Prosecutors Suggest 7 Years for Nacchio

DENVER - Prosecutors recommended Friday that former Qwest chief executive Joe Nacchio serve a maximum of seven years and three months in prison for completing $52 million in illegal stock sales when his telecommunications company was at financial risk.

In a brief filed late Friday, government attorneys also recommended Nacchio serve three years probation and be fined a maximum of $19 million.

"Any less severe sentence would fail to provide just punishment, to promote respect for the law, and to protect the public," prosecutor James Hearty wrote on behalf of the legal team.

In a separate brief, defense attorney Herbert Stern asked U.S. District Judge Edward …

Schwarzenegger's 3rd budget reform attempt flops

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger wanted to permanently fix California's "broken budget system." But three times now he has tried and failed to smooth out the state's roller coaster revenues.

Voters on Tuesday resoundingly rejected his latest effort, a package of budget-balancing measures that he promised would provide a short-term patch for the current financial crisis and prevent further catastrophe in the future.

Instead, he now faces a $21.3 billion budget deficit and a budget system that has not changed a bit since he took office nearly six years ago.

"I think he's discovered that this job is a lot harder than he anticipated in a …

Atlantis Going Fishing On Electrical Experiment

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. The shuttle Atlantis thundered into orbitFriday on an international mission to test a satellite-on-a-ropetechnique that engineers say could revolutionize space flight.

The mission is a joint venture of NASA and the Italian SpaceAgency, and includes Swiss, Italian and Costa Rican-born astronauts,as well as four U.S.-born crew members.

The main goal of the seven-day mission is to demonstrate anotion developed by Italian scientists: the concept of tyingspacecraft together with an electrical cord.

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11 Afghans injured in anti-Quran-burning protests

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Thousands of Afghans are protesting a small American church's plan to burn the Muslim holy book. At least 11 people have been injured.

Police in the northern province of Badakhshan say several hundred demonstrators ran toward a NATO compound where four attackers and five police were injured in clashes. Protesters also burned an American flag at a mosque after Friday …

UN prosecutor praises Serbia for Karadzic arrest

The U.N. war crimes prosecutor for the former Yugoslavia says Serbia authorities "deserve full credit" for arresting longtime fugitive Radovan Karadzic.

Serge Brammertz also says it will take months before the prosecution and defense are ready for the trial of the former Bosnian Serb leader.

Karadzic was arrested last week in …

There's hope for a new American elm tree

The majestic American elm (Ulmus Americana) was down, but it wasnever out. And today, rising like a phoenix from the ashes of Dutchelm disease, elms are beginning to appear in nurseries, on landscapeplans and in streetscapes once again.

Dutch elm disease entered the United States around 1930 on ashipment of elm logs from Europe. By the 1950s the fungus wasspreading rapidly; by the 1970s American elms were on their way tobecoming a bittersweet memory.

So prevalent is the disease that the tree is now inextricablylinked to its nemesis. It's not uncommon to hear someone refer to anAmerican elm as a "Dutch elm," so accustomed are we to hearing thetree and the disease …

DSNI hears plans for green house

DSNI hears plans for green house

A plan to build a 10,000-foot greenhouse over a former garage at 11 Brook Avenue in Roxbury took center stage during the Dudley Street Neighborhood initiative annual meeting last week.

DSNI members hope to have the garage demolished, the land cleansed of oil and gasoline spills, and have the project completed by the end of this year. Greg Watson, executive director of DSNI, could hardly contain himself as he explained the unlimited opportunities that would arise from the project.

We have a vision. We'd like to see a formal visiting center," said Watson. "We even see it as a restaurant."

Watson emphasized that the …