Melissa's AP stories

		wMelissa's AP stories
		Here are my stories whose links are no longer available. Only the ones with bylines are included here, for the non-bylined ones that I found more interesting, go to melswar.blogspot.com. Thanks! Let me know what you think!

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		wSaturday, November 13, 2004
		Nov. 11, 2004 World War II veteran finds himself in painting By MELISSA MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Jean Muth skimmed the newspaper Sunday when a listing about a World War II exhibit caught her eye. Along with the museum's hours was a shot of a featured painting, depicting sailors playing poker aboard the "Lucky Lizzy." She examined the picture closer. There, on the right side of the painting _ much to her surprise _ was her husband, Frank, sitting slightly above the other sailors. Frank Muth took a look for himself, then asked his wife, "Are we going to go?" And so, with his USS Elizabeth C. Stanton blue leather memory book tucked under his arm, Frank and his wife of 57 years went Thursday to the Albany Institute of History and Art to see his likeness in person. "They were walking around, looking for it," said Jake Landry, who was at the institute recording veterans' oral histories for the New York State Military Museum. "What a special moment," Landry said, referring to when the East Chatham couple finally discovered the painting, called "On the Fantail." "You almost can't believe it," Jean Muth said as she stood among the many current and former military members who packed the museum on Veterans' Day. Frank, still sturdy at age 81, pulled out snapshots from his adventures on the cargo ship, matching up former bunkmates with the other sailors in the painting. Calling them his "motley crew," Muth pointed out one man with a short beard also in the painting. Within his envelope of photographs, Muth took out one of men piling into a small boat, almost identical to another painting by Mitchell Jamieson titled "Invasion Craft." The grim painting shows the same dark scene, and another painting "Red Beach at Gela" reminded Muth of another picture in his Stanton book, of a large ship burning. "We were on the other side," he pointed when a man asked about Muth's view of the engulfed ship. Jamieson was one of eight Navy artists sent to serve alongside fighting men and record their visions. Some of their works can be seen at the institute through Feb. 13. Muth doesn't remember anyone snapping pictures of him and his buddies while they relaxed off of Algers, waiting to head to Sicily, as the painting's caption explained. In the painting, done in oil, some men sit on wooden boxes, others on the ground or leaning up against a rail. Though Jamieson's description says the sailors were playing poker, Muth contends, "I wasn't playing, I was watching." At the time of the painting, Muth said he was about 20 years old. He joined the Navy with a friend when he was 19 while living in Philadelphia. "I knew my number was coming up," he said, adding that he wanted to avoid being drafted into the Army. Instead, Muth, who was a 2nd class motor machinist by the time he left the service, worked in the engine room of the "Lucky Lizzy" for three years, visiting many corners of the globe. posted by Melissa at 8:18 PM

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		Nov. 2, 2004 Some college students have trouble casting ballots By MELISSA MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ A steady stream of students made their way to the polls Tuesday at the State University of New York at Albany, but not everyone had an easy time delivering their vote. Some students who showed up at their designated polling place found that their names were neither on the voter-registration rolls nor on any lists of recently purged voters. Meanwhile, some students who planned on voting by absentee ballot, like Joseph Rubino of the Bronx, complained their ballots had never been received. The students were to be given paper ballots, but one of the three polling areas on campus ran out and turned students away. "It's a huge disappointment for us," said Joseph Stelling, project coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group, which helped register over 2,000 voters on campus. "What's a further disappointment," he said, "is that there is a polling place on campus turning students away instead of giving them their paper ballots. This is totally unacceptable. We can't let this stand." It could not immediately be determined Tuesday why, or how many, students had been removed from the voter rolls. SUNY spokesman David Henahan said he was unaware of the problem at SUNY Albany, and added that no difficulties had been reported on other campuses. Rubino ended up going before a judge in Albany and getting a court order to vote. "It was a huge hassle, but everything pretty much worked out in the end," he said. Students weren't the only ones who encountered problems Tuesday. Joanna Markenssinis, a campaign finance analyst for the state Board of Elections in Albany, discovered that she was erroneously removed from the voter rolls. Markenssinis insisted she was registered and told poll workers in Coeymans outside of Albany, "I am not going to be deprived of my right to vote today." She was then given a paper ballot, and was told she could not use the machine to cast her votes. "If I had been elderly, if I had been a young person voting for the first time, if I were handicapped, or a woman of color, I would have been so intimidated that I would have turned around and walked out and I would not have voted today," she said. "Fortunately I'm one of those people that open their mouth." Last week, Albany County purged from the rolls 22,000 people whose whereabouts could not be confirmed. It was unclear Tuesday whether Markenssinis was among those purged then. For the most part, though, voting went smoothly across upstate on Tuesday. State Board of Elections spokesman Lee Daghlian said he was unaware of any problems with the old-style voting machines being used for one last time during this year's balloting. The state is expected to switch to electronic machines by 2006. Turnout, meanwhile, was reported to be heavy. In the Albany suburb of Colonie, for example, poll workers reported that about a quarter of those registered had voted by 11 a.m. "If this pace continues, two-thirds to three-quarters of this district will come out to vote," said Peter Lattanzio, a poll worker at Colonie's community center. Daghlian also said early voting looked "pretty busy" statewide, but could not say whether the trend would hold throughout the day. posted by Melissa at 8:16 PM

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		Oct. 29, 2004 Companies gear election-themed products toward public By MELISSA MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Howard Glassman shrugged his shoulders. There was no more Participation Ale. "That's it for four years," he said as he tended the bar at Valentines, a music club, talking about a special brew made for the presidential election by Burlington, Vt.-based Magic Hat. With politics on a lot of minds, companies have introduced election-themed products, like Participation Ale, with hopes that consumers will become more involved. "We'd like to bring political discussion back to the pub," said Shelly Williams, a Magic Hat spokeswoman whose official title is minister of fermentation elation relations. "In the olden days, the tavern was where this sort of thing happened, over a pint of ale." Some bars have given out promotional products, such as pins with 11.02.04 and an Uncle Sam figure on them. Others are handing out political quizzes with 30 questions on topics from abortion rights to gay scoutmasters to bilingual classrooms. A few blocks away from Valentines, at Ben and Jerry's, customers can show their political preferences _ or not _ with the Election Confection Sundae. The sundae consists of Primary Berry Graham and vanilla ice cream, strawberry sauce, graham cracker crumbs and a choice of "electable" chocolate toppings. Democrats can choose chocolate donkeys, Republicans have elephants, Greens have sunflowers, Progressives have moose and for those who don't want to affiliate _ a cow, for "peace, love and ice cream." Most who order the sundae go for the cow. "A lot of people get that one because they don't want to tell us their politics," said Becky Claydon, who has been scooping for four years. She said there have been some people more upfront about their preferences. "There have definitely been customers who were very into politics and liberal, and very excited about it," she said. Ben and Jerry's will not be using its chocolate to forecast the election's outcome, however. "The concept wasn't about projecting the election results by what we find in our scoop shops," said Chrystie Heimert, public relations director for the Vermont-based company. Instead they wanted to remind people that voting can be fun. "As (founder Jerry Greenfield) has always said, `If it's not fun, why do it?'" So far, "Elephants are overwhelmingly more popular in North Carolina, and cows in Vermont," according to Heimert. National convenient store chain 7-Eleven is counting each vote. Coffee and tea drinkers can choose their hot beverage cup according to their presidential preference, and daily results are posted on the company's web site. The company points out the lack of scientific polling, but contends that the 2000 results were close to the real deal. Customers can choose from President Bush, Sen. Kerry or a "Third Party/No Opinion" cup. Interested parties can see the national tally (which has the President in the lead), or the results by state and metro area. This poll may be measuring who the population wants as its commander in chief, or simply which political party drinks more java. ___ On the Net: http://www.magichat.net http://www.benjerry.com http://www.7-eleven.com/7-Election/ posted by Melissa at 8:14 PM

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		Oct. 23, 2004 New exhibit examines private vs. public space By MELISSA MANSFIELD Associated Press Writer TROY, N.Y. (AP) _ Down a long dark hallway, Vito Acconci peers out of a black and white television set. He lies on the floor as he taunts the viewer, his face taking up much of the screen. "Why don't you come in here with me," he pleads, then takes a drag off a cigarette and sings along with unrecognizable background music. The 33-minute loop of Acconci's "Theme Song" is part of Space Invaders, a new exhibit at the Arts Center of the Capital Region. The show presents works that demonstrate how the boundaries between private and public terrains are becoming increasingly blurred. For another Acconci piece, the artist went to the Jewish Museum in New York City for 52 days, picked a visitor, and invaded their personal space. "I'm standing beside that person, I'm standing behind that person, closer than the accustomed distance. I crowd that person until he/she moves away," his piece explains. "He uses his body to the full maximum to invade the viewer's space," curator Gretchen Wagner explained why she chose Acconci. Wagner is a curatorial assistant of the Tang Museum at Skidmore College. After an incident at a nearby mall where a man was arrested for wearing a T-shirt that read "Give Peace a Chance," Wagner wanted to explore how people are prohibited from expressing themselves in a privately owned place that's very public. She also wanted to show how "as a culture, we let ourselves blatantly expose our private lives" with things like reality television. Artist Rosemary Williams' piece "CEO Views" offers visitors a glimpse into the lives of the most powerful business executives in New York City. Her exhibit shows the "most privileged views of the city" enjoyed daily by the executives and explores how those views differ from the ones seen by the rest of the population. Her piece, shown on four televisions, consists of both filmed views and personal reflections by the powerful as they share tidbits about their professional and personal lives. Andrew Senchack, president of Keefe, Bryette and Woods, for example, compares his Broadway view with his former "seascape," and Bob Catell of Keyspan talks about the World Trade Center, which used to be in his panoramic of the city. In "Hudson River Sampler," meanwhile, Christopher Cassidy shows off on screens situated above sinks in both the men's and women's rooms footage of the Hudson River. In the men's room, footage focuses on the source of the river, near Lake Tear-of-the-Clouds, while the women's looks south from Battery Park. Cassidy, an adjunct professor at the University of Richmond, said he attempted to "place" the viewer. "To have them think about the place they are _ if they are washing their hands _ as being in the middle of the river." Another piece in Space Invaders, State of Sabotage's "Embassy," questions the very idea of location. With green leather chairs and a metal and faux wood desk with stacks of forms, the exhibit looks like a model of a regular embassy. However, the passport applications will enable you to become a citizen of the "State of Sabotage." Without a permanent definitive landmass, the state grows with every new member, adding the member's apartment or home to the size of the nation. At the arts center, 10 miles north of Albany, for 30 Euros and a photo, visitors can apply for citizenship until the exhibit closes on Nov. 21. posted by Melissa at 8:12 PM