STUDY FINDS ROCKY FLATS CANCER RISK LOW.(MAIN)

Byline: JUDITH KOHLER Associated Press

DENVER -- A study on cancer risks stemming from secret radioactive and chemical releases at the former Rocky Flats nuclear weapons plant found few dangers, though warned of new risks caused by the ongoing cleanup.

The nine-year study, released Thursday, is the most exhaustive examination of public risks from releases in the 1950s and 60s, but details remain unknown because of poor oversight by federal regulators and the defense industry's secrecy, investigators said.

``The bottom line is the risks at Rocky Flats were low and the public was lucky that this was the case,'' said James LaVelle, a consulting …

Hall, Kistler & Company LLP.(Canton)

Dan Hudak and Seth Turner have been named …

Simon beats Blake at Madrid Masters

Gilles Simon rallied to beat James Blake 3-6, 6-1, 6-4 Tuesday to keep the 11th-ranked American winless in five appearances at the Madrid Masters.

Blake, who managed only one break in the match, dropped to 0-5 on Madrid's high-paced indoor court.

Simon saved four break points in the second set and converted two of his own before dominating the final set.

French Open semifinalist Gael Monfils of France also …

FestivAll sets a different agenda, Here's to a quieter, more diverse and longer summer in the city

CHARLESTON's summer 30 years ago began with the Vandalia Gatheringover the Memorial Day weekend and ended with the Sternwheel Regattaover the Labor Day weekend.

The Regatta grew like a weed until it became a weeklong beer bash.While it was nice to have the Beach Boys, Alabama and other big actsplay in little old Charleston, the accompanying behavior got out ofcontrol.

Furthermore, this schedule left the rest of the summer void ofactivity.

That's changing. In recent years, the city has added events.

A chili cookoff here, a Fourth of July Fireworks there, and prettysoon, people realize there is a lot to do in the town besides waitingfor the summer to …

AM Best cuts Park Insurance to C++/"b".

(ADPnews) - Jun 10, 2011 - AM Best cut on Thursday to C++ (marginal) from B- (fair) the financial strength rating (FSR) and to "b" from "bb-" the issuer credit rating (ICR) of US Park Insurance Co.

The outlook is "negative".

The ratings consider the vigorous growth in Park's premium in each of the past three years, as well as its capitalisation, which is marginal as net premiums have …

COYNE CALLS STORIES ON CENTER OLD NEWS ALBANY COUNTY FORESAW RISING COST.(Local)

Byline: Greg B. Smith Staff writer

Albany County Executive James J. Coyne Tuesday described as "old news" a Times Union investigation that found that the guaranteed price for the county civic center did not include key items such as lights in the locker rooms.

"This report in The Times Union today is similar to someone holding a press conference yesterday and proposing they may have reinvented the wheel," Coyne said during a news conference at the Albany County Airport on an unrelated matter.

Coyne, the chief backer of the civic center project, has not returned several phone calls from the newspaper requesting comment on the increased cost of the …

ATTACK ON KURDS SURPRISED U.S.(Main)

Byline: Los Angeles Times

In the Bush administration's first explicit acknowledgement that it may have misjudged the aftermath of the Persian Gulf war, presidential national security adviser Brent Scowcroft said Sunday that Iraq's brutal attack against the Kurds took the White House by surprise.

"We did anticipate that there would be a lot of chaos and that the winning of the war would not solve the problems of that region by any stretch of the imagination," Scowcroft said on ABC's "This Week with David Brinkley."

But he added: "One of the things perhaps we did not anticipate was the severity of (Iraqi President) Saddam Hussein's attack against the …

Tropical depression strengthens in Pacific

A tropical depression is swirling in the Pacific off the Mexico coast at just below tropical storm strength.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami says the depression's maximum sustained winds were near 35 mph (56 kph).

The hurricane center says some …

Singers' spotlight on Mozart

ST Teilo Singers will be giving a concert entitled The Genius ofMozart on Saturday.

The evening will feature some of Mozart's best-loved worksincluding his Requiem Mass, Horn Concerto No. 3 in E flat, DixitDominus and Laudate Dominum from Vesperae solennes de confessore andAve Verum Corpus.

Soloists soprano Lynne Bryer, mezzo soprano Eleri Owen Edwards,tenor Andrew …

Youth squad selection for Tom.

SIXTEEN year-old Tom Levick, a regular competitor in the Derbyshire Youth Sailing Series, has achieved selection to join the Laser Radial dinghy, National Radial Youth Squad.

Tom learned to sail as recently as April 2000 on a six session training course at Swarkestone Sailing Club through the local Scout Group where he completed his RYA level 2 qualification.

The following summer, again at Swarkestone Sailing Club, he achieved RYA level 3 and began his racing training in September 2002 at Carsington Sailing Club, using the sailing club hire boats.

Tom's first boat of his own, was a second-hand Topper dinghy that he received as a birthday present in …

15-YEAR POLICE VETERAN NEW CAPTAIN IN COHOES.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: VINCENT JACKSON - Staff writer

After 15 years on the city police force, Detective Commander Patrick Abrams now holds the second-highest position in the department.

Abrams was sworn in Thursday morning as city police captain, the first one since former chief Michael Robich held the position more than 20 years ago.

With Bill Heslin being named chief this summer, Abrams' promotion looks to solidify the department leadership for the foreseeable future.

Abrams received his captain's badge in Cohoes City Court during a ceremony at which Mayor Robert Signoracci read the oath and Heslin held the Bible on which Abrams put his left hand. …

US Control of Internet Remains Issue

A U.N.-sponsored Internet conference ended Thursday with little to show in closing the issue of U.S. control over how people around the world access e-mail and Web sites.

With no concrete recommendations for action, the only certainty going forward is that any resentment about the American influence will only grow as more users from the developing world come online, changing the face of the global network.

"I think that there are many Third World countries and developing countries and people from Asia and so on who are pressuring for changes," said Augusto Gadelha Viera, coordinator of the Brazilian Internet steering committee and chairman of a …

Waves of grass can save ocean of oil; Slowing mowing is a growing trend as state, federal parks officials counter higher fuel prices.(Capital Region)

Byline: LEIGH HORNBECK - Staff Writer

STILLWATER - In the 1960s, the trend was longer hair.

In today's parks, it's longer grass.

Officials at Saratoga Spa State Park revealed in May they were letting 11.5 previously mowed acres grow to save on fuel and maintenance. The head of the Saratoga National Historical Park has reduced scheduled mowing and visitors to state parks at Moreau Lake, Thompson Lake, Thacher and Cherry Plain may soon find longer grass.

"The department is developing a plan and has already reduced mowing in some places, including historic sites like the Schuyler Mansion in Albany," said Dan Keefe, a spokesman for the Office of …

Philippine stock index tumbles 8.3 percent

Philippine shares have plummeted for the sixth straight session, tracking a global sell-off as investors rush to cut losses.

The Philippine Stock Exchange Index on Friday fell 190.64 points, or 8.3 percent, at 2,097.80. It has lost 19.7 percent since Oct. 16.

Decliners outnumbered gainers 135 to 7, with 12 stocks unchanged. All sectors ended in the red.

Claire Quiray, …

Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook

Your Swedish Roots: A Step by Step Handbook By Per Clemmensson and Kjell Andersson Ancestry, a division of MyFamily.com, Inc., 2004 222 pages, hardcover.

This attractive and extremely informative book is copiously illustrated with documents, maps and charts, photos and drawings. It is the best Scandinavia-oriented genealogy guide this editor has seen; it's a good read even if you are not looking for relatives. Written by two well-known Swedish genealogists, it is a joint publishing project between MyFamily, Inc., of the United States and Genline AB in Sweden. Genline's Swedish Church Records Online archive consists of photographic-quality images scanned from microfilms of original church records from the 16th through the 20th centuries. When finished, this archive will contain more than 40 million pages and be the only complete source for Swedish genealogical research on the Internet.

The Atom Bomb.(Main)

The destructive force released against key Japanese cities and military strong points in the form of the new atomic bomb is a frightening and fearful thing to contemplate, and its use is only justified by the prospect it affords of shortening the war and saving American lives.

That this will be accomplished at the cost of almost incomprehensible destruction and loss of lives in Japan goes without saying, and no civilized nation views such destruction with equanimity or undertakes it with pleasure.

But the Japanese nation, having chosen to live by the sword, is being visited by the implacable penalty of such a course - and will inevitably and inexorably die …

Stalberg to 'spank' Shakespeare

Sri Lanka, March 28 -- John Stalberg Jr

John Stalberg Jr is set to direct Paramount Pictures' Spanking Shakespeare. Stalberg will also rewrite the script penned by Dan Lagana that he adapted from the book by Jake Wizner.

The film follows the unfortunately named Shakespeare Shapiro, who turns his high school upside-down when he unwittingly becomes an Internet sensation and the face of an anti-college revolution. Mark Canton and Ellen Goldsmith-Vein are producing through Canton's Atmosphere Entertainment and Vein's Gotham Group.

Stalberg is best known for directing High School with Adrien Brody and Michael Chiklis. Variety

Published by HT Syndication with permission from Daily News Sri Lanka.

For any query with respect to this article or any other content requirement, please contact Editor at htsyndication@hindustantimes.com

100 DIE IN INDONESIA VIOLENCE.(Main)

Byline: Associated Press

The slaying of an army captain led to a clash between government troops and Moslem radicals in which as many as 100 extremists were killed, civilian sources said today.

The soldiers and the radicals, who were armed with spears and arrows, fought Monday in Talangsari, a southern Sumatra village, according to Maj. Gen. Sunardi, chief of the south Sumatra regional military command.

In the first report on the fighting, Sunardi said the battle occurred after an attempt by the military to free army Capt. Sutiman. The general said the extremists had taken the officer hostage and later killed him.

However, civilian sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the army captain was killed in a clash with the extremists earlier Monday.

They said Sutiman and other army commanders were attacked by the rebels when they came to meet with the extremists, who held a rally Sunday. They said the military reinforcements attacked later Monday in retaliation.

Sunardi said the radicals battled with spears and bows and arrows. The civilian sources said the battle involved about 300 members of the radical group in the village, including women and children.

Berkery Noyes Publishes First Half 2011 M&A Report for the Information Industry

Berkery Noyes, an independent investment bank specializing in theinformation content and technology industries, announced that itreleased its Half Year Mergers and Acquisitions Trends Report forthe Information Industry.

According to a release, the report analyzes merger andacquisition activity in the segment across the first half of 2011and compares it with activity for the four previous sixth-monthperiods from 2009-2010.

The Information Industry, which Berkery Noyes defines as allmedia, software, and online companies, continued its recovery intothe first half of 2011. Transaction volume increased by 10 percentover the period, while aggregate transaction value increased by 28percent, rising from $63.5 billion to $81.1 billion.

Transaction multiples also continued to climb. According to thereport, median EBITDA multiples rose 50 percent over for the six-month period and median revenue multiples increased by 54 percent.Both of these figures represent new highs of the periods analyzed inthis report.

The company noted that Google, Inc. remained acquisitive withinthe Information Industry, purchasing 13 companies over the firsthalf of the year, bringing its two-and-a-half year total to 45. Thefirm's most recent purchases represented a range of companies andtechnologies in the Information sector, including social networkanalytics, search engines, and messaging services.

The largest transaction during the period was Microsoft Corp.'sannounced acquisition of Skype Technologies SA from an investorgroup led by Silver Lake Partners for $9.08 billion.

The Berkery Noyes analysis also shows that companies with apredominantly internet-based business model now represent themajority of acquired companies in the Information Industry. In firsthalf 2011, 56 percent of companies sold were predominantly internet-based compared to 33 percent in first half 2004, an increase of 60percent.

More Information:

berkerynoyes.com

berkerynoyes.com/pages/trend_reports/index.aspx

((Comments on this story may be sent tonewsdesk@closeupmedia.com))

FBI investigates two cases in the Rochester area

Lucas George Wickes, 25, of Rochester, has been sentenced by U.S.District Court Judge David G. Larimer to 46 months in prison forabusive sexual contact on the high seas.

Wickes was also ordered to pay $2,667 in restitution.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Tiffany H. Lee said Wickes admitted thaton Jan. 1, 2007, while on board the Disney "Wonder" departing fromPort Canaveral, Fla. to the Caribbean, he knowingly engaged insexual contact with a 13-year-old girl by threatening her withserious bodily injury.

The girl and her family boarded the ship on Dec. 31, 2006. Thatevening, the girl went to the ship's teen club with some otherminors she had met. After the club closed, the minor and hercompanions were approached by Wickes who ordered them to return totheir rooms. The defendant told the victim to follow him and shedid, believing him to be a security officer with the cruise ship.After the defendant led her to a remote spot in the rear of theship, he engaged in sexual contact her.

The sentence was the culmination of an investigation on the partof the FBI under the direction of Special Agent in Charge JamesRobertson who also investigated another matter which led to ThomasBurlingame, 31, of Bloomfield, being charged with receiving anddistributing child pornography, a charge which carries a maximumterm of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine or both.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Field said that according to thecriminal complaint, Burlingame used his computer to access anddistribute child pornography over the Internet for approximatelyseven years. Earlier this month, special agents executed a searchwarrant and seized a computer from the defendant's home. A forensicanalysis revealed graphic images, some involving victims as young as8 years old.