At the L.P.G.A. Founders Cup, Tour’s Past Meets Present

Abstract: PHOENIX — After her second shot on the first hole bounced on the fringe of the green and stopped rolling within a foot of the cup, Shirley Spork seemed pleased. “I still have the short game,” she said. Spork , 83, has more than just a short game. Last May on her birthday, she shot her age. Spork is one of the 13 original members of the L.P.G.A. On Thursday, she played in the pro-am of this weekend’s Founders Cup , partnered with Mike Whan, the L.P.G.A. commissioner, at the Wildfire Golf Club. The tournament honors the organization’s beginnings and features appearances by Spork and the two of the other four surviving founders, Louise Suggs and Marilynn Smith. The others, Marlene Bauer and Bettye Danoff, are not attending. “I want to show the women coming up that all this just didn’t happen at once,” Spork said. “I have to give them the history of how we got here.” The Founders Cup is unique among official L.P.G.A. tournaments, and a vast majority of other professional sporting events, in that the entire $1 million purse will go not to the players but to charity: $500,000 to the organization’s program for girls and the rest to charities selected by the top 10 finishers. Golfers will still earn rankings points, and the results will be reflected in the money list. The tournament will also donate $100 for each birdie and $500 for each eagle made on the last four holes to the U.S. Fund for Unicef’s Japan relief efforts. A few players expressed skepticism about the format early on, Whan said, but he added, “No one has ever questioned the idea of playing for charity.” Cristie Kerr, who is ranked No. 5 in the world, said, “I think the players just wanted more details and wanted to find out where the money is going.” For Spork, every tee box is a reminder of the beginnings of the L.P.G.A. Thirteen of the course’s holes are named for the founders, and on each is a large and white black-and-white photograph of the player. The banners offered Spork a teaching opportunity. On the Patty Berg-designated second hole, she pulled aside M. J. Hur, another of her pro-am playing partners, to tell her about Berg’s life and golf swing. “She has so many good stories,” Hur, 21, said, smiling. “When I see her, I’m viewing the history of the L.P.G.A.” Spork, who finished second in the L.P.G.A. Championship in 1962, has teed up for thousands of rounds of golf in her 71 years of playing. At 11, she bought her first club, a putter, for $1. She caddied at courses in Detroit, her hometown, and later became a master teacher and landed in the L.P.G.A. Teachers Hall of Fame. Spork turned professional in 1950 with the help of Babe Didrikson Zaharias , a pioneering athlete in women’s golf, basketball and track and field. Spork recalled asking Didrikson Zaharias how to move beyond her amateur status. She said Didrikson Zaharias leaned over, tapped Spork on the head and said, “There, kid, you’re a pro.” Spork has had knee and hip replacements in recent years. She pointed to body parts during Thursday’s round, giving a timeline for each procedure. “That knee, eight years ago,” she said. “This hip, that was six years ago.” If there were an L.P.G.A. Mount Rushmore, Spork and her fellow founder Smith would be chiseled on it. They were instrumental in the birth of the organization in 1950. In those days a small band of women barnstormed in caravans from tournament to tournament, the cars crammed with clothes and clubs. Riders in the lead car used colored table tennis paddles to signal those behind. When a certain colored paddle was held out a window, it was time to stop for gas; another meant a stop to eat; yet another, a bathroom break. The women did their own promotions. One night in 1951, Spork and Smith attended a boxing match in Landover, Md., to promote the National Open being held there. Smith was scheduled to address the audience between bouts, but she never made it into the ring. “We had front row seats and the sweat was flying and blood was squirting out,” Spork said. “Marilynn got woozy from seeing the blood and couldn’t go on. I climbed through the ropes, grabbed the microphone and told them about the L.P.G.A. and come on out and see us play. We didn’t get booed, and I think some came out to see us.” Another promotion involved showing up at small-town minor league baseball games. Standing near home plate, the women arched 9-iron shots into center field. “We had an item to sell, which was ourselves and our talent,” Spork said. Rolling into a town, they asked business owners to place posters in their windows to advertise a tournament. They popped in on Lions Club and Kiwanis meetings. There was no television coverage then, and only the occasional radio interview. When a tournament concluded, one player was designated to call in scores to the newspapers before the caravan left for the next event. As Spork watched Hur drive a ball down the center of the fairway, she recalled a time when the women adjusted their skirts and hit the ball as far as they could — though rarely as far as Hur’s drives. “These young ladies are hitting from the men’s tees and most are hitting 6-irons and wedges for their second shots,” Spork said. “We were never in that position. If we had their equipment and their trainers and time to build our energy, we would have been able to hit the ball that way.” After the round, Whan said the best part of his day was listening to Spork pass along her knowledge of the organization’s early years. “Sometimes we go from tournament to tournament forgetting how it all started,” he said. With the golf over, Spork melted into her second favorite sport: storytelling. Between sips of lemonade and iced tea, she recalled becoming the first female club pro at the Tamarisk Country Club in Rancho Mirage, Calif., where she gave lessons to a number of luminaries, including Harpo Marx, Danny Kaye, Nat King Cole and Walter Annenberg, the media tycoon and philanthropist. “He was left-handed and looped the club at the top of his swing,” Spork said of Annenberg. “Every time I saw him I’d say, ‘Hey there, Zorro!’ ” Spork moved to another tale about another player. “And then there’s the one of the golfer who was on a tee, sneezed and both her contacts popped out!” STANFORD LEADS BY THREE Angela Stanford opened a three-stroke lead over Brittany Lincicome in the Founders Cup, shooting her second straight six-under 66. (AP)

Ladies Professional Golf Assn
Golf
Women and Girls
Spork Shirley
Founders Cup (Golf)


At First, Fireworks Over the Umpiring

Abstract: ARLINGTON, Tex. The ball bounced to Elvis Andrus so neatly that Albert Pujols, the runner at first base, peeled off halfway to second. This was as routine as a double-play ball can be. Until it wasn’t. Ian Kinsler, the Texas Rangers second baseman who had earlier made his second error of the World Series, threw high to first baseman Mike Napoli. Matt Holliday, who had hit the ball for the St. Louis Cardinals , could have slid into first to avoid the tag. But he stayed upright, allowing Napoli to whirl and tag him on the shoulder, a step before he crossed the base. Yet Holliday was ruled safe, and he went on to score the first run of a four-run rally in the fourth inning of the Cardinals’ rollicking 16-7 victory in Game 3 at Rangers Ballpark. Pujols made himself the story, tying single-game World Series records for hits, homers and runs batted in. But the blown call at first was a discouraging reminder that baseball can, and should, make the game better. It took a few seconds for people to notice that the first-base umpire, Ron Kulpa, is a St. Louis native. Before the inning was over, someone had updated Kulpa’s Wikipedia page to note that he had made “the worst call in Major League Baseball history.” Well, about that. Kulpa is the same umpire who did a terrific job in Game 2 when he accurately called Kinsler safe at second on a critical steal in the ninth inning. No Cardinals bias there. And it was not Kulpa — and certainly not an incoming base runner, either — who caused Kinsler’s bad throw. After watching a replay, Kulpa acknowledged that he made the wrong call. “I had him on the base at the time of his tag,” he said. “I had a tag, but I had him on the base.” Still, this was not even the most egregious call at first base in a Cardinals World Series game. In the ninth inning of Game 6 in 1985, with St. Louis trying to close out a championship in Kansas City, the umpire Don Denkinger called Jorge Orta safe at first. The Royals capitalized on that mistake, and subsequent blunders by the Cardinals, to win the game and then the series. Denkinger has lived in infamy for that call, never mind his work behind the plate six years later, in Jack Morris’s Game 7 masterpiece. History recalls Denkinger as the goat, just like Steve Bartman, the Cubs fan who interfered with a foul ball in Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series. Bartman had nothing to do with the Cubs’ wretched play that immediately followed, but he wears the horns. We do not know if the Rangers will recover to win the World Series and make Kulpa a footnote. Whatever happens, he deserves no blame. The Rangers’ pitching crumbled and the Cardinals’ offense rumbled. Napoli made a two-run throwing error in the top of the fourth, and with a better slide in the bottom of the inning, he might have scored on Kinsler’s fly out to left. This loss was squarely on the Rangers, but Kulpa’s mistake highlights a problem baseball faces every postseason. Missed calls are part of every game, all season long. But they are magnified with increased coverage and viewership. Umpires take a bruising in October, especially with virtual strike zones shown on the screen throughout some playoff games. Commissioner Bud Selig has said he supports that kind of technology, which is to his credit, because it enhances the viewer’s experience. Yet Selig has proceeded too cautiously with instant replay. Since late in the 2008 season, baseball has used instant replay only for boundary calls associated with home runs. Plays on the bases are exempt, even though they, too, could be reviewed the same way. Selig and Joe Torre, baseball’s executive vice president for on-field operations, have said that more instant replay could make games even longer, a legitimate concern. But there has to be a way. Maybe, for the postseason, an umpiring supervisor could be stationed in the press box — or, better yet, the broadcast truck, with instant access to every camera angle. If a call on the bases is clearly wrong, the supervisor could communicate with the plate umpire before the next at-bat begins. The game deserves better, especially in the postseason, with so much at stake. The umpires deserve better, too. A mistake by a player cannot be reversed by technology. A mistake by an umpire can, if baseball would allow it. In any case, a team that allows 16 runs has no business winning, and in the warm air of their bandbox ballpark, the Rangers were helpless against the best offense in the National League. The Rangers have worked to reverse the stereotype in their DNA as a franchise that must slug its way to win. They won with defense, pitching and heady base running in Game 2 at Busch Stadium, but this was the kind of game they played a decade ago: lots of runs for the Rangers, but lots more for the opposition. As a result of that, not of a bad call by Kulpa, the Rangers find themselves in the same spot as they were against the San Francisco Giants a year ago. They are trailing in the World Series, two games to one, with two more games at home. They lost them both last season and watched the Giants celebrate at their park.

Baseball
World Series
Officiating (Sports)
Kulpa Ron
Texas Rangers
St Louis Cardinals
Napoli Mike
Holliday Matt


Genentech Urges Its Shareholders to Rebuff Roche

Abstract: Genentech urged its shareholders on Monday to reject a hostile takeover offer from the company’s majority owner, Roche. In a letter to shareholders, a committee of Genentech’s directors said that Roche’s offer of $86.50 a share substantially undervalued the company, given its track record of developing new biotechnology drugs. And the committee accused Roche of being “consistently dismissive” of efforts to negotiate a deal. The action was expected because the same board committee had rejected an offer of $89 a share that Roche made last July for the 44 percent of Genentech it does not own. Roche early this month began a tender offer at the lower price of $86.50 a share in cash, saying it was dissatisfied with the pace of negotiations since the rejection last summer. The new offer is worth about $42.1 billion in total, down from $43.7 billion for the original offer. In a statement issued Monday, Roche said it would now be up to the shareholders to decide on its tender offer. The offer is scheduled to end March 12, although Roche can extend it. It might be a hard deal to pull off at $86.50. In a survey of 59 Genentech shareholders by Citigroup this month, 92 percent said they would not tender shares at that price. Citigroup said investors appeared willing to accept an offer of $97 a share. The dynamic is expected to change in mid-April, when results are supposed to be available from a clinical trial testing Genentech’s cancer drug Avastin for a new use — as a treatment for colorectal cancer after surgical removal of the tumor. If the trial is successful, analysts say, Genentech’s stock, which closed Monday at $84.55, might rise to $100 and put a deal out of reach for Roche. If the test fails, analysts say the stock might drop below $70 and Roche’s offer would be much more attractive. Roche recently sold $16 billion in bonds to help finance the transaction. In a lengthy filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday, Genentech gave its side of the negotiations with Roche since July. The two companies have argued over whether Genentech’s long-term forecast of its business success was too optimistic. That forecast projects Genentech’s revenue rising to $38.8 billion in 2024, from about $14 billion expected this year. Based on that projection, Genentech’s special board committee, consisting of the three directors who are not employees of either Genentech or Roche, proposed a price of $112 a share. Genentech will meet with investors in New York next Monday to discuss its prospects. “Over the past seven months, the special committee persistently attempted to work constructively with Roche and we were consistent in our stated willingness to negotiate toward a price that recognizes the full value of Genentech,” the committee said in its letter to shareholders. The filing also revealed that Roche began preparing for an acquisition after Genentech had rebuffed its request to amend the relationship between the two companies to make it easier for Roche to increase its stake in Genentech by buying Genentech shares in the open market.

Genentech Inc
Roche Holding Ltd
Mergers Acquisitions and Divestitures


Giants’ Tuck Is Fined for Hit on Cowboys’ Bollinger

Abstract: EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Justin Tuck was fined $7,500 by the N.F.L. for his roughing-the-passer penalty last Sunday on Brooks Bollinger. “Our job description is basically to destroy a quarterback, but you’ve got to pick and choose how to do it,” said Tuck, who said he would appeal the fine. Tuck was penalized in the third quarter of a 35-14 victory against the Dallas Cowboys for tackling Bollinger as Bollinger threw an incompletion. “You can’t hit him in the head, you can’t hit him below the knees,” Tuck said. “Obviously, you can’t hit him hard, either.” Tuck was penalized for landing on Bollinger with the full force of his 274 pounds. According to Randall Liu, information manager for the National Football Conference, Tuck was fined because “he unnecessarily drove the opposing quarterback to the ground.” He said Tuck’s actions violated Rule 12, Section 2, Article 12(2) of the N.F.L.’s official rules. In an e-mail message, Liu said the fine was issued by Gene Washington, the league’s director of football operations. The league has emphasized protection of quarterbacks against rough play to prevent injury, but Giants Coach Tom Coughlin said he did not think the play was worth calling a penalty. “No, it was not,” Coughlin said Monday. “On the spot, the official thought it was. The guy was attacking the quarterback. He doesn’t have a checklist that he goes through. It is foolish to continue dialogue about this because it doesn’t settle anything.” EXTRA POINTS James Butler, the Giants strong safety who has a knee injury, practiced on a limited basis Thursday. “He did some work,” Coach Tom Coughlin said, “but not a whole lot, to be honest with you.” Sammy Knight is listed as Butler’s backup.

New York Giants
Football
Tuck Justin
Bollinger Brooks
Dallas Cowboys


House-Hunting in Hong Kong With the App That Sees Dead People

Abstract: HONG KONG — Ship Street is quintessentially Hong Kong, even serving as the backdrop to several local movies. There is a well-preserved three-story building from the 1920s, now a cigar lounge. Next door is a towering glass-and-steel apartment complex. There is a New York-style pizzeria, a pastry shop and a mom-and-pop hardware store. But when viewed through a smartphone camera, Ship Street can look downright creepy. Building on the success of Pokémon Go , a local company has created a smartphone app that superimposes property listings on street views. Point your phone at a building and the units for rent or sale pop up, complete with prices. But on occasion, cartoon ghosts appear next to an apartment tower, representing an unnatural or unexplained death that took place there. In Hong Kong, this is a big deal. Many people believe that living in a place where someone committed suicide or, worse, was murdered, brings all sorts of bad fortune. Those units, even years after such a death occurred, are discounted around 20 percent, sometimes 50 percent if the death was particularly gruesome. Real estate is a topic that dominates dinner conversations, newspaper headlines and career choices here. Asif Ghafoor, a transplant from London whose company, Spacious , created the search tool, said Hong Kongers looking for a place to live asked the same questions as people anywhere: Is it near the subway? How is the view? Is there a gym? The app has filters for all of those things. But there is one other question that Mr. Ghafoor found to be just as important, if not more so: Is it haunted? On and around Ship Street, in the Wan Chai neighborhood of Hong Kong, terse captions under the ghosts tell a sad tale. In one complex, “a man in his 60s jumped off the building.” At another: “Single male burnt charcoal,” referring to carbon monoxide poisoning, a common method of suicide here. Mr. Ghafoor said the captions mirrored, as closely as possible, deaths that had been reported in local newspapers or by the police. Most of the ghosts seem to refer to suicides; Hong Kong has one of the lowest homicide rates in the world. But Ship Street is also where the city’s highest-profile murders occurred in recent years: the killings of two Indonesian women by a British banker in the fall of 2014, on the 31st floor of the glass-and-steel J Residence . Mr. Ghafoor said that, on average, 1 to 2 percent of apartments for sale have had an “incident,” and that as a result, they sell at a discount of up to 20 percent. For Jin Peh , a feng shui teacher and the author of “ Feng Shui: A Hong Kong Perspective ,” a property below market price is a bad sign rather than a bargain. He recommends avoiding living where an unnatural death has occurred. In general, the principles of feng shui relate to the flow of energies in nature. An unnatural death can cause excess negative energy, Mr. Peh said in a telephone interview. The consequences of this depend on your personal beliefs, he said, but for traditional Chinese, the worst-case scenario is becoming “possessed” by the spirit or ghost. He recalled friends of friends who started hearing voices shortly after moving into an apartment. The voices told them to jump from the building — which is how the previous occupant ended his life. “Maybe they are just being delusional,” Mr. Peh said, “but they hear voices trying to persuade them to repeat the same mistake.” In less extreme cases, the tenants’ well-being will suffer: They will become more prone to emotional issues, mood swings and depression, he said. Sometimes, the circumstances surrounding a death are so grim that it affects the value of entire floors or buildings. For 13 years, the site of Hong Kong’s gruesome “Hello Kitty” murder remained abandoned. In 1999, Fan Man-yee, a nightclub hostess, was kidnapped by three men and held hostage in an apartment in a multistory building. The men tortured her for more than a month until she died. Her body was dismembered, and her skull was found inside a giant Hello Kitty doll. Image The Spacious app shows J Residence as haunted. The perpetrators were sentenced to life in prison . The apartment was vacant for years. No one would rent it. No one would buy it. They said it was haunted . In 2012, the entire building was finally demolished. Mr. Ghafoor said that while there was no hard and fast rule that real estate agents must tell prospective buyers or renters about unnatural deaths, the local regulator has a code of conduct that says agents must serve their clients with “honesty, fidelity and integrity.” Real estate companies keep close tabs on supposedly haunted properties. One site, Squarefoot.com, maintains a macabre list . Banks are reluctant to provide mortgages for such properties, meaning sellers have to find buyers willing to pay cash. That makes the discount almost self-fulfilling: All-cash transactions command a discount here because of the small number of people who don’t need a mortgage. For those who are not superstitious — real estate agents point to expatriates and young people — moving into a “haunted” home can take some of the sting out of buying or renting in Hong Kong, the city with the least affordable housing in the world . “I’ve started looking and found it’s insanely expensive in this city,” says Harry Edwards, 27, a lawyer who recently moved to Hong Kong from Australia. On a recent day, he was wandering around the trendy neighborhood of Sheung Wan, trying out the Spacious app. He said he didn’t subscribe to superstitions “whatsoever.” “I actually think it would be great to say, ‘I live in a haunted house,’ ” he said. There are many to choose from. A quick wave of the app in Hong Kong’s North Point neighborhood reveals a world of tragedy. The little white ghosts pop up next to many of the area’s towering apartment complexes. In one, a part-time tennis trainer “killed and stabbed his wife after an argument, jumped off the building.” In another: “Female drowned herself in bathtub.” Next door: “Old male jumped off the building.” Even some people who might benefit from higher home prices acknowledge the power of superstition here. After more than 30 years in the real estate business, Lily Wong, a local agent, knows that most Chinese clients are not interested in even looking at haunted apartments. “They wouldn’t rent, they wouldn’t buy,” she said. She counts herself among that group. “I can’t stay in a flat that they said is haunted,” she said. “It’s so creepy.”

Hong Kong
Real Estate
Housing
Superstition
Haunted house
Rent
Murders and Homicides
Suicide
Death


Surgery for Red Wings’ Zetterberg

Abstract: Detroit Red Wings center Henrik Zetterberg had surgery for a herniated disk in his back, and the team expects him to be re-evaluated in about eight weeks. Zetterberg played one game for Sweden at the Sochi Olympics before leaving. ■ The Rangers said Mats Zuccarello, who leads the team with 43 points, would be out three to four weeks after he broke his left hand playing for Norway at the Olympics. (NYT)


Oil Prices Bounce Back After a $10 Decline

Abstract: Oil prices swung higher Tuesday, recovering from the previous day’s plunge as edgy investors trickled back into the market on hopes that Congress would resurrect a failed financial bailout plan . Light, sweet crude for November delivery rose $4.27, or 4.4 percent, to settle at $100.64 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Monday, prices fell $10.52, to settle at $96.37 — the second-largest drop ever in dollar terms — after House legislators rejected the $700 billion bailout, stunning investors and raising fears of a long economic crisis that could sharply curb global energy demand. Crude has fallen about $25, or 20 percent, in the last seven days. Some recovery was to be expected after Monday’s fall, and analysts said prices would probably remain in a holding pattern until the fate of the financial rescue plan was determined. Lawmakers were expected to reconvene in Washington on Thursday, though it was unclear if they would try another vote on the bailout. Whether or not there is any agreement on a United States bailout, oil market watchers say global financial tremors have already forced consumers and businesses to scale back energy consumption, a trend that could take prices lower in coming weeks. ”Oil is going to have a tough time getting back over $100 and staying there,” said Matt Zeman, head commodities trader at LaSalle Futures in Chicago. ”Even if the bailout gets done, it’s not going to solve everything immediately. The slowdown will have to work itself out for demand to take off again.” Weaker demand for fuel continues to weigh on prices at the pump. A gallon of regular shed a penny overnight to a new average of $3.633 in the United States, according to the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Prices hit a record average of $4.114 a gallon on July 17.

Oil (Petroleum) and Gasoline
Prices (Fares Fees and Rates)
Troubled Asset Relief Program (2008)


Lawyers Use Humor to Plead Case

Abstract: THE adage about encountering the scene of a car accident — you don’t want to look, but can’t look away — may also apply to commercials for lawyers who represent victims of those accidents. YouTube users have posted many disturbingly riveting lawyer ads from recent history, like those from the 1990s featuring Jim “The Hammer” Shapiro, a personal injury lawyer in Rochester, N.Y., who, as video of vehicles exploding and other mayhem played on the screen, balled up a fist and shouted: “Hurt? I cannot rip out the hearts of those who hurt you! I cannot hand you their severed heads! But I can hunt them down and settle the score!” While few lawyer ads are as overstated as Mr. Shapiro’s, which have attracted more than 100,000 views on YouTube, many share their modest production values, wooden delivery and the incongruity of bookish litigators trying to channel Chuck Norris. Other common approaches feature lawyers speaking more conversationally in front of shelves of law books, or former clients describing horrific accidents and how legal judgments brought them justice. One thing that the ads do not generally feature, at least not intentionally, is an element of humor, which is what makes new television commercials for the New York law firm of Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman noteworthy. In one ad, by the Levinson Tractenberg Group, an independent agency in Manhattan, an actress in her 30s sitting at a kitchen table says, “The pain was excruciating: It’s like I had this huge, really sharp machete chopping down on me every time I tried to move.” She continues, “It was the worst paper cut I ever had — they made that paper way too sharp.” Raising a hand to reveal a bandage on her index finger, she concludes, “Someone has to pay.” The tagline, “There are some cases even we can’t win,” appears on the screen, and a voiceover concludes, “If you’ve been injured, call us, but keep in mind: you really need to be injured.” In another spot, an actor, also in his 30s, describes being in the middle of the best video game of his life when, here tears begin streaming down his cheeks, the power went off. “My game was lost,” he says. “I never thought the power company would do this to me. I have pain and suffering.” As he sobs, the tagline appears, “There are some cases even we can’t win.” Joel Levinson, a partner in the Levinson Tractenberg Group, said he and partner Joel Tractenberg told the lawyers at the outset that they wanted to deviate from the norm. “We said if you’re looking to be in the ads, and they’d taken that approach before, then we’re not interested,” Mr. Levinson said. “But if you want to go beyond the traditional spokesperson type of ad, we said, you have an opportunity to break through the clutter.” As a lawyer, Mr. Lichtman said he was pleased to be the source of a joke rather than the butt of one. “The approach recognizes that there is this quote-unquote skepticism associated with litigation in general,” Mr. Lichtman said. “It’s saying to the public that we understand that we’re a litigious society, No. 1, and, No. 2, we understand that litigiousness is food for a joke. But we also recognize there’s an importance to having access to the court system if there has been an injustice.” Unlike previous spots for the firm, which tended to appear at night, the new ads appear on New York stations in daytime shows like “Good Morning America” and “The Ellen DeGeneres Show.” New print ads in New York subways and on buses are more serious, yet also avoid cliché images like gavels and scales of justice. One says, “When you get hit by a car your whole family feels the impact,” and another, “We have yet to find a cane that can support a family of five.” Ads for lawyers, including those in the Yellow Pages, are a relatively modern phenomenon. Both the national and state bar associations prohibited the practice until 1977, when the Supreme Court ruled that such advertising was entitled to First Amendment protection. Bar associations feared that ads would demean the legal profession, a fear borne out by ads in which lawyers promised they would not charge a dime until you won your money. “They just do not scream professionalism,” said Kevin Underhill, a San Francisco lawyer who publishes Lowering the Bar ( loweringthebar.net ), a legal humor blog. “It’s desperate aggression that you see in those late-night ads. They are cheaply made and poorly edited.” Mr. Underhill says he derives perverse pleasure from ads that test the boundaries of taste, like print ads where Alison B. Margolin, a Los Angeles lawyer, proclaims she is “L.A.’s Dopest Attorney” for those who “want to smoke pot on probation,” and a Chicago billboard sponsored by Fetman, Garland & Associates, which specializes in divorce cases, that read: “Life’s short. Get a divorce.” Allan Ripp, a New York publicist who represents many law firms, viewed the Trolman, Glaser & Lichtman ads and was asked to comment on them. “They’re ads that seem at first like they could have been written by a tort reform group that goes after the plaintiff’s bar for pursuing trivial or unsound cases,” Mr. Ripp said. “But what they’re really doing is poking fun at the rest of the firms that go after frivolous cases and saying, ‘But we’re selective and meritorious.’ It’s very clever, and a real departure from traditional lawyer advertising, and it deserves to be emulated.”

Advertising and Marketing
Legal Profession


For Many, Thrift Shops Are a Wardrobe Essential

Abstract: SHEENA MASSIE, dragged by her mother to garage and estate sales as a child, once cringed at the sight of used goods. “The very thought of being caught by my peers buying other people’s junk was mortifying,” said Ms. Massie, a 25-year-old waitress in Canal Winchester, Ohio, near Columbus. “If someone else didn’t want it, why would I?” But, like Ms. Massie, who with her mother is opening a thrift shop, more consumers are concluding that brand new is not necessarily better. According to the National Association of Resale and Thrift Shops, the industry is growing at a rate of 5 percent a year. And as the prices of gasoline and groceries edge higher and debt — be it mortgage or credit card — weighs more heavily, saving money on clothes, shoes and household goods has become increasingly essential for many people. “With the economy in its current condition, I think people will begin turning to more thrifty ways of shopping,” said Ms. Massie, whose store, Thrift on the Canal, opens next month. “We want everyone that shops with us to enjoy the same thrill we do when we go thrifting.” The thrift shop association estimates that there are 25,000 such stores in the United States. Britt Beemer, the founder and chief executive of America’s Research Group, a consumer behavior research firm, said surveys have found that 16 to 18 percent of Americans shop in thrift stores, while 12 to 15 percent visit consignment stores. “Thrift shops are not on the radar screen for many shoppers,” Mr. Beemer said. He predicted that more would turn to them, especially for back-to-school clothing. TheThriftShopper.com , a two-year-old Web site, is viewed 70,000 times a day, mostly by women age 30 to 50, said Mike Gold, who runs the site with his wife, Julie. Mr. Gold said he discovered that thrift shop fans are everywhere when he met the auctioneers and experts of “The Antiques Roadshow,” a popular PBS series. “Every single one of them was an avid thrift shopper,” he said. Ms. Gold added, “One said she even buys her clothes there.” Kara Lake, a 34-year-old mother in Braintree, Vt., who is home-schooling her five children, ages 8, 7, 6, 3 and 6 months, said she was one of those fans, particularly since a tight budget is normal. She said she grew up in rural Vermont wearing thrift shop clothing and “can count on two hands when I’ve bought something new.” Because many families have only one or two children, she said, the clothing is only gently used. “We can still give our kids the best things.” Ms. Lake said she easily found clothes with labels like Old Navy, the Gap and Banana Republic. “It doesn’t make any sense to me to buy anything brand new if the clothes are well taken care of.” She also finds clothes for herself from midpriced labels like Ann Taylor and J. Jill, shopping twice a month and spending, in all, $15 to $20 for an armful of clothing for herself and several of her children. Consignment shops, which typically have higher prices but offer higher-end or designer merchandise, have their fans as well. Clothing must be washed or dry cleaned before sale, and the selection in such shops tends to be more carefully edited. Mason Bechtel, a retired administrative assistant for a major financial services firm in Houston, grew up choosing between having several new dresses each season from Loehmann’s, a discount store, or just one from Bonwit Teller. “I realized that shopping at the best shops, I felt stupid,” she said. “Why pay $120 for a dress I could find in a resale shop?” Ms. Bechtel, whose mother ran a Lilly Pulitzer shop in Westport, Conn., admits to having expensive, if classic taste. “I still wear the same clothes from the same shops — but I usually pay nothing more than $20.” Thrift and consignment shoppers love getting a bargain. For Ms. Bechtel, it was a $25 Black Watch plaid blazer with a black velvet collar and $25 for a St. John knit suit — new, typically costing four figures. Julie Gold, a co-owner of TheThriftShopper.com, said buying used clothing takes more diligence than simply rifling the racks at a local retailer. “In a thrift store, you really have to dig,” she said. “It takes a lot of time, energy and patience.” But, thrift shoppers say, the time demanded is repaid with single-digit price tags and a wide variety of styles in one place. Two national chains, Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads Trading Company, allow shoppers to bring in clothes they no longer want for cash or to trade for clothes in the store. Both promote their fashionable offerings, in an attempt to appeal to younger shoppers. And both offer a combination of new and what they term “recycled” clothes. “A lot of the neighborhood men who shop in our store are very style-conscious,” said Mary Dalton, the manager of a Crossroads store near the Castro district in San Francisco. “They can recycle their clothing and not wear it into the ground. Sustainable businesses are becoming more trendy, so people are more open to it.” Prices, she said, range from $6 to $75, and popular jeans like Diesel or G Star cost $50 to $65 a pair compared with a regular retail price that can be double or triple that. “People will get three or four garments for the price of one,” she said. “We get all kinds of customers, from an attorney who needs work clothes to the college-age hipster. The age range is very, very wide.” Consumers can also make money by selling or donating clothing or household goods to thrift and consignment shops. Donations can offer a tax deduction, while selling items that are worth more than you paid, can make consigning lucrative, Ms. Massie said. “I once found a vintage Carlton Ware money box for $2.50 and made a $45 profit and a pair of Ruehl jeans for $9.99 that I sold for $60. I know of a lady who bought a necklace for $3.50, and it was a diamond over one carat worth over $8,000. “That’s why I shop in thrift stores.”

Discount Selling
Apparel
Retail Stores and Trade
Prices (Fares Fees and Rates)


After Bear Is Caught in Montclair, Students Are Allowed Outside

Abstract: The warning sent by school officials on Tuesday morning seemed more suited for the Alaskan wild than the bustling suburb of Montclair, N.J.: All outdoor activities were suspended because a black bear was lurking about. Throughout Monday and into Tuesday, reports about the bear’s activities were posted online and reported to the police. The bear was in a backyard, looking bored. It was up a tree, looking reflective. It was in the street, looking sad. The animal even made it near a Whole Foods market, where he was spotted looking confused. State officials were called in to help, and when the bear was seen near an elementary school on Monday afternoon, the word went out to keep those children inside. The warning was later expanded to include children from the entire district. “The Montclair Police Department has notified us that there have been bear citings in Montclair: yesterday near the Montclair Art Museum and this morning, near Edgemont School,” Penny MacCormack, the school superintendent, said in a note sent out Tuesday morning, which included the misused “citings.” “As a precaution, we are suspending all outside activities at all of our elementary and middle schools.” After each reported sighting, police and wildlife officials rushed to the scene to blare air horns and make other loud noises in an attempt to drive the bear in the direction of the Mills Reservation on the northern edge of town. “He was never in a confrontational mode,” said Lt. Angel Roman Jr. of the Montclair Police Department. The plan to coerce the bear to take refuge in the unpopulated nature reserve failed, but on Tuesday morning, the animal was spotted in a tree in Watchung Park and quickly cornered by the authorities. “We kept him up in the tree by making noise,” Lieutenant Roman said. The police sealed off the park with yellow tape to keep a crowd of residents with cameras from getting too close to the bear. Monica Minore, who has an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old in a local elementary school, said she had been organizing an outdoor run for children to raise money to build a roof for a school in Africa when the notice went out that all outdoor activities had been canceled. Image A police lieutenant said the young black bear was probably hungry, lost and just as scared as the people who spotted it. Credit Selma Avdicevic/ baristanet.com “The bear story has taken over town,” she said. “I have been getting all these e-mails from mothers talking about it.” She saw the bear shortly after the notice, watching as the police tried to keep it in the tree. “The poor bear was just sitting in the tree with like a hundred people looking at him,” she said. “The police were banging on the tree with clubs until animal control got there.” There was a helicopter circling overhead, orange cones and police tape strung up, she said, and a general carnival atmosphere. “He was just hanging out on the branch looking a little concerned,” she said of the bear, which was not very far off the ground. Around 9 a.m., two hours after the bear was first spotted, officials from the Division of Fish and Wildlife arrived and shot it with a tranquilizer gun, officials said. The black bear, estimated to be 18 months old, weighed 158 pounds. The bear was tagged and tattooed for identification, and will be released on state land, officials said. Lieutenant Roman said that in his 21 years with the department, he did not recall a time when children had been kept indoors because of a bear threat. He noted that the bear — young, hungry and most likely lost — was probably just as scared as the people who spotted it. After the situation was resolved, school officials said children would be allowed to go play outside again. “We are happy to report that the bear sighted this morning has been caught,” Ms. MacCormack wrote. “All students and staff are safe to resume regular outdoor activities.” Ms. MacCormack said that “in our haste to get the bear emergency e-mail out to the public this morning,” they made a grammatical error, misusing the word citing for sighting. “We regret this error,” she said, “and trust that it did not overshadow the importance of the communication.”


Mets Fight Back From a Dismal Outing , but Fall in 13

Abstract: For much of the season, Johan Santana has been an effective pitcher punished by a lack of hitting support. But on Wednesday, when Santana had one of the worst performances of his career, the Mets rallied to erase an early six-run deficit against the St. Louis Cardinals . They pushed the game into extra innings, but the Cardinals got a run-scoring single from Albert Pujols off Pedro Feliciano in the 13th and beat the Mets, 8-7, at Citi Field. Carlos Beltran hit a solo home run, and Angel Pagan had a two-run blast. Mike Hessman had a two-run double in the first inning, and Ike Davis had a two-run single as a pinch-hitter in the eighth to tie the score at 7-7. Santana, who had been 3-0 in July, allowed six runs and eight hits in the first inning, each total the worst in his career for a first inning. The 13 hits were also a career worst in a game for Santana, who left with two outs in the sixth. The first two Cardinals runs came on a two-out home run to left by Matt Holliday. The Mets cut the lead to 6-2 in the bottom of the inning on a bases-loaded double by Hessman off Jaime Garcia. The Mets pulled within four runs again in the sixth inning when Beltran hit his first home run of the season, to left field, to make the score, 7-3. In the four-run eighth, Pagan’s two-run home run cut the lead to 7-5 before Davis singled home two runs to tie the game. Despite the disappointing defeat, many Mets stressed the spirit of the comeback. “It was a great, great comeback by the whole team,” Beltran said. “But we fell short.” Several players and Manager Jerry Manuel mentioned how Santana settled down and gave the team four scoreless innings after the disastrous first. “My mind-set was stay aggressive, stay in the game,” Santana said. “I had to go as deep as I could.” But David Wright expressed the bittersweet aftertaste. “We kind of ran out of steam, out of gas,” Wright said. “Moral victories don’t count in the standings. We couldn’t get that one hit to put us over the top.” Hessman was a curious echo of another Met, Fernando Tatis, a veteran major-leaguer who once hit two grand slam home runs in the same inning off the same pitcher, Chan Ho Park. Tatis, a part-time first baseman, is now on the disabled list. Hessman, another part-time first baseman, also holds a quirky statistic. On Sept. 8, 2008, while playing with the Detroit Tigers, Hessman was hit twice in the same inning by pitches thrown by the same pitcher, Oakland’s Gio Gonzalez. Later in that game, Hessman hit a home run off a different pitcher, Jeff Gray, one of 13 home runs Hessman had hit in 78 previous major league games with three teams since 2003 (including his debut as a Met as a pinch-hitter in Tuesday’s 8-2 victory). Hessman had a better recollection of a pitch that hit him this season when he played for Class AAA Buffalo; it broke his right hand and idled him for six weeks. Despite the layoff, Hessman hit 18 home runs with Buffalo. At age 32, Hessman is the leader in minor league home runs among active players with 329. Because he has power and because the Mets need some, Hessman was used as a replacement for Davis at first base. Manuel said he hoped to use Hessman at third base soon to give David Wright a day of rest. But his new home park can discourage even established home-run hitters. One of them is Jason Bay, the left fielder, who has hit only six home runs and was out again for the second day with post-concussion symptoms. “You’ve got to pick and choose when you can get aggressive,” Hessman said. “This looks like a stadium where you try to stay line-drive conscious and hit balls into the gaps, and hopefully you get your homers on the road.” Hessman’s first-inning double, on an 0-2 pitch from Garcia, hit the left-field wall. He missed a grand slam by only a few feet. Because Hessman has played since 1996 in mostly minor league towns, he is sometimes compared to Crash Davis, the fictional and world-weary minor-league veteran in “Bull Durham.” The comparison amused catcher Josh Thole and the utility man Chris Carter, both of whom played this season in Buffalo with Hessman. “Just because he’s a veteran guy and knows the ropes of the International League, I don’t think that makes him Crash Davis,” Thole said. Carter said Hessman is similar to the movie character in one respect: “He’s Crash Davis because he hits home runs, but he’s not anything like Crash Davis off the field,” adding that Hessman hits to all fields and hits well in the clutch. “He’s a guy that scares pitchers,” Carter said. Sometimes, players like Hessman are characterized as “4-A players,” too good for Class AAA but not quite good enough to stick with a major league team. “I’m sure people have probably labeled me that,” Hessman said. “I’ve had a couple brief little stints up in the major leagues, but no regular playing time. It’s a blessing just to be up here.” INSIDE PITCH R.A. Dickey will pitch Thursday afternoon against St. Louis and Mike Pelfrey on Friday night against Arizona. Jerry Manuel said this was in part because Pelfrey pitches poorly in daylight. “Maybe his clock is a little off,” Manuel said. Dickey, a knuckleballer, will be working on three days rest and coming off a leg injury.

New York Mets
St Louis Cardinals
Baseball


Brazilian Court Council Removes a Barrier to Same-Sex Marriage

Abstract: RIO DE JANEIRO — The council overseeing Brazil’s judiciary ruled on Tuesday that notary publics cannot refuse to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies, a decision that opens the way for gay couples across Latin America’s largest country to marry. The move by the National Council of Justice, a 15-member panel led by Joaquim Barbosa, the chief justice of the nation’s high court, effectively legalizes gay marriage throughout Brazil, legal scholars here said. The decision follows legislation in two neighboring countries, Argentina and Uruguay, where lawmakers have managed to pass bills authorizing same-sex marriage nationwide in recent years. Still, there is some room for judicial appeals of the Brazilian decision, potentially within the high court, the Supreme Federal Tribunal, and resistance may emerge in Congress, where gay-marriage legislation has faced opposition from an influential bloc of evangelical Christian lawmakers. Even so, supporters of same-sex marriage described the council’s decision as pioneering. “This resolution will end the resistance of some courts, judges and notary publics,” said Maria Berenice Dias, the vice president of the Brazilian Institute of Family Law, a nonprofit organization that has sought for years to extend marriage benefits to gay couples. The National Council of Justice, which includes prominent judges, prosecutors and lawyers, voted 14 to 1 in favor of the measure. Under the council’s decision, notary publics will also be required to convert same-sex civil unions into marriages, if couples wish to do so. In 2011, the high court ruled by a comfortable margin that same-sex civil unions should be allowed. But while such unions provide couples in Brazil with access to benefits like health insurance and the division of assets in cases of separation, the council’s decision provides same-sex couples who marry with the same standing as heterosexuals, allowing them, for instance, to take each other’s surnames and adopt children more easily. In certain ways, the decision broadens what has already unfolded in different of parts of Brazil, where legislatures in more than 10 states have legalized same-sex marriage. But even with such laws, many notary publics — who not only certify but also carry out marriage ceremonies in Brazil — have refused to comply for gay couples, a resistance that has been backed by some of the regional judges who oversee them. “The Supreme Federal Tribunal had already shown that it was supporting minority rights by supporting gay unions,” said Thiago Bottino, a law professor at Fundação Getúlio Vargas, a top university. “The council’s decision is logical, since it would not make sense to deprive people of their rights because some notary publics and judges saw things differently.” Brazil’s courts generally hew to the decisions of the National Council of Justice, which was created in 2004 and has functioned largely as a disciplinary body for the judiciary. But Congress could be another matter, as tensions simmer between Brazil’s legislative and judicial branches over the high court’s conviction of legislators involved in a vast vote-buying scandal. Moreover, legislators who oppose same-sex marriage have recently grown more vocal in Congress. Marco Feliciano, a conservative evangelical preacher who now leads the lower house’s commission for human rights and minorities, has drawn criticism for comments that gay-rights activists call homophobic, but he has resisted pressure to step down from the post.

Brazil
Same-Sex Marriage,Gay Marriage
Decisions and Verdicts
Joaquim Barbosa
National Council of Justice Brazil


Rangers Plan to Limit Henrik Lundqvist’s Playing Time

Abstract: GREENBURGH, N.Y. — The Rangers may not know what to expect this season, but they do know one thing: their workhorse goalie, Henrik Lundqvist , will be playing less. Then again, they said that last year. Both Lundqvist, in an interview this week, and Coach John Tortorella, speaking on Thursday on the eve of training camp, said Lundqvist’s workload would be reduced. “What did we play him last year, 73 games?” said Tortorella, noting that no Stanley Cup-winning goalie in the last six years had played more than 62 regular-season games. “That’s ridiculous — it’s just too much.” Lundqvist said: “I think that’s the plan — it’s been the plan the last couple of years. It just didn’t turn out that way.” Last year, Tortorella said he expected Steve Valiquette, then the backup goalie, to fill in more often, but he played poorly and was demoted to Hartford. The Rangers found themselves in a season-long struggle to make the playoffs, forcing Lundqvist to play almost every game. He played superbly the whole way, including the season finale, a 46-save shootout loss to Philadelphia, 2-1, that cost the Rangers a playoff berth. “I was ready for the playoffs,” Lundqvist said. “On the other hand, that was mid-April. If your goal is to play in June, it might be better to rest a couple more games.” Over the summer, the Rangers signed Martin Biron, a reliable 33-year-old backup who has played for the Islanders, the Flyers and the Sabres. “We’re excited about Biron being here to take some of the load off Hank,” Tortorella said. Very little else about the Rangers is definite — the team’s outlook is “clouded,” as Tortorella put it. Almost every position is in flux. Right wing Marian Gaborik, whose 42 goals last season were 23 more than the next highest Ranger, remains the primary offensive threat. He will be paired on the first line with another new signing, left wing Alexander Frolov, who averaged 24 goals in seven seasons with Los Angeles. But who their center will be is unclear. The newly re-signed Marc Staal remains a top defenseman, but Tortorella said he was not sure who would be Staal’s partner. “You’ve got to give me some time till I see what this team is,” Tortorella said. “There are so many new guys in camp.” Among the new faces will be three veterans skating on a tryout basis. Wing Ruslan Fedotenko won a Stanley Cup under Tortorella with Tampa Bay in 2004. In fact, Fedotenko scored both goals in the 2-1 Game 7 victory that clinched the Cup. He won the Cup again in 2009 with Pittsburgh. Defenseman Alexei Semenov is back in camp after being offered a roster spot last season before leaving suddenly to play for Dinamo Moscow. General Manager Glen Sather told reporters Semenov left because his wife wanted to return home, but Semenov said it was because the Dinamo contract paid more. Todd White is a 35-year-old center who broke the 20-goal plateau twice with Ottawa and once with Atlanta. But he is not the No. 1 center the Rangers need. The problem for the Rangers — as it is for so many other teams — is how to fit new players under the salary cap. Staal’s new five-year contract counts as a $3.975 million cap hit, putting the Rangers $4 million over the limit. One solution could be to send the much-maligned veteran defenseman Wade Redden and his $6.5 million cap hit to Hartford. But “we’re not going to single out Wade Redden,” Tortorella said. “I’m sure it’s weighing on him a little bit,” Tortorella said. “We need to let this play out. A lot of different things can happen.” ISLANDERS STAY CLOSE The Islanders open training camp Friday in Syosset on Long Island, a long way from China, where they first planned to hold camp. Last February, the team’s owner, Charles Wang, announced an ambitious plan to stage the camp and exhibition games in Beijing, Harbin and Qiqihar. But in May, Wang canceled the trip. “In some ways, it’s good you don’t have to do that travel,” the young star John Tavares said this week. “But in other ways you’re kind of disappointed because it would have been special to see a whole different country, culture and lifestyle. It would have been cool to see.” DEVILS PREPARE FOR CUTS The Devils open camp in Newark, with physicals on Friday, under the new coach John MacLean. The team needs to cut players whose salaries total at least $3 million to make room under the salary cap for Ilya Kovalchuk. “We don’t exactly know who, but we have to get back under the cap,” Zach Parise said. “All we know is that we’re going to lose two pretty good, important players. It’s no secret that we have to get rid of some money.”

Lundqvist Henrik
Hockey Ice
New York Rangers
Tortorella John


News From the Advertising Industry

Abstract: Accounts ¶PopSugar Inc., San Francisco, which operates the popsugar.com Web site and a daily streaming show , “PopSugar Live,” named Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco, part of the Omnicom Group, as its first global advertising agency of record. Billings were not disclosed. People ¶Thomas L. Harrison, chairman at the Diversified Agency Services division of the Omnicom Group, New York, was named chairman emeritus, a new post in which he will serve as an adviser. Dale A. Adams remains president and chief executive. ¶Tom Morton joined the new New York office of Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, part of the Omnicom Group, as head of strategy. He had been chief strategy officer at Havas Worldwide New York, part of the Havas Worldwide division of Havas, as well as joint chief strategy officer for North America at Havas Worldwide. ¶Beth Wade, chief client officer at VML, Kansas City, Mo., part of WPP, was named the agency’s first chief marketing officer. ¶Fred Burt, director for European clients at the London office of Interbrand, part of the Omnicom Group, was named managing director for global clients at Interbrand, a new post, reporting to Jez Frampton, global chairman and chief executive. Mr. Burt will continue to be based in London. Miscellany ¶Chermayeff & Geismar, New York, a brand identity and graphic design agency, was renamed Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, to reflect the contributions of Sagi Haviv, partner. It is the first time an executive’s name is being added to the agency’s name since its founding in 1957. ¶Dentsu, Tokyo, completed its acquisition of the Aegis Group, London, which was announced in July, for about $5 billion. Dentsu has formed a unit based in London, Dentsu Aegis Network, to oversee its agencies outside Japan, which operate under the Dentsu Network umbrella, and the Aegis media operations around the world, under the Aegis Media banner. Tim Andree, senior vice president at Dentsu and chief executive at Dentsu Network, will also be executive chairman at Dentsu Aegis Network. Jerry Buhlmann, who continues as chief executive at Aegis Media, will be chief executive at Dentsu Aegis Network. ¶Worldwide spending on Internet advertising reached $99 billion last year, up 16.2 percent from 2011, according to a report from London and New York executives at the GroupM unit of WPP, and accounted for 19.5 percent of all worldwide measured ad spending. The report forecast that spending for Internet ads this year would total $113.5 billion, up 14.6 percent from 2012, which would represent more than 21 percent of all worldwide measured ad spending. ¶Advertising revenue from online sources continues to grow faster for the radio industry than does ad revenue from traditional, over-the-air sources, according to a quarterly report from BIA/Kelsey, Chantilly, Va. Over-the-air ad revenue rose 1.5 percent last year compared with 2011, the report said, while online ad revenue increased 3.6 percent last year compared with 2011. ¶Bart Simpson, the cartoon character who appeared in popular ads for Butterfinger candy from 1988 through 2001, is returning in ads that are to begin appearing on Monday. The ads, created by Dailey, West Hollywood, Calif., part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, reprise the “Nobody better lay a finger” theme of previous ads. The character is being licensed to Nestlé, which sells Butterfinger, by the 20th Century Fox Consumer Products unit of News Corporation.

advertising,marketing
Appointments and Executive Changes


No-Contest Plea in Connecticut Killing Tied to Rebuffed Prom Invitation

Abstract: MILFORD, Conn. — A teenager accused of fatally stabbing a classmate at their high school for rejecting his invitation to the junior prom pleaded no contest to murder on Monday, and prosecutors said they would seek a 25-year prison sentence. The teenager, Christopher Plaskon, 18, accepted a plea bargain during a brief appearance in court here. Sentencing was set for June 6. Mr. Plaskon was charged with killing Maren Sanchez , 16, at Jonathan Law High School in Milford on April 25, 2014. His family and friends said he became upset that Ms. Sanchez had turned down his prom invitation. Mr. Plaskon was held at a psychiatric hospital after the stabbing. His lawyers said that he had shown signs of psychosis and that they were considering an insanity defense. Image Ms. Sanchez was 16. The attack happened in a first-floor hallway around 7:15 a.m. on the day of the junior prom. Students described an emotional scene where people were crying as police officers and paramedics swarmed the school. A witness tried to pull Mr. Plaskon off Ms. Sanchez during the attack, and another saw Mr. Plaskon discard a bloody knife, according to an arrest warrant affidavit. Mr. Plaskon was taken to the principal’s office in bloody clothing and told the police, “I did it; just arrest me,” according to the affidavit. Ms. Sanchez was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly afterward. The medical examiner’s office said she had been stabbed in the torso and neck. Ms. Sanchez, a member of the National Honor Society who was active in drama and other school activities, had been focused on the prom in the days before she was killed. She had posted on Facebook a photograph of herself wearing a blue prom dress and was looking forward to attending with a new boyfriend. A friend of Mr. Plaskon’s told the police that Mr. Plaskon had thought about hurting Ms. Sanchez because he wanted to be more than friends with her. According to the friend, Mr. Plaskon said he would not mind if Ms. Sanchez “was dead or hit by a bus.”

Murders and Homicides
Chris Plaskon
Maren Sanchez
Jonathan Law High School
Milford CT


Makarova Races Past Halep and Into Australian Open Semifinals

Abstract: MELBOURNE, Australia — Ekaterina Makarova raced to a 3-0 lead in nine minutes and beat third-seeded Simona Halep, 6-4, 6-0, on Tuesday in the first women’s quarterfinal match at the Australian Open. With her victory, which took just 68 minutes under cool, sunny skies at Melbourne Park, Makarova advanced to a semifinal against her fellow Russian Maria Sharapova, who beat Eugenie Bouchard, 6-3, 6-2, in the next match at Rod Laver Arena. Makarova will be playing in her second consecutive Grand Slam semifinal. Her first was at last year’s United States Open, in which she lost to Serena Williams after beating Bouchard in the fourth round. Halep, a Romanian who was last year’s French Open runner-up, was under pressure from Makarova’s array of strong forehand shots to all areas of the court. Serving at 5-3 in the first set, Halep saved two set points, but Makarova clinched the opener on the third when Halep netted a backhand. Makarova broke Halep’s serve to open the second set, helped by a double fault. Makarova saved three break points in the next game to lead by 2-0 and then broke Halep again before shutting her out the rest of the way. Makarova, 26, has had her best Grand Slam results at Melbourne Park, advancing to the quarterfinals in two of the past four years and to the fourth round in the other two. Last year, she lost to the eventual champion Li Na in the fourth round, and both quarterfinal losses were to Sharapova. “I love this court — I’m so happy I came through,” Makarova said. “Before in the quarterfinals, was never sure about the semis, but now I’m there.” Two men’s quarterfinals were set for later Tuesday. Rafael Nadal was scheduled to take on Tomas Berdych, and Andy Murray was to play the local favorite Nick Kyrgios. Kyrgios, 19, beat then-No. 1 Nadal in the fourth round at Wimbledon last year. In the fourth round this year, Kyrgios defeated Andreas Seppi, who had knocked Roger Federer out of the tournament. Kyrgios is the first male player since Federer in 2001 to have reached two Grand Slam quarterfinals as a teenager.

Tennis
Ekaterina Makarova
Simona Halep
Australian Open


Fresh Start as Yanks for Former Astros

Abstract: KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The entrance to Osceola County Stadium still proclaims the Houston Astros the 2005 National League Champions, a crown they clinched when a fly ball settled into Jason Lane’s glove in right field in St. Louis that October. Lane asked a club official to hold the ball while he celebrated, but he never got it back. The Astros said it belonged to the team, not the player. The next year, the Astros took away Lane’s playing time, and last September they dumped him altogether, shipping him to the San Diego Padres in the final week of the season. There he found a familiar face — Morgan Ensberg, his former teammate in Houston and at the University of Southern California. Now Lane and Ensberg are teammates again, as nonroster invitees to Yankees spring training. They are auditioning for what might be one open spot among position players, and it only figures. “We get on base, we drive guys in,” Ensberg said Monday, as the Yankees were finishing a 7-6 victory over Houston. “We’re very similar players.” There are differences, too. Ensberg plays third base. Lane is an outfielder, but he once moonlighted as a pitcher and earned the victory for U.S.C. in the championship game of the 1998 College World Series. They are strong defensive players who are learning first base and have similar hitting profiles. Ensberg and Lane draw walks and put up solid power numbers, but do not always hit for a high average. The Yankees may have room for only one of them. “I don’t really subscribe to the idea that there’s not enough room,” Ensberg said. “Maybe there is. I think if you play well, you’ll play. I’m sure Lane has the same idea — if we’re both playing in that lineup, I think we’re going to help the team.” Dressing at a locker just a few feet away, Lane said, “I simply came over here with the intention of, if I play well, there’s a spot for me on the team.” Lane homered on Sunday but went 0 for 4 on Monday. Ensberg had two hits, including a double, in his first game at first base. He made an error when a sharp grounder by Lance Berkman took a bad hop over his left shoulder. Ensberg, 32, has played one game at first in his seven-year career and is trying to learn how the ball spins to that side of the infield. Berkman, his former teammate, said Ensberg would adapt to the position and could thrive in a new setting. “Once an organization gets a stereotype on you, it’s tough to overcome that unless you go to another organization,” Berkman said. “Nobody has any limitations on what they expect from you, and I can imagine for him it’s a nice feeling to have a fresh start.” Ensberg placed fourth in the N.L. Most Valuable Player voting in 2005, when he hit .283 with 36 homers and 101 runs batted in for the Astros. He had 17 homers through the end of May the next season, but jammed his right shoulder diving for a bunt and struggled to play through pain. “He just never got a good streak going,” Astros Manager Cecil Cooper said. “He was constantly searching, and sometimes when you search, it’s hard to just get down to baseball and react instead of playing the mind game so much with yourself. Sometimes you get in those kinds of funks and it’s hard to get out.” Last season, Ensberg lost his job in Houston to Mike Lamb. He hit two homers in his first start for San Diego, then slumped down the stretch as Kevin Kouzmanoff surged. Ensberg said he turned down guaranteed roster spots with other teams to take a minor league deal with the Yankees. “This job had the least amount of security, but I think I do well in a fight,” Ensberg said. “I enjoy competing, because I think that’s how it should be. And maybe I didn’t do as well preparing myself in the past because there wasn’t anybody to compete with. Hopefully the fight prepares you.” Ensberg’s average the last two seasons was .233, but he hit 35 homers and drove in 97 runs in 669 at-bats. Lane fell into a platoon in those seasons, managing 23 homers and 72 R.B.I. in 459 at-bats. But he hit .192. “The batting average looks really bad, but as far as production and defense, I feel like I helped the team,” said Lane, who had 26 homers and a .267 average in 2005. “I just never could get in there consistently. When I was getting hits, they were productive hits. It was frustrating for me. They couldn’t get past the average and let me really play.” Lane is 31, and he expects to keep hitting for a long time. But the Yankees are looking for a left-handed reliever, and he guessed that he might still be able to throw 90 miles an hour. If he took the mound again, Lane would be pitching on 10 years’ rest. “You never know,” he said, smiling. “I’ve saved some bullets.”

New York Yankees
Baseball
Ensberg Morgan
Lane Jason
Houston Astros


Wi-Fi Is Increasingly Essential for Airline Travelers

Abstract: Tony Drockton, who owns a luxury handbag company in Southern California, used to take the overnight flight to New York, rather than waste business hours out of touch. But now, his flight time is his work time as airlines increasingly offer Wi-Fi connections on their planes. “I need to stay connected so people don’t realize where I am,” said Mr. Drockton, who now travels with a laptop, smartphone and over-the-ears headphones. “It allows me to fly during business hours and not miss any day.” As to those travelers who enjoyed a few hours of being out of touch with the office, those days may be ending. Before Wi-Fi, “you had an excuse not to be in touch if you didn’t want to be,” said Henry H. Harteveldt, co-founder of Atmosphere Research Group, an airline and travel industry analyst in San Francisco. “The one last bastion of being off the grid has been taken away.” And as airlines race to create connectivity on international flights through satellite Wi-Fi, the ability to stay online in the skies will only increase, experts say. “Passengers have an expectation of ubiquitous connectivity in their lives, especially younger travelers,” Mr. Harteveldt said. “Walking on the street, in coffee shops, and it frustrates them when they get on a plane and they are told they’re offline. The traveler wants to have control over when they go online.” Others echoed his analysis. “People want to be connected 24/7,” said Jonathan Kletzel, a transportation and logistics analyst at PWC. “It’s a question of whether airlines are getting ahead of the curve or not.” For now, technology use in the sky remains lower than on other modes of transportation, said Joseph P. Schwieterman, director of the Chaddick Institute for Metropolitan Development at DePaul University. Even so, Wi-Fi Internet access has expanded to 153 million passengers in 2011 from 153,000 in 2009, according to Gogo Wireless, a Wi-Fi provider for airlines. According to a report this year from the Chaddick Institute , the percentage of air travelers using technology at “random selected points” on a flight was 28.4 percent in 2011, up from 23.2 percent in 2010 and 17.6 percent in 2009. The report found that more travelers were bringing their own devices, including tablets and e-readers, with them on planes. One in 12 airline passengers is now using a tablet, and that number continues to grow. Tablets account for almost 30 percent of all technology use on commercial flights, and that share is also likely to grow. The use of tablets and technology, in general, tends to be “significantly higher on business-oriented flights,” the report said. This leaves more than 70 percent of passengers who are not using a device, and may be using the airlines’ in-flight entertainment options, Dr. Schwieterman said. Wi-Fi stretches back commercially four to five years. Now, nine commercial airlines have Wi-Fi air-to-ground service on all or some of their domestic flights. The fees depend on the length of the flight, and tend to range from $1.95 to $19 or more, according to Gogo. Travelers are using the connection to do more than send e-mail. What travelers want, especially business travelers, is a myriad methods to stay productive and entertained while en route to their destination, airline experts said. They may use their own laptops or tablets as well as the in-flight entertainment system. Mr. Drockton, for example, said he used e-mail, air-to-ground videoconferencing, the airline’s instant messenger system and the entertainment system in the seat back in front of him when he was flying. He said he relied on the power outlet under his seat to keep his laptop charged. “I plug in before they even close the door,” he said. “I’m already working before they take off.” Until a few years ago, the airlines were a “technology wasteland,” Dr. Schwieterman said. Now, most major airlines, even those that were late to Wi-Fi, have committed to teaming up with one of the four major Wi-Fi providers. The airlines “want you to know that Wi-Fi is on the flight,” he said. “They know they need it for brand positioning.” Still, Internet connectivity in flight has its shortcomings, though Mr. Harteveldt and other frequent fliers said they expected it to improve in its next generation. “If the Wi-Fi system is maxed out, it slows down,” Mr. Harteveldt said. “You can log off and not be able to get back on, or be booted off the system.” Typically, the bandwidth of the Wi-Fi on a single-aisle plane like a Boeing 737 or an Airbus A320 can handle 25 users at a time. If one traveler begins to download a large file, “the system slows to a crawl,” he said. Kevin P. Nichols, 39, director of content strategy for SapientNitro, said that had been his experience. “It’s inconsistent, and you never know if it’s going to work or not,” he said. Mr. Nichols said Wi-Fi and in-flight entertainment provided by the airlines were among the factors travelers now considered. “There are a lot of drivers in selecting an airline,” he said. “It’s people having access to what they want. We continually want to be plugged in.” As for the future of in-flight technology, Mr. Harteveldt said it depended on technological developments, travelers’ preferences and airlines’ budgets. The airlines tend to update cabins every five years. Mr. Harteveldt predicted that within 10 years, flights would be a “B.Y.O. entertainment” environment — that is, bring your own. Until then, travelers who want to stay productive and entertained en route to their business meetings are dependent on Wi-Fi. Or, as Mr. Drockton put it: “It’s just about convenience and connectivity. I need it to work.”

Wireless Communications
Airlines and Airplanes
Computers and the Internet
Travel and Vacations
Business Travel


In Search of the Perfect Holiday Drink

Abstract: Whether you’re expecting a handful of holiday drop-ins or hosting a spirited party, a well-made cocktail can set the tone. As restaurants around the county are raising their mixology standards, consider enhancing your home efforts with this advice from behind-the-bar pros. All agree that balance is the key to cocktail goodness. Alcohol, sweet and acid must work in harmony, so the unpracticed are advised to start with reliable recipes, then bump up the quality of the ingredients, starting with spirits. Clark Moore, beverage director at Harper’s in Dobbs Ferry , recommends this strategy for drop-in guests or dinner parties: “Stock fewer bottles of worthwhile spirits rather than a greater variety of cheaper stuff. For example, have one good gin, one rye or bourbon and one Cognac, and make sure they’re brands that you’d want to drink even without a mixer.” Vodka and tequila are popular choices to round out the home bar. Secondary spirits, like fruit- or herb-based liqueurs, can add the sweet element and expand the cocktail possibilities. In general, triple secs (orange-flavored liqueurs like Cointreau) are versatile, as are high-quality vermouths. Mr. Moore’s favorites are Carpano Antica Formula and Dolin Vermouth de Chambéry Rouge. “Add either of these to rye or Cognac for a delicious manhattan,” Mr. Moore said. “Stir one with gin, and you have a beautiful Martinez. Or add a few rocks and a lemon or orange twist for a lovely aperitif or digestif.” Note that vermouth is actually a fortified wine, so refrigerate after opening to ensure optimum shelf life. Image Bottles of bitters at Harper's. Clark Moore, beverage director at Harper's, recommends stocking up home bars with a few bottles of fine spirits instead of a variety of cheaper brands. Credit Gregg Vigliotti for The New York Times For a conversation starter, try an indigenous spirit or two instead of one of the major brands. “There are a lot of finely crafted local options now, like Black Dirt Bourbon, which is distilled in Warwick,“ says Paul Bratone, co-owner and beverage director at Bistro Rollin in Pelham. “Use American Fruits Black Currant Cordial as you would crème de cassis. Sugar Wash Moonshine”— a neutral spirit distilled in Pine Plains from Demerara sugar — “can be used instead of cachaça in a New York State riff on the Brazilian caipirinha.” While you might spend more on your spirits, save on simple syrup when the drink requires it. “There’s a reason it’s called ‘simple’ syrup,” Mr. Moore says. “Just bring equal parts sugar and water to a boil, and let it cool. It’s actually quicker to make than it is to shop for it, and homemade is far less expensive.” For infused simple syrup, add the desired flavoring ingredients (fresh herbs, spices, ginger root, citrus peel) to the warm syrup and let it sit for a couple of hours, tasting periodically. When the flavor is to your desired strength, strain. Stored in a covered jar in the refrigerator, the syrup will keep through the holidays. Lemon or lime juice plays an acidic role in many recipes, and the pros agree that cocktails are vastly improved when you squeeze your own. (Note that these juices will turn, so they should be used or refrigerated immediately.) And don’t skip the bitters when they’re called for. These intense tinctures of herbs, spices, fruits and roots add dimension to a cocktail. The Beacon-based Drink More Good website carries a wide variety of bitters and other artisanal mixology ingredients. After you’ve upgraded your ingredients, tweak your technique and presentation. “Always use jiggers,” advises the bartending veteran Jeremy McClellan, now general manager of the Tapp in Tarrytown and the Mill in Hastings. “Imprecise measuring can ruin a great cocktail recipe.” Stir cocktails that rely solely on spirits, and use a shaker for cocktails that incorporate juices or sugars to blend the flavors and give it the proper chill. For restaurant-worthy serving appeal, get ice trays that make perfectly square cubes. Smaller cubes are good for serving tall mixed drinks; for spirits-forward or spirits-only cocktails, Moore prefers one extra-large cube, which won’t melt as fast and won’t dilute a drink as quickly. And don’t mistake the appropriate garnish (twisted citrus peel, fruit slices, olives) for just another pretty finish — it adds flavor too. For larger gatherings, skip the shaker and choose a punch, a mulled wine or a mulled cider for serving simplicity. As Mr. McClellan puts it, “Nobody wants to wait 20 minutes for their cocktail, and you don’t want to spend the entire party mixing drinks.” But he cautions against making it too sugary, a common amateur mistake. “Balance is critical to the punch bowl, too,” he said. For an easy-serving alternative, Mr. Moore suggests a drink that can be mixed at least partly ahead of time. Simple, festive sparkling cocktails, like kir royales or poinsettias, can be made assembly-line style. It’s wasteful to use expensive Champagne to mix with other ingredients, but for balance, be sure to use a dry sparkling wine. Mr. McClellan serves prosecco; Mr. Bratone favors Gruet, a sparkling wine that is made in New Mexico.

Alcohol
Cocktail
The Tap Tarrytown NY Bar
Bistro Rollin Pelham NY Restaurant
Westchester


Economy Forces White Plains Performing Arts Center to Cancel a Show

Abstract: WHITE PLAINS GOING to the theater has always been one of Joe and Theresa Arlotta’s greatest pleasures. But after Mr. Arlotta had a stroke, they stopped going to Broadway shows in the city. Then they discovered the White Plains Performing Arts Center . They became subscribers two years ago when the theater began staging its own shows under a new artistic director. The theater’s proximity to New York City has made it easy to attract Broadway actors who can work in White Plains and live at home. “I miss Manhattan, but this is really as close as you can get for the value and the quality,” said Ms. Arlotta, 70, a legal secretary here. Her favorite show this season was “Camelot” in September; last season it was “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.” The Arlottas are looking forward to the final show of this season — “Hello, Dolly!” — which was scheduled to open on April 30 — but they are likely to be disappointed. The theater’s management has not made an official announcement yet, but because of uncertainty about finances, it is delaying “Hello Dolly” indefinitely and recently laid off a company manager, said Jack W. Batman, the center’s executive producer. It is a bitter turn of events. Staging well-known musicals, starring Tony-winning actors, the White Plains Performing Arts Center had an audience of 35,000 this season — 1,200 of whom became subscribers during the past two years. Now, with municipal and corporate money disappearing, the theater is deciding where to cut back. “So far we have had no commitments for sponsorships or grants,” said Mr. Batman, a 40-year veteran of professional theater management who normally would have budgeted in April for the 2009-10 season that begins in the fall. “It’s fair to say we are struggling.” The City of White Plains, which holds the lease on the theater’s space on the third floor of the City Center, an entertainment and retail complex downtown, announced on April 6 that it had cut all funding to the theater from its proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The city has contributed $100,000 annually to the arts center — which has a $1.7 million budget — since its founding in 2003. “When our financial report was issued in January, we fell off a cliff,” said Mayor Joseph M. Delfino, a Republican who recently announced he will step down after overseeing a resurgence in development here during 11 years in office. A booster of the theater who never missed an opening night, Mr. Delfino said he had to fill an $11.7 million gap in next year’s $160 million city budget. To make up the shortfall, 40 city staff positions were left vacant this year and 65 part-time employees were let go. In addition to cutting money for the theater, the budget proposes eliminating backyard refuse pickup and mounted police units, as well as giving the library less support, Mr. Delfino said. Louis R. Cappelli, the developer who redrew the city’s skyline when he built the 44-story Ritz-Carlton hotel and apartment complex downtown, gave the arts center $250,000 in 2006. This year, he will give money to the theater only if the city does, said Geoff Thompson, a spokesman for Cappelli Enterprises. James F. Steets, a spokesman for Entergy, another large donor last year, said the company would reduce its contribution but had not decided how much. “The budgetary pressures we are feeling has to translate into our contributions changing,” he said. The theater’s other largest corporate donor last year, Bank of America, did not return calls seeking comment. Corporate financing plays a bigger role in the White Plains Performing Arts Center’s budget than for other regional theaters, said Will Maitland Weiss, executive director of the Arts & Business Council of New York , a nonprofit organization based in New York City that advises arts groups and corporations. “The typical regional theater would get half its income from the box office, 30 percent from individual contributions and the remaining 20 percent from foundations, government and corporations, with the corporations being the smallest part,” he said. Last year the White Plains center made half of its budget from ticket sales; 4 percent from individual donations; and 46 percent from grants from foundations, government and, mostly, corporations, according to the theater. Arts organizations that depend largely on government support are in dire straits in New York because of significant drops in tax revenue, Mr. Weiss said. “I feel there is more potential to rescue and sustain a company like the White Plains Performing Arts Center from the private sector than to go back to the public sector and try to depend on handouts,” said Mr. Weiss, who has managed nonprofit arts organizations for 25 years, including a five-year stint at an Off Broadway theater. Even though there is no show in rehearsal on the performing arts center’s stage, it is not silent. Its plush movie-theater-style seats, donated by National Amusements in Boston, are filled half the time with audiences for college and school events, corporate seminars, church concerts and programs for the White Plains Youth Bureau . Mr. Batman said he was confident that despite the center’s uncertain financial future, he would be able to put a season together for next season. “The theater will survive this,” he said. “It has survived since the time of the Greeks, it always goes on.”

White Plains Performing Arts Center
Budgets and Budgeting
Theater
White Plains (NY)


Florida Sues BP Over Gulf Oil Spill

Abstract: TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The state of Florida filed a lawsuit Saturday against the oil company BP and the cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth state to seek damages for the 2010 disaster. The suit, among other things, faults BP for not changing the batteries on the rig’s blowout preventer. It also accuses Halliburton of installing faulty cement barriers. The complaint by the Florida attorney general, Pam Bondi, was filed in United States District Court in Panama City. The federal court has jurisdiction under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. Florida is the fourth state to sue over the spill; Mississippi sued on Friday, joining Alabama and Louisiana, which are part of a federal trial in New Orleans against BP and its contractors. A BP spokesman declined to comment and press officers from Halliburton could not be reached.

Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Lawsuits
BP
Florida
Halliburton


Daily Report: A New Android for a New Tech World

Abstract: With little notice, Google just told us a lot about our world. On Monday, the company announced the general availability of its newest Android smartphone operating system. Looking at how it got here and what is inside the new OS reveals much about how different tech works now, when compared with just a few years ago. Google first talked about the new OS, called Nougat, last March, and gave people the opportunity to download an early version of the software. Google appears to have used that feedback heavily in the final version. Send Us Your Favorite Money Question What’s the single best question about money that anyone has ever asked you — or that you’ve asked of a spouse, family member or loved one? And what was the conversation that ensued? Not so long ago, a new computer OS was a huge deal, developed in secret and released with a marketing thunderclap. That was when personal computers were the rule, or PC-type thinking dominated phone marketing. Now speed, feedback and continuous upgrades are the rule. Nougat will appear as an update on a handful of Nexus phones over the next few weeks, and later on a new phone. It is said to have 250 new features, but is unlikely to require a lot of new learning, unlike new versions of Windows on a PC. People don’t have time for that now; if things aren’t more intuitive, they are discarded. Personalization is also a big feature of these mass-market devices, so the phone can do things like provide polyglots with search results in multiple languages, ways to reconfigure Quick Settings controls or 1,500 different emoji for nonverbal communication. Image Besides feedback and customization, speed is another design principle that has become paramount. Apps can run side by side, notifications can open apps directly and previously used apps can be easily reopened. If saving seconds sounds like a big deal, it is: Google long ago discovered that even a 200-millisecond delay can make a search seem too slow. That impatience is now a consumer norm. So much for the present state of tech design. Nougat also has a couple of indications about what’s next, in the form of augmented reality and virtual reality functions. A lot of that will be dormant for now, until new games, and hardware like headphones and game controllers, become available. It’s O.K. if you start getting impatient for that stuff. After all, by the time you read this, Nougat will have been out for an entire day or more.


India Opens High-Level Inquiry in Fraud Case

Abstract: NEW DELHI —India’s highest-level investigative agency agreed Wednesday to open an inquiry into the software outsourcing company Satyam Computer Services , a move that might complicate a quick sale of the company. The Central Bureau of Investigation, analogous to the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the United States, will take over from the police in the state of Andhra Pradesh, where Satyam is headquartered, and a patchwork of ministries, regulators and agencies that are looking into the vast fraud at the outsourcing company. B. Ramalinga Raju, the founder of Satyam, confessed in January to padding the books and said he had fabricated holdings of some $1 billion in cash. The C.B.I., as the agency is known, “proposes to undertake an all-encompassing investigation into the scam,” it said in a statement. The bureau is establishing a “multidisciplinary investigation team” in Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh, and will be consulting daily with market regulators, the national Department of Revenue, the state government and the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. Meanwhile, Satyam is pulling hundreds of employees out of the United States as business slows, a company spokeswoman said Wednesday. The spokeswoman, Archana Muthappa, said several hundred employees had been moved back to India, where they continued to work for the company. She said local newspaper reports that 1,500 employees had been relocated were false, but would not specify how many employees had been moved. The employee shift comes as Satyam, under a new, government-appointed board, is cutting costs wherever possible. It has hired Goldman Sachs to help it find a buyer. The new investigation does not automatically mean that buyers will stay away, analysts said. “The important thing is whether the company was making profits or not,” said Hitesh Kuvelkar, associate director at First Global, a research firm with offices in Mumbai, London and New York. “If they have margins and turnover, there will be a taker for this company.” Investors have filed several suits against Satyam and the company’s auditor, which could also complicate a sale. Mr. Raju and his brother, B. Rama Raju, a former Satyam director, are in jail in Hyderabad. A local court on Wednesday dismissed their petitions for bail, the Press Trust of India reported. The court will allow the Securities and Exchange Board of India to question S. Gopalakrishnan and Talluri Srinivas, former partners for Price Waterhouse, Satyam’s former auditor. The firm is the Indian arm of the accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers. Satyam was the most actively traded stock on the Bombay Stock Exchange on Wednesday, where its shares fell 3.3 percent. Executives from several Indian companies, even those unrelated to the software business, have said publicly in recent days that they would be interested in buying all or part of Satyam.

Frauds and Swindling
Satyam Computer Services Ltd


Accounts and People of Note in the Advertising Industry

Abstract: David Beck, vice president for strategic initiatives in the office of the chief executive at Univision Communications, New York, was promoted to a new post, senior vice president for social media. Jeff Brecker joined R/GA, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, as vice president and managing director for the Chicago office. He succeeds Sean McCarthy, who left in November. Mr. Brecker had been managing director for the Chicago office of Digital Kitchen. Digital Kitchen is hiring Dave Trifiletti to serve as managing director for its Chicago and Seattle offices; in addition to assuming what had been Mr. Brecker’s duties in Chicago, Mr. Trifiletti will also assume the duties of Eric Oldrin, who had been managing director for the Seattle office before leaving Digital Kitchen. Julian Cole, a strategy director at the New York office of Bartle Bogle Hegarty, part of the Publicis Groupe, was promoted to a new post, communications planning department head, and will continue to be in charge of the agency’s work as the lead creative agency on the Sony PlayStation account. “The Dog Strikes Back,” the Volkswagen Beetle commercial that Volkswagen of America ran during Super Bowl XLVI in February 2012, was named the Ad of the Year by Nielsen as part of the seventh annual Nielsen Automotive Advertising Awards. The awards, presented during the 2013 New York International Auto Show, honor automotive television commercials for effectiveness. The commercial was created by Deutsch L.A., which is the Marina del Rey, Calif., office of Deutsch, part of the Lowe & Partners division of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Kerryann Driscoll and Patrick LaCroix, group account directors at Blitz Media, Boston, were promoted to new posts. Ms. Driscoll becomes director for marketing and Mr. LaCroix becomes director for innovation. Vin Farrell joined Havas Worldwide, New York, part of the Havas Creative unit of Havas, in a new post, global chief content officer. He had been senior vice president for creative operations at R/GA, New York, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Hudson Valley Tourism, which seeks to draw visitors and businesses to Columbia, Orange, Putnam, Rensselaer and six other counties north of New York City, selected Co-Communications as its agency of record, working with Harquin Graphics, Pelham, N.Y., a branding agency. Billings have not been determined. Co-Communications, which has offices in Mount Kisco, N.Y., and Hartford, Conn., is taking over the account from the First Brain Media Group, Wyckoff, N.J. Jon Krevolin joined 360i, New York, part of Dentsu, as a group creative director. He had most recently been a senior vice president and senior creative director at BBDO New York, part of the BBDO North America division of BBDO Worldwide, which is part of the Omnicom Group. Tim Letscher joined Colle & McVoy, Minneapolis, part of MDC Partners, in a new post, director for digital strategy and analytics. He had most recently been senior strategist for brand activation at Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Clive Maclean joined Cenergy, East Aurora, N.Y., in a new post, executive vice president. He had most recently been chief executive at Havas 4D, Chicago, part of the Havas Worldwide division of Havas Creative, which is owned by Havas. Nic Owen joined the Amsterdam office of 72andSunny, part of MDC Partners, in a new post, managing director. He had been head of account management at Anomaly New York, part of the Anomaly unit of MDC. Christian Parkes joined Myspace, Los Angeles, in a new post, vice president for global marketing. He had been global senior director for marketing at Levi Strauss & Company, San Francisco. Ryan Peck and Scott O’Leary joined Carmichael Lynch, Minneapolis, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies, as creative directors. They had been creative directors at Fallon Worldwide, Minneapolis, part of the Publicis Groupe. Nicole Phillips joined Switch, St. Louis, in a new post, director for strategic planning and business development. She had most recently been senior vice president for branding and insights at Fleishman-Hillard, part of the Omnicom Group. Fraser Riddell, global chief business development officer at MediaCom Worldwide, New York, part of the GroupM unit of WPP, was named global chief client officer, leading a new division, named MediaCom Beyond Borders, that will specialize in working for international advertisers based in the United States. Toby Jenner, chief operating officer for the MediaCom Asia-Pacific region, based in Singapore, will move to New York and succeed Mr. Riddell as global chief business development officer. Rosetta, Princeton, N.J., part of the Publicis Groupe, hired four partners for its technology and telecommunications practice. They are Frank Garavaglia, who will be based in the agency’s San Francisco office; Bill Melton, based in the Los Angeles office; Mike Norris, based in the San Jose, Calif., office; and Rachel Rapaport, also based in San Francisco. Zach Servideo joined the Mix Agency, San Francisco, as a principal, responsible for day-to-day operations with Vanessa Camones, chief executive, and leading the agency’s expansion into Southern California with the opening of an office in Los Angeles. Mr. Servideo had most recently been a consultant and before that worked for public relations agencies like Shift Communications. Mark Simmons joined Ignited, El Segundo, Calif., in a new post, senior vice president for strategy and brand development. He had most recently run his own consultancy, Mark Simmons Inc. Matthew Sweeney joined Crisp Media, New York, in a new post, senior vice president and managing director. He has previously worked at companies that include Pixalate, Geeknet and Ziff-Davis. Webster Bank, Waterbury, Conn., expanded its relationship with SapientNitro, Boston, part of Sapient, by naming SapientNitro as its marketing agency of record. Billings were not disclosed. The assignment had previously been handled by Kelliher Samets Volk. Webster Bank already works with SapientNitro on tasks that include integrated interactive marketing and digital strategy.

Appointments and Executive Changes
advertising,marketing
Public relations
Job Recruiting and Hiring