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With the return of students to classrooms this fall comes a return to worries about school shootings. One of the newest ideas to emerge from a two-part violence-prevention conference sponsored by the FBI this summer: require teachers and other school staffers to report troubling behavior (such as obsession with guns or torturing animals) to social-service workers. The proposal is being modeled on the mandatory child-abuse-reporting system that requires school and medical personnel to report suspicions of child abuse for further investigation. "This would not be for the purpose of punishment but more as a triage system" aimed at early identification of potentially violent children who need psychological counseling, says Julie Underwood of the National School Boards Association.
As the idea gains steam, proponents are struggling to determine how to put such a requirement in place while respecting student confidentiality. Another challenge: train teachers to differentiate between the typical troublemaker who frequents the principal's office and the disturbed child who fantasizes about shooting up his school. To help, FBI experts are preparing a report on student profiling, based on interviews with those on the front lines in the shootings in Littleton, Colo.; Paducah, Ky., and 12 other recent incidents. The young killers' profiles were very similar, says one conference participant. "We may not be able to identify with 100 percent accuracy the kids who might do this. But we should be able to identify more kids who need help."
CAMPAIGN 2000A Great Debate
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Al Gore's top campaign advisers are seriously weighing an unlikely move: setting up a series of debates with Bill Bradley--starting as soon as possible. Why? Proponents of the early-debate strategy argue that while the veep may not be a great speaker, he's "an assassin as a debater." Recent polls and punditry portray Bradley as "more electable" than Gore. Bradley's centrist appeal, Gore advisers believe, is based in part on his basketball fame and small-town roots. Meanwhile, he is moving steadily left, a direction they contend will ultimately make him less appealing to key swing voters. "We can't let Bradley get away with going left and looking right," says a Gore adviser. "If debating is the only way to expose him, then so be it."
CORRUPTIONScandal in the LAPD--Again
After weathering charges of racism and incompetence in the Rodney King and O. J. Simpson cases, the Los Angeles Police Department is again being rocked by scandal. In a plea agreement in a cocaine-theft case, former anti-gang cop Rafael Perez has implicated himself and other officers of the city's Rampart Division in an array of alleged crimes including drug dealing, planting evidence, unlawful shooting, excessive use of force and perjury. An unarmed gang member Perez and a partner shot and paralyzed was freed from prison after Perez admitted he planted a gun on the man. Two officers in addition to Perez have been fired; 12 others have been suspended pending an investigation.
In an unrelated case, another former Rampart cop (and Perez's best friend) was recently convicted of masterminding a $700,000 bank robbery. "It's not a good day," said LAPD Chief Bernard Parks.
THE BUZZThe Spy Who Baked Me Cookies
All England went agog last week at 87-year-old granny/spy Melita Norwood, who proudly revealed she'd handed atomic secrets to the KGB half a century ago. Meanwhile, Los Alamos news keeps dribbling out. The buzz on espionage:
Upheaval at the CIA: It's now fighting mob and drug cartels (whose encryptions the FBI can't read). And Director George Tenet (with no intel background) has yet to earn its respect.
Slow But Steady: China and Russia take long-term approaches, running countless operations, many of which fail. America (less effectively) seeks quick fixes for immediate needs.
All Out: Israel does it best: Its spies don't face rules the CIA does (e.g., no assassinations)
Oops: Why did we bomb China's Belgrade embassy? Top photo analysts have left for the private satellite-imaging biz.
Weaknesses: Our security stinks, as evidenced by a recent major break-in by the Russians. They got root-level access to government computers.
FOODPiggy Had None
Jumbo shrimp we understand, but anorexic pigs? In a recent study, British veterinary scientist John Owen says the taste for leaner pork has resulted in hyperactive sows that don't eat or reproduce. "For 70 years genetic selection has been used to produce lean pigs, which are now almost as lean as chickens," explains University of Wisconsin veterinarian Lennart Backstrom. Doubters cite low numbers of thin U.S. pigs: roughly 1,000 out of 100 million. Says pork expert David Meeker, "Pigs still eat like pigs."
FOOTBALLNose Tackle?
Football: a game of inches--and superstitions. As the season kicks into gear, PERI examines some strange pigskin rituals.
Tom Nalen, Denver Broncos: Nalen doesn't wash his practice gear, believing he's building up a "natural seasoning" that will protect him.
Steve Young, San Francisco 49ers: At games on AstroTurf, brings his own dirt and rubs it before each offensive series.
Shar Pourdanesh, Pittsburgh Steelers: Tapes a letter from his mother to his thigh pad.
Corey Sears, Arizona Cardinals: Since high school, eats an entire lemon before each game.
BAD HEIR DAYSYoung, Rich and Miserable
The battle for Caleigh--4-year-old daughter of Revlon mogul Ron Perelman and Patricia Duff--rages on. Mom says it costs $4,400 a day to raise the tot. How? Start with a $19,500 desk. Other poor little rich girls:
Christina Onassis (Born: 1950 Died: 1988) Daughter of Aristotle and socialite Tina, Christina inherited a fortune estimated near $1 billion. After four unhappy marriages and struggles with various addictions, including food, drugs and Coca-Cola, she died at age 37.
Athina Roussel (Born: 1985) Christina's daughter is sole heiress to the Onassis millions. Subject of kidnapping plots and wrangling over her upbringing, the 14-year-old lives with her dad. She once told her stepmother, "If I burn the money, there will be no problem."
Barbara Hutton (Born: 1912 Died: 1979) The Woolworth fortune Hutton inherited in the 1930s would make her a near-billionaire in 1999 dollars. She died alone after squandering the fortune and failing at seven marriages--including five to titled men and one to Cary Grant.
Gloria Vanderbilt (Born: 1924) Heir to part of great-great-grandfather Cornelius's railroad fortune, Vanderbilt endured a bitter custody battle between her free-living mother and her aunt. "Little Gloria" later resurfaced as a 1980s designer-blue-jeans brand name.
TRANSITIONEye of the Storm
W. Arthur Garrity Jr., the federal judge who ordered busing in Boston, lived to see the end of race as a factor in organizing the city's schools. But the debate over his 1974 decision, which sparked violent protests, survives him. He died at 79.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 66, underwent surgery for colon cancer last week, after falling ill in June.
CATNIPDon't Smoke It!
Catnip purveyors love nepetalactone, even if they can't say it. Since Iowa State University scientists reported last month that the same chemical that attracts cats also repels roaches, pet-product makers say catnip sales are "on fire." But the leaf form leaves bugs unimpressed. Until roach-specific concentrates hit the market, says Iowa State's Joel Coats, try catnip oil or sprays.
AWARDSFreezing Frenzy Heats Up
It's an honor earned on ice but hotly contested. Late last week, Jimmy (Iceman) McNeil, the lone Canadian contender for Zamboni Driver of the Year, was trailing his top American rival, Al Sobotka, in this year's online voting (www.zamboni.com). But a blast of Canadian support gave McNeil, who's operated the ungainly ice-smoothing machines at Ontario's Brantford Civic Centre for more than a decade, a 10,000-vote lead. "I'm very excited, but I'm not going to go overboard yet," says the Iceman. "Voting doesn't end until December." If his edge holds against the Detroit Red Wings' Sobotka, the Zamboni repairman's son has a shot at the ultimate in ice-scraping: working the NHL All-Star game in January.
Uncloseted Cops
At last week's international Conference of Gay and Lesbian Criminal Justice Professionals in San Diego, 120 cops from 73 agencies rated their departments' policies on gays in the ranks. The best places to be out of the closet and behind the badge:
Gay-Friendly Forces
Boston Police Department
Key West, Fla., P.D.
Los Angeles P.D.
Los Angeles Co. Sheriff's Dept.
New York P.D.
Portland, Ore., P.D.
San Francisco P.D.
San Francisco Sheriff's Dept.
Santa Rosa, Calif., P.D.
San Diego P.D.
Travis Co. Sheriff's Dept. (Austin)
TELEVISIONGoing for the Gold Remote
Cable's Retro TV Land network hopes tough trivia will ferret out the "Ultimate TV Fan." When its nationwide search ends Friday in Los Angeles, the winner will get to program an hour of each week--for a year. Sample questions (and may the best couch potato carry the day):
1. Name the only two actors who appeared on the TV series "Gunsmoke" throughout the show's 20- year run.
2. When Uncle Joe Carson isn't helping run the Shady Rest Hotel on "Petticoat Junction," what is his occupation in Hooterville?
3. In what city were the exterior shots of the police precinct filmed in "Hill St. Blues"?
4. On "Leave It to Beaver," Lumpy's real name is Clarence, and Whitey's real name is Hubert. But what is the Beaver's real name?
5. What TV Land character was born on April 1, 64 B.C., and spent nearly 2,000 years in solitary confinement before being set free by a NASA astronaut?
6. This family moved next door to the Bunkers before they moved on up and got a show of their own. Who are they?
7. What Broadway play inspired the TV series "Hogan's Heroes"?
Answers:
1. James Arness and Milburn Stone.
2. Fire chief.
3. Chicago.
4. Theodore.
5. Jeannie.
6. The Jeffersons.
7. "Stalag 17."
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