Community Arts

Pfizer to hire more than 450 workers at Terre Haute inhalable insulin plant

TERRE HAUTE -- Pfizer Inc., the world's largest drugmaker, plans to hire more than 450 workers and invest $170 million at a western Indiana plant where it manufactures the nation's first inhalable version of insulin. Pfizer said Wednesday it will hire the workers over the next two to three years, boosting to about 650 the number of employees at its Exubera inhaler production line. It also plans to invest $170 million at the 120,000-square-foot Terre Haute plant by 2009. New York-based Pfizer received federal approval in late January to market the Exubera inhaler for controlling Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes in adults. The device offers the first new way of delivering insulin since the discovery of the hormone in the 1920s.

DANCE

Goshen reinstates curfew

GOSHEN, Ind. -- City officials have reinstated a curfew for teenagers, but unlike a previous law, the new ordinance allows parents to give their children permission to stay out later. Teenagers from 15 to 17 years old must be home between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. during the week and after 1 a.m. on weekends, according to the curfew the City Council approved Tuesday. It will take effect in about 10 days.

Shelter's mission to keep homeless off "backstreets"

Gene Kelley's interest in the homeless began when he was eating in a restaurant in San Diego. "He was at an outdoor restaurant, and a homeless man wandered up to the crowd," Kelley's widow, Linda said. "The people knew he was homeless, but nobody helped him." Kelley said her husband walked over to the man and gave him food. Just minutes later, a dog wandered past the restaurant. The people at the restaurant fed the dog.

Professor discusses Italian director

Several hundred people gathered in the Whittenberger Auditorium Wednesday to hear Peter Bondanella give this year's Distinguished Faculty Research Lecture about his studies and critiques the work of acclaimed Italian director Federico Fellini. Bondanella is a distinguished professor of comparative literature and Italian at IU. Bondanella has drastically changed scholarship on Italian cinema, according to a press release announcing the lecture.

Circle of Life Mini Marathon receives sponsor

The inaugural Circle of Life Mini Marathon received a boost Wednesday when Evansville-based Old National Bank announced it would be the exclusive sponsor of the Sept. 9 race. "It is a privilege for Old National Bank to be a partner in this unique and inspiring initiative," said Old National President and CEO Bob Jones at a press conference. "To have a group of students with the vision and passion to orchestrate such an event to benefit cancer survivors is nothing less than extraordinary.

Korean drama craze reaches United States

HONOLULU - It's become a daily ritual for Gayle Stephens. She often laughs and cries while getting her daily fix. She's even tried to get her family hooked. Stephens loves Korean dramas. She is among a growing number of Americans with no connection to Korean culture who say the shows are a more compelling and wholesome alternative to the usual daytime programming on American TV. And retail giants are also starting to tune in. "I like the fact that they're cleaner, they're not as smutty as the American dramas," said Stephens, a 32-year-old black woman who grew up in Durham, N.C. "I didn't think I would enjoy watching, but I really got caught up in it. It's very engaging," she said.

SOUTH AMERICAN DESSERTS

NBA star's art on display

DURHAM, N.C. - Four-time NFL Pro Bowler Calvin Hill never had any trouble interesting his young son in sports. It took a little longer for basketball star Grant Hill to develop his father's passion for art. "I did grow up in a household with a lot of art," the Orlando Magic's forward says. "I guess at the time, I didn't really appreciate it or realize it did have an effect on me." It was obvious to all who watched Hill lead Duke University to back-to-back NCAA titles in 1991 and 1992 that, like his father, a career as a professional athlete awaited once his college days were over. Calvin Hill, who played for three NFL teams, and wife Janet took young Grant to museums and galleries, but Calvin Hill wasn't sure if his son would buy art that wasn't merely decorative.

CHILLIN'

The Greeks have lost their marbles

Greece had them first, but Britain is screaming, "finders, keepers!" It's like two children bickering over their favorite toys. There are a lot of tears and hurt feelings, but the solution is really quite simple. The ownership of the Elgin Marbles has been debated for almost 200 years. The Elgin Marbles is a collection of statues and pieces of the frieze, the panel that once surrounded the top of the Parthenon in Athens, Greece. Most of the surviving pieces are divided between the museums in Athens and Britain, with others spread throughout eight of Europe's greatest art museums. Athens wants them all for its own museum, which is being constructed with the hope that it will be completed in time for the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Stay aglow in the snow

SIDEWALK RUNWAY

On their toes

Despite the chill that has pervaded Bloomington throughout the past week, with the advent of spring, the anticipation of warmer days ahead promise the excitement of new beginnings to both students and faculty. The IU Ballet Theatre is no exception. This weekend, the company will present "From Bournonville to Balanchine: An Evening of Legendary Ballets," a selection of three well-known pieces: the classical "Paquita," the modern American "Who Cares?" and the festive and vivacious "Napoli." This production represents an interdepartmental collaboration, as each segment will be danced by the students of the Ballet Department of the Jacobs School of Music and accompanied by guest conductor Ronald Zollman and the IU Symphony Orchestra. The world-renowned ballets featured in this performance have been performed internationally, but have been given a new energy and enthusiasm by the dancers and production staff of this year's Spring Ballet.

COACHING CONFUSION

Despite recent speculation by some media, it is likely only two people know who will become the next IU men's basketball coach: Director of Athletics Rick Greenspan and President Adam Herbert. Those charged with shaping the future of much of the University, including trustees, members of the Bloomington Faculty Council and influential, wealthy alumni, said Wednesday they are out of the loop. Directors of the IU Foundation, whose efforts brought in more than $100 million last year for the Bloomington campus (approximately equivalent to one tenth of the operating budget), said they are concerned about who will fill the vacancy, but have no knowledge of the candidates being considered. Many at the foundation said they worry about the next coach's ability to rally alumni and increase donations, but cited a confidence in Greenspan's abilities to choose coaches.

Child care harsh on budgets

Some work, some study and some teach -- but all raise a child. But high prices for some programs and long waits are creating challenges for those people who rely on child care on campus, according to some University officials and students close to the subject. "It's an issue that needs to addressed and it hasn't been in years past," said Paul Rohwer, moderator of the Graduate and Professional Student Organization, which represents graduate students on campus. "It's an extra burden on graduate students that they can't find affordable child care on campus." The topic of child care has seemingly spread across the campus recently, with multiple student groups, administrators and departments contributing to the discussion.

Teens fast to raise awareness, money

Friday and Saturday, the Southside Christian Church youth group will go hungry for 30 hours. In an act to raise awareness as well as financial support for the thousands of children who die from starvation and malnutrition each day, the youth members of the Southside Christian Church will participate in World Vision's national 30 Hour Famine. World Vision, is committed to aiding children suffering from poverty and their communities across the globe. According to World Vision's Web site, last year's 30 Hour Famine raised more than $11.6 million nationally and had more than 500,000 teen participants. Aaron Miller, youth minister at Southside Christian, has led teens in the 30 Hour Famine for the past two years at a different church and is bringing his experience to Southside. Miller became involved with World Vision's 30 Hour Famine after researching various volunteer organizations.

It's Da Bomb

I recently went through an airport security checkpoint and they wanted to make sure I wasn't a terrorist. I walked through a machine that blew air on me as some security dude rifled through my unmentionables. It was OK because none of my unmentionables were explosive. Unfortunately, if I did pack exploding underwear or, at the very least, bomb-making materials, my bag could've gone unsearched. NBC news reported that federal investigators were able to carry materials needed to make a homemade bomb through security at 21 U.S. airports. Even when investigators deliberately triggered extra screening of their bags, the materials were not found.

V is for vomit

Friday, I managed to be duped into seeing a Hollywood film (my third in more than a year), the Wachowski brothers' "V for Vendetta." The film, aside from having an absurd plot, was nothing more than a thinly veiled assault at the conservative movement. Yet I am glad I saw it, because the film captured the essence of the liberal world view, and let me tell all you conservatives out there: you have nothing to worry -- the other side is not dealing with a full deck, as they say.

Gender trouble

Bloomington has the opportunity to become the first city in Indiana to add "gender identity" to its list of protected categories. The city council announced that it will probably consider adding "gender identity" to the city's human rights ordinance next month. The BCC first considered it in 1993, when "sexual orientation" was added, but the discussion never went anywhere. Mayor Mark Kruzan believes that instead of changing the ordinance, the Bloomington Human Rights Commission should simply make an "administrative interpretation" that would declare gender identity an extension of the category "sex," a move that has been upheld by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.