Jonathon Gruenke | Kalamazoo Gazette Sammy Bokor, top, 21, of Lincoln Park, forms a W with her fingers as she stands on, in the second row, Shana Brown, left, of Haslett, and Mallory Good of Rockford and in the bottom row, from left, Gretchen Heinicke, 19, of Westland, Jessica Linne, 21, of Harper Woods and David VanDeusen, 20, of Hillsdale. Over 500 Western Michigan University students, faculty and alumni, gathered at the capitol building in Lansing Wednesday during WMU Day at the Capitol. See more photos from WMU day at the Capitol here.
The state Capitol lawn was dotted with brown-and-gold T-shirts much of Wednesday, as Western Michigan University — at least some of its students, staff and faculty — moved from Kalamazoo and set up shop in Lansing.
They played games, sang the fight song and even rubbed shoulders with a few legislators as WMU programs, research and services were displayed beneath tents.
By the last count, some 600 people were in attendance at the first WMU Day at the Capitol, an effort to show Bronco pride in a city that makes money and policy decisions that have statewide implications. WMU receives nearly 40 percent of its funding directly from the state.
“We came with a big herd of people,” said WMU senior Amanda Presson, who was on one of 12 buses to make the trip. (One bus broke down on the way to Lansing. Its riders were placed on other buses).
Explaining why she thought it was important that Western brought its Bronco “herd” to Lansing, Presson said, “We really wanted to have our name heard and just be known as one of the major universities in Michigan.
Considering some of the state’s larger universities, she said, “I think we kind of get side-stepped.”
As he watched the throngs of people in WMU apparel milling about the Capitol’s east lawn, state Rep. Lorence Wenke, R-Comstock Township, said the effort may have an impact on the legislators who make the funding decisions.

mlive.com

Acacia Park Cemetery, 2151 Pilot Knob Road, Mendota Heights. Program at 10 a.m. with guest speaker Jim Rogers. Music by Job’s Daughters, with Osman Shrine Legion of Honor participating. Call 651-452-1555.
Adath Chesed Shel Emes Cemetery, 3740 Winnetka Av. N., Crystal. Jewish war veterans and Holocaust survivors will be remembered in a service at 10:30 a.m. that includes music, prayers and the sounding of taps. Holocaust survivor Margot de Wilde will speak. All veterans’ graves will be decorated with a flag.
Anoka Veterans Memorial, Forest Hills Cemetery, W. Main Street and Hwy. 10, Anoka. The American Legion, Edward B. Cutter Post 102 will hold a service at 10 a.m.
Bicentennial Garden, Nicollet and 130th St., Burnsville. Program at 9:30 a.m., with the Civil Air Patrol Valley Cadets. Sponsored by Sweet Sioux Garden Club and Blue Star Moms.
Calvary Cemetery, 753 Front Av., St. Paul. Rain or shine, a service will be held and a mass will be said by the Rev. Kevin McDonough at 10 a.m.
Champlin American Legion Post 600 will hold services at St. Fridolin’s Cemetery on Goose Lake Road at 8:30 a.m., Champlin Cemetery on Cartway Avenue at 9:15 a.m., Veterans Memorial Park, Hwy. 169 and Hayden Lake Road at 10:30 a.m.
Crystal Lake Cemetery, 3816 Penn Av. N., Minneapolis. Service at 9 a.m. near the old chapel.
Dawn Valley Memorial Park, 9940 Bush Lake Road, Bloomington. Earl C. Hill American Legion Post 550 and Everett McClay VFW Post 1296 will sponsor a service at 11 a.m.
Elmhurst Cemetery, 1510 N. Dale St., St. Paul. Service at 9 a.m. near flag pole.
Evergreen Memorial Gardens, 3400 Century Av. N., Mahtomedi. Open 24 hours. Program at 11 a.m., conducted by Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1350 and American Legion Post 39.
Forest Lawn Memorial Park, 1800 Edgerton St., Maplewood. Open 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. The Arcade-Phalen Legion Post 577 will lead a program at 9:30 a.m., with Air National Guard Master Sgt. Chris Hoffman speaking.

startribune.com

With Election Day almost six months away, no one knows the answers, but top health care analysts, pollsters, and advisers offered insights at a Washington, D.C., forum Tuesday — and some surprising answers. They suggested, for example, that the Iraq War might increase rather than decrease the chances of an overhaul, and that while the public looks to Democrats more than Republicans for answers on health care, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the presumed GOP presidential nominee, may have embraced an unexpectedly strong strategy in focusing on health costs rather than universal coverage.
Democratic pollster Celinda C. Lake conceded at the forum sponsored by the policy journal Health Affairs that McCain is “very audacious and very smart in leading on cost.” People come to the health overhaul debate as consumers, not altruists, she said. Their gut concern is “what’s it going to do with my coverage.”
Worries about unaffordable care cause insured Americans to cling more tightly to their current health care benefits, she suggested, adding that they are likely to resist proposals that water down their current benefits to pay for universal coverage. Lake also noted that insured Americans can bring the greatest political pressure to bear on the health care debate.
“Ironically, one of the strongest predictors of not voting is not having health insurance,” she said.
Although Americans see health care as a right, they worry about the cost implications of universal coverage, including longer waits for care and less access to doctors, according to Lake. Women — who Lake sees as key to how the next election will turn out and to the fate of health care proposals in the next few years — worry that instead of having 25 minutes with the doctor they will only have 10 minutes.
Americans also want a uniquely American answer to the problems in the health care system. “They recognize that the U.S. system is in crisis, but they seek to improve the system instead of adopting a foreign model,” Lake and her co-authors wrote in an article released Tuesday by Health Affairs. “The majority of America is not fine with going to government health clinics,” she told the forum.

cqpolitics.com

Nicole Jacobs has joined the station as a morning news reporter.
Jacobs moved to Connecticut from Greensboro, N.C., and WXII television, an NBC affiliate, where she was a general assignment reporter. She delivered breaking news, developed local packages and covered national stories, such as the Virginia Tech shooting and the missing Boy Scout in the North Carolina mountains.
“We are excited to have Ms. Jacobs join our team of professionals,” said
“I’m thrilled to be in Hartford and look forward to working with FOX61. FOX61 is one of the strongest Fox affiliates in the country, and I’m excited to have this opportunity,” said Jacobs.
Jacobs graduated cum laude from North Carolina State University with a degree in mass communication and a minor in Spanish.
We encourage you to share your thoughts about our stories. However, comments that are obscene, overly personal, racist or otherwise inappropriate will be removed. Because the messages are posted instantly and anonymously, Courant.com cannot vouch for their accuracy or authenticity. Report abusive posts by clicking the link found at the upper right of each item. — Courant.com

courant.com

Philadelphia - “That was Bill Clinton, here on the DVE Morning Show,” the breakfast-time DJ was saying as I left Pittsburgh early this morning. “In a few moments, Senator Barack Obama, here on the DVE Morning Show. That’s not a joke.” The candidates and their surrogates are in ceaseless motion, blanketing the state with exhortations to get out and vote, and local radio is crucial; former and potential future presidents certainly aren’t too grand to drop in, albeit by telephone, for conversations with stations like Pittsburgh’s WDVE Rocks, home of Hair Band Idol 2008.
Meanwhile, below the fold, some snippets reaching us here in Philadelphia at Deadline USA’s Pennsylvania Primary Election Central. (It’s like CNN’s Situation Room, except where they have banks of plasma screens and scrolling LED displays, I have a tragic little coffee-maker, and where they have Wolf Blitzer, I have… no Wolf Blitzer! Every cloud has a silver lining.)
*At Politico, some random bits of anecdata from around Pennsylvania suggest a sizeable turnout. The weather’s lovely, which should help.
*The New York Times’s Adam Nagourney ties himself in knots trying to figure out what would constitute a true win for Clinton tonight. He appears to think a margin as small as 5% might still be credible. Clinton’s spokesman Phil Singer, meanwhile, claims that “a win is a win is a win.” I think that’s called “expectations management.”
*Bill Clinton gets seriously tetchy with a reporter in Pittsburgh over his earlier comment that “they”, meaning the Obama campaign, had “played the race card on me.” This morning, he seemed to deny he’d ever made that remark.
*The Philadelphia Daily News notices a weird anti-Obama ad apparently mocking his supporters as befuddled youngsters, paid for by a ‘junk mail mogul’ with sort-of connections to the Drudge Report.
Time to go and pester some voters.

blogs.guardian.co.uk

A legend of Charlottesville radio has passed away. Dick Mountjoy died Wednesday after a long battle with cancer. He was 61 years old.
Mountjoy began his radio career in 1964 at former radio station WELK in Charlottesville after attending the University of Virginia. His association with WINA began shortly after that. WINA listeners will remember him as the voice of the morning show.
He left the airwaves in April 2006 after he lost the ability to speak because of the cancer at the base of his tongue. His co-workers say they knew he was losing his battle with cancer, but his death is still shocking. Wednesday night, Mountjoy's friends are remembering the man who woke up Charlottesville every morning.
NBC29 had the pleasure of working with Mountjoy. In the past, he helped with the UVA Children's Hospital Telethon. He will be missed.

nbc29.com

Taipei - More than 500 foreign reporters have applied to cover Taiwan’s presidential election on March 22, the government Information Office (GIO) said on Tuesday. A press centre has been set up to provide background and other forms of assistance to foreign reporters, GIO Vice Director Yi Jung- tzung said.
There are only two presidential candidates: Ma Ying-jeou of Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomintang or KMT), Taiwan’s largest opposition party, and Frank Hsieh of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
A poll by the TVBS cable television channel on Tuesday showed of the 965 respondents, 53 per cent support Ma while 29 per cent support Hsieh.
Analysts have attributed the low popularity rating of the ruling party candidate to public discontent with the administration of President Chen Shui-bian, which is involved in a string of corruption scandals and is blamed for Taiwan’s economic downturn and strained ties with China.
Chen will have served two four-year terms - the longest tenure of a Taiwan president - when he steps down once the new president is sworn in on May 20.

earthtimes.org

March 19, 2008 11:11 AM EDT
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., March 19, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) — Gateway Financial Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: GBTS), the holding company for Gateway Bank & Trust Co., has announced the opening of its second financial center in Emporia, Virginia.
The newest financial center, which opened on February 7, 2008, is located at 100 Dominion Drive. D. Ben Berry, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Gateway Bank, stated, “As a regional community bank we are excited about all the opportunities available in this market. With our experienced team of employees, we look forward to serving both the retail and commercial financial needs in this area.”
About the Company:
Gateway Financial Holdings, Inc. is the parent company of Gateway Bank & Trust Co., a regional community bank with a total of thirty-five full-service financial centers — twenty in Virginia: Virginia Beach (7), Richmond (6), Chesapeake (3), Emporia (2), Suffolk and Norfolk; and fifteen in North Carolina: Elizabeth City (3), Edenton, Kitty Hawk (2), Raleigh (4), Moyock, Nags Head, Plymouth, Roper, and Wilmington. The Bank provides insurance through its Gateway Insurance Services, Inc. subsidiary, brokerage services through its Gateway Investment Services, Inc. subsidiary, and mortgage banking services through its Gateway Bank Mortgage, Inc. subsidiary. The common stock of the Corporation is traded on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol GBTS. For further information, visit the Corporation’s web site at www.gwfh.com.
CONTACT: Gateway Bank D. Ben Berry, Chairman, President andChief Executive Officer 757-422-8000

streetinsider.com

The blast was felt up to a half mile away.
Five people were hospitalized at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan, while three were treated at the sceneon the 1900 block of Grand Avenue.
All but one was expected to be released Thursday evening from the hospital.
“I’d say people were fortunate,” Waukegan Fire Chief Patrick Gallagher said. “With the extent of the collapse, it’s very possible that they could have been killed.”
The explosion occurred in the rear of the buildings, just after noon.
Retired Waukegan police officer Mike Sellers was less than 50 yards from the buildings when they exploded.
“All I saw was a bunch of smoke and I heard a ‘woosh’ noise,” Sellers said.
Sellers said he immediately called police and then went into the burning building himself. When he went inside the building, he pulled two people out before paramedics arrived. Those two were the most seriously injured, he said.
Sellers’ work and the work of rescuers on the scene helped keep serious injuries to a minimum, said Deputy Fire Chief Dan Young. While crews were extinguishing flames, other firefighters were inside the beauty salon rescuing customers.
When crews first arrived, mannequins from the tuxedo shop, as well as other debris, were scattered on Grand Avenue. The mannequins initially looked like bodies, which caused a panic, Young said. Firefighters could not confirm the cause of the explosion late Thursday. In all likelihood, it was a gas explosion in the rear of the building, Young said.
Heather Jones of Zion said she came out of the cell phone shop adjacent to the beauty salon just minutes before the incident.
“The explosion was so great. It felt like something ran into my car. It shook us,” she said.
Bonnie Johnson, a spokeswoman for North Shore Gas Co., said her company did not know if the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak.
“Until we get in there we can’t do an investigation,” Johnson said.
There was a strong gas odor immediately following the explosion, said Jim Davila, who owns Davila and Associates just east of the buildings.

suntimes.com

Do not expect the resignation of Cuba President Fidel Castro to result in any major changes in that nation’s relationship with Trinidad and Tobago, the Foreign Affairs Ministry says.
And Dr Mark Kirton, a senior lecturer of Latin American Studies at the University of the West Indies’ St Augustine campus, said yesterday that there will be continuity in the longstanding relationship between both countries.
“I don’t see it as a major shift,” Kirton said.
Castro resigned as Cuba’s president due to health reasons yesterday, after having been in power for almost 50 years. During that time, this country has enjoyed very good diplomatic relations with the region’s only communist state.
The Foreign Affairs Ministry, in a statement yesterday, said the Government expects a continued good relationship with Cuba, which is due to establish two large scale commercial farms in this country and has been providing medical personnel to help staff the nation’s hospitals.
“The ministry wishes to recognise and salute the 49 years of Dr Castro’s leadership to the people of the Republic of Cuba. The change in Cuban leadership will in no way affect the cordiality or commitment of this Government’s relationship with Cuba, and the strengthening of relations at the bilateral level,” the ministry said.
Prime Minister Patrick Manning underwent a pacemaker procedure in Cuba in 2005 and has made regular visits their for check-ups since. On his last visit, Manning met with Castro.
In 1998, Manning flew to Cuba to undergo valve replacement surgery for his heart when he was the Opposition Leader.
Contacted yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office said Manning was aware of Castro’s resignation, but had no official position to offer.
Kirton, in an interview with the Express, said that as long as Castro is alive, there will be little change in its policies, including that regarding Trinidad and Tobago.

trinidadexpress.com