Around the Arts

Low-income youth scholarships available\nThe Bloomington Area Arts council has made available 50 scholarships for low income Bloomington residents under the age of 18. These scholarships can be used to enroll in camps, workshops or art classes offered by the John Waldron Arts Center. The scholarships have been provided by a $4,250 grant from the City of Bloomington's Jack Hopkins Social Services Program. For more information on available scholarships visit www.artlives.org or call 334-3100 ext. 105.\nMcCord challenges gilbert for SAG Post\nLOS ANGELES -- Kent McCord said he'll run against Melissa Gilbert for president of the Screen Actors Guild in upcoming elections.\nThe current SAG treasurer and former star of early 1970s cop show "Adam-12" opposed Gilbert's push for a reorganization of the 70-year-old actors union and unification with its rival. The unification plan failed in a vote.\nMcCord said he'll team with Esai Morales of "NYPD Blue," who will run for the newly merged position of secretary-treasurer.\nGilbert, who played Laura Ingalls on "Little House on the Prairie," was elected in 2001 and is running for a second term as president alongside James Cromwell, an Oscar nominee for "Babe".\nOther candidates have until July 24 to submit nominating petitions. Ballots will be mailed to members Aug. 26 and are due Sept. 23.\nClinton's book sales top $1 million\nWASHINGTON -- Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has sold more than 1 million copies of her memoir "Living History," in almost exactly a month, her publisher announced Wednesday.\n"What has been particularly exciting is the speed with which it has achieved such unprecedented sales levels," Simon & Schuster executive Carolyn Reidy said in a statement.\nThe company ordered 1 million copies for the first printing, an extraordinarily high number for a nonfiction book.\n"It feels pretty good," Clinton, D-N.Y., said. "I'm excited that this all happened in a month. I'm a little surprised."\n"Living History" hit stores June 9 amid a wave of publicity and promotional appearances by the former first lady.\nFirst-day sales topped 200,000, and the publisher quickly announced that it would print even more copies to keep pace with demand.\nClinton signed an $8 million deal to write the book, in which she recounts, among other things, her personal pain and shock at her husband's affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.\nTo promote sales, the New York Democrat launched a media blitz and appeared at a number of book-signing events, where fans waited on line for hours.\nThe intense public interest fueled speculation that Clinton may someday run for president.\nWhen Congress was in recess last week, she traveled to Europe for a series of book-signing appearances.