NY Fashion Week launches with a twist for buyers

NEW YORK (AP) — New York Fashion Week launched Thursday with spring previews, but consumers don't necessarily have to wait that long to place their orders — and that has potential to upend the traditional fashion calendar.

Typically designers show their shorts and bikinis in September, preparing for spring delivery to stores. The turtlenecks and coats are unveiled in February for the autumn.

But this year, the website Moda Operandi is collaborating with Vogue to feed a more immediate click-and-shop mindset for shoppers.

Hours after trendsetting designers such as Marc Jacobs and Proenza Schouler debut their looks on the runway, many outfits will be posted online with …

Former Britain hooker Newton admits to doping

Former Britain rugby league hooker Terry Newton has admitted to taking human growth hormone to boost his performance.

The Wakefield Trinity player was suspended Wednesday by the Rugby Football League after being charged over a positive test by United Kingdom Anti-Doping.

Newton says he …

The Deputy is looking good

Eyes at Churchill Downs were popping Wednesday morning over thetexture of a seven-furlong workout by The Deputy, a top contender towin the 126th Kentucky Derby on May 6. "His work (timed in 1:27 3/5)was a textbook example of what a drill should be a week before theDerby," clocker Jim Escarcega said. "It was absolutely sensational."

Under Chris McCarron, The Deputy went 25.0 seconds for the firstquarter, then clipped through eighths "around 12.1, easily,"Escarcega said.

"It was great," trainer Jenine Sahadi said. "We didn't want to layhis body down to go seven-eighths."

Less sparkling was a mile drill in 1:43 by Breeders' Cup Juvenilechamp Anees, who appeared …

5 killed, dozens hurt in Somalia after airstrike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — An air strike hit a refugee camp in southern Somalia, killing at least five people and wounding 45, most of them children, an international aid agency said Monday. Kenya's military acknowledged carrying out an air raid but said it targeted only al-Shabab, an Islamist insurgent group in Somalia.

Details emerged, meanwhile, about an American-Somali man who al-Shabab said carried out a suicide attack Saturday against an African Union base in the Somali capital. Al-Shabab identified the man as Abdisalan Taqabalahullaah. Omar Jamal, first secretary of the Somali mission to the United Nations, identified the man as Abdisalan Hussein Ali of Minneapolis based on what …

Gays, lesbians face wide harassment in Europe

Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexuals face widespread harassment, bullying and discrimination across Europe, according to an EU report released Tuesday.

That harassment and discrimination occurs "in all areas of social life," from schools to the workplace to health care centers, the report by the EU's Fundamental Rights Agency said.

Agency Director Morten Kjaerum said the investigation found gays and lesbians continue to face assault and other physical attacks due to their sexual orientation despite EU rules meant to guarantee equality in the 27-nation bloc.

"These are alarming signals in an EU that prides itself on its …

'Worthwhile and meaningful' Vietnam volunteering weeks

A former student of Strode College, Street, has spoken of hissummer volunteering in a Vietnamese orphanage.

Philip Blazey, who lives in Baltonsborough, and is a student atthe University of Manchester, spent six weeks volunteering in HueCity, as part of a project coordinated by the University's RAGSociety and the Vietnamese-based charity Hue Help.

"We had two days in Saigon, before embarking on a 28-hour busjourney up the coast to Hue, my home for six weeks," he said.

"Upon arrival in Hue I was given basic Vietnamese lessons, whichproved to be very useful as levels of English in the area where wewere staying were very poor."

Philip was based …

French Hopeful Holds Firm on Immigration

PARIS - Right-wing presidential candidate Nicolas Sarkozy reached out to France's youth Sunday with an appeal for brotherhood among races and religions, but refused to back off his proposal for a ministry of immigration and national identity.

Condemning Sarkozy's proposal - a clear outreach to the far right - has become a rare point of agreement for his rivals in the campaign. Some critics have said the idea evokes "the darkest hours" of France, a reference to the laws of France's Nazi puppet regime of World War II which had an agency for questions relating to Jews.

"I'm not afraid to defend the identity of France, of the republic, of the nation," Sarkozy said at a rally …

Ala. town stunned by gunman's terrifying ride

Many residents of this quiet, close-knit farming community could hear the rapid crackling of gunfire from a rampage that left 10 people and the shooter dead. Others got frantic phone calls from friends or relatives.

But none of them knew yet that the heavily armed gunman was someone who grew up among them, playing youth baseball, graduating from the local high school and working by their sides at local factories.

Those who knew 28-year-old Michael McLendon and even those who just remembered his name or face couldn't believe the bloodshed in two counties near the Florida border Tuesday that left him, five of his relatives and five bystanders dead.

…

Economic barometer falls

WASHINGTON The government's chief economic forecasting gaugefell 0.4 percent in October, the sixth month of declines or no gainthis year, the government said today.

The drop in the Index of Leading Economic Indicators, which isdesigned to forecast economic activity six to nine months in advance,followed gains of 0.3 percent in September and 0.6 percent in August.Both gains were revised in today's report to reflect a slightlybetter increase than earlier reported.

The October drop was in line with most economists' expectations.

For the first 10 months of 1989, the index has fallen fivetimes, risen four times and remained unchanged in one month.

…

Dutch League Results

AMSTERDAM (AP) — Results Sunday from the 31st round of the Dutch first division (home teams listed first):

Friday's Games

SC Heerenveen 3, FC Utrecht 0

Saturday's Games

Vitesse Arnhem 2, FC Groningen 1

NAC Breda 1, Excelsior Rotterdam 2

Roda JC 5, VVV-Venlo 2

AZ Alkmaar 3, ADO The Hague 1

Sunday's Games

NEC Nijmegen 1, Ajax 2

De Graafschap 1, FC Twente 1

Heracles …

Europe's economy recovers on back of stimulus

When the recession hit last year, European governments were at odds over how to coordinate their fight against the global crisis. Despite that initial dissonance, the countries sharing the euro now seem to be heading toward recovery at a surprisingly similar pace.

Economists say fiscal and monetary boosts across the zone made the difference in helping to pull the continent from its the worst recession in the postwar era.

Signs of a burgeoning recovery have been showing up in indicators across Europe in recent weeks. Manufacturing orders, purchasing managers indices, exports and the European Commission's own economic sentiment indictor have all turned …

Grades create regrets for star

Schurz third baseman Ruben Olavarria is one of the best hittersin the city and one of the surest fielders but, like ballplayerseverywhere, there's nothing he can do to change an error.

"I wish I had another chance to start all over," said Olavarria,who has a chance to make the all-city team for the third time.

Olavarria's mistake was hanging out with the wrong crowd when hewas a freshman and letting his grades slip. Since he came out forbaseball his sophomore year, his grades have improved, but the damagedone his freshman year will keep him from playing Division I baseballin college.

"We get inquiries about him from Division I schools but oncethey find …

DNA trail in LA serial killer case detailed

A string of murders of young black women had south Los Angeles on edge in the mid-1980s, then the killings suddenly stopped, only to resume again 14 years later.

That mysterious hiatus in 10 known serial killings troubled detectives for years and earned the suspect the nickname the "Grim Sleeper." Now, investigators say they have solved the 25-year-old case with the arrest of Lonnie Franklin Jr., 57, and possibly uncovered the reason the killings stopped for more than a dozen years:

He may have been spooked by a near miss by police in 1988.

Franklin was arrested Wednesday at his lime-green house, which is just three doors down from a home that was searched extensively by police 22 years ago after the killer's only known survivor led police officers there.

Police Chief Charlie Beck also said that billboards announcing a $500,000 reward and bearing the suspect's police sketch were posted eight blocks from Franklin's house and he drove by them every day.

"We think that impacted the suspect's behavior in one of two ways: either he became more careful or he stopped his behavior for a number of years. That's an evolving theory," Beck said. "It's going to be difficult to be absolutely certain absent his confession."

Law enforcement said that, despite more than two decades of old-fashioned police work, they were eventually able to crack the case using a new _ and controversial _ technique of "familial DNA."

In early June, the Los Angeles Police Department submitted DNA evidence found on victims to the California Department of Justice, where geneticists in ran it through a database of 1.5 million samples.

The database found no identical matches, but did find a "familial" match to a convicted felon whose DNA indicated he was either a brother or the son of the killer. An earlier search in 2008 had found no familial matches, but Franklin's son was added to the database in recent months for a felony weapons conviction.

State investigators alerted the LAPD of Franklin's identity on June 30 after verifying the match through birth certificates, incarceration records and comparing Franklin's address to locations where the victims were found.

But police still needed a sample of Franklin's DNA to definitively match it to the genetic material found on the victims.

An undercover officer pretending to be a waiter in Los Angeles collected tableware, napkins, glasses and pizza crust at a restaurant where the suspect ate, allowing detectives to obtain a DNA match.

Franklin made a first court appearance Thursday on the murder counts as well as one count of attempted murder and special-circumstance allegations of multiple murder that could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole.

His arraignment was postponed until Aug. 9 at the request of his defense attorney, Regina Laughney, who declined to comment on the case.

California Attorney General Jerry Brown said it marked the first time in the nation that familial DNA had been used to break a case of such magnitude. He expects legal challenges but believes the case will hold up to the scrutiny, in part because officials only searched DNA from convicted felons and were careful to limit the search to a smaller universe of samples that bore certain predetermined genetic markers.

Advocates of familial searches believe they will solve many more crimes in which there is DNA evidence. Others worry that it creates the potential for guilt by association: A person could come under suspicion simply if a family member's DNA is in a criminal database.

The first conviction using familial DNA is believed to have happened in Denver, Colorado, when a man pleaded guilty in September to breaking into a car. He was nabbed during a research project conducted by Denver District Attorney Mitch Morrissey's office to test the effectiveness of software developed by his office to winnow down what could be long lists of suspects with similar DNA.

Using familial DNA, Morrissey said investigators have been able to trace DNA to its source in 12 cases, but only one resulted in charges. Other issues with the cases, including victims unwilling to participate in prosecution, meant charges were not filed in those instances.

Investigators have identified about a dozen unsolved cases to further review, said Detective Dennis Kilcoyne, the lead investigator.

Although he also anticipates a long legal battle, Kilcoyne was certain of the case against Franklin.

"We have done our job correctly on all this cutting edge science to make the charges stick," he said.

The detective said Franklin has not been charged in the death of an 11th suspected victim, a man, because there was no DNA evidence.

LaVerne Peters, the mother of the last known victim, expressed her gratitude for police as she clutched a framed photo of her daughter, Janecia Peters outside the police headquarters. Her daughter was killed in 2007 at age 25, leaving behind a 5-year-old son.

"There's no greater pain than the loss of a child," said Peters, now guardian of the 8-year-old boy. "You want to just fall to your knees and stay there. Some people ask, 'How do you go on?' and I say, 'I get up and I put one foot in front of the other and keep going.'"

PETA proposes robotic groundhog for US festival

An animal rights group wants organizers of Pennsylvania's Groundhog Day festival to replace Punxsutawney Phil with a robotic stand-in.

According to the longtime tradition, if Phil the groundhog sees his shadow on the Feb. 2 unofficial holiday, then there will be six more weeks of winter. If he does not appear to see his shadow, there will be an early spring.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it's unfair to keep the animal in captivity and subject him to the huge crowds and bright lights that accompany tens of thousands of revelers each year in Punxsutawney, a tiny borough about 65 miles (105 kilometers) northeast of Pittsburgh. PETA is suggesting the use of an animatronic model.

But William Deeley, president of the Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club, says the animal is "being treated better than the average child in Pennsylvania." The groundhog is kept in a climate-controlled environment and is inspected annually by the state Department of Agriculture.

Deeley says PETA isn't interested in Phil from Feb. 2 on, and is looking for publicity.

___

On the Net:

http://www.groundhog.org/

http://www.peta.org/

Tseng to defend Australian Open title

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Golf Australia says world No. 1 Yani Tseng will defend her Australian Open title at Royal Melbourne in February.

Tseng has committed to the Feb. 9-12 championship, setting up a contest with Australia's Karrie Webb who will attempt to win the Open for the fifth time.

The women's Open will be played for the first time on Royal Melbourne's composite layout, ranked among the best courses in the world. Tseng won the Open for the past two years at Melbourne's nearby Commonwealth course.

Wild-Lightning Sums

Minnesota	3 0 1—4
Tampa Bay	1 0 0—1

First Period_1, Minnesota, Clutterbuck 6 (Cullen, Havlat), 7:16 (pp). 2, Tampa Bay, St. Louis 7 (Clark, Stamkos), 11:31 (pp). 3, Minnesota, Madden 3 (Havlat, Zidlicky), 12:55. 4, Minnesota, Miettinen 4 (Brunette, Koivu), 19:30 (pp). Penalties_Downie, TB (tripping), 6:32; Falk, Min (tripping), 10:52; Clutterbuck, Min (interference), 14:05; Ohlund, TB (boarding), 19:16.

Second Period_None. Penalties_Schultz, Min (tripping), 8:20; Scandella, Min (slashing), 19:44; Downie, TB (roughing), 19:44.

Third Period_5, Minnesota, Nystrom 1 (Havlat, Madden), 19:11 (en). Penalties_Downie, TB (slashing), 6:27.

Shots on Goal_Minnesota 6-7-5_18. Tampa Bay 16-9-13_38.

Power-play opportunities_Minnesota 2 of 3; Tampa Bay 1 of 3.

Goalies_Minnesota, Backstrom 7-4-2 (38 shots-37 saves). Tampa Bay, Ellis 4-4-2 (17-14).

A_14,868 (19,758). T_2:25.

Referees_Steve Kozari, Bill McCreary. Linesmen_Scott Cherrey, Steve Miller.

Double Jeopardy: Homeless and Elderly in New York City

In 2010, 6 years after the city of New York launched its 5-year plan to end homelessness, there were more homeless people in the city than ever before. An increasing number of these homeless people were older adults. Peter's Place, a drop-in center dedicated to serving homeless older adults, was closed, and its population scattered among the remaining drop-in centers and shelters. Faced with severe budget cuts, the city terminated its contracts to provide medical services in shelters. The shelter population has suffered disproportionately from austerity measures.

Homeless older adults are faced with the same problems as their younger counterparts, but their travails are compounded by physical frailties and vulnerability to predators. Housing options are limited, and their expectations for the future bleak. There is a movement in the United States to keep older adults in their homes rather than placing them in nursing homes. However, what would people do if they have no homes? Four case studies are presented about homeless older adults in New York City to illustrate the complexity of their situations. Names and details have been changed to protect the identities of those involved.

CASE A: DENNIS

I met Dennis in 2006, while working as a nurse practitioner at a clinic in the shelter where he was brought by the street Outreach team. He had spent 10 years on the steps of a church in midtown Manhattan. All previous attempts to locate him in a shelter had failed. He is now in a small shelter, dedicated to serving people with persistent mental illness. He had numerous medical problems, which were addressed in the shelter's clinic. The shelter also provided a psychiatrist a few days a week and and a nurse on call for 16 hours a day. Within a week, Dennis was medically stable, taking medication, and settling down in the shelter.

I was born in New York City in 1924 to an affectionate family. My father played the violin beautifully. He came from Russia in 1917 during the revolution. On weekends, he would play at a Russian place on 2nd Avenue. He was 32 when he died. He punctured his finger and within 5 days, he was dead of poisoning. I was 5. We moved in with grandma for 9 years. She loved everyone, and everyone loved her. My mother was 23 when my father died. I had a sister, Rosie, a year and a half older than me. She died in 1987. We were like twins. We moved up to Washington Heights. Nothing lasts for long. Then we moved to Manhattan.

When I was 4 years old, I won a national contest for beauty and talent. In the finals, they lined up about 20 of us. I'll never forget those lights; boy, they were hot. You couldn't see a thing. And the noise, with people clapping and cheering-it scared the heck out of me. I took a bow; my head almost touched the stage. Real dramatic. I was in "The Old Gang Comedy" for about a year. Later it was called "The Little Rascals." I was the original Weezer. It was done in a studio in New Jersey. In 1929, it moved to Hollywood. We didn't go along.

I was drafted into the army at 18. I went to summer camp when I was a little boy so the whole army routine was not unusual; nor difficult to be away from home. First, I was a quartermaster, up till that time they were drafting people 21-42 years old. In 1943, they started drafting from 18-38. D-day came. We got orders to ship overseas. Three days after my 20th birthday, we set sail from Staten Island. There was a submarine out there. I landed in Scotland and came to Stonehenge in South England, then set sail for France- from Utah Beach to the gates of Berlin. By that time, I was a tank gunner. I wasn't stationed anywhere, just moving around.

After the war, I went to school, became an architect. I never took the licensing exam so I worked as a draftsman for 30 years in New York, Westchester County, and New Hampshire. That's where I met my last wife. I was invited to do the city hall for the town of Laconia. After the birth of my son Steven, she took off with him and my other son, Jeffrey. I don't know what happened to them; they're 40 or 41 now.

That was my third marriage. My first wife, Jacqueline, I married in France. That lasted about 20 minutes. She had other priorities. I was with my second wife for 7 years. Never marry a girl who grew up sleeping in the same bed as her grandmother.

I was in a hospital for a while, then lived in hotels. I spent $30,000 living in hotels and the YMCA. A hotel is $100 a night, the YMCA $58. Then I became homeless and slept at a church, on the steps. I'd buy my own food. There was a nice Italian restaurant across the street that would send food over, even wine. People would bring coffee. Generally, people are very good. It wasn't bad. I'm an old soldier so I knew how to survive. My cousin in homeless outreach has a van circling. He picked me up. This is better than a usual shelter. I don't care to be in the shelters with troublemakers. I had bad experiences in the shelters.

I'm 83 years old, retired. I want a place to live. I go to church regularly; they have activities there and whatnot. The only person I'm in contact with is Irene, my niece. She lives in Las Vegas. We correspond regularly.

It is a commonly held misconception that homeless people choose to be homeless because they "like it." In more than 10 years of working with homeless people in various settings, I have met no one who likes to be homeless. Dennis refused to stay in shelters because he felt vulnerable there and had good reason to feel this way. Some shelters had more than 2,000 people in them, with more than 60% of the population coming directly from New York's prison system. As one resident in a shelter described it, "there are only three kinds of people here-predators, victims, and those with the good sense to get the hell out of here as fast as possible." Our health care for the homeless program had a clinic on Ward's Island, at the Keener clinic, where staff regularly treated residents who were assaulted and robbed by other residents. Dennis, like many other homeless people, felt safer on the steps of a church than in such a shelter. Because of his age and mental illness, he was particularly vulnerable.

There are other common reasons why people refuse to reside in shelters. Sometimes they balk at giving up any portion of their meager income (e.g., if they are on a limited Social Security Income, usually $750 a month) or object to shelter rules, such as curfews and "being treated like children."

CASE B: Robert

Robert spent 2 years in a drop-in center where residents sleep in chairs while waiting for a placement in housing. When I met him, he had hypertension, with a blood pressure of 220/110. He had suffered at least two strokes and had weakness in his right side and slurred speech. His legs were swollen from sleeping in a chair. He was depressed and avoided encounters with "the system," which he had difficulty negotiating because of his inability to read and write and his slurred speech.

I was born in Tennessee in 1952. My family was all right. My father passed away when I was 53. My mother is still alive, down south with my sister. She got Alzheimer's. I got two more brothers. Frank is here in the shelter. My brother James lives in the projects. They both got their own mind. You tell James that he wrong; he know he wrong, but he can prove that he right.

I didn't get to know my father. He was strict. He worked for a moving company. My mother, she was great, she was proud of us. She worked very dirty in a chicken house.

My sisters took care of us. I was a third in row. I came to NY when I was about 7. My mother got all fed up and moved us all here. We lived in my grandmother's house, on Staten Island. Everything was everything. We got along good. I got to the eighth grade.

I worked in the kitchen at South Beach Psychiatric center for 13 years. I got laid off; they merged with another hospital. Some people had more years than I did. That was 1995. So I got off the book job for a trucking company, unloading. I did that for 5 years.

My mother moved down south. I hooked up with Shirley. We rented a place but had no money to pay for it. We were at my brother's house for 2 months. Then we came to the drop-in center. It was nice. You got to do what you get told. I only got into one argument. Lot of noise and arguing there. People fighting. I was there 2 years.

So far, my life is good. Things are up and down. Been with Shirley for 7 years. I got food in my house. Shirley had four bypasses. We was lovers but I couldn't take it. She was using drugs so I said, "You do what you got to do and I do what I got to do." My SSD [Social Security Disability income] came in. Linda and me looked for an apartment [SSD provides a monthly income of about $1,000]. Paying $750 a month; also electric, gas, cable.

I like to sit down and watch TV. That's what I like to do.

My Medicaid got cut off 'cause I got SSD. They said I make too much money. I went to Bayley Seton (a psychiatric hospital) see a doctor there so he could give me pills for depression. I had to pay over the counter, $50 for medication.

When first seen in the drop-in center, Robert had no Medicaid insurance coverage. He would apply for and get Medicaid, after a 45-day wait, only to see it cut off again, forcing him to reapply and wait for another 45 days to be reinstated. There are several infractions that result in Medicaid being cut off, such as missing an appointment to a work program mandated by public assistance. Medical insurance is treated as a reward for compliance. Often the mail does not reach the client or, as in this case, Robert did not understand what was expected of him or was too depressed to do anything about it.

When Robert received disability income of $1,000 a month, his Medicaid was again cut off. He was told he now earned too much for Medicaid but qualified for Medicare. There was, however, a slight glitch-he would only be eligible for Medicare in 2 years. For the next 2 years, Robert's medication and medical care were provided by the nurse practitioner at the on-site clinic. Despite the involvement of his shelter caseworker, shelter manager, nurse practitioner, a social worker, physician and outreach worker, countless letters, and phone calls, Robert had to wait 2 years for Medicare. He made another mistake. Tired, after 2 years in a chair and of waiting for an apartment, he found his own place for $750 a month from a slum landlord and moved out of the shelter. Now he had $250, after rent, to pay for gas, water, electricity, TV cable, cell phone, food, transportation, and medication (the medication alone was $150 a month). He was no longer homeless so did not qualify for a rent subsidy or assistance by a caseworker. To qualify for assistance, he would have to become homeless again. He considered walking out of his apartment and returning to the drop-in center but could not face another lengthy stay in this setting.

CASE C: CHARLES

Charles was referred to the shelter's clinic shortly after he was discharged from a local hospital. He was depressed and suffered from hypertension.

I was born in New Jersey in July 1939. My father was Hungarian, my mother Polish. They had a little convenience store in Carteret. I am an only child. I was raised a Catholic, a religious, and spiritual person. I was sent to St. Joseph's, a private school. It was determined I should go to a seminary outside Chicago, where Andrew Greeley was the first director. I chose not to do that. I was trained as a classical pianist from age 4. Almost went to Julliard but chose to play in cafes and bar rooms, making a living playing in New Jersey, from down the shore, to the Adirondacks and Borscht Belt.

In school, I was called a dunce, a dullard, because of a childhood head injury. I found out later, when I was 45, that I had ADD, and was bipolar. This was more an asset than a liability: It gave me piano playing skills and an excellent memory. I was a late bloomer. I made dean's list in college, at Farleigh Dickinson, graduating with a degree in mathematics. I did a graduate degree in applied mathematics and operations research. I had my own software company in college.

For the best part of my career, I was a White House advisor for 3 years at the Environmental Protection Agency under President Nixon. Our job was to survey the nation's sewage treatment. The standing joke at that time [1973] was that if everyone in New York flushed his toilet at the same time, the Hudson River would rise 6 inches. There were no treatments, just a big pipe that went to a river or ocean carrying the sewage, including hospital waste.

It was an interesting time to be in Washington. Over 1,500 of us were let go. I went to Quantum Science Corporation in New York. My boss for 3 years was Dr. Charles Townes, a Nobel laureate.

I am writing articles and two books, including a book called Street Life, A Genius in the Dark. It's my life since my girlfriend and I broke up in Los Angeles, about how I survived life on the streets of LA.

My first wife was Carolyn. We had three beautiful children. They are all doing well. They're angry with me since I had my mother cremated. My son, Tommy, is a Jehovah's Witness. He thinks that my mother cannot come back to a body. My friend Rodney at St. Peter's church says, "God will find your mother a body more beautiful than she had." So I'm not worried. Carolyn and I broke up after 9 years. It was a very stressful marriage. She tried to commit suicide several times. She went back to her mother and married a millionaire.

I was with my second wife, Victoria, for 13 years. We had no children. She was a vice president of Methuen publishing company. She was fired and our fathers died in the same year. Our marriage dissolved with these stresses. We imploded on each other.

I had a girlfriend, Barbara, for 10 years in California. She was a faculty member at the University of Southern California. We keep contact. Her children thought I was going to spend their inheritance. I taught there for 5 years. When Barbara and I split up, I saw my belongings piled outside the driveway. Luckily, I had a little income, $1,200 a month in social security, and my faculty card. I checked into the faculty club at Cal Tech. Money was running out, so I found shelters in Los Angeles. It was horrendous. We saw a few overdoses a week, knifings, and several murders. I got to know some very fine people who helped me. I gave some of my income away. You meet people; if they need $5.00, you give it out.

I had an apartment with a friend and her son in Manhattan. One day, I gave them my $650 rent and the son pushed me up against the kitchen cabinets, banging my head. He told me to get out. The first night I came to this shelter and collapsed on the floor. My blood pressure was over 200. They took me to the hospital. I came back to the shelter the next day.

I lost a lot of personal property but I'm content living on $1,200 income. I have been approved for housing from the city. I'm going to get an apartment, set up a home, and work on my books.

I have to be very careful. I get pulled into the vortex. The depressions usually come the time of year my father died. I take care in the winter when I can be very down. I am not suicidal, but I get roller coaster swings in mood and energy. My CT scan shows a fracture in the right frontal lobe. It had made me slow when I was a kid but I'm fine.

I drink moderately, maybe self-medicating. It helps me calm down, especially at night to go to sleep. Ritalin helps me focus. Focus in the shelter is tough, so I get to the library, ride the ferry, go to the park, read, and write. I find the shelter similar to other communities I've been to in LA. People on their medications, trying to do the best they can. People off their meds. People who have done prison time. And the obvious ones, with their egos and spontaneous outbursts. I try to not react, just stand back and look. My friend Alfred has a difficult time with his heart and anxiety. I think I've been good for him as he's been good for me. He's been 15 years sober. I help him with his sobriety, and he helps me with balance. I've helped him with a little bit of money for medications.

I look on my future as any person of my age. I enjoy every sunrise and sunset. I walk 10 kilometers a day. I have a new girlfriend. We are not intimate but we have lunch on occasion. I'm practicing my piano, working on my book. The number of homeless in NY is grossly undercounted. With the cost cuts that are going on, it is not going to get better. People do not consider us real humans. We are spineless, boneless drunkards who have no willpower. This is not true. We have some fine people here. A friend here, a lady, who I'm tutoring in mathematics, lost her home in a fire. Another fellow is from Liberia. I'm helping him with his high school diploma, teaching him algebra and English. I'm doing this pro bono. I do this just because I believe if God calls you to do good work, you do it. I don't need the money.

I am now an Episcopalian and borderline Buddhist. I am 72 going on 27. There are some older people here, some in wheelchairs. I have a little arthritis. One man here has a replaced knee. Other people use walkers and canes. They have more problems than me. For this I am really grateful. I see other people driving around in power wheelchairs, pushing their stuff in baby carriages. They have a hard time even getting off busses, finding food, and places to spend the day when shelters are not open.

My hearing is good. I have glasses for reading at night. I have a reading lamp that I take to St. Phillips so that if the lights go out at 10:30, I can still read. [Every evening, at 8:30, people in the drop-in shelter are bused to church basements to sleep. They are awoken at 5 a.m. to be transported back to the drop-in.] I'm trying to maintain a good diet; I take my vitamins and get a lot of fresh air. It works for me. Since my girlfriend and I broke up, I lost 20 pounds in 2 months. I think I can get that back. My blood pressure is elevated. Other than that, I am happy. Life is good.

Whenever I see Charles, I am struck by his intellect, elegance, and spirit. He will, however, always need at least minimal support to maintain his equilibrium and avoid another downward spiral. Regular home visits by a nurse might be enough to sustain him in an apartment, but he has Medicare insurance, which does not cover such visits. A program to fund home visits for mentally ill people was recently cut. I hope that Charles will maintain his relationship with his primary care provider and psychiatrist, relationships that were set up while he was in the shelter.

CASE D: JOSEPH

Joseph was brought to a shelter by the Outreach team. He was confused and could not go more than a few blocks from the shelter without getting lost. Every few days, he would ask for money-the shelter kept the residents' checks to make sure that some of their income was saved for their housing-and would use some of the money for alcohol although this was a "clean and sober" facility. After a comprehensive psychiatric and medical evaluation, it was determined that he was not mentally ill-he suffered from dementia due to alcohol abuse.

My mother name, Maggy. Father name, William. No sisters or brothers. We were in South Carolina state, a place they call Sheldon. My parents used to labor, you understand. My father was a short, real dark person. He used to drink liquor a lot. Something had to be bothering him. He used to drink that corn liquor. And that doesn't have any proof. They just make it; and you want it, you get it. I believe it was proofless. There was some strength in that corn liquor back then in the days.

My mother, she always smiling, talk to you. With everything she say, "O, Lord." She was a nice person. Everybody care for her. She used to help people without them asking. I just don't believe he was my natural father. He used to drink that corn liquor. I mean, as he wake up, he knock himself out. I don't know how he worked. He just had to have liquor, for a partner, a friend.

I was born in 1941. In school, the teacher liked me 'cause I used to listen. That's one thing my mother told me, definitely to pay attention. She really want me to finish high school. The teacher would ask me to draw or write my ABC's. I would take my time. She come pat me. Her name was Alice Major. I never forget her name. She was short, dark skinned, always a smile on her face. She used to talk to the parents, find out the situation. She was a beautiful lady. She was a spunky though. She had a switch, before the days of the long ruler. She used to go outside and get a switch.

During that time, things was terrible. My mom didn't have no education. She used to work on the farm. Come in late in the nighttime, go, and fix the food. She loved fixing food. If she be too tired to prepare the food, she say, "Joseph, you have hot food in the morning, you gotta eat some sandwiches now." I say, "Okay mom." and listen to the radio. She finish the food, call me, always make me say my grace. Mom used to tell me "always listen to a grown person and don't disobey them." You got time to let people talk to you. She told me when she grew up, her parents used to whip her and beat her. I used to listen to my mom. I always want to be with my mom.

I started messing around with girls. Going to parties. I got it wrong. The first girl, she got pregnant. Momma cry and cry and say, "Joseph, you got plenty time to do that."

I came out of school in the 10th grade. My mom cried. I did "season job" from the 8th grade. You went from one state to another state to work for a month. It was a swampy place in Hartfield, Ohio, out in the country. Cold or hot, you had to work on your knees. The road was just as flat as this floor. To get the product, you have to get down there and get it. All three of us. Radishes, onions, things like that. The only person that be standing, be the people who come after you, box it up, crate it. You put it on a flat bed truck, and they take it to where they wash it, put it in baskets.

They had rows of small houses with everything in one room. I said to myself, "It wasn't my thing." My mom, her knees start bothering her. You have to kneel all the time.

The younger generation wasn't married till their middle ages. They just had children by this woman, leave, go to another woman. This girl, Shirley, the one that started me. . .she always look on me, laughing and smiling. The way she walk, step off, you know. We were living this side on a dirt road. She was living on the other side. We start talking. She gave me I could come over. So I went on over there. I was in my teens. She was in the 9th grade. That afternoon her grandmother was in the choir. I went on over. She start talking and laughing. I catch her eye, she smiling. She said, "why you sitting over there?" She sitting on the sofa. She said, "Don't you like to sit here, I want to get close to you. I like you." Things happened. That was the first time I had sexual intercourse. I come to find out she was pregnant. I was still going to school.

This girl had sisters and brothers, a mother and father. These things helped my son in his life. I never did get married. The children start coming. I never did stay around. I had two Josephs. I got Anthony, Carl, Patricia, Jacqueline, that's four, down there. There about six of those little kids, from five different mothers. They're grown now.

I came to New York in 1969. I was about 27. I didn't have a cent. I stayed with my uncle. Harlem Hospital was just coming up with the foundation. They wanted people to work. I fill out an application and take a test. Two weeks after, I got a mail; they said, "Come in." I took that job until I retired.

I was drinking since I was back in South Carolina. I grew up drinking. My son used to take my check. Mail used to stay with my son. I used to get my check then it stopped.

I was homeless about a year and change. It was cold. We lived under this overhang on 127th street, near Park Avenue. The van came around. The wind was blowing. We was cold. The guy said, "We can help get you on the road." My fingers were frostbitten, black. I said, "Okay where you going." He said there's a shelter place and it's better than being out here. They have a bed, a floor, and bathroom.

I been constantly thinking about my mom these past years (he cries). I remember the last time I went down see her. I think about my mom from last night to early this morning. Something went wrong.

This place is nice. I want to get my own place. My mother used to say "Joseph, get on with life, there ain't no place like home." I want to get a studio, fix it up the way I want it to be. Go to church. Last time I see the inside of a church was when she passed away, I went to the funeral. I just want my own place, to get myself together, be on my own. I never did like a crowd.

Joseph was in this shelter for 3 years. The average stay is about 8 months. No other shelter would take him. He suffered from alcohol- induced dementia. Physically, he was in excellent health. Nursing homes and adult homes would not accept someone who was drinking, although he was seldom drunk. Hospitals had a great deal of difficulty discharging people like Joseph. One patient on the acute rehabilitation unit of a New York hospital in the 1990s spent a year on the unit until he could be placed in the community. Nursing homes and adult homes would not take him as he had alcoholic dementia. He did not know where he was or why he was there.

Until 5 years ago, it was expected that people in the shelter first get sober and then proceed through a series of steps leading to housing. If they relapsed, they would start again at square one, something like the chutes and ladders game that sends you back to the beginning if you land on the wrong square. New York City has adopted a harm reduction model, in line with other cities. The focus is now on "housing first," regardless of substance abuse, a "harm reduction" approach. It was expected, and sometimes found, that people used less (drink and drugs) once they were housed and needed fewer services such as emergency rooms and detox. It is, from a purely economic viewpoint, cheaper to house people with appropriate support, than have them stay in the street or in a shelter. Although housed people tend to use less drink and drugs, there are clients who cannot succeed while they are drinking or using drugs. Some clients become violent and abusive when drunk, and others fail to fulfill the most basic requirements, such as showing up for public assistance appointments that are necessary to maintain housing subsidies. A harm reduction approach does not work for everyone. Joseph was eventually housed though he continued to drink.

CONCLUSION

Working with homeless people is labor intensive and difficult. The work is complicated by an erratic and confusing health care system that treats medical care as a reward for compliance rather than as a right. Even if the Medicaid threshold is raised, as proposed in the new federal health care legislation, application of eligibility will still vary from state to state, with obstacles and delays in obtaining insurance and care. It took 10 years to house Dennis and 2 years to obtain insurance for Lee, with enormous efforts by several people. The solution is simple but elusive; A universal, single-payer system that removes obstacle to care that are reinforced by vast, impenetrable, bureaucracies. Many of these people are mentally ill and will require support for the rest of their lives, if the cycle of homelessness is not to be repeated.

It is more cost-effective to provide care, where vulnerable people congregate and live, with care provided by teams of medical providers, nurses, social workers, substance abuse counselors, and Outreach workers. This approach, pioneered by St. Vincent's Hospital's Department of Community Medicine over the last 40 years, is now undermined by short-term budget considerations.

As to the four men discussed here, one is struck by their resilience and vitality. They are not ready to retire to nursing homes or adult homes, which do not want them in any case. We need to find new approaches; ones that look to small-scale supportive, congregate housing that supports the communities these people are part of and their participation in the life of these communities.

[Sidebar]

There is a movement in the United States to keep older adults in their homes rather than placing them in nursing homes. However, what would people do if they have no homes?

It is a commonly held misconception that homeless people choose to be homeless because they "like it."

I see other people driving around in power wheelchairs, pushing their stuff in baby carriages. They have a hard time even getting off busses, finding food, and places to spend the day when shelters are not open.

[Author Affiliation]

Ansell Horn, NP

[Author Affiliation]

Ansell Horn, NP, works as in New York city, for Lutheran Health Centers, Department of Community Medicine, an affiliate of Mount Sinai Hospital. He works as a Nurse Pracitioner in various homeless shelters, a program that was pioneered by Saint Vinvent's Hospital.

Correspondence regarding this article should be directed to Ansell Horn, NP, Mount Sinai Community Medicine, 36 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10011. E-mail: ansellhorn@gmail.com

Martha Stewart Living co-CEO to step down

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia says Wenda Harris Millard will be stepping down from her posts as co-chief executive and president of the company's media unit.

Founder Martha Stewart will be taking over all creative and editorial oversight, the company said Tuesday.

Harris Millard joined the company as head of media in July 2007 and was named co-CEO in June 2008. She will not be replaced, the company said. It didn't give a reason for her departure.

Executive Chairman Charles Koppelman will oversee the company's media segment, which includes publishing, Internet and broadcast operations.

Robin Marino, who oversees merchandising, will continue in her role and report to Koppelman.

Malls, Internet meeting halfway: ; As shoppers log on, malls push electronic ventures

BUFORD, Ga. - As Americans do more shopping from the convenienceof their computers, mall owners are working to make their brick-and-mortar investments doorways to a retail world where Web sites,catalogs and stores converge.

The expansion of Internet retailing this holiday season spookedsome mall operators who are worried about potential losses as moreconsumers shop online instead of strolling through malls.

The issue was brought to the forefront in November when one mallowner, Hycel Properties of St. Louis, banned Internet advertisingfrom the Saint Louis Galleria. Hycel did a quick turnabout after atenant threatened to sue.

Analysts say Hycel merely expressed publicly what many retailersfear privately - a shift in traffic from malls to the Internet coulddecimate profits.

Others contend that owners and developers have already begunadapting by transforming malls into diverse centers that sellthemselves not just as retail centers but recreation destinations.

One of the Southeast's biggest malls, the 1.7 million-square-foot Mall of Georgia near Atlanta, offers a sporting goods storewith a rock-climbing wall, IMAX movie theater and ice rink.

The mall's owner, Simon Property Group of Indianapolis, has beenamong the most aggressive at incorporating Internet commerce intoits long-term strategy.

Simon, the nation's biggest mall operator, has formed asubsidiary, clixnmortar.com, to develop new Internet ventures forretailers and plans to begin wiring its 176 malls next year for high-speed Internet access, allowing stores to add multimedia kiosks, Webvideocasts and other marketing tools.

Clixnmortar.com, which is based in Chicago, is founded on thepremise that soon "people will be online all the time," presidentMelanie Alshab said.

"We believe it'll be a very effective way for people to shop,"she said of the merger of cyber and retail spaces.

Clixnmortar.com began testing its first online product,FastFrog.com, in November at two suburban Atlanta properties, Mallof Georgia in Buford and Gwinnett Place Mall in Duluth.

FastFrog.com offers teen-agers a way to make electronic giftregistries by scanning products at eight mall stores with a handheld"zapstick" after they register at a kiosk dubbed the "frog pond."The service then loads the list onto the user's personal Web page,which clixnmortar.com hosts for free. The users also can linkproducts from 24 other retailers' Web sites into FastFrog.com.

The company, which promotes FastFrog as a way for kids to "wishlouder," had 7,760 youngsters registered by Christmas.

Many are like 13-year-old Christine Morahan, who was so giddyabout zapping clothes at the Mall of Georgia's Abercrombie & Fitchoutlet that she began jumping up and down.

"She's going to zap everything because she wants everything,"said Christine's mother, Audrey Morahan.

"Is there a toy store I can zap in?" Christine's 8-year-oldsister Erica asked manager Marlo Oliver. The answer, sadly, was notyet.

Clixnmortar's other venture, YourSherpa.com, began in mid-December at Lenox Square mall in Atlanta and is targeted at adults,Alshab said.

The concept is to eliminate the need for purchasers to wait in acheck-out line and schlep shopping bags through the mall.

Metabolic Effects of Antipsychotic Treatment: Between a Rock and a Hard Place?

It often feels as though medicine is practised "between a rock and a hard place." As physicians, we make difficult treatment decisions that can profoundly affect the lives of our patients. This is particularly true with the present generation of antipsychotic medications, where we have to deal with the paradox that some of our best medications are associated with the greatest metabolic side effects (1). With our patients and their families, we face the dilemma of seeing improvement in psychotic symptoms accompanied by significant weight gain, lipid disturbance, and occasionally, emergent diabetes. We appreciate that our primary goal is to treat psychiatric illness, but do we need to accept these side effects as inevitable and unavoidable? How do we understand and how do we manage metabolic risk when we treat psychosis? Are we truly keeping in mind the long-term interests of our patients?

We have learned that patients with schizophrenia and other forms of severe mental illness have high rates of medical comorbidity (2) and that their life expectancy is shortened, primarily as a consequence of increased coronary heart disease mortality (3). There are barriers to accessing medical care related both to psychiatric illness (for example, self-neglect and difficulty in communicating symptoms) and to the health care system ( for example, lack of integrated mental and physical health care). This has been aptly described as "duel neglect by patients and the system" (4, p 1). Psychiatrists are physicians first. What is our responsibility here? How far should we extend our scope of practice? In this issue of The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 3 review papers offer an overview of our present state of knowledge in this area, with the ambitious goal of informing and shaping clinical practice.

In the first paper, John Newcomer and Dan Haupt from the Washington University School of Medicine review the metabolic effects of antipsychotic treatment (5). John Newcomer is chair of the American Psychiatric Association Work Group on Antipsychotics and Metabolic Risk charged with the responsibility ol conducting an extensive review of this topic. Both John and Dan have made seminal contributions to the field.

In the second review, Michael Sernyak and I provide an overview of metabolic monitoring for patients treated with antipsychotic medications (6). We first establish goals for effective metabolic monitoring and then review the various published international antipsychotic monitoring guidelines. Michael Sernyak, from Yale University, is chief of psychiatry, VA Connecticut Healthcare System. In addition to authoring publications on diabetes prevalence that use the extensive Veterans Affairs database, he has broad experience in dealing with the real-life challenges of mental health systems.

In the final review, Guy Faulkner, from the University of Toronto, and I examine evidence for both pharmacologie and nonpharmacologic strategies for treating weight gain and associated metabolic disturbance in antipsychotic-treated patients (7). We were fortunate to have Guy recently join our research group at the University of Toronto. He was previously based in the United Kingdom, and he brings the expertise of health psychology to the challenge of designing interventions to control weight gain and metabolic disturbance in schizophrenia. He was the lead author in a recently submitted Cochrane Review on this topic (8).

We hope that this series of review papers will be pertinent both to Canadian psychiatrists and to their colleagues in other countries. However, there are several points specific to the practice of psychiatry in Canada that should be highlighted. First, certain antipsychotic drugs-namely, ziprasidone, aripiprazole, and amisulpride-that have a more metabolically neutral side effect profile are currently unavailable in Canada. Consequently, our options in terms of antipsychotic choice and antipsychotic switching are limited, and our patients, I believe, are consequently disadvantaged. Second, and on a more optimistic note, our socialized, universalaccess health care system and our national philosophy of inclusiveness should facilitate access to physical health care for psychiatric patients. In this regard, we in Canada are challenged to become leaders in integrating medical and mental health care.

[Reference]

References

1. Green AI, Patel JK, Goisman RM, Allison DB, Blackburn G. Weight gain from novel antipsychotic drugs: need for action. Gen Hosp Psychiatry 2000;22:224 35.

2. Goldman LS. Medical illness in patients with schizophrenia. J Clin Psychiatry 1999;60(Suppl 21):10-5.

3. Osby U, Correia N, Brandt L, Ekbom A, Sparen P. Mortality and causes of death in schizophrenia in Stockholm county, Sweden. Schizophr Res 2000;45(1-2):21-8.

4. Meyer J, Nasrallah H. Issues surrounding medical care for individuals with schizophrenia. In: Meyer J, Nasrallah H, editors. Medical illness and schizophrenia. Washington (DC): Amercian Psychiatric Press; 2003. p 1-13.

5. Newcomer JW, Haupt DW. The metabolic effects of antipsychotic medications. Can J Psychiatry 2006;51:480-91).

6. Cohn TA, Sernyak M. Metabolic monitoring for patients treated with antipsychotic medications. Can J Psychiatry 2006;51:492-501).

7. Faulkner G, Cohn TA. Pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic strategies for weight gain and metabolic disturbances in patients treated with antipsychotic medications. Can J Psychiatry 2006;51:502-11).

8. Faulkner G, Cohn TA, Remington G, Interventions for weight gain in schizophrenia. Protocol for a Cochrane Review. In: The Cochrane Library. Oxford (UK): Update Software. 2005.

[Author Affiliation]

Tony A Cohn, MB, ChB, MSc, FRCPC1

[Author Affiliation]

1 Staff Psychiatrist, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario; Lecturer, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario.

Plane carrying French aid workers jailed in Chad takes off for France

Six French aid workers sentenced to eight years of forced labor in Chad for trying to kidnap 103 children left for France in handcuffs Friday to serve their terms in their own country.

The prospect that the members of Zoe's Ark would return home has sparked protests in the former French colony in central Africa, with Chadians decrying what they see as special treatment for Europeans.

Repatriation requests are allowed under a 1976 judicial accord between both countries, but France does not have forced labor for convicts. There are hopes that the French justice system will commute or reduce their sentences.

Christine Peligat, the wife of Zoe's Ark member Alain Peligat, called the transfer "a good thing" and said she and other relatives and friends would stay near the airport to welcome the aid workers home.

"What we hope for now is an adjustment of the sentences to make them as adapted as possible," she told The Associated Press in a telephone interview.

In October, Chadian authorities stopped the aid group's convoy with the children, who the charity was planning to fly to France. The six insisted they were driven by compassion to help orphans in Darfur, which borders Chad. Later investigations showed most of the children had at least one parent or close adult relative.

Relatives of the children testified that they believed the children were going to be educated in Chad.

"They tricked us by telling us our children would be taught here," Nassour Gardia told the court. "And then they herded them like cattle to sell in France."

The case has embarrassed France, and President Nicolas Sarkozy went to Chad in November to bring home three French journalists and four Spanish flight crew members initially charged in the case.

The scandal also had repercussions for other humanitarian workers, who say their already difficult job along Darfur's border has been complicated by the suspicion some Chadians now have toward all foreigners professing to offer help.

Days after the Zoe's Ark workers were arrested, the Republic of Congo announced it was suspending all international adoptions because of the events in Chad.

France's role in the region has already come under scrutiny in recent months as the European Union plans to send a military mission to Chad to protect refugees fleeing violence in neighboring Sudan.

The deployment of the approximately 4,300-member force, drawn largely from France, has already been delayed because of the lack of necessary equipment. Last month, a Chadian rebel group declared a "state of war" against French and other foreign armies _ an apparent warning to the EU force.

___

Associated Press writers Dany Padire in N'Djamena and Natacha Rios in Paris contributed to this report.

Chicago Might Sell Naming Rights

Might visitors to the Windy City someday ride the Lowe's Chicago El, shop on the Microsoft Magnificent Mile and tour Old Navy Pier?

The city has hired a marketing firm to explore the potential for selling naming rights and sponsorships as a way to bring in much-needed city revenue, the Chicago Tribune reported Friday.

The Daley administration has awarded a $285,000 contract to Octagon Inc. to examine what the city has to offer and, by next spring, produce a marketing plan that will attract corporate sponsors and advertisers.

Octagon will inventory city programs, events, buildings and other physical assets and determine which would be most attractive to companies that might want to affix their names in some way.

The contract states that any plan must ensure "the integrity of the city of Chicago's brand image," and ideas must be presented to an advisory group of civic leaders, which has not yet been formed.

Mayor Richard Daley's press office and Octagon did not return telephone messages Friday from The Associated Press inquiring about the contract.

Chicago wouldn't be the first city to offer municipal names for sale.

Nextel has sponsored the Las Vegas Monorail and New York has entered into partnership agreements with such firms as Snapple, Verizon and Pepsi Cola, according to city budget office spokeswoman Wendy Abrams.

In Canada, the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, announced plans two weeks ago to sell naming rights for city pools, arenas, buildings and even city services in an attempt to offset a $2 billion shortfall. Similar programs are operating in Calgary, Ottawa and Toronto.

COMMERCIAL COMPOSTING CLIENTS TOP 100

Montpeiier, Vermont

The Central Vermont Solid Waste Management District (CVSWMD) announced in November that well over 100 businesses, schools and institutions are participating in composting programs across the region. A full 97 percent of students within the district - 9,013 out of 9,284 - will be enrolled in a composting program by January 15. Since 2004, the CVSWMD has been working to develop programs that divert food waste from the landfill and recycle it via composting. To date, according to program administrators, more than 5.2 million pounds of food scraps have been rescued from the landfill, providing enough feed for 4,500 chickens or feedstock to produce enough compost to fertilize 350 acres of mixed vegetables.

The program is a cooperative partnership between CVSWMD and several regional composters. Participants separate food scraps into plastic 32gallon or 48-gallon toters and store them either outside or inside to await collection. Two programs provide routine food scrap collection services, picking up all types of food waste including, meat, seafood, bones, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, fats, oils, coffee grounds and coffee filters as well as other organic residuals. The largest program, operated by the CVSWMD, currently serves 91 customers - 70 businesses and 21 schools. Food scraps are taken to either the Vermont Compost Company, GROW Compost or the Highfields Center for Composting's facility. The Bradford program, established by the CVSWMD, the Highfields Center and the Bradford Conservation Commission in 2006, is operated by Robert Sandberg of Cookeville Composting in Corinth and serves approximately 21 customers. For more information, contact CVSWMD (www.cvswmd.org) or the Highfields Institute (www. high - fieldscomposting.org).

One Miss. town almost totally gone: At least 50 residents of Waveland are dead; homes, business,; City Hall left in rubble

WAVELAND, Miss. - Hurricane Katrina seemed to take a particularvengeance out on this town.

The storm virtually wiped Waveland off the map, prompting stateofficials to say it took a harder hit from the wind and water thanany other town along the coast.

Rescue workers there Wednesday found shell-shocked survivorsscavenging what they could from homes and businesses that werecompletely washed away. The air smelled of natural gas, lumber androtting flesh.

"Total devastation. There's nothing left," said Brian Mollere, aresident who was left cut and bruised. Katrina tore his clothes offand he had to dig in the debris for shorts and a T-shirt.

Katrina dragged away nearly every home and business within a halfmile of the beach, leaving driveways and walkways to nowhere. Thewater scattered random reminders of what had been normal, quietlives: family photos, Barbie dolls, jazz records, whiskey bottles.

The town of 7,000 about 35 miles east of New Orleans has beenpartially cut off because the U.S. 90 bridge over the Bay of St.Louis was destroyed. There is no power, no phones, no way out - andnowhere to go.

State officials would not confirm a death toll in the town, butMayor Tommy Longo estimated that at least 50 residents died, TheClarion-Ledger reported. City Hall is gone, with nothing but a knee-high mural of a beach scene still standing.

Mollere had set up camp on the wreckage where his family's two-story home and jewelry store once stood. A couple of chairs and asheet of plastic protected him and his dog from the sun and spits ofrain.

Mollere doesn't usually smoke, but he sucked on a Kool menthol andcollected bottles of whiskey and Barq's root beer that had washed upnearby.

He recalled swimming out of the store with the dog as the waterrose and finding shelter in a house that survived. "If it had beennight, I would have drowned," he said.

His 80-year-old mother did drown in the storm. She had evacuatedwith some family to a grocery store in neighboring Bay St. Louis. Asher family members swam away to escape the storm, his mother, whoused an oxygen tank, stayed behind.

Mollere's father was a local folk hero for being one of the fewpeople to stay behind in Waveland during Hurricane Camille in 1969.The elder Mollere swam along and grabbed onto a white horse, and bothwere saved.

Two views

Goshen College professors present contrasting opinions on playing the national anthem

United in their commitment to pacifism, the teachings of the Mennonite church and extending Christian hospitality to others, two Goshen College faculty members presented conflicting opinions on playing the national anthem before sports events at the college.

The half-hour convocation, "Perspectives on the anthem," took place on March 24, the morning after the national anthem was played at Goshen for the first time before a college sports event.

Joe Liechty, professor of peace, justice and conflict studies and chair of the department, said he grew up uneasy about patriotism. Despite his misgivings, Liechty said he supported playing the anthem before campus sports events to promote the welfare of the college community.

He drew a distinction between hospitality at a Mennonite church and a Mennonite college. "To the 45 percent of our students who come from other religious traditions, or no religious traditions, we say, 'If you can embrace our core values- that we seek to nurture graduates who are Christcentred, passionate learners, servant leaders, compassionate peacemakers and global citizens- even in fact if you can just tolerate and respect the core values, you are part of this learning community. You are not simply suffered.... You are not a guest; you are family."'

Because of that, Liechty said Goshen College should accommodate reasonable requests, such as playing the anthem. "When I think about what the anthem means, I conclude that it does not have a fixed, inherent meaning."

He said that since the college has decided that the anthem will be followed by the reading of the Prayer of St. Francis, "it would be hard for anyone to go away with the idea that Goshen College supports militarism and nationalism."

Kathy Meyer Reimer, professor of education and chair of the department, disagreed, stating that Goshen's decision to play the anthem had removed "one of the symbols and sacred rituals borne out of Anabaptist convictions about nationalism. The anthem controversy also speaks to how we make decisions, both large and small, when there are conflicts between what we feel is asked of us by our faith and by the good country in which we live."

She said those who approved of playing the anthem in order to extend hospitality to non-Mennonite student-athletes and coaches may have actually made the college less hospitable. "If we want people who are not familiar with Anabaptism to understand some of the assumptions basic to practices that happen at Goshen College, we need to be clear and willing to talk about the core Anabaptist beliefs that become rituals," she said.

Meyer Reimer also suggested that the anthem is too closely linked to national loyalty and to militarism to be played without sending a mixed message at the college, which promotes compassionate peacemaking and global citizenship. The college also should promote pacifism more strongly, she said.

"Our not playing the anthem should have been more clearly linked to living out biblical passages of 'you shall not kill,' 'blessed are the peacemakers,' and 'love your enemies and do good to those who hurt you'- prophetic, costly, biblical principles upon which the teachings in Anabaptism were founded," she said. "As Goshen College engages our country and our culture, we decide on many issues whether to assimilate or to live in alternative ways- when to be people of assent and when to be people of dissent."

Liechty, on the other hand, said that he believes the college can play the anthem without undermining its commitment to peace. "By just about any comparative measure, it's hard to imagine a place where peace has a more prominent role, where it is more honoured, more reflected upon, more acted on," he said. "We can afford to honour the desire of community members who want to play the anthem. For those of us who have wanted not playing the anthem to be a witness in relation to militarism and nationalism, we will need to find other ways, and we can."

[Sidebar]

In honour of the inaugural playing of the American national anthem at a Goshen College sporting event, students Taylor TenHarmsel, left, Sean Doering and Nate West also adorned their chests with the American flag.

[Author Affiliation]

BY RICHARD R. AGUIRRE

Goshen College Release

GOSHEN, IND.

Hamas bans use of cars that run on cooking gas

Gaza's Hamas-run government banned the use of cooking gas to fuel cars in the territory on Saturday, citing expected shortages ahead of the Muslim month of Ramadan.

Earlier this year, Israel slashed fuel shipments in response to attacks from the Gaza Strip, leading to a severe shortage. As a result, around 8,000 Gaza residents converted their vehicles to run on cooking gas, said Ahmad Ali, of the Palestinian Petroleum Commission.

Four months ago, the strip's Hamas rulers imposed a ration on the cooking gas. But Ali said Gaza residents would need more cooking gas for the upcoming Ramadan, where the devout fast from sunrise to sunset and usually indulge in big meals and snacks through the night. Overall, food consumption tends to increase.

"We have a massive shortage of (cooking) gas," Ali said.

Gaza residents may currently only purchase six kilograms (13 pounds) of cooking gas at a time, down from 12 kilograms (26 pounds) before shortages began.

Ali said Israel has not beefed up its cooking gas supplies to Gaza, despite a June truce with Hamas that was supposed to include increases in supplies.

Ali said Hamas officials would inspect cars coming in for registration and police would also enforce the new rule.

The Hamas-run Gaza government previously banned vehicles from using vegetable oil to power diesel cars after residents reported feeling sick from smelling the fumes. Private vehicle owners appear to be abiding by the ban, but cab drivers who haul residents through Gaza still use vegetable oil, apparently because of continuing fuel shortages.

Alabama chief justice loses fight over Commandments U.S. Supreme Court allows removing them from state building

MONTGOMERY, Ala.--Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore on Wednesdaylost a last-minute appeal to the Supreme Court to save a TenCommandments monument he installed in a judicial building, clearingthe way for its removal.

The high court rejected Moore's emergency plea for a stay,declining to be drawn into a dispute over whether the 5,300-pound,granite monument violates the Constitution's ban on governmentpromotion of religion.

After the court acted, Montgomery police handcuffed 21 Mooresupporters who had kneeled and stood at the monument inside thebuilding rotunda and refused to leave. They were taken to jail andcharged with trespassing.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson had set a midnight Wednesdaydeadline for the monument's removal. He was not expected to takeimmediate action to remove the display, which remained in place earlytoday.

Several hundred supporters of Moore gathered on the judicialbuilding steps Wednesday night for a rally. Patrick Mahoney, directorof the Christian Defense Coalition, asked people to raise their handsif they were willing to lie in front of the doors to keep themonument inside. Most hands went up.

Former presidential candidate Alan Keyes then gave a fiery speech,saying the efforts of courts and government to stifle religion muststop.

"This must end or freedom will end with it," Keyes said. "Nolonger can we tolerate this crime that is being done against ourmovement for almighty God."

Thompson has threatened $5,000-a-day fines if his order is ignoredafter the deadline. Attorneys who sued to force removal of themonument said they expect to file a contempt of court petitionagainst Moore that Thompson may consider Friday, setting the stagefor fines.

"It's time for Roy's rock to roll," said Ayesha Khan, an attorneyfor Americans United for Separation of Church and State, one of thegroups that sued.

Moore installed the monument two years ago in the middle of thenight after being elected chief justice amid publicity of his supportof the Ten Commandments. In Washington, one of Moore's attorneys,Phillip Jauregui, said the judge was sticking by his pledge to defyThompson's order.

"The statement that the chief made last Thursday still stands,"Jauregui said. Other Alabama officials could move the monument.

Moore's lawyers told the justices in a filing that Moore should beallowed to "establish justice by acknowledging the guidance and favorof Almighty God, placed upon him by his oath of office and theConstitution of Alabama."

"This case is not about a monument, it's not about politics orreligion, it's about the acknowledgment of God," Moore said. "We mustacknowledge God because our constitution says our justice system isestablished upon God."

The Supreme Court has never ruled on the constitutionality of suchgovernment displays.

An appeals court had twice refused to give Moore a stay, settingup the plea at the high court.

Moore already has asked the Supreme Court to consider whetherThompson overstepped his bounds in the case, and a second appeal ofthe ruling in the Ten Commandments case is expected. Those could takemonths to resolve.

AP

Everglades fire growing, but visibility improves

South Florida's smoky skies cleared slightly Tuesday despite a growing wildfire in Everglades National Park, but officials still advised children, the elderly and people with breathing problems to stay indoors.

A dense smoke advisory posted Monday afternoon was canceled Tuesday morning after wind conditions improved visibility for drivers in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties.

The smoke was still expected to cause moderate to unhealthy air quality conditions, according to Miami-Dade's Department of Environmental Resources Management.

"Smoke is still around and will be around South Florida for the next few days, but as far as visibility it was canceled," said Andrew Tingler, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Miami.

The fire was burning almost 40,000 acres _ or more than 62 square miles _ of Everglades National Park and was 30 percent contained. It had been at about 36,000 acres on Monday. Officials hope rising humidity will slow its spread.

"Firefighters are in a much better position this morning because it only spread somewhat on Monday," said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Nina Barrow.

About 2,000 people from the Everglades Correctional Institution and the Krome Detention Center were relocated Monday to other facilities around the state as the flames burned close to both facilities.

The wildfire also was burning in the only known habitat for the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow. Water flow was increased to the area, and state officials said the birds appeared to be safe.

Firefighters were battling blazes from Brevard County on the Atlantic coast south to Miami-Dade County that have burned more than 120 square miles, said Gerry LaCavera, a wildfire spokesman with the state Division of Forestry.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.

NEW CD-ROM GAME GETS PEOPLE TALKING TO THEMSELVES.(Sierra On-Line MAD GAB)(Product Announcement)

Sierra On-Line, Inc., Bellevue, Wash., has introduced MAD GAB, a new CD-ROM gameshow, based on the best-selling board game. MAD GAB is a gameshow-style family title where a random group of words sound like a famous person, place, phrase or thing. To solve each puzzle, MAD GAB players must slur their words, talk to themselves, and engage in other zany behaviors to beat the clock. Only in MAD GAB does "Inn Awe Gorilla Dress" become "Inaugural Address."

With the tag line "IT'S NOT WHAT YOU SAY, IT'S WHAT YOU HEAR!" MAD GAB is sure to get even the most timid of players talking to themselves. Players may need to change their rate of speech or the accent points of each scrambled phrase. For instance: "Fate Ed Voter Graph" when repeated out loud over and over becomes "Faded Photograph." With 1,500 puzzles in eight different categories, MAD GAB provides an endless supply of fun. MAD GAB players engage in three rounds, with three unique games each round, where creative word organization of seemingly unrelated words produces popular phrases. But one thing is certain -- winning the game requires players to have an open mind, sharp ear and a gift for gab.

MAD GAB Players, Come On Down!

Players of MAD GAB become contestants on a virtual game show. Complete with a back stage tour of the set, an announcer, special effects and virtual prizes, MAD GAB offers three rounds of phrase-scrambling, clock-racing excitement. Three players can compete at a time, allowing friends and family to play together on one computer. Solo players can play against the computer or over the Internet.

Round #1 starts out easy and offers tutorials to get the contestants warmed up and familiar with the games. As the rounds progress, the game picks up speed, the puzzles get more challenging and the clock ticks faster. MAD GAB players can adjust the game settings for personal preferences. Whether players want to hear the gameshow announcer, take commercial breaks, or alter their opponent's level of expertise, it only requires a trip to the Control Room and the flip of a switch.

The MAD GAB CD-ROM is based on the popular board game by Patch Products, which has sold more than 750,000 copies since its introduction in 1996. The MAD GAB board game has won many awards and honors, including a listing among the top games of the year in Good Housekeeping, September 1997.

Pricing, Availability and System Requirements

MAD GAB is available on CD-ROM for Windows at an estimated street price of $29.95. System requirements include: Windows 98/95, Pentium 90 or higher system, 24 MB RAM. MAD GAB can be purchased at selected software retailers, on the Web at http://www.sierra.com, or by calling +1 800-757-7707.

About Patch Products

Patch Products, Inc. http://www.patchproducts.com/ is a leader in family-friendly entertainment. Patch is the second largest manufacturer of adult games (only behind Hasbro) with MAD GAB(R), TRIBOND(R), BLURT!(R) and MALARKY(TM) all consistently ranked among the top 25 best-selling games. Patch's games, puzzles, foam balls and toys are sold worldwide. The company is based in Beloit, WI. MAD GAB CD-ROM was developed by PME (Perpetual Motions Enterprises), Patch's joint venturer. PME is located in Raleigh, NC.

About Sierra

Sierra On-Line, Inc. http://www.sierra.com/ is one of the original developers and largest worldwide publishers of interactive entertainment and productivity software. Sierra is a division of Havas Interactive, a global leader in interactive content, and is one of the world's largest publishers of education, entertainment and home productivity software. Its divisions, Blizzard(R), Coktel, Knowledge Adventure(R), Sierra(TM) and WON.net(TM) are famous for releasing critically acclaimed and award winning titles. Havas has operations in the US and in Europe and is a subsidiary of the French publishing house Havas, part of Vivendi Communications.

For more information, call 425-649-9800.