Activities for children ; In brief

BRENTWOOD: A daytime activity camp for children is being laid onat Brentwood County High School.

The Barracudas Activity …

'Medical condition' allows Paris Hilton to trade Los Angeles County jail for home confinement

LOS ANGELES - After only three days behind bars, Paris Hilton traded a 12-by-8-foot cell for her 2,700-square-foot Hollywood Hills home on Thursday when she was released because of an unspecified medical condition.

Hilton will be under home confinement, wearing an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet, for the remaining 40 days of her sentence for violating probation in a reckless driving case.

The celebrity inmate was sent home from the L.A. County jail's Lynwood lockup shortly after 2 a.m., a stunning reduction to a sentence that already had been cut from 45 to 23 days because of "good behavior." Another two days were lopped off the original 45 since she checked in late …

UK lawmaker will not be charged over leaks

A British opposition lawmaker who received leaked government information will not be charged with any offense, Britain's Crown Prosecution Service said Thursday.

Damian Green, a legislator with the main opposition Conservative Party, was arrested in November over a series of leaks from the Home Office, the country's interior ministry.

The case sparked outrage among lawmakers after police made a rare raid inside Britain's House of Commons to search Green's office. Police are usually forbidden from entering Parliament without the consent of legislators.

The Crown Prosecution Service said there wasn't sufficient evidence to lay charges against …

5 from area win grants for study in Britain

Andrew Lewin began his space career in his Palatine home bybuilding a Lego model of a space shuttle orbiter with operationalpayload doors.

He has gone on to the Massachussets Institute of Technology tomajor in aeronautics and astronautics, helped build a space rocketand worked on a project that flew on a space shuttle mission thisyear.

Lewin is one of five Chicago area scholars and 40 nationwide whohave been awarded the British Marshall Scholarships for 1992. Asixth area student is a native of Maryland.

The scholarships were initiated in 1953 by the Britishgovernment to show appreciation to the United States for the aidreceived after World War II under …

Ex-offender accuses organization of being a con

Gerald Whitehead, a former gang member and ex-offender, thought he had finally found a place in society where he could shine.

Fresh out of prison and no longer affiliated with street gangs, Whitehead was striving in bis new trade-thanks to Sweet Beginnings, 3726 N. Floumoy, a non-profit organization on the West Side that assists ex-offenders with job training and placement. Sweet Beginnings is an entity of the North Lawndale Employment Network, a non-profit organization, which operates out of the same West Side location.

But Whitehead, 49, aUeges that the organization used him and other exoffenders as bait to secure grants.

"I went from working 40 hours per week to …

Finance ministers from euro area meet as currency nears high against dollar

Finance ministers from the euro currency zone's 15 nations are meeting Monday, days after the euro hit an all-time high against the U.S. dollar while inflation stands at record levels.

The euro purchased as much as US$1.5237 in early European trading _ making German cars and French champagne more expensive for the European Union's major trading partner, the United States _ coming close to the US$1.5238 high it hit on Friday on speculation of a U.S. interest rate this month.

The strong euro and high inflation in the euro area _ 3.2 percent in both January and February _ risk weakening the two main drivers of Europe's recent growth: an export boom abroad and …

LANGUAGE

Sharon Osbourne says she will be watching her language when hernew talk show starts on US television later this year.

Her and her Birmingham rocker husband Ozzy are known for theirsalty remarks on the hit …

Aging weather stations pose "critical risk"

In the fall of 2000, the Atikokan, Ontario, weather station, 150 km west of Thunder Bay, broke down completely. Suddenly, the Meteorological Service of Canada could not give an accurate weather forecast for the largest city in northwestern Ontario. The service had enough money to replace the weather station, but there are about 60 more decrepit stations across Canada that could fail at any moment, leaving residents at the mercy of dangerous and unforecasted storms.

Nancy Cutler, the service's director-general of policy and corporate affairs, said, "Yes, we can see (the storms) coming from the U.S. But in terms of getting the timing right, in terms of determining just where that …

Tri-Nations: Mortlock leads the way as Australia beats South Africa 16-9

Captain Stirling Mortlock fought off two tacklers to score the only try of the second half, giving Australia a 16-9 win over South Africa in a Tri-Nations rugby match Saturday.

Australia's win in its first match of this year's Tri-Nations, left the World Cup-champion Springboks with a 1-2 Tri-Nations record while New Zealand is 1-1. It was the fourth straight win for the Wallabies under new coach Robbie Deans.

Mortlock's try in the tight defensive game came in the 45th minute when he muscled his way through the South African defense to score in the corner. Matt Giteau missed the conversion but put Australia up 13-3 in the 51st minute with a penalty.

…

Weather Almanac

Yesterday's high 74

Record high 83, 1961

Normal high 61

Yesterday's low 48

Record low 23, 1951

Normal …

VERY LARGE HAILSTONES FROM AURORA, NEBRASKA

The Aurora, Nebraska, hailstorm of 22 June 2003 produced some exceptionally large hailstones, and was widely publicized. Nineteen hailstones obtained from local people have been sectioned and photographed and eight are illustrated here, recording their interior layering and external appearance. They exhibit great variability, with features that are common to large hail as well as one unusual growth form: a roughly prolate external shape indicating an approximately constant falling orientation during final growth, forming large, icicle-like projections at one end. Much of the growth is wet but not appreciably spongy, as appears to be common for large hail. While a hailstone from this storm …

Ellison: Oracle Unlikely to Pursue BEA

Oracle Corp. Chief Executive Larry Ellison told analysts Wednesday that the business software maker is more likely to pursue other takeover targets instead of renewing its recent $6.7 billion bid for rival BEA Systems Inc.

Ellison's remarks echoed statements that Oracle issued late last month when it withdrew an $17-per-share offer after BEA's board demanded $21 per share, or about $8.2 billion.

"If we made another offer, the price would be lower" than Oracle's original bid, Ellison said during a late afternoon meeting with analysts.

Despite the impasse, many analysts still believe San Jose-based BEA ultimately will be snapped up by Redwood …

US, NKorea discuss nuclear declaration

The U.S. and North Korea began talks Tuesday on the communist nation's delayed nuclear declaration and the American political concessions it will receive in return, including Pyongyang's long-sought goal of being removed from a U.S. terrorism blacklist.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said he met with his North Korean counterpart, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan, to lay out the agenda for more detailed negotiations Wednesday in the Chinese capital.

Hill was guarded about prospects for progress at this week's talks _ his first encounter with Kim since early April when the two met in Singapore _ but said their first meeting of just under an hour was "very good."

Asked whether the sides were close to an agreement, he said, "We'll have to see. Obviously, there's a lot of discussion ahead."

"We've needed this declaration since the end of December," he added, emphasizing that the details it contains would have to be independently verified.

The declaration has been key in preventing progress on the North's disarmament. The North promised to complete the statement by the end of last year, but Washington said it failed to do so.

In exchange for the declaration, the North is to receive concessions including removal from American terrorism and sanctions blacklists, which restrict its foreign trade and ability to get loans from international development banks.

The declaration would lay out the North's nuclear programs, which would eventually be dismantled.

The North has already halted production of plutonium for bombs at its main nuclear facility and begun disabling its main reactor while U.S. officials keep watch to ensure it can't be easily restarted.

North Korea recently raised hopes for progress by giving the United States thousands of documents from its Yongbyon reactor. The records were being reviewed to determine how much plutonium was produced there, and Hill said the documents would help with eventual verification of the nuclear declaration.

The United States had previously insisted that North Korea detail its alleged uranium enrichment program as well as nuclear cooperation with Syria.

But Washington has apparently backed down from such demands, drawing strong criticism from conservatives in the U.S. who claim the Bush administration is going too far to strike a deal with the North before leaving office next year.

Today in History

Today is Thursday, March 18, the 77th day of 2010. There are 288 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On March 18, 1910, the first filmed adaptation of Mary Shelley's novel "Frankenstein," produced by Thomas Edison's New York movie studio, was released, with Charles Ogle as the Monster.

On this date:

In 1766, Britain repealed the Stamp Act of 1765.

In 1837, the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, Grover Cleveland, was born in Caldwell, N.J.

In 1922, Mohandas K. Gandhi was sentenced in India to six years' imprisonment for civil disobedience. (He was released after serving two years.)

In 1937, some 300 people, mostly children, were killed in a gas explosion at a school in New London, Texas.

In 1938, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas nationalized his country's petroleum reserves and took control of foreign-owned oil facilities.

In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met at the Brenner Pass, where the Italian dictator agreed to join Germany's war against France and Britain.

In 1959, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Hawaii statehood bill. (Hawaii became a state on Aug. 21, 1959.)

In 1962, France and Algerian rebels signed a cease-fire agreement, which took effect the next day.

In 1965, the first spacewalk took place as Soviet cosmonaut Aleksei Leonov went outside his Voskhod 2 capsule, secured by a tether.

In 1974, most of the Arab oil-producing nations ended their embargo against the United States.

Ten years ago: Taiwan ended more than a-half century of Nationalist Party rule, electing an opposition leader (Chen Shui-bian) whose party favored Taiwan's formal independence from the rest of China.

Five years ago: Doctors in Florida, acting on orders of a state judge, removed Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. (Despite the efforts of congressional Republicans to intervene and repeated court appeals by Schiavo's parents, the brain-damaged woman died on March 31, 2005, at age 41.) Former Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland was sentenced to a year in prison and four months under house arrest for selling his office in a corruption scandal (he served 10 months behind bars).

One year ago: Under intense pressure from the Obama administration and Congress, the head of bailed-out insurance giant AIG, Edward Liddy, told Congress that some of the firm's executives had begun returning all or part of bonuses totaling $165 million. Tony-winning Actress Natasha Richardson, 45, died at a New York hospital two days after suffering a head injury while skiing in Canada.

Today's Birthdays: Composer John Kander ("Chicago") is 83. Nobel peace laureate and former South African president F.W. de Klerk is 74. Country singer Charley Pride is 72. Actor Kevin Dobson is 67. Actor Brad Dourif is 60. Jazz musician Bill Frisell is 59. Singer Irene Cara is 51. Movie writer-director Luc Besson is 51. Actor Thomas Ian Griffith is 48. Singer-songwriter James McMurtry is 48. Singer-actress Vanessa L. Williams is 47. Olympic gold medal speedskater Bonnie Blair is 46. Country musician Scott Saunders (Sons of the Desert) is 46. Rock musician Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains) is 44. Rock singer-musician Miki Berenyi is 43. Rapper-actress-talk show host Queen Latifah is 40. Actor-comedian Dane Cook is 38. Rock musician Stuart Zender is 36. Singer Devin Lima (LFO) is 33. Rock singer Adam Levine (Maroon 5) is 31.

Thought for Today: "I take a simple view of living. It is keep your eyes open and get on with it." _ Laurence Olivier, British actor (1907-1989).

(Above Advance for Use Thursday, March 18)

Copyright 2010, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

U.S. Open Show Court Schedules

Wednesday
At The USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center
New York
Arthur Ashe Stadium

Lisa Raymond, United States, and Rennae Stubbs (5), Australia, vs. Liezel Huber, United States, and Nadia Petrova (2), Russia

Kaia Kanepi (31), Estonia, vs. Vera Zvonareva (7), Russia

Gael Monfils (17), France, vs. Novak Djokovic (3), Serbia

Night Session

Caroline Wozniacki (1), Denmark, vs. Dominika Cibulkova, Slovakia

Robin Soderling (5), Sweden, vs. Roger Federer (2), Switzerland

Navy, Whale Advocates Settle in Sonar Suit

LOS ANGELES - The Navy can use high-intensity sonar for Pacific warfare exercises, but must stay away from some sensitive marine habitat and increase monitoring for whales, under an agreement reached Friday with environmental groups.

Four days earlier, a judge banned the sonar over concerns it could harm marine mammals.

The settlement prevents the Navy from using the sonar within 25 miles of the newly established Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument during its Rim of the Pacific 2006 exercises, and also imposes a variety of methods to watch for and report the presence of marine mammals.

"Military readiness does not require, and our laws do not allow, our natural resources to be sacrificed in the name of national defense," said Joel Reynolds, a Natural Resources Defense Council attorney.

The Navy said it could begin using the sonar as soon as this weekend. The sonar portion of the exercises, which began June 26, is intended to train sailors to detect and hunt stealthy submarines.

"We want to ensure that the U.S. Navy and its partner navies get the benefit of this opportunity to train in anti-submarine warfare," said Rear Adm. James Symonds, director of environmental readiness.

Environmentalists claim whales have stranded themselves on beaches after being exposed to high-intensity mid-frequency sonar. In some cases, whales bled around the brain and in the ears. The sonar is also claimed to interfere with the ability of marine mammals to navigate, hunt, take care of their offspring and avoid predators.

The Navy had previously received a six-month exemption from federal laws protecting marine species in its use of the sonar. Environmental groups, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council, later obtained a court order temporarily barring the use of the "mid-frequency active sonar."

U.S. District Court Judge Florence-Marie Cooper said the plaintiffs had shown a possibility that the Navy exercises "will kill, injure, and disturb many marine species, including marine mammals, in waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands."

The settlement agreement requires the Navy to use electronic airborne monitoring for marine mammals, and requires a marine mammal lookout on all surface ships operating the sonar.

Dolphins in New Jersey river are heading inland instead of back to sea as they pursue fish

Dolphins that have been treating a New Jersey river as their private fishing hole appear to be heading farther inland instead of back toward the ocean.

About 15 bottlenose dolphins have been in the Shrewsbury River near Sea Bright, New Jersey, since mid-June.

They were spotted Tuesday farther inland, on the Navesink River.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman Teri Frady says she suspects the dolphins are following food and appear to be fine.

Authorities have not been trying to coax the marine mammals back downstream to the Atlantic Ocean.

Several boaters have been cited for harassing the dolphins.

Bill Cosby, Jell-O pair up again on Web campaign

Kraft Foods is freshening up the image of its Jell-O brand by pairing up with an old friend.

Comedian Bill Cosby joins the gelatin and pudding brand again after a 10-year hiatus, but this time he'll be behind the camera as part of the brand's biggest marketing effort ever.

The comedian, whose work with Jell-O dates to 1974, will be an executive producer for the "Hello Jell-O" campaign, which starts with national advertisements on Monday. In return, Jell-O will be the presenting sponsor of Cosby's new weekly Web series called "OBKB." On the show he interviews children in the style of the classic show "Kids Say the Darndest Things."

"You watch TV, all these reality shows and profanity and things like that, we need to show the heart and the laughter that children have," he said in an interview.

Cosby last appeared in a Jell-O ad in 1999, but still hears from people about the pairing and from adults who starred with him as children. He and Jell-O decided he would be behind the scenes in the new campaign.

Cosby will help kick off a 22-city tour next month in Los Angeles to find the country's best giggle, which will be featured in a television ad. He'll also do radio interviews to promote the tour, said Cindy Chen, director of Jell-O for Kraft.

The first of the 10-minute episodes of "OBKB" will air May 31 on Cosby's Ustream channel, http://www.ustream.tv/billcosby. The title comes from how the friend he modeled the character "Mush Mouth" on says "okay."

Jell-O's multimillion-dollar campaign is its biggest ever. It's also updating its logo with a smiling, new face that will appear on print, online and in TV ads that show people disrupting everyday activities such as work with cups of Jell-O.

Kraft, based in Northfield, Ill., is trying to breathe new life into the gelatin and pudding market, which it dominates. Shoppers are switching from branded products to store brands and skimping on purchases to save money. Sales volume fell more than 6 percent each for Jell-O gelatin and pudding in the 52-week period ending in mid-April, excluding sales in Wal-Mart and club stores, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago market research firm.

Taylor recovery key to NIU hopes

DEKALB Jerry Pettibone puts the football hopes and fears ofNorthern Illinois in two sentences:

"We were really encouraged by what he was able to do thisspring, and our orthopedic people say he should be 100 percent byfall. But we won't know for sure how the ankle will hold up untilthen."

The worrisome ankle is attached to the Huskies' Marshall Taylor,one of the nation's best wishbone quarterbacks when he was run downin the final five minutes of the season last November at UNLV andsuffered fractures of both bones in his right leg.

An artful dodger from Detroit measuring 5-9 and 182, Taylor isfifth with 4,884 total offense yards among returning Division Ibacks.

"The Wishbone Wizard," says Pettibone. "Marshall knows moretricks than David Copperfield."

But Pettibone, a coaching realist, did not indulge himself inillusions as Taylor moved only with care this spring on the ankleheld together by a metal plate, a pin and a screw.

Taylor worked diligently at his passing and the timing of thepitches and tosses to his ball-carriers with no pads, no contact andwithout risking his ankle with sharp cuts. Coach and quarterbackboth feel it will be different by the end of a summer's toil.

"The rehabilitation will go well because he is very motivatedand working hard to do everything it takes to get back," saysPettibone.

Taylor, who will be a fifth-year senior, figures he is runningat "three-fourths speed. . . .ahead of where the doctors expected meto be."

He prowled the sidelines for Saturday's spring game. "It kind ofmakes me jealous when I see other quarterbacks out there running fortouchdowns and getting the job done," he says. "But everything isgoing to be fine in time."

Watched more intently by Pettibone were James Darby and KevinBarry, the quarterbacks he hopes were learning his complicatedwishbone offense as backups behind a healthy Taylor.

Barry was a walk-on freshman from Marist who practiced butdidn't play last year behind Taylor and Pete Genatempo. Darby wasimported from Cisco (Texas) Junior College after Taylor was injured.

Stacey Robinson, recruited from Downstate Danville as Taylor'swishbone heir, is almost certainly out of it for next fall. He hasbeen in school since last September but banned from practice for ayear as a Proposition 48 academic non-qualifier.

Darby and Barry went from frustration to understanding the jobby the later stages of spring exercises, Pettibone says.

Gaps in the middle of the offensive line have been filled byEric Wenckowski of Franklin Park at center and Joe Gucwa of St. Ritaand Bob Montel of Mishawaka, Ind., at guard.

One four-year guard starter, Todd Peete, moved on to the St.Louis/Phoenix Cardinals following the 1986 season, and another, TedKaramanos, was honorable mention All-America in 1987 and expects wordfrom today's NFL draft.

There was progress in the Huskies' rise to 5-5-1 last autumn."We lined up every game with an opportunity to win," Pettibone says."In the past I didn't feel that way.

"We tied Northwestern, and they turned around and beat Wisconsinand Illinois, so we've brought our program to the level we cancompete with some of Big Ten teams."

Local officials fired after China coal mine fire

Seven local officials were fired following a fire at a central China coal mine that left 25 dead, highlighting the country's enduring problems with worker safety as its demand for energy continues to grow.

The victims working underground at the Dongxing Coal Mining Co. pit in Xinmi City had no oxygen tanks when electric cables caught fire Monday night, the official Xinhua News Agency reported late Tuesday, citing city emergency response officer Feng Songjian.

Six of the 31 miners escaped, but the rest quickly succumbed to carbon monoxide, Feng was cited as saying.

A number of local officials have been fired, as is routine in China after deadly mining accidents. The China Daily newspaper said Wednesday the fired officials included Su Yingxi, a vice mayor of Xinmi city, and Fan Ruihui, governor of Niudian township where the mine is located.

Also fired were a deputy director of Xinmu's coal mine bureau, a Niudian official in charge of work safety and three Xinmi work safety inspectors.

An initial investigation found that the mine should have been closed for renovations to increase its capacity, state media said. But work resumed without a production license.

Police have detained one of the mine's investors and three managers. Their assets and those of the mining company's have been frozen, state media said.

China's coal mines are the world's deadliest, despite a multiyear government effort to reduce fatalities. Most accidents are blamed on failure to follow safety rules or lack of required ventilation, fire control and other equipment.

EU warns against protectionism in Opel sale

The EU's competition commissioner warned in comments published Saturday that she would take action against any protectionism in the sale of General Motors Co.'s European unit, Opel.

Belgium wants the European Commission to investigate the Adem Opel GmbH deal amid concern that Germany may have sought to protect its own plants at the cost of others.

GM announced Thursday that a majority of Opel would be sold to Canadian auto parts maker Magna International Inc. and Russia's Sberbank, which Germany had pushed hard for. The deal likely would see a plant in Antwerp, Belgium, close, while the company's four German plants remain open.

Germany offered euro4.5 billion ($6.5 billion) in credit to support the Magna bid.

"State support should not be subject to noncommercial conditions such as the location of investments and restructuring measures," EU Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes was quoted Saturday as telling Belgian newspaper De Tijd. "If something happens against the rules, I will take action."

Thursday's deal was a victory for Chancellor Angela Merkel before German elections Sept. 27. Still, some members of the interim trust that has held a majority in Opel since June questioned what they saw as a politically motivated decision.

Dirk Pfeil, a trustee who abstained in a vote on the deal, said he leaned toward a rival bid from investor RHJ International, which he said "spared German jobs less and took more account of there also being a European component."

"The RHJ concept was simply more Euro-compatible," he told Deutschlandfunk radio.

Economy Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg suggested that even the Magna bid would involve more job cuts than previously thought.

"All involved knew since spring, also employee representatives ... that the number named by Magna applies only to the area of production, and that further job-cutting by Magna was to be feared in the administrative area," Guttenberg was quoted as telling the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

The weekly Der Spiegel reported, without citing sources, that Magna foresees cutting not only the expected 3,000 production jobs in Germany but also 1,100 administrative jobs.

Opel employs around 25,000 people in Germany.

Illinois farm town has been indelibly linked to NIU _ and now, to Blacksburg, Va.

Northern Illinois University is a beacon among the cornfields to young people from surrounding communities that stretch into the outskirts of Chicago, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) east.

Familiar faces are many on the campus of 25,000, where students who have followed the paths of high school classmates before them travel home with friends on weekends.

The proximity amplifies the sorrow felt beyond DeKalb, a farm town fast becoming a bedroom community, after a shooting rampage Thursday by a gunman who killed five students and wounded 16 others before committing suicide.

"It's a personal attack on anyone who's ever been affiliated with Northern," said Elaine Goodwin, a retired professor who wiped tears from her eyes after a church service Sunday. "There's a loyalty. There's a pride in being part of NIU."

Such solidarity in the face of tragedy has become one of the few, and unfortunate, traits shared by the Illinois university and Virginia Tech, where student Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 people last April before killing himself.

Virginia Tech's sprawling Blacksburg, Virginia, campus is more than three times the size of NIU's, covering about 2,600 acres (1052 hectares), and about 75 percent of the 23,000 undergraduates hail from Virginia. More than 90 percent of NIU students are Illinois residents _ many from suburban Chicago _ and nearly 40 percent of undergrads leave the 755-acre (306-hectare) campus for home each weekend.

Still, the two campuses are now indelibly linked and reaching out to one another for help.

After the Virginia Tech shootings, NIU students spent hours stringing together rosary beads for students in Blacksburg, Monsignor Glenn Nelson, director of the NIU Newman Catholic Student Center, said at a service Friday.

After Thursday's shooting, Nelson said he received a call from his counterpart in Virginia.

"He said, 'I know what you're going through,'" Nelson said. "We didn't know them. They didn't know us, and yet we're bound forever."

Closer to home, dozens of businesses throughout the DeKalb region _ from restaurants to real estate agencies _ bear signs of encouragement posted within hours of Thursday's attack. "We're with you NIU" and "Our thoughts and prayers are with you," some read.

Days later, residents still wore gear bearing the school's Huskie mascot and donned lapel ribbons in the school colors, red and black.

"They're half of us; they're half our community," said Mary Wyzard, a DeKalb resident who works as a computer lab supervisor at the campus and helped organize a special Sunday church service dedicated to the victims.

In fact, only about a third of the school's 18,000 undergraduates live in campus dorms, officials said, while just as many live in off-campus housing throughout the county. And the 43,000-resident city can seem eerily quiet when school is not in session.

"It's very vacant when the kids are not here," said Surray Williams, a 27-year-old NIU graduate from Chicago who now lives in nearby Cortland. "The community supports that school 100 percent. And the school is built around the community."

___

On the Net:

Northern Illinois University: http://www.niu.edu

Summer jobs can help keep the peace!

Each year as summer approaches, there is always too much debate about whether or not providing jobs for teens during the summer months helps curtail the neighborhood street violence that, this year, is spiraling out of control in what is turning into a tragic "long hot spring." The violence that took on epic proportions last year pales in comparison to the climbing body count in recent weeks.

If the situation sounds grim, that's because it is. Clearly, it is time for less talk and more action. The sense of urgency to get the violence under control is palpable. Thankfully, some folks are focused on getting to the root causes and doing something about them. The city's minority leadership, among them councillors Turner, Yoon, Yancey, Arroyo and representatives Fox, Dorcena Forry, St. Fleur, Sanchez and Rushing. Owens-Hicks and Senator Wilkerson are out there on the ground where it counts, asking young people to tell them what they need instead of preaching to them about what they think they should have. At a recent town meeting held by minority elected leaders at Roxbury Community College, area teens presented a list of their needs. High on the list: more jobs for the summer.

It is always a waiting game to see just how much money will be available to put deprived and disadvantaged inner-city youngsters to work during the summer months. The ABCD's SummerWorks program has worked with the city's most at-risk youth in all of the neighborhoods of the city for more than 40 years, providing jobs, education, tutoring and mentoring. Ours is the only summer jobs program in the city that serves only youths from low-income, inner-city families - many contribute their summer salaries to their families to help pay for rent and food. Teenagers and their parents call our program all winter hoping to be first on the list for that summer job. Last year more than 4,000 youngsters applied for the 1,100 jobs ABCD could provide. Years ago, with federal funding, we regularly placed 5,000 to 6,000 youths in jobs each summer, and one year served 10,000 youngsters.

It is clear that summer jobs prevent problems and produce positive outcomes. With responsibility for child care or answering phones in a busy office, with the chance to develop work-place skills and explore careers, there is little time for these young people to fulfill the old adage of "idle hands are the devil's workshop." Instead, they gain valuable experience, build self-esteem and remember always, with great pride, the joy of receiving their first paycheck as a result of good hard work. It is a valuable life lesson.

We believe a fully funded summer jobs program is a critical tool in the fight against crime, and for some young people, having a summer job has served as a life-changing intervention. The ABCD SummerWorks program has been involved, for the past 40 years as funding allows, in connecting all at-risk teens who have non-violent CORI records with summer job opportunities at appropriate job sites. In addition, ABCD has successfully worked every year with the Department of Youth Services to place young people in jobs from the criminal justice system who have trouble getting summer jobs and, later on, landing decent jobs and building careers. We commend Mayor Menino's proposal this year to target an additional 150 young people with CORI issues for summer job opportunities. Reaching out to these youths sends important messages: you still have a chance to turn your life around, people believe in you and having a CORI doesn't have to signal the end of hope for the future.

What better investment can we as a society make than in our youth? An expanded summer jobs program supported by state and city governments and private donors will offer hope and opportunity to at-risk, inner-city youngsters and contribute greatly to peace on our streets this summer.

The Banner welcomes your opinion, send Op-Ed to:

By Email: editorial@bannerpub.com

Letters must be signed.

Names may be withheld upon request.

[Sidebar]

We believe a fully funded summer jobs program is a critical tool in the fight against crime, and for some young people, having a summer job has served as a life-changing intervention.

[Author Affiliation]

Robert M. Coard is President/CEO of Action for Boston Community Development, Inc. (ABCD), which has provided the SummerWorks jobs program for low-income, at-risk youths since 1965.

Separated N.D. Twin Has Surgery

ROCHESTER, Minn. - A day after being separated from her twin sister, a North Dakota girl underwent surgery Thursday at the Mayo Clinic to relieve postoperative swelling, the clinic said.

Madysen Fitterer underwent the surgery, which Dr. Christopher Moir deemed a success. He said in a statement, "The procedure was successful, and we remain optimistic she will do well."

Madysen and her sister, Abygail, had been joined at the chest. They were separated Wednesday in a six-hour procedure that included placing the girls' hearts into their respective chests, and separating and reconstructing the girls' chest walls and closing their chests over their hearts.

The 5-month-old twins from Bismarck, N.D., are the daughters of Stacy and Suzy Fitterer.

--

On the Net:

Mayo Clinic: http://www.mayoclinic.org/fitterer-twins

The family's Web page: http://www.caringbridge.org

Postseason Baseball Schedule

All Times EDT
DIVISION SERIES
American	League
Minnesota vs. N.Y. Yankees
Wednesday, Oct. 6

N.Y. Yankees 6, Minnesota 4

Thursday, Oct. 7

N.Y. Yankees 5, Minnesota 2

Saturday, Oct. 9

N.Y. Yankees 6, Minnesota 1, N.Y. Yankees wins series 3-0

___

Tampa Bay vs. Texas
Wednesday, Oct. 6

Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1

Thursday, Oct. 7

Texas 6, Tampa Bay 0

Saturday, Oct. 9

Tampa Bay 6, Texas 3

Sunday, Oct. 10

Tampa Bay 5, Texas 2

Tuesday, Oct. 12

Texas 5, Tampa Bay 1, Texas wins series 3-2

___

National	League
Philadelphia vs. Cincinnati
Wednesday, Oct. 6

Philadelphia 4, Cincinnati 0

Friday, Oct. 8

Philadelphia 7, Cincinnati 4

Sunday, Oct. 10

Philadelphia 2, Cincinnati 0, Philadelphia wins series 3-0

___

San Francisco vs. Atlanta
Thursday, Oct. 7

San Francisco 1, Atlanta 0

Friday, Oct. 8

Atlanta 5, San Francisco 4, 11 innings

Sunday, Oct. 10

San Francisco 3, Atlanta 2

Monday, Oct. 11

San Francisco 3, Atlanta 2, San Francisco wins series 3-1

___

LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES
American	League
Texas vs. N.Y. Yankees
Friday, Oct. 15

N.Y. Yankees 6, Texas 5, N.Y. Yankees leads series 1-0

Saturday, Oct. 16

N.Y. Yankees at Texas, 4:07 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 18

Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 8:07 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 19

Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 8:07 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 20

Texas at N.Y. Yankees, 4:07 p.m., if necessary

Friday, Oct. 22

N.Y. Yankees at Texas, 8:07 p.m., if necessary

Saturday, Oct. 23

N.Y. Yankees at Texas, 8:07 p.m., if necessary

___

National	League
Philadelphia vs. San Francisco
Saturday, Oct. 16

San Francisco at Philadelphia, 7:57 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 17

San Francisco at Philadelphia, 8:19 p.m.

Tuesday, Oct. 19

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 4:19 p.m.

Wednesday, Oct. 20

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 7:57 p.m.

Thursday, Oct. 21

Philadelphia at San Francisco, 7:57 p.m., if necessary

Saturday, Oct. 23

San Francisco at Philadelphia, 3:57 p.m., if necessary

Sunday, Oct. 24

San Francisco at Philadelphia, 7:57 p.m., if necessary<

New deal for star hildreth

Former Millfield School cricketer James Hildreth signed a newthree-year deal with Somerset last week, keeping him at the CountyGround until at least 2014.

The new deal is a fine reward for the 26-year-old batsman whoscored 1,440 County Championship runs for the Cidermen last yearbefore being awarded the England Lions captaincy during their wintertour to the West Indies.

Although he has failed to hit the heights of last season inSomerset's mixed start to 2011, Hildreth remains a firm candidatefor selection for England's upcoming summer series with Sri Lankaand India.

"I'm very happy to commit myself to the club for another threeyears. I've always been very proud playing for Somerset, and lookforward to a good future," said Hildreth.

"The squad we have got here is impressive, in that currently wehave the capability of winning trophies, but also you can see fromthe young lads coming through that there is huge potential for thefuture, so both signs are bright.

"Growing up playing for Somerset, I want to win things and alwayshave done. The only trophy I have won so far at senior level was in2005, which is quite a while ago, so we're looking to start to winsome more trophies, beginning this year.

"My goal during the next three years is get a call up torepresent my country and every time I go to the nets that is in theback of my mind.

"Doing the job for the Lions in the winter was a good experiencefor me and taught me a lot about captaincy, which could beinvaluable in the future.

"The Somerset captaincy is an idea that has been banded aroundand something I might consider at some point in the future."

His performances at county level also earned him selection forEngland's performance squad that travelled to Australia at the sametime as the 2010-11 Ashes squad.

While Down Under, Hildreth scored an unbeaten double hundredagainst Queensland Academy and also linked up with the Ashes sidewhen nominated as 12th man on the fourth day of the Brisbane Test.

The former England under-19 international was also named in the30-man provisional World Cup squad before the final selection wasmade.

Somerset director of cricket Brian Rose heaped praise on theMilton Keynes-born star and the youth system currently implementedat the Country Ground.

"I think that this is a sign of the way that the club hasdeveloped over the last five years or six years into somewhere thatis attractive for professional cricketers to come and play," saidRose.

"The way that we have developed our Academy, with young playerslike Lewis Gregory and Jos Buttler coming into the side in the lastyear, is a wonderful sign.

"James has seen his own career develop here and he has seen theway that things have developed here, and I'm sure that it's anattractive place for cricketers to want to come and play."

Clenbuterol: What is it?

Like amphetamine or ephedrine, clenbuterol acts as a stimulant, increasing heart rate. In medicine, it is used to treat asthma.

Like some steroids, the drug also has anabolic effects. Athletes and body builders use it to build muscle and burn fat. The drug is banned in sports as a performance enhancer and is readily detectable in urine samples. First-time offenders risk a two-year competition ban.

The drug is officially classed as a beta-2 agonist, not a steroid.

Farmers illegally use clenbuterol to bulk up livestock and produce leaner meat. In China, where its illegal use in farming has been well documented, clenbuterol is nicknamed "lean meat powder." Some athletes have tested positive for traces of the drug after eating contaminated meat.

The drug is potentially dangerous and can have nasty side effects for humans. These can include headaches, trembling, nausea, heart palpitations and other poisoning symptoms. There have been numerous documented cases of people being forced to seek hospital treatment after eating meat contaminated with high concentrations of clenbuterol.

Skills, equipment give tool designer an edge

Gary G. Hostetter Jr. and Howard A. Mayo III are enjoying the success of their Shrewsbury company, Tooling Technologies Inc., a tool and die design company, which hit $1 million in sales its first year -- a 300 percent increase from projected figures.

Tooling Technologies has also grown from two to seven employees. The company designs machine parts, and the molds for parts of such things as car fenders.

Hostetter and Mayo worked in machine and die shops, then struck out on their own. After working out of their own basements for some time, the two decided to pool resources.

Hostetter and Mayo attribute their success to several things. They work with unusual and complex …

Gas the next fuel to fire Australia's boom

First gold, then coal and iron ore. Now, a new bonanza is about to be unleashed from beneath Down Under: Australia's got gas.

Projects being ramped up to tap huge undersea fields off the country's northwest could quadruple Australia's exports of liquefied natural gas in the next few years and turn it into what the country's resources minister has called an "energy superpower."

It will be the next stage of a long boom that has enriched Australia and made it a key supplier of the raw materials underpinning Asia's development _ from the girders in city skyscrapers to the fuel burned to light them.

"We have what the world, and …

Some filters like it hot: ceramic and metallic filters enable gas cleanup and product recovery at high temperatures. (Newsfront).

When faced with having to clean up or recover products from hot gas streams, the options are clear: Either cool the gas sufficiently (below 250 [degrees] C) to avoid damaging standard filter media or look for temperature-resistant filtration media that can take the heat. Many ceramic and metallic-based filter elements have been designed to operate at temperatures of 250-1,000 [degrees] C and higher.

Put off by the higher cost of these filters, many customers in the chemical process industries (CPI) have opted to continue to use fabric fibers. But as the list of hot-gas filter suppliers get longer, more experienced and more competitive, more chemicals producers are discovering the advantages offered by hot-gas filters.

Able to withstand high temperatures to 1,600 [degrees] C, these new gas-cleaning systems operate under high pressures and in chemical environments that would destroy most fabric bags. And since these system operate at elevated temperatures, they avoid or reduce some of the incidentals associated with using fiber bags, such as cooling the hot gas by diluting it with air. The condensation and sublimation that cause fouling are also avoided, and in cases of incineration, there is no dioxin formation.

Today, there are some 30-35 companies in the world that offer hot-gas filter media, says Lutz Bergmann, president of Filter Media Consulting, Inc. (FMC; La Grange, Ga.). Most economical and least expensive are low-density ceramic candles, followed by glass or ceramic tubes, which are offered in different shapes and may have lower temperature tolerances. Stainless-steel sintered fleece, sintered powder-metal elements and rigid ceramic candles tend to be the most expensive, but are also the most versatile filters in terms of strength and cleanability, says Bergmann.

He puts the value of global market at $30-40 million, with products aimed at several key applications: catalyst and precious-metal recovery, waste incineration, advanced coal-based power generation, calcination, catalytic cracking and refining, and product recovery.

Better cleaning

Hot-gas filter systems that use jet-pulse cleaning require pressures of 0.5-1 MPa for atmospheric-pressure filter systems. And high-pressure systems require pressure that is two times higher than system pressure. However, even higher cleaning intensities with less cleaning pressure are offered in a coupled pressure-pulse (CPP) system developed by Research Center Karlsruhe (FZK, Karlsruhe, Germany) and USF-Schumacher Umwelt- und Trenntechnik GmbH (Crailsheim, Germany).

CPP (figure, above) requires cleaning-gas pressure that is only 0.05-0.1 MPa higher than system pressure. It consists of a vessel divided into raw and clean-gas sides by a tube sheet to which the …

Best of our blogs.(Capital Region)

"Juno" overrated. Sorry, but it is. Jason Reitman's film manages to be the second most unbelievable film of 2007 about getting knocked up. While it's acted with great conviction by a terrific ensemble (especially Ellen Page, …

DEFLUMER'S FAMILY YIELDS TO NEIGHBORS' FEARS THEY DECIDE NOT TO HAVE EX-CON LIVE AT THEIR GLENMONT HOME.(MAIN)

Byline: JOE MAHONEY Staff writer

ALBANY Fresh out of prison Friday, convicted sex offender and child-killer Carl DeFlumer was left with no place to go when his sister and her husband decided they did not want him to move into their Glenmont home.

State Division of Parole officials scrambled Friday night to make new living arrangements for DeFlumer, 62, whose planned move to Glenmont had triggered an uproar in the Bethlehem neighborhood. Parents of young children expressed adamant opposition to the move after they were informed of the plan on Thursday when the Times Union canvassed the neighborhood.

Late Friday, parole officers quietly shuttled DeFlumer out of the Capital Region, ferrying him to a state residential treatment facility on the grounds of the Fishkill Correctional Facility in Dutchess County.

The state Division of Parole, which announced DeFlumer's assignment Friday night, said he agreed to the revised placement, adding he would be there only temporarily and would participate in a closely supervised program that could include a mix of …

Match Play Tee Times

Tee time Sunday for the Accenture Match Play Championship, an $8.5 million World Golf Championships event at 7,849-yard, par-72 Ritz-Carlton Golf …

Charleston blood goes through Baker boys

Josh Baker has more connections than the downtown bus system.

Heck, Charleston minor league baseball history runs right throughthe Baker family.

"My uncle Frank was a Charlie," said Baker, a West Virginia Powerpitcher. "My brother was an Alley Cat. Now, I'm a Power. It's kind ofcool, man."

Sure, having an uncle who played four big league seasons with theNew York Yankees and Baltimore Orioles helps. And it doesn't hurt tohave a brother - Jacob - who played in the minor league for theKansas City Royals.

Connections with professional athletics go deeper in the Bakerfamily, though.

His father, Johnny, played four seasons between 1963-67 with theNFL's …

STAGNITO COMM. ACQUIRES PRIVATE LABEL NEWS MAGAZINE.(Brief Article)

Stagnito Communications, Inc. (SCI; Northbrook, IL), a division of Medical World Communications (Jamesburg, NJ), has acquired Private Label News magazine from Certified Publishers, Inc. (Doylestown, PA). No terms were given.

Founded in New York City in 1986 by previous owner Marci Smith, the purchased title is published six times a year with a controlled circulation of 30,000 retail executives and buyers responsible for purchasing food and non-food private label products for supermarkets, drug stores and general merchandise chains. Editorial includes product information, new product developments and reports on private label trends and market growth. Stagnito said that …

Mahindra First Choice opens CarXSpace in Chennai.

Auto Business News-7 October 2008-Mahindra First Choice opens CarXSpace in Chennai(C)2008 ENPublishing - http://www.enpublishing.co.uk

Auto Business News - 07 October 2008(c)2005 - Electronic News Publishing - http://www.enpublishing.co.uk

Mahindra First Choice Services Limited (Mahindra First Choice), a subsidiary of Mahindra and Mahindra …

HASEK MAY RETURN.(SPORTS)

Byline: Combined wire services

DETROIT -- Dominik Hasek is considering a return to the NHL and has spoken with the Detroit Red Wings about possibly ending his retirement and rejoining the team.

The 38-year-old goaltender and representatives of the Red Wings met in Europe recently, Roman Hozak, the player's press representative, told The Associated Press on Tuesday from the Czech Republic.

The star Czech player retired after winning the Stanley Cup in 2002 with Detroit.

FOOTBALL

Safety Calvin Spears, who played with the Frankfurt Galaxy of NFL Europe, was signed by the New York Giants on Tuesday.

Neil O'Donnell returned to …

A RED FLAG FOR LOTTERY NFL-BASED GAME KILLED.(Main)

Byline: David Bauder Associated Press

A proposal for a new state lottery game based on the scores of New York's three pro football teams was killed Friday by the Legislature's most powerful Republican.

State Senate Majority Leader Ralph Marino said he was concerned that New York would be encouraging sports betting. The game was expected to raise $15 million for the financially struggling state government.

The National Football League, which has consistently opposed any state-sanctioned gambling connected with pro football, lobbied furiously against the idea since it surfaced earlier this week.

Marino's statement effectively killing the bill …

Ex-NFL star Taylor arrested in New York rape case

Pro Football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was arrested Thursday in connection with the rape of a 16-year-old girl who police said was delivered to his suburban New York City hotel room against her will.

The former New York Giants linebacker was arrested early Thursday at a Holiday Inn in Suffern, said Christopher St. Lawrence, supervisor of the town of Ramapo. The victim was 16, one year below the legal age of consent in New York, St. Lawrence said.

An attorney for Taylor, Kenneth Gribetz, said he expected Taylor to be arraigned later Thursday.

"We're confident his innocence will be proven," he said.

Rasheed Davis, a 36-year-old …

5 People Freed From SoCal Border Tunnel

SAN DIEGO - Five people trying to sneak into the United States from Mexico became trapped in a narrow tunnel and had to be rescued Tuesday after the largest of them, a nearly 200-pound man, got stuck trying to climb out through a storm drain, authorities said.

Firefighters used jackhammers at the city's border with Tijuana to widen the opening and free the man, who had become stuck at the hips, said James Jacques, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Then they pulled out the four others who had become trapped behind him in the drainage tunnel.

All appeared to be uninjured, though one woman was taken to a hospital because she appeared to have become sick …

Arts collective Gallery 304: Arts; Antiques & More opens doors. (gallery News).(Brief Article)(Buyers Guide)

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. -- Gallery 304: Arts, Antiques & More recently opened at 304 Main Street. An arts collective, the venture is comprised of four partners: Steve Levine, Charles Semowich, Ph.D., JoAnne Spies and Sherry Steiner. The gallery offers ongoing exhibits of contemporary, vintage and antique art and furniture as well as various multimedia workshops, lectures, performances, an artist registry and other arts-related activities.

Levine has been a lifelong artist who deals with the abstract in his photography, watercolors, oils, acrylics, mixed media and metal sculpture. Semowich will be exhibiting his abstract art and will mainly be …

A life changing moment.

WHEN Steve Richards was invited over to Germany to meet his boss he was expecting good news

As the managing director of the Siemens Busbar business who had just been awarded 'Company of the year' at the Aylesbury Business Excellence Awards, he had every reason to feel positive about the future.

He sat down to dinner in a cheerful mood eager to hear what his boss had to say.

But any positive thoughts of the future were soon shattered as his boss cooly revealed to him that the 100 staff under his leadership at the Siemens business in Aylesbury were being made redundant.

Mr Richards said: "Before we had started eating, my boss picked up the menu, then put it down again and said to me 'just to relax you we …

FBI ASKS CLINTON TO SEAL JFK PAPERS.(MAIN)

WASHINGTON -- The FBI has appealed to President Clinton for a second time to keep documents related to President Kennedy's assassination secret.

This time, the focus is on 13 documents earmarked for full disclosure by the Assassination Records Review Board, an independent agency created by Congress to compile a complete public record on …

LOYALTY SUPPLIERS FORGE SMART CARD PACT.(Brief Article)

The two leading providers of loyalty systems for smart cards have signed a cross-licensing patent agreement brokered by Visa U.S.A. that will allow cards issued with one vendor's software to work with terminals and back-end systems using technology from the other company. Welcome Real-time, based in Aix-en-Provence, France, and Detroit-based Catuity Inc. announced the agreement today. It completes a process begun last year when Visa engaged Welcome to develop a software layer that would make loyalty programs from …

Church basement damaged by flood

A cold snap in early March sent thermometers to minus 30 degrees, breaking records and water mains. On March 10, the basement of First Mennonite Church in Calgary was submerged in six to eight inches of muddy water from a burst water main.

Pastor Marv Thiessen remarked, "The water pipe into the basement …

Central Election Commission completes revision of number of voters in voter lists, protocols at troubled polling places.

The Central Election Commission has completed revision of the number of voters in voter lists and has brought protocols from troubled polling stations to conformity, CEC Chair Akylbek Sariev said today.He said corrections …

CHILD CENTER CELEBRATING.(CAPITAL REGION)

MALTA -- Families, friends and alumni of the Sunshine Patch Early Childhood Center on Route 67 are invited to the center's 10th anniversary celebration Saturday, starting at 10 a.m. Entertainment will feature Toukie the Clown from 10 to 11 a.m., for ages 10 and younger. Balloon sculptures, face painting and mini-carnival games will be featured with the Patch staff from 11 a.m. to noon. From 5 to 9 p.m. the Sunshine Patch will transform into Sunnyside Cafe for ages 11 and older and adults. Entertainment will be provided by a disc jockey. Pizza, popcorn and other light refreshments will be served. All events will be free of charge to alumni and families.`Music Man' on stage …

Trial set to open for rigger in NYC crane collapse

A New York City crane rigger is poised to go on trial on charges of causing one of the nation's deadliest crane accidents: a collapse that killed seven people.

Opening statements are set for Tuesday in William Rapetti's trial. Rapetti has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and other charges in the March 2008 accident.

Prosecutors say Rapetti used four polyester straps unsafely to …

Don't Just Stand There-Stop Doing Something.(Brief Article)

CRM has not singled out the activities we need to stop doing.

What activities will best allocate our time with customers' potential? What segments should we focus on? What tactics should we deploy? What customers should we call? What teams should we form? What actions should we measure? What should we do?

Everyone today is overloaded. You probably attend the same meetings I do. When someone proposes a new initiative, people slump and duck. Sometimes they mutiny: "We cannot do one more thing. Not one more team. Not one more event. Not one more report. No mas."

They are not slacking off or malingering. They are not suddenly unwilling soldiers on the …

Living the millionaire life: there are no magic formulas to gaining material wealth. In her new book, The Money Coach's Guide to Your First Million, Lynnette Khalfani offers 10 proven methods to building an investment portfolio on your terms.(BOOK EXCERPT)(Excerpt)

I'M GOING TO LET YOU IN ON SOMETHING that millionaire stock investors like Charles Schwab know. The vast majority of them don't spend a whole lot of time researching complicated companies whose businesses they don't understand. They don't make money by using secret investing strategies to which only the rich are privy. And they certainly don't rely on complex formulas, detailed spreadsheets, and sophisticated algorithms to figure out what to buy or sell. Do you know what they do instead? They master the core principles of investing--the straightforward, irrefutable, can't-go-wrong-with-this kind of advice that has worked for eons.

Here are 10 lessons I've been fortunate enough to learn as a result of interviewing some of the top minds on Wall Street--as well as everyday individuals who have proven to be remarkably successful at increasing their fortunes with stocks and bonds.

LESSON 1: Long-Term Investing Trumps Speculating, Market Timing and Short-Term Trading

Why is it that so many investors jump from one stock to the next without regard for the negative ramifications of buying and selling investments too quickly? Trading too often causes a number of problems. It generates high commissions; which makes brokers richer but takes unnecessary money out of your pocket. When you sell investments held for less than a year, you have to pay higher short-term capital gains taxes, which are imposed at ordinary income tax rates as high as 35%.

Trading too frequently also causes your investments to underperform over time. Despite all these drawbacks, countless investors persist in trying to time the market, jumping in and out of the market as if investing were akin to watching a spate of TV shows on a Saturday night. Such rapid-fire change may give you entertainment satisfaction, but it can be disastrous for your investing portfolio.

LESSON 2: …