2 I Wednesday, Aug. 4,2010 Former employer waives hearing Former Perm State employee Lisa Stevenson has waived her right to a preliminary hearing in connection with an incident where $2,280 was stolen from the university from March 17 to April 29, according to court documents. As an administrative assistant in the College of Engineering, Stevenson took the money from a fund she was overseeing meant to pay for a student trip to Kenya, police said. Mayor to try to end DROP program PHILADELPHIA Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter says he will try to end a deferred retirement program that has meant a big lump-sum payment for former officials. The Deferred Retirement Option Program allows employ ees eligible to retire to pick a retirement date four years down the road, then amass pension payments while working and collecting their salaries The idea was to encourage longtime employees to stay on the job past retirement age, allowing the city time to plan to replace them. But Nutter says the DROP program has cost the city pen sion fund $258 million since 1999, and Philadelphia can no longer afford it. Nutter says he will send the City Council a bill as soon as possible to “drop” the DROP program. But union leaders representing city police and firefighters say the program should stay. Officers splashed in face with bleach PHILADELPHIA Police say two officers were splashed in the face with bleach during a street fight in North Philadelphia. Police say the 39th District officers were taken to Temple University hospital for treatment, but the two were said to be in “good shape.” Police were called to a fight on North 28th Street shortly before 3 p.m. and the officers were attacked when they tried to quell the disturbance. Police say a 21-year-old man stabbed in the chest during the melee was also being treated at the hospital. No arrests have been made in the assault on police. Woman suing Toyota for son’s death AMP HILL A woman sued Toyota Motor Corp., BP America Inc. and others on Tuesday, claiming their actions contributed to a March fire at a gasoline pump that killed her son. The wrongful-death and product liability action filed in Philadelphia by Lisa Rickenbach claims that flaws in the gas pumps and the Toyota Yaris that Luther David Byers was driving helped cause his death. It also alleges that the gas station in the Harrisburg suburb Camp Hill should not have been operating without an atten dant on duty. The fire occurred at about 3 a.m. The coroner has said that Byers, 19, died when he suffocat ed from hot gas generated by the fire, which a state police fire marshal has said was sparked by static electricity. The lawyers who filed the lawsuit said they expected to get access to security camera footage of the fire that could help clarify what happened. Among the other 13 defendants are entities associated with Toyota and BE the gas station franchisee and the company that manufactured the gas pump nozzle. Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons declined to comment, and a message left Tuesday for BP corporate communications was not immediately returned Stewart Eisenberg, the lawyer for Rickenbach and Byers’ estate, said there have been hundreds of similar fires in the United States. "The oil and gas industry, and the automotive industry, are well aware of this phenomenon that's been going on for many years," he said. "It s certainly something that they know about and they don't warn people about or warn them sufficiently." Eisenberg said Byers had been working at FedEx and plan ning a career in law enforcement. Police: Aunt, boyfriend endangered boy APOLLO State police have charged a baby-sitting aunt and her boyfriend with endangering a 2-year-old boy found wandering on a western Pennsylvania street. State police in Kittanning say they’ve filed charges of reck less endangerment and endangering the welfare of a child against 25-year-old Tara Jo Frain and 37-year-old Danny Alexander. Both are from Apollo where police say Frain’s nephew was found wandering on a street about 6:30 a.m. Monday. Police say the boy had spent the night with Frain and Alexander, who were asleep when the boy somehow left. Frain called police to report the boy missing after she woke up around 11:30 a.m., not realizing the boy had already been found wandering and was in county custody. Online court records don’t list attorneys for the suspects. Follow us on Twitter for up-to-the-moment news. gUjjg www.twitter.com/dailycollegian The Daily Collegian Collegian Inc. James Building, 123 S. Burrowes St., University Park, PA 16801-3882 Ttie Daily Collegian Online, which can be found at www.psucolleglan.coni, is updat ed daily with the information published in the print edition. It also contains expand ed coverage, longer versions of some stories and letters, Web-only features and pre vious stories from our archives. Our site features full News and Business division list ings and e-mail addresses. News Division News, Opinions, Arts and Entertainment, Sports, Photo, Graphics, The Daily Collegian Online and The Weekly Collegian Phone: (814) 865-1828 ■ noon to midnight Sunday; 10 a.m. to midnight Monday to Thursday Business Division Advertising, circulation, accounting and classifieds Phone: (814) 865-2531 Fax: (814) 865-3848 ■ 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays Edltor-in-Chief Managing Editor Opinion/Web Editor Copy Desk Chief Assistant Copy Desk Chief News Editor News Chief Arts Chief Sports Co-Editor Sports Co-Editor Visual Editor Multimedia Editor Photo Editor Business Manager Advertising Manager Customer Service Manager Layout Manager Creative Manager Address ©2009 Collegian Inc. On the World Wide Web Fax: (814) 863-1126 Board of Editors Board of Managers LOCAL, STATE & NATION , , _ sX-M* -v / —N _ Extended forecast at %11/ 4- £$. »<« » Today: Lr Tonight: H, ) Tomorrow: jTj campusweatherservtce.com y y Ay I. 11 V, 1 • High 87 Low 68 High 88 Courtesy of Campus Weather Service Navy sees ANNAPOLIS, Md. The 61st superintendent of the U.S. Naval Academy took command Tuesday, pledging to make ethics a priority after financial irregularities were discovered by Navy investigators under his predecessor. Vice Adm. Michael Miller, who served as Navy chief of legislative affairs in Washington, took over at a change-of-command ceremony from Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler. In a speech at the ceremony, Adm. Jonathan Greenert, vice chief of Naval Operations, emphasized the complexities of the superintendent's job. He compared it to the Hydra of Greek mythology, a seven-headed serpent that grew two more heads every time one was severed. "It's like the Hydra of mythology, right? It's complicated," Greenert said. "It's dynamic. It's herding cats. It's strategic, operational and tacti cal, and that's all in one day, and it's not for the meek, for sure." Fowler kept his remarks under seven minutes, reminiscing about family and friends who helped him through his 32-year Navy career. "I have no regrets," Fowler said. "I have such happy, amazing memo ries." Miller, who is a native of North Dakota like Fowler, said he would make ethics a top priority. "I am convinced that an ethical foundation must come first, and that O nn/lnll Turn a said one idea to meet the “There are a number of tilings we JVvllQvll current gap in funding is raising the could do that would be fairly pain cost of licenses and vehicle registra- less and not at all unfair to the From Page 1. tion fees state h y the rate of motoring public,” Tuma said, nation, for additional investment to inflation since the fees have been Tuma said the general assembly keep the roads and bridges in a state raised. is currently scheduled to reconvene of good repair,” Kirkpatrick said. Tuma said the fee for drivers’ in mid-September, but the governor Kirkpatrick said the 5,646 bridges licenses has not been raised since sent the legislators a letter Tuesday labeled “structurally deficient” have near 2000 and vehicle registration to ask them to reconvene on Aug. 23 various levels of deterioration that fees have not increased since the to devote session days to need to be repaired, but said the 1990’5. Pennsylvania transportation exclu state inspects the bridges at least If the fees were raised it would sively. once every two years to ensure that produce several hundred million they are safe. dollars annually, Tuma said Frats From Page 1. Phi Mu Delta is renting out about 10 spots, fraternity president Eli Zigon said. After moving into the for mer Alpha Epsilon Pi house, 240 E. Prospect Ave., the brothers discov ered they had extra rooms and decided to help out. Not only is it helpful for students looking for houses, it will also help fraternities cover rent each month, Zigon (senior-economics) said. Course From Page 1 The students will also work with Shell to learn more about deepwater drilling, Bralower said. Working with Shell will hopefully dispel the myth that oil companies are reckless, he said. “These companies have incredi ble safety procedures,” he said. “We want to show how a major oil com pany explores in deepwater.” Guest lecturers may be called in to discuss BP’s financial situation and the economics of the disaster. Marine biologists and petroleum engineers are also on the list of potential guest lecturers, Bralower said. “The issues are very complicat ed,” Bralower said. “It’s hard to Dlnvrniv truck engines that were still present young individuals were present in dOCCer A layer putting out the fire.” the emergency room “at the time of ** When EMS arrived to treat [his] disorder,” police said. From Page 1. Gelsinger for an alcohol overdose, It was in the emergency room But even after he was handcuffed, police said he was unable to put that Gelsinger was told to stop using police said Gelsinger continued to together a coherent thought. obscene language, police said, yell obscene comments at the He was taken to Mount Nittany When he did not stop using such arresting officers. Medical Center where he began language, police said hospital offi- The Alpha Fire Company was asking hospital staff to perform vul- rials made the decision to sedate called to the scene to put out the gar acts, police said. Gelsinger. mattress fire, police said. While in the emergency room, he Gelsinger could not be reached Police said Gelsinger continued to continued to use obscenities, police for comment by press time Tuesday, yell, “loudly enough at times that it said. could be heard over the loud fire Police said that both elderly and To e-mail reporter bwmSl47@psu.edu psucoUegian.com Dybal! From Page 1. pitch and write stories on otht. top ics. Because of two articles, Dyba'i said she has had the opportunity to turn them into books one article was about celebrity dogs, which led to “A Famous Dog’s Life,” and the other was about the television show “Project Runway.” After covering “Project Runway,” Dyball was asked to co-author a book with fourth season winner Christian Siriano. .Elizabeth Murphy Alex Weisler lared Shanker Katie Sullivan Edgar Ramirez Kevin Cirilli Laura Nichols Chris Zook .Bill Landis Andrew Robinson .Heather Schmelzlen Jenna Ekdahl Steph Witt In 2009, the novel was released as “Fierce Style: How to Be Your Most Fabulous Self.” But to begin writing “A Famous Dog’s Life,” Dyball said she had numerous interviews with Chipperton so she could write a non fiction book in Chipperton’s voice. .Kelsey Thompson Alissa Nemzer lulia Brondani ....Brittany Thrush ...Danielle Meyers By Brian Witte ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER change of personnel Vice Adm. Jeffrey Fowler, left, is relieved during the change-of-command will be our starting point while I'm here," he said. Fowler made diversity a top prior ity of his tenure in an effort to make the school's student body represen tative of the Navy, and the academy has made big gains. Minority appli cations for the class of 2014 were the most in the school's history, with 5,379. Greenert also praised Fowler for increasing midshipmen’s exposure to Navy experience outside the classroom and for pushing to create a Center for Cyber Security Studies on the school's campus. "Jeff sees the future," Greenert said. "He knows it's about cyber, among other things, and he did something about it." Fowler’s tenure, which began in 2007, was clouded by spending irreg- The cost of living in the fraternity house is $5OO a month, which includes utilities, he said. And students who take the greek community up on the offer can get more than just living space and util ities, he said. “People will get to see another side of greek life, the day-to-day camaraderie,” Zigon said. Already, seven people have given verbal commitments to Phi Mu Delta. And Zigon is hoping that through working with the Off-Campus paint a black and white picture here.” If students do make it to the oil covered beaches of the Gulf, the devastation that they see is likely to remain long after the course ends. The severity and long-term impacts of the April 20 oil spill are still unknown, said Anil Kulkami, who studies combustion and fluid mechanics and is a Penn State pro fessor of mechanical engineering. Though not involved in the Earth 297 H course or the Gulf cleanup efforts, Kulkarni described the cleanup situation in the Gulf as “hopeless” in part because of thick oil in the water. “It’s like mayonnaise,” Kulkarni said. “Whenever it sticks to some thing, it’s finished.” Mien oil and water mix, they become emulsified, Kulkami said. “It’s totally nonfiction,” Dyball said. “It would be hard to put an exact label on it. It’s part memoir because it’s all about Sue’s life, but it’s the story of Gidget and her life as well.” Though she said conducting the ; nterviews was vital for writing the book, Dyball said it was one of the most challenging aspects of the writing process. “Transcribing is absolutely the worst it’s mind-numbing. It takes so long that you don’t feel like you have an ounce of creativity left after it,” Dyball said. “But it’s also impor tant because that’s when you can see the story kind of come together.” But Chipperton said she enjoyed the interviews the two of them had. “The initial phone calls were fun,” Chipperton said. “If you start me tailring about jobs I have done and animals I have trained, I can ramble on forever poor Rennie, on the The Daily Collegian ularities that included a "sham" slush fund, according to a report complet ed in November by the Office of the Naval Inspector General. Although the Navy emphasized that Fowler didn't benefit from the irregularities, investigators criticized the fund and the improper solicitation of gifts relating to efforts to retain the school's football coaches. Wesley Brown, the first African- American to graduate from the Naval Academy in the Class of 1949, praised Fowler for his work on diver sity. Brown, an 83-year-old alumnus who was in the audience at the cere mony, said he didn't think Fowler deserved to go out this way. "I'm very sorry to see that he was smeared at the end there," Brown said. "A lot of the alumni feel that way." To e-mail reporter: prosoo4@psu.edu Student Union and posting on Craigslist, his fraternity will fill in the extra spaces. Other fraternities that are consid ering maybe renting out to students and aiding them in their off-campus housing search include Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Kappa Lamda and Tau Delta Phi. The presidents of Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Kappa Lambda and Tau Delta Phi were not available for comment by press time Tuesday. To e-mail reporter: merS2oo@psu.edu The effects can be damaging to humans and animals alike. “We have a spill that is ten times the size of the last big oil spill of the Exxon-Valdez in Prince William Sound,” Kulkami said. Though cleanup is underway, it will be a long-term struggle even after the oil well is permanently capped, Kulkami said. The effects of the oil dispersants being used to break up the oil and the potential for tropical storms in the Gulf also pose an unknown threat, Kulkami said. Discussing those threats and how to prevent them in the future is the entire purpose of creating the course for the fall semester, Bralower said. “We’re just at the beginning of what happens in the Gulf,” he said. To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu other hand, had to sit down and decipher it all and make sense of how it was going to make a book.” After compiling all the “raw mate rial” and writing the lead, Dyball said she was then able to delve into her veiy favorite part of the writing process taking the material and “crafting a beautiful paragraph... making it sing and jump off the page.” Though the novel is about a celebrity dog and her trainer, Dyball said she thinks it will reach a large audience, especially those that love dogs. “I think the book has a lot for any one. Any dog lover and animal lover would be fascinated to read this,” she said. “Anyone interestec in Hollywood would like the book. ,c’s a behind the scenes that I think peo ple haven’t really seen before.” To e-mail reporter: krislo6@psu.edu
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers