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WEEKLY UPDATE
Oct. 2, 2007
APME TO OFFER ONLINE TRAINING
The Associated Press Managing Editors' NewsTrain program comes to San Diego Oct. 23 and 24 with a series of seminars on editing and coaching for online. Designed for frontline editors, the seminars will provide practical advice for journalists who have been print-oriented but want to learn how to direct projects for both print and digital media. Program topics will include leading change, coaching writers, online story forms, multimedia planning, working in teams, surviving and thriving in the digital age and thinking visually. In addition, some of NewsTrain's popular newsroom courses also will be offered. The cost is $50 per person and the location will be the San Diego Union-Tribune complex in Mission Valley . Co-sponsors include the North County Times and the California Society of Newspaper Editors. To register, or for more information, go to www.newsu.org/newstrain/sandiego or call the UT's Carol Goodhue at 619-293-1525.
CFAC SPONSORING FREE SPEECH ASSEMBLY
The California First Amendment Coalition's 12th annual Free Speech and Open Government Assembly brings together the best and brightest of law, journalism and public policy. New Yorker magazine writer Jeffrey Toobin will be there, discussing secrecy and the US Supreme Court. Also hear Newsweek columnist Stuart Taylor on the rush to judgment in the Duke rape case. Check out more than a dozen debates and panels on topics that include going to jail to protect sources, social networking, immigration reporting, tribal secrecy, access to police records, and personal privacy vs. technology. Register now and take advantage of the special $25 early rate, which includes free parking. After Oct. 10, the cost will be $50 and parking is not included. For more information, go to http://www.cfac.org/content/assembly.php .
INDUSTRY NEWS…
For more developments in the news industry, see AP's weekly Industry News fixture, which is available on the AP Exchange system, a free service offering Web-based access to all AP content. Users should go to the AP Exchange site at www.apexchange.com and type the following into the search box in the upper left: indcode=5500 and newspaper. Then, save the search. If you don't have access to AP Exchange, please visit www.ap.org/apexchange.
STATE ENTERPRISE IN THE WORKS…
(Diet-HIV)
LOS ANGELES -- The face of HIV is changing. Early in the epidemic, people infected with the AIDS virus often lost a dangerous amount of weight to the point where they looked gaunt and ghostly. As the disease shifted from a death sentence to a chronic condition, an increasing number are facing the opposite problem. AIDS researchers and advocacy groups say obesity has overtaken wasting syndrome as the top concern. By Science Writer Alicia Chang. Moving Tuesday, embargoed until 9:01 a.m. Wednesday.
(Simpson's Who's Who)
LAS VEGAS -- The eight other men tangled in O.J. Simpson's hotel room heist have little in common, save for an interest in an infamous former football star and, in some cases, a penchant for running afoul of the law. The alleged armed robbery Sept. 13 was at a purported buyers meeting set up by a convicted felon, attended by memorabilia dealers and burst in upon by Simpson and a crew of five men, three with prior legal troubles including domestic violence, theft and trafficking cocaine. By Kathleen Hennessey. Moving this week for weekend use. AP Photos.
(Tin Whiskers)
SAN JOSE -- They've ruined guided missiles used by the U.S. military, knocked out communications satellites connecting millions of mobile devices, and triggered the emergency shutdown of nuclear power plants. Heart pacemakers, consumer electronics and even a critical part controlling the trajectory of a U.S. space shuttle have all fallen victim, rocked by wicked malfunctions or flat-out failures. The culprit? Tiny, mystery metal growths called tin whiskers that sprout without warning in electronic devices and have perplexed scientists since they were discovered in the 1940s. By Technology Writer Jordan Robertson. Moving this week; exact timing to be determined. AP Photos.
( Hollywood 's Greening)
LOS ANGELES -- From "green carpets" at awards shows to organic fruit served to actors on sets, Hollywood is going all out to promote itself as being environmentally hip. But is it all just show? Many studios are quietly pushing green initiatives, such as printing double-sided scripts and using biodiesel to run generators that power huge lights needed for filming. Others are relying more on offsetting their high-polluting ways with carbon credits, a strategy many critics say does little real good. By Business Writer Gary Gentile. AP Photos. Moved Friday for use Monday.
(Climbing Conundrum)
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK -- Millions of Americans have developed a taste for rock climbing in recent years, but as neophyte rock jocks head to the wilds to practice their ascents, some are trampling the wilderness around them. Park officials say forest leading to an easy route near Yosemite 's Tuolumne Meadows is now marred by 40 separate trails braiding around the granite face. At Arches National Park in Utah , officials feared climbers would damage delicate sandstone formations, so banned slacklining, an outdoor activity favored in the growing climbing community. This year, federal authorities in Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area are preparing the country's first survey of bolts and footholds tacked into the rock face. For Yosemite 's full-time climbing ranger Jesse McGahey, it's a matter of keeping a balance between preservation and helping newcomers aspire to something higher. By Garance Burke. Moving this week for immediate use; exact timing to be determined. AP Photos.
(Animal Welfare)
LIVINGSTON -- Animal welfare groups say California laws that allow farmers to keep egg-laying hens, veal calves and pregnant pigs confined to small cages or boxes for most of their lives are too restrictive. They're collecting signatures to put an initiative on the November 2008 ballot that would let the state's voters decide whether to give such animals more freedom to roam. By Don Thompson. Moving Tuesday for immediate use. AP Photos..
(Special Olympians)
LOS ANGELES -- Helen Pacheco sings, acts, paints, swims and coaches. She's a Special Olympian. Pacheco and her U.S. teammates gathered in Los Angeles recently on their way to China , where they will compete in the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. "I'm very excited, a little nervous, too," said Pacheco, smiling and wrinkling her forehead at the same time. "I'm going to be meeting a lot of new folks. If I come back with at least one gold, one silver and one bronze, I'll be happy. I'll just try my best, and if I don't come back with anything, that's fine." By Ken Peters. Moved Monday for immediate use. AP Photos.
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STATE WIRE NOTE: Please refer to the California Enterprise Digest that moves at 2 p.m. Tuesday through Friday on AP state wires for additions and other revisions to the above story lineup.
ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT…
(David Oyelowo)
LOS ANGELES -- David Oyelowo has mastered characters of influence _ Orlando in Kenneth Branagh's "As You Like It," the martyred doctor in "The Last King of Scotland" or an English monarch _ a first for a black actor of the Royal Shakespeare Company. But he also can bring a decided depth and vitality to the everyman, which he does with Matt Wellings, a suburban London husband whose pretty blonde wife, Leanne, and their two small children suddenly go missing in the HBO miniseries "Five Days." By Janice Rhoshalle Littejohn. 800 words. Moved Monday for immediate use.
(Matchbox Twenty)
LOS ANGELES -- Rob Thomas sat down at a computer and typed out a missive for Matchbox Twenty fans about the band's first new single in five years. He signed off with the words, "Death to Matchbox. Long Live Matchbox." Listening to the new album "Exile In Mainstream," it becomes clear this is a new band with a new lineup, a new sound and a new work ethic. By Chelsea J. Carter. 900 words. Moving Tuesday for immediate use.
ALSO PLANNED FOR THIS WEEK…
A hearing in the Phil Spector case is set for Wednesday in Los Angeles … Also from Los Angeles , a hearing in the Britney Spears child custody case is set for Wednesday.
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