inmyhart22

Starting a compost facility

2012-03-15T06:35:00.000-07:00

"We really just got going about 14 weeks ago," says Barry Chase, compost manager for White Mountain Composting and Recycling. Chase spent most of his first six weeks on the job preparing a composting pad with a rock and clay base and attending the state's compost operator certification course. He also graded the three acre site in the Capitan Mountains of south central New Mexico for proper drainage and vehicle access. "Initially I just set up three small piles to test different mixes," Chase says, "but now we have seven or eight active windrows, each about 35 yards long."

A contract brings in approximately 20,000 cy per year of stable bedding and manure from the Ruidoso Downs …

Asia-Pacific's 2008 economic prospects made uncertain by US subprime crisis, think tank says

2012-03-15T04:09:00.000-07:00

The economic outlook for the Asia-Pacific region is the most uncertain it has been since the 1997-98 financial crisis because of a possible spillover from the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, a regional think tank said Thursday.

But the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council predicted that the U.S. economy would not enter a recession and that the troubled American housing market will recover by the second-half of 2008.

An annual report by the Singapore-based PECC, which groups more than 20 economies stretching across the Pacific from Australia and China to Chile and Canada, was "cautiously optimistic" about the region's outlook, projecting economic …

Paige Wiser's TV highlights

2012-03-15T01:48:00.000-07:00

"NCIS" (7 p.m., WBBM-Channel 2): Tonight's episode is a joint investigation with the yummy team of Chris O'Donnell and LL Cool J. They may be starring in a spinoff come fall. One worry: How many opportunities will Cool J have to take off his shirt?

"American Idol" (7 p.m., WFLD-Channel 32): At blogs. suntimes.com/tv, the Sun-Times hosts a live chat during the show that often features actual Adam criticism.

"Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (9 p.m., …

Kevin McCarthy on Political Capital.

2012-03-14T23:25:00.000-07:00

(This is not a legal transcript. Bloomberg LP cannot guarantee its accuracy.)

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA) TALKS TO BLOOMBERG'S AL HUNT ON POLITICAL CAPITAL.

JUNE 24, 2011

SPEAKERS: AL HUNT, HOST, POLITICAL CAPITAL

REP. KEVIN MCCARTHY (R-CA)

HANS NICHOLS, BLOOMBERG NEWS

HEIDI PRZYBYLA, BLOOMBERG NEWS

GREG STOHR, BLOOMBERG NEWS

KATE O'BEIRNE, NATIONAL REVIEW

MARGARET CARLSON, BLOOMBERG NEWS

AL HUNT, HOST, POLITICAL CAPITAL: This week on Political Capital, budget talks breakdown in Washington. Is there any way out of this impasse? We'll ask our guest, Republican Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the House …

Colombia Fighting Forces Civilians to Flee

2012-03-14T21:04:00.000-07:00

BOGOTA, Colombia - Fighting between the army and leftist guerrillas in western Colombia has forced hundreds of civilians from their homes and trapped others in their villages, the United Nations said Tuesday.

In Narino province, near the southern border with Ecuador, more than 1,300 people have fled since fighting broke out last week between the army and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, Latin America's oldest and best-equipped guerrilla force.

"With combat ongoing, thousands more people could be at risk of forced displacement in the next few days," the U.N. High Commission for Refugees said in a statement.

Most of the displaced are being …

Gul stuns Kiwis with first T20 5-wicket haul

2012-03-14T18:44:00.000-07:00

Umar Gul became the first bowler to take five wickets in a Twenty20 international Saturday as Pakistan thrashed New Zealand by six wickets in the Twenty20 World Cup at The Oval.

New Zealand were scuttled for 99 as Gul produced a superb spell of fast bowling to take 5-6, while Abdul Razzaq vindicated the decision to recall him to the side in place of Sohail Tanveer by taking 2-17.

"It was a fantastic spell," Pakistan captain Younis Khan said of Gul's bowling. "If we can have a spell like that in every game we can beat every team in the world."

Gul managed to reverse swing the ball, confounding New Zealand's batsman.

…

Housewife, 37, Jailed In Abortion Shooting

2012-03-14T16:23:00.000-07:00

WICHITA, Kan. A woman accused of shooting a doctor as he lefthis abortion clinic was arrested at an airport 160 miles away whenshe returned her rental car.

Rachelle Renae Shannon, 37, of Grants Pass, Ore., was jailed onsuspicion of attempted murder in the Thursday afternoon shooting ofDr. George Tiller, who wasn't seriously hurt. Anti-abortiondemonstrators focused on Tiller during the city's heated summer ofprotests in 1991.

It was the second shooting of a physician outside an abortionclinic this year; the first was fatal. And it came just days afteran Alabama priest stirred controversy by trying to run a newspaper adthat advocated killing abortion …

Couple attacked with arrows in Papua New Guinea

2012-03-14T14:03:00.000-07:00

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — A young couple who took a dip in a river in a remote part of Papua New Guinea are recovering from a harrowing attack by a tribesman, who shot the man with arrows twice before attempting to sexually assault the woman.

The couple have declined requests to speak to the media, but interviews by The Associated Press this week with the local doctor who first treated the pair, along with other accounts from Papua New Guinea, are shedding new light on the attack near Nomad in the isolated North Fly District.

According to Dr. Charlie Turharus, who treated the couple, the tribesman had been covertly tracking the pair for perhaps an hour or two before the …

Egypt to curtail NGOs' election activities

2012-03-14T11:42:00.000-07:00

Thirty-six non-governmental organizations have condemned the Egyptian government plans to curtail their activities including monitoring election.

In a statement released Monday, the groups said a new bill to be introduced to the parliament in the coming will penalize any NGO or advocacy group working without a government permit.

…

WHO TO CALL

2012-03-14T09:22:00.000-07:00

To report problem tires, call the U.S. Department ofTransportation's Auto Safety Hotline toll-free at (800) 424-9393, …

NFL labor deadline nears; union wins in court

2012-03-14T07:02:00.000-07:00

WASHINGTON (AP) — With time running out on the NFL's labor contract, one team owner — the New York Giants' John Mara — joined mediated negotiations between the league and players Tuesday, and the union won a key court ruling about TV contract money.

The sides met for six hours Tuesday. NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith and his group left shortly before 8 p.m. — 52 hours before the current collective bargaining agreement expires.

Mara, the first owner to attend the federal mediation; Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, chairman of the league's competition committee; and Washington Redskins general manager Bruce Allen were among those accompanying NFL …

Gasol leads Spain past Lithuania 84-70

2012-03-14T04:41:00.000-07:00

Spain center Pau Gasol scored 19 points and pulled down eight rebounds Monday to lead the world champions over Lithuania 84-70 in the second round of the European basketball championship.

Trailing 24-15 at the start of the second quarter, Spain guard Rudy Fernandez hit a 3-pointer to spark a 25-3 run over the next 7 minutes that put Spain ahead 40-27.

The world champions continued to get out on the fast break, and led by as much as 24 in the fourth quarter before pulling most of their starters.

"We played with a very good rhythm today," Gasol said. "We raised our level of intensity and were able to run and play our …

Has Woosnam mastered `yips'?

2012-03-14T01:57:00.000-07:00

AUGUSTA, Ga. Forget that the last player to win back-to-backMasters was Jack Nicklaus in 1965 and 1966. The defending championmerits at least some respect the next year, doesn't he?

No one is expecting much from Ian Woosnam when the 56th Mastersstarts tomorrow - not even Woosnam.

"I'm looking forward to defending," Woosnam said. "I don't feeltoo lucky, though, the way I've been playing the last two weeks. I'ma bit down."

Actually, more than a bit. He developed the dreaded "yips," theputting affliction that mysteriously keeps even the shortest puttsfrom dropping.

"It happens to everyone," Woosnam said. "It's happened to me,but before it always lasted about a month. This was longer."

With the yips cured, Woosnam's frustrations hit a new low on thepractice range Monday when he repeatedly tried to hook the ball andwound up slicing instead. Phil Ritson, a teaching pro from Orlando,Fla., straightened him out - at least temporarily. Woosnam wasn'tsure the lesson took Tuesday.

"I'm a streak player," Woosnam said. "Always have been. WhenI'm on a streak, it just gushes. But it isn't gushing now. I'd sayI'm about 50 percent."

BECK BUBBLING: Highland Park resident Chip Beck, who won the PGATour's stop Sunday in New Orleans, is even more ebullient than usual.

"Man, ain't it great!" said Beck, who grew up in Georgia."This is the first time I've ever come in here with a win under mybelt. I feel fantastic."

Beck, who normally hits a fade - a left-to-right shot - hasdeveloped a draw - a right-to-left shot - that is deemed a must towin here.

"There's no question my mechanics are improving," Beck said."Last year at the Masters, I still couldn't draw the ball. I wastrying to, and it was killing me. I've rarely gone into a tournamentbeing able to draw it as well as I can now. That's exciting. I'mready to go."

KITE CONTROVERSY: The exclusion of Tom Kite from the Mastersinvitees - and Greg Norman's inclusion - isn't sitting well with theplayers.

Norman got in as a foreign player, even though he lives inFlorida. Kite was not invited after a subpar 1991. He is the PGATour's all-time leading money-winner, a participant in the last 15Masters and finished tied for second in 1983 and 1986.

"Greg is about as foreign as I am," Hale Irwin said. "All of uswho play regularly over here don't consider him a foreigner. I haveto believe Tom would qualify if Norman does."

"Tom deserves to be here," Peter Jacobson said. "His not beinghere hurts the Masters. It was an oversight."

Davis Love wouldn't discuss it.

"I'm a friend of Tom's, and everything I said would probablycome out sounding wrong," he said.

KID AT HEART: Usually, only the younger players stay in theCrow's Nest, a room on the Augusta National grounds. But MitchVoges, 42, is happy to be there this week.

He became the oldest U.S. Amateur champion in history last year,and the title qualified him for the Masters. His son Christian, 13,is his caddie and roommate.

"Some people say I'm crazy that I didn't get a club caddie,"Voges said. "But I'm not just thinking golf shots. This is, firstand foremost, a family outing. And when I'm walking the fairwayswith my son, it's wonderful."

Voges' goal is not to make the cut, as is the case with mostfirst-time Masters participants.

"Maybe I'm sentimental," he said. "But when I'm introduced onthe first tee as the national champion, I'll have tears in my eyes.So I want to get air in my lungs, wipe the tears from my eyes and hitthe ball solid off the first tee."

NOTES: The only changes in the course are on the back sidepar-3s. The front bunkers at Nos. 12 and 16 were raised six inches,and the 16th green was extended to allow for another pin placement. Charles Coody, the 1971 champion, withdrew with a nerve problem inhis right arm that developed when he was lifting some luggage. Thatreduced the field to 84 players, the smallest in eight years. The practice round Monday was delayed 30 minutes because of frostand Tuesday because of a morning thunderstorm.

Empty Nest

2012-03-13T23:06:00.000-07:00

TOM VANDERBILT on Sarah Morris's Beijing

"WHAT INTERESTS ME ABOUT BEIJING is that it's not resolved in any way," says artist Sarah Morris, looking at a monitor in her studio, on which clips from her upcoming film, titled after the city, are playing. "Or, more precisely, that China is a paradoxical state. Is it hypercapitalist? Yes. Is the government a supreme authority? Yes. It's not yet certain what the country will become, and so today it is not even clear just what we are seeing when, for instance, we look at something like Rem Koolhaas's tower for China Central Television." Morris has executed cinematic portraits of urban landscapes in the past, skimming their architectures and cultural scenes - from the sidewalks and skyscrapers of Manhattan to the red carpets and surgical theaters of Los Angeles - to compose chains of discrete, nonlinear episodes, many of which suggest unprecedented access to the back corridors of overmediated events. Beijing features a similar approach, but only while imbuing images with a uniquely rich tension, whether Morris is framing the complex infrastructure of the Beijing Post Office, or a speech by Sino-icon Henry Kissinger during a forum called "What Makes a Champion?" (a talk she says bristled with startlingly reductive nationalist tropes), or a duck farm whose swarming avian numbers are suggestive of the mass forms that pervade the city, or, in an image that reveals instantly that Morris was filming during the summer of 2008, Michael Phelps in a warm-down pool. Most evocative in this regard, Morris notes, were the ubiquitous "countdown clocks," which seemed to provide the city with a narrative drive toward some grand, decisive moment. "There was a palpable anxiety," she says of Beijing during the Olympics - though the phrase is as apt for her own project - "a sense of making a form and yet not knowing what's going to go on within it."

Morris's film, then, is not exclusively about the Beijing Olympic Games. Indeed, as an indicator of the breadth of the artist's investigation, the walls of her studio are covered with sheets of paper, each one bearing the name of an individual or agency that helped open a channel to a different part of the metropolis. (Even the duck farm had significant restrictions, as Morris was required to wear special gear to avoid any risk of contaminating - or of being contaminated by - this food source.) Yet as Morris's working method dictates that she "let[s] events themselves, and the bureaucratic limits of those events, control [the process]," this particular time and place led her - as it did all of Beijing - to dwell on these Olympics, particularly as they represented the creation of a cultural identity. Curiously, her navigation of labyrinthine bureaucracies extended from the Chinese state to the equally formidable apparatuses of the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, introducing unanticipated ambiguities as she obtained clearances to film in the (copyrighted) Herzog & de Meuron "Bird's Nest" and other buildings. "It's still debatable whose event it was," she says, "and who was its ultimate author."

The defining moment of the Games was, of course, furnished by the opening ceremonies, which, regardless of authorship, were directed by Zhang Yimou who appears in Morris's film, rather frantically orchestrating the event - as an epic tale of China. Historian Geremie Barm� has argued that the ceremonies, with their invocations of Confucian philosophy and classical Chinese arts things denounced for much of the past century in China - represented an attempt by the country's leaders "to present the world with a story of five thousand unbroken years of civilized harmony." In so doing, however, the spectacle fused the idea of people as pixels - a practice originating in the North Korean "mass games" - with actual pixels in the massive LCD display deployed on the stadium floor, creating, in effect, a new medium: a living, digitally augmented tableau vivant. (Still another layer of mediation was added in television broadcasts: When computer-generated fireworks exploded in a progression through the "Beijing" that viewers at home were seeing, NBC's Bob Costas rightly intoned that the city was operating "like cinema in real time.") For Morris, the ceremonies were "an adrenal event." Her film - not unlike the photographs of Edward Burtynsky that depict masses of colorfully clad Chinese factory work- ers diminishing to a distant vanishing point - conveys a sense both of beauty and unease in the spectacle. (And anyone viewing the ceremonies could observe that the similarities between, say, factory workers manning their workstations and the thousands of performers manning their drums are not strictly aesthetic. Zhang himself noted that his production could only have taken place in China, where the rigors of the performance would not conflict with any regulations pertaining to workers' rights.) As for Morris's experience in the "Bird's Nest," one might say that to film what seems a film itself - one complete with lip-synching and other special effects - invokes a dictum from Brecht: "Less than ever does a simple reproduction of reality express something about reality."

Indeed, when it came to the Games themselves, Morris describes the over- whelming feeling as one of emptiness: "The real story is that there was no one there; it was an event for television." In this respect, it was comparable to the Academy Awards ceremony that was at the decentered heart of her Los Angeles, 2004 - only "times one hundred." But rather than deploy Hollywood's mecha- nisms of image construction to reify an entertainment industry or even celeb- rity culture itself, the Beijing Olympics put such devices in the service of nation-state building. The spectators were part of the medium itself: a medium whose message to the world was that this unprecedented mastery over technol- ogy and large-scale human movement - and even the weather - could only have been brought to you by a powerful state commanding a staggering amount of human and economic resources. (The politically fraught torch run and stri- dently suasive, stage-managed statecraft on display in Beijing recall the words of Frederick T. Birchall of the New York Times: "The foreign reaction was awaited here with a certain measure of trepidation. There is manifest anxiety for once to win foreign praise ___ They are back in the fold of nations who have 'arrived.' " His subject was the 1936 Berlin Games.) For all the pastness on dis- play, the future was the real subject, in the Games as in the city as a whole. "That level of optimism about the future is there; it was really clear," Morris says' . Whether or not you want to recognize that, or think that,s deluded it,s there it's palpa. ble - it's definitely in the film."

If the whole place was becoming cinema in real time - Morris says video screens were as pervasive a building material in Beijing as drywall, and indeed, the very lip of the stadium, the "membrane," was a screen, as if it were a hermetic seal on the structure's contents - this artist's film of the film is like some metaphoric pinhole photograph. Her images were gathered through the small, shifting apertures of security clearances. And like an athlete, she was working, as the sportscasters say, against the clock - in this case, against the omnipresent countdown clocks that were ticking toward the Olympics, and toward the zero hour of fixed meaning.

[Sidebar]

Rather than deploy Hollywood's mechanisms of image construction to reify an entertainment industry or even celebrity culture itself, the Beijing Olympics put such devices in the service of nation-state building.

[Author Affiliation]

TOM VANDERBILT IS A WRITER BASED IN NEW YORK.

McCaw to miss Samoa test

2012-03-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

New Zealand captain Richie McCaw will miss Wednesday's one-off rugby test against Samoa because of a rib injury, team officials said Monday.

McCaw, who suffered the injury during the All Blacks' 19-0 Tri-Nations win over South Africa in Cape Town two weeks ago, has been replaced at flanker by Adam Thomson. No. 8 Rodney So'oialo will lead the New Zealand team in McCaw's absence.

Lock Brad Thorn and winger Sitiveni Sivivatu will also miss the match in New Plymouth because of injuries. Thorn has a hamstring strain and Sivivatu a twisted ankle.

Anthony Boric was named Monday to replace Thorn and Anthony Tuitavake will take Sivivatu's place on the left wing.

Wednesday's game is designed to give the All Blacks match play between the Cape Town test and the final and deciding Tri-Nations test against Australia at Brisbane on Sept. 13.

Lock Filipo Levi was named later Monday to lead an understrength Samoa team. Many of Samoa's leading players are unavailable because they are involved in European club competitions.

Levi is one of three Japan-based players in the Samoan forward pack. The majority of the team is Samoa-based, including the entire backline which is drawn from three clubs, Apia, Apia West and Tuamasaga.

___

Teams:

New Zealand: Mils Muliaina, Richard Kahui, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Anthony Tuitavake, Dan Carter, Jimmy Cowan, Rodney So'oialo (captain), Adam Thomson, Jerome Kaino, Ali Williams, Anthony Boric, Greg Somerville, Andrew Hore, Tony Woodcock. Reserves: Keven Mealamu, Neemia Tialata, Sione Lauaki, Piri Weepu, Stephen Donald, Isaia Toeava, Rudi Wulf.

Samoa: Alatasi Tupou, Reupena Levasa, Pale Toelupe, Jerry Meafou, Esera Lauina, Uale Mai, Notise Tauafao, George Stowers, Alafoti Faosiliva, Semo Sititi, Chad Slade, Filipo Levi (captain), Heroshi Tea, Loleni Tafunai, Simon Lemalu. Reserves: Lafoga Aoelua, Roysiu Tolufale, Maselino Paulino, Simaika Mikaele, Junior Poluleuligaga, Roger Warren, Romi Ropati.

Political ad in Colorado targets wrong Salazar

2012-03-13T17:21:00.000-07:00

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) — A political advertisement that takes aim at Colorado U.S. Rep. John Salazar is slightly off the mark: It names the wrong Salazar.

The radio ad mentions his younger brother, Ken Salazar, five times.

Ken Salazar is a former Colorado senator who is now the interior secretary. John Salazar represents the state's 3rd Congressional District and is being challenged by Republican state lawmaker Scott Tipton.

The ad is paid for by Americans United for Life, a Washington-based anti-abortion group, which tells The Daily Sentinel that a corrected ad will be aired.

The group criticizes Salazar for backing health care reform, which it says will undo a ban on taxpayer-funded abortions. President Barack Obama signed an executive order to affirm the ban.

___

Information from: The Daily Sentinel, http://www.gjsentinel.com

Turner calls Israeli President Shimon Peres a 'beacon of hope'

2012-03-13T14:29:00.000-07:00

U.S. media mogul Ted Turner said Thursday that Nobel Prize winner and Israeli President Shimon Peres was a "beacon of hope" for Israel.

Turner and Nobel Prize winner and former U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan accompanied a U.N. delegation to meet with Peres to discuss peacemaking efforts between Israel and the Palestinians.

"It's good to see you again and to see you as President of the country, which you so deserve," Turner said. "You've been a beacon of hope and ray of light through your whole career."

Before lunch at Peres' official Jerusalem residence, Annan briefly addressed reporters.

"We are here to listen, to learn and to see what is happening," Annan said.

Peres said the U.N. should help to reduce dependence on oil which he said "pollutes the earth and is the major financier of terror."

Begin with the basics

2012-03-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

MANUFACTURING

Just-in-time, total quality management and other such tools do not necessarily create strong manufacturing systems.

Alot of people in the automotive industry seem to think that having the right "tools" is the key to a successful manufacturing system By tools I mean systems and programs that are aimed at improving quality, eliminating waste and reducing cost - all while helping produce an even better product.

Many of these tools have become common throughout the industry. Kaizen program, for example, are continuous improvement efforts that are driven by the ideas of the people who know the operation best - the people working on the plant floor.

Kanban systems are aimed at eliminating waste by having the right product in the right place at the right time. Total productive maintenance (TPM) programs drive increased equipment productivity. And value stream mapping which some call process flow mapping, is aimed at better understanding how all of the pieces of a manufacturing system fit together and knowing where bottlenecks occur so problems can be attacked at the most critical points.

Standardized work, continuous flow and quick changeover are other important tools that can help improve manufacturing And of late, many companies are introducing the Six Sigma philosophy which establishes process capability to reduce variation and improve quality.

Evidence of these tools and others is in place at virtually every automotive facility throughout the world. Most OEMs have invested a great deal of time and money to implement many such systems and programs in the hopes they will improve their manufacturing operations.

Yet in my worldwide travels, I also have seen very mixed results from their implementation. Why?. Because at too many operations I see companies that are trying to plant the seeds of lean manti without first tilling the soil. Many programs are put in place, but there is no foundation of a broad, overall manufactuing structure in place to support successful implementation.

At some companies, these tools are implemented separately from plant to plant and operation to operation These disjointed efforts limit the effectiveness of these tools. From TPM to error-proofing, these tools can be very successful in improving manufacturing operations - but only as part of a cohesive production system.

There are two key components that must be in place long before any of these tools can be effectively implemented.

First, all manufacturing organizations must have a well-structured organization with clearly defined roles and responsibilities. And an important part of the organization's role is to develop a clear, well-thought-out policy deployment process that essentially sets the targets in areas such as quality, cost safety delivery and productivity.

Second, all of these goals must be understood by everyone in the organization - from workers on the plant floor to managers at company headquarters. And even more than understanding, workers must embrace these goals and be commit ted to improving their manufacturing operation.

Without such a foundation, these tools are destined to become just another "flavor of the month," and are doomed for failure.

A well-stred organization with clearly defined roles and responsibilities and a committed workforce are the foundations of a strong manufacturing system With such a structure in place, organizations have the capability to move forward in solving problems and improving And these comp nies can pick and choose in "pulling" the necessary tools and training that can best help them achieve their targets and improve their measures, instead of gushing" them on workers and into areas where they may not be necessary or effective.

Just-in-time, total quality management and other such tools do not necessarily create strong manufacturing systems But they can help a good manufacturer with an accepting culture and philosophy - and an effective manufacturing system - become even better.

[Author Affiliation]

RON HARBOUR is president of Harbour and Associates, manufacturing consultants in Troy, Mich www.harbourinc.com

Skoda Auto reports 15 pct increase in 2011 sales

2012-03-13T08:19:00.000-07:00

PRAGUE (AP) — Czech carmaker Skoda Auto AS, a part of German manufacturer Volkswagen AG, says its unit sales rose by 15 percent in 2011 to reach a record high.

Skoda Auto said in a statement on Thursday it sold 875,000 cars last year, compared with 762,600 in 2010, the previous record high. The company expected further growth in the years to come.

Financial results were not given.

Skoda Auto made the announcement during the New Delhi AUTO EXPO 2012 in India, where its sales rose by 50 percent in 2011.

The company said it expects its annual global sales to reach at least 1.5 million units by 2018.

Marshall holds off Old Dominion

2012-03-13T04:23:00.000-07:00

Tirrell Baines scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds to help Marshall hold off Old Dominion in a 68-64 victory on Saturday.

The Thundering Herd (2-3), who never trailed in the second half, broke a 45-45 tie with 11:55 left in the game on a layup by Tyler Wilkerson. Marshall took its largest lead of the half at 63-58 on Markel Humphrey's 3-pointer with 2:52 remaining.

Darius James, who finished with 11 points, made a jumper to pull the Monarchs (1-3) within two points with 26 seconds left. The Thundering Herd went up 66-62 with 13 seconds remaining on two free throws by Shaquille Johnson, who finished with 10 points.

Old Dominion's Gerald Lee answered eight-seconds later with a layup. But Baines followed with two free throws to seal the victory for Marshall.

Ben Finney led Old Dominion with 16 points, while Lee had 10.

Bologna players questioned over handicapped permit

2012-03-13T01:14:00.000-07:00

BOLOGNA, Italy (AP) — Several Bologna football players are appearing in court to answer questions over alleged misuse of handicapped parking permits.

The Italian news agency ANSA reports that captain Marco Di Vaio, goalkeeper Emiliano Viviano and midfielder Gaby Mudingayi were each questioned in the case Wednesday.

Mudingayi explained that the parking permits were provided by a disabled woman, Marilena Molinari, who helps the club's players with various off-the-pitch services, and that he often took Molinari around in the city to complete errands.

Investigators are now trying to determine if the players also took advantage of the permits without Molinari in their cars.

Cop Charged in Off-Duty Slaying of Homeless Man

2012-03-12T22:16:00.000-07:00

An off-duty Chicago police officer has been charged withmurdering a homeless man who had allegedly insulted the officer'sgirlfriend after the couple left a River North tavern.

Gregory Becker, 34, who is free on $150,000 bond, fled in hiscar without notifying police or calling 911, prosecutors said.

The officer, who was assigned to the Monroe District, allegedlyshot Joseph Gould, 36, in the head at point-blank range early Sundayat Franklin and Huron.

Becker was arrested several hours later after police traced alicense plate number that witnesses provided, prosecutors said.

A police spokesman said Becker, an officer since 1992, had beenrelieved of his duties, pending reassignment and possible suspension.

The shooting occurred about 12:30 a.m. Sunday, shortly afterBecker and the woman left America's Bar, 219 W. Erie, prosecutorssaid.

Gould, who lived at a homeless shelter, frequented the trendyNear North Side area and washed car windows to earn money.

With wash bucket in hand, Gould allegedly approached the woman,who told authorities he made remarks that "upset" her as she walked afew steps ahead of Becker. Becker exchanged words with Gould, thewoman told authorities.

When Becker began walking toward his car, Gould followed him andharassed him, the woman told authorities. Becker then opened his cartrunk and retrieved a 9-mm. handgun, the woman said.

Prosecutors said the woman claimed she saw the two men strugglefor the weapon but had turned her back when the fatal shot rang out.

The woman also claimed she saw Gould holding his stomach as hefell to the ground. But other witnesses told police Gould washolding his bucket when he fell, prosecutors said.

The medical examiner said Gould died from a gunshot wound to thehead.

Becker, whose bond was set Monday night, is scheduled to appearin Violence Court for a preliminary hearing Aug. 21.

Creative changes

2012-03-12T19:25:00.000-07:00

MCCANN-ERICKSON Bristol's creative director David Woolway anddeputy creative director Dave Brown have left the company, sparkinga change in the set up of the creative team.

Jon Jefferies, managing director and chief executive said: "Ratherthan having one team straddling advertising and direct marketing,we've now got creative group heads responsible for each discipline."Meanwhile McCann's talking rabbit campaign for HSA has produced asubstantial upturn in business, the likes of which, a spokesman said,the company had not seen for many years.

IBM raises guidance, beats Street estimates

2012-03-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — IBM Corp. raised its income guidance for the year on Monday as earnings in the latest quarter increased 8 percent because of growth in all three of its major product categories.

The results show the strength of the 100-year-old company's efforts to link its mainframes and other computing hardware with its newer businesses, software and services. Those two categories bring in the bulk of IBM's income.

Signings of new contracts for services increased — a welcome sign for Wall Street after a decline last quarter.

But the company faces questions about whether its profit increases are sustainable. Some analysts worry about increased competition, specifically in outsourcing, the biggest part of IBM's services business.

Investors gave the numbers a tepid endorsement. The stock rose 2 percent.

Net income was $3.66 billion, or $3 per share, in the second quarter compared with $3.39 billion, or $2.61 per share, a year ago. Excluding items, IBM earned $3.09 per share, ahead of the $3.02 per share analysts expected.

Revenue increased 12 percent to $26.7 billion, ahead of the $25.4 billion analyst estimate.

New contract signings in services increased 16 percent over last year to $14.3 billion. They had declined 14 percent in the first quarter, raising fears about the robustness of IBM's pipeline of new deals.

IBM has stopped including this figure in its earnings releases; it can now only be found deep in the charts accompanying the results. Instead, IBM insists that its backlog of services deals that are already in the pipeline is a better predictor of future revenue. The backlog is now $144 billion, $15 billion higher than last year.

Guidance for 2011 calls for at least $13.25 per share, excluding items, up from the previous estimate of $13.15 per share.

But the company's history makes it subject to high expectations. IBM, which is based in Armonk, N.Y., has not only consistently raised its guidance, but it has also taken the rare step of setting a specific long-term profit goal — $20 per share in operating earnings by 2015. So investors now expect steady guidance increases.

Brian Marshall, an analyst with Gleacher & Co., said he was disappointed with the latest numbers. IBM's income should have been higher considering that revenue was more than $1 billion higher than estimates, he said.

"They are spending faster than I thought — that is my main concern," Marshall said, adding that IBM's ability to hit its long-term profit target is "not a slam dunk in my view."

IBM's stock rose $4.07, or 2.3 percent, to $179.35 in extended trading after the release of results Monday. In the regular session earlier, the stock fell 26 cents to $175.28. The stock is up more than 40 percent since September, indicating investors' overall belief about IBM's profit predictions.

Cleveland Orchestra will tour Austria, Switzerland, Italy

2012-03-12T11:44:00.000-07:00

The Cleveland Orchestra's summer tour of Europe will include festivals in Austria and Switzerland and first-time appearances in Milan and Turin, Italy.

The tour includes 13 performances from August 17 through September 3. It will take the orchestra to festivals in Salzburg, Austria, and Lucerne, Switzerland.

It will also include an August 16 symposium in Salzburg on music and the brain co-sponsored by the Cleveland Clinic research hospital.

The orchestra, under the direction of Franz Welser-Moest, announced the tour schedule Tuesday.

___

On the Net:

http://www.clevelandorchestra.com

(This version CORRECTS spelling to `Welser-Moest' from `Welser-Most' in final graf. )