Sunday, September 27, 2009

“Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case - Poughkeepsie Journal” plus 4 more

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“Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case - Poughkeepsie Journal” plus 4 more

Swiss arrest Polanski on US request in sex case - Poughkeepsie Journal

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 09:24 AM PDT

ZURICH Director Roman Polanski was arrested by Swiss police as he flew in for the Zurich Film Festival and faces possible extradition to the United States for having sex in 1977 with a 13-year-old girl, authorities said Sunday.

Polanski was scheduled to receive an honorary award at the festival when he was apprehended Saturday at the airport, the Swiss Justice Ministry said in a statement. It said U.S. authorities have sought the arrest of the 76-year-old director around the world since 2005.

"There was a valid arrest request and we knew when he was coming," ministry spokesman Guido Balmer told The Associated Press. "That's why he was taken into custody."

Polanski, the director of such classic films as "Chinatown," ''Rosemary's Baby" and "The Pianist," fled the U.S. in 1978, a year after pleading guilty to unlawful sexual intercourse with the underage girl.

Polanski has asked a U.S. appeals court in California to overturn a judges' refusal to throw out his case. He claims misconduct by the now-deceased judge who had arranged a plea bargain and then reneged on it.

His victim, Samantha Geimer, who long ago identified herself publicly, has joined in Polanski's bid for dismissal, saying she wants the case to be over. She sued Polanski and reached an undisclosed settlement.

Balmer, the Swiss spokesman, said the U.S. would now have to make a formal extradition request. A U.S. Justice Department spokeswoman in Washington declined to comment on the case Sunday.

Polanski's French lawyer, Georges Kiejman, told France-Inter radio that it was "too early to know" if Polanski would be extradited.

"The proceedings must take their course," he said Sunday. "For now we are trying to have the arrest warrant lifted in Zurich."

Kiejman later told The Associated Press that France does not extradite its citizens and that U.S. authorities had never asked France to prosecute Polanski at home.

Balmer declined to explain why Polanski was never previously arrested in Switzerland, where he has often traveled or stayed. A 1996 interview with Canada's Menz magazine describes Polanski's visits to the luxury resort of Gstaad, where he regularly came to ski, attend festivals or escape from media pressure.



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Engineer flies daily to Kauai - Honolulu Advertiser

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 10:00 AM PDT

An O'ahu state employee has been commuting daily to Kaua'i for three years because of the state's inability to hire a qualified engineer living on the Garden Isle.

On most weekdays, Department of Transportation engineer Kyle Furuhashi commutes to the island to oversee state transportation construction projects, according to the agency. Those costs, which ranged from $19,000 to $27,000 a year, are justified because of a shortage of engineers statewide and especially on Kaua'i, said Brennon Morioka, state DOT director.

"There is a severe shortage of construction engineers on Kaua'i," Morioka said. "So the only way that we can ensure proper oversight of our projects is to get engineers over. The alternative is you don't do any federal highway projects or state highway projects on Kaua'i. That's the consequence, if you don't have proper oversight."

The circumstances surrounding DOT's frequent flier are opposite those of an administrator for the state's mental health centers who until this month was commuting three times a week from his home on Kaua'i to O'ahu for about 12 years. The health department reduced the frequency of Wayne Law's commute to once a week following an inquiry by The Advertiser.

The department has four engineering openings on Kaua'i, many of which have been open for years, Morioka said. Starting in 2006, the department started to regularly fly Furuhashi to Kaua'i to oversee transportation projects. Morioka said it's cheaper to fly an engineer to Kaua'i than to hire another Kaua'i engineer.

Furuhashi's salary range is $51,312 to $75,960 a year, according to the transportation department.

Both the Transportation Department and Furuhashi accrue frequent flier miles from the flights, Morioka said.

Those benefits could be substantial based on the frequency of travel at issue. For example, Hawaiian Airlines, the agency's vendor, provides 500 mileage points per inter-island flight. That figure rises to 1,000 points for members of the airline's frequent flier clubs. That means someone commuting five days a week from O'ahu to Kaua'i could accumulate 5,000 to 10,000 frequent flier miles a week. Hawaiian Airlines provides a one-way, free inter-island trip for as few as 7,500 points. A one-way Mainland trip is free with as few as 20,000 mileage points.

Morioka said the department is recruiting to fill several Kaua'i openings and is looking into ways to reduce the need for Furuhashi to commute inter-island on a daily basis. Those options include a possible switch to a four-day, 10-hour-a-day work week.

'relatively common'

The transportation department did not respond to a request to interview Furuhashi for this story. Russell Pang, spokesman for Gov. Linda Lingle, also did not return messages for this story.

Other state officials who regularly travel inter-island include elected officials such as State Senate Majority Leader Gary Hooser, D-7th (Kaua'i, Ni'ihau). Senate policy limits commutes to once a week, with exceptions, he said.

Hooser said the expense of regularly sending an engineer to Kaua'i seems justified given a lack of specialized labor on Kaua'i and statewide.

"I believe that's probably a relatively common occurrence," he said. "I think there's many fields like that. I would think in the medical field we have doctors that do the same thing."

"If the services and skills of that person are needed, then we have to recruit and pay what we need to pay, including travel costs," Hooser said. "If you didn't have those services what would it cost you? (That's) Delayed projects."

Hawai'i's shortage of engineers illustrates the need to emphasize science and mathematics in schools, Morioka said.

"I think this is a problem that we need to address as a state to really commit toward science, technology, engineering and math," he said.

Reach Sean Hao at shao@honoluluadvertiser.com.



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Wings players to enjoy rock-star status for season opener in Sweden - Detroit Free Press

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 09:38 AM PDT

(5 of 5)

DEFENSEMAN JONATHAN ERICSSON

• Became a Swede: March 2, 1984, in Karlskrona.

• Became a Wing: Drafted in 2002, debuted in Detroit 2007-08.

• Known as: Big E, because hes 6 feet 4.

• Known for: Being the last guy picked in that draft and about to become an NHL regular.

DEFENSEMAN ANDREAS LILJA

• Became a Swede: July 13, 1975, in Helsingborg.

• Became a Wing: Signed as a free agent in 2005.

• Known as: Lils.

• Known for: Throwing his 6-foot-3, 220-pound body in front of opponents shots (currently sidelined by post-concussion syndrome).

FORWARD HENRIK ZETTERBERG

• Became a Swede: Oct. 9, 1980, in Njurunda.

• Became a Wing: Drafted in 1999, debuted in Detroit in 2002-03.

• Known as: Hank or Z and one half of the Euro-Twins (the other is Pavel Datsyuk).

• Known for: Being one of the best two-way players in the game, hair that has earned him comparisons to Fabio by teammate Chris Osgood.

FORWARD TOMAS HOLMSTROM

• Became a Swede: Jan. 23, 1973, in Pitea.

• Became a Wing: Drafted in 1994, debuted in Detroit in 1996-97.

• Known as: Homer, and also the Half-Finn, because hes from so far north in Sweden teammates suspect hes really from Finland.

• Known for: Being the best net-front player in the NHL, speaking Swenglish.

FORWARD JOHAN FRANZEN

• Became a Swede: Dec. 23, 1979, in Vetlanda.

• Became a Wing: Drafted in 2004, debuted in Detroit in 2005-06.

• Known as: The Mule, courtesy of former teammate Steve Yzerman, who judged Franzen capable of carrying the load.

• Known for: Developing into a premier power forward, being a big-time playoff performer.

GOALTENDER DANIEL LARSSON

• Became a Swede: Feb. 7, 1986, in Boden.

• Became a Wing: Drafted in 2006; yet to debut in Detroit.

• Known as: Lars.

• Known for: Being from even farther north in Sweden than Holmstrom, potentially increasing the Wings Swedish presence to include goaltending.

Contact HELENE ST. JAMES: 313-222-2295 or hstjames@freepress.com



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Florida's Tebow released from Lexington hospital - Louisville Courier-Journal

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 10:00 AM PDT

GAINESVILLE, Fla. Florida quarterback Tim Tebow has been released from a Lexington, Ky., hospital, about 12 hours after taking a hard hit to the head against Kentucky.

Coach Urban Meyer said Sunday that Tebow sustained a concussion when he was sacked by defensive end Taylor Wyndham in the third quarter Saturday night. Tebow's head struck teammate Marcus Gilbert's leg, violently bending his neck forward.

Tim is doing fine this morning, Meyer said in a statement. His CT scans came back and indicated that Tim suffered a concussion. Our medical and athletic training staff will continue to monitor him to determine how much rest and recovery he needs. We will have additional information and updates this week.

Tebow was traveling back to Gainesville on Sunday morning.

The top-ranked Gators (4-0) are off next week, then play at LSU on Oct. 10. It might be several days, maybe even longer, before Tebow's status becomes clearer for what could be the toughest game on the defending national champions' schedule.

It would be even tougher without Tebow, the 2007 Heisman Trophy winner and the heart and soul of the Gators.

But his release surely was welcome news for Florida fans who watched Tebow lay motionless on the field at Commonwealth Stadium.

The Gators were leading 31-7 and driving deep in Kentucky territory when Tebow was sacked. Tebow eventually sat up with some help, then slowly made his way off the field. Florida's medical staff attended to him on the bench and his parents came down from the stands to join him.

He started vomiting a common symptom of concussions and was carted off the field. About a dozen Gators fans showed up at the University of Kentucky Medical Center after the game, standing outside in the rain and wishing the best for Tebow.

The injury ended what had been another impressive performance from the senior. He ran for 123 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and threw for 103 yards and a score numbers that seemed unimportant the second he hit the turf.

Oddly, his day began with questions about his health.

Tebow was one of several Gators who took a separate plane to Lexington because of respiratory and congestion issues, leading to speculation he wouldn't play.

If Tebow wasn't feeling well, it didn't show. He walked off the field following pregame warmups trading head slaps with teammate Brandon Spikes and nearly sprinted into the huddle on Florida's first possession.



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Comments taken on Chequamegon-Nicolet road use - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Posted: 27 Sep 2009 09:24 AM PDT

Sept. 27, 2009 11:22 a.m.

The Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest is accepting public comments through Nov. 30 as managers consider updates to the forest's Motor Vehicle Use Map.

The first MVUM was published in February 2009; it displays roads and trails designated as open to public motorized travel. The MVUM is available free of charge at any of CNNF office and on-line at: www.fs.fed.us/r9/cnnf/MVUM/index.html.

An updated MVUM is planned for March, 2010. The public has the opportunity to provide comments for roads and trails to be added to or removed from the 2009 MVUM. The deadline to submit comments is Nov. 30.

Public comments should be specific, including if possible: road number; whether you want highway legal vehicles (HLV) and/or All Terrain Vehicles (ATV), or no use designated; and a brief rationale for the request.

Requests may be submitted by downloading the "Road Request Form" from the website listed above or by mailing the request in any form to: CNNF, Attn: MVUM, 1170 4th Ave. S., Park Falls, WI, 54552.

The Travel Management Rule (TMR) was published in the Federal Register in 2005 as a way to address unmanaged motorized recreation. The rule requires designation of roads and trails open to public motor vehicle use. The MVUM is a tool that national forests are using to display the designated network of roads and trails available for public motorized use.

According to CNNF officials, the forest has made a commitment to places signs on all of the roads and trails displayed on the 2009 MVUM. The work is expected to be completed this fall.

To date, officials have received requests on approximately 300 roads. The MVUM is updated annually. Contact Joan Marburger at (715) 762-5178 with questions.



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