North County Times

Calif. to pay 'concubine' of CYA teacher

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The state has agreed to pay $165,000 to resolve the lawsuit of a California Youth Authority ward who claims she was turned into the "personal concubine" of a teacher at the authority's Ventura School in Camarillo.

The ward's Sacramento attorney, Stewart Katz, said the settlement was reached Monday.

CYA spokeswoman Sarah Ludeman said the agency would have no comment about the settlement.

After the details of the woman's ordeal emerged, a Humboldt County judge took the unprecedented step of removing her from CYA custody and placing her in his county's jail, pending a decision on what to do with her, Katz said.

Rather than return her to the CYA, that same judge has agreed to sign an order committing her to a federal prison for women in Pleasanton, he said.

Her juvenile sentence calls for incarceration until she is 25. Now 21, she was 16 when she entered the Ventura School in June 1996, the only CYA facility that houses female juvenile offenders.

She met Bradley Gardner that October when she was assigned to a film production class taught by him.

Gardner, 44, is serving a prison term for his guilty plea to unlawful sexual contact with two wards, including the one who sued him.

Gardner also used CYA equipment to produce "at least five pornographic videos" featuring the ward, the suit alleges.

The woman's name is being withheld because of her age and the nature of the events alleged in her suit, filed in Los Angeles federal court.

In addition to Gardner, the suit names as defendants three former top officials of the Ventura School, but it does not target the Youth Authority itself.

Drunken driver sentenced for 11th conviction

FREDERICK, Md. (AP) - An unemployed construction worker who became a poster boy for toughening state drunken driving laws was convicted Wednesday of his 11th offense and sentenced to 18 months in jail.

The penalty was the stiffest yet for Michael Dowdy Sr., 38, who has been charged with alcohol-related driving offenses 16 times since 1984. He still faces prosecution for a March arrest.

"I'm sorry, your honor," Dowdy told District Judge Milnor Roberts. "I shouldn't have been driving."

He pleaded guilty to driving under the influence and driving with a suspended license.

Dowdy told The Washington Post last fall he had not had a valid driver's license for 13 years. The newspaper featured Dowdy in a series about loopholes that prevent habitual drunken drivers from serving substantial sentences.

Dowdy was arrested Nov. 8 after a sheriff's deputy saw his vehicle weaving down Interstate 70 at 70 mph in a 55-mph zone. Deputy David DeWees said Dowdy failed roadside coordination tests, but refused to take a breath test.

In Maryland, unlike most states, Dowdy's refusal could not be used as evidence against him at trial. State Delegate Bill Bronrott, D-Montgomery, said he hopes to close that loophole with a package of drunken-driving reform bills this year.

Dowdy also was fined $500 and ordered into alcoholism treatment and counseling. He was given an indefinite alcohol restriction that would require immediate revocation of driving privileges if he shows any evidence of drinking and driving.

Elderly husband charged with stabbing 87-year-old wife

WAKEFIELD, Mass. (AP) - An 81-year-old man stabbed his wife with a kitchen knife Wednesday then called police and waited in his blood-soaked pajamas for them to arrive, prosecutors said.

Frances Dalesandro, 87, was listed in fair condition.

Her husband, Anthony Dalesandro, was charged with armed assault with intent to murder and was ordered held on $10,000 bail.

Mrs. Dalesandro had gone to sleep after an argument with her husband but awoke about 1 a.m. to find him standing over her with a knife, prosecutors said. He allegedly stabbed her several times in the neck and face.

Prosecutors said he had been taking medication, including Prozac.

Man accused of art-fraud scheme

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) - Police accused a man of trying to sell nearly 300 ineptly forged paintings and sculptures, including some that misspelled the artist's signature.

Dewey Lane Moore, 69, was charged Friday with mail fraud. The West Palm Beach man has claimed the art was gathered from flea markets.

Among the faked works offered for auction at a Florida gallery in 1996 were "Mother and Child" by Picasso, "Poppy" by Georgia O'Keeffe, the sculpture "Bird" by Brancusi and some paintings by Winslow Homer.

Dealers noticed that Homer's first name was misspelled "Windslow" and the Picasso was being sold for a mere $40,000.

Also, the brochure for the auction showed "Bird" in wood - a medium the artist never used for that series. And a painting by Gustav Klimt looked too small.

The FBI shut down the event before any works were sold.

Respiratory therapist charged with murder

GLENDALE, Calif. (AP) - Prosecutors charged a former respiratory therapist Wednesday with murdering six elderly hospital patients whose exhumed bodies were found to contain evidence of a common but dangerous drug that stops breathing.

The case against Efren Saldivar, 31, included two special circumstances - poisoning and multiple murder - which could lead to the death penalty or life in prison without possibility of parole if he is convicted.

Saldivar, who once called himself the "Angel of Death" and then recanted, had been under suspicion since early 1998 in deaths at Glendale Adventist Medical Center.

"After years of hard work, the combined efforts of both the Glendale Police Department and the district attorney's office have paid off in the filing of charges against Efren Saldivar," Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said.

Saldivar was arrested by Glendale police on Tuesday and was held without bail. Arraignment was scheduled for Thursday in Glendale Superior Court. Prosecutors said they will decide whether to seek the death penalty after the preliminary hearing.

The victims died between Dec. 30, 1996, and Aug. 28, 1997. They were identified as Salbi Asatryan, 75, Eleanora Schlegel, 77, Jose Alfaro, 82, Luina Schidlowski, 87, Balbino Castro, 87, and Myrtle Brower, 84.

Toxicological testing showed the drug Pavulon in the remains of all six and it was not part of legitimate treatment of five of those patients, Cooley said at his Los Angeles office.

Deputy District Attorney Al MacKenzie said Pavulon is frequently used in hospitals to stop the normal breathing of patients who are put on artificial respiratory devices.

"If you're going to do surgery, you're going to put the person on an artificial breathing device," MacKenzie said. "If you give the person the drug Pavulon and don't create an artificial means to breathe, they die."

The complaint also alleges one count of receiving stolen property, the drug Versed. A source familiar with the case said that Versed, used to induce sleep in patients but can be fatal if too much is used, was recently found at Saldivar's home.

Attorney Terry M. Goldberg, who represents Saldivar in a half-dozen wrongful-death lawsuits, said his client is indigent and will need a public defender in the criminal case.

Goldberg said the arrest came as he was preparing a motion seeking dismissal of the lawsuits because the families suing Saldivar had failed to show he was responsible. The attorney said he expects the civil suits to be stayed until the criminal case is ended.

"Unfortunately in society we judge people before all sides are heard. I hope people will be patient in ferreting out the truth in this case," Goldberg said at his office.

Cooley said the long delay in arresting Saldivar was not unusual in cases with such complex evidence. He said similar cases have taken three to four years to develop.

A toxicology team assembled to evaluate evidence from the exhumations included Dr. Brian D. Andresen, of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, an expert in analysis of Pavulon.

MacKenzie, who has tried other high-profile cases with complex scientific evidence, has been working with Deputy District Attorney Brian Kelberg, who was a key witness in O.J. Simpson's murder trial and heads the prosecutor's medical-legal section.

The hospital probe began in February 1998. Police said that a month later Saldivar told investigators he committed dozens of mercy killings at Glendale Adventist between 1989 and 1997 and that he considered himself the "Angel of Death."

Police said Saldivar told them he was angry at seeing terminally ill patients kept alive.

Saldivar was in custody only briefly at that time because police lacked evidence. He later said in interviews that he lied to police because he was depressed, suicidal and wanted to be sent to death row.

Police looked into 171 deaths that occurred while Saldivar worked at the hospital. Fifty-four were eliminated because the bodies were cremated. Eventually the probe focused on 20 deaths that raised suspicions.

Shootings kill 3 at Nevada County office, restaurant

NEVADA CITY (AP) -- Three people were fatally shot and two wounded at a county office and restaurant Wednesday morning by a gunman sheriffs say was a mental patient who thought the eatery was poisoning him.

After a daylong manhunt, officers arrested Scott Harlan Thorpe, 40, without a struggle at his Smartville home around 9 p.m., Nevada County Sheriff Keith Royal said. He was turned in by his brother, Kent Thorpe, a police officer in Sacramento.

Royal said the gunman went into the county social services building in Nevada City at about 11:30 a.m. and shot three people at the outpatient mental health clinic with a handgun, killing 19-year-old Laura Wilcox who worked there and visiting 68-year-old caregiver Pearlie Mae Feldman.

Thorpe entered the lobby and shot the three victims by firing through a glass partition separating the lobby from the office, Royal said. A fourth person injured there broke her leg jumping from a window to escape, he said.

About 10 minutes later, Thorpe went into a Lyon's restaurant less than two miles away near Grass Valley, fatally shooting restaurant manager Mike Markle, 24, and wounding a cook, Royal said.

Investigators said they would take a statement from Thorpe Wednesday night. They were also attempting to get a search warrant for his house, about 15 miles from the first shooting.

They believe Thorpe was unhappy with the mental-health care he received at the county clinic, and was convinced the restaurant was poisoning him, the sheriff said.

"It is a dark day for our county," county board Chairwoman Elizabeth Martin told reporters. "I'm here to express our deep grief and horror at this loss to our community and offer our condolences to the families."

People were barred from entering or leaving county buildings and area schools as officers searched for Thorpe Wednesday afternoon.

Yellow police tape surrounded the restaurant. Several nearby fast-food restaurants closed after the shootings.

Ted Christensen, a manager at the Video Library, a video rental store across the street from Lyon's, said he had just arrived at work when he saw several people running out of the restaurant, ducking behind cars in the parking lot and running across the street to hide behind shops.

"I've lived in this town for 18 years and I've never heard of anyone going on this kind of shooting spree," said Christensen, who hid behind his car after learning shots had been fired.

Nevada County is a largely rural county of about 90,000 in the Sierra Nevada foothills, about 50 miles north of Sacramento in California gold-rush country.

A friend of Markle's, Ted Langdell of Marysville, said he last saw him at the Yuba City Lyon's on Christmas.

"He was busy cooking, waiting tables and basically being a jack-of-all-trades so others could go home on Christmas," Langdell said.

Several Lyon's employees, including some who saw the shootings, gathered at a restaurant across the street Wednesday afternoon and watched the television news, shielded from reporters. Some did not want to leave until they received more information about what happened, said the Rev. Sandi Clifford, the Placer County chaplain.

Lyon's was bringing in counselors to talk to the employees, Clifford said. A Lyon's regional manager at the scene declined to comment.

Information about the victims was incomplete, with no hometowns provided.

The sheriff identified the woman wounded at the county building as Judith Edzards, 49. She was in critical condition at Sutter Roseville Medical Center.

The restaurant cook, Richard Senuty, 34, was in good condition at the Sierra Nevada Hospital in Grass Valley.

Three county workers and a restaurant employee were being treated at Sierra Nevada for other injuries, including Daisy Switzer, the county worker hurt jumping out of the county health building. The other three patients were treated for emotional trauma, Cooke said.

Employees at the social services building were placed on administrative leave and were not expected to return to work until Tuesday.

County board Chairwoman Martin said officials would discuss whether to add security at the building, which has no metal detectors, guards or surveillance system.

However, "we prefer not to do business behind bulletproof glass here in Nevada County," she said. "We resolve issues feistily but certainly not violently."

Suburban Pittsburgh couple found dead in murder-suicide

WHITE OAK, Pa. (AP) - An elderly man who was caring for his sick wife shot her in the head, then killed himself, officials said Wednesday.

Jean Hunt, 75, was shot twice in the head, and her husband, Charles W. Hunt, 77, died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, Coroner Cyril Wecht said. Their bodies were discovered in their home Tuesday by a son-in-law.

Neighbor Alverta Dunlop said Mrs. Hunt suffered from Alzheimer's disease and had been confined to her bed for the past several weeks.

New lawsuit claims Oakland cops coerced man into buying drugs

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - A new civil rights lawsuit claims an Oakland police officer threatened to frame a man unless he agreed to buy drugs for him.

Frank Vazquez, who already faces criminal charges for beating people and planting evidence in "The Riders" case, was sued in federal court Monday.

Vazquez fled soon after charges against the officers first surfaced. Local and federal authorities believe he may be in Mexico.

In the latest suit, Earl Tolbert claims Vazquez and another officer who was not identified threatened to frame him for drug possession unless he agreed to buy drugs.

So Tolbert bought drugs and gave them to Vazquez at least four times, the suit claims.

"It was not buy-and-bust. The drugs, once they were purchased, were given to the officer to do whatever he wanted to do with them," attorney John Burris said. "What it appears, given the number of cases we have seen, is that the drugs were used to plant on other individuals with whom (the officers) were seeking cooperation."

The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Tolbert and six other men, is the latest of several against "The Riders" and those who allegedly permitted their activities including Sgt. Jerry Hayter, Chief Richard Word and the city itself.

Last month, Burris filed a federal class action lawsuit against Vazquez and the other "Riders" on behalf of more than a dozen alleged victims. Burris said he expects the lawsuits eventually will be consolidated.

In November, Vazquez and officers Clarence Mabanag, Jude Siapno and Matthew Hornung were criminally charged with a total of 48 felonies and 12 misdemeanors for their alleged actions between June 13 and July 3 in which at least 10 people were victimized.

Three of the officers surrendered to face the charges and are scheduled for a preliminary hearing next month. Local and federal officials are still searching for Vazquez.

Pamela Anderson goes digital

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Former "Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson debuted her "PortaPam" computer program Wednesday.

The $5 program enables a cartoon version of herself to be downloaded onto tiny digital organizers.

"I think my fans will enjoy playing with 'PortaPam' and helping manage 'her' career on their handheld computers," the actress said.

Users must keep the scantily clad caricature happy by clicking on a list of food, gifts and affectionate remarks or the computerized Pam becomes grouchy or despondent.

But downloaders beware: "PortaPam" is temperamental. The real Anderson is an animal-rights activist, so clicking the program's fur-coat option only aggravates the digital doppleganger.

The right gifts and attention creates a happy "PortaPam" who blows kisses and dances at a nightclub.

The product was designed by Eruptor Entertainment as an attempt to appeal to "teen and college-age males," said company CEO Brad Foxhoven.

The company has an entire line of more traditional PortaPets, including one of Dr. Seuss' "Grinch" character.

Creaky Navy relic arrives home with aging crew

MOBILE, Ala. (AP) - A rusting relic from World War II sailed into port with a jubilant crew of elderly veterans Wednesday after a monthlong trans-Atlantic voyage that the Coast Guard had warned was too dangerous to attempt.

"Bravery is ageless," Bill Shannon, a veteran from Fort Worth, Texas, said as the naval vessel LST-325 arrived to a celebration.

The 29-member crew, average age 72, was made up mostly of veterans from World War II and the Korean War. The 328-foot vessel, which delivered troops to Normandy during the D-Day invasion, will become a museum.

"This is the greatest thing I've ever done in my life, but I wouldn't do it again for all the world," said crewman Jim Edwards of Canton, Texas. "I like to have froze."

The veterans left Greece on Nov. 17 and crossed the Mediterranean in 11 days despite two storms and equipment problems. One man suffered heart problems and left for home, dying after he arrived in the United States. The crew was at sea continuously after leaving Gibraltar on Dec. 12.

The Coast Guard had warned the crew against trying to cross the Atlantic during the stormy winter months, citing the ship's lack of safety equipment, its questionable steering, and uncertainty about the crew's ability to respond to emergencies.

The crew rejected the advice. Capt. Robert Jornlin of Earlville, Ill., described the voyage as fairly smooth, though there were steering problems and rough, cold weather off the Florida Keys this week. A failed engine also took 10 hours to repair. And in the Bahamas last week, divers had to fix a hole the size of a silver dollar in the bow.

"We're certainly delighted that they safely completed the voyage despite our warnings," Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Brendan McPherson said. "It's a great moment in history."

The ship was built in 1942. It was decommissioned in 1946, lent to the Greek government in 1964 and taken out of service last summer. Congress passed a bill authorizing Greece to turn it over for use as a memorial.

Crew members paid their own way to Greece and donated $2,000 to help cover expenses. The rehabilitation of the boat was extensive, with engine troubles, leaks and other problems.

"We thought our main problem was to get this ship back from the Greeks, but lately we have been fighting with another group as to who will control this vessel: the deck house can be rightly called Cockroach Hotel," according to a captain's log entry from August.

The toilets were astoundingly bad. "Forget about gleaming white porcelain. The appearance of ours would shock a skid row resident. They defy cleaning," the log said. One commode leaked on deck.

But for four months, 74-year-old Joe Sadlier got to be a kid again.

"It was just like going back in time. We were 18 again out on that ship," said Sadlier, a bus driver from Ketchikan, Alaska. Sadlier was the cook for the voyage, which he called an adventure of a lifetime: "I can't think of any time I've been as happy as I am right now."

Report: Police shoot and wound alleged gunman at school

OXNARD, Calif. (AP) - Police shot and killed a gunman at Hueneme High School Wednesday, but no students or teachers were hurt, witnesses and school officials said.

Details were sketchy. KEYT-TV in Santa Barbara reported the shooting.

Police refused to immediately confirm the shooting, saying investigators would field questions at a later news conference.

Bill Dabbs, principal of Pacifica High School, speaking for the Oxnard Union High School District, said "a police action did occur about noon on the Hueneme High School campus. None of our students or staff were hurt. All 2,500 students have been sent home for the day."

Dabbs referred all questions to the Oxnard Police Department.

Police kill man holding girl hostage at high school in Oxnard

OXNARD (AP) -- A gunman who took a 17-year-old girl hostage on a high school campus, sending students scrambling for cover, was shot and killed by a SWAT team member Wednesday, police said.

Neither the girl nor anyone else at the 2,500-student Hueneme High School was hurt.

Police were unsure what prompted the attack but suspect the man may have wanted officers to shoot him, a "suicide by cop," police Cmdr. Tom Chronister said at a news conference Wednesday night.

He declined to elaborate.

The man, whose identity was not immediately known, was described as being in his late teens or early 20s. He apparently wasn't a student at the school and didn't know the girl, whose identity was not released, police said.

A SWAT officer killed the gunman with a single shot only five minutes after police arrived on the campus shortly before 1 p.m. They were responding to a 911 call.

"It was clearly a situation where the officer felt the victim's life and possibly others were in jeopardy," Chronister said.

The commotion sent students on their lunchtime break running for safety. Many went to a nearby middle school.

"I seen a guy, he had a gun and he was holding the gun to this chick's head," student Michael Garcia said.

The man waved a gun at students and said: "Back away, back away," he added.

Tenth-grader Devon Bishop said the man had his arm around the girl's head with the gun at her neck, and the girl was scared and crying.

"I ran. I just got my backpack and ran. It wasn't cool at all," Bishop said.

School officials said the man had been at the school earlier in the morning and was escorted off the campus.

Just before grabbing the girl, he got into a dispute with another student whose friend was picking her up outside the school. He fired several shots as their car drove away but they were not hurt, Chronister said.

The gunman then took his hostage in an open quadrangle of the school. An on-campus police officer ordered him to drop the gun, Chronister said, but the man replied that he was carrying a bomb and threatened to use it.

The police Special Weapons and Tactics team arrived minutes later. The officer who killed the man was placed on paid leave pending an investigation. The Ventura County district attorney's office also will investigate, Chronister said.

After the shooting, the school was evacuated and a bomb squad investigated the gunman's claims, but no explosive devices were found, Chronister said.

First major winter storm hits Bay area

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A full moon and strong winds pulled the Pacific Ocean closer to beachfront homes Wednesday, prompting a coastal flood watch as the Bay area's first major winter storm swept ashore.

"We have some pretty gusty winds and a heavy surf advisory along the coast, and a coastal flood watch through Thursday morning," said forecaster Diana Henderson of the National Weather Service. "It's nasty out there."

The NWS forecast heavy rain, strong winds and possible thunderstorms throughout the region Wednesday through Thursday morning. The wind Wednesday afternoon blew at 20-35 mph, with gusts of up to 50 mph along the coast and on hills.

In Monterey, where the NWS expects the coastal flooding, John Sherwin of the Monterey County Office of Emergency Services said an extra-high tide from the full moon had added to the storm's potential power.

"We're looking at possible flooding in addition to some of the areas immediately adjacent to the coast," Sherwin said.

The commute along many Bay area arteries slowed to a crawl as cars and trucks slogged through heavy rain. In San Francisco, commuters struggled to hang on to their umbrellas against the growing winds.

Falling tree limbs in San Rafael and Ross, in Marin County, snatched power from around 3,900 Pacific Gas & Electric Co. customers. Power was restored within three hours to all but 450 customers, said PG&E spokesman Lloyd Coker.

The California Highway Patrol and Caltrans issued wind and traffic advisories for Interstate Highways 5 and 80 in Yolo County. Travelers were advised to use caution on all bridges and causeways as well.

Irene Michael, the co-owner of Lover's Point Inn in the coastal town of Pacific Grove, said the bad weather arrived full force by Wednesday afternoon.

"It's raining terrible here, and it's windy," Michael said. "There's not one soul on the beach, and hardly any cars on the road."

That's exactly what people should do to be the safe side, said Henderson of the National Weather Service.

"Stay away from the beach, there's a high surf advisory now," Henderson said. "Stay away from the waves, stay off the rocks along the beach. The waves that are coming in can be deceptive."

Strong, rogue waves yanked two beachgoers to their deaths in the ocean last month at beaches in San Francisco and near Carmel.

Spears tops Mr. Blackwell's annual worst-dressed list

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Mr. Blackwell named Britney Spears the top fashion flop of 2000 in his annual worst-dressed women list Tuesday. He called her two-piece outfits "Madonna rejects."

Blackwell, a former fashion designer, also dressed down Angelina Jolie, Bjork, Madonna, Elizabeth Hurley, Christina Aguilera, Dr. Laura Schlessinger, Courtney Love, Mariah Carey and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris.

His 41st annual list and comments:

1. Britney Spears: "Oops, she did it again. Her bra-topped collection of Madonna rejects are pure fashion overkill."

2. Angelina Jolie: "Fashion interrupted. Hit by a Gen-X Gothic hex."

3. Bjork: "She dances in the dark - and dresses there, too. … Let's dub her 'Alice in Blunderland.' "

4. Madonna: "From ghetto glam to rhinestone cowgirl to Mrs. Guy Ritchie. Any way you label it, she's still just kitschy, kitschy, kitschy."

5. Elizabeth Hurley: "Poor Liz, her barely there fashion bombs have hit a sour note - a word of advice, buy a coat."

6. Christina Aguilera: "Is she a boring and body-baring bungle - or just auditioning for 'Sheena, Queen of the Jungle?' "

7. Dr. Laura Schlessinger: "When it comes down to fashion horror, no one does it better than Dr. Laura. A turtlenecked terror."

8. Courtney Love: "When push comes to shove, no one's fashion is tackier and wackier than funky, punky Love!"

9. Mariah Carey: "Her X-rated baby doll disasters are laughably low-rent. Who's her designer? Larry Flynt?"

10. Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris: "The pretty, brassy lassie from Tallahassee needs cosmetic direction."

Runaway blimp crashes into boats, restaurant

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A blimp emblazoned with the XFL logo came crashing down into an Oakland waterfront restaurant after its two-man crew was forced to evacuate.

The wayward blimp meandered for 20 minutes after the two men jumped to safety around 1:10 p.m. Tuesday, according to Oakland Airport spokeswoman Cyndy Johnson. The pilot sustained minor injuries.

The pilot attempted an emergency landing at the airport, but he and a student pilot - the only two onboard - were forced to jump from the gondola because they could not control the blimp, Johnson said. A landing crew was not able to tie it down.

The unattended blimp then floated five miles north over the Oakland Estuary, at one point reaching 1,600 feet, until its gondola caught on a sailboat mast in the Central Basin marina. It draped over the roof of the Oyster Reef restaurant - next to where the boat was moored - and a nearby power line.

The pilot was taken to Highland Hospital in Oakland, where he was listed in stable condition, said Jim Devitt, associate hospital administrator. The student pilot followed the blimp on the ground and was treated and released by an ambulance at the marina. Their names have not been released.

No one on the ground was hurt.

The blimp, which bore advertising for Spalding and the XFL, sustained about $2.5 million in damage, Johnson said. The restaurant and sailboat are being inspected, but a spokeswoman for the Oakland fire department said damage was minimal.

Authorities from the National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration are investigating what went wrong.

"There could have been a number of reasons," Grant Murray, spokesman for blimp owner Airship USA, told reporters. "An airship moves with great mass and it's very difficult to control it."

The XFL football league, the creation of World Wrestling Federation head Vince McMahon, is set to start early next month.

Odds & Ends

TIMMINS, Ontario (AP) - What a hoot!

An owl left one skier "a little bloody" and another shaken in the third bird attack at this ski area since December.

Skier Greg Deyne, who was knocked over and scratched on top of his head, said the large bird that attacked him "must have a fancy for hats. I lost my favorite orange (hat)."

Deyne was hit Tuesday evening at the Porcupine Ski Runners trail, an hour after skier Pierre Lemire was struck. Authorities blamed the same owl in both cases.

The resort will ask the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources on Wednesday what can be done to discourage the bird.

On Dec. 23, skier Paul Armstrong was also attacked by an owl at the facility. All the incidents happened after nightfall.

NEW BRIGHTON, Pa. (AP) - Two parents felt finger-wagging wouldn't be enough to keep their teen-agers from smoking.

So Tony Monac and his girlfriend Sandi Lincoln offered two punishment options: Grounded for a month or four Sundays of shame.

The girls picked shame.

As a result, Savannah and Diana Monac and Jessica Lincoln wore bright green signs saying "I got caught smoking. Ain't I a butt?" for three hours Sunday outside New Brighton Middle School, about 25 miles northwest of Pittsburgh.

They'll do it three more times at different locales.

"We want other parents to know there is something you can do to stop your kids from smoking," Sandi Lincoln said. "You don't have to beat them. But you can stop it."

On Sunday, passing motorists honked at the girls, threw cigarettes at their feet or shook cigarette packs in their direction, while the parents kept close watch.

The girls said they felt cold, bored and embarrassed.

"Don't smoke because you might have to stand on the corner," warned Savannah, 14.

The parents, both smokers, said they would not tolerate their kids smoking because it's unhealthy and illegal for minors.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) - A man tired of barking at his neighbor about loud pet noises at dawn may have gotten satisfaction at last.

After months of battling a neighbor, Don Albright convinced the City Council on Tuesday to add crowing roosters to a nuisance animal ordinance - along with yapping dogs.

Owners of noisy roosters now face a $35 fine if they plead guilty to a citation or a fine as high as $500 if the matter ends up in court.

But the new law includes more than roosters. It allows action against owners of other squawking creatures such as peacocks and a particularly noisy white-handed gibbon housed at the city zoo.

City Attorney Charlie Cuypers said there was no way to craft an exception for those animals, which are owned by the city.

SUSQUEHANNA, Pa. (AP) - He's not Quinn the Eskimo, nor Nanook of the North, but his new home is awfully cool.

Weary of shoveling the foot of snow blanketing Butler County the last month, Jack Klaptosky decided to build an igloo.

Klaptosky's 4-by-6 foot dome is decked out with a camping stove, a floor made of hay and a sleeping bag.

The Slippery Rock University student has slept in the igloo three nights and said he plans to stay there until it melts.

Meanwhile, neighbors are taking notice. Several have stopped by for advice on building their own icy abodes.

"Who knows?" Klaptosky said. "Maybe we'll get the whole neighborhood to do it."

BOSTON (AP) - Who ranks No. 1 among teen-agers on a desert island?

Well, it isn't Britney Spears.

A true lab whiz beats the pop diva hands down, according to the Lemelson-MIT Invention Index, an annual survey of Americans' perceptions of inventors.

The annual study is named for Jerome Lemelson, who invented, among other things, assembly line robots and the audiotape drive mechanism that gave us the Walkman.

Before his death in 1997, Lemelson wanted youngsters to aspire to be inventors just like they dreamed of being basketball stars, said economics professor Lester Thurow.

The nationwide survey quizzed 1,010 adults and 500 teen-agers, who agreed that an inventor would be the ideal partner to be marooned with.

Once back in range of a cell phone and a pizza place, however, the teens' opinions shifted.

While adults show a healthy respect for inventors in the every day world, youngsters tend to revere musicians, athletes, actors and actresses.

But there is apparently light at the end of the tunnel. Teen-age respondents thought the next president should devote himself to finding a cure for cancer, eliminating hunger and replacing gas guzzlers with solar powered cars - issues that could hardly be tackled without the help of a future Thomas Edison.

Officer demoted for making suspects rinse in toilet

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - A police captain accused of forcing two teen-age suspects to rinse their faces in a toilet after they were pepper-sprayed has been demoted to corporal.

Police said Tuesday that they had apologized to the teens' mothers. One of the women said she was considering legal action.

Officer Al White was working at an off-duty security job at a high school basketball game when he went into the bleachers to break up a fight, according to police reports. He was attacked and thrown from the stands.

Another officer used pepper spray on the teens.

After William Blue, 17, and Rogia James Lassiter, 18, were arrested, White led them to a rest room to wash off the pepper spray, according to a police statement.

"Because he could not get cold water to come from the sink's faucet, he determined that it would be acceptable to use commode water to remove the pepper spray," the statement said.

Officers are trained to take pepper-sprayed suspects to a fire station for decontamination, the statement said.

1/11/01