Virgina Tech student decapitated
Last Friday, Virginia Tech witnessed another brutal murder of one of their students, stirring up memories of the recent 2007 massacre.
Xin Yang and Haiyang Zhu, both international students, had arrived in the U.S. barely a month ago from China to study at Virginia Tech.
Zhu, an economics Ph.D student, befriended the 22-year-old Yang, showing her around campus and serving as her mentor.
Because of their seemingly amicable relationship, authorities are puzzled as to why Zhu committed such a an atrocious crime against Yang.
The night of the murder, Zhu and Yang were seen sitting together in an Au Bon Pain cafe.
There was no shouting or unusual behavior that precipitated the attack.
Police responded to 911 calls around 7 p.m. and arrived on the scene to find Zhu holding the severed head of Yang.
The crime was committed in the presence of several witnesses.
A large kitchen knife and Zhu's backpack filled with sharp weapons was found nearby. upon researching Zhu's webpage, police found a site where Zhu talks about killing someone else or committing suicide due to the losses in the stock market and the general economic downfall.
When the police arrived at the scene they found Zhu holding Yang's decapitated head in his hands.
Baltimore residents refuse to pay Dixon's legal fees
Mayor Sheila Dixon of Baltimore was indicted on 12 charges of fraud, perjury, felony theft and misconduct earlier this month.
Dixon purportedly received $15,348 in gifts from former boyfriend Ronald H. Lipscomb and used $3,400 worth of gift cards, donations intended for needy families of Baltimore, to purchase items from Best Buy and Toys R Us for herself and her staff.
After pleading not guilty and enduring nine Baltimore grand jury trials, Dixon awaits the results of her trial.
If convicted, Dixon faces 85 years of prison.
A recently proposed draft for a policy that would reimburse city employees who are cleared of charges using city tax dollars has left taxpayers outraged.
Many have criticized Dixon for using taxpayers' money to pay her own legal fees. Others claim that the policy's main aim is to benefit the poorer city employees who cannot afford the legal fees.
City offers $320,000 to keep Theater open
The city has proposed to spend $320,000 to keep the Senator Theatre open, on the condition that it is transformed into a nonprofit business.
Located on 5904 York Rd., the 70-year-old theater is a historic Baltimore icon and one of the few vintage movie houses that offers first-run films.
The owner of the Senator, Tom Kiefaber, has been struggling to fend off the rising debt that the theater has been accumulating over the years and has even put his house up for collateral on the many loans he has taken. Fifty-six-year-old Kiefaber has remained dedicated to the Senator and also operates the Rotunda Theatre.
The city, in an effort to prevent foreclosure, has offered no-interest loans from funds previously designated for community projects once Kiefaber deeds the theater to a nonprofit corporation.
He has planned to turn the theater into a community meeting place where film screenings, concerts and public forums will be held.
Gov. Plans to eliminate public psychiatric center
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley recently released his budget for 2010 which includes a plan to close the Walter P. Carter Center, the only public psychiatric center in Baltimore.
The 51-person in-patient program will be closed first, and patients will be relocated to centers in neighboring counties.
Later, in July 2010, the entire facility will close, forcing the out-patient program, which serves many in the Baltimore community, to relocate as well.
This closure comes amidst a statewide effort to cut costs and close budget gaps and has not been met with significant opposition because the center is old and has fallen into disrepair.
Southern Illinois University
plagiarism report may be plagiarized
Southern Illinois University composed and released a report on plagiarism in 2007.
The 17-page report contained a 139-word definition of "plagiarism."
However, upon analysis of the report, it was discovered that some passages, including the definition, were identical or very similar to the definition released by Indiana University in 2005.
The chairman of the committee that put together the Southern Illinois report, Arthur M. Adkins, stated that they were unaware of the extreme similarities of the two policies.
R. Gerald Nelms, associate professor of English at Southern Illinois, described the wording as "coincidental" and also declared that the committee did not knowingly copy the definition.
This is not the first time that Southern Illinois has had problems with instances of plagiarism.
Recession threatens Yale's endowment
A $12 billion recession is projected on Yale's endowment over the next 10 years.
Like most of the nation's universities, a significant percentage of Yale's endowment has also been cut. What would have been a $33.6 billion endowment by 2018 is now estimated to be worth $21 billion.
The recession could drastically affect Yale's budget in the next decade, as the dwindling value of the endowment will hinder its contribution to the operating budget.
According to Shauna King, the University's vice president for finance and business operations, Yale is taking several steps to cut the operating budget.
These steps include a five percent cut in personnel and other spending and limiting salary raises. The University is also revising time frames for construction and renovation projects.
The details of the final budget proposal are still being discussed, and the final approval will take place in June.
