Longform

Teens earn education credit at IU High School

By Nico Perrino · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 11:55 p.m.

The IU High School is a type of distance education in which students from 48 different states and 13 different countries can receive high school credit through either Internet courses or other types of correspondence without actually having to sit in a classroom every day, said Bruce Colston, director of the IU High School.

An Epic Stroll

By Paul Mattingly · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 11:54 p.m.

Although “Let It Be” would be The Beatles’ last released studio album in 1970, the last actual recordings they did as a band were in 1969 for the “Abbey Road” sessions.

The Night Goes On

By Brian McFillen · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 11:52 p.m.

After decades of scholars, music critics, parents and other assorted baby boomers hyped The Beatles as the greatest rock band of all time, it’s tempting to see their work as a museum piece to be admired from a distance, but not loved. And some of their later music fits that mold. But not “A Hard Day’s Night.”

NBC looks to improve post-Super Bowl

By Cory Barker · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 11:51 p.m.

This coming week is a big one for TV with the Super Bowl on Sunday. NBC has the highest-rated TV event of the season this year, and it looks like a big week for them altogether. Obviously the Super Bowl is a must-see, so we’re just going to ignore that. Here are four shows to get through the post-Bowl hangover.

With wild turkeys thriving in Ind., it’s open season twice a year on the birds

By Jef Akst · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 10:58 p.m.

The Dept. of Natural Resources reported last week that 610 wild turkeys were killed during the 2008 fall hunting season, a 4 percent increase in success since 2007.Once completely wiped out from most of the Midwest, wild turkeys have fought their way back into Indiana’s backyard and now draw more than 50,000 hunters annually.

Patrons wait to hear the Anat Cohen Quartet at the Buskirk-Chumley theater September 30, 2008 during the Lotus World Music and Arts festival. The Buskirk Chumley Theater Grant Program allows organizations, similar to the Lotus World Musical Festival, rent the theater for free for one day. Applications for the grant are due by Friday at 5 PM.

Buskirk-Chumley grant offers applicant winners free rent for a day

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 10:56 p.m.

One lucky winner will get to rent the Buskirk-Chumley Theater for free. With the introduction of the Buskirk-Chumley Theater Grant Program, Bloomington residents can apply for a grant to use the Buskirk for a day.

France to withdraw 1,900 troops from Chad, Ivory Coast

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 10:08 p.m.

France plans to withdraw 1,900 of its soldiers from the African nations of Chad and Ivory Coast to reduce its foreign troop deployment, Prime Minister Francois Fillon announced Wednesday.

China detains 81 in Tibetan crackdown

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 10:06 p.m.

China is launching a security sweep in Tibet ahead of one of the region’s most sensitive anniversaries in years, with state media saying at least 81 people have been detained.

Offshore Calif. drilling deal could be scuttled, experts say

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 10:05 p.m.

An agreement paving the way for the first oil drilling off of the California coast in nearly 40 years has run into unexpected opposition that may sink it altogether Thursday.

‘Bob the Builder’ encourages kids to go green

By Caitlin Johnston · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:37 p.m.

Student organizations and Al Gore aren’t the only ones worrying about the environment. Bob the Builder and his crew will urge kids to go green and recycle during a performance at the IU Auditorium today.The 90-minute show will include Bob and his team singing and dancing through 10 songs as they work to create a recycling center, said Maria Talbert, the events manager for the auditorium.

Night comes alive in BPP’s ‘Nocturnal’

By Allison Tyra · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:35 p.m.

Night is a time of darkness, mystery and illusion in the Bloomington Playwrights Project’s upcoming production of “Nocturnal,” a new play by writer Ramon Esquivel. In what begins as an innocent prank, four teens challenge each other to new levels of risk and danger. “These young people are trying to find themselves, but they’re still hidden in some ways and each one of them has dark corners of their personality and their psyche,” Esquivel said. “It’s not something that’s talked about onstage, at least not any stage high schoolers see.”

HBO comedian to make cracks at Funny Bone

By Nathan Brown · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:34 p.m.

Arj Barker of “Flight of the Conchords” will start the first of three consecutive performances at The Funny Bone Comedy Club today. The show is only available for those 18 or older. Baker himself even questioned the appropriateness of his material. “Is it for all ages?” Barker asked. “It’s not appropriate for a person of my age to be telling these jokes.”

Commitment to our founding principles

By Chelsea Kane · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:23 p.m.

Last week I watched as another man took the highest office in the land. This magnificent display is one that has been replayed in various forms and fashions 44 times in our nation’s dynamic history. This consistently peaceful process is one of the hallmarks the United States has built. Though the fanfare may be different, the words are the same: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” The maintenance of our Constitution and its principles is essential to the longevity of this nation that is so dedicated to the liberty of its citizens.

Planned Parenthood flop

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:22 p.m.

The dust has barely settled on Planned Parenthood and its previous brush with the law in Bloomington before the organization finds itself in another legal scandal, this time in Indianapolis. You may remember that in December 2008, Live Action Films, an anti-choice group based in California, released video of an undercover sting operation in Bloomington. The video showed a 20-year-old woman posing as a 13-year-old pregnant girl after sexual relations with a 31-year-old man. In the video, an employee at the S. College Avenue clinic is seen advising the woman to lie about her age in order to protect her from being reported to Child Protective Services. In Indiana, any sex act between an adult and a person younger than 14 years must be reported to the department or a law enforcement agency. Although the employee was fired, Planned Parenthood is still dealing with the attack on its credibility, most notably in Indianapolis. Indiana Health Commissioner Judith Monroe recently warned the clinic there that its incomplete “terminated pregnancy reports” were grounds for prosecution.

Stop the boondoggle

Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:20 p.m.

On Jan. 21 the IDS published an article about how IU hopes to get a boost from Barack Obama’s economic stimulus package. This would be immensely valuable for IU and all Indiana students, and our chance of getting the money may depend on an important piece of legislation that is currently up for consideration. House Bill 1656 would take the power to distribute stimulus funds from Gov. Mitch Daniels, where it now sits, and give it to the Democrat-controlled Indiana General Assembly. This could be important for IU’s future because Gov. Daniels has pledged to use much of the stimulus money to fund his pet Interstate 69 highway construction project, perhaps at the expense of funding for education.

‘Where has all the money gone?’

By John Hill · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:19 p.m.

No doubt that’s what the laundry list of high-profile investors, charities and financial institutions taken to the cleaners by Bernard Madoff Investment Securities LLC must be asking themselves amidst revelations that the organization was nothing more than the largest Ponzi scheme in American history. It was “one big lie,” as the hedge fund’s namesake called it himself. The financier’s fraud might ultimately cost investors as much as $50 billion and did little to boost confidence in the financial industry, already reeling from the subprime mortgage and credit crises of the past year. In the grand scheme of things, however, Madoff’s actions are not dissimilar from Wall Street’s greater misdeeds.

Free to run

By Abigail Mitchell · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 8:17 p.m.

It’s hard to be a long-distance runner in the Midwest. The humid summers are one thing, but worse still are the icy winters that preclude any hope of running outside. Believe me, there are few things more mind-numbingly boring than 10 miles on a treadmill. So when I found myself in a southern climate for a few days in January, I was most looking forward to running out of doors. I was in a not-so-safe area of a big city surrounded by nothing but pavement, but that did not deter me. The friend with whom I was staying expressed his worry about my running alone; his roommate tried to suggest helpfully that I just run laps around the parking lot. But it was broad daylight, the area didn’t look that bad to me and the temptation of the cool air and blue skies was just too great.

Student battle in a snow ball fight Wednesday in Dunn Meadow. IU canceled classes Wednesday due to snow, and Monroe County declared a state of emergency.

Campus closed all day due to heavy snowfall

By Nick Cusack · Wednesday, Jan. 28,2009 7:01 a.m.

The campus will be closed all day today, following heavy snowfall Tuesday night. The University's Emergency Preparedness Web site announced the closure at about 10:30 a.m.Last night's snow "has created unsafe travel conditions," according the site. In addition, Monroe County has declared a state emergency. Only emergency and public safety vehicles are allowed to travel.

Promoting a personality cult

Tuesday, Jan. 27,2009 11:37 p.m.

This letter is in response to the media coverage of President Barack Obama. In the 25 or so years I have been following politics in the United States, I have never seen media coverage of an individual (Obama) that borders on promoting a “cult of personality.”

Renter fraud

Tuesday, Jan. 27,2009 11:36 p.m.

Anyone looking to sign a lease for next year might benefit from asking a rental company this question: What percentage of your tenants get their full deposit back?