AP Features, May 15th, 2007
EAST
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) _ A former Stamford Hospital physician assistant was accused of stealing a painkiller from a pregnant patient to ease the pain of his dying dog, according to court documents. Preston Goldsmith, 33, reportedly told hospital security he stole a container of Fentanyl from a woman undergoing induced labor. He denied the charges through his lawyer.
BRYN MAWR, Pa. (AP) _ A Bryn Mawr College student is leading an effort to raise $320,000 from colleges across the state to honor the Virginia Tech massacre victims. Sarah Khasawinah, 19, hopes to raise $10,000 per victim by selling Virginia Tech Solidarity Project T-shirts on campus and through the Web site Facebook.com. The group must sell more than 53,000 shirts to reach its goal.
SOUTH
NASHVILLE (AP) _ A federal judge on Monday delayed the state from performing an autopsy on the body of executed inmate Philip Workman. Workman cited his Seventh Day Adventist religious beliefs in opposing the post-mortem. State authorities want to use the autopsy to confirm the execution was done properly. Federal judge Todd Campbell temporarily stopped the state's autopsy and promised to rule "very quickly."
WAYCROSS, Ga. (AP) _ State biologists are trying to eliminate the voracious, nonnative flathead catfish from the Satilla River, where it is devouring native game fish. Three or four days a week, the biologists send an electrical charge into parts of the river, temporarily stunning the fish. They scoop up the flatheads, which can grow to more than 50 pounds, and move them to other waters.
MIDWEST
MASON CITY, Iowa (AP) _ The city wants to host a festival in honor of infamous bank robber John Dillinger, who was a hero to the depression weary farmers of the Midwest in the 1930s. But a distant relative may halt the proceedings, saying he has the right to control the use of Dillinger's name. Dillinger and his gang robbed banks and often destroyed foreclosure records.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) _ One of former Attorney General Phill Kline's deputies plans to establish an anti-abortion, public-interest law firm in a Fort Wayne, Ind., building that once housed a clinic where abortions were performed. Bryan Brown said the building will be dedicated in a multi-denominational "blessing ceremony" that will include a Christian Orthodox exorcism.
WEST
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ A newly discovered bacteria is bubbling in the goo at La Brea tar pits. University researchers say the bacteria in natural asphalt munch on petroleum at the site and burp up methane. The tar pits in a park in the middle of the city are a world famous site of Ice Age fossils.
CHENA HOT SPRINGS, Alaska (AP) _ Fire started by welding sparks damaged a remote resort's geothermal power plant. Workers at the Chena Hot Springs Resort extinguished the blaze in about 90 minutes. The resort about 60 miles east of Fairbanks will use diesel power until the plant is repaired. It has saved about 365,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually with its geothermal unit.
