Bottom Stories - August 7, 2006

And now, a recurring feature here at the Étudiant: Bottom Stories. Just because these events aren't given as much attention as stories about tunnel collapses and women getting stabbed with carrots, doesn't mean we won't recap them here.

WCAT youth group wins national award

A few weeks ago, at the 2006 ACM Hometown Video Festival, eight members of the WCAT Kids Video Adventure Workshop led by the former Executive Director Ron Cox were awarded first place in the "Educational Class Project" category for their video, "Summer Brainstorm."

The program, which was produced last summer as part of the annual Kids Video Adventure Workshop, was entirely written, crewed, acted, directed and produced by the young participants whose ages ranged from 9 to 12 years old.

This annual video festival that is sponsored by the Alliance for Community Media is the country's largest- and longest-running media competition. This year the event was held at Faneuil Hall in Boston as part of the 30th ACM International Conference and Trade Show, which took place at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. Two children from the the WCAT Kids Video Adventure Workshop, Joe Tringale and Rebecca Spivak, were on hand to accompany the workshop coordinator, Ron Cox, to the podium to receive the plaque.

Berry good at Bay States

Justin Berry recently captured a silver medal in track and field during the 25th annual Bay State Games at Harvard University, July 14.

A Salem State College student, Berry, 22, secured the silver medal in the Men's Shot Put Open with a winning toss of 42-02.25. Berry finished second to Daniel Martin, 19, of Ludlow who took the gold (44-08). One of three Wakefield track stars to compete in this summer's games, Berry also finished eighth overall in the Men's Javelin Open at 140-08.

Governors, still wrestling with Medicaid costs

A sense of experiment, even optimism, marked the nation's governors' discussions on health care this weekend, a long way from the dire predictions that have dogged their work over the past few years.

Exploding costs and soaring populations remain a challenge, but governors who gathered Sunday for their annual summer meeting talked more about the possibilities for change, as many states embark on unprecedented experiments to revamp the health care program for the poor and health care overall.

"In all of our states, we're wrestling with these challenges, trying to find ways to improve the quality of care, to reduce the costs," said Republican Gov. Jim Douglas of Vermont. "There are a lot of creative approaches on the way."

Massachusetts has captured the spotlight with a universal health insurance plan that demands everyone in the state get insurance, and gives them help to get it. In different shapes and sizes, other states have begun experiments, from West Virginia to Idaho, Florida to Maine.

Boston-bound flight returns after passenger found on no-fly list

A London-to-Boston flight was called back to Heathrow Airport on Monday after U.S. authorities discovered a passenger’s name was on their “no-fly” list, officials said. Four passengers were being questioned by border control officers.

American Airlines Flight 109, a Boeing 777, left London at 10:55 a.m. (0955 GMT) headed for Boston, said Tim Wagner, a spokesman for the Fort Worth, Texas-based airline.

"The flight returned to Heathrow due to a security issue that needed to be resolved in London,” he said. “It was not a security threat to the aircraft. The flight was in no danger.”

(Sources: Wakefield Observer, Boston Herald, Boston Globe)