan in the previous month as companies were hit hard with big priceincreases amid higher energy costs, a private research group saidtoday. The index of business activity in the non-manufacturingsector slipped to 60.5 last month from 62.2 in June, the Institutefor Supply Management reported. June marked the 28th consecutivemonth of expansion. A reading of 50 or above means the servicessector of the economy is expanding.

NORTHWEST FACES STRIKE THREAT

Talks broke off between Northwest Airlines Corp. and itsmechanics today, with mechanics saying the likelihood of a strikewas increasing. Mechanics can strike after 12:01 a.m. EDT on Aug. 20if no deal is reached.

Sony settles suit over ads

Sony Pictures Entertainment must pay $1.5 million to settle aclass-action lawsuit accusing the studio of citing a fake moviecritic in ads for several films. Moviegoers who saw the films"Vertical Limit," "A Knight's Tale," "The Animal," "Hollow Man" or"The Patriot" may be eligible for a $5 reimbursement.

GRAINS, BEANS DIP

Grain and soybean futures retreated today on the Chicago Board ofTrade. Wheat for September delivery fell 6 cents to $3.26 a bushel;September corn fell 5 1/2 cents to $2.27 a bushel; September oatsfell 3 cents to $1.58 a bushel; September soybeans fell 19 cents to$6.75 1/2 a bushel.

Brown leads left on march to right

It is exquisite burlesque, Jerry Brown leading tattered remnantsof America's hapless left into supporting conservatism's agenda.

Conservatism has rhetorical and fiscal strategies fordiminishing government power. One strategy is to peel awaygovernment's authority by flaying it rhetorically as an incestuousjumble of corrupt elites incapable of empathy with ordinary peopleand incompetent at government's basic tasks - budgeting, educating,maintaining public works. Brown's rhetoric abets this strategy.

Brown's flat-tax proposal serves the conservative fiscal goalsof reducing government power three ways - by shrinking its revenuebase, curtailing its ability to fine-tune society's "fairness" andaugmenting the private sector's countervailing power.

For example, Brown would end the deductibility of state andlocal taxes. This would ignite state tax revolts, particularly inhigh-tax states such as New York, which have become liberalism's lastredoubts.

Brown is not an economic man, he is a moralist, and his tax planis a measure for political hygiene. He believes, plausibly, thatradical simplification of the code would put out of businessWashington's swarm of complicators who gain advantages from generallyunnoticed nuances in legislation and regulations.

Brown is extreme but not nutty when depicting Washington as amare's-nest of interests bending public power for private advantages.But Brown's moralism stops short of acknowledging this: Today'sWashington is what you get when you have a hyperactive modern stateusing its myriad subsidizing and regulating activities to allocatewealth and opportunity in the name of "fairness" and for the ultimatebenefit of elected officials.

Brown disdains his party's recent obsession with the tax code's"fairness." But the correct implication of his critique ofWashington is that the modern state is inherently unfair because itis so susceptible to manipulation by well-heeled and well-connectedinterests. It is axiomatic: He who wills the end, wills the means tothat end. If Brown wants the modern state that liberalism hasrationalized, he should not be shocked that he gets modernWashington, too.

To be on the left is to believe this: The goal of politics is tocapture state power to force egalitarian social change. Brown'splatform makes this problematic.

The left's agenda presupposes a government strong in fiscalresources and moral authority. Brown's rhetoric - the most acidanti-Washington rhetoric since George Wallace's (which prepared theground for Reaganism) - and Brown's tax plan subvert both strengths.

Most arguments for progressive taxation are implausible orempirically unsupported.

Economic distress moves America to the right, not the left.

As America's economy falters, many Americans become more wary ofthe economic effects of progressivity on savings, investment,entrepreneurship and industriousness generally. Also, the commitmentto progressivity weakens as people become concerned that theexistence of large pools of private wealth - a prerequisite forprivate hospitals, universities, research centers, publications andmuch more - is necessary to counteract the encroachment of governmenton society.

Brown and the ragtag of the left sharing his raft are riding ona wave of revulsion against the modern state that liberalism hasmade. And Brown is making the wave larger.

In this, as in his self-congratulatory moralism, he is a repriseof the 1960s, when the campus left played a large part in provokingthe nation's move to the right.

Line's impact not as strong "How you doin' " concept for Bud doesn't have the same punch

Production Credits

Chief creative officer: Bob Scarpelli

Group creative officer: John Immesoete

Associate creative director: Vinny Warren

Copywriters: Vinny Warren and Scott Smith

Producer: Kent Kwiatt

Production house: Hungry Man, New York

Editor: Mike Colletta, Lookinglass, Chicago

Director: Allen Coulter

It's just a prediction, folks, but "How you doin' " won't evereclipse the worldwide popularity of the phenomenally silly andsuccessful "whassup."

The "whassup" craze was great for Budweiser. It got the companyand the beer a lot of free publicity (to say nothing of awards forDDB/Chicago). But there was always …

Ecosystem development in the Girdwood area, south-central Alaska, following late Wisconsin glaciation.(Report)

Introduction

Pollen analysis of Quaternary peat deposits and fine-grained sediments is a valuable method for reconstructing past vegetation changes on time scales of centuries to many thousands of years. Late Quaternary pollen records have been used to develop vegetation histories for many areas of Alaska (e.g., Ager 1983; Ager and Brubaker 1985; Heusser 1985; Anderson and Brubaker 1993; Anderson et al. 2004), but the Turnagain Arm area of upper Cook Inlet, southcentral Alaska (Fig. 1), has received little attention. The vegetation history of Turnagain Arm is of interest because it now has Pacific coastal forest at the east end, boreal forest at the far west end, and a mixture of the two vegetation types in between. In this paper, we reconstruct the history of these vegetation types in the region by providing the first radiocarbon-dated pollen records to be published from eastern Turnagain Arm. We then discuss these new records within a larger regional context of topographic and climatic influences.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

Turnagain Arm is an east-west-trending glacial fjord that has been largely filled with sediments since deglaciation (Fig. 1B). It is bordered along most of its length by the Chugach Mountains to the north and the Kenai Mountains to the south (Fig. 1B). Beyond the western flanks of the Chugach and Kenai mountains, near where Turnagain Arm joins with the main trough of Cook Inlet, the fjord is bordered to the north by the Anchorage Lowland and to the south by the northern Kenai Lowland (Fig. 1B). During the late Wisconsin glacial interval, ice expanding from the Alaska Range and the Kenai, Chugach, and Talkeetna mountains converged in Cook Inlet to cover much of the region several times (Fig. 1B; Karlstrom 1964; Schmoll and Yehle 1986; Reger and Pinney 1997; Schmoll et al. 1999; Reger et al. 2007).

Reconstructing the history of terrestrial ecosystem development following deglaciation of Turnagain Arm is also of interest because the region is one of climate transition, and a strong precipitation gradient exists today between northwest Prince William Sound and the Anchorage Lowland (Fig. 1B; Table 1). It is likely that this gradient also existed in the past and may explain the distribution of present and past vegetation types in upper and lower Turnagain Arm.

The only pollen records that have been previously published from the Turnagain Arm area include an analysis of an undated peat core collected near Girdwood (Heusser 1960; Fig. 1B, site 9; Fig. 2, Heusser site) and a dated vegetation history from a peat bog near Hope, west of Girdwood (Ager and Carrara 2006; Fig. 1B, site 7). Late Quaternary pollen records with at least some radiocarbon age control have been published for sites in the Anchorage Lowland (Point Woronzof area; Fig. 1B, site 2; Ager and Brubaker 1985; Ager and Carrara 2006); the northern Kenai Lowland (Swanson Fen; Fig. 1B, site 3; Jones et al. 2009; and Paradox Lake, Fig. 1B, site 4; Anderson et al. 2006); the western flank of the Kenai Mountains (Hidden Lake; Fig. 1B, site 5, Ager 1983); and in the central Kenai Mountains, near Tern Lake (Fig. 1B, site 6; Ager 2001). In addition, several dated and undated pollen records have been described from Prince William Sound, east of Turnagain Arm (Heusser 1955, 1960, 1983a, 1985). The longest published pollen record with radiocarbon age control from Prince William Sound is from Golden (Fig. 1B, site 10; Heusser 1983a). In the interior, northeast of Anchorage, pollen data from an exposure of peat and from lake sediments near Matanuska Glacier provide information about the approximate timing of initial postglacial colonization of the upper Matanuska Valley, first by tundra and then by boreal forest vegetation (Fig. 1B, site 11; Williams 1986; Yu et al. 2008).

Glacial history

The Cook Inlet region has undergone multiple glaciations during the late Tertiary and Quaternary (Karlstrom 1964; Pewe 1975; Hamilton and Thorson 1983; Schmoll and Yehle 1986; Reger et al. 1995; Reger and Pinney 1997; Schmoll et al. 1999; Reger et al. 2007). Present-day glaciers and icefields cover substantial areas of the Chugach and Kenai mountains of south-central Alaska (Molnia 2008; Fig. 1B); but during past glacial intervals, glaciers occupied vastly greater areas, covering most of the Cook Inlet region and the mountain ranges of south-central Alaska and extending southward onto the continental shelf (Schmoll and Yehle 1986; Molnia 1986; Kaufman and Manley 2004). For the purposes of the present study of postglacial ecosystem development, the most relevant major glacial events in the Cook Inlet occurred during the late Wisconsin glacial interval ~30 000 - 11000 cal years BP (Reger et al. 2007).

Four significant glacial advances during the late Wisconsin have been recognized in the Cook Inlet region (Karlstrom 1964; Reger and Pinney 1997; Reger et al. 2007). The initial interpretations of the Naptowne (late Wisconsin) glacial advances in the Cook Inlet region as defined by Karlstrom (1964) have been refined and reinterpreted by other researchers in light of additional mapping, radiocarbon dating, and stratigraphic studies in the region (e.g., Reger et al. 1995; Reger and Pinney 1997; Schmoll et al. 1999; Reger et al. 2007). For the purposes of this paper, we follow the terminology of late Wisconsin glacial events in upper Cook Inlet as summarized by Reger et al. (2007). The four recognized late Wisconsin glacial advances covered successively smaller areas of the Cook Inlet region, and the later three glacial advances appear to have been of much shorter duration than the earliest, most extensive ice advance. Reger et al. (2007) retain Karlstrom's original nomenclature for three of the original four names for the earliest three Naptowne glacial advances: the Moosehorn (the oldest, most areally extensive, and longest enduring), the Killey, and the Skilak. The fourth Naptowne glacial advance has been renamed the Elmendorf advance, after the prominent Elmendorf moraines that cover part of the northern Anchorage Lowland, the lower Susitna Valley, and the lower Matanuska Valley (Fig. 1B). Karlstrom's chronology for these glacial events has been updated in light of extensive field investigations in the region during the past several decades, as summarized in Reger et al. (2007).

Our investigations focus on the development of terrestrial ecosystems following glacial retreat from the maximum ice positions achieved during the Elmendorf glacial advance. Major glacial recession during the waning stages of the preceding Skilak stade was accompanied by flooding of much of Cook Inlet, including Turnagain Arm, by marine waters. During the following Elmendorf stade, glaciers readvanced into Turnagain Arm from tributary valleys in the Chugach and northern Kenai mountains (Fig. 1B). The trunk glacier in Turnagain Arm flowed westward to reach maximum positions near Hope ~15 100 cal years BP and occupied another somewhat later terminal position near Bird Creek (Fig. 1B; Kachadoorian et al. 1977; Reger and Pinney 1997; Schmoll et al. 1999; Ager and Carrara 2006; Reger et al. 2007). Retreat of glacial ice of the Elmendorf stade from its maximum terminal positions probably began sometime before 14 100 cal years BP, based on radiocarbon ages of organic sediments at the base of sediment cores from Lake Lorraine, a kettle lake on the Elmendorf moraine west of Knik Arm in upper Cook Inlet (Fig. 1B, site 1; Kathan et al. 2004). Other radiocarbon-dated deposits providing minimum ages for the retreat of glacial ice from the Elmendorf moraine near Anchorage have yielded similar ages (Schmoll et al. 1999). The final retreat of glacial ice from Turnagain Arm and its tributary valleys set the stage for the beginnings of postglacial terrestrial ecosystem development in the deglaciated parts of the Chugach and Kenai mountains. Reconstructing by means of pollen analysis the sequence of vegetation changes following deglaciation is the subject of this paper.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Paleoclimates

A broad outline of postglacial climates of south-central Alaska can be reconstructed from a variety of published evidence. The transition from arid, full-glacial climates to a somewhat warmer, wetter climate may have begun as early as 16 400 cal years BP in the Kenai Peninsula region, as inferred from pollen evidence (Ager and Brubaker 1985). Increases in marine biological productivity in paleoceanographic records from the Gulf of Alaska indicate warmer ocean waters during the late glacial (Bolling-Allerod) climatic warming (~14 700 - 12 900 cal years BP; Barron et al. 2009). This was followed by a climatic cooling event (Younger Dryas: ~12 900 - 11700 cal years BP), which caused some vegetation responses in coastal sites, most notably a drop in fern spore percentages (Peteet and Mann 1994). Other evidence for Younger Dryas cooling includes a drop in marine biological productivity, an increase in sea ice in the Gulf of Alaska (Barron et al. 2009), and a negative ~2 [per thousands] [[delta].sup.18]O in a lacustrine record near Matanuska Glacier (Fig. 1B, site 11; Yu et al. 2008). During the early Holocene, warmer climates beginning as early as ~11 000 cal years BP are inferred from various climate proxies (Kaufman et …