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Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis
Shield 1889
New York City Police Officer Rodney Gillis had just finished his shift, which ended at 8 a.m., and was hanging around talking to his fellow officers with the Emergency Services Unit when the first plane smashed into the World Trade Center. As usual, he was the first one on the scene.

Gillis, 34, and other Emergency Services officers, who included his former high school teacher, Police Officer John Dallara from ESU Truck 3, were believed to be in the belly of the South Tower when it collapsed, Green said. " We know his team penetrated deep into the building."

Both Gillis and Dallara are among the 23 missing city police officers.

Gillis joined the department in 1988. Promoted to sergeant in 1997, he was loved and respected by his men in Emergency Services Truck 8, said Gillis' former supervisor retired Lt. Richard Green, because he was brave and strong. " And just a terrific guy."

Green noted that Gillis, a Brownsville resident, was " a Brooklyn boy through and through." His mother, Geraldine, also lives in Brooklyn and his father, Otha, lives in North Carolina. He attended Park West High School in Brooklyn as a talented student and received a certificate from St. John's University in Queens and a degree from the Island Drafting and Technical Institute in Amityville.

To those who know him, Gillis is thought of as something of a Renaissance man. On the job, he was trained as a scuba diver, has his EMT certification, is trained in emergency psychology and is also a technician who deals with hazardous materials. Off the job, he was remodeling both his and his parents' home. He loves to play saxophone and is devoted to his three children..

But his dedication to the job, the one that made him run out the door with the rest of the crew after his shift was done, is what defined Gillis, Green said. " He's a true warrior."

- New York Newsday Victim Database 9/26/2001

NYPD Says Goodbye To Officer Killed 9/11
Members of the NYPD gathered Wednesday to remember a brother killed on September 11.

A wake for Sergeant Rodney Gillis was held Wednesday morning in Brooklyn.

Gillis was a supervisor for Emergency Services Squad 8. He was among the 23 members of the NYPD killed in the attack.

His fellow officers said Gillis was a fair but determined officer with an electric smile. Officers under Gillis' command said their charismatic supervisor always looked for ways to do more for the city.

"He was the best," said NYPD officer Craig Hunter. "He was a boss, a friend, a confidant. He was the best you could ask for out of the NYPD."

"We have him back. We have him at peace," said Ronald Gillis, Rodney’s brother. "And it’s the final touch for his friends, my family, his kids."

Gillis leaves behind three children and a fiancée.

Funeral services were held in Long Island Wednesday afternoon.
- NY1 NEWS 8/14/2002

Sergeant Rodney C. Gillis, 33, was appointed to the NYPD on January 26, 1988, and began his career on patrol in Field Training Unit 12. He fulfilled a longtime dream when he was first assigned to ESU in December 1991. After being promoted to sergeant in May 1997, he was reassigned to ESU in February 1998. Sergeant Gillis is survived by his 3 children; mother Geraldine Gilliam; father Otha Gillis; and brother Ronald.
- SPRING 3100, Commemorative Issue

(patch created by Dee Cook for the
CubScout Pack 233 Memorial American Flag Quilt)

(patch from Barnum Woods Elementary School Quilt)


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The New York Public Library will be closed September 5 through September 7 in observance of Labor Day.

Basic Internet and Computer Classes in Spanish

June 26, 2013

Program Locations:

Learn how to navigate the Internet, obtain an Email account and explore Microsoft Word.

More Info

  • Audience: Adults

Chat with a librarian now

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Neal's Yard Remedies Natural News
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Are supplements better than sudoku?

An active brain is a healthy brain - but to stay active you brain needs nourishment. These supplements can help.

The importance of being ill

12 September, 2011

Today we believe that good health is our “right”, something which should be bestowed upon us (by governments, doctors, etc.) rather than something which is acquired through our own actions.

When we are ill something is ‘wrong’ and it needs to be ‘fixed’ – very often with powerful drugs. Nobody likes being ill. It’s not fun and very often it happens at the most inconvenient times. But looked at in a different light, illness has meaning beyond just making us feel bad.

Looking beyond those troublesome symptoms to what lives beneath them, to the mind-body connection that influences everyone’s health, can yield some startling information.

Your miraculous body

Our bodies are miraculous things. The two trillion cells of the immune system (comprised of three types of white blood cells – phagocytes, T cells and B cells) constantly monitor conditions in the body to maintain the status quo. The while blood cells are smart enough to identify invaders in the body, whether they are viruses, bacteria, toxins or parasites.

Whether or not they have been seen before, immune cells can recognise these foreign substances, or antigens.  When a germ overcomes the natural defences of the skin or mucous membranes and invades the tissue, the body responds with a process known as inflammation.  White blood cells are ushered to the site where they gobble up the foreign substances.  Special chemicals are also released to help defeat the invading germ.

Many doctors will tell you that at least 95% of illnesses are self limiting.  In other words they will heal by themselves and do not require any medical intervention.  Of course prevention is an important part of health care, but just-in-case medicine, given without any clinical basis, can make symptoms worse and produce a whole range of new and even more debilitating side effects.

Illness as strength

Good examples of this idea abound in our approach to things such common experiences as fever,and coughs.

Fever often develops during an infection. Although we generally think of fever as a bad thing, fever enhances the inflammatory response of the body, and certain components of the immune system work optimally at increased body temperature.   Also fever helps to limit the growth of some germs that cannot grow well at higher temperatures.

Coughing is your body’s way of getting rid of phlegm. Because of this suppressing a cough is not a good idea nor do you need expectorant – the cough is doing that job.  The use of cough remedies has been shown in numerous and extensive controlled trials to be useless. Other research has shown that antihistamine-decongestant combinations for young children confer no clinically significant improvement in symptoms after 48 hours.

The symptoms that we see as signs of the body’s frailty and inability to cope are, in short, signs that it is working well.

Illness as meaning

The concept of the milestone illness is an important one, physically and psychologically. In his groundbreaking book the Healing Power of Illness, Thorwald Dethlefsen offers this opinion: “Time was when all parents knew than when a child survives a children’s illness (all ‘children’s illnesses’ are infectious illnesses) it takes a step forward in development or maturity.  After the illness the child is no longer the same as before.  The illness has brought about a change that has made it more mature.

But then it is not only childhood illnesses that have such a maturing effect.  Just as the body emerges strengthened from each infectious illness that it survives, so the whole human being comes out of each conflict with greater maturity.  For it is only challenges that make us strong and fit.”

A mind/body connection

We are all familiar with the idea of psychosomatic illness. Often it is used to describe someone who isn’t really ill at all, but whose illness has been brought on by a weak mind or emotion. But another way of looking at it is that the mind-body connection in humans is so strong that all illnesses are really psychosomatic (that is affecting both psyche/emotions and soma/body).

This is as true or children as it is for adults. In the book Natural Childhood, Dr Michaela Glockler reminds parents, “In illness we become a physical picture of what we still have to learn.  In health, by contrast, we have an image of perfection we will achieve in the not too distant future.

The healthy body is an image of the nature of human beings: upright, open, exercising free choice, with the heart in the middle and all forces working in the right place and at the appropriate time, well ordered and controlled.  Furthermore, as human beings we can have experiences through suffering and pain, provoking new questions and learning processes that transform us as individuals.”

The body speaks

Dethlefsen maintains a similar perspective on the subject of chronic conditions such eczema and the rashes he says “Rashes always indicate that something which has hitherto been held back (repressed) is trying to break through the repression in order to come to the light (consciousness).  A rash allows something which was previously invisible to show itself.

This makes it perfectly understandable that nearly all childhood diseases such as measles, scarlet fever and rubella (German measles) should express themselves via the skin. With every childhood illness something new is breaking through into the child’s life, which is why so often childhood illness also brings with it a powerful stride forward in personal development.

The idea that the body speaks your mind is not new. Today it is increasingly gaining ground among alternative practitioners. Dethlefsen’s view may be hard for some of us to take on board. To do so requires a substantial shift in thinking and the way we act towards our children both in illness and in health.  Yet, for those who believe in holistic health, there is no denying the validity of much of what he says.

Taking ideas such as this on board can change your world view dramatically. In a world full of sensory stimulation is the peace and quiet necessary for recovery when we have a cold, or example, just another way of switching off, a rational response to stress and tiredness?

After all, Dethlefsen reminds us, how often does a person with a cold say something like “stay away from me”. Initially it seems like a protective gesture aimed at those around us, but keeping people away may well have a protective effect for the sufferer as well. Other practitioners liken the alternately blocked and runny nose and watery eyes of chronic “colds” as an outpouring of otherwise uncried tears.

By starting to look symptoms in this way we can gain valuable insight into the things which we may find difficult to express and find all important meaning in something which might otherwise seems random and meaningless.

Illness as a message

Finally the increasing number of us who are being affected by chronic complaints such as headaches, skin rashes, catarrh and breathing difficulties may be giving us an important message.  Environmental doctors would say that many of us are quite literally “allergic” to the 20th century.

We are all being bombarded with chemicals and toxins throughout the day.  Our children suffer more because their immune systems are still developing and because they are smaller and thus are taking in more toxins per pound of body weight than adults.

We may not be able to shut down the factory down the road, but we can take steps to improve the immediate environment in their homes and schools. What is more, although it may be contentious, it is also worth wondering why many adults will move house to get a better job or to have an easier journey to work or be closer to a goo school, but few consider moving house to acquire better health and health care for themselves and their families. Instead many cling to belief that the body is a machine – and if something goes wrong any available doctor/mechanic will be able to fix it.

Meeting the challenge

Illness always challenges us in those places where we are most unsure of ourselves and also most unsupported.  As such it is easy to fall prey to the idea that we don’t know what’s going on or that we are missing something important.

Rarely do we stop to think of how often GPs in crowded surgeries miss something important or simply don’t know. Often, if person walks in with a collection of vague symptoms they are more than likely to be told that there’s “something going round” or “it’s probably a virus”.  This is not a medical diagnosis, it’s a guess.

Under these conditions when a doctor writes our a prescription for medication it is usually to address a patient’s concern and frustration as much, if not more, than it does the actual illness.

To be health conscious is to understand that there is always “something” which is “going around”. There are viruses and bacteria in us and around us all the time.  The virus which causes flu or measles may be inside you or your children right now.

But you are not ill because you immune system is working efficiently. What makes you susceptible to these things – allergies, run down immune system, emotional distress –  is the real question and one which can’t be answered by the latest miracle drug.


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"Gov. Spitzer said repeatedly ‘no new taxes,’ yet his budget proposal raises taxes and fees by a jaw-dropping nearly $2 billion. He taxes too much and spends too much. He also doesn’t deliver on his promise to revive the Upstate economy or provide property tax relief. His priorities are totally misplaced," said Sen. Catharine Young (R,I,C-Olean).

"His plan hikes taxes on people who buy homes, own homes, drive cars, pay health insurance, and own a small business. His spending is two-and-a-half times the rate of inflation. His talk about the Upstate economy was smoke and mirrors because the actual budget calls for investing and bridges and parks. That money would be invested anyway, but it doesn’t address the core economic issues. We need to help businesses grow and create jobs," she said.

"While a commission to study property tax relief is a nice idea, our families need more relief now. His commission delays a recommendation by several months and totally misses the state budget cycle. While Democrats and Republicans in Washington want to give taxpayers rebates, the Governor wants to take them away.

"He also wants to sell the Lottery to provide for colleges, but his budget cuts vital resources to public colleges and universities, and fails to give help so families can afford to send their children to college. The Governor’s proposal could actually drive up costs and tuition," she said.

"We are still analyzing the local impact on schools and hospitals, but we know for a fact he has the Great Valley Youth Facility in his sights for closure. These areas need to be fixed," she said.

"As Senate Agriculture Chair, I am deeply troubled by his slashing of agriculture. He cut wine and grape, dairy, apple and maple programs. That hurts our farmers locally and across the state," she said.

"The Senate will work to reprioritize the budget, stop tax hikes, provide tax relief, improve the economy, restore agriculture and help families afford college tuition. These are the issues that concern our families and we need to deliver results for them," Sen. Young said.


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Statement From Senate Majority Conference Leader John L. Sampson

In the past, when confronted with crisis, New York’s leaders have put politics and personal agendas aside to work together to get the job done. That time is again upon us.

The Governor has called for a public employee wage freeze. The Senate respects the rights of the contracting parties - the unions and the Executive - to negotiate. In furtherance of the Governor’s request, I urge the Governor’s Office of Employee Relations to send a formal notice for bargaining to address the issues concerning our public workforce.

In decades past, unions have been part of the solution. They joined with members of government and the business community to address our fiscal problems through the fundamental principles of shared sacrifice and fairness. Today, public employees remain some of  the most vital contributors to our workforce. We welcome them as our partners in giving New Yorkers a fair and responsible budget they can afford.


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LAUSANNE, Switzerland, July 9— Satisfied that South Africa has committed itself to abolishing discrimination in sports, the International Olympic Committee today lifted a 21-year-long ban on the nation, allowing its athletes to compete in the 1992 Summer Games in Barcelona, Spain.

The decision was announced here this afternoon by Juan Antonio Samaranch of Spain, president of the I.O.C., who said, "I have decided today to proclaim the outright recognition of the National Olympic Committee of South Africa." Ripple Effect?

The move formally clears the way for South Africa to participate in all Olympic events and is expected to lead to renewed international participation by South Africa in other, non-Olympic sports, like rugby and cricket, from which it has been banned because of its past policies of racial segregation.

South African leaders were gratified by the I.O.C.'s decision, saying it showed that the world was taking seriously President F. W. de Klerk's efforts to dismantle the legal underpinnings of apartheid. But some sports officials worried that because of the country's decades of isolation in sports, many athletes would be unlikely to perform at world standards in the 1992 Games. One sports federation, the South African Council on Sport, strongly criticized the move, saying that millions of black South Africans lack basic rights of citizenship. [ Page B10. ] Move in Washington?

The sports ban on South Africa was by far the longest boycott of that country by the international community, preceding other commercial and political boycotts that have piled up over the years in an attempt to force South Africa to abandon racism as official policy. In fact, the I.O.C.'s decision today coincides with reports from Washington indicating that President Bush is prepared to lift trade sanctions that were imposed against South Africa in 1986.

The decision announced today was based on a recommendation from the Apartheid and Olympism Commission, set up by the I.O.C. in 1988 with the participation of black African officials, to examine circumstances under which South Africa might be admitted to the Games.

One member of the commission, Keba Mbaye, a Senegalese jurist, said that while the commission members thought that South Africa was well on its way to abolishing discrimination in sports, the commission is also hoping to encourage further reforms in opening the nation's sports training sites, competitions and financial resources to all races.

He warned that today's decision could be reversed if patterns of discrimination against nonwhite athletes emerge either in team selection processes or in the use of training sites.

Francois Carrard of Switzerland, who is director general of the I.O.C., said: "This decision is unambiguous. It says that South Africa has grown up and should take these decisions now more and more in its hands, as it is on the right track."

South Africa was expelled from Olympic competition by the I.O.C. in 1970 because of the country's policies of racial discrimination against non-whites. But it has not competed in the Olympics since the 1960 Summer Games in Rome, because of threats of boycotts in 1964 and 1968 by African nations and countries in the Soviet bloc. The 1972 Olympics in Munich and the 1976 Games in Montreal were threatened with boycotts by African nations protesting the participation of countries who had had sports relations with South Africa.

In 1977, the United Nations and the British Commonwealth imposed their own bans on sporting relationships with South Africa. As a result, South African athletes have been unwelcome in virtually all international competition, including the sports that are most popular with South Africa's residents: soccer, rugby and cricket.

Some South African athletes, however, were able to compete in the Olympics after gaining citizenship in other countries, including Zola Budd (Britain) and Sydney Maree (United States) in 1984.

Today's decision is an outgrowth of a five-day visit in March to South Africa by a delegation from the I.O.C., led by Mr. Mbaye. The delegation, which met then with President de Klerk, set two principal conditions for the readmission of South Africa into the Olympic community: the abolition of apartheid and progress toward racial integration and unity in the nation's sports federations. Big Move on June 17

The first condition was essentially fulfilled on June 17, when the South African Parliament abolished the Population Registration Act, which classified all South Africans by race from birth and essentially laid the legal foundation for apartheid. Three other laws on racial exclusion, which governed where people could live and own property and which public accommodations they could use, have been abolished in the last year.

The second condition has been addressed with the creation of the interim National Olympic Committee.

Andrew Young, a former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and a member of the commission that looked into lifting the ban, said here today that some sports federations in South Africa are now mixed in racial makeup. He added that he expected that international sports federations would begin to accept membership of South Africa's sports federations.

Although the creation of multiracial sports federations has been accomplished in some sports, like soccer, critics still argue that sports facilities available for blacks remain inferior to those enjoyed by whites. Mr. Carrard the director general of the I.O.C., said today that it would be up to South Africa to continue desegregating all sports federations so as "to really open them up to all -- not just rich whites or people for one race or another."

The most popular sports in South Africa, rugby and cricket, are played primarily by whites. Among blacks, soccer is the most popular sport. An integrated South African Football Association was recently formed, and it is likely to apply to join the world governing body of soccer after today's decision.

The African National Congress, the major black anti-apartheid movement, has long opposed the lifting of sanctions against South Africa, arguing that pressure has to be maintained to encourage further dismantling of the apartheid laws, but last weekend, it softened its stance somewhat, saying it would accept a phased ending to international measures.


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LIMA, Nov. 24— Pacing his prison cage after his arrest last year, Abimael Guzman was the portrait of a revolutionary: a bushy Karl Marx beard, a clenched fist and a diatribe exhorting his Shining Path guerrilla group to celebrate Mao Zedong's 100th birthday with car bombs.

One year later, Peruvians are stunned by a new image: trim and mustachioed, Mr. Guzman pens letters from prison appealing to guerrillas to suspend the war, and to the Government to start peace talks.

Though the rebels accuse of the Government of torturing or drugging Mr. Guzman into compliance with their wishes, many Peruvians say they are convinced that the fighting spirit of the founder of the Shining Path has been truly broken. More important for the future of this California-sized nation, Mr. Guzman's behavior in prison appears to be having a marked effect on morale within the Shining Path, with desertions rising sharply. 'Lost Its Firepower'

"The Shining Path has lost about 50 percent of its firepower, of its capacity to carry out major operations," said Enrique Bernales Ballesteros, who edits PeruPaz, a magazine dedicated to studying Peru's political violence.

The rebellion has by no means collapsed. In the year following Mr. Guzman's arrest on Sept. 13, 1992, 1,654 Peruvians are recorded as having died in political violence. But that is only half the toll of the 12 months prior to his arrest, and this year's figure is expected to be the lowest since 1987.

As a result, some of the fear has been lifted from this country, which has endured 27,000 deaths and $24 billion in damage from the rebellion. Around Ayacucho, the Andean heartland of the rebellion, peasants are cautiously returning to abandoned villages. In the rich farming region north of Lima, farmers and ranchers are restoring estates long considered lost in "red zones." And a new generation of young, middle-class Limenos is discovering the sidewalk cafe. Ranks Depleted

The Shining Path, called Sendero Luminoso in Spanish, lost 3,000 militants and cadres -- about half of its ranks -- in the year since Mr. Guzman's arrest, according to estimates by Carlos Tapia, an expert on the guerrilla organization.

The loss of safe houses, of explosives experts and of financial resources can be seen in the organization's inability to repeat the crippling "armed strikes" that intimidated Lima before Mr. Guzman's arrest.

Before a constitutional referendum last month in which voters approved President Alberto Fujimori's assumption of sweeping powers, the guerrillas exploded about 15 bombs at highly visible targets here -- a tourist hotel, the airport and the offices of Peru's Foreign Ministry. Sign of Weakness

But to Peruvians anxious to analyze every act by the Shining Path, even the bombings were a sign of weakness. "If the bombs had 400 kilos of dynamite before, they had 80 kilos of dynamite this time," said Mr. Bernales of PeruPaz magazine.

Further weakening the Shining Path has been its leadership crisis.

"Of last year's central committee, 80 percent are now in jail or dead," estimated Raul Gonzalez, an anthropologist who has written extensively on the Shining Path movement.

But the biggest difficulty appears to be over the top leader. Mr. Guzman, now 58, nurtured a personality cult around himself. His round, bespectacled faced was depicted as a sun. The movement's ideology was called "Gonzalo Thought" after Mr. Guzman's war name. He also chose to be called "The Guide" or "The Fourth Sword of the Revolution," after Marx, Lenin and Mao. Shining Path publications routinely hailed him as "the greatest Marxist-Leninist living on the face of the earth."

'Party Leads the War'

A Maoist movement without a Mao is a movement vulnerable to splits. In the Andean highlands around Puno, graffiti have appeared saying, "Long Live Presidente Feliciano!" Feliciano is the war name of Alberto Ramirez Durand, once Mr. Guzman's third in command. But Lima newspapers have reported that Maria Jenny Rodriguez Neyra, a 39-year-old sociologist known as "Comrade Rita," is the movement's new president. And after Mr. Guzman's first peace overture was reported on Oct. 1, the movement's Lima committee retorted that "the party leads the war."

"We know that our president has been vilely tortured, even drugged, to be able to present him on television," a university militant told Si, a newsweekly here. "This is a dirty trick mounted by the Government to discredit President Gonzalo."

The authorities acknowledge that they placed their overweight prisoner on a food diet, and on an information diet -- no books, no magazines, no television and no radio. Guards wearing ski masks slipped food trays through slots in his cell door. Human contact was limited to visits by doctors and delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross. 'Broken Completely'

About four months ago, they say, Mr. Fujimori's national security adviser, Vladimiro Montesinos, started to visit the prisoner. Using videos and newspaper clippings, he selectively fed the guerrilla leader information about Government advances against the Shining Path.

"He has broken completely," Mr. Fujimori said in an interview on Tuesday. "He has no capacity to endure seclusion in jail. I suppose he is looking to improve his conditions."


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WHITE PLAINS— The teenager who was shot to death at a suburban shopping mall on Monday was not the intended target, the Westchester district attorney's office says.

David Hebert, a spokesman for District Attorney Jeanine F. Pirro, said on Thursday that two groups of teenagers met on Monday at the Galleria mall in White Plains, exchanged antagonistic looks and remarks and took their dispute outside.

But the fatal shot, which prosecutors said was fired by 18-year-old Rayon McIntosh, killed 17-year-old Oshan Litchmore of the Bronx, who had gone to the mall with Mr. McIntosh. The same bullet went into the leg of an 8-year-old boy who was shopping with his mother.

Mr. McIntosh has been charged with second-degree murder for ''depraved indifference to life.''


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WASHINGTON, Sept. 1— As a well-known member of Georgetown University's class of 1968, President Clinton has proudly shown his allegiance to the school during the last eight years, speaking on campus 12 times.

As governor of Arkansas, he spoke at the university four times. He also appeared there the day before his inauguration in January 1993.

So this week, when Mr. Clinton and his advisers needed a comfortable environment to make a major announcement on the future of the national missile defense program, there was one safe bet. The president decided on the site during his flight Wednesday from Cartagena, Colombia, to Washington.

A White House aide said that Mr. Clinton had considered speaking before one of the many foreign policy organizations here, but was worried that news of the event might leak to the news media. The president was confident, the aide said, that Georgetown would keep the engagement quiet.

The president has found Gaston Hall, a large lecture hall with stained glass windows and vaulting supports, to be a perfect auditorium: cozy, dignified and easy to fill with a friendly audience. The auditorium is in leafy Healy Circle, an area on the front side of campus where students often congregate.

He has taken on serious topics at Gaston Hall, including the world AIDS crisis, Social Security reform, and youth violence. Mr. Clinton also spoke at the memorial service there for Lane Kirkland, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O. from 1979 to 1995.

Aides said Mr. Clinton had wanted to give a thoughtful speech that explained the reasons for his decision, which they thought would be more fitting for a university than the White House briefing room.

''The president has a history of making important foreign policy announcements at Georgetown,'' said Joe Lockhart, White House spokesman, ''where there is a school of foreign service, students who are interested in national security and where the president happened to go.''

Mr. Lockhart also attended the university as an undergraduate.

Today, before nearly 800 people, including many students and faculty, Mr. Clinton recalled his early days on campus, where he was elected president of his freshman and sophomore classes.

''It was 35 years ago when, as a sophomore, I was in charge of the freshmen orientation,'' Mr. Clinton said. ''So I thought I should come and help this year's orientation of freshmen get off to a good start.''


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Correction Appended

FOR the last three summers the conductor Kent Nagano has been the unassuming hero of the Salzburg Festival in Austria. In 1998 he took the Halle Orchestra of Manchester, England, of which he was then the music director, to perform in Peter Sellars's production of Messiaen's ecstatic opera ''St. Francois d'Assise.'' To judge from the excellent Deutsche Grammophon recording, Mr. Nagano gave a vibrant performance of this complex, nearly five-hour score.

In 1999 he was back to conduct the Vienna Philharmonic in another long, challenging and visionary opera, Busoni's ''Doktor Faust.'' He has also recorded that work memorably for Erato with the Opera National de Lyon, which he directed for nine years.

And last summer at Salzburg, Mr. Nagano conducted the premiere of Kaija Saariaho's well-received opera ''L'Amour de Loin.'' Again, Mr. Nagano was praised for an assured and sensitive account of an intricate, haunting and elusive score. In a press conference before the premiere, Mr. Sellars teared up when he discussed the painstaking care and self-effacing devotion Mr. Nagano had brought to Ms. Saariaho's score throughout the long rehearsal period.

Perhaps because so much of his career has been based overseas, Mr. Nagano, who turns 49 on Wednesday, has not achieved widespread recognition in the United States. His surname has even led some to think he is not American. In fact, Mr. Nagano is a California-born Beatles fanatic, who enjoys scuba diving and speaks not a word of Japanese. Though his demeanor is soft-spoken, he has boundless energy and a keen intellect. With his slender build, long black hair and choreographic podium manner, he exudes a quiet charisma.

So, naturally, he must be in the sightlines of the several major American orchestras that are looking for new music directors, right?

Wrong. In August a colleague at The New York Times asked Mr. Nagano whether he had gotten calls from the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra or the New York Philharmonic, all currently searching for future music directors. Or whether the Cleveland Orchestra, which in a curious move selected the Austrian Franz Welser-Most as its next conductor last year, had contacted Mr. Nagano during its search. No, he answered. Not one call from any of them. Not even a nibble.

Mr. Nagano's American press representative recently confirmed that no inquiries had come since, either. The boards of the American orchestras that are looking for music directors seem to be competing for the same handful of established, mostly European maestros. What about younger candidates, especially Americans?

Yes, of course, the managers usually say, they would consider younger American artists who have fresh ideas about programming and lots of enthusiasm. But first and foremost, they must have a conductor steeped in the great works of the European repertory, a musician of unquestionable brilliance, someone who would bring stature to the post. But who are the younger Americans with this kind of depth and expertise?

How about the brilliant David Robertson? Or James Conlon, another American who has worked most visibly and successfully in Europe? Or Robert Spano? He might have seemed a logical choice for the Boston Symphony, where he was once an assistant conductor. And his work is well known in New York, where he has done wondrous things with the Brooklyn Philharmonic. But it took a smart orchestra of the second tier, the Atlanta Symphony, to snap him up as music director. (He will retain his Brooklyn post.)

And why has Mr. Nagano not been talked about? What does it say about these American institutions that a conductor so esteemed in Europe seems not even to be in consideration for such vacancies?

My guess is that American orchestra boards are afraid of him. He has been too closely associated with new music and 20th-century works.

Actually, his taste in contemporary music has been quite broad. He conducted the premiere of Ms. Saariaho's opera but also the premiere of John Adams's ''Death of Klinghoffer,'' in Brussels. As music director of the Opera National de Lyon from 1989 to 1998, he earned a reputation for unusual forays outside the standard repertory, like Martinu's ''Trois Souhaits'' (''Three Wishes''), a three-act film opera infused with jazz, and the French-language version of Strauss's ''Salome.'' For the Erato label, he also made the first recording of Michael Kaye's scholarly edition of Offenbach's ''Contes d'Hoffmann,'' which restores the work to its original grand-opera dimensions. This is a beguiling and stylish performance with the tenor Roberto Alagna in the title role.

If doubters need any assurance that Mr. Nagano can do more than conduct hugely complex and sprawling modern operas, they should check out a new Deutsche Grammophon recording of Bernstein's ''White House Cantata,'' featuring the baritone Thomas Hampson, the soprano June Anderson, the London Symphony Orchestra and the London Voices.

''A White House Cantata'' is a pared-down version of ''1600 Pennsylvania Avenue,'' the ill-conceived 1976 musical Bernstein wrote with the lyricist Alan Jay Lerner, who also provided the clunky and pretentious book. The show offered a historic panorama of the occupants of the White House from Washington to Theodore Roosevelt, alternating with a heavy-handed story about slavery, interrupted by a string of self-conscious songs in which the actors stepped out of their roles to address the audience. Cut heavily and turned into a concert cantata, the score works nicely, often affectingly.


text:
By Sherwin B. Nuland.

Illustrated. 170 pp. New York:

Lipper/Viking. $19.95.

There are two schools of thought about Leonardo da Vinci. One view is that he was the very model of a Renaissance man. Everybody knows about the paintings. But to his more ardent admirers this is just the beginning. Leonardo was also an architect, town planner and military engineer. He foresaw the possibility of submarine travel and human flight. Above all, his visionary mind stretched beyond technology into theoretical fundamentals, making advances in science and philosophy that were many years ahead of their time. Much of this case rests on Leonardo's private manuscripts. When he died in 1519, he left 5,000 pages of notes and drawings. A few were published as a ''Treatise on Painting'' in 1651, but most were dispersed to libraries and aristocratic households. Over the last 200 years enthusiastic scholars have been rescuing them from obscurity, and proclaiming that they display Leonardo as one of the greatest intellects of all time.

The alternative view, of rather older provenance, and common among his own contemporaries, is that Leonardo was a prodigious underachiever. He was undoubtedly a supreme talent as an artist. But he was sadly unproductive, finishing precious few commissions, and blighting his magisterial ''Last Supper'' with innovative oil paints that started deteriorating within two decades. He was quick to put himself forward as a master architect and military engineer, but there is no evidence that any of his designs were ever executed. The builders of Milan's cathedral sought his advice, but then quietly discarded it.

To his contemporaries, Leonardo's scientific enthusiasms only served to distract him from his real vocation. He was no educated man, and in particular had no Latin, so could not participate in the scholarly discourses of his time. He did his scientific work in isolation, and scribbled his manuscripts in a peculiar mirror writing he alone could read. His investigations began with a desire to improve his drawing of muscles, but he soon became obsessed with further questions of internal anatomy, mechanics and scientific method. No doubt he achieved insights, but to his detractors it is a great pity that these amateur enthusiasms beguiled him away from the painting, where he could make a real contribution.

Sherwin B. Nuland is emphatically of the view that Leonardo was a transcendent genius. In the first chapter of ''Leonardo da Vinci'' he confesses to a ''near-idolatrous fascination,'' insisting that Leonardo was not just an artist but ''primarily a man of science,'' who aimed at a ''systematization of all knowledge of nature,'' and was able to ''blaze new paths'' leading to ''a vast body of work almost none of which except the paintings could be fully appreciated until centuries after his death.'' Unfortunately, the rest of Nuland's book mounts no real case against the view that Leonardo would have done better to stick to his day job.

History has left us with only the bare bones of Leonardo's life. Born illegitimate in 1452, Leonardo was brought up in his father's middle-class household. By his late teens he was apprenticed to a leading Florentine master, Verrocchio, and started to gain an artistic reputation. He spent his prime in the Milanese court of Ludovico Sforza, where he completed ''The Last Supper.'' When the duke was overthrown, Leonardo was forced into a peripatetic life, with periods in Rome, Florence and Milan again, before his final years as the guest of the French king, Francis I, in Amboise.

Nuland does not write as an art historian. While he details Leonardo's main artistic works, and essays a novel interpretation of the ''Mona Lisa'' as a partial self-portrait, this is not the book for anyone who is curious about Leonardo's innovative use of perspective or color. As a clinical professor of surgery at Yale, and the author of a number of popular books on medical matters, including ''How We Die'' and ''Doctors: The Biography of Medicine,'' Nuland sets himself the task of validating Leonardo's credentials as a consummate scientist.

The trouble is that Nuland is hampered by a highly unrealistic view of science. As he sees it, successful science requires little but a clear eye unclouded by preconceptions. Progress occurs when the fetters of past superstition are shaken off, and the observable facts impress themselves on an open mind. This perspective allows him to portray Leonardo's lack of education as a positive advantage: he was far less trammeled than his more educated contemporaries, and so far better placed to learn directly from nature.

This is not how science works. Without some prior framework of theory, observation is worthless: there is nothing to tell scientists what to look for, and nothing to give their experimental results significance. No scientific thinker, not even a Leonardo, can make do with observations alone. So it makes no sense to separate Leonardo entirely from the assumptions of his time. Far from hindering his search for truth, they provided the soil in which his observations could grow.

Nuland's one-sided view of science leads to some very doubtful claims. He repeatedly interprets phrases from the notebooks as anticipating some later discovery. Leonardo knew long before Darwin that species evolve. Leonardo identified the essentials of the experimental method well ahead of the scientific revolution. Leonardo anticipated the connection between cholesterol and arteriosclerosis by 450 years. And so on.

It is difficult to know what to make of these claims. Some are patently anachronistic. It is true that Leonardo was puzzled by the presence of marine fossils in mountains and said some sensible things about how they might have got there. But this is a worldview away from Darwin's idea that species evolve fluidly over time. Others of Nuland's interpretations are more plausible, but only because they represent Leonardo as being in tune with his period. Leonardo does say modern things about scientific method; so did many of his contemporaries, including the Paduan Aristotelians and medical empiricists like Paracelsus.

In the end it does a disservice to Leonardo to portray him as some savant with a mystical access to the truth. To properly appreciate his achievements, he needs to be set in the intellectual context of his time. Leonardo may not have been influential, thanks to his lack of Latin. But he may still have made genuine advances. Perhaps his detractors are wrong to suggest his scientific work was less important than his painting. But this is not the book to decide the issue.


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WASHINGTON, April 10— Marjorie Hunter, a reporter for The New York Times who covered the White House and Congress at a time when most other women in Washington journalism were assigned to the activities of the first lady, died here today. She was 78.

The cause was acute leukemia.

Journalism was almost completely a male bastion here until Eleanor Roosevelt started holding press conferences every other Tuesday in the 1930's and decreed that only women could attend.

The Times at first resisted assigning a woman to its Washington bureau and instead sent a reporter from New York to the White House each time that Mrs. Roosevelt held a press conference.

In time, that reporter left the paper and Ms. Hunter -- Maggie to everyone from copy boys to presidents -- was hired in 1961 as her replacement.

But Ms. Hunter, who had covered the Legislature in North Carolina and had an affinity for politicians, soon tired of news of the first lady and persuaded her boss, James Reston, to assign her to cover Congress and other government news.

In ''The Girls in the Balcony,'' (Random House, 1992) Nan Robertson, a former reporter for The Times, wrote of the obstacles that women in Washington journalism faced in the 1960's. The balcony in the title referred to the perch above the auditorium of the National Press Club, which did not allow women on the floor and barred them from membership.

''Maggie Hunter recalled the day she started a little mutiny at The New York Times bureau because of the balcony,'' Ms. Robertson wrote. ''Scotty Reston, then the bureau chief, had sent her off to the club to cover a speech by Madame Nhu, the beautiful and sinister female leader of South Vietnam, the wife of Ngo Dinh Nhu.

''Now, Maggie, a Southern lady and a thorough professional, was no feminist firebrand. That day, however, 'I stood on a rolled-up carpet in the back of the balcony and I couldn't hear a goddamned word going on down there -- I couldn't hear a word.'

''Afterwards, she marched, fuming into Reston's office. She blurted out, 'Scotty, don't you ever send me to that damned National Press Club ever again.'

''Reston turned to Wallace Carroll, the bureau's news editor, who had befriended Maggie at The Winston-Salem Journal in North Carolina and had brought her to The Times. 'Wally,' said Reston slowly, with an air of innocent wonderment, 'what's wrong with Maggie?'

'''I don't think,' she said years later, 'that Scotty ever understood why I was so mad.' ''

Ms. Hunter was born June 2, 1922, in Bethany, W.Va., and grew up on the campus of Elon College in North Carolina, where her father, Joshua A. Hunter, was a professor and her mother, Minna, taught in the local school system.

She was managing editor of the Elon College newspaper while a student and was also a correspondent for the local paper, The Burlington Times-News. She graduated from Elon in 1942 and then worked as a reporter for The Raleigh News and Observer, The Houston Press and The Winston-Salem Journal.

She retired from the Times in 1986.

Ms. Hunter is survived by a niece, Susie Frye of Hickory, N.C., and a nephew, Thomas Walker of Richmond, Va.

In 1969, Ms. Hunter was elected president of the Women's National Press Club. Its name was changed to the Washington Press Club when it started admitting men. The National Press Club finally admitted women in 1971 and the two clubs were merged in 1985.

Ms. Hunter was inducted into the North Carolina Journalism, Advertising and Public Relations Hall of Fame in 1992. Her citation said:

''A firm believer in the watchdog function of the press, Hunter gained notoriety for a 1955 incident in which she challenged the Appropriations Committee's right to convene in closed session and had to be carried from the room while still sitting in her chair.''

Photo: Marjorie Hunter (1969)


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ALONG the main dirt road through Greenwater Valley in Death Valley National Park, where parched earth and sky usually stretch out nearly unrelieved to the horizon, a vivid flower-carpeted valley unfolds like a vast hallucination. Around every curve, astounding views open up in yellows and purples and reds, a fantasy scene in the desert that looks even more surreal through polarized sunglasses. In spring the desert is supposed to bloom, but in Death Valley it rarely blooms like this.

Watered by this year's heavy El Niño rains, the lowlands and hillsides of this valley, named for its desolation, have been transformed by a riot of life that has exploded in equal parts ridiculous and sublime. In places that might go a year with no rain, small blooms rise amid boundless moonscapes. In the broad ranges where life is at best a struggle, hundred-square-mile vistas are painted with a startling patina of green, purple and gold. And in the fortunate stretches that normally get at least a share of the sparse winter rainfall, this season's deluges have roused long-dormant grass seeds, creating verdant savannas where wildlife suddenly teems amid the cactuses and creosote bushes.

On this first weekend in May,, the park is a 3.3-million-acre wonderland of life, and my friend Michael and I have driven four hours from Laguna Beach, about 60 miles south of Los Angeles, to see it. Now, uttering ''ohmigod'' every quarter mile or so, we stare in slack-jawed wonder at the multihued mural the flowers and mineral-rich mountains have painted. The clouds that remain from yesterday's storm contrast with the kind of cobalt-blue sky rarely seen over Los Angeles.

Finding a dry riverbed, we park and walk for a while, and the focus shifts suddenly from macro to micro. An intricate web of life, woven by the rains, commands attention. In a bustling roadside ant bed, where centimeter-long residents busily scurry about harvesting desert dandelions, a lone worker struggles with a green-and-yellow salad four times its size. Nearby, a nightmarish looking sphinx moth caterpillar nearly the size of a man's pinky finger is devouring the stem of a flower. At the end of its tail stands a deadly looking pointed spine that a brochure informs us is harmless. Prodded with a blade of grass, it responds with a violent swing of its tail. Harmless?

The ground in this spot is so crowded with desert gold poppies and tiny white pebble pincushion flowers that the most careful step crushes 20 of them. Growing among the creosote bushes are desert chicory flowers so delicate that their stems are too weak to support their own weight. Many of the creosotes themselves are covered with a spectacular fibrous orange parasite called toothed dodder -- an evil plant that snakes its way along the ground until it finds a victim and then digs in with its tendrils, covering the host plant and sucking it dry.

Twenty feet away, a small bird grabs a tiny zebra lizard and flies off, and a kangaroo rat scampers across the road. The rat is followed shortly by a roadrunner. Yes, roadrunners actually exist out here, and they're as fast as they are beautiful and intelligent. This one regards us for a moment before racing up the road, leaving an honest-to-goodness tiny dust trail in its wake.

We are in the broad Greenwater Valley, a 20-mile stretch just to the east of the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere. The Greenwater Valley is a scenic climb up, at 3,000 feet above sea level. An interpretive ranger, Alan Van Valkenburg, whom we met at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, suggested this route. At this time of year, he and the other rangers get almost daily reports on wildflower activity from each other and from visitors, and this year, he says, he has been surprised by the weather and the flowers it has generated. ''Today will be in the 80's,'' he said. ''The average daily high in May is 99 degrees, and in April it's 90. Usually the flowers by now will only be found higher up -- but they're even still blooming down here, which is amazing. We're tempering our enjoyment though, because we know that we could wake up tomorrow and find it's 110.''

MR. VAN VALKENBURG is quick to identify the desert flowers, whether on the ground or from the photos the center keeps on hand. We pointed to a picture of one we had seen while driving into the park along the stunning entry through Wildrose Canyon. We had been fascinated with the single clump of huge daisies growing along a nearly barren stretch of the road. They couldn't have seemed more out of place if they had been growing on the surface of the moon.

''Are you sure that's what you saw?'' Mr. Van Valkenburg asked. We assured him that was the case. ''That's the Panamint daisy,'' he said. ''The only place they grow on the entire planet is that little section of Wildrose and a spot a couple of canyons over. You're quite lucky.''

He pointed to a picture of an exquisite white flower that he said was also now in bloom, and advised: ''Keep an eye out for it. That's the sacred datura. Its other name is jimson weed. This is the one that Carlos Castaneda had his serious hallucinations on and that Don Juan was kind of afraid of. It's incredibly poisonous.''

Jimson weed's hallucinogenic extracts were important in the spirituality of many desert Indian tribes. Castaneda, in his 1968 book, ''The Teachings of Don Juan: A Yaqui Way of Knowledge,'' gave a fictionalized account of an Indian shaman who introduced him to ''the devil's weed,'' the datura. The book became a bible for young hippies yearning to expand their minds, but the experience was not always sublime. Extracts from datura can be strong enough to kill, and quite a few users died. We assured the ranger we were content with the mind-altering properties of the views.

Later, at the Furnace Creek campground, a friendly couple from Topanga, Calif., Andrea Palella and her husband, Dieter Bruehl, spoke of feeling the same awe at the valley's El Niño-year display. They had spent the day at a place called Racetrack Playa, where they had seen blooms of brilliant desert cactus and the bizarre trails of the Racetrack Playa rocks, which have been somehow propelled across the bare desert floor, leaving actual trails behind them. Later the couple had traversed the canyons in an area called Artist's Palette. ''You walk through the canyons and just find flowers everywhere,'' Ms. Palella said. ''We took pictures, but they're pictures no one will believe.''

Now, at Wildrose, we push on in our four-wheel-drive van until Michael shouts, ''Wait, that was one of those Castaneda flowers!'' Sure enough, the sacred datura is growing in a broad wash. If the Panamint dandelions looked bizarre, these ground-creeping plants are otherworldly. The broad leaves are a deep, lush green and their enormous white flowers resemble huge lilies. Michael bends down to smell them. ''It's something between kudzu and magnolia,'' he says, inhaling again, and again. I tell him to leave the flowers alone.

For the next hour he doesn't say much. I attribute this to fatigue, but then he rouses enough to give me a different explanation. ''If we think of reality as here,'' he said, indicating a spot on the left and then shifting his hand a few inches farther left, ''I think I was somewhere over here. I guess I had my first hallucination.''

Photos: THE AMERICAN FRONTIER -- Rain and below-normal temperatures have extended the wildflower season in Death Valley, left. Right, Chad Moore, of the National Park Service, is documenting the increasingly rare dark sky. (Sherry Tesler for The New York Times); (Sam Morris for The New York Times)(pg. F1); SEASONAL GOLD -- Poppies and other blooms are appearing in unusually large numbers. (Sam Morris for The New York Times)(pg. F5) Map of California highlighting Death Valley National Park. (pg. F5)


text:
THE season's most highly anticipated architectural event in New York will arrive on Nov. 11, with the unveiling of Kazuyo Sejima's design for the new New Museum of Contemporary Art. At 45, Ms. Sejima has already acquired the status of a legend. Formerly associated with Toyo Ito, she made her international debut three years ago with a project designed for the Japan Pavilion at the Venice architecture biennale. ''City of Girls'' was a meditation on the lifestyle of Japanese teenagers and featured rows of plastic daisies sprouting from beds of white pebbles. Sejima's design for the new building, to be located on the Bowery, will be presented at the New Museum (583 Broadway) along with an exhibition of other work by her firm, Kazuyo Sejima & Ryue Nishizawa/Sanaa.

Will good architecture ruin Miami Beach? That's the sizzling question sparked by Aqua at Allison Island, the resort's newest planned residential community. Miami is now enjoying one of those blessed spells when the tackiest buildings contribute to an overall impression of throbbing vitality. Why, with building at a standstill in most parts of the country, is the Miami skyline still astir with swiveling cranes?

Conceived by the dynamic real-estate developer Craig Robins, Aqua is an urban hybrid: contemporary architecture set within a New Urbanist master plan. The development's first three buildings, due for completion in mid-November, have been christened with the names of their architects: the (Laurinda) Spear, the (Walter) Chatham and the (Alexander) Gorlin. All stars, all the time. The completion ceremony is on Nov. 6.

Designed by Winka Dubbeldam, 497 Greenwich Street has been a major destination for New York sidewalk superintendents for the last year. A new residential loft building, combined with a renovated industrial building next door, it features a shimmering glass facade that cascades 11 floors to the sidewalk in a series of gently curving folds. Dutch balconies, too, of concrete, wood and steel. The completion date is Nov. 12.

Oh, I almost forgot! Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles! A downtown is reborn. Think of Judy Garland in that classic image with her face framed by splayed hands. That's the gesture echoed by this radiant building's upward thrust. The opening concert is Oct. 23.

Photo: Frank Gehry's long-awaited Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles is scheduled to hold its opening concerts on Oct. 23-25. (Photo by Richard Barnes for The New York Times)


text:
This is a story about money. It doesn't end well.

It begins where it ends, in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, on a tiny lane called Tulfan Terrace.

Tulfan Terrace is a quiet place of single-family homes and stately trees. It was built in the early 20's as a dead-end alley and sits atop a lovely wooded hill.

The neighbors know each other. They walk your dog when you go out of town, take in the mail and check the plants. The older children have been known to baby-sit for the young. In the bushes, there are rabbits, squirrels and cats.

''I never felt this street was really in the Bronx,'' said Diane Bell, 59, who has lived there for almost 30 years.

''It was always such a friendly, lively place,'' she added with a sigh. ''Unlike it is today.''

At this point, it is possible to speak about the money. Last year, developers came to Tulfan Terrace with plans to erect a high-rise building on the block. They were offering large sums to buy out the residents of the street.

Now, of the eight homes underneath the elm trees, two have sold, one is closing, two are leaning toward a sale and the rest are holding out. The arithmetic of real estate has taken over: two plus one plus two minus three equals tension.

''It's absolutely devastating,'' said Phil Friedman, a construction engineer, who lives at No. 511 with its patios and views. ''This was our refuge, where we came to get away, but everything about the place has changed. It's very stressful for us now.''

Not everything has changed at Tulfan Terrace. There is still no noise, no trash and no sidewalks, and the street still smells of the forest on a thawing winter day. But when the money came, the small-town feeling disappeared. It may be gone for good, the neighbors say.

''Everyone's in hiding,'' Ms. Bell said. ''No one wants to talk to anybody anymore.''

The first house to be sold was the stone two-story at No. 518 where Michael Denis, 58, has lived for 50 years. Mr. Denis is a writer with a retiring nature.

''My parents brought me up in this house,'' he said the other day. He was packing. His living room was filled with cardboard boxes; the boxes filled with knickknacks, papers, stacks of moldy books.

''We didn't have to lock our doors back then,'' he added. ''We were friendly with the neighbors and there wasn't much crime to speak of. It had the feeling of the country, but the country in the city. It was just a really lovely place to live.''

When Mr. Denis first met with the developers last March, he thought that he would sell only the lot beside his house. But then the developer, DJC Realty L.L.C., made a bid on both the house and the lot, and the price was right, he said. ''They made me an offer I couldn't refuse,'' he said with a shrug. ''Like 'The Godfather.'''

Selling wasn't easy, though. Mr. Denis loves the street. He loves the privacy, loves the peace and quiet. Still, he had found himself in a certain economic situation.

''I had to sell,'' he said, sounding like a man who had just betrayed his mother. ''I didn't mean to start the snowball rolling, but the money. ...''

Now his voice trailed off. The money was what did it, he explained.

The local press has been filled of late with scathing editorials about high-rise developments. In February, parishioners at St. Gabriel's Church on Arlington Avenue turned down a developer's offer to buy their air rights for a 30-story condominium. But another high-rise is being built on Oxford Avenue, directly at the foot of Tulfan Terrace.

Within weeks of the Denis sale, the developers approached his neighbors. When they, too, sold, there was panic on the street.

''At that point, we were all freaking out,'' said Naomi Gans, who lives across the street at No. 525. In her mind, it was now two down and six more to go.

Ms. Gans, 65, a retired librarian, will sometimes wear a button on her shirt that reads, ''Another Hysterical Librarian for Freedom.'' She is organized by nature, so she organized. She called meetings. She wrote letters. She hired a consultant to help her in the fight.

Sitting in her dining room last month, she said: ''I considered DiAnn Pierce the linchpin. DiAnn lives on the south side of the block between the two houses that had already sold. So if we lost DiAnn, I figured we would lose the block.''

DiAnn Pierce lives in a stone-faced Tudor at No. 520. She has lived on the block for nearly 40 years, and raised her children there. At first, Ms. Pierce was adamant; she did not want to sell. But with her husband dead and her children gone, the house was just too much.

There was another problem. Her neighbors had sold, and she didn't want to live between construction sites.

''It took me several months to make my decision,'' Ms. Pierce said. ''At the time, I figured I would only sell to a family that planned to raise their children there, not tear it down.''

But people change. Ms. Pierce admitted this.

''I held out longer than the developers wanted me to,'' she said, ''and I was quite emotional at times. But in the end they offered me good money, and turning down good money, well, it's hard.''

By now, true terror had set in. It was January. It was three down, five to go.

Ms. Gans kept busy. She helped write a letter to the city Landmarks Preservation Commission asking that Tulfan Terrace be protected. The commission has not yet acted on the request.


text:
Sunday, August 30, 2015

Best Sellers

September 16, 2012

Lists are published early on the Web. Learn More

Inside the List

The novelist Tess Gerritsen — whose mystery “Last to Die” enters the hardcover fiction list at No. 3 — was long reluctant to include elements of her Chinese-American heritage in her books.

Editors’ Choice

Recently reviewed books of particular interest.

Paperback Row

Paperback books of particular interest.

Browse Past Lists

This Week    E-Book Fiction Weeks
on List
1 FIFTY SHADES FREED, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) Reunited, Anastasia and Christian face a world of possibilities and unexpected challenges; the final volume in a trilogy. 27
2 GONE GIRL, by Gillian Flynn. (Crown Publishing.) A woman disappears on the day of her fifth anniversary; is her husband a killer? 13
3 FIFTY SHADES DARKER, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) Daunted by Christian’s dark secrets, Anastasia ends their relationship — but desire still dominates her every thought; the second book in a trilogy. 27
4 FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) An inexperienced college student falls in love with a tortured man who has particular sexual tastes; the first book in a trilogy. 29
5 LAST TO DIE, by Tess Gerritsen. (Random House Publishing.) The detective Jane Rizzoli and the medical examiner Maura Isles protect a boy whose family and foster family have all been murdered. 1
6 BARED TO YOU, by Sylvia Day. (Penguin Group.) Two troubled people develop an intense, obsessive relationship. 17
7 BONES ARE FOREVER, by Kathy Reichs. (Scribner.) The forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan pursues a case involving infanticide, murder and corruption; the 15th novel in the series behind the show “Bones.” 1
8 OBSIDIAN, by Laurann Dohner. (Ellora's Cave.) A New Species male falls for the human doctor who is trying to save him; Book 8 in the series. 1
9 THE BOY IN THE SUITCASE, by Lene Kaaberbol. (Soho Press.) A nurse makes a shocking discovery: a naked and drugged boy hidden in a locker at the Copenhagen train station. 4
10 THE UGLY DUCHESS, by Eloisa James. (HarperCollins Publishers.) Theodora Saxby is the last woman anyone expects James Ryburn, heir to the Duchy of Ashbrook, to marry. But she soon discovers that James desires her dowry, not her heart. 1
11 THE BEAUTIFUL MYSTERY, by Louise Penny. (St. Martin's Press.) Chief Inspector Armand Gamache of the Sûreté du Québec investigates a murder at a remote abbey. 1
12 THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS, by M. L. Stedman. (Scribner.) An Australian lighthouse keeper and his wife decide to keep a baby who has washed ashore. 5
13 WHERE WE BELONG, by Emily Giffin. (St. Martin's Press.) A woman’s successful life is disrupted by the appearance of an 18-year-old girl with a link to her past. 6
14 WRONG BED, RIGHT GUY, by Katee Robert. (Entangled Publishing.) A prim art gallery coordinator's night of seduction winds up hooking the wrong man. 3
15 BECAUSE YOU ARE MINE PART V, by Beth Kery. (Penguin Group.) 1
16 THE INN AT ROSE HARBOR, by Debbie Macomber. (Random House Publishing.) A young widow buys a bed-and-breakfast. 3
17 WHERE AZALEAS BLOOM, by Sherryl Woods. (Harlequin.) Mitch, a widower, once admired Lynn, a struggling single mother, from afar. Now he sees in her not only the girl who got away but a woman desperately in need of support. 1
18 SEDUCING CINDERELLA, by Gina L. Maxwell. (Entangled Publishing.) An injured martial arts fighter struggles to win the heart of his conditioning trainer, before she gives it to somebody else. 3
19 STRANGER IN THE MOONLIGHT, by Jude Deveraux. (Simon & Schuster.) Despite her flourishing career, Kim’s happiness seems a distant hope. But then Travis, with whom she once shared an idyllic childhood summer in Edilean, Va., re-enters her life. 1
20 THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES, by Jussi Adler-Olsen. (Penguin Group.) 1
21 BLACK LIST, by Brad Thor. (Simon & Schuster.) If the counterterrorism operative Scot Harvath manages to discover who has targeted him for death, he can prevent a terrorist attack. 6
22 FIFTY SHADES TRILOGY, by E. L. James. (Knopf Doubleday Publishing.) The three “Fifty Shades” novels in one bundle. 20
23 DEEP DOWN, by Lee Child. (Delacorte Press.) In this e-book story, Jack Reacher is summoned to Washington to find out who is leaking information about plans for a state-of-the-art sniper rifle for U.S. forces. 7
24 COMING HOME, by Karen Kingsbury. (Zondervan.) The Baxters plan a lakeside reunion, but before the big day, the unthinkable happens, leading to a revelation of secrets. 2
25 ROSE GARDEN, by Susanna Kearsley. (Sourcebooks Landmark.) After going to Cornwall to scatter her sister's ashes, a woman discovers that she can travel through time. 1

Also Selling

  1. A FACE IN THE CROWD, by Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan (Scribner)
  2. THE LAST COYOTE, by Michael Connelly (Little, Brown & Company)
  3. BEAUTIFUL DISASTER, by Jamie McGuire (Simon & Schuster)
  4. RETURN TO WILLOW LAKE, by Susan Wiggs (Harlequin)
  5. A LADY BY MIDNIGHT, by Tessa Dare (HarperCollins Publishers)
  6. ALL SUMMER LONG, by Susan Mallery (Harlequin)
  7. FEAR THE DARKNESS, by Alexandra Ivy (Zebra)
  8. YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW, by Lisa Jackson (Kensington Publishing)
  9. THE WILD ONES, by M. Leighton (M. Leighton)
  10. THE THE UNINVITED, by Heather Graham (Harlequin)
About the Best Sellers

A version of this list appears in the September 16, 2012 issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings reflect sales for the week ending September 1, 2012.

An asterisk (*) indicates that a book's sales are barely distinguishable from those of the book above it. A dagger (†) indicates that some retailers report receiving bulk orders.


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Edition: U.S. / Global

Sunday, August 30, 2015

Skyscraper ()

Review Summary

In this high-flying, suspenseful actioner, a routine helicopter charter turns into a life-or-death situation when the pilot lands on a building and discovers it is overrun by terrorists led by a lunatic. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Movie Details

  • Title: Skyscraper
  • Running Time: 96 Minutes
  • Status: Released
  • Country: United States
  • Genre: Action, Thriller

Go to Cast & Credits »


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NYU is the largest private research university in America - and now a university with a global influence like no other. Three degree-granting portal campuses comprise NYU's global network: one in the heart of New York City, a second in Abu Dhabi, and a third in Shanghai.

Since its inception, NYU has been a distinctly urban university, one that NYU founder, Albert Gallatin, called a university that is "in and of the city." Under current NYU president, John Sexton, the University has evolved into a university that is "in and of the great cities of the world."

NYU enrolls more than 40,000 students across its global...

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... network where students study not only on our campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai, but at our global academic centers in Accra, Berlin, Buenos Aires, Florence, Madrid, London, Paris, Prague, Tel Aviv, Sydney, and Washington, DC.

More than 4,000 courses are offered in hundreds of degree and non-degree programs. Explore the icons on this page and the navigation bar above to find information on undergraduate or graduate admissions, as well as information on non-degree programs for visiting students who may simply want to spend a spring, summer, fall, or winter on one of our campuses.

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James Ihaka

James Ihaka is a Herald reporter based in Hamilton.

Market battle takes fresh turn with Forlong talks

Motorists and pedestrians share the space on Commerce St under the present Frankton Markets arrangement. Photo / Supplied
Motorists and pedestrians share the space on Commerce St under the present Frankton Markets arrangement. Photo / Supplied

The continuing stoush over the Frankton Markets has taken another turn.

The owner of retailer Forlongs and his legal team will today meet Hamilton City Council staff before the council considers an application by the Frankton Business Association (FBA) to renew its monthly permit to operate the markets on Commerce St.

It is the latest round in a continuing spat between Forlongs and the FBA, which started in October when Terry Forlong's firm challenged the part-closure of Commerce St for the market on Saturday mornings for more than 31 days, even though they were half days.

After the parties were unable to reach a compromise the council intervened and agreed to trial a shared vehicle and pedestrian space from March under which cars travel down Commerce St while the markets run on the footpath and the parallel carparks with pedestrians having right of way.

Mr Forlong could not be reached for comment yesterday but the general manager of city infrastructure, Chris Allen, confirmed Forlongs had asked to talk to the council about some observations it had about the market.

He said there was nothing secretive about the meeting and it was fair and reasonable for council staff to see them.

"I can speculate that it might be concerning [what's] happening on a Saturday morning [on Commerce St] ... we'd be more interested in any sort of factual observations they might want to make about how [the market] is operating on a Saturday."

But a Frankton retailer, who asked not to be named, had concerns about Forlongs meeting the council before the FBA's application.

The permit expired on Saturday and the market needs a new one to continue operating.

"As far as we knew and as far as councillors knew everything was sorted so to have these secret meetings is wrong on so many levels."

Mr Allen said council would today hear public submissions about shared zones such as on Commerce St, where vehicles must give way to pedestrians.

The council will decide on the implications of this probably by next month but Mr Allen said the market was not dependent on shared zones.

Councillor Dave Macpherson said councillors had agreed the shared space option was the best compromise but now "seemed to be getting fightback from council engineers who don't particularly like shared spaces" and were saying it was too hard and expensive.

He warned the council was entering an "unusual and dangerous" process by meeting Forlongs and believed the next decision should be made when council received the report they had asked for about how to introduce shared spaces on a long-term basis.

FBA chairwoman Edwyna Carlson said the shared concept appeared to be working and stallholders were happy, Mr Forlong was opposed to the idea.

"It hadn't been a problem for more than 20 years and now it is."

"I think he has a vendetta to close the markets down, I don't think it comes down to business at all. He just wants to get the market closed."

She said the markets would run as a shared space until September when the FBA would reapply for a further 31-day road closure.

- NZ Herald

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Crowds flock to watch picnic sports day events

By Staff Reporter

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Joseph Wahlmueller chainsaw carving.  Photo/Supplied
Joseph Wahlmueller chainsaw carving. Photo/Supplied

The 110th annual Ohingaiti/Hunterville Picnic Sports Day was held on Wellington Anniversary Day with a huge turnout of district people and visitors.

There was a swag of entries in the competitions ranging from children riding rams, horse competitions, wood chopping, terrier racing, tug of war, steer riding, novelty events, shearing and sheepdog trialling.

The sheepdog trial show ring event was won by Wendy Schmidt and Dream with 98pts; Paul Evans Bryte 97.75, 2 and Paul Evans Dee 97.50, 3.

Intermediate: P Evans Bryte 97.75, 1; Helen Worsfold Coal 97, 2 and Helen Worsfold Eve 96, 3. Intermediate/maiden Helen Worsfold Coal 97.

The sheep responded well to the smoother-moving dog.

- Wanganui Chronicle

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Ava Lynn Vaughn

POSTED December 5, 2012 1:30 a.m.

Rachelle Worthington and Shane Vaughn of Oakdale welcomed the arrival of their daughter, Ava Lynn Vaughn, on November 23, 2012.

The newborn weighed six pounds, 13 ounces upon arrival at Oak Valley Hospital.

Welcoming home their new baby sister were big sisters Leighla, Aubrey and Bella.

Liz and Gary Worthington of Oakdale are the maternal grandparents.

Kelly Collins and Steven Vaughn of Modesto are the paternal grandparents.

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Racing at Oaklawn

There is simply nothing quite like standing at the rail as a few thousand pounds of flesh, hooves and high hopes comes charging down the home stretch. And for every year since 1905, that’s what Oaklawn Racing has served up from January through April. That and winners. Big winners. Trainers, jockeys and bettors alike know that Oaklawn hosts a disproportionate number of champions and Horses of the Year. As one of the premier race meets in the country, Oaklawn also serves up some of the biggest purses in the business.

Racing Promotions


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Trash Liberated: Co-op Shut Down
By Peter Dybdahl

The action was over almost before it started: ResLife and the Environmental Health Division for Lorain County, responding to rumors that Harkness was serving food out of dumpsters, closed down the co-op for six hours until the source of all the food in the kitchen could be verified.
“No food was there that shouldn’t have been,” OSCA president and OC senior Rachel Dwarzski said. She summated, “It was interesting.”
Rachel David, a sophomore and member of Harkness Co-op still felt the inspection was violating. “This was part of our home,” David said.
While “dumpster-diving” is often considered a marginalized practice of the destitute, for some, including David, it is a political issue. According to David, the Garbage Liberation Front, or GLF, is an “internationally collective consciousness” that has issues with wasteful consumption.
The specifics of the Harkness “dumpster-diving” incidents themselves are unclear: the targeted dumpsters, the trespassers or the spoils taken. Nonetheless, the allegations have prompted campus-wide eye rolling.
The events leading up to the surprise Harkness investigation are vague. So it seems fitting, perhaps, that the story began with a rumor.
In September, ResLife received a report that Harkness dining co-op had been serving food retrieved from a dumpster. ResLife Director Kim LaFond said they chose not to pursue the matter, and assumed the Oberlin Student Co-operative Association (OSCA) would address the issue internally.
The weekend of Oct. 4, ResLife received another report that members of Harkness had served food from a dumpster. Aggravating the concern for ResLife, the October issue of the satirical Oberlin newspaper The Skinny published an article that centered on the Harkness “dumpster-diving” rumors.
According to Kim LaFond, The Skinny article was not judged to be a factual document, but was sufficient evidence for ResLife to investigate the co-op for possible health violations. “What concerned us was that [The Skinny article] put it in the public arena,” LaFond said.
Around this time, the Environmental Health Division for Lorain County, responsible for the inspection of OSCA’s food services, was notified. The Environmental Health Division deflected the issue back to the College, urging a quick resolution to any infractions.
Responding to pressures from the College, the week of Oct. 7, Harkness members issued a resolution stating co-op members would not eat or serve food that had been discarded. Dwarzski said, “They wrote up a declaration saying they would not tolerate it in their kitchens.” Harkness sent copies to ResLife and the Environmental Health Division.
On Friday, Oct. 11, LaFond and other members of ResLife met with OSCA’s General Management Team, a group that ensures smooth co-op functioning. ResLife closed Harkness until they could confirm that all of the co-op’s food had been purchased from a reputable source. The food matched the receipts, and the co-op re-opened about six hours later.
The co-op was closed through Friday’s dinner, but ResLife allowed Harkness diners to eat dinner in the Central Dining Service. Other co-ops extended a similar offer.
“We thought we were being very fair,” LaFond said, “very reasonable.”
Like any good rumor, the specifics of the “dumpster-diving” are hazy and allow for speculation. The most definitive word on the issue, ultimately comes from Dorothy Kloos, Lorain’s Environmental Health Sanitarian, who inspects Harkness: “Obviously, food that is put in a dumpster has been put there for a reason.” She added, “Food that has not been handled with care and vigilance shall not be served to the public.”

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Landmark Charleroi restaurant sold

Photo of Scott Beveridge
By Scott Beveridge
Staff Writer
Image description
Scott Beveridge / Observer-Reporter
Evonne Henderson, the new owner of Rego’s Restaurant & Hotel in Charleroi, is flanked by the founders of the 64-year-old business, Orlando “Tito” Giorgi and his wife, Lorraine. Order a Print
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Scott Beveridge Observer-Reporter
Rego’s Restaurant & Hotel, located in this Charleroi building constructed in 1900, is changing hands after having been in the same family for 64 years. Order a Print
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A century-old photo of a parade in Charleroi passing the ornate building now known as Rego's Restaurant & Hotel.

CHARLEROI – Orlando “Tito” Giorgi thought his nickname was too controversial as a name for the Italian restaurant he opened shortly after World War II ended because of the Communist leader of Yugoslavia at the time known as Josip Broz Tito.

So he selected the name of his brother, Rego, for the restaurant in Charleroi he sold last month after his family made it a local landmark known for its homemade recipes.

“I can’t get over it,” Giorgi, 92, said Monday at Rego’s Restaurant & Hotel, where he and his wife, Lorraine, still gather each day for lunch and dinner.

“After 64 years, how can you turn it off?” Lorraine Giorgi said.

Charleroi Borough Council is preparing to honor the Giorgi family, as well as the Ducoeurs, former owners the of now-closed Orange’s Gift Department Store, Dec. 13 for retiring after having survived decades in business in the Mon Valley town, Charleroi Manager Donn Henderson said.

His cousin, Evonne Henderson of Fallowfield Township, took ownership of Rego’s Nov. 14 and has no plans to change the recipes or 1940s decor of the bar and restaurant housed in a 112-year-old building at 601 McKean Ave.

“That’s what people have been used to, forever,” Evonne Henderson said. “I wouldn’t fix something that isn’t broken.”

Giorgi said he wrote his brother from England during the war, instructing him to look for a business they could purchase as partners. He then used the G.I. bill to obtain a loan to purchase Washington Importing Co. in Washington, a venture that survives today, but one that he abandoned after three years.

“I wanted to come back to Charleroi,” he said. “Charleroi was booming. It had 16 shoe stores, six furniture stores.”

The brothers purchased the tiny Sam’s Restaurant with 10 booths across the street from the hotel in 1948, and then expanded it with an Italian theme.

“Originally it was all family, aunts and uncles, doing all the work,” Lorraine Giorgi said.

Her mother, Julia Nesti of nearby North Belle Vernon, created all of the recipes, with the homemade raviolis and veal scallopini remaining the most-popular dishes.

“She was a beautiful cook,” Tito Giorgi said.

Customers also rave about the “bagna calda,” an olive oil dipping sauce served with garlic toast,” Lorraine Giorgi said.

“We’re famous for it,” she said.

Among the famous people who have eaten here were Liberace, former Steelers linebacker Jack Ham and team founder Art Rooney.

The original restaurant was destroyed in a suspected arson shortly after Christmas in 1969.

Three months later it reopened in its present location, the former Wellington Hotel, once owned by former Washington County Commissioner Ed Paluso.

Evonne Henderson said the only immediate changes she has planned include adding a few new appetizers to the menu and expanding the bar list to appeal to today’s tastes. She also plans to keep open the 32-room hotel without making any of its residents relocate.

What do you think?


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Serb Shame! But will UEFA act ?

In one of the most deplorable nights of international football English footballers including Danny Rose were subject to sustained racial and at times physical abuse. To add insult to injury the only person punished on the night was Danny Rose, who was sent off for kicking the ball away, after he reacted to the deluge of taunts.

After the match Rose stated that he endured overt racial abuse including monkey chants throughout the match. Coins and stones were also pelted at the players. Many fans were clearly given the Nazi salute as Black players neared the touch line.

Although many in the football world have condemned the Serbian fans, Serbian football authorities are in deep denial:

The Serbian people have never been, nor will be, racist, The crowd's reaction to the defeat should not be confused with one of the greatest evils of the modern era.

After football’s night of shame there are a number of question not just for the nation States involved but also for football’s governing bodies: The FA, UEFA and FIFA.

Some questions may include:

  • After sustained racial abuse why didn’t under 21 manager Stuart Pearce order his players to come off?
  • Where was his duty of care?
  • How much abuse is acceptable?

Both UEFA and FIFA have lamentable records in dealing with racism . UEFA, for example, have on numerous occasions imposed greater punishment on teams for arriving a few minutes late on the pitch or a player advertising a brand on his underpants, than for local or national fans racially abusing players. FIFA Chief Sett Blatter recently said that if players are racially abused they should shake hands afterwards and that should be the end of it. How then will the authorities react this time?

Will EUFA ban Serbia national team with immediate effect, and for a lengthy period?

Too many nation states such as Serbia, Hungary and Lithuania have a level of racism that is barbaric and hateful. Having just returned from Hungary I have witnessed first hand that many in Hungary other countries view racial hatred towards Black people and Roma as a badge of honour Sadly, the EU has limited powers to get them to even acknowledge their racism much less effectively tackle it. However, as a football mad nation, banning Serbia would convulse its people to either remain isolated in the world of football or to conform to a standard that does not accept any form of racial hatred and abuse.

Therefore, as bad as the midweek football shame was, the games authorities not only have a chance to reaffirm the moral values but also they could force a nation such as Serbia to begin the painful process of dealing with its intrinsic racial baggage.

Simon Woolley

Archived Comments

We've changed to a new commenting system - comments below are preserved for archive purposes

British Government.

I would like to know what the British Government is doing about this problem; especially now that racist abuse and comments is slowly creeping back into British Football; Mark Clattenburg's alleged use of inappropriate language of a racist nature?


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Disbarred attorney sentenced to probation

Published: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 2:43 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, November 26, 2012 at 2:43 p.m.

Disbarred Ocala attorney Douglas Kirkland pleaded no contest Monday to reckless driving charges and was sentenced to six months of probation.

Kirkland was arrested in late August, charged with driving under the influence after he reportedly crashed his green BMW into the guardrails of the county library parking lot on East State Road 40. The charge was amended to reckless driving, property damage involving alcohol.

In addition to probation, Kirkland will have to pay $576.50 in fines, cannot consume or possess alcohol, and must undergo random alcohol screening at his own expense. He also must perform 25 hours of community service and pay $774.43 in restitution to the Florida Department of Transportation.

According to a report from the Ocala Police Department, Kirkland smelled of alcohol, slurred his words and wouldn’t look directly at officers who tried to speak to him at the crash scene.

Kirkland told officers “he had a problem when shifting from second to third and lost control on the wet road,” noted the report.

“I advised Kirkland that the roads were dry and it had not rained, and he stated that he knew it had not rained tonight, but he said it has rained a lot recently and all the oils were on the surface of the roadway,” Officer William Joedicke wrote in the report.

Kirkland refused to participate in any field sobriety tests. He was taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center for a medical evaluation because he is diabetic. He refused to give a blood or urine sample.

Kirkland was a criminal defense and family law attorney and was admitted to the Florida Bar in 1993. In 2010, he was disbarred for five years after he allegedly misappropriated trust funds and used them to pay for a new car and advertising expenses, which caused a $90,000 deficit in the account at one point, according to the Bar.

All of the funds have been replenished, according to the Florida Supreme Court order in the case.

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Man dies after being beaten at Jacksonville party

Published: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 5:59 p.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 27, 2013 at 5:59 p.m.

JACKSONVILLE — A man is being held in a Duval County jail on a manslaughter charge in connection with the death of a 19-year-old who was beaten at a party.

Jail records show 25-year-old Christopher Hoffman is being held without bail. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says 19-year-old Ryan Scott Ford was with a large group early Saturday at a bonfire party when several fights broke out.

The Florida Times-Union reports ( ) officers responded to reports of an injured person who had been taken to the hospital. Witnesses said Ford became unconscious after being punched several times. He died a short time later.

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Hard-hitting Rattlers hand Wildcats first loss of season

Belleview's Kaitlyn Bennett bunts for a base hit Friday night, March 14, 2014, in a 9-3 win at home against Forest.

Doug Engle/Ocala Star-Banner
Published: Friday, March 14, 2014 at 6:30 a.m.
Last Modified: Saturday, March 15, 2014 at 12:15 a.m.

BELLEVIEW — In a matchup of strength versus strength Friday night, something had to give.

Belleview's hard-hitting lineup faced off against the county's best pitcher from Forest. The Rattlers owned the night, winning the non-district game 9-3 to split the season series and hand the Wildcats their first loss of the year.

Forest ace Morgan White, who entered with a 13-0 record in the circle with a 0.66 ERA, was touched up for 12 hits and eight earned runs against Belleview — winners of nine straight.

Rattlers junior Alexis Day did the most damage off White, finishing a home run shy of the cycle.

After FHS (13-1) got back into the game with a three-run top of the fifth to make it 5-3, Day blew it back open with a bases-loaded triple. The center fielder finished 3-for-4 with three RBIs, three runs and a stolen base.

"I think she's the best hitter in this county," Belleview head coach Gary Greer said. "She believes every time she's up she will get a hit. And she believes in the girls behind her that they're going to drive her in. … Everyone believes in everyone next to them. We have so many hitters."

After losing their first two games of the season, one of which was a 4-3 loss at Forest in February, the Rattlers have been slugging their way to a 9-0 record.

After White retired the first two BHS batters of the night, Rachel Knowles singled up the middle to set the table for Alex Suzuki, who promptly homered over the left center field wall to give her team an early lead.

BHS scored another pair of two-out runs the next inning. Sidney Chester walked and Day singled. Pitcher Jamie Adams singled to right to make it 4-0.

Adams drove in Day again in the fourth to make it 5-0.

Forest battled back in the fifth, scoring three runs on one hit. Knowles took over for Adams in the circle but was unable to finish the inning. FHS loaded the bases with a walk by Ansley Copeland, a two-out single by Kaitlyn Peters and a walk by White. Then Nikki Blanton walked to force in Forest's first run. Rachel Mazzurco was then hit by a pitch to force in another and chase Knowles. Adams re-entered the circle and hit Kat Andrews to score Hannah Conrad, who ran for White. The threat abruptly ended when Blanton was caught trying to steal home.

"That was a big play for us there," Greer said. "It allowed us to take a breather there, and we got momentum back with a four-run inning right after that."

Rachel Phelps, Kelly Bennett and Kaitlyn Bennett loaded the bases for Day, who grew up playing alongside White on various travel and all-star teams. Day's triple ended up being the decisive blow.

"We've always been buddies on the field and off the field so it's fun out there," Day said. "But it's just like hitting against anybody else. I try to not over think anything with any pitcher or any situation. I just approach it like I would anybody else."

Belleview's approach this time around was much better than the first time it faced FHS. White struck out 15 Rattlers on Feb. 13.

"That wasn't what we were expecting out there," Forest head coach Pam Silvestre said. "Give it to Belleview. Belleview is a hard-hitting team. They made drastic improvements and were coached up. They were ready for us. We're going to go back and get better."

White ended up with eight strikeouts in her six innings of work. Peters led the Wildcats at the plate with a 3-for-4 night. Copeland and Jasmine Haynes had two hits apiece, while Caley Chappel and Mazzurco each had one.

Forest travels to Leesburg for a district game Tuesday. Belleview plays at South Sumter on Tuesday.

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Orange County Business Journal

Fisker Founder Resigns

Kari Hamanaka Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The founder of Anaheim-based luxury hybrid automaker Fisker Automotive Inc. has resigned.

Henrik Fisker's resignation as executive chairman stems from "several major disagreements" over business strategy with the company's management, according to reports from Reuters and Automotive News, both of which cite an e-mail from Fisker himself.

The company confirmed Fisker's resignation and said his “departure is not expected to impact the company’s pursuit of strategic partnerships and financing.”

The company is engaged in a search for an investment partner, with reports identifying China-based automakers Dongfeng Motor Corp. and Volvo owner Geely Holding Group as potential buyers.

The news comes amid disappointing sales for the automaker, which has put production of its flagship Karma, a sedan priced at about $100,000, and plans for a second model on hold. The halt in production came after the federal government withheld $336 million of a $529 million loan to Fisker after the company missed initial milestones for production, and a more recent shortage of batteries due to a bankruptcy filing by its main supplier.


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Cutting Flowers

Making cut flowers last longer:

1. Cut flowers early in the morning.

2. Cut stems at a slant. Use a pair of sharp scissors, not pruning clippers.

3. Immediately after cutting put stems in a bucket of water.

4. Once you have brought the cut flowers indoors, strip away foliage on the part of the stem that will be underwater in your display vase.

5. Recut stems UNDER WATER. Remember to cut at an angle again.

6. Immediately after recutting stems, transfer to vase. Water should be halfway up stems. Some flowers rot quickly. change water often. Commercial preservatives work well. Adding a few copper pennies to a vase of tulips will help them stand erect and not droop, and will prolong their vase life.