FULL NAME: Alexander Fernandez.
BORN: Aug. 13, 1969, in Miami Beach
HEIGHT, WEIGHT: 6-1, 205
HOW ACQUIRED: Drafted June 4 fromn Miamio-Dade South CommunityCollege in first round (fourth pick over all).
COLLEGE HEIGHLIGHTS: In 1990, he was 12-2 with a 1.19 earned-runaverage in sophomore year at Miami-Dade. he struck out 154 and walked23 in …
ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's top court is allowing the family of a man charged with stabbing his mother to death during a psychotic rage to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against his psychiatrist.
The lawsuit claims Dr. Derek Johnson O'Brien committed medical malpractice when he ordered two of Victor Bruscato's medications be discontinued.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Monday …
Manchester City may be happy to extend its record run of seven straight Premier League draws when it comes up against Chelsea on Saturday.
City's expensively assembled squad finally clicked back into gear to beat Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup this week, but Chelsea has scored 17 goals and conceded none in winning its last five Premier League matches and is five points clear at the top with by far the best goal difference.
"What the win has done has put us in the right frame of mind for the visit of Chelsea at the weekend," City winger Shaun Wright-Phillips said.
That attitude could be crucial if City's players are not to be intimidated …
This is not an easy process. It took Wallinger, who recordsunder the band name World Party (essentially himself and drummerChris Sharrock), three months to complete "Penny Lane." Now, heregards it with even more awe than before.
…
Companies that develop a global tax strategy can ensure a competitive advantage by a reduction in their tax burden
Imagine you are the tax director of a Canadian corporation. You arrive at your office on Monday morning and an e-mail message from the company's president is waiting for you: "Just clinched a great deal to purchase an operation in Latin America. Please see me this afternoon to discuss any tax issues." Over the next several days, however, enthusiasm turns sour as the company discovers its return on investment will be much less than expected, due to high corporate and capital taxes in the target country and a substantial tax cost in repatriating earnings. …
Representatives of a Jewish human rights organization say an Israeli delegation is traveling to Chile and Argentina to hunt for the former SS doctor Aribert Heim.
The Wiesenthal Center in Buenos Aires says Efraim Zurrof is visiting the Chilean city of Puerto Montt with other officials Monday. Zurrof is the director of the Wiesenthal Center's Israeli office and the …
A circuit judge denied a tearful request from a young mother tokeep her out of jail so she could help raise a baby she is accusedof neglecting.
Jessica Lee Saunders, 20, pleaded guilty in April to childneglect causing injury concerning second-degree burns. Her six-month old daughter, Zayna, was injured in December 2006.
Saunders was arrested after she brought the baby to the hospitalfor treatment of multiple burns to her inner and outer thighs,calves, ankles and feet. Doctors alerted the police, saying some ofthe burns were older and appeared to have come from differentcauses.
Saunders said the child rolled off a bed onto a radiator heater,but the attending …
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AWARD
Presented to a board that has instituted and practices corporate governance in a superlative manner.
AND THE WINNER IS . . .
Until recently, the board of directors at Salisbury Bancorp in Lakeville, Connecticut-a rural hamlet tucked away in the Berkshire Mountains-included two practicing attorneys, a retired managing director from Citigroup, a bookseller, an insurance agent, a gentleman farmer, and a veterinarian. And when the vet moved away, the president of a local water company took his place.
A diverse group, to be sure, and one that is quite representative of the boards at most small banks throughout the country. None of the …
Hundreds of rioters are fighting pitched battles with police in the cities of Athens and Thessaloniki following the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy in central Athens Saturday night.
According to witnesses, the shooting occurred around 9:00 p.m. when a small group of youths attacked a police patrol car. A police officer fired three shots, hitting the teenager in the chest. Witness accounts diverge widely over what happened.
Several hours after the incident, police issued a statement saying the patrol car, with two officers inside, was attacked by a group of 30 stone-throwing youths while patrolling the central district of Exarchia.
According …
What's this Jazz about Julius Erving going to Utah?
If so, the Philadelphia 76ers will get the blues.
But it looks like the 76ers will be making a joyful noise: Jazzpresident David Checketts said late last night Erving would pass up amultimillion-dollar offer sheet from Utah to remain withPhiladelphia.
Checketts said he learned through Erving's agent, Irwin Weiner,that the veteran had decided to stay in Philadelphia. He said Jazzgeneral partner Larry Miller, who had flown to Philadelphia forlast-minute talks with Erving, had left a message for him that Ervinghad decided to stay with the 76ers.
"I found out through Weiner's secretary that Larry …
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - A bullet whizzed through the door of an empty mosque here, and police were investigating whether a hate crime was committed.
The bullet pierced the aluminum frame of a glass entry door at The Islamic Center of South Texas on Friday afternoon. The mosque was empty at the time and nobody was injured.
The bullet shattered an exit transom window at the other end of the mosque's central hallway, according to police.
"We're sure it's a high-caliber weapon, based on the damage," Corpus Christi police Cmdr. Jesse V. Garcia said. …
An Internet posting purportedly by al-Qaida in Afghanistan claimed Thursday that the group was behind the bombing near the Danish embassy in Pakistan this week that left six people dead.
The statement said Monday's bombing in Islamabad was carried out to fulfill the promise of terror mastermind Osama bin Laden to exact revenge over the reprinting in Danish papers of a cartoon of Islam's Prophet Muhammad.
It said the bombing came in defense of the religion, the blood and the honor of Muslims, and warned that if Denmark fails to apologize for the cartoons, more attacks will follow and Monday's blast will "only be the first drop of rain."
…
PIONEERS IN ORGANICS DIVERSION
Program initiated in 1990 includes 32 composting operations processing organics from 56 conectional facilities, diverting 14,000 tons of food residuals and waste wood.
THE NEW York State Department of Correctional Services (NYS DOC) is the third largest state correctional system in the nation with 70 correctional facilities housing approximately 63,000 inmates supervised by 29,000 civilian and security staff. Correctional facilities range from 200 bed minimum security work camps and shock incarceration units to large 1930s era maximum security walled facilities such as Sing Sing and Attica with up to 3,300 inmates. The majority of inmates, 39,000, are housed in medium and minimum security dormitory style units with up to 1,500 beds.
Feeding systems range from traditional mess halls with cafeteria-style service to small group satellite feeding units. Nearly 6,000 inmates are fed three meals daily in their cells, medical units or 23 hour/day isolation cells.
With the passage of the New York State Solid Waste Management Act of 1988, all State divisions were required to initiate solid waste management and recycling policies to be in place by January 1991. The Department of Correctional Services responded by creating the Resource Management Division in 1990 to reduce the waste stream and provide avoided disposal costs to cover the cost of operations. Today the Department maintains recycling programs in all 70 facilities with 12 regional processing centers marketing over 20 recycled commodities in commercial load lots.
Early waste audits revealed the largest fraction of the waste stream by weight was food preparation waste and leftovers. Food waste generated weighed 1800 lbs/cubic yard with an average of 1 lb/day generated per inmate. This number is representative of audits conducted in 16 other states and compares with over 2 lbs/bed in hospitals and up to 3 lbs/bed in nursing homes. It was determined that less than .25 lbs/day was coming from returned serving plates with the balance coming from food prep areas, over-date bakery goods and wet materials such as pasta, rice, coffee grounds and soups.
In 1990, two pilot compost sites were developed to refine collection protocol and compost process control as well as determine economic feasibility for expanded operations. These early sites were open windrows on impervious pads utilizing large wood chips as a bulking agent and carbon source. (BioCycle has documented the history of the New York State Correctional composting program since its beginning; see "Correctional System Wins With Composting and Recycling," September 1994; "Composting 12,000 Tons of Food Residuals A Year," May 2000; and "Comparing Composting Technologies At Correctional Facilities," March 2003.)
Based on results of the pilot sites, and from the perspectives of operational and avoided costs, the program has expanded to 32 compost facilities processing organic waste from 56 correctional facilities. During Fiscal Year 2005-06, approximately 9,000 tons of food residuals and 5,000 tons of waste wood were composted. Using $130/ton as an average waste disposal cost (tipping and hauling fees), the avoided cost is about $2.2 million. This number includes avoided disposal costs for composting of approximately 100 dairy cattle and calf mortalities and abattoir waste from 500 beef animals processed in the Department's Agri-Business program. It is interesting to note that for the last three years, total tons diverted have decreased slightly to parallel a decrease of nearly 10,000 inmates in the last five years (due mostly to alternative sentencing and overall decreased arrests in the state).
OPERATIONAL PROTOCOLS
Although a number of composting technologies are in place in the New York system, a set of standard separation, collection and process protocols have become implemented at all composting facilities. Food waste is collected in unlined, covered, plastic barrels (35 gallon) from pre and postconsumer areas of facilities. All paper and plastics are source separated following strictly enforced procedures. Collected food waste barrels are moved daily to compost facilities. At some facilities, they are stored in dedicated coolers for collection three times per week.
Inmates typically are served in Lexan sectioned trays using durable drinking vessels and metal cutlery. Inmates housed in remote areas or segregated cells are served in covered Lexan trays and portion controlled foil sealed polystyrene containers. In emergency situations and facility lock downs, inmates may be fed in their cells in Styrofoam containers with disposable cutlery.
No size reduction or grinding is utilized at any facility. At the windrow composting sites, mixing of food waste with bulking agent is accomplished either by skid steer or front loaders or in scaled agricultural feed mixers. Aerated bay and in-vessel sites all utilize Kuhn Knight reel-type mixers with scales. Bulking agent is exclusively tub ground scrap wood generated at correctional facilities from routine maintenance, pallets, clean construction debris, lawn and tree waste. All grinding and shredding is done by contract with mobile shredder operations due to capital costs, liability and high maintenance costs of grinders. In-vessel systems require double ground mulch material that is either purchased or double ground by contract vendors onsite. (Initial trials with the Wright Environmental Systems' unit indicated a need for more absorptive surface area for the shorter residence time in the vessels to take up excess moisture and provide smaller airspaces for more uniform forced aeration.) At several sites, lawn and tree trimmings are accepted from local municipalities, as are utility generated chipped material. Starting recipes are generally 2:1 by volume bulking to food. Mixing ratios by weight are used at sites with mechanical mixers.
Composting temperatures are maintained at 55-70�C for approximately 30 days. Daily temperature readings determine turning and aeration activities. Initial moisture content is routinely 60 percent for windrows and 65 to 70 percent for mechanically aerated systems. Experience shows that visible food waste is gone in two to three weeks, with material ready for screening and curing in four to five weeks. Material is removed from active aeration and turning based on return to near-ambient temperature, moisture content and physical appearance.
Routine maturity testing is performed semiannually with complete physical and chemical analysis done only when a significant change in feedstock is experienced. Base recipes and time protocols were developed based on two years of quarterly analysis conducted for each technology.
All compost is screened through three-eighth-inch trommel or orbital screens. Overs are returned to the compost cycle after contaminants are hand removed. Fines are cured with minimal management for at least 90 days, with 120 days being the average.
Mature compost is utilized within the correctional system for landscaping, vocational horticulture programs, community service projects and, in some cases, land applied for turf maintenance or agricultural land amendment. Increasingly, finished compost is bartered to state and local transportation departments and municipalities for in-kind services. Limited bulk sales to private vendors are completed when surpluses develop at selected sites.
COMPOSTING TECHNOLOGIES
A number of considerations factor into site design and composting methodology selection, including available space, need for visual buffers, quantity of food waste generated, leachate treatment options and available labor. These factors are used to determine the level of technology utilized in developing compost facilities. Economic payback analysis also plays a major role in system implementation. Facilities are generally constructed that will provide an avoided disposal cost amortization in less than five years. The exception to this rule is when an in-vessel system is indicated where payback is less than 10 years.
Four levels of technology are employed at correctional sites. At present, there are 17 open windrow, six structure-covered windrow (i.e., in a pole barn with open sides), five aerated bay and four in-vessel systems. An additional three aerated bay facilities are funded or in development. The operating policy calls for implementing the lowest effective technology.
Leachate treatment is accomplished through capture of site runoff in surface drains and underground settling tanks that are pumped for landfill disposal as needed. The liquid fraction of runoff is diverted to stone-filled recharge structures and grass filter strips designed by USDA-NRCS.
Each level of technology offers advantages and challenges:
Open Windrow. A traditional open window system on an impervious pad (usually concrete) is the most economical system to construct and operate. These facilities are capable of handling large quantities of material with great flexibility for active processing, bulk storage and curing. Process control is limited by precipitation, temperature and other environmental influences. Mixing is less precise unless a mechanical mixer is used. Maintaining appropriate moisture has been problematic in some instances. Open windrows are used for very large sites with a variety of feedstocks such as manures, food and mortalities. This method is also used for very small operations, where capital costs for benefit derived are marginal. Leachate collection and treatment must be sized to accommodate rain and snow drainage from pad areas.
Open windrows are used for curing at most sites even with enclosed active composting areas. A 2002 study using prevailing civilian wages and current construction costs indicated open windrows operated with costs in the $6/ton range.
Covered Windrow: Windrow operations covered by pole structures with open or partial sidewalls are used where visual considerations are a factor. The structures also provide increased process control in high precipitation and severe winter sites. Containment of compost materials to the pad area is also improved with partial concrete sidewalls. Large pole structures also can provide protection from the elements for equipment such as mixers and screens. Pole structures are normally 60-feet wide by up to 200-feet long. Operational challenges with a covered windrow system include adequate ventilation for water vapor, building maintenance from equipment damage and interior odor issues. In the New York experience, based on 2002 information, costs per ton of material composted was in the $12 to $15/ton range.
Aerated Bay: Aerated static bay systems offer several process control advantages such as absolute temperature and moisture control with forced aeration. Aerated bay facilities are relatively labor efficient since regular turning of windrows is not required. They also are very space efficient in terms of materials processing. Because of the improved process control, thermophilic stages can be reduced to the minimum time frame. However, aerated bay systems require additional equipment in mixers, scales, screens and aeration fans, and controls with inherent maintenance costs. As with any enclosed composting space, ventilation is critical to the success of the program. Aerated bay systems also lose flexibility in recipes and variation in feedstock, although are not as restrictive as in-vessel systems. It has been our experience that most new composting facilities will use the aerated bay design because of cost efficiency, space, aesthetic parameters and process control. Aerated bay systems are in the $20 to $25/ton range when amortized over 10 years.
In-Vessel: While the most costly on a per ton processed basis, in-vessel composting systems still provide reasonable returns in specific locations. The New York State DOCS operates four Wright Environmental units of 750, 1500, 2000 and 3000 pounds/ day capacity. These units are employed where space is at a premium, such as inside facility security perimeters and adjacent to other inhabited buildings. In-vessel units provide ultimate process control and protection from the elements. Aeration, moisture, mixing and leachate and odor control are integrated in the vessel. With a 20-foot by 60-foot footprint, the 3,000 lb/day unit is very space efficient. Management considerations are increased for in-vessel systems. Integrated computers and electronics require extensive operator training and increased maintenance costs when mechanical failures occur. Enclosed space regulations may make routine maintenance difficult. In-vessel systems are recipe specific and require specialized bulking material with little flexibility in feedstock. With an enclosed tunnel design, adjustments to material in the 14-day cycle are difficult. In-vessel systems have been very successful in the New York State system. Over a 15 year amortization capital and operational costs average $45/ton.
All the composting technologies described above are capable of producing commercially acceptable compost products and significant waste disposal cost avoidance when compared to an average $130/ton hauling and landfill fee structure.
BIOBASED PRODUCT EXPERIENCE
Since 1995, the New York State DOCS has piloted three brands of biobased bags and food serviceware. All of these products were vegetable/starch-based with bag products including a polyethylene matrix. In each case, a number of economic and physical characteristics precluded the Department from regular use of the products. The NYS DOCS' potential use of disposable/compostable serviceware is limited to emergency and security issue cell-based feeding situations.
The most evident limiting factor in each of the product lines tested was cost per service. The minimum cost was more than double the cost of alternative materials such as foam or paper materials.
In the case of compostable bag products to be used as food waste can liners, no product exhibited abrasion resistance suitable for institutional use. No product tested provided thermal tolerance above 100�F without failure. All but one product tested also lost integrity in the presence of high moisture materials when stored for more than a few minutes.
When introduced in windrow composting, biobased bags disintegrated into large fragments that posed a severe airborne problem across the landscape. When used in mixing equipment, bag sections became entangled in shafts and elevators causing system failures. Nondegraded bag fragments also coated the interior of screening equipment causing poor sizing of material. As with all tested biobased products, the per unit cost of biodegradable waste bags was approximately double that of traditional film bags.
Product testing for biobased serviceware included cups, bowls, plates and cutlery. All products tested were made from vegetable starch compounds. In each case of products submitted for field testing, both physical and economic limitations prohibited inclusion of these products in regular use for correctional facilities.
In all cases, cups, bowls and plates did not sustain physical shape or integrity when exposed to normal serving temperature of foods or liquids. When stored in unventilated areas, ambient heat of summer caused disfiguring and self-adherence. Forks and spoons did not maintain rigidity when introduced to hot liquids and became misshapen when stored in summer temperatures. Utensils used after being stored for over 60 days became brittle and broke into small pieces especially knives.
When biobased cutlery was introduced to the compost process, handle of the utensils showed an uncanny resistance to degradation and after several months became a contaminant of increasing proportions in recovered bulking agent. It was noted that a significant portion of biobased cutlery was still evident in compost after four cycles of active composting. The biobased materials were tested in all four compost systems in use. As with biobased film products, the cost of cutlery was at least double of durable and disposable plastic and metal alternatives.
Although initial experiences with biobased serviceware were unsatisfactory, the NYS DOCS system would continue to field test new products as the utility and environmental advantages of biobased products could fill a need in selected instances.
[Sidebar]
Four levels of technologies are employed at the correctional facilities, including covered windrows (right) and covered aerated bays (above).
[Sidebar]
Aerated bay systems are in the $20 to $25/ton range when amortized over 10 years.
The New York State DOCS operates four in-vessel units (one shown above), ranging in capacity from 750 lbs to 3,000 lbs/day.
[Author Affiliation]
James Marion is Resource Management Director with the New York State Department of Corrections. This article is based on a paper presented at the Food And Biobased Cafeteriaware Composting For Federal Facilities In Washington, DC Roundtable Discussion held in Beltsville, Maryland, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture in December 2005.
BRISTOL, Conn. (AP) — ESPN President George Bodenheimer will relinquish his day-to-day responsibilities Jan. 1, with John Skipper taking over the role.
The Walt Disney Co., which owns the sports network, made the announcement Tuesday, saying it was part of a company-wide emphasis on succession plans.
"We've focused on succession at all levels of Disney for some time now, and consistent with that approach, George initiated conversations last spring that led to today's announcement," Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said in a statement.
Last month, Iger said he would step down in March 2015 to make way for a new chief executive.
Skipper, 55, has been ESPN's executive vice president for content since October 2005. He joined ESPN in 1997 as senior vice president and general manager of ESPN The Magazine. Previously, he was senior vice president of The Disney Publishing Group, overseeing all of Disney's publishing operations in the United States.
Skipper will serve as ESPN's president and co-chair of Disney Media Networks, putting him on an equal footing with Anne Sweeney, the other co-chair, who also heads the Disney/ABC Television Group.
The promotion gives Skipper a key position at the biggest and most profitable division of Disney — its television business.
ESPN's strong performance has lifted the importance of Disney's pay TV channel business within the company and has given Disney unparalleled negotiating strength with distributors such as cable and satellite companies.
Bodenheimer, 53, will continue to chair ESPN's board of directors. He has been president for 13 years, during which the company grew substantially. Bodenheimer, who joined ESPN in 1981 as a driver in the mail room, is the longest-tenured top executive at the sports network.
Bodenheimer said that after 31 years at ESPN, "it was a good time to step away from the day to day management of ESPN and let others take the lead."
FORECAST FOR TUESDAY
eARIES (March 21-April 19). You've got plenty of bright ideas, sotake charge. Someone's passive-aggressive action could make youleave when you really want to stay. Show the boss you care aboutyour work, and appreciation will soon come to you. rTAURUS (April20-May 20). Progress at work will come slowly. Keep asking for whatyou need. You've got a way of making up for lost time, and this willbe extremely effective when dealing with friends you've not seen ina while or clients from years past.
tGEMINI (May 21-June 21). Feel slightly out of control? Wait itout, it will pass by the afternoon. New sources of inspiration aretapped when you release the need to control everything. It'sexciting to know that not everything is easily predictable.
yCANCER (June 22-July 22). Use your vast mind and creativeimagination to develop future goals. Bond with kindred spirits whileexercising. You are sociable and able to make solid connections.Time with a partner helps heal the relationship tonight.
uLEO (July 23-Aug. 22). A source of small but regular additionalincome will materialize. Return that phone call. People who want itall their way are toxic to you. Explore artistic talents and newpossibilities for self-expression.
iVIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22). Bashfulness charms a love interest.Open accounts and make investments. Organize paperwork. Childrendeserve special consideration, even though they have already wornyou out. Confront a relative regarding a destructive habit.
oLIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 23). Meet a challenge at work head-on.Although family members will have trouble adjusting to a change, youcan lead the way. Your current financial situation calls for thriftand discipline. Your love interest will make a surprisingsuggestion.
pSCORPIO (Oct. 24-Nov. 21). Set a new record; you are capable.Financial schemes must be revised. New living arrangements help savemoney. A romantic partner has a last-minute change of heart. Avoidmaking comparisons between family members.
[SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21). Your colleagues' censure stemsfrom jealousy. You have control over what was unmanageableyesterday. Tonight's date may be the start of something big. Newinformation provides solutions to long-term difficulties.
]CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19). Get help with details, because yourtime is better spent elsewhere. Watch for movement on the romanticfront. One who makes a play for you may be older. A controlling bossmakes life rough for your mate, so be the gentle comforter.
qAQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18). Things finally click between lovers.Ask intelligent questions, and you'll get to the heart of thematter. Your short-term evasion of pressing issues leads to long-term unhappiness - think before you avoid things or procrastinate.
wPISCES (Feb. 19-March 20). Several unsure prospects won't helpyou as much as one good one will. A lackluster romance will shineonce again when you make travel plans. Analyzing your love lifepreoccupies you to no avail - spend your time more constructively.
IF SEPT. 5 IS YOUR BIRTHDAY: Life sparkles because you refuse tolive vicariously through others. Be prepared to finally take yourposition among the powerful next month. The best signs forpartnerships of all kinds are Capricorn and Pisces. Your luckynumbers are: 5, 51, 22, 6 and 11.
The United Nations said Thursday it has received less than half the money it needs for cyclone relief in Myanmar, with some nations delaying their donations because of concerns about restrictions imposed by the military government on foreign aid workers.
The U.N. set a goal of US$201.6 million for its relief efforts but so far has received only US$113.2 million, or 44 percent, from government donors, it said. An additional US$51 million in pledges has not yet been delivered, the U.N. said.
Funding shortfalls were particularly great for emergency food operations and education, it said.
"Funding is clearly not coming in at the rate we would hope," said Amanda Pitt, a spokeswoman for the U.N. relief operations. "Funding is urgently needed to sustain the pipeline for food and assistance."
Pitt said the U.N. hopes that funding will increase after a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the estimated 2.4 million survivors of the May 2-3 cyclone is finished by June 20.
About 250 experts from the U.N., Myanmar's government and Southeast Asian nations headed into the Irrawaddy delta on Tuesday for the survey of 6,000 hard-hit villages. They will determine the food, water and shelter needs of the survivors, along with the cost of rebuilding houses and schools and reviving the farm-based economy.
The U.N. estimates that more than 1 million survivors, mostly in the delta, still need help more than five weeks after the cyclone struck. Cyclone Nargis killed more than 78,000 people in impoverished Myanmar and left another 56,000 people missing, according to the government.
Myanmar's military regime has asked for US$10.7 billion in foreign funds for relief and reconstruction.
Aid donors representing dozens of countries and regional organizations met late last month in Yangon and agreed to provide some cyclone aid, but warned the military junta they would not fully open their wallets until aid workers are provided access to the hardest-hit areas.
The junta has since promised to allow international aid workers into the delta, but access to the area remains difficult.
Aid agencies say a new set of government guidelines introduced Tuesday for relief operations could further complicate and delay recovery efforts.
The guidelines, distributed by the government at a meeting of U.N. agencies and private humanitarian organizations, require repeated contacts with national and local government agencies and large amounts of paperwork.
Joliet police said Wednesday they are baffled that no witnesseshave turned up in the Tuesday lunch-hour murder of a 19-year-oldMinooka girl in a busy section of Joliet.
The body of Danielle McTee, a summer clerk at a Joliet bank, wasfound in an outside stairwell behind a church across the street fromwhere she worked.
She had been shot once in the back of the neck, police said.
McTee usually took her lunch break around noon on the front lawnof the church, according to Joliet Police Sgt. Robert Kelly. Asecurity guard from the First National Bank of Joliet branch, whereMcTee worked, discovered her body at 3:30 p.m. Earlier, another bankemployee twice searched for McTee when she failed to return fromlunch.
A woman planting flowers in front of the church didn't see orhear anything suspicious, Kelly said. McTee was a graduate ofMinooka High School and was planning to attend college in the fall,police said.
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Niklas Backstrom and the Minnesota defense picked up where they left off.
Backstrom made 27 saves, Pierre-Marc Bouchard scored, and the Wild beat the Chicago Blackhawks 1-0 on Thursday night in the season opener for both teams.
Backstrom, the unflappable goalie from Finland, was given a two-year, $6.2 million contract in June that led to the trade of Manny Fernandez to Boston. In his first game under the burden of the big money and the starting job, Backstrom was just as good as he was as a 29-year-old rookie who helped the Wild make the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.
He didn't give up many rebounds and didn't budge when the Blackhawks had a brief 5-on-3 midway through the second period.
Nikolai Khabibulin wasn't bad himself in the other net. He stopped 23 shots, letting only one get by him in the middle frame when Minnesota's attack was the strongest.
The four-time All-Star has not played up to his reputation or his contract with Chicago, posting a goals-against average of 3.06 over his first two seasons with this young club.
The Blackhawks introduced Patrick Kane on the right wing after using the first selection in this summer's draft to take him. The 18-year-old, paired with fellow rookie Jonathan Toews, has given Chicago the hope of more offense and a return to competitiveness after several bleak years.
Toews, the third overall draft pick in 2006, was scratched because of a broken finger, delaying his debut by at least one game. Kane had a late chance to tie it, but his wrist shot from the left circle with less than 1 minute remaining was smothered by Backstrom.
The Wild are further along in their development, as Bouchard - the first-round selection in 2002 - showed in the second period.
Coming off a 20-goal season and placed on a second line that coach Jacques Lemaire has raved about with Brian Rolston and new center Eric Belanger, Bouchard got the first goal of 2007-08 for Minnesota.
Rolston took the puck to the blue line and fed Belanger, who went to the corner and sent a quick pass across the crease for Bouchard to knock it over and past Khabibulin's stick. The Wild almost had a second goal less than 2 minutes later, when Stephane Veilleux's shot from between the circles hit the crossbar and was signaled good on the ice. The video review, however, wiped it out.
This was an even game a bit like the old North Stars-Blackhawks feuds in the Norris Division. It included a smattering of cold stares, shoves - and two fights involving Minnesota enforcer Derek Boogaard. He served seven penalty minutes.
Notes:@ The Wild gave up the fewest goals in the league last season at 2.24 per game. The Blackhawks were second-to-last in the NHL in scoring with 2.38 goals per game. ... Former Minnesota defenseman Andrei Zyuzin is on injured reserve with Chicago because of a strained groin.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Make no mistake: Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels wants a role in the 2012 presidential campaign.
Less clear: Whether that means as a candidate or a commentator.
Daniels, in a brief interview with The Associated Press, said Wednesday he hadn't envisioned running for president. "It's certainly not the way I planned to spend the rest of my working life. ... On the other hand, there's my sincere concern about the condition and direction of the country. I promise you this, if I thought the country was in good shape or even reasonable shape, I wouldn't give this a thought."
Daniels said he was "alarmed about where we are. I hope I'm wrong, but I do want to see the nation make decisions that can guarantee a great future as opposed to risk of a serious setback to the American way of life."
Asked whether he considered President Barack Obama beatable in 2012, Daniels said he sometimes tells people "he's either unbeatable or unelectable. I just don't know which it is."
"I think there are things that ought to be said and ideas that ought to be presented to the American people. I think there are answers that can assure us a great future but there are dangers that will have a blighted future if we don't act. I can't see what would be at the end of a campaign."
"If I decide to do it, I'll just try to be as straight as I can be and persuasive as I can be and hope that at least if it doesn't work out, public understanding was improved," Daniels said.
The Midwestern governor promoted his state's education overhaul in a high-profile appearance in the nation's capital Wednesday, just days after fellow Republicans in the Indiana Legislature handed him a series of victories. Daniels had been adamant that he wouldn't consider seeking the presidency until the Legislature ended. It did so last weekend but he says he hasn't yet decided whether to enter the still-forming candidate field that lacks a front-runner.
"I really thought that it might become too late somewhere along the line," Daniels said. "But for whatever reason it appears not to be, and again, I think it's a happy surprise."
He added: "Unless you're a political professional or running a bed and breakfast in New Hampshire, that's a darned good thing that we're going to have a campaign for the nomination measured in months and not years," he said.
With the legislative session behind him, Daniels now is talking with potential supporters — including President George W. Bush — and donors to gauge whether to join the field. He says he will decide in the coming weeks what his political future will entail; he's barred from running for a third term as governor. His allies are standing ready with a political machine based a few blocks from the Indianapolis statehouse if he chooses to launch a presidential campaign.
Whether he's a candidate or not, he's certainly going to try to influence the debate, and Wednesday's appearance here at the conservative American Enterprise Institute showed as much.
Before a standing-room-only crowd, Daniels promoted an Indiana education overhaul, including measures that scale back the rights of teachers' unions, expand vouchers to pay for private schools and demand teachers have training in subjects they teach — all popular moves among the conservatives who control the GOP nominating process.
He said the overhaul will force schools to compete for students and help improve education.
"If the public schools work, then the students ... won't be incarcerated in schools that don't work," Daniels said.
Indiana's measures create the nation's most expansive private school voucher program and add merit pay for teachers. Opponents say Daniels' agenda will hurt public schools by taking money and students away. The voucher proposal was a key reason behind a five-week boycott earlier this session by House Democrats, who returned to the state after winning concessions on the voucher bill and other legislation.
Daniels, who is of Syrian descent, received a public service award from The Arab American Institute on Wednesday night.
A judge is sending a man arrested outside a school attended by Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck's daughter to a state mental hospital.
Los Angeles County District Attorney's spokeswoman Jane Robison says Steven Burky pleaded no contest Tuesday to two counts of stalking the celebrity couple and their children.
Robison says a judge found the 37-year-old to be not guilty of the offenses by reason of insanity after a hearing. Burky was ordered to stay away from Garner, Affleck and their family for 10 years if he is released.
Burky was arrested in December outside a school attended by one of the couple's daughter, a violation of a civil restraining order Garner obtained in 2008.
