IUPD

Black and white

The network FX is launching a show, starting March 8, called "Black. White." In it, two families switch races. Understanding and harmony, followed by world peace, follow. Right? Maybe, maybe not. I'm guessing that no, it isn't going to solve any problems, but I'm dying to see what kind of mayhem ensues. Let me explain the premise: The Wurgel family is from California and is white. The Sparks family is from Georgia and is black. All four parents are college-educated, and the two kids are older teenagers. Both families move into a house in Los Angeles and are transformed, via makeup and hair styling, into the other family's race. I have really mixed feelings about this show already, and it hasn't even aired yet.

Please IUSA, get something done

While we as an editorial staff have decided to grudgingly pledge our support to the Hoosier Party this year, it doesn't mean we have agreed with the way it, or either party, has presented itself to the campus. Upon listening to both groups discuss their issues, opinions and ideas Friday afternoon, we decided Hoosier was the "lesser of the two evils." However, the two tickets' inability to discuss and explore meaningful issues is a discouraging microcosm of the IU Student Association's ineffectual history, where trivial issues are displayed across the sky, while problems students are actually worried about get ignored. While it's each party's fault for being lackluster, the real problem is that IUSA has a historically and fundamentally flawed image because of rhetoric and past poor performances.

Republican governors worried about Bush's recent troubles

WASHINGTON -- Republican governors are openly worrying that the Bush administration's latest stumbles -- from the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina to those of its own making on prescription drugs and ports security -- are taking an election-year toll on the party back home. The GOP governors reluctantly acknowledge that the series of gaffes threatens to undermine public confidence in President Bush's ability to provide security, which has long been his greatest strength among voters. "You've got solid conservatives coming up speaking like they haven't before; it's likely that something's going on at the grass roots," said Republican Mark Sanford of South Carolina. "Whether it's temporary or not remains to be seen."

Officials believe kidnapped American journalist still alive

BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Iraq's interior minister told ABC News he believes American journalist Jill Carroll is alive and will be released, even though the Sunday deadline set by her kidnappers had passed. Interior Minister Bayan Jabr also said he knew who abducted the 28-year-old journalist last month. "We know his name and address, and we are following up on him as well as the Americans," he said. "I think she is still alive."

STEEL DEAL

Community gardens will open soon for summer

For those who love gardening but don't have the room to plant their own plants, there is another option available for the summer. City of Bloomington Parks and Recreation allows people to plant a garden at Willie Streeter Gardens on S. Highland Street and at other plots on W. 16th Street in Bloomington. The gardens open April 1 and Michael Simmons, who runs the project, said he can hardly wait.

Two men arrested for alleged armed robberies

Local police officers arrested two men Monday morning in connection with two Sunday evening Monroe County armed robberies. A clerk for a Swifty's convenience store in Elletsville said a man tried to rob the store with a shotgun Sunday evening, said Monroe County Sheriff's Department Detective Shawn Karr. The clerk reported that two men in a white Chevrolet van pulled up in front of the store while one of the men exited the van and held the clerk at gunpoint, demanding the money from the cash drawer.

MTV series to feature state juvenile offenders

More than a dozen Indiana teens will have the chance of reaching Kelly Clarkson, Andrew Firestone or Omarosa status -- not by their talents or looks, but by breaking the law. In the truest sense of the expression "reality television," MTV will air an eight-week documentary series this summer called "MTV Juvies," based on 16 juvenile offender cases in Lake County, Ind., from the moment police take the teens into custody until they have attended their final hearings.

HPER offers more than just basketball courts

It's more than a place to work out or shoot hoops with friends. The School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation building is filled with hidden secrets. The HPER contains the old fieldhouse, now called the Ora L. Wildermuth Intramural Center, where HPER Assistant Dean David Skirvin said legendary NCAA championship teams of 1940 and 1953 played under the coaching of Branch McCracken. Bill Garrett, the first black basketball player in the Big Ten, also spent some time playing in HPER's fieldhouse.

CAMPUS QUIZ

Grad student interning at Kennedy Center

Graduate student Katherine Goliver knows that more goes into the performing arts than meets the eye. Goliver is interning at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The Kennedy Center is known internationally for being a leader in performing arts and arts education. As host for more than 3,000 performances each year, the center seeks to showcase the talent of national and international artists as well as to provide opportunities for budding artists and performers, according to the Kennedy Center's Web site. Interns within the Kennedy Institute for Arts Management -- like Goliver -- do not work to improve performance skills but receive hands-on experience as managers of the arts.

IU ranks 9th in private sector fundraising

A recent report by the Council for Aid to Education listed IU as ninth in the nation in private sector funding for all colleges and universities. The $301 million in donations from private sources in 2005 put IU at second in the Big Ten and second highest for all public universities. "This is a clear reflection of the respect and affection our friends and alumni have for this special institution," IU President Adam Herbert said in a press release. "It will enable us to advance further the frontiers of knowledge, provide IU students with the best education possible and discover new ways to solve the problems that make life difficult for so many of our fellow citizens."

BUSINESS IN NORTH KOREA

Record hurricane losses, surge in claims cut State Farm profits

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - State Farm Insurance Co., the nation's largest insurer, said Friday that profits fell 39 percent last year as claims soared during a record hurricane season that battered the Gulf Coast and other Southern states. The Bloomington, Ill.-based insurer posted earnings of $3.2 billion, down from $5.3 billion the year before, despite a flurry of major hurricanes including Katrina, the costliest disaster in U.S. history.

Local food pantry reopens with fresh look, more space

Mother Hubbard's Cupboard in Bloomington re-opened its doors Jan. 30. After nearly a month of remodeling, the food pantry offers its patrons more than just a new floor plan. The pantry had not been updated since its opening in 1998. According to director Libby Yarnell, the food pantry went from 600 to 1000 square feet. "Everything is new," Yarnell said. "We have new electrical work, walls, floor, plumbing, heat and air conditioning." The Perry Township Trustee is responsible for the cost of the pantry's renovation because it owns the property.

DANCE WORKSHOP

ARTIFACTS

Local business honored for promoting films

Local law firm Mallor, Clendening, Grodner, and Bohrer received the 2006 Arts Leadership Award in business Feb. 22. This award, presented by the Bloomington Area Arts Council, recognizes businesses that have shown outstanding support of the local arts scene. "We wanted to recognize a business that supported the arts through more than just financial giving," said Danise Alano, assistant director of economic development for the city and member of the selection committee. "(The firm) has donated countless hours of pro-bono legal work for various causes."

Voice-over major performs both on airwaves and stage

If you have ever listened to WIUX on 100.3 FM, you've heard the catchy promos, a wide range of University information and a taste of the diverse variety of music. You've also heard the luring voice of junior Zach Pollakoff, which appears on the station at least every 20 minutes. Pollakoff writes and edits his own on-air spots and records the promos, the station identifications and the public service announcements. This isn't just something Pollakoff does in his spare time. This is his major, and he created it himself.

Our Town

Cody Fosdick swings a baseball bat backstage before rehearsals for the opera version of the Thornton Wilder play, "Our Town." Fosdick, a performance diploma candidate in the Jacobs School of Music graduate program, is one of two students sharing the role of George Gibbs. "I know it's stupid," he said as fellow cast member and second-year graduate student Liz Baldwin laughed at his admission, "but I'm supposed to be a baseball player."