Massive Computer Failure In Virginia

Richmond, Va. --

A massive computer failure is crippling Virginia government, knocking out websites, blocking the issuance of driver's licenses, preventing the processing of jobless benefits and delaying welfare payments.

The outage, flaring Wednesday afternoon and expected to disrupt some services through the weekend, is attributed to 228 malfunctioning servers, which supply shared software and applications to clusters of state agency computers.

Twenty-six of more than 80 state agencies were hit by the shutdown, including the office of Gov. Bob McDonnell.

"We're disappointed to have a failure, an outage of this magnitude," Samuel A. Nixon Jr., head of the Virginia Information Technologies Agency, said yesterday. "No matter what you do, it's going to happen on occasion."

The incident is the latest embarrassment for VITA and Northrop Grumman, the company the state hired in 2005 to provide computer and communications services under a $2.3 billion contract -- Virginia's richest-ever privatization deal.

VITA and the firm, whose headquarters was lured to Northern Virginia from California by McDonnell, have quarreled for months over shoddy, expensive service. This past spring, VITA and the company announced a new agreement giving an additional $236 million to Northrop Grumman in return for a pledge of better service.

The Rain family of Lynchburg was hit twice by the computer blackout.

Marc Rain Jr., on his way to Old Dominion University in Norfolk, had lost his driver's license and tried to get it reissued Wednesday at the Department of Motor Vehicles office in Lynchburg, and then again yesterday in Richmond.

"We were dropping him off at college," said Rain's mother, Shelly Rain.

None of DMV's 74 offices could process license applications and may not be able to do so again until Monday, officials said. DMV still is handling other transactions, including vehicle decals and titles, and driving and vehicle records.

With its website inaccessible, thousands of out-of-work Virginians could not file jobless claims with the Virginia Employment Commission.

"Access to our website is down 100 percent," said VEC spokeswoman Joyce Fogg. "So no one can get to our website, not even us."

The Virginia Department of Social Services, which, among other things, manages child-support payments and aid to needy families, reports that the outage is disrupting benefits.

"It appears that some benefit payments will be delayed, but we will know more [today]," said spokeswoman Carla Hill. "We are still assessing and are doing everything we can to get back to normal business processes as quickly as possible."

Nixon, appointed by McDonnell under a new law strengthening gubernatorial control over VITA, said that the shutdown -- apparently the largest for the state since 2007 -- occurred about 3:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Nixon said 228 of 3,600 servers were affected when technicians for EMC, a Northrop Grumman subcontractor, were checking for faulty equipment. Nixon said he believes state computer data are largely intact.

Nixon also said that the interruption was of insufficient magnitude to activate a backup system at a duplicate computer center in Russell County, in Southwest Virginia.

Nixon said it is too early to determine whether Northrop Grumman will be punished financially because of the outage. The latest contract, which extends the company's deal with the state from 10 to 13 years, includes new penalties for poor service.

"It depends on how long the outage remains," Nixon said.

Megan Mitchell, a spokeswoman for Northrop Grumman, said, "Knowledgeable and dedicated staff at the agencies, VITA and Northrop Grumman are working together to respond appropriately to the impacted systems.

She added, "It is our priority to minimize these impacts and restore services as quickly as possible."

However, the incident alarmed legislators already skeptical about the effectiveness of the VITA-Northrop Grumman deal, its rising cost to taxpayers and implications for other privatization ventures.

"It's pretty obvious that Northrop Grumman continues to underperform, and I think it would have been wise for the governor to require quality performance before extending the contract for three years," said Sen. Janet D. Howell, D-Fairfax, a member of the Senate Finance Committee.

"This is a sign that privatization is very complicated and should be entered into with caution."

www.timesdispatch.com

Riding Students Raise Money To Save Horse From Slaughter

These young ladies have already begun to make a difference in this world. Be sure to visit the website.

SELBYVILLE -- The "kill pit" is where horses unworthy of auction are kept.

They are broken, bleeding and on the brink of death, awaiting transport to a foreign slaughterhouse.

"There was a horse there in extreme pain, suffering from stomach colic and a broken leg," said Shelley Wright-Estevam, owner of Sweet Meadow Stable. "While he was trying to lay down to relieve his pain, his rope was tied too short to find any comfort."

Moments later, she said, the horse died.

For 10 years, Wright-Estevam has been traveling to the New Holland Sales Stable in New Holland, Pa., to purchase horses that would otherwise be sold to slaughterhouses. She's rescued about 20 horses. This year, a group of her riding students took up the cause and purchased Rosco, a 5-year-old quarter horse cross.

"He was cute as a button," said Peyton Carter, 13. "We bid on him because he was in our price range and he turned out to be the most wonderful horse."

The other girls involved are Tarryn Chichester, 15, Rebecca Saltzman, 17, Taylor Smith, 16, and Andi Wade, 14. All live in the Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach area.

Tarryn Chichester, 15, of Reston, Va., Rebecca Saltzman, 17, of Randolph, N.J., , Peyton Carter, 13, of Rehoboth Beach, Taylor Smith, 16, of Ellicott City, Md., Andi Wade, 14, of Selbyville and Sweet Meadow Stable owner Shelly Wright-Estevam pose with Rosco, whom the girls rescued from slaughter. (Scott Nathan photo)

If you help Contact Mindi or Peyton Carter at 302-227-6364 to find out how you can help rescue horses. For more information on Sweet Meadow Stable, visit www.sweetmeadowstable.com.

Carter and her friends began raising funds for Rosco early this summer, through bake sales, baby-sitting, business sponsorships and other means. They raised more than $1,000. With taxes, Rosco cost $505. According to Wright-Estevam, all horses worth less than $700 are purchased by "killer buyers," who ship the animals to Canada or Mexico where they are processed for their meat.

"All horses are slaughtered for human consumption in foreign countries," Wright-Estevam said. "With a large racing industry, America is the largest producer of horse meat."

Rosco lucked out.

"We already have a few people interested in buying him," Carter said. "But we have to make sure that whoever takes him does not plan to send him back to auction."

The girls have dubbed their effort "The Sweet Meadow Stable 2010 Rescue Team," and plan to continue raising funds to purchase more horses. Mindi Carter, Peyton's mother, said the girls could use all the community support they can get.

"They are doing this pretty much on their own, with guidance from their instructor, while learning valuable life lessons along the way," she said.

www.delmarvanow.com

Struggling Cities Shut Firehouses in Budget Crisis

Fire departments around the nation are cutting jobs, closing firehouses and increasingly resorting to “rolling brownouts” in which they shut different fire companies on different days as the economic downturn forces many cities and towns to make deep cuts that are slowing their responses to fires and other emergencies.

Philadelphia began rolling brownouts this month, joining cities from Baltimore to Sacramento that now shut some units every day. San Jose, Calif., laid off 49 firefighters last month. And Lawrence, Mass., north of Boston, has laid off firefighters and shut down half of its six firehouses, forcing the city to rely on help from neighboring departments each time a fire goes to a second alarm.

Fire chiefs and union officials alike say it is the first time they have seen such deep cuts in so many parts of the country. “I’ve never seen it so widespread,” said Harold A. Schaitberger, the general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.

The risks of cutting fire service were driven home here last month when Bentley Do, a 2-year-old boy who was visiting relatives, somehow got his hands on a gum ball, put it in his mouth, started laughing and then began choking.

“It blocked the air hole,” said his uncle, Brian Do, who called 911 while other relatives frantically tried to dislodge the gum ball. “No air could flow in and out.”

It is only 600 steps from the front door of the neatly kept stucco home where the boy was staying to the nearest fire station, just down the block. But the station was empty that evening: its engine was in another part of town, on a call in an area usually covered by an engine that had been taken out of service as part of a brownout plan.

The police came to the home within five minutes and began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation, officials said. But it took nine and a half minutes — almost twice the national goal of arriving within five minutes — for the fire engine, with a paramedic and more medical equipment, to get there. An ambulance came moments later and took Bentley to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The San Diego Fire-Rescue chief, Javier Mainar, said it was impossible to say whether the delay contributed to Bentley’s death on July 20. But he said there was no doubt that the city’s brownouts, which take 13 percent of firefighters off the streets each day to save $11.5 million annually, led to the delay.

“You can just lock everything down and look at it sequentially, chronologically, as to what occurred,” Chief Mainar said in an interview. “There is no question that the brownout of Engine 44 resulted in Engine 38 having to take a response in that community, and because of that, Engine 38 was now out of position to respond to something that happened just down the street from their fire station.”

Fire service was once a sacred cow at budget time. But the downturn has lingered so long that many cities, which have already made deep cuts in other agencies, are now turning to their fire departments.

Some are trying to wrest concessions from unions, which over the years have won generous pension plans that allow many firefighters to retire in their 40s and 50s — plans that many cities say are unaffordable. Others want to reduce minimum-staffing requirements, which often force them to resort to costly overtime to fill shifts. Others are simply cutting service.

Analysts worry that some of the cuts could be putting people and property in danger. As the downturn has worn on, ISO, an organization that evaluates cities’ fire protection capabilities for the insurance industry, has downgraded more cities, said Michael R. Waters, ISO’s vice president of risk-detection services.

“This is generally due to a reduction in firefighting personnel available for responding to calls, a reduction in the number of responding fire apparatus, and gaps in the optimal deployment of apparatus or deficiencies in firefighter training programs,” Mr. Waters said in a statement.

Several fire chiefs said in interviews that the cuts were making them nervous.

“It’s roulette,” said Chief James S. Clack of the Baltimore City Fire Department, which recently reduced the number of fire units closed each day to three from six. Officials saw that the closings in the 55-unit department were in some cases leading to longer response times. “I’m always worried that something’s going to happen where one of these companies is closed.”

Early in his mayoralty, Michael R. Bloomberg of New York closed six fire companies to save money. This year, a threat to close 20 more — a 6 percent reduction in New York’s fire companies — was averted when the city found savings elsewhere.

Several cities — including Lawrence — have said that they were forced to cut service because the unions failed to make concessions. Mr. Schaitberger, the union president, who was here for a union convention, said that protecting the pensions his members have won over the years was a top priority this year.

The pension issue has an added resonance in San Diego. The city was forced to consider a bankruptcy filing even before the Great Recession, and was barred from raising money by selling bonds to the public after officials disclosed that they had shortchanged the pension fund for city workers for years, even as they improved pension benefits. San Diego’s pension fund has only two-thirds of the money it needs to pay the benefits promised to retirees, according to an updated calculation made by the city in the spring, and faces a shortfall of $2.1 billion.

So even before the recession and the brownouts, fire service in San Diego was stretched thin. A previous San Diego fire chief, Jeff Bowman, was hired in 2002 with a mandate to build up the department, but he resigned in 2006, after the pension-fueled fiscal crisis surfaced and it became clear that he would not get the money to build and staff the extra fire stations he believed were needed. “The question is whether fire protection is adequate, and in my opinion it’s not,” he said in an interview.

After Bentley Do died, the City Council agreed to put a question on the ballot in November asking voters to approve a sales tax increase, which could be put in place only if the city adopts certain budget and pension reforms. The money could restore the fire service and help close a deep budget gap projected for next year.

But it would come too late for the Do family. Bentley, whose father, Nam Do, an American, was working in Vietnam as an architect, was just visiting San Diego with his mother, Mien Nguyen. Ms. Nguyen, who was six months pregnant, was here to take the oath of United States citizenship. She was sworn in the day after Bentley died, Brian Do, the uncle, said, but she fainted when she got her certificate and was taken to the hospital. Nam Do left his job in Vietnam to come here to grieve for his son, and goes to a temple every day, Brian Do said.

He said that the family had no plans to sue the city. “We’re not blaming the city or blaming the Fire Department,” he said, “but the reason I speak out is because I want them to do a better job for other people.”

www.nytimes.com

Surfers Prepare For Hurricane Swells

VIRGINIA BEACH

After a day of outstanding surf Wednesday, organizers of the 48th annual East Coast Surfing Championships at the Oceanfront were expecting conditions to diminish for much of Thursday's preliminary heats.

There's nothing like a good surprise.

"It's actually been pretty good," competition director Paul West said early Thursday afternoon. "The tide is going out right now, and that's the worst time. But you can see we've still got some decent sets rolling in."

Good news for a guy who is trying to pare a field that started at more than 800 competing in 34 divisions for amateurs and professionals.

West said he already had narrowed most adult amateur divisions to the finals. He expected to have most other amateur divisions down to the same point by the end of today.

Some professional preliminaries have concluded, and more will take place today to get the fiel down to the "main event" - essentially the quarterfinals.

West said only the hottest surfers will be left Saturday, when ground swells being pushed in from Hurricane Danielle are expected to arrive.

"The weekend will be nothing but the best," West said. "Some of the best pros in the world are here - the people you see in the surfing magazines."

West said Saturday's pro heats will surround two special events - the Quiksilver Super Grom for the youngest surfers and the Joel Tudor Duck Tape Invitational longboard showcase.

"The Joel Tudor is going to be pretty awesome," West said. "Some of the best longboard surfers in the world are going to be here. They'll be surfing on old-style boards that have to weigh at least 12 pounds and have single fins. They're very difficult to surf on. But these folks are the best, and the bigger swells could help."

In the Super Grom, children will catch waves with the assistance of adults. Since its inception at the ECSC a decade ago, the Super Grom has become one of the most popular spectator portions of the event.

West said competitors are putting forth their best efforts to make it to the weekend's better conditions - which, according to Wave Watch, should be overhead by Sunday.

"We're going to have some of the best amateur and professional surfers showing off their stuff all day Sunday, and they're going to be doing it on a hurricane swell," West said, beaming. "No way you could ask for anything more than that."

www.hamptonroads.com

This Weekend At The MARVA THEATER

The Mar-Va Theater presents Neil Simon's comedy, "The Star-Spangled Girl"

Greetings! Join us this weekend for food and fun! Andy and Norman are two earnest young men using their apartment as a publishing office when Sophie, an Olympic swimmer and all-American girl, moves into the apartment next door. Love and politics blend delightfully in a bubbling series of funny happenings, misinformation, assumptions and close calls with the landlady that sets the stage for a raucous comedy crafted from the masterly skill and inventiveness that are the hallmarks of Neil Simon. Advanced tickets for Friday and Saturday PLAYS available at: - Country Blossoms - Market St. Deli - Pocomoke Chamber of Commerce - T's Corner For Saturday DINNER THEATER tickets call: Kathryn Redden 443-614-0830 Laura Morrison 410-957-1960 Kathy Breithut 443-783-2061 Friday, Aug 27th Play: 8 p.m. $15 Sat, Aug 28th Play without dinner: 8:00 p.m. $15 Sat, Aug 28th Dinner Theater: Cocktails 6:00 p.m. Dinner 6:30 p.m. Play 8:00 p.m. $40 Dinner Theater All American Menu: fried chicken scalloped potatoes green beans rolls iced tea selection of pies *beer and wine cash bar*

The Most Serious Attack On Pentagon Computers

WASHINGTON (AP) - A foreign spy agency pulled off the most serious breach of Pentagon computer networks ever by inserting a flash drive into a U.S. military laptop, a top defense official said Wednesday.

The previously classified incident, which took place in 2008 in the Middle East, was disclosed in a magazine article by Deputy Defense Secretary William J. Lynn and released by the Pentagon Wednesday.

He said a "malicious code" on the flash drive spread undetected on both classified and unclassified Pentagon systems, "establishing what amounted to a digital beachhead, from which data could be transferred to servers under foreign control."

"It was a network administrator's worst fear: a rogue program operating silently, poised to deliver operational plans into the hands of an unknown adversary," Lynn wrote in an article for Foreign Affairs. "This ... was the most significant breach of U.S. military computers ever and it served as an important wake-up call."

The Pentagon operation to counter the attack, known as Operation Buckshot Yankee, marked a turning point in U.S. cyberdefense strategy, Lynn said.

In November 2008, the Defense Department banned the use of the small high-tech storage devices that are used to move data from one computer to another. The ban was partially lifted early this year with the approval of limited use of the devices.

Lynn did not disclose what, if any, military secrets may have been stolen in the 2008 penetration of the system, what nation orchestrated the attack, nor whether there were any other repercussions.

The article went on to warn that U.S. adversaries can threaten American military might without building stealth fighters, aircraft carriers or other expensive weapons systems.

"A dozen determined computer programmers can, if they find a vulnerability to exploit, threaten the United States' global logistics network, steal its operational plans, blind its intelligence capabilities, or hinder its ability to deliver weapons on target," Lynn wrote.

"Knowing this, many militaries are developing offensive capabilities in cyberspace, and more than 100 foreign intelligence organizations are trying to break into U.S. networks," he said.

Defense officials have said repeatedly that the military system of some 15,000 computer networks and seven million computers suffers millions of probes a day with threats coming from a range of attackers from routine hackers to foreign governments looking to steal sensitive information or bring down critical, life-sustaining systems.

www.wavy.com

Workers Claim Bones At Construction Site

ONANCOCK -- Could Onancock's new $12 million wastewater treatment plant be built on top of a burial ground? Paul Smith of Wattsville talks about what he says are skeletal remains that he turned over to the town of Onancock on Tuesday. Smith, a pipe layer, said he found the bones while working on the town's new wastewater treatment plant but alleges he was threatened by the project manager not to disclose the discovery.

A worker at the site alleges the manager for the construction project swore workers to secrecy after human skeletal remains were found on the site last year.

Paul Smith, a pipe layer who was laid off last week from the nearly completed project, this week brought a collection of bones he says were found there to the Onancock Town Office.

"We found bodies all over that job site," said Smith, who until he was laid off, worked for Galway Bay Corp. of Mount Braddock, Pa., the company building the plant.

"It must have been an old cemetery," he said.

Smith said workers told the manager about finding bones that appeared to be human, but he allegedly told them to keep quiet.

"If we say anything, we're ... done, is what he told us," Smith said. "It was all about the mighty dollar."

The bones Smith handed over to the town included a human jawbone, some teeth, a femur attached to a hip socket and another leg bone -- all of which he said were dug up during the plant's construction.

He also said another worker had found a complete human skull.

The remains were turned over to the Accomack County Sheriff's Office and will be taken to the medical examiner's office in Norfolk, Va., for identification, said Major Todd Godwin.

A second worker, Thomas Parks of Onancock, said he found "probably 20 or 30 bones" that appeared to be human at the site. He also claims he was told by the boss not to say anything.

"I just started stockpiling them," Parks said, adding that the manager's dismissal of the discoveries troubled him. "I was really frustrated about him not saying anything about it -- this is my home; I grew up here."

When reached for comment, Galway Bay President Greg Maynard said he became aware of Smith's allegations only a half hour before when he received a telephone call from Onancock Town Manager Sandy Manter.

Manter was out of town Wednesday and a receptionist at the town office referred all inquiries to the Sheriff's Office.

Maynard said after speaking with Manter he called the project manager, who denied knowing about human remains being found at the site.

The manager in question had "no knowledge of it happening; it was never reported to him by the workers," Maynard said.

Some 20-30 workers were on the job and many knew about the grisly discoveries, Smith said.

"All the electricians knew. Anybody that was on a backhoe knew," Parks said.

Smith said he kept the bones he found inside a shed at his home.

"It was an emotional burden," he said, but added he feared his livelihood would be endangered if he revealed their existence.

Parks moved back in with his parents after he was let go from the job and said the bones he found, mostly leg bones, are packed away among his stored belongings in a box from the job site labeled "mixed parts."

"That's just a bad joke," he said.

Parks said he originally thought reburying the bones himself once construction was completed would be "a respectful thing," but said he now plans to turn them over to authorities.

Last fall, two 19th century headstones were found at the plant site and an archaeologist was brought in to investigate. He concluded they likely came from a cemetery in Belle Haven.

Smith said he and other employees were "told to get out" and given three days off without pay during the period when the archeological survey was conducted.

Workers found the skeletal remains about 200 feet north of where the headstones were found, in a location between an old concrete tank and some metal tanks, Smith said.

Parks said the hole from which he saw human remains being pulled out was "at least 6-8 feet deep." The location is now covered by concrete, wires and pipes, he said.

www.delmarvanow.com

Woman's Unclaimed Body Left In Hearse For Nine Days

RALEIGH A body's journey in the back of a hearse is grim but usually brief.

That was not the case, though, for Linda Walton.

On Friday, nine days after a mortuary service picked up Walton's corpse from an apartment in Carrboro, police were called to investigate a foul odor in downtown Graham, a small Alamance County town about 55 miles west of Raleigh.

Investigators traced the smell to a hearse owned by David B. Lawson Mortuary, the undertaker that picked up Walton's body Aug. 11. Walton, 37, who investigators think died about a week before she was discovered, was still in the back of the undertaker's vehicle.

The gruesome find set off an investigation by police and the Alamance County district attorney's office. Their findings have sparked an inquiry by the N.C. Board of Funeral Service, which is responsible for the administration and regulation of the profession of funeral service in North Carolina.

Police do not suspect foul play in Walton's death. But investigators had not determined whether Lawson, the owner of the mortuary service that had her body, had run afoul of the law.

Lawson, a licensed funeral director and embalmer in North Carolina for 34 years, did notrespond to phone calls seeking comment.

Capt. Joel Booker of the Carrboro police department said Lawson's service was called after investigators couldn't find Walton's next of kin. Police believed that she had died of natural causes so there would be no autopsy ordered by the state medical examiner.

Lawson Mortuary, Booker said, was on a list of mortuaries that would pick up bodies. Carrboro investigators said when Lawson's showed up at the apartment in western Carrboro, investigators told the driver that they were having difficulty finding Walton's family.

"What the investigators told me is Lawson's said, 'Not a problem. We'll put her in deep-freeze,'" Booker said. "So off they go, and that's the last we know of it until we heard from Graham police last week."

It was unclear whether Lawson's had a refrigerated unit for storing bodies.

www.charlotteobserver.com

Onley Man Found Not Quilty In Pennsylvania Case

Jurors in northeastern Pennsylvania have acquitted and Eastern Shore man on all counts in the murder of a camp counselor almost two decades ago.

The panel deliberated for about three and a half hours last night before finding 47 year old Jeffrey Plishka of Onley, not guilty in the 1991 slaying of 24 year old Laura Ronning in a remote part of Wayne County.

Plishka was released from custody after the verdict and left the courthouse with his father, opera singer Paul Plishka and stepmother.

Ronning was a counselor at Camp Cayuga when she disappeared on July 27, 1991 while walking to Tanner's Falls. Her body was discovered the next morning.

The defense argued there wasn't enough evidence to convict and sought to shift blame to tow unknown men seen flirting with the victim a few days later.
www.shoredailynews.com

GUMBORO MUDBOG WELCOMES OUR SOLDIERS

Charity Event For the Soldiers At Walter Reed Hospital!

Come out and show your support for our wounded warriors. The August 28th Charity Event is for the soldiers at Walter Reed Hospital!

This Saturday roughly 65 soldiers and some family members from the Walter Reed Hospital will roll onto Delmarva and attend the Gumboro Mudbog!

These courageous men and women are the same men and women that risked life and limb so that we remain free today!

And these are the brave men and women that gave their time and dedication to us and to this great country that we all share. It is safe to say that without them, without their sacrifices, without their loyalty and devotion to ALL of us and America, even small events like the races we plan to attend would not be the same.

Make plans Delmarva, to be at the Gumboro Mudbog on Saturday to show these wonderful heroes just how much we appreciate what they have all done. Let's show these fine, devoted people how Delmarva celebrates HEROES!

LET'S GIVE THEM A HEROES WELCOME AND MAKE THEM PROUD OF US! And let's make this the biggest charity Gumboro Mudbog has ever had!

Admission: Adults $7.00
Children under 10 Free (ALL CHILDREN MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY AN ADULT!!!)

Pit admission will now be $5 per person.

All drivers & 1 crew person FREE in pits

Gate opens at 11:00 AM
Race will begin @ 1:00pm

Don't forget the kids!! POWER WHEEL RACING AT EACH EVENT!!

Registration will be held from 11:00am until 12:30pm
(Mini-open & Unlimited Classes $50 to register)

ALL EVENTS WILL BE “RUN FOR MONEY ”
(Cash prize determined by number of participants per class)
*****RAFFLES THROUGHOUT THE DAY*****
NOTICE
NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ALLOWED
NO EXCESS VEHICLES IN THE PITS.

For more information on racing and for directions go to www.gumboromudbog.com

SKELETAL REMAINS FOUND

According to Major Todd Godwin, on Tuesday, August 24, the Accomack County Sheriff's Office received a report from the Town of Onancock regarding bones that were allegedly found at a construction site near the Onancock Treatment Plant.

The remains were discovered by a former employee of a contractor for the Town of Onancock and were taken to the town office. Further investigation revealed that during the early stages of construction at this site, a headstone from 1800's was found and work was ceased until the site was cleared by the James River Institute for Archaeology and the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

Major Godwin stated the skeletal remains are being transported to the Medical Examiners Office in Norfolk, Virginia and the investigation is continuing.

www.shoredailynews.com

Weather Prediction Looks Good For Courtney Bloxom Benefit Poker Run

Don't forget the POKER RUN this weekend.

Courtney Bloxom is a local girl who remains in the hospital in Richmond, Virginia recovering from serious injuries she suffered in an auto acccident in May. She is making progress in her recovery but has a long way to go. Through the past months her mother has been by her side while friends, relatives and even strangers continue to send her prayer through "Prayers For Courtney" on her facebook page.

So make plans to "ride for the cause" and let's help Courtney and her family with some of those expenses.

Look for this sign on the highway.

If you can't ride on Saturday stop by and leave a donation. And a prayer.
Send us your photos!

Be safe.

Jimmy Carter To Go To North Korea To Secure Release Of Aijalon Mahli Gomes

Jimmy Carter to the rescue?

The former president is planning to leave for North Korea on Tuesday in hopes of securing the release of an American man who was put behind bars for illegally entering the communist nation, according to U.S. officials.

The country agreed to free 31-year-old Aijalon Mahli Gomes if Carter came to retrieve him.

The Boston resident was teaching English in South Korea, but was sent to eight years in a hard labor camp and fined $700,000 on Jan. 25 for allegedly crossing into North Korea and for an unspecified "hostile act."

Two officials who spoke anonymously because the sensitivity of the situation, told the Associated Press that Carter will spend one night in North Korea and will return with Gomes on Friday.

A senior U.S. official said that Carter is not representing the U.S. government and was going on the mission solely for humanitarian purposes. In early August, state department officials secretly took part in a failed mission to North Korea in attempt to free Gomes.

The case mirrors that of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, two American journalists detained in North Korea after they crossed illegally into North Korea. Former president Bill Clinton went to the country in August 2009 to secure their release at the request of the communist country.

It is not clear why Gomes entered North Korea. He had previously attended protests in Seoul in support of Robert Park, a U.S. missionary who entered the country to protest human rights abuses. Park was eventually released.

Gomes had tried to commit suicide in the labor camp last month, North Korean news agencies reported.

www.nydailynews.com

Meats Sold At Wal-mart Are Recalled

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Roast beef and ham that was distributed to Wal-Mart delicatessens nationwide and sold in sandwiches has been recalled because it might be tainted with potentially harmful bacteria, officials said yesterday.

No illnesses have been reported from the 380,000 pounds of meat products that were made by Tyson Foods unit Zemco Industries in Buffalo and may contain Listeria, said Gary Mickelson, spokesman for Springdale, Ark.-based Tyson.

"It's believed most of the affected products have already been consumed," he said. The sandwiches have been removed from store shelves nonetheless.

It wasn't immediately clear how many stores sold the meat products. A spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the nation's largest retailer, could not say where it was sold.

The products being recalled were all labeled as Marketside Grab and Go Sandwiches.

www.timesdispatch.com

Attorney Gernerals Along With Cuccinelli Want Adult Listings Removed From Craigslist

RICHMOND

The online classified advertising site Craigslist has been asked by a group of state attorneys general, including Virginia's Ken Cuccinelli, to remove its adult services listings category, which they say features ads for prostitution and "trafficking children."

A bipartisan assembly of prosecutors from 17 states this week sent a letter to Craigslist officials calling for "immediate action to end the misery for the women and children who may be exploited and victimized by these ads."

According to Cuccinelli, the recent letter follows a 2008 agreement between state prosecuters and Craigslist owners who pledged to step up monitoring for illegal activity and to coordinate with local law enforcement.

Since then, Cuccinelli contends, there hasn't been much evidence to suggest that the number of "illegal advertisements on the Web site" has been reduced.

"The Adult Services section of Craigslist.com has become a forum for inviting illegal - and potentially very dangerous - activity throughout Virginia," Cuccinelli said in a statement about the joint letter. "Given the frequency that law enforcement finds these ads on the site, it seems clear that whatever monitoring Craigslist may be doing of posts is not sufficient."

Cuccinelli's office plans to contact Virginia sheriffs and police chiefs about potential illegal activity on Craigslist and has offered the investigative assistance of the attorney general's computer crimes sections.

In a statement, Craigslist said: "We strongly support the Attorneys General desire to end trafficking in children and women, through the Internet or by any other means. We hope to work closely with them, as we are with experts at nonprofits and in law enforcement, to prevent misuse of our site in facilitation of trafficking, and to combat such crimes wherever they appear, online or offline."

www.hamptonroads.com

14 Year Old Girl Charged With Murder In Suspected Gang Initiation

A 14-year-old girl was being charged Tuesday night with first-degree murder for a shooting in East Baltimore earlier this month, a spokesman said.

Arteesha Holt was processed at the Central Booking Intake Center late Tuesday and would be charged in the shooting death of Jose Gonzales, Agent Donny Moses, a department spokesman, said late Tuesday.

Police said the incident was an attempted robbery and may have been part of a gang initiation.

Holt tried to rob two men Aug. 13 in the 100 block of N. Linwood Ave, about a block north of Patterson Park, police said. When the men resisted, police say the girl shot them both.

One man survived, but Gonzales died Saturday from a gunshot wound to his head. The survivor's name has not been released.
www.baltimoresun.com

Photo Of Suspect Who Robbed Corner Mart/Oak Hall, Virginia

ACCOMACK COUNTY, Va. (WAVY) - An Accomack County convenience store was robbed late Saturday night, according to Major Todd Godwin.

The suspect walked into the Corner Mart in Oak Hall and robbed the clerk of money and merchandise. He fled the scene in a black step-side Chevrolet pickup.

Police released a surveillance photo of the suspect, from the store. If you recognize him, call the Accomack County Sheriff's Office at 787-1131 or 824-5666.

Mother Driving Drunk While Newborn In Back Seat

VIRGINIA BEACH - Virginia Beach Police arrested a woman for driving under the influence while her 3-week-old son was in the backseat.

Police say, last week 28-year-old Heather Maiers was caught speeding near Oceana Blvd. They say she was going 50 miles-per-hour in a 35 miles-per-hour zone. However, officers had a hunch that Maiers wasn't just guilty for speeding.

Virginia Beach Police spokesperson, Adam Bernstein says Maiers was given a breathalyzer test. After failing, he says Maiers still insisted she was fine. "It was a case where she felt like she was okay to drive," Bernstein says.

When officers tried to arrest her, police say she started screaming at them.

Bernstein says, "Extremely belligerent. Cursing at him especially when he began to lecture her about the dangers of drinking and driving while having her baby in the vehicle. Then she just laid into him."

NewsChannel 3 wanted to her Maiers' side of the story but someone at the house said the family was on vacation.

Maiers faces a list of charges including her second DUI charge, speeding, and felony child neglect.
www.wtkr.com

Northampton County Circuit Court

Northampton County Commonwealths Attorney Bruce Jones reports the following cases were heard in Northampton County Circuit Court:

Ernest Daniel Stith, 37 of Cape Charles, had probation revoked on an original charge of receiving a stolen firearm and will serve the original sentence of 9 years and 6 months in prison with an additional 2 years to serve.

Corey C. Wescott, 23 of Townsend, had probation revoked on an original charge of breaking and entering and destruction of property. Wesott was originally sentencd to 6 years imprisonment for the charges which was suspended pending the successful completion of the Detention and Diversion Center programs, restitution and supervised probation. Wescott will have to serve the 6 years and 7 additional months.

Bernard Anthony Brickhouse, 41 of Painter, had probation revoked on an original charge of grand larceny. Brickhouse was sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with all but 6 months suspended, ordered to pay $2,000 restitution and 2 years probation upon his release. Brickhouse will serve 4 years and 6 months in prison.

Joseph Alvin Doughty, 28 of Dover, De., had probation revoked on an original charge of a 3rd offense DUI. Doughty was originally sentenced to 5 years imprisonment with all but 6 months suspended, a $2,500 fine, operators license suspended indefinitely, and supervised probation for 5 years. Doughty will serve 2 years in prison and continued probation.

Dwayntavius Tyrone Eason, 29 of Chesapeake, Va., had probation revoked on an original charge of possession with intent to distribute more than ounce but less than five pounds of marijuana. Eason was originally sentenced to 5 years in prison with all time suspended. Eason will now serve time sentenced.

Lavar Anwar Washington, 28 of Willis Wharf, plead guilty to 2 counts of entering in the nighttime, 2 counts of grand larceny and auto theft of property.

Wiliam Mapp Cullen, 43 of Painter, was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment with all but 4 years suspended for 7 counts of embezzlement.

Elton Lewis Merritt, III, 20 of Cape Charles, was sentenced to 20 years for burglary and grand larceny, with all but 5 years suspended. Merritt was also sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for malicious wounding and 10 years for shooting into an occupied vehicle. The sentences will run concurrently with all but 5 years suspended. Merritt will also have 3 years of supervised probation.

Joshua Wayne Walton, 29 of Eastvile, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment for malicious wounding and 10 years for shooting into an occupied vehicle. The sentences will run concurrently with all but 7 years suspended.
www.shoredailynews.com

Virginia Beach Tourist Gets Throat Cut - Suspect Still On the Loose

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) - A woman visiting Virginia Beach was the victim of a violent attack.

She was walking along the beach, in the 2400 block of Whaler Court at 2 a.m. Saturday morning, when a man approached her.

According to police spokesperson Adam Berstein, the two exchanged words, then the suspect cut her throat and ran away.

The victim was taken to an area hospital. She is

expected to be okay.

However, some of the victim's neighbors said they enjoyed living along Cape Henry Beach until this incident. Carrick printed up a flyer to circulate in the neighborhood about the attack.

With the flyer, Carrick hopes residents will be careful. "Do not go down to the beach alone at night," he said. According to Carrick, people go down to the beach 24 hours a day.

His wife, Bernadette Carrick called the crime "absolutely outrageous."

Police said the suspect is still on the run.

If you have any information about this crime that could help police, call the Crime Line at 1-888-Lock-U-Up.

www.wavy.com

Miss Mexico Becomes Miss Universe

A 22-year-old Mexico woman won the Miss Universe pageant Monday night after donning a flowing red gown and telling an audience it's important to teach kids family values. Jimena Navarrete of Guadalajara was first to answer an interview question Monday night and the last of 83 contestants standing in the headline-grabbing pageant on the Las Vegas Strip.

Her one-strap gown flowed behind her like a sheet as she walked. Earlier, she smiled in a violet bikini as she confidently strutted across the stage.

Asked by Olympic gold-medal figure skater Evan Lysacek how she felt about unsupervised Internet use, Navarrete said the Internet is important but parents need to be careful and watch over their kids.

I do believe that Internet is an indispensable, necessary tool for the present time," she said through an interpreter. "We must be sure to teach them the values that we learned as a family."

First runner-up was Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps, while second runner-up was Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell.

Navarrete -- who's been modeling since she was 15 -- is Mexico's second Miss Universe. Lupita Jones of Mexico won the title in 1991. Navarrete replaces Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez of Venezuela.

Navarrete's win thwarted Miss Venezuela Marelisa Gibson from giving the South American country a third consecutive win. Neither Gibson nor Miss USA Rima Fakih made the top 15 finalists.

With fans in some 190 countries watching on television and keeping tabs on Twitter, Navarrete and her competitors introduced themselves while wearing over-the-top national costumes. They then danced in silver and black dresses for the show's opening number before the top 15 finalists were announced.

The final 15 walked in swimsuits while Cirque du Soleil musicians played Elvis Presley songs including "Viva Las Vegas." The last 10 impressed in their gowns while John Legend and the Roots played a soulful medley including "Save Room."

By the end of the show, seven of the top 10 trending topics on Twitter had to do with the pageant, its contestants, its judges or owner Donald Trump. The mogul co-owns the pageant with TV network NBC.

Navarrete won a package of prizes including an undisclosed salary, a luxury New York apartment with living expenses, a one-year scholarship to the New York Film Academy with housing after her reign, plus jewelry, clothes and shoes fit for a beauty champion.

Campbell won the Miss Congeniality Universe award. Miss Thailand Fonthip Watcharatrakul won Miss Photogenic Universe and a second award for having the best national costume.

www.foxnews.com

Peruvian Court To Issue Decision This Week On Van der Sloot's Confession

(Aug. 24) -- A Peruvian appellate court will issue a decision this week on whether to uphold the confession of Joran van der Sloot in the brutal slaying of a 21-year-old woman in Lima.

Some in the media speculate that if the confession is thrown out, van der Sloot could walk free. But an international defense expert doesn't believe the judges will even consider throwing out the confession.

"There's not a chance in hell," said Michael Griffith, senior partner at the International Legal Defense Counsel. "The judges live there, and the people know who the judges are. You see where I'm going? This won't be thrown out."

And even without the confession, Griffith said, "they have plenty of independent evidence."

Van der Sloot, a longtime suspect in the disappearance of U.S. teen Natalee Holloway, is accused of the May 30 slaying of Stephany Flores. The Peruvian business student was found dead in van der Sloot's hotel room in Lima on June 2. Van der Sloot has been charged with first-degree murder and robbery in the case.

After van der Sloot's arrest, officials in Peru announced he had made a full confession to Flores' murder. Van der Sloot said he broke Flores' neck in a fit of rage after she used his laptop to find out about his involvement in the Holloway case, officials said.

"I did not want to do it," van der Sloot allegedly said about the attack. "The girl intruded into my private life. She had no right. I went to her, and I hit her. She was scared. We argued, and she tried to escape. I grabbed her by the neck, and I hit her."

The Dutchman later retracted that confession, saying he was arrested without a warrant and was not provided with an official translator, which he says caused confusion during questioning. Van der Sloot also said his laptop was improperly searched.

"All this with the intention of pressuring me to accuse [myself] of homicide," the Dutch native said in the complaint, obtained by the Peruvian news program "24 Hours."

In June, Superior Court Judge Wilder Casique Alvizuri spent nearly a week examining the evidence in the case before ruling that van der Sloot's claim that his habeas corpus rights had been violated was "unfounded." Alvizuri said he determined that van der Sloot had not only a state-appointed attorney present during his depositions but also a Dutch-Spanish translator.

Van der Sloot's attorney immediately appealed the decision. The case has since gone before a panel of three Peruvian judges. They are expected to review the details of the confession and issue a ruling sometime this week.

"We believe we did a good job demonstrating that there wasn't an official translator and that his attorney did not have a document accrediting her as his attorney," van der Sloot's attorney, Maximo Altez Navarro, told "In Session" on Aug. 20.

If convicted of Flores' murder, van der Sloot could face 15 to 35 years in prison.

Griffith has counseled and represented clients in more than 40 countries on a variety of charges. His most renowned case, involving an American incarcerated in a Turkish prison, was the basis for the film and book "Midnight Express."

He said he's certain van der Sloot will go to trial, even without the confession. "They have the video of him going in the room, they have DNA [evidence] on his shirt, they have the consciousness of guilt because he tried to flee and they have video tapes [of them together] inside the casino," he said.

"There is more than enough persuasive evidence to hold this case over for trial," Griffith continued. "Take this one to the bank -- you can quote me on that. Case closed."
www.aolnews.com

Baseball Birthday Today

HAPPY 50th BIRTHDAY "IRON MAN" CAL RIPKIN, JR.

Cal Ripken Jr. played for the Baltimore Orioles from 1981-2001 and was inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in 2007. From May 30, 1982, through Sept. 19, 1998, Ripken played in a string of 2,632 consecutive games, a major league record that is known as "The Streak." On Sept. 6, 1995, he played in his 2,131st straight game, breaking Lou Gehrig's record and becoming baseball's Iron Man. Ripken was a 19-time All Star and two-time Most Valuable Player. He finished his career with 3,184 hits and 431 home runs. Ripken was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 1982 after hitting 28 home runs. "The Streak" began on May 30, 1982, when manager Earl Weaver started him at third base. The next season, he earned his first All-Star berth and was named the AL MVP, hitting .318 with 27 homers and 102 RBIs. The Orioles won the World Series that season, beating the Philadelphia Phillies in five games.
Ripken played every inning of every game in 1983. In 1987, Ripken's dad Cal Ripken Sr. became manager of the Orioles, and his brother Bill was called up from Triple-A Rochester. In 1990, Ripken began his major-league record streak of 95 straight games without an error. Ripken won his second AL MVP in 1991.
He also won a Gold Glove, was named MVP of the All-Star Game and won the All-Star home run contest that year. On Sept. 6, 1995, he broke Gehrig's streak and hit a home run against the California Angels. Ripken received a long standing ovation at Oriole Park at Camden Yards while he took a lap around the stadium, high-fiving fans. On July 15, 1996, Ripken started at third base for the first time since 1982. Ripken ended "The Streak" on Sept. 20, 1998, against the New York Yankees. Rookie Ryan Minor took his place at third base.


On June 19, 2001, Ripken announced his retirement.
Ripken was born in Havre de Grace, Md., on Aug. 24, 1960. The Orioles selected him in the second round of the 1978 draft. After retiring, he began Ripken Baseball, a sales and marketing company based in Baltimore that represents his business and philanthropic efforts, along with his brother Bill.

He is married to wife Kelly and has two kids -- a daughter, Rachel, born in 1989, and a son, Ryan, born in 1993.



http://www.chicagotribune.com/
photos BaltimoreSun

This one's for you, Missy.

Veteran's Affairs To Open Medical Annex

The VA Maryland Health Care System will open an annex next spring in the former world headquarters of Catholic Relief Services in Baltimore to help keep up with an increase in its patient population, fueled largely by a new generation of veterans returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Health system officials said the eight-level building on West Fayette Street in downtown Baltimore will be renovated starting later this summer or early fall and will contain a mix of outpatient services for veterans and administrative offices for the health system.

The project, less than four blocks east of the Baltimore VA Medical Center on North Greene Street, marks the center's first expansion since it opened in 1993 and is intended to help alleviate a space shortage there. It will bring about 250 VA employees to the Fayette Street property.
"We are decompressing our overcrowded facility on Greene Street so we can provide proper care for our patients," said Regina Litvin, a space planner for the health system.

The Fayette Street property has been vacant since Catholic Relief Services moved to the former Stewart's department store at Howard and Lexington streets in 2007. The health system, an affiliate of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, intends to lease the bulk of the building for five years, rather than purchase it.

Besides the 137-bed medical center on downtown Baltimore's west side, the health system has inpatient facilities at the Loch Raven VA Community Living and Rehabilitation Center on Loch Raven Boulevard in Baltimore and the Perry Point VA Medical Center in Cecil County.

The downtown center, which employs about 1,780 people, is the busiest facility in the Maryland system. From October 2009 through June 2010, the downtown center admitted 4,636 inpatients and had 312,343 outpatient visits. By contrast, the Perry Point center admitted 758 inpatients and had 93,884 outpatient visits during the same nine-month period, officials said.

Since 2001, 2.1 million service members have deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to the Department of Defense. Of those, 40,000 have been wounded in combat. And according to a study by the RAND Corp., a think tank, nearly one in five of them may be returning home with depression or post-traumatic stress disorder.

Representatives say the health system needs additional space close to its Greene Street medical center to serve its growing patient population, including veterans returning from recent wars and older veterans with ailments.

They say the health system also wants to accommodate advances in medical technology, support research, and to provide more outpatient services and clinics as well as specialized services, such as those for women.

The health system sought proposals more than a year ago from developers who could lease space close to both the downtown medical center and the University of Maryland Medical System and selected a proposal from 209 West Fayette LLC, a business group that had purchased the Fayette Street building from Catholic Relief Services.

The project almost unraveled earlier this year when the business group faced the prospect of losing the building to foreclosure after defaulting on a loan from PeoplesBank of York, Pa. An auction of the building was canceled at the last minute to give both parties more time to work out a way to accommodate the health system.

The project was revived this summer after 209 West Fayette LLC surrendered the property to PeoplesBank and the bank formed a subsidiary to hold the building and serve as a landlord to the health system. The bank's subsidiary hired a development company to oversee a $2.5 million renovation and is leasing the property to the health system.

The lease calls for the health system to occupy 56,000 of the building's 70,000 square feet of space. It will also get 100 parking spaces in a nearby garage. The health system plans to begin a second round of renovations and "tenant fit-out" work after it takes possession of the building in early 2011.

About half of the leased space will be dedicated to clinics for outpatient services such as rehabilitation therapy. The rest will be for administrative departments, including human resources. The renovated building is expected to be ready for occupancy by late March of 2011, several months behind the previous schedule.

"There's been a little bit of a delay, but otherwise it looks like it's going to turn out pretty well," said George Szwarcman, director of real property services for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Harry Swift, general counsel for PeoplesBank, said the bank doesn't typically hold and renovate investment properties, but this arrangement was the best way to keep the project moving ahead.

"We're a bank," Swift said. "It's not our general business to renovate an eight-story building in downtown Baltimore, but at this particular time it was an opportunity that presented itself … and we took it."
www.baltimoresun.com

Anne Frank's Beloved Chestnut Tree Felled By Storm

(Aug. 23) -- The giant chestnut tree that breathed life into Anne Frank's lonely hiding place in her Amsterdam attic has toppled over in a storm.

The trunk of the 150-year-old tree snapped a few feet from the ground today, missing the Anne Frank House museum but smashing into gardens and sheds. No one was injured.

"Someone yelled, 'It's falling. The tree is falling,' and then you heard it go down," museum spokeswoman Maatje Mostart told The Associated Press. "Luckily no one was hurt."

Evert Elzinga, AP

The splintered trunk of a monumental chestnut tree, which comforted Anne Frank while she hid from the Nazis during World War II, is seen after falling over on Monday in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. The tree's trunk snapped close to the ground, and it toppled into neighboring gardens.

Evert Elzinga / AP

In this April 7, 2008, file photo, cranes carrying workers stretch toward the chestnut tree, which was in the courtyard behind the Anne Frank House museum. The 27-ton tree was encased in a steel tripod as a precaution against falling.

The Jewish teenager described the tree as a source of comfort and beauty in the diary she kept as she hid from the Nazis during World War II.

"From my favorite spot on the floor I look up at the blue sky and the bare chestnut tree, on whose branches little raindrops shine, appearing like silver, and at the seagulls and other birds as they glide on the wind," she wrote in May 1944, when she was 14.

Three months later, Frank was betrayed and sent to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where she died of typhus. Her diary, published years after her death, is one of the most celebrated first-hand accounts of the Holocaust.

The tree was rotting in 2007 and being attacked by moths when officials in Amsterdam said it was a safety hazard and planned to chop it down. But after a worldwide campaign was launched to save the tree, the chestnut's trunk was enforced with steel instead.

However, today's storms proved too much for the tree, which is now in pieces in the yard outside the museum. Arnold Heertje of the Support Anne Frank Tree group said it was time to accept that nature had run its course.

"You have to bow your head to the facts. The tree has fallen and will be cut into pieces and disappear. The intention was not to keep this tree alive forever. It has lived for 150 years, and now it's over and we're not going to extend it," he told Reuters.

But earlier this year, saplings from the chestnut were sent to different locations around in the world, including the United States, according to The Jewish Weekly.

So perhaps a descendant will bloom again, just as lovely as Frank described her tree in another diary entry. "Our chestnut tree is in full blossom," she wrote. "It is covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year."

www.aolnews.com