Daily Iowan

Iowa, Obama's jump-start

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

These days, it's difficult to remember when Democratic presidential-nomination hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton was the favorite to win the nomination. But prior to the Iowa caucuses, that's exactly what she was viewed as.

Since then, things have changed slightly.

A facility for dance

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

When Molly Jones came to the UI four years ago, she knew that she wanted to dance. Four years and countless performances later, the UI senior still plans to pursue that career after graduation.

Jones was one of four women chosen to perform solo pieces choreographed by department head Alan Sener in Dance Gala last fall. Sener said he choreographed Jones' solo specifically with her in mind.

Benefit change ignites ire

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Faculty and staff who are married to each other and those with children could stand to lose some benefit funding and single parents could receive more under a proposed policy change that sparked heated debate Wednesday.

At the UI Staff Council meeting, Rick Borchard, a co-chairman of the Fund Retirement and Insurance Charter, presented proposed changes in how UI employees will receive their health, dental, life, and retirement insurance. Nearly 150 people were in attendance, and many tempers flared.

Weather delays planting

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Cold temperatures and erratic precipitation has left some Iowa farmers hoping that the sun would, finally, come out.

As of Sunday, only 46 percent of Iowa's corn crop had been planted, compared with 80 percent in an average year, said Iowa State University Extension corn specialist Roger Elmore.

Supervisor hopefuls speak out

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Four Johnson County Board of Supervisor hopefuls discussed everything form the polluted Iowa River to housing prices in a Wednesday night election forum.

The League of Women Voters presented the forum in the Iowa City Public Library, which was attended by approximately 30 people.

Police Blotter

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Metro Briefs

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Man charged with robbery

Coralville police apprehended a North Liberty man after he allegedly stole money from Freedom Security Bank.

Stanley E. Mosley, 28, 250 S. Chestnut, was charged Wednesday with second-degree robbery, a felony.

Clarification

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

In the May 12 article "Exemption to '19' raises questions," the DI reported that Joe Xie, owner of Formosa Asian Cuisine, 241 E. College St., denied further comment. The DI would like to clarify that Xie said Formosa does not admit guests under 19 and denied further comment about having an exemption from the city's ordinance.

Correction

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

In the May 14 article "Students eye Beijing," the DI reported that journalism Professor Judy Polumbaum would lead 24 students to China this summer. Polumbaum will not accompany the students. The DI regrets the error.

The Daily Break

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Your daily diversion, with horoscopes, The Ledge, and Sudoku.

A season for the ages

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

When it comes to wrestling, winning isn't the only thing that matters to 149-pounder Brent Metcalf. How he wins is important, too.

Call him a chip off the block of his head coach, Tom Brands. Call him a wrestling workaholic with a bottomless-pit appetite for triumph.

Playing for respect

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

With finals week winding down on campus, the Iowa baseball team hopes to salvage a little respect as it closes the books on a disappointing 2008 campaign.

The Hawkeyes (20-31, 8-20) will play the first of a four-game series with Ohio State (28-22, 13-13) today at Banks Field, with the first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

Injured, but not out

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It's going to take more than a bum elbow to keep Matt Mossey off the diamond. The pain is tolerable while he waits for surgery after the season.

After tearing a ligament in his elbow on April 30, Mossey has come in to play second base late in games when he isn't in the dugout handing out tips to his teammates.

Men tracksters to Big Tens

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The Iowa men's track team isn't expecting a conference title in Champaign, Ill. at the Big Ten championships Friday.

That won't stop them from maximizing their efforts.

"I'd like to see us control the controllables," head coach Larry Wieczorek said. "You can't control if you win or lose, but you can control if you compete like a champion. We won't go into the weekend with all of the guns that we had back in September but certainly with a great group of guys that've worked hard.

Nukuri honored again

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

On the same day that senior Diane Nukuri was named by *The Daily Iowan* as Female Athlete of the Year, she was awarded the 2008 Wilma Rudolph Student-Athlete Achievement Award by the National Association of Academic Advisers for Athletics.

WVU faculty demands school president ouster again

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - West Virginia University's faculty demanded Wednesday that embattled President Mike Garrison quit over a master's degree scandal involving the governor's daughter, the second call for his resignation in 10 days.

The nonbinding resolution, approved 565-39 with 11 abstentions, came during a rare special meeting open to all faculty.

Study likely spells end for anti-bleeding drug

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

An anti-bleeding drug probably will stay off the market, experts say, after a rigorous study found patients getting the medication during heart surgery were much more likely to die than patients given other drugs.

Bayer AG, the maker of the drug Trasylol, said it is still deciding what to do and is awaiting details from the Canadian study. Bayer faces dozens of lawsuits claiming Trasylol led to excess deaths and that the company hid evidence of harm.

Ex-officer tells court he covered up botched raid

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

ATLANTA (AP) - A former Atlanta police officer on trial for a botched drug raid that led to the death of a 92-year-old woman said Wednesday he went along with a cover-up because he felt threatened by his fellow officers.

Kathryn Johnston was shot 39 times as plainclothes narcotics officers busted into her house using a "no-knock" warrant on Nov. 26, 2006. During nearly eight hours of testimony, Arthur Tesler said he was instructed by two other officers after the shooting to memorize a cover-up story that they had witnessed an informant buying drugs at Johnston's home.

Michigan Girl Scout sells 17,328 boxes of cookies

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

DETROIT (AP) - A Girl Scout sold 17,328 boxes of the group's signature cookies this year by setting up shop on a street corner, shattering her troop's old mark and probably setting a national record.

Jennifer Sharpe, a 15-year-old from Dearborn, plans to travel to Europe with her troop with the proceeds from her feat.

Aid by any means necessary

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Earlier this month, a cyclone ripped through Burma, quickly becoming one of the largest and deadliest natural disasters since the 2004 tsunami that killed thousands in Indonesia and Sri Lanka, among other countries. While the global response to the tsunami was widely televised and reported, we've seen substantially less conversation regarding the current crisis in Burma - but it's not for a lack of trying.

Curious jerk

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Many of you will leave the Iowa City area this week. Classes will end, and you'll head home or take off for a vacation. You may need it. I certainly did, which is why I'm writing this column from Siesta Key, Fla., and doing my best to rub it in for my colleagues. (He's doing a great job. -ed.)

Wounds we don't see

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

If there is an upside to modern warfare, it is the advance in battlefield medicine. Soldiers with wounds that were typically fatal during the Vietnam War now survive. An extraordinary 90 percent of U.S. soldiers who were wounded in Iraq have survived, compared with just 76 percent of those wounded in Vietnam, and this is a triumph.

Today's Photos

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

A student of excellence

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Lorie Line already knows she's good. She is fully aware that her family-run production company turns a lucrative profit, and she's been a successfully touring pianist for 19 years - a point she brings up frequently.

Known largely for her wildly popular Christmas tour, Line and her Pop Chamber Orchestra perform mostly rearranged songs.

Hip-hopping out of finals

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Some students overdose on generic energy drinks until the point of nausea. Some pull out their hair until they resemble post-meltdown Britney Spears. If these practices resemble your finals-induced agony, you should heed the wise words of Iowa City rapper Coolzey:

"Stress is the No. 1 killer; I always tell that to people."

Not so e-easily accepted

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

The digital age has pushed nearly every art form into the electronic realm, and if a certain kind of art has not been pushed technologically, then its users have pulled it, kicking and screaming, into convergence.

People now primarily enjoy their music not through CDs, but through MP3 files and iPods. Many television shows can be watched either on the tube or on the Internet, and if a certain show is not available online, there are enough videos on YouTube to make up for it.

Letters to Louis

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Dear Louis,

As you imply every Thursday in your erudite and effusive column, the UI community will be lost without you next year. Here's my question: Because you don't have a job lined up, why not stay and give us your charity?

Movie musicals turning tone-deaf

Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT

I love musicals. I love movies. But lately, there seems to be an inappropriate amount of blending the two. Don't get me wrong, I love West Side Story as much as the next raving Natalie Wood fan, but it seems the spark of the modern movie musical is much harder to find nowadays than it was when Sharks and Jets ruled the streets.

Let's examine some recent examples of the movie musical in all their glory and shame.