Roey Hershkovitz: Lisa Loeb Husband

roey hershkovitz

This week, singer Lisa Loeb announced that she and her husband, Roey Hershkovitz, are expecting their first child. Read more, and see photos and video here.

They met during a business-related meeting, and were engaged back in 2008. The couple married at the beginning of 2009 in New York City, and now, about seven months later, they have a baby on the way. Loeb is musician who is most well known for the song Stay (I Miss You).

Information for Roey Hershkovitz’ biography is relatively scarce. We know that he is a music coordinator for Late Night With Conan O’Brien. He also worked as the music production supervisor for a number of episodes in 2009 so far. Prior to this year, he was the music coordinator for nearly 500 Conan episodes from 2006-2009. He also worked as a producer on a few episodes of The Office, and has even created a pilot for a cooking show.

Outside of the television business, he actually did some voice acting work for the video game Grand Theft Auto IV, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas. According to IMDB, Hershkovitz was the voice of a “Hasidic Pedestrian,” a “Subway Announcer,” and “Various” others. In GTA: San Andreas, he played the voice of a person calling into one of the radio stations that you can tune into as you drive in the game.

Lisa Leob and her hubby should be welcoming their baby sometime in 2010.

Ashley Dupre Slams Judgmental Women in Blog, Asks for Second Chance

ashley dupre

NEW YORK — The high-paid escort who notoriously romped with disgraced ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer has a message to New York ladies: You're no better than me!

"Get real and get over yourself," Ashley Dupre bluntly tells all the women out there who "just love to judge."

Dupre, responding to a front-page Post exclusive about Spitzer contemplating a return to office, said she is tired of people looking down on her.

"Let me say this — most girls, to varying degrees, of course, want to be pampered and have nice shoes, designer handbags and gorgeous clothes," Dupre, 24, writes in a blog post on hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons' Global Grind Web site.

"I know many women who target guys with money and use them to get these things. They toy with them, flirt, go on dates, have sex and then drop hints about that new dress . . . or being short on rent money — and the guys deliver it."

Oudin Stuns Dementieva

oudin

If you considered only Melanie Oudin’s age (17), size (she’s 5-foot-6), and lack of experience, she brought almost no obvious ammunition to her second-round United States Open match against No. 4 Elena Dementieva on Thursday. Her game has drawn sneers from other players who say she has no major weapons.

What Oudin did bring to Arthur Ashe Stadium, however, was an unquantifiable toughness and pulled off the biggest upset of the Open so far, topping Dementieva, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3, in front of an electrified crowd rooting for an American success story. Oudin accomplished this despite an injured left thigh that required medical attention in the third set and was so painful it brought her to tears at one point.

“When I play with no fear, that’s when I play my best,” Oudin said. “I just try to play my game and not worry about anything else.”

It is no coincidence that Oudin’s hero is Justine Henin, the similarly tiny player from Belgium who was the world’s No. 1 player before she retired despite all the same knocks against her game and stature. “She proved you don’t have to be six-foot-something to win,” Oudin said. “She figures out a way to take down these players who could overpower her with her variety and her shots.”

Oudin, ranked No. 70, seemed unfazed by her surroundings and the strength of her opponent. She covered the court masterfully and dictated play, despite the strain in her quadriceps muscle. She took advantage of openings Dementieva gave her with a faltering serve. She pumped her fists and seemed to grow stronger mentally as the match progressed and the crowd matched her intensity with its fervor.

“I feel she had a very good attitude today in the court,” Dementieva said graciously after the match. “She was really using all the positive emotions from the crowd. She was really into the game and, you know, really playing at her best today.”

It was an even more unlikely upset because of all the highly ranked players chasing their first major, Oudin drew the one who seems to be getting her act together. Dementieva has reached the semifinals of four of the past five Grand Slams, including last year’s United States Open. And she got what she felt was a breakthrough victory at the Olympics last summer. In the two Slams this year, she ran into Serena Williams on Williams’s way to winning the title at the Australian Open and Wimbledon.

She warmed up for this tournament by winning the tournament in Toronto, beating Maria Sharapova in the final after toppling Serena Williams in the semifinal. But that final also showcased the one major weakness in Dementieva’s game: her serve. She and Sharapova, another notoriously bad server, combined for 17 double-faults. Heading into the Open, Dementieva was averaging 5.4 double faults a match.

But Dementieva said she did not believe any of that, good or bad, carried over to the Open. “It’s all new here,” she said before the match. “It’s a new challenge.”

Dementieva, who had never played Oudin, seemed to take control of the match early, breaking Oudin’s serve immediately and seeming to establish her game. But her serve started to wobble and Oudin collected two breaks of serve in the middle of the set to pull even at 5-5. From there, though, Dementieva steadied herself and closed out the last two games.

But Oudin did not falter, quickly gaining an upper hand in the second set and pouncing on every opportunity Dementieva offered her. Dementieva double-faulted to give Oudin a break point and although Oudin did not covert that one, she got another and crushed a forehand winner to take a 3-1 lead in the set. She broke Dementieva again in the final game of the set to push herself into a dramatic third with the Ashe Stadium crowd roaring its approval for the up-and-coming American star.

Oudin quickly took a 2-0 lead in the third, but then dumped a forehand into the net to get broken in the next game. That’s when Oudin, who has played her first two matches here with tape around her left thigh, called for the trainers, who adjusted the tape and added more.

In the next game, Oudin faltered on her leg after one point and her hand flew to her face as she wiped away tears. Still, she broke Dementieva’s serve in that game with Dementieva losing the grip on her game and spraying errors into the net and long.

Dementieva’s inability to hold serve — and Oudin’s mental toughness — was her undoing. Oudin closed out the match win a service winner and threw her arms to the sky.

“I just couldn’t believe it,” Oudin said. “The whole thing was just amazing.”

It was the biggest win of Oudin’s young career, which already includes an attention-grabbing victory over No. 5 Jelena Jankovic in the third round of Wimbledon, 6-7 (8), 7-5, 6-2. but even after that victory, Jankovic had sniffed at Oudin’s talent.

“She can play if you let her play,” Jankovic said. “But she cannot hurt you with anything. She doesn’t have any weapons, you know, from what I have seen.”

Oudin, though, is clearly not intimidated by the world’s top players. She advanced to this match with an easy first-round victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia, 6-1, 6-2, which left her plenty of energy to battle Dementieva and was clearly the better player in this match. Oudin had 30 winners to Dementieva’s 22.

In contrast to Jankovic, Dementieva had nothing but kind words for Oudin’s game.

“I think she moves really well,” Dementieva said. “The footwork is really great. She was really fighting for every point, playing everything back. She’s very patient on the court. She knows what is her strength. She’s just waiting for the moment to attack the ball.”

Oudin’s match drew so much interest that it shoved Dinara Safina, the No. 1 seed, over to Armstrong Stadium.

It was a different court and a different opponent on a different day, but for Safina, the battle in her second round United States Open match against Kristina Barrois of Germany Thursday afternoon was the same as always. That battle happened less on the Armstrong Stadium court and more inside Safina’s own mind.

Safina, the world’s No. 1 player, grimaced and agonized and double-faulted on key points, but pulled herself together in time to win, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-3, over Barrois. It was only one game shorter than Safina’s similarly agonizing first-round victory and it held all the same displays of Safina’s vulnerabilities. She seems to carry the No. 1 ranking — earned despite never winning a Grand Slam tournament — like a weight on her shoulders.

But again, she persevered not only over Barrois but over herself. Her body language was somewhat improved over her first-round escape against Olivia Rogowska of Australia. The yelling and grimacing remained but Safina did avoid constantly looking at her coach, the notoriously dour Zeljko Krajan, which only seemed to send her spirits plummeting even more.

On Thursday, Safina managed to keep her focus on the court, where she had enough problems to deal with, most notably with her serve.

After the struggle against Rogowska, who would have beaten Safina had she not committed an astounding 65 unforced errors, Safina vowed to move forward. But she quickly found herself stuck in the same rut. Safina double-faulted on the first point of the match, failed to close out the first set despite several opportunities and then when she found herself down, 5-6, in the tiebreaker, double-faulted again to lose the set.

It was an exact replay of how she lost the first set to Rogowska. Her serves on that double-fault against Barrois went a feeble 75 miles an hour, followed by a second serve at 74, a clear indication her nerves were getting the best of her.

But again, Safina found some rhythm in the second set and won it easily. Then she fell into another hole, dropping the first two games when she got a gift back from Barrois, who double faulted on break point to give Safina the opening she needed.

Still, Safina being Safina, there was drama ahead. Leading, 4-3, and seemingly looking calmer, Safina fell to 0-40 on her serve. That’s when Barrois helped her again with a flurry of errors, a bounce over the net cord for Safina and a final triumph after three deuces.

Safina closed it out and pumped her fist, living to battle herself another day.

The Barbi Twins

barbi twins

Just what are the Barbi Twins famous for?

Well, apart from the four obvious points that stand out to make the Barbi Twins famous that is?

As they themselves describe their activities:

Shane and Sia, the Barbi Twins, are international celebrity models turned celebrity health spokeswomen turned animal activists.

Your humble reporter is not quite so sure about the "celebrity models" part. Back where he came from this sort of modeling was called "glamour" modeling: to distinguish modeling with few or no clothes on from modeling of clothes. The modeling of what is usually beneath the clothes as opposed to the clothes themselves as it were.

Such snark aside it is true that the Barbi Twins are in fact real twins, not just playing at being so for the camera. It's said that their mother was a lesbian psychotherapist (that is, such a therapist who has such sexual tastes, not one for those who do) who after leaving their father went on to have a relationship with Dusty Springfield. But it should also be noted that we shouldn't believe all such stories at face value. The Barbi Twins did a Hustler article at one time and then sued over how a great deal of it seemed to be made up rather than factual reporting.

One thing that definitely is true about the Barbi Twins is that they are indeed now animal activists. They have been, for example, huge supporters of the "Restore Our American Mustangs Act"

But Hastings and others with reservations about the bill have three passionate opponents: former Playboy playmates Shane and Sia Barbi (aka "The Barbi Twins") and Amy Nelson, daughter of country superstar Willie Nelson.

"I gotta be honest: I'm very pro-snake. I'm an animal activist," said Shane Barbi. "But these people are snakes in the way that they're trying to disguise themselves as someone that cares about" animals.

Something which, while they do seem passionate about it, doesn't make a huge amount of sense. It's the "Our American" part about the mustangs that doesn't. For the native American horse became extinct some 10,000 years ago (there are still arguments over whether it was climate or that the first inhabitants of the continent ate them) and all horses in the US now are descendants of those from Asia or Europe over the last four centuries. Mustangs are usually held to be descended from horses which escaped from the early Spanish colonialists.

Still, if that's what the Barbi Twins want to agitate for good luck to them: modelling careers don't go on forever and you've got to find something to occupy your time after 20 years of taking your clothes off.

Halftime show to feature unique performance

unique performance

Brian Hawkins/SDN side, members of the Starkville-based grassroots country band Nash Street — from left, Clay Lezon on guitar, Caroline Melby on mandolin, Hannah Melby on fiddle and Daniel Hare on bass — do a sound check before running through their planned halftime performance with 330-member Famous Maroon Band set for Saturday’s Mississippi State-Jackson State football game at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

Mississippi State and Jackson State football fans alike will be in a for a musical extravaganza during halftime festivities for Saturday’s football game between the Bulldogs and the Tigers.

Both MSU’s Famous Maroon Band and JSU’s Sonic Boom of the South will be performing at halftime at Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field.

The 330-member Maroon Band’s halftime show will feature a special performance by Nash Street, the four-member band from Starkville that won the 2008 Colgate Country Showdown in Nashville. Nash Street will join the Maroon Band for a medley of their “grassroots country” songs.

“This is a rare opportunity for our fans,” said Maroon Band director Elva Kaye Lance.

“We are proud of Nash Street and know it will bring a lot to the halftime show and give our fans and the visiting Jackson State fans a great musical experience.”

Nash Street’s members include fiddler Hannah Melby, guitarist Clay Lezon, mandolinist Caroline Melby and bassist Daniel Hare.

Hannah Melby and Lezon are recent MSU graduates, while Caroline Melby and Hare are both current students.

All four members of the band have been MSU fans since they were children.

“Our parents introduced us to all the rich traditions of the SEC while we wore our little MSU jerseys or cheerleading outfits,” said Hannah Melby. “It’s something that’s deeply rooted within each of us... Mississippi State football is part of our heritage!”

When approached about performing with the Maroon Band, the members of Nash Street didn’t have to think twice.

“When the university’s band director came to us and asked if we would play the show, there was no hesitation. I mean after all, this is our home turf.” said Hare.

Hannah Melby agrees.

“It’s going to be a breathtaking experience to be able to stand out on the field and play for the fans who have supported us and our MSU Bulldogs for years. I can’t think of a better way to spend Labor Day weekend,” she said.

Fans at Saturday’s game will also enjoy the 300-member Sonic Boom’s performance, Lance said. While the Maroon Band is traditional marching unit, the Sonic Boom is what is described as a show band, Lance said.

“Their style incorporates a lot of dance moves and it is definitely a treat to have them perform,” Lance said. “Any time another school’s full band performs at halftime, the atmosphere is revved up, and we are happy to welcome them.”

Kickoff for Saturday’s game is set for 2:30 p.m. The game is being televised on the ESPNU network.

For more information about the Famous Maroon Band, visit the band’s Web site at http://www.msstate.edu/org/band.

For more information about Nash Street, visit the Web site at http://www.nashstreet.com.

'I Pledge' Video Causes Controversy

i pledge video

A few days ago, kids in a Utah elementary school gathered 'round a TV to watch a PSA video. On it, a collection of well-meaning celebrities like Cameron Diaz, Dakota Fanning, and Ashton Kutcher said "I pledge" to do everything from smile at neighbors to help find a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

But the real zinger came near the end of the video when an argyle-clad Demi Moore says she pledges to be a servant to our president. Some parents who found out about the video and its message were a bit perturbed at the content being shown to their kids in a public school. And since then, the story and the video have blown up in Buzz.

Searches on "i pledge video" are up 1,675% and related lookups on "i pledge obama" surged 250% in just a day. TV stations and blogs have also jumped on the story. Fox 13 out of Utah interviewed parents and Gayle Ruzika of the Utah Eagle Forum. Ms. Ruzika said parents should have been forewarned about the video's tone and content.

The principal, who says she didn't see the video before it was shown, has since apologized to parents and sent out a letter. Whether that quells the outrage over Demi Moore's pledge remains to be seen. Below, you can see the video for yourself...

Lynchburg schools allow students to 'opt out' of Obama speech

obama speech to students

President Obama is giving a speech next week to America's school children.

The talk will be broadcast in public classrooms across the country.

The President's topic is the importance of getting an education, but some worry Obama is trying to indoctrinate a young audience with liberal ideas.

One school district in our region is allowing parents to excuse their child from watching the speech.

Students in Lynchburg City Schools can opt-out of watching Obama's remarks.

Teachers will also have the option of not showing the speech to their class.

Lynchburg City Schools provided News 7 with the following release on the issue:

"On Tuesday, September 8, 2009, President Barack Obama is scheduled to make an address to the nation's students on the importance of education. This address will be broadcast live on the White House Web site at 12:00 p.m.

Within the Lynchburg City Schools, the speech will be available for viewing; however, teachers are not required to show the address. Teachers may include the speech as part of their instructional day if time allows them to do so. Teachers are free to hold discussions regarding the speech after its conclusion but there will be no required assignments connected to this event.

Parents may opt out of having their children watch the speech. The school will make reasonable accommodations for those students. The speech is expected to last 10-15 minutes. Therefore, there are no excused absences from school relative to the address."

Lisa Loeb: An Appreciation

lisa loeb

Fresh off her marriage to "The Tonight Show" producer Roey Hershkovitz, '90s alt-culture crush Lisa Loeb is pregnant with her first child. While she hasn't really been a part of the pop music conversation since the turn of the millennium, Loeb may be one of the most iconic characters to come out of the grunge era. She was a folksy singer-songwriter who got her big break when her song "Stay (I Missed You)" got placed on the soundtrack to the 1994 Ben Stiller comedy "Reality Bites," broke out as a single and turned Loeb into a chart-topping star even though she didn't have a record deal. If you were of a certain age in 1994, Loeb was probably the cornerstone of your celebrity crushes, and if you were an especially impressionable person at that time, she might have even informed your entire outlook on the opposite sex. Loeb wasn't the first woman to wear cat's eye glasses or wear baby-doll dresses, but she was the artist who turned the sexy librarian look into a mainstream attraction.

The video for "Stay (I Missed You)" had as much to do with her success as the catchy, earnest song. The clip, which was directed by "Reality Bites" star Ethan Hawke (a friend who got her onto the soundtrack in the first place), contains no edits, was shot in only two takes in Loeb's New York City apartment. Loeb finally signed a record deal and subsequently had a few more minor hits ("I Do" and "How" among them), but more recently she had two reality shows (one a cooking show with then-boyfriend Dweezil Zappa and the other a dating show). But for anybody who discovered "Stay (I Missed You)" in 1994, she'll always be the sad girl in the apartment with the cat.

Dugar Family Doing Well!

dugard family


The Dugard Family is doing well, says aunt Tina Dugard today. Jaycee Lee Dugard and daughters are wonderful, says Tina Dugard.

During the press conference, Tina said Jaycee Dugard, Terry Probyn, Jacyee’s daughters, and her younger sister Shayna Probyn are in seclusion.

Tina said Dugard’s daughters are great and that Jaycee did a great job raising them. She also says Jaycee remembers everything perfectly about her family. Jaycee however is just getting to know Shayna who was A child at the time of Dugard’s abduction.

Tina read a statement, didn’t answer questions, and released three new photos of Jaycee as a child. As reportedly previously on LALATE, Jaycee Lee Dugard, for upwards of ten years, put her most recent photo on company business cards and met with clients, often with her children.

Starlite is 15, Angel is 11. Carl Probyn, Dugard’s step-father Probyn, said of the girls:

“He was the girls’ father - they all cried when he was arrested. Jaycee had to explain that she had been kidnapped. They were a family. They wept when he was captured. They were attached to each other. They thought Jaycee was their sister, They don’t realise she was kidnapped.”

Despite reports, in the 18 year of captivity, Dugard did have contact with the outside world. She went to movies, to the supermarket, interacted with clients, had internet access. But during that time she maintained the name Allissa, never attended school or a doctor.

People of Walmart, Maia Campbell and Man slaps child in Walmart

maia campbell

People of Walmart

For those who haven't heard of this website already, and very few are left among those who are frequently on the Internet, People of Walmart features pictures from Walmart stores and parking lots all across the country of interesting customers and odd sights. This site is similar to I Can Has Cheezburger, which features pictures of cats with funny captions, in both layout and formula; therefore, it's understandable that this site has become a success. The formula they're using is sure to get laughs, which gets thousands of hits in this day and age.

I have no problem with this website whatsoever. It's an invasion of the privacy of those in the pictures, but it's not like the captions include personal attacks, addresses, or phone numbers. A lot of the time, the person's face isn't even in the frame because their back is turned or the person taking the picture pointed the lense low enough to keep the person's face out of it. So, even though they're prominently pictured on a popular website, they can still maintain their anonymity.

With how horrible things are going in this country, why can't we laugh at ourselves?

Maia Campbell

Former actress Maia Campbell is back in the news today for rumors surrounding her possibly being a prostitute. This descent is not surprising due the unflattering results you receive when you enter her name into Google. Here's to hoping she turns her life around.

Hip Hop Gossip! There's Facts....Then There's Gossip!: So Sad: Maia Campbell & DMX

OMG Is That You Maia Campbell??

Man Slaps Child in Walmart

Roger Stephens, 61, walked up to the mother of a 2-year-old girl who wouldn't stop crying and said "If you don't shut the baby up, I will shut her up for you." After a few moments, he allegedly grabbed the child, slapped her four times, and said "See, I told you I would shut her up." Another customer stopped him, security was called, police came, and he was arrested and charged with cruelty with children in the first degree, which is a felony.

Cincinnati Pops’ Erich Kunzel dies

erich kunzel

Erich Kunzel, the longtime conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, died Tuesday at the age of 74, the orchestra announced.

Kunzel had suffered from cancer of the pancreas, liver and colon for several months. He died at his home in Swans Island, Maine.

“The world has lost a musical giant, and we have lost a dear friend,” said Trey Devey, president of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, in a statement.

Kunzel joined the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as associate conductor in 1965, at the invitation of Maestro Max Rudolf. He began conducting pops concerts with the orchestra that year, then took the helm of the Cincinnati Pops when it was spun off from the symphony in 1977.

Over the years, Kunzel and the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra have performed at Carnegie Hall, Radio City Music Hall, the Grand Ol’ Opry and the Blossom Music Festival, and recorded more than 85 albums on the Telarc label. The orchestra’s international tours included playing at the opening ceremonies for the Olympic Games in China last summer.

Kunzel also conducted the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., in its nationally televised Memorial Day concerts. In 2006, Kunzel was presented with the 2006 National Medal of Arts by President and Mrs. Bush at the White House.

Locally Kunzel was a well-known figure, as beloved for his showmanship as his musical skills. He spearheaded the fundraising for Cincinnati Public Schools’ new School for Creative and Performing Arts, now under construction at Elm Street and Central Parkway.

Kunzel is survived by his wife, Brunhilde. Besides Maine, the couple have homes in Newport and Naples, Fla.

The orchestra said its fall Pops concerts will go on as scheduled, with guest conductors.

Cheapskating: Kronos spreads the gyros gospel with free food

kronos gyros

Kronos Foods, a company that supplies a bevvy of Chicago's far-flung gyros joints, is celebrating its self-invented holiday, "Free Gyros Day." The catch is relatively minor—the company will gladly accept your full name, address, and e-mail address in exchange for the opportunity to, according to the website, “EAT MORE GYROS!!!!!” Forty-four Chicago-area locations are participating, with 13 in the city proper, including Felony Franks and two The Works locations. Make sure to print a coupon before heading out today.

Duggar Family Announces 19th Child; Quiverfull Movement in Spotlight Again

quiverfull

The Duggar family is currently expecting their 19th child, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar announced this morning on The Today Show. The couple, who have a reality television show called 18 Kids and Counting (formerly 17 Kids and Counting) have garnered much media attention in recent years for their large family size and perhaps controversial religious practices.

Who are the Duggars?
According to the Duggar Family website, Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar are normal people, who have strived to live a life according to God's will. MSNBC reports that Jim Bob Duggar is a former state legislator from the Arkansas House of Representatives, while Michelle stays home and tends for their large (and getting larger brood)...including homeschooling. They started their reality television show on TLC in 2007, and have also written a book, The Duggars: 20 and Counting!

What religion are the Duggar family?
Much of the controversy surrounding the Duggar family has to do with their religion. Evangelical Christians, the Duggars are reported to prescribe to the Quiverfull movement (though there is no reference to the movement by name on their website), whose foundation is based on Psalm 127: 3-5, "Lo, Children are the heritage of the Lord; and the fruit of the womb is His Reward. Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them..." The Quiverfull movement has received nationwide attention, especially since the Duggar family came into the spotlight. With feminists calling the Quiverfull movement anti-feminist and many worrying about the health and well-being of women and children that prescribe to the faith, it's no wonder that the Duggar family continue to gain an audience of those curious to see how and why they do it.

Why are the Duggars so popular?
If you've ever watched the Duggar family on 18 Kids and Counting, or listened to Michelle Duggar speak, you'll quickly see why the show and the family are so addictive. With a calm, patient manner and a way when she speaks, Michelle Duggar appeals to parents (religious or not) who strive to bring that calmness and patience to their own parenting. With well-behaved, caring children and a strong family unit, many wish their own family could mimic the Duggar's, if not in size, then in structure.

With the Duggar family expecting their 19th child, expect even more attention to fall towards the controversial Quiverfull movement, the Duggars, and TLC's 18 (19) Kids and Counting.

Yucaipa Fire Rages on with 30 mph Gusts.

yucaipa fires


The Oak Glen and Yucaipa fires have been putting people on edge through the night and into this morning. The Yucaipa fire has caused mandatory evacuations through out the Eastern end of the Yucaipa Valley, between Willdwood Canyon Road on the south, and Oak Glen Road to the north.

Winds have picked up, with gusting up to 30 mph out of the west, pushing the flames towards more homes and a mobile home park.

Yucaipa and Calimesa schools have been closed because of bad air quality.

There are a number of resources for people to find online, the most up-to-date information for Yucaipa can be found at Rimoftheworld.net, where they are posting transcriptions of the fire crews at http://www.rimoftheworld.net/incident/7175.

More information, phone numbers, wild fire information, and news can be found at http://www.inlandempire.us/fire_info.php

Hurricane Jimena path - San Diegans may be in store for interesting weekend

hurricane jimena path

Those San Diegans planning on doing some beach camping this weekend may be in for some big waves, big winds, and possibly big rains with hurricane Jimena currently looming off the Baja California coastline. Already Mexican residents have begun evacuating the peninsula or hunkering down for the oncoming storm by boarding windows and lashing down belongings.

According to a Public Advisory issued at 1100am by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Jimena is located approximately 110 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas.

Jimena is a category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale with winds around 135 mph with higher gusts at times. The hurricane is heading north-northwest at approximately 12 mph and is expected to continue on this course for the next couple days.

It is unclear at this time what effect the storm will have on Southern California. Although firefighters fighting the Station Fire in Los Angeles could certainly use some help from fighting that blaze.

Anyone planning on heading to the beach this Labor Day weekend should expect larger surf height at the least and come prepared with wet weather gear.

Safina makes narrow escape at US Open tennis

rogowska tennis

NEW YORK — World number one Dinara Safina barely escaped suffering one of the greatest upsets in Grand Slam tennis history before edging Australian teen Olivia Rogowska on Tuesday in the first round of the US Open.

The 23-year-old Russian top seed, still searching for her first Grand Slam title to justify her ranking, outlasted the 167th-ranked wildcard entrant 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 after two hours and 35 minutes.

Instead of becoming the first US Open women's top seed to lose her opening match, Safina escaped from a 3-0 hole in the third set to reach a second-round match against either Poland's Urszula Radwanska or Germany's Kristina Barrois.

"I played 2 1/2 hours and I was down in the third set but I love playing here and I wanted to stay," Safina said.

Screaming with frustration at times, Safina nearly became only the fifth top seed in Grand Slam history to lose in the first round, the first since Martina Hingis was dumped by Spain's Virginia Ruano-Pascual at Wimbledon in 2001.

"I didn't break any rackets and I didn't get any warnings. That's already positive," Safina said.

The worst showing by a US Open top seed came last year when Serbian Ana Ivanovic lost in the second round.

Rogowska, an 18-year-old from Melbourne, would have been the second-lowest player in rankings to oust a top seed in any round of any Slam, 21 places above France's Julie Coin when she ousted Ivanovic from last year's US Open.

Reigning French Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova shook off a slow start to advance, the Russian sixth seed ousting Germany's Julia Goerges 6-3, 6-2, and later saying that lumping Russians as "head cases" is unfair.

"Every Russian should get the respect. Everybody has their own problems," Kuznetsova said. "Dinara, she maybe has a real bad something missing in her game. I maybe have something missing in mine.

"That is the life, in and out of the court, for everybody."

Safina, 23, will stay atop the rankings after the Open regardless of how she fares in the Flushing Meadows fortnight, even if second-rated reigning champion Serena Williams takes her third Slam crown of the year and 12th of her career.

But her struggles to subdue unknown Rogowska simply reinforced the notion Safina does not belong at the top.

Safina, whose best US Open showing was last year's semi-final run, lost to Serena Williams at this year's Australian Open final, to Kuznetsova in the French Open final and to Venus Williams in a Wimbledon semi-final.

Rogowska, up 502 ranking spots from a year ago, beat Russian Maria Kirilenko in the first round of the French Open and almost pulled off a stunner for the ages to beat Safina.

Rogowska seized a 3-0 lead in the thrid set, the key point when her backhand down the line was overturned into a winner on a review challenge to break Safina in the second game.

Safina, who squandered four break points in the third game, fought off two break points to hold serve in the fourth and after an exchange of breaks was gifted a double fault break by the Aussie to pull within 4-3.

"I was like, 'Please just try to see the ball when you serve,'" Safina said. "That's why I didn't make a double fault."

Safina held serve, broke in an extended ninth game when Rogowska sent a forehand long, and held at love in the final game for a narrow escape.

Rogowska fought off a break point in the 12th game of the first set and swatted a forehand passing winner to force the tie-breaker, then saw Safina net a backhand and double fault on the last two points to surrender the first set.

Safina, whose 24 unforced errors in the first set were only three fewer than Rogowska, answered the challenge by breaking the Aussie upstart three times in the second set to force a third, each struggling to hold as tension mounted.

Kuznetsova, who won her first of two career Grand Slam singles titles at the 2004 US Open, next faces Latvia's 96th-ranked Anastasija Sevastova, who ousted Thailand's 90th-rated Tamarine Tanasugarn 6-3, 7-5.

Kuznetsova needed only 62 minutes to move on, winning 10 of the final 12 games and rescuing three break points in the second set to hold off 92nd-ranked Goerges.

"First match is always tough," Kuznetsova said. "It's very difficult when you don't know what to expect."

Kuznetsova, 24, and compatriot Maria Sharapova, 22, are the only prior Flushing Meadows champions in their half of the draw. Sharapova, the 2006 US Open winner, meets Bulgaria's 98th-ranked Tsvetana Pironkova in a night opener.

Other women's openers send Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva, the 2004 US Open runner-up, against France's Camille Pin and Serbian fifth seed Jelena Jankovic, last year's US Open runner-up, against Italy's Roberta Vinci.

Chapter One: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter

art schlichter

Chapter One: The Rise and Fall of Art Schlichter

Art Schlichter’s book, “Busted,” is an unflinching autobiography of a life gut-punched by gambling.

He describes:
*his charmed rise as an athletic icon in Ohio; he was the center of a recruiting competition between Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler, and later threw the pass that got Hayes fired at Ohio State.
*his father, who lived vicariously through his accomplishments and later committed suicide.
* his harrowing (and sometimes comical) tour of some 40 prisons over a 10-year period.
* his failure as an N.F.L. quarterback.
* his lust for the high of gambling that Schlichter described this way:
“I had, and still have, an addiction. It’s a severe, severe addiction. It’s kind of like crack cocaine in that it takes away your soul and your character.”

He writes: “Some people say to me today, ‘Don’t worry, it’s all behind you.’ ”
“No, it isn’t, because you can’t just walk away from a disease like mine.
“Will I do bad things again that will send me back to prison? I admit the urge is always there.
“Today, I know I’m still only one wrong step away from imprisonment, insanity, or death.”

Schlichter now manages gamblingpreventionawareness.org and is a speaker on the dangers of gambling addiction. The first chapter of the book, which comes out today and which was written with Jeff Snook, is below:

Chapter 1

Locked in “The Shu”

God, I’m tired. I’m tired of prison. I’m tired of being shackled and chained. I’m tired of being told what to do and when to do it. And most of all, I’m tired of not being able to see my daughters, to hold them and hug them and to tell them I love them. Please watch over them God. Take care of them. Help them be happy. Wrap your arms around them and show them the way. Take care of my mom, too. You know she’s a good woman. She’s someone who deserves happiness. You have to keep me from going insane in here. Please help me survive this place. Please keep me from killing myself. I don’t want to go out this way. Please God … please don’t let me unscrew that light bulb.

It’s late January, 2005, and my life has come to this. I’m praying about a light bulb—a stupid, stinking, meaningless 20-watt light bulb.

Hanging over my head, it’s my constant companion. There are days it’s the only light in my life. Other days, I’m sick and tired of staring at it. It just dangles there as if it’s taunting me. Then there are the worst days, the days when the emotional stress of being imprisoned in this hell-on-earth are too painful for me.

Those are the days I want to unscrew it, break it into pieces and use a shard of it to slice my wrist. I know that shattered light bulb could be my deliverance. It could be my only way out of this dungeon. Maybe I’ll bleed to death all over this concrete floor before they can get to me. Then God can take my soul out of here. I can’t walk through those steel bars, but He will take me far away from this miserable existence.

Weeks ago, I was living in a detention camp, the lowest level of incarceration there is in the American correctional system. I had a nice bunk, good food, I worked in the yard, I felt the warmth of the sunshine. Then I bet on an otherwise meaningless college basketball game. I needed one team to beat another by more than 20 points. The team I bet on won the game 80-60. Typical.

I’d lost again, the latest in a lifetime filled with loss.

When the corrections officers discovered I’d gambled again, they chained me, shackled me, and threw me in here, The Hole—solitary confinement. On the inside, we call this horrible place The SHU—Special Housing Unit. This SHU is the absolute most horrible, darkest, dirtiest place I’ve ever seen. The corrections officers, or “hacks” as we call them, tell me I’ll be deadlocked in this dungeon, deep in the bowels of the Indiana Reformatory near the town of Pendleton, for twenty-three hours a day for the next six months. Pendleton’s a depressing concrete compound built in 1923. It once held John Dillinger. I’m housed in the most horrifying wing, locked in a six-by-eight feet cell, shut off from the rest of the prison … and the rest of the world.
I have nothing but a steel toilet, a tiny steel sink, and a wafer-thin pad that separates me from the cold concrete floor.

And my light bulb. I’ve spent ten years of my life in more than forty prisons. I’ve seen the beatings, the rapes, the common atrocities of prison life, but I’ve experienced nothing like this. This place is agony. This place is mental torture. This place will drive me insane if I’m left here for very long.

At night I can hear the rats running through the walls that are covered with messages and pictures drawn by the captives who preceded me here. Someone drew a perfect Jesus, his hands spread wide. I look at Him every day. A naked woman stares from another wall. Gang signs are all around me, but I can’t decipher them.

I’m locked down with no interaction with anyone, other than the inmate to my right. He’s been held in solitary for 17 years and surely is certifiably insane by now, if he wasn’t when he was free. They tell me he killed an entire family years ago and recently stabbed somebody in prison. He’ll never see the outside of this place.

When the hacks walk by his cell, he sometimes throws his own (expletive) on them. On the days he behaves, they allow him outside his cell to roam walkway. Somehow, he’s become a living sports encyclopedia and he knows every statistic from every game ever played. He stops in front of my cell and recites them to me.

I figure he must be about my age, even though he appears to be in his 60s. They tell me he has AIDS. He smells like death, but everyone smells bad in here, including me. The chemical they gave me as deodorant burns my skin, so I never use it. The entire place smells like a mix of feces and body odor.

I don’t experience much physical pain other than intense hunger and thirst. I’ve come to appreciate the slop they slide through the bars to feed me at four in the morning, ten o’clock, and three o’clock. Its arrival is how I tell time. I surely can’t judge time by my stomach because I’m hungry around the clock.

Sometimes I shake involuntarily from the cold. The thin, dusty blanket they give me wouldn’t keep a mouse warm at night. The emotional pain is much worse. It’s so boring in here. Time stands still.

The only thing that keeps me surviving from one day to the next is looking forward to the mail each weekday afternoon. I stash the letters from my mom and my children under my mat—my prized collection of pain and sorrow stuffed into tear-stained envelopes.

I write my mom and my kids almost daily, but there’s never much new to say. It just gives me something to do. In my mind, writing them somehow helps me stay connected to the outside …

Mom, I hope this finds you well. I’m still in the hole. I haven’t left my cell since last Friday for ten minutes to get some soap. They feed me the slop through the hole in the door. It’s pretty primitive. This is my fourth winter without seeing sunshine. I can’t wait for you to bring the girls to see me, but don’t know when they will allow me to have visitors. I can only imagine how
big the girls are getting. Mom, I can’t take much more of this. It’s tough sitting in here thinking about all I have lost. My freedom. My family. My integrity. The money. It all depresses me. I’m mad at myself. I can barely live with myself for doing the things I did. I can’t live with the guilt for all I have done in my life. I worry constantly about you and the girls. I love you Mom. I miss you. Be safe. Love, Art.

I have no real possessions now, other than utter despair. I’ve lost virtually everything in my life and now my hope is slipping away, too. All I have is time, seemingly endless time.
Time to sleep. Time to cry. Time to think of what I did to deserve this the place. When I sleep, I lie on the dirty pad with my head resting on a tiny plastic pillow at the base of the toilet, with my feet toward the steel bars. If I would lie the other way, I’d risk someone reaching through the bars and bashing my head during my sleep.

But when I sleep, I can dream. And when I dream, I’m free. There are times I pray that I wake up and discover this was a just a horrible nightmare. Those prayers never work. Those are the mornings I’m the most depressed. Those are the mornings when I want to unscrew that light bulb.

I never stop wondering, “How did it come to this? What happened to me?”
How did I become known as State of Indiana Inmate 954-154?
If only I could go back forty years to be Art Schlichter, the carefree kid growing up on a farm.

If only I could go back in time to when I had the world at my feet …

Jaycee Dugard case gives hope to mom whose daughter was kidnapped nearby

jaycee dugard daughters photos

The police are looking into the kidnapping of two girls that have similar stories of Jaycee Dugard, and if Phillip Garrido is involved. Michaela Garecht (right in photo) was 9 years old in 1988 when she was kidnapped, just 30 miles from where Phillip Garrido lived, and only three months after he has been released from prison, according to CNN.

Michaela’s mother now has hope that perhaps her daughter is still alive. Michaela’s mother told CNN in an interview, that a week before she was kidnapped her daughter wrote a poem about people who were kidnapped and being held captive. Looking back, her mother thought it was a premonition, and the words kidnapped and captive have rung in her head ever since…not the words kidnapped and killed.

According to Michaela’s mother who told CNN, her daughter was kidnapped in a supermarket parking lot. Michaela and her friend left their scooters outside the supermarket and when they came out, one was gone. They looked around the parking lot and saw it leaning against a parked car, so Michaela went to get it, and when she was close a man grabbed her from behind, threw her into the car and drove off.

Ilene Misheloff (left in photo) was 13 when she disappeared in 1989, about 165 miles southwest of the Dugard’s home. According to CNN, police in the San Francisco area are looking into other kidnapping cases to see if they may be linked as well.

Dinara Safina narrowly avoids elimination against Australian teen Olivia Rogowska

olivia rogowska

Australian teenager Olivia Rogowska has gone agonisingly close to pulling off one of the biggest upsets in grand slam history, losing to world No.1 Dinara Safina in a thrilling US Open first-round match.

Safina fought back from 3-0 and 15-40 down in the deciding set to deny Rogowska 6-7 (5-7) 6-2 6-4 in 2hrs 35mins at Flushing Meadows.

In staving off defeat, the Russian avoided becoming the first women's top seed in 41 years of professional tennis to crash out in the first round in New York.

At No.167 world, Melbourne-based Rogowska was also bidding to become the third-lowest-ranked woman ever to defeat a world No.1 – and the first in eight years to knock the top seed out in the opening round at any grand slam event.

Anything but overawed, Rogowska had expressed her immense excitement at the prospect of playing on a centre court for the first time from the moment she drew the temperamental Safina.

Safina has a history of mental meltdowns, having crumbled in all three of her grand slam final appearances, and Rogowska had vowed to apply the blow torch.

But the young wildcard exceeded all expectations at Arthur Ashe Stadium, the largest arena in tennis with a crowd capacity of 23,763 fans, playing the match of her life and stunning Safina with her remarkable poise and power.

After nervously dropping her opening service game of the match, Rogowska returned serve – literally – to twice break Safina and charge to a 3-2 lead in the first set.

She was unable to sustain her advantage, giving up further breaks to fall behind 5-3 – but refused to lie down.

Troubling Safina with her deep and angled groundstrokes, Rogowska saved a set point before breaking the Russian for a third time in the ninth game.

Rogowska held serve from 0-30 to level at 5-5 and then staved off a further two set points in the 12th game – including one with a huge serve and fearless follow-up forehand winner – to force the tiebreaker.

Safina won the opening two points of the breaker and continued to lead until Rogowska unloaded a "bullet" – as Martina Navratilova called it – of a forehand pass to level at 4-4.

As the tension mounted, Safina dumped a backhand return into the net and then double-faulted, prompting the fist-pumping Rogowska to skip to her courtside chair in delight after snaring the opening set.

The youngster suffered an inevitable letdown in the second set, dropping four games in a row to allow Safina to put the match back on level terms.

But there looked to be no denying Rogowska when Safina coughed up four double-faults in one game to hand Rogowska an early service break and a 2-0 lead in the third set.

Rogowska then showed extraordinary composure to hold from love-40 down, fending off four break points in all, to go up 3-0.

Then she had the top seed facing two more break points at 15-40, but was unable to convert her advantage into what surely would have been an unassailable lead.

Safina drew back to 2-3 when Rogowska double-faulted on game point in the fifth game.

But the Russian returned the favour with her 12th double-fault, giving Rogowska a 4-2 buffer.

Alas, the Australian committed her 11th double-fault to hand Safina the seventh game and the Russian then held for 4-4.

The decisive moment in the match came in the ninth game of the deciding set when, despite gallantly fighting off three break points, Rogowska was unable to save a fourth.

Safina held her nerve – and serve to love – to close out the match with a forehand winner to keep her Open hopes alive.

Meanwhile, adopted Australian Jarmila Groth is out of the US Open after losing her first-round match to China's Shuai Peng. Slovakian-born Groth, who is expected to receive her Australian citizenship in the coming months, lost 6-2 6-3 to the world No.44.

Michelle Duggar Pregnant: Duggars 19th Child

duggars 19th child

Is mother of eighteen Michelle Duggar pregnant? Yes, my friends, those are the rumors circulating and yes, the rumors are true. Michelle and Bob Duggar are expecting their 19th child together! Read more about the Duggars 19th child news, see photos and video here.

Michelle Duggar is pregnant. It seems so hard to believe that Duggar is pregnant again, considering the mother-of-eighteen just had their youngest child eight months ago. Ok wait, maybe it isn’t so surprising, but rather a sense of shock with the number nineteen. Nineteen children! Duggar is used to being pregnant year after year after year. Talk about one fertile and patient woman!

The Duggars announced their baby news on the Today Show saying, “We are so thrilled. We just couldn’t believe it is happening.” Is she seriously surprised?

One would think that at the age Michelle is at that she would be a tad worried about the risks that can occur with pregnancies at her age. However, Duggar has opted out of receiving any prenatal testing.

She tells a source, “We know what could happen. We read through the information. If the Lord chooses to give us challenges along the way, we know His Grace will be there, so we don’t opt to do the testing.”

In even more interesting Duggar news, their son Josh and his wife Anna are expecting a baby in October. What does Michelle have to say about that?

“My sister and my mother were having babies at the same time, so I have nieces and nephews older than me. It was a great time because we really have close relationships with my nieces and nephews.”

The assumed to be “J”-named Duggar 19th child will join Joshua, Jana, John-David, Jill, Jessa, Jinger, Joseph, Josiah, Joy-Anna, Jedidiah, Jeremiah, Jason, James, Justin, Jackson, Johannah, Jennifer, and Jordyn.

When it comes to the Duggars, apparently the more, the merrier!