| Buffalo | 0 1 0—1 |
|---|---|
| Columbus | 2 3 0—5 |
First Period_1, Columbus, Letestu 3 (Johansen, Tyutin), 10:50. 2, Columbus, Nash 6 (Wisniewski, Carter), 16:19 (pp). Penalties_Adam, Buf (tripping), 2:43; Clitsome, Clm (hooking), 3:17; Gragnani, Buf (interference), 15:50; Vanek, Buf (hooking), 18:56.
Second Period_3, Columbus, Methot 1 (Wisniewski, Dorsett), 4:17. 4, Columbus, Umberger 3 (Johansen), 4:29. 5, Buffalo, Leopold 5 (Kassian, Regehr), 8:01. 6, Columbus, Nash 7 (Carter, …
NEW YORK (AP) — The Broadway theater where "The Lion King" is playing dimmed its lights Tuesday night in honor of a fallen lion cub: An 11-year-old actress from the show who lost her battle with leukemia.
Shannon Tavarez died Monday afternoon at Cohen Children's Medical Center in New Hyde Park, on Long Island, of acute myelogenous leukemia, a common type of leukemia among adults but rare among children.
"Shannon's strength and her happy, positive spirit will live on in our hearts and minds each day," her mother, Odiney Brown, said in a statement. "Shannon's dream was to perform on stage, and that she did."
The sixth-grader's battle with cancer won the hearts of many, …
The Summer Madness Basketball tournament was once again -a big success on the South Side.
In its fourth year, the eight-week tournament recently concluded with the championship game at Brainerd Park. The Orange team, led by Ahmad Stark, Anthony Johnson and Chris Colvin captured the championship with a thrilling victory over the Green team before a jam-packed crowd that included NBA star Andre Iguodaja of the Philadelphia 76ers.
However, the Summer Madness Basketball Tournament, sponsored by the Chicago Area Project, the Teen Enhancement Network and the Institute for Positive Living, is about bettering the lives of young people in the Auburn-Gresham community.
"This …
NEW THIS DIGEST:
GERMANY-HOLOCAUST BLACK HOLE. Experts plumb new Holocaust archive
LEBANON. Sectarian clashes in Beirut boil up into gunbattles.
ISRAEL-OLMERT. Olmert defends himself in charges of accepting illegal donations
US-KOREAS-NUCLEAR. US diplomat gets North Korean documents
BOLIVIA-MORALES RECALL. Morales agrees to Bolivian recall vote
BRAZIL-MISSIONARY KILLED. Acquitted Brazil rancher says he admired US nun
GUANTANAMO-MILITARY TRIAL. Gitmo judge threatens to suspend trial
US-OIL PRICES SURVEY. Survey says oil and gas executives see oil prices falling
US-GOOGLE. Google …
Days before the failed car bomb in Times Square, a Pakistani-American scouted the bustling district in the same vehicle and then, on a second trip, left a getaway car blocks from his chosen target, a law enforcement official has told The Associated Press.
Faisal Shahzad, now in custody on terrorism and weapons charges, drove a 1993 Nissan Pathfinder to Times Square from Connecticut on April 28, apparently to figure out where would be the best place to leave it later, the official said Wednesday. He then returned April 30 to drop off a black Isuzu, according to the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the investigation.
…
Scientific research can both anticipate and react to problems,such as Chicago's tunnel flood, with such practical and timelyinformation that it would be irresponsibly shortsighted of theLegislature to go along with Gov. Edgar's deep budget cuts forIllinois' four scientific surveys.
When called last week, for instance, David Gross, assistantchief of the Illinois State Geological Survey, could tell anyone whoneeded to know that the Loop's 80- to 90-foot-deep layer of claymakes up a stable environment able to hold water and release itslowly and that with clay's unique properties, "the potential fordamage is very low" to downtown buildings.
Without the geological …
| Texas | Los Angeles | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ab r h bi | ab r h bi | |||
| Borbon cf | 4 0 1 0 | M.Izturis ss | 2 0 1 1 | |
| E.Beltre rf | 1 0 0 0 | J.Segura pr-ss | 1 0 0 0 | |
| L.Garcia ss | 3 0 2 0 | B.Abreu lf | 1 0 0 0 | |
| Dav.Murphy lf | 3 0 1 0 | …
Frances Buss Buch, a pioneer of network TV and the first female TV director in the U.S., has died. She was 92.
Buch died Tuesday at a rest home near Hendersonville in western North Carolina, her great-nephew, Mark Spencer, confirmed Saturday.
"She was presented with an opportunity, especially as a woman, at a time when broadcasting was definitely a man's world. She seized it and had no problem getting in there and mixing it up with the guys," said Spencer, of Northbrook, Illinois. "It was that boldness as a woman that led to her success."
While taking acting classes, performing off-Broadway and modeling in New York City, Buch …
SINGAPORE (AP) — Williams outgoing technical director Sam Michael says driving ability will trump sponsorship when it comes to the team's choice of drivers for 2012 and beyond.
Amid reports that the team had been in talks with former world champion Kimi Raikkonen about a comeback, Michael said Friday that "Williams will make decisions based on the …
2010_Spain
2006_Italy
2002_Brazil
1998_France
1994_Brazil
1990_West Germany
1986_Argentina
1982_Italy
1978_Argentina
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A Baptist minister from Evanston has traveled to the Vatican totry to convince Pope John Paul II to grant him and a group of Chicagoarea clergy an audience with an African archbishop who has been inseclusion since renouncing his marriage to a Korean woman last week.
The Rev. Dr. Hycel B. Taylor, senior pastor of historic SecondBaptist Church in Evanston, flew to Rome Sunday, his assistant saidMonday. Taylor's assistant did not know the names of the other clergywith him.
The group intended to "go as neutral and objective friends ofChristendom to request Pope John …
The British government said Wednesday that it will withdraw unlimited guarantees for depositors in mortgage lender Northern Rock in May as another step to prepare for the company's return to private ownership.
Northern Rock was the first British casualty of the global credit crisis, nearly collapsing before being taken over by the government in February 2008.
Beginning May 24, only deposits up to 50,000 pounds ($77,000) will be guaranteed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the same as for other U.K. banks.
On Jan. 1, Northern Rock was split into two companies: Northern Rock PLC, the retail operation; and Northern Rock (Asset Management) PLC, which holds the old company's riskiest assets and will not be accepting deposits or making new loans. The Asset Management company will remain in government ownership.
"Our goal is to see the taxpayer get a good return on its investment in the bank and for Northern Rock to focus on providing an excellent service to its customers," said Treasury minister Paul Myners.
Competitors welcomed the announcement.
"The removal of Northern Rock's guarantee is welcome as a significant step towards returning the cash savings market to a level playing field," said Adrian Coles, director-general of the Building Societies Association, which represents mutual savings and lending businesses.
The government has not announced a date for returning Northern Rock to private ownership.
Northern Rock PLC has assets of nearly 40 billion pounds, including 18 million pounds in retail deposits at the first of the year.
The Asset Management entity holds 80 billion pounds of Northern Rock assets, the rest of the residential mortgage book, the bulk of the existing government loan to Northern Rock plus the bank's wholesale funding instruments.
Northern Rock, once the country's fifth biggest lender, suffered the first run on a British bank since 1866 in 2007 after the Bank of England announced in September that it had provided emergency funding.
The government pumped 27 billion pounds in loans and assumed contingent liabilities of 29 billion pounds in an effort to keep Northern Rock afloat, before resorting to nationalization on Feb. 22, 2008.
As of October, Northern Rock accounted for 5.5 percent of the mortgage market, compared to 7.5 percent at the end of 2007; and it held 1.5 percent of U.K. savings deposits.
Since Northern Rock was nationalized, the government also took control of mortgage lender Bradford & Bingley, an 84 percent stake in Royal Bank of Scotland and a 43 percent stake in Lloyds Banking Group.
NEW YORK For 90 minutes Tuesday, six U.S. Jewish leaders andPope John Paul II will sit down in an unusual "heart-to heart"meeting that could decide how Jews react to the pontiff's visit tothe United States.
There is no formal agenda for the unprecedented discussion atthe pope's Castelgandolfo summer residence. Both Catholic and Jewishleaders hope the meeting will usher in an era of reconciliationbetween two groups whose history has long been tangled and tortured.
In an indication of its importance, the pope is interrupting hisvacation and has scheduled the meeting at a residence outsidersrarely see, allocating more time for it than even American presidentsreceive in papal audiences.
Jewish leaders, as well, think the meeting could be historiceven as they note its irony. The meeting comes as a direct result oftheir outcry over the pope's audience last June with AustrianPresident Kurt Waldheim, a man derided by Jewish leaders as "anunrepentant Nazi" who covered up his wartime past in the German army.
The Waldheim audience, in which the pope praised the Catholicformer UN secretary-general as a man of peace, triggered fury in theworld Jewish community.
Jews, especially in the United States - home to the largest andmost affluent Jewish community in the world - began dwelling on oldand new sores as if "the friend of my enemy is my enemy."
They denounced the Vatican for its silence about the fate ofJews during World War II, the pope for attempting to minimize Jewishsuffering in the Holocaust, for his references to the Jews killingChrist and for saying that the Roman Catholic Church was a "newIsrael" replacing the old.
They even threatened to boycott a largely ceremonial audiencewith the pope set for Sept. 11 in Miami, an event that would forcethe pontiff to start his nine-day U.S. tour on a sour note.
Relations between American Catholics and Jews, according tospokesmen for both groups, is unusually strong with Jews often majorcontributors to Catholic causes, including fund-raising for the papalvisit. Jewish donations to finance the papal trip dried up after theWaldheim visit.
"The outcry was sincere and very loud," said Eugene Fisher,executive secretary of the U.S. Bishops Conference's Secretariat onCatholic-Jewish relations. "Unfortunate things were said on bothsides. A number of things need to be cleared up.
"The whole notion of the pope's relations with Jews gotdistorted. This pope has spoken more powerfully aboutCatholic-Jewish relations than any other," he added.
For Fisher, the pope's record is being distorted in anacrimonious debate filled with "nice rhetoric but lousy history."
Reuters obtained a confidential agenda prepared by Jewishleaders who will be meeting the pope. The agenda says they plan toconfront the pontiff with what they see as his effort to revise thehistory of the Holocaust by minimizing Jewish suffering under theNazis.
The agenda chides the pope for visiting the Majdanekconcentration camp in his native Poland last May and for mentioning14 nationalities who died there but not the hundreds of thousands ofJews murdered there as well.
As the Nobel Peace Prize winner Elie Weisel, a survivor of twoconcentration camps, has said, "We Jews do not claim to have sufferedalone. As I've often repeated, not all victims were Jews, but allJews were victims."
The Polish-born pope, who himself lived under Nazi terror,attempted to defuse that criticism.
He sent an emotion-laden letter to John Cardinal May of St.Louis last week in which he declared, "There is no doubt that thesufferings endured by the Jews are also for the Catholic Church amotive of sincere sorrow."
The U.S. Jewish leaders say they also plan to bring up what theydescribe as an outburst of anti-Semitism in largely Catholic Austria,Catholic theology on Jews and the Vatican's refusal to recognizeIsrael even though the Jewish state has been in existence for 40years.
A delegation of 10 U.S. Jewish leaders are going to Rome and sixwill be chosen to talk to the pope.
Jewish leaders say the real reason is Vatican fear of reprisalsagainst Christians in Arab lands if it sends an ambassador to Israel.
Rabbi Marc Tannenbaum, one of the Jewish leaders expected to seethe pope next week, warns Jews not to have "inflated expectations"about the meeting.
"It won't bring the messiah before his time. But it is highlyunusual, a symbol for the good."
It will be, he said, "a man-to-man, heart-to-heart" encounter."
Newark, Detroit, Tampa, and Atlanta were just some of thecommunities left reeling from deadly uprisings in 1967. That longhot summer prompted President Lyndon B. Johnson to appoint an11-member panel to look into the origins of the outbursts.
The so-called Kerner Commission, chaired by then Illinois Gov.Otto Kerner, called for sweeping changes in both social behavior andthe conduct of major American institutions to avoid a repeat of theupheavals.
Today, however, experts agree that many of the conditionshighlighted by the commission have actually deteriorated.
"There has been a massive turn away from a caring society thathas left a tremendous underclass," said Leon Finney, executivedirector of the Woodlawn Organization. "What we have seen is anotherera ushered in of high unemployment, infant mortality, gangs, and theabsence of jobs and opportunity."
These are some of the commission's recommendations, compared tothe current reality in Chicago: Education: The commission called for a revision of state aidformulas to funnel more funds to districts with a high proportion ofdisadvantaged school-age children. It also recommended a substantialhike in federal funding.
Reality: During the last decade, state funding of school costshas dropped from 50 percent to 33 percent. An estimated shortfall of$400 million is predicted for next year, dashing hopes of increasededucation programs. Police: The commission called on police agencies to intensifyrecruitment of black officers and increase the number of minoritysupervisors. It also called for a revision of promotion policies toeliminate bias and suggested that well-trained veterans be assignedto patrol ghetto areas to better control incidents before they became major confrontations.
Reality: Blacks account for 25 percent of the city's policeforce but comprise 39 percent of the population. Although there havebeen two black police superintendents, blacks have experienceddifficulty moving beyond the rank of patrol officer. Only 2 percentof 81 captains are black, and the detective ranks remainoverwhelmingly white. The department also has had difficultygetting veteran officers to volunteer for a pilot community policingprogram. Employment: The commission urged immediate action tocreate 2 million new jobs to absorb the hard-core unemployed. Italso called for an end to artificial barriers to hiring, such asarrest records, the lack of a high school diploma or other subtleforms of discrimination.
Reality: The unemployment rate for black males is four timesthat for white males, similar to 1968. Job training programs werecut back during the Reagan and Bush years and affirmative actionprograms came under attack. Media: The panel said the news media had long ignored the blackcommunity and needed to begin not only covering it as a group in andof itself but also as a part of the society as a whole. Thecommission also called on newspapers and broadcasters to recruit moreblacks as well as promote them to positions of authority.
Reality: Blacks are still underrepresented in media,particularly in supervisory roles. Critics say both electronic andprint media do not adequately cover minority communities.
Edinburgh Castle. It's the essence of Scotland. I visit therequite a lot.
Andrew Hogg, 18, barman, city centre
The west coast. It has got beautiful scenery. I've been there afew times in the last few years.
Chris Watson, 35, offshore worker, Macduff
Loch Ness. It's one of the most beautiful places in Scotland.
Margaret Cruickshank, 49, assistant purchasing officer, Cornhill
Loch Lomond. It's pretty and quiet and peaceful. I go there acouple of times a year.
Selina Smail, 23, nurse, Edzell
| 63Diamondbacks 6, Phillies 4 | |||
| PHILA @ ARIZONA @ | |||
| ab r h bi @ab r h bi | |||
| Vctrino cf 3 1 1 0 Young cf 4 2 1 1 | |||
| Brntlett ss 5 1 2 3 SDrew ss 4 1 2 3 | |||
| Utley 1b 4 0 0 0 Byrnes lf 4 0 1 0 | |||
| Burrell lf 4 0 1 0 CJkson 1b 4 0 1 1 | |||
| Werth rf 4 1 2 1 Upton rf 3 1 1 0 | |||
| Feliz 3b 2 0 1 0 Rynlds 3b 4 1 1 0 | |||
| Howard 1b 1 0 0 0 Mntero c 3 1 0 0 | |||
| Coste c 3 0 0 0 CSnydr c 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Hrman 2b 3 0 0 0 Ojeda 2b 2 0 0 0 | |||
| Ruiz ph 1 0 1 0 RaJnsn p 1 0 0 1 | |||
| Eaton p 1 1 1 0 Salazar ph 1 0 0 0 | |||
| Tguchi ph 1 0 0 0 Qualls p 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Seanez p 0 0 0 0 TPena p 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Jenkins ph 1 0 0 0 Lyon p 0 0 0 0 | |||
| TGrdon p 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Durbin p 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Dobbs ph 1 0 0 0 | |||
| Totals @ 34 4 9 4 Totals @30 6 7 6 | |||
| Philadelphia 002 011 000_4 | |||
| Arizona 100 500 00x_6 | |||
| E_Feliz (4), TGordon (1), Montero (1). LOB_Philadelphia 7, Arizona 4. 2B_Bruntlett (2), Eaton (1), Young (8), Reynolds (5). HR_Bruntlett (2), Werth (6), SDrew (4). SB_Werth (5). CS_Upton (1). S_Victorino. | |||
| IP H R ER BB SO | |||
| Philadelphia @ | |||
| Eaton L,0-1 4 5 6 6 3 1 | |||
| Seanez 2 0 0 0 0 0 | |||
| TGordon 1 1 0 0 0 0 | |||
| Durbin 1 1 0 0 0 1 | |||
| Arizona @ | |||
| RaJnsn W,2-1 6 6 4 4 2 6 | |||
| Qualls 1 0 0 0 0 0 | |||
| TPena 1 1 0 0 0 2 | |||
| Lyon S,10 1 2 0 0 0 0 | |||
| HBP_by Eaton (Ojeda), by RaJohnson (Coste). | |||
| Umpires_Home, Bill Miller | First, Paul Emmel | Second, Gary Darling | Third, Jerry Meals. |
| T_2:32. A_26,234 (48,771). |
1470 McConnor
Schaumburg
Martin Duffy, senior scotch master from Diageo Brands, leads a scotch and food tasting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; $66. (847) 413-8771.
Pinstripes Bowling,
Bocce and Bistro
1150 Willow
Northbrook
The restaurant hosts two Terlato wine dinners. The first is at 7 p.m. April 21 at the Northbrook location; (847) 480-2323. The second is at 7 p.m. April 22 at 100 W. Higgins, South Barrington; (847) 844-9300. The cost is $65 per dinner.
Randolph Wine Cellars
1415 W. Randolph
Southern Hemisphere wines from countries including Australia, Chile and Brazil are in the spotlight at the Southern Cross wine tasting from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday; $30. (312) 942-1212.
La Sorella di Francesca
18 W. Jefferson
Naperville
Alessia Antinori, 26th-generation winemaker for Antinori winery, pours selections from the family's vineyard for a dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; $65. (630) 961-2706.
Francesca's at the Promenade 641 East Boughton
Bolingbrook
The restaurant partners with Wine D.O.C. to host a five-course spring wine dinner at 7 p.m. April 22; $58. Guest Dan Petrovich will discuss the selections. (630) 739-6300.
Stretch Run
544 N. La Salle
It's off to the races during the bar's Kentucky Derby cocktail class at 6 p.m. April 22. Drinks to be made include the mint julep and black-eyed Susan. The class is free but reservations are required. (312) 644-4477.
Cibo Matto
201 N. State
Chef Todd Stein and mixologists Jonny Abens and Adam Seger collaborate on a five-course meal at 7 p.m. Thursday highlighting Seger's Hum Liqueur; $75. (312) 239-9500. Seger pairs up with chef Paul Virant at Vie, 4471 Lawn Ave., Western Springs on Tuesday for a seven-course Hum-inspired dinner; $125. (708) 246-2082.
JACKSON, Miss. - A federal jury on Thursday convicted reputed Klansman James Ford Seale of kidnapping and conspiracy in the 1964 deaths of two black teenagers in southwest Mississippi.
Seale, 71, had pleaded not guilty to charges related to the deaths of Charles Eddie Moore and Henry Hezekiah Dee. The 19-year-olds disappeared from Franklin County on May 2, 1964, and their bodies were found later in the Mississippi River.
Federal prosecutors indicted Seale in January almost 43 years after the slayings.
U.S. District Judge Henry T. Wingate set sentencing for Aug. 24 at 9 a.m. in Jackson. Seale could be sentenced to life in prison on the two counts of kidnapping and one count of conspiracy.
During closing arguments earlier Thursday, federal public defender Kathy Nester said Seale should be acquitted because the case was based on the word of "an admitted liar."
"This case all comes down to the word of one man - an admitted liar - a man out to save his own skin," Nester said. "A case based on his word is no case at all."
Nester was referring to Charles Marcus Edwards, an admitted Klansman, who testified that he participated in the crimes for which Seale is on trial.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Paige Fitzgerald told jurors Seale was incriminated by his own words.
"Let me tell you about one man's word. 'Yes. But I'm not going to admit it. You're going to have to prove it,'" Fitzgerald said, repeating a statement that a retired FBI agent testified he heard Seale make after being arrested on a state murder charge in 1964. That charge was later dropped.
"Those are the words of a guilty man," Fitzgerald said, turning to point at Seale in the courtroom. She also called Seale "defiant, arrogant and unrepentant."
The defense claimed that the prosecution failed to prove key elements needed for conviction and didn't establish that Seale had crossed state lines during the commission of the crimes, which was vital because that's what gave the federal government jurisdiction in the case.
Edwards was the star prosecution witness.
Edwards testified during the trial that he and Seale belonged to the same KKK chapter, or "klavern," that was led by Seale's late father.
Seale denied being in the Klan. And, Nester said, the government only brought the case as a symbol that Mississippi is trying to reconcile its racist past.
Prosecutors said Dee and Moore were hitchhiking, were stopped by Klansmen and taken to the Homochitto National Forest where they were beaten. They said Klansmen were trying to find out if blacks were bringing firearms into Franklin County.
Edwards testified that Dee and Moore were stuffed, alive, into the trunk of Seale's Volkswagen and driven to a farm owned by Seale's father.
There, they were tied up, put into the trunk of a vehicle owned by Klansman Ernest Parker and driven across the Mississippi River bridge into Louisiana. Turning northward, the teenagers were driven along a rural Louisiana road to a place called Parker's Landing on Davis Island on a Mississippi River backwater south of Vicksburg, prosecutors said.
Here's hoping the New Year brings:
A clue for Block 37. Is any place as doomed as Block 37? Hereis prime land sitting in the middle of a reborn downtown, and they'rehaving trouble unloading the thing. Surprising? Not really. Muchof the Loop's rebirth - especially the theater district - has come atthe hands of expensive tax increment financing. When people are usedto getting subsidized milk, it's tough finding a customer willing topay full price.Salvation for churches. Last year, a Chicago Sun-Times serieswarned that many of the beautiful churches - wonderful pieces ofarchitecture built by our grandparents at great sacrifice - areliterally falling apart because congregations can't afford tomaintain them. A great old place, the former New TestamentMissionary Baptist Church, was demolished this month. A few monthsago, St. Basil's Roman Catholic Church on West Garfield Boulevard wascut down. What churches will we lose next year?The city, preservationists and religious bodies must gettogether and identify troubled, architecturally significant churches,beat the drum and press for a way to save them.The drive back in Lake Shore Drive. The Illinois Department ofTransportation is spending millions to rebuild South Lake ShoreDrive, but they've got to find a way to make their product seem lesslike an expressway. Get rid of the Dan Ryan-intensity lights. Widenthe medians, and landscape them better. Remember the gospel ofAliotta, Haynes and Jeremiah and keep it holy.A city college for Englewood. The Sun-Times reported in thefall that the city is considering building a college campus, housingand new stores in the sagging Englewood shopping center at 63rd andHalsted. An announcement was expected, but we've heard nothing. Theplan sounds like just the thing needed to breathe new life intoEnglewood. The city must now pull off the wraps and allow thecommunity to touch, feel and help shape the plan.A lesson from the Pullman fire. The fire earlier this month atthe Pullman Factory building was a frustrating thing to anyoneconcerned about architectural preservation. What's worse is that itcould have been prevented if state cash promised for the project 10years ago had arrived sooner. If that had happened, the buildingwould have been a tourist-drawing transportation museum instead ofjust another vacant South Side building.Saner fast-track demolition. The Sun-Times reported this yearthat the city has demolished the equivalent of 60 blocks of housingunder its five-year-old fast-track demolition program, leaving scoresof vacant lots on the South and West sides. A lot of the homes wereshacks, but many could have been rehabbed had the city worked to makethem available to rehabbers. Here's hoping the city begins soundingthe alarm before rolling the bulldozers.A renaissance for Winneconna Parkway. The city took good carethis year of this hidden South Side jewel bounded by 79th, 77th,Vincennes and Fielding. The area's lagoon has been restored, and newhomes are planned, but its time to turn attention to the existing100-year-old homes in this community, built in the 1890s as anexclusive suburb. There is a wide array of housing styles there, butmany of the dwellings need a little help. This would be a good spotfor banks and the city to do a good thing and make some rehab cashavailable to residents in the area. With a little assistance, thearea could become one of the most beautiful residential spots in thecity.E-mail: scoopbey@aol.com
Marvin W. Anderson
Marvin W. Anderson, 85, of White Sulphur Springs died Aug. 1,2008. Memorial service will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at EmmanuelUnited Methodist Church, White Sulphur Springs. Shanklin FuneralHome, White Sulphur Springs, is in charge of arrangements.
Charles Joseph Ball
Charles Joseph Ball, 62, of Ashford died Aug. 7, 2008. Stevens &Grass Funeral Home, Malden, is in charge of the arrangements.
Tilford Blevins
Tilford Blevins, 74, of Henlawson died Aug. 5, 2008. Service willbe 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Evans Funeral Home, Chapmanville.Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. Burial will be in ForestLawn Cemetery, Pecks Mill.
Lola B. Bostic
Lola B. Bostic, 81, of Tuppers Creek passed away Aug. 6, 2008.
She is survived by her husband of 27 years, Willie E. Bostic; andseveral nieces and nephews.
Graveside service will be 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, at GoodCemetery, Tuppers Creek.
There will be no visitation.
Cunningham-Parker-Johnson Funeral Home, Charleston, is servingthe Bostic family.
Dolores H. Brown
Dolores H. Brown, 79, of Dunbar passed away Wednesday, Aug. 6,2008, at SunBridge Care & Rehabilitation for Dunbar.
She was a former employee of Young's Department Store, Cabot GasCompany, Dunn & Bradstreet, Commercial Testing, Kroger and JoAnn'sFabrics. Dolores last attended the Davis Creek Church of theNazarene. She was a member of the Sweet Adelines and was an avid andaccomplished bowler.
She was preceded in death by her husband, John H. Brown.
Surviving are her son, Chris Brown and his wife, Michelle, ofSouth Charleston; brothers, Sheldon Henson and his wife, Norma,Glendon Henson and his wife, Edna, and Bernard Henson and his wife,Joyce, all of Charleston; and sisters, Naomi Evans of St. Albans andVada Kepler and her husband, Keith, of Marquette, Mich. She is alsosurvived by numerous nieces and nephews and great-nieces and -nephews.
Funeral services will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at KellerFuneral Home, Dunbar, with Pastor Dean Henson and the Rev. JohnAnderson officiating. Burial will follow in Grandview Memorial Park.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Keller Funeral Home,Dunbar.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations to HubbardHospice House, 1001 Kennawa Drive, Charleston, WV 25311, or to theWomen's Ministries, Davis Creek Church of the Nazarene, 102 NazareneDrive, South Charleston, WV 25309.
Eugene J. Burkett
Eugene J. Burkett, 70, of Scott Depot died Aug. 6, 2008, after ashort illness.
Gene was born Nov. 15, 1937, in Cincinnati, Ohio.
He was retired from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and ShellOil Company as a chemical engineer. After retirement, Gene was areal estate agent with Assist-2-Sell Realty Company.
He is survived by his wife, Patricia; son, Matthew; sister, RuthDodson of Fresno, Calif.; and brother, Robert of Sacramento, Calif.
Gene was a member of the Scott Teays Lions Club, Trout Unlimited,the Putnam County Solid Waste Authority and the Knights of Columbus.
Funeral services will be held at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, atChapman Funeral Home, 3941 Teays Valley Road, Hurricane, with theRev. Neil Buchlein officiating. A private inurnment will be held ata later date.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Flowers are welcome or, in lieu of flowers, donations may be madeto the Scott Teays Lions Club, P.O. Box 1027, Hurricane, WV 25526.
Visit www.chapmanfuneralhomes.com to share memories or expresscondolences.
Eugene Lee Burner
Eugene Lee Burner, 89, of Cass passed away Wednesday, Aug. 6,2008, at his home.
Eugene was born May 1, 1919, in Durbin and was the son of thelate Dr. Allen Eugene and Mabel Olivet Wilson Burner. Other than hisparents, he was preceded in death by his first wife, Bonnie DellPugh Burner; second wife, Vivian Louise Shears Burner; and daughter-in-law, Susan Gail Martin Burner.
Eugene received his master's degree in physics from West VirginiaUniversity and was a retired research physicist and softwareengineer with the United States Bureau of Mines in Morgantown,retiring to Cass in 1975. He was a member of Durbin United MethodistChurch since the age of 12 and also attended Brookhaven UnitedMethodist Church while in Morgantown. He had played the piano sincethe age of 12.
Survivors include his daughter, Louise Ann Burner and husband,Craig Goheen, of Pine Knoll Shores, N.C.; sons, Allen Lee Burner andwife, Jean, of Morgantown and Robert E. Burner of Cass;grandchildren, Allen Eugene, Craig Andrew, Abigail Elizabeth andAlison Coleen; and great-grandchildren, Madilyne Grace, Gabriella,Isabella, Nathan and Christian.
Service will be 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at Wallace & WallaceFuneral Home, Arbovale, with the Rev. Frank Naglic and the Rev.David Rittenhouse officiating. Burial will be in Arbovale Cemetery.
Visitation will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the funeral home.
Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home, Arbovale, is in charge ofarrangements.
Please send online condolences by visitingwww.WallaceandWallaceFH.com.
Debbie H. Cranfield
Debbie H. Cranfield, 51, formerly of Jackson County, died Aug. 7,2008. Vail Funeral Home, Ripley, is in charge of arrangements.
Helen E. D'Ambrosio
Helen E. D'Ambrosio, 88, of Charleston, formerly of Richwood,went to be with the Lord on Aug. 5, 2008.
She was a loving and wonderful mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother.
Helen was born Dec. 22, 1919, in Fayette County and was adaughter of the late Jerome and Zedna Quinn Jarrell.
She was a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church.
Helen is survived by her loving family: her son, Pete C. Lopez ofCharleston; daughters, Toni Mae Smith and her husband, Fred, ofJacksonville, Fla., Pamela Payne and her husband, Frank of Miami,Fla., and Mary Stefursky and her husband, Terry, of Charleston;grandchildren, Pete A. and Bill Lopez of Charleston, Tony Lopez ofWaxhaw, N.C., Anthony Smith of Jacksonville, Fla., Thomas Payne ofMiami, Fla., Matthew Payne of Madrid, Spain, and Rachael, Jacintaand Jason Stefursky, all of Charleston; great-grandchildren, DevonLopez of Charleston, Matthew Lopez of Waxhaw, N.C., and TristanSlack of Charleston.
Funeral Mass will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Aug. 8, at St. AgnesCatholic Church with Father John McDonnell. Entombment will followin Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery Mausoleum.
Arrangements are in the care of Elk Funeral Home, 2001Pennsylvania Ave., Charleston.
Marjorie F. Digman
Marjorie F. Digman, 86, of Spencer died Aug. 6, 2008, at HubbardHospice House, Charleston.
She was born June 5, 1922, in Calhoun County and was a daughterof the late Harley Raymond and Lily Belle Bailey Mace. She waspreceded in death by her husband, Hetsel Digman, in 1971, threebrothers and one sister.
She was a homemaker and formerly attended Spencer Church of theNazarene.
She is survived by a daughter, Sandra Nester of Spencer; twosons, Gary and Donald Digman, both of Spencer; two granddaughters;two great-grandchildren; two great-great-grandchildren; two halfsisters; and a half brother.
A graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, inSt. Paul Cemetery in Calhoun County with the Rev. Tom Fletcherofficiating. Burial will follow in the cemetery.
Visiting hours will be from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Taylor-VandaleFuneral Home, Spencer.
Mary A. Fowler
Mary A. Fowler of Frankford died Aug. 6, 2008. Service will be 2p.m. Monday, Aug. 11, at Morgan Funeral Home, Lewisburg. Friends maycall from 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Herman B. Hacker
Herman B. Hacker, 96, of Gassaway died Aug. 7, 2008. Service willbe 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Richard M. Roach Funeral Home,Gassaway. Friends may call two hours prior to service.
Arizona F. Hamrick
Arizona F. Hamrick, 92, of Webster Springs died Aug. 6, 2008.Service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Dodd & Reed FuneralHome, Webster Springs. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday.Burial will be in Cutlip-Lick Run Cemetery, Hacker Valley.
Rev. Michael W. Harbert
Rev. Michael W. Harbert, 51, of Nitro passed away Wednesday, Aug.6, 2008, at St. Mary's Medical Center, Huntington, after an extendedillness.
He was a 1975 graduate of Dunbar High School and attended WestVirginia State College and Bible College. Mike was a supervisor atTyler Mountain Water Company and then was pastor at Smith CreekChurch of the Nazarene.
Mike was preceded in death by his mother, Evelyn, and brother,Ricky.
He is survived by his loving wife of 31 years, Arlene; onedaughter, Shannon Snyder and her husband, Tommy, of Hometown;father, Herbert Harbert of Tyler Mountain; one sister, Tammy Sowardsand her husband, Randy, of Rock Branch; two brothers, Randy of TylerMountain and Bob and his wife, Pee Wee, of Nitro; twogranddaughters, Kelsey and Tabitha Snyder; very special friend, RebaEdwards; nieces, nephews, family members; and a host of friends.
A celebration of Mike's life will be held at noon Saturday, Aug.9, at Tyler Mountain Funeral Home Chapel with the Rev. Henry Johnsonofficiating. Interment will be in Tyler Mountain Memory Gardens.
Friends may call one hour prior to the services.
An online guest registry will be made available atwww.tylermountainfuneralhome.com.
Tyler Mountain Funeral home is in charge of the arrangements.
Barbara E. Hudnall
Barbara E. Hudnall, 73, of Pratt died Aug. 6, 2008, after a longillness.
Born Sept. 28, 1934, she is the daughter of Lily Maudie Withrowand the late Fred E. Withrow. She also was preceded in death by herhusband, Paul F Hudnall, and her two brothers, James and RodneyWithrow.
Mrs. Hudnall was born in Mahan, was a resident of Pratt and amember of the Hanley Baptist Church.
Barbara was a retired library Assistant at West VirginiaUniversity Institute of Technological and a member of the Order ofthe Eastern Star.
Surviving are her mother, Maudie Withrow, 95; her sons, David Rayand Paul Steven Hudnall and their wives; and her grandchildren,Amanda Hudnall, Abby Lincoln, Jennifer Hudnall and Brian Hudnall,all currently residing in South Carolina.
Graveside service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, atMontgomery Memorial Park, London, with the Rev. Lewis Villersofficiating.
The family requests that donations be made to Lewy Body DementiaAssociation Inc.
O'Dell Funeral Home, Montgomery, is in charge of arrangements.
Minnie M. Johnson
Minnie M. Johnson, 85, of Huntington died Aug. 4, 2008. Memorialservice will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Raynes Funeral Home,Buffalo.
Audrey C. Johnston
Audrey C. Johnston, 89, died Aug. 6, 2008. Service will be 2 p.m.Saturday, Aug. 9, at Williams-Blue Ridge Funeral Home, Sophia.Friends may call two hours prior to service. Burial will be inMitchells Ridge Cemetery, Princewick.
Natomia Moss Kincaid
Natomia "Toni" Moss Kincaid, 68, of Charlotte Highway,Mooresville, N.C., went to be with her Lord and Savior on Thursday,Aug. 7, 2008, at her residence.
Born May 25, 1940, in Montgomery, W.Va., she was a daughter ofthe late Robert R. Moss and Ruth Harris Simmons.
Toni was a homemaker. She was a devoted wife and loving mother,as well as an inspiration to all who knew her. Toni touched thelives of many friends and strangers who often became her friends.Her work for the Lord was never-ending. Toni will be greatly missedby all who crossed her path.
She is survived by her husband, C.L. Kincaid; children, Billy RayKincaid and wife, Amanda, of Statesville, N.C., Buddy Kincaid, RockyKincaid and wife, Terry, and Sarah Katrina Kincaid, all of Toledo,Ohio, and Brian Kincaid and wife, Rebekah, of Mebane, N.C.;brothers, Robert Moss of Florence, Ariz., Gary Simmons of Japan andLarry Simmons and wife, Sharon, of Greenville, S.C.; sisters,Patricia Porter and husband, Curt, of Troutman, N.C., and DianaSimpson and husband, Tom, of Quemado, N.M.; and 11 grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at theCavin-Cook Funeral Home Chapel, Mooresville, N.C., with PastorPhillip Fuller and Pastor Carlos Lewis officiating. Burial willfollow in Shiloh Community Cemetery, Statesville, N.C.
The family will receive friends from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday atCavin-Cook Funeral Home.
Cavin-Cook Funeral Home, Mooresville, N.C., is serving theKincaid family.
George S. Malcomb
George S. Malcomb, 71, of Camden-on-Gauley died Aug. 6, 2008.Service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Waters Funeral Chapel,Summersville. Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday. Burial willbe in Mount Olive Cemetery, Tioga.
Mark A. Nida
Mark A. Nida, 34, of Ronceverte died Aug. 6, 2008. Service willbe 3 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at Morgan Funeral Home, Lewisburg.Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Saturday.
Michael L. O'Daniel
Michael L. O'Daniel, 15, of Blount died Aug. 6, 2008. Stevens &Grass Funeral Home, Malden, is in charge of arrangements.
Betty K. Reed
Betty K. Reed, 75, died July 29, 2008. Memorial service will be 2p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Shanklin Funeral Home, White SulphurSprings. Friends may call one hour prior to service.
Herman Gray Roe Sr.
Herman Gray Roe Sr., 90, of Gordon went home to be with the Lordon Aug. 5, 2008.
Herman was born June 19, 1918, and was a son of the late Garrettand Ruby Barker. He was preceded in death by two sisters and threeinfant sons.
He was a World War II veteran and a life member of Daniel BooneVFW Post 5578, Madison, W.Va. He was a retired coalminer with 47years and three months of service. He also was a president of UnionLocal 9735. He was a member and a trustee of Gordon Union Church. Heserved as a deacon and Sunday school superintendent for over 25years. He was a member of the Boone County Ambulance Authority Boardfor 18 years and also served on the Boone County DemocraticExecutive Committee for over 19 years. He also served as one of thepast chiefs of Van Volunteer Fire Department.
He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Pearl Roe of Gordon;three sons and their wives, Herman Jr. and Charlotte of Madison,Ricky and Kathy of Camp Creek and Teddy and Donna of Gordon; onedaughter, Ruby Conley of Miami, Fla.; eight grandchildren and 13great-grandchildren.
Funeral service will be held at noon Saturday, Aug. 9, at HandleyFuneral Home, Danville, with the Rev. Phil Rowe and the Rev. DonaldAdkins officiating. Burial will follow in Danville Memorial Park,Danville, with military graveside rites performed by Daniel BooneVFW Post 5578, Madison, W.Va.
Friends may call from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
You may express your condolences to the family atwww.handleyfh.com.
Shelya Wanda Smith
Shelya Wanda Smith, 81, of Elkview went home to be with the Lordon Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008, at her residence.
She was a member of Leatherwood Missionary Baptist Church and wasa loving wife, mother, and a good Christian woman.
Shelya was a housewife and was preceded in death by hergrandchildren, Maria D. Carte, Amanda D. Smith and Matthew S. Smith.
Surviving: her loving husband of 64 years, Huston Clinton SmithSr.; daughter, Shelya Kay Carte of Elkview; sons, Huston C. SmithJr. and wife, Susan, Joe A. Smith and wife, Mary, Gregg Smith andwife, Gloria, and Jerry L. Smith and wife, Linda, all of Elkview,and Kevin E. Smith at home; sister, Rozella Moles and husband, Jim,of Elkview; brother, Russell Quigley of Elkview; 10 grandchildrenand 11 great-grandchildren.
Service will be 11 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Hafer FuneralHome Chapel with the Rev. Jeff Underwood officiating. Burial willfollow in the Smith family cemetery, Elkview.
Friends may call from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Online condolences may be sent at www.haferfuneralhome.net.
Hafer Funeral Home, Elkview, is in charge of the arrangements.
Delcie Graley Snodgrass
Delcie Graley Snodgrass, 87, of South Charleston, formerly of St.Albans and Alum Creek, died Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008, at ThomasMemorial Hospital, South Charleston, after a long illness.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Ezra and Sadie Graley;brothers, Earl, Everette and Emory Graley; and sister, Grace Rabel.
She was a retired minister of the Church of God and was a 10-year employee of G.C. Murphy in South Charleston.
She is survived by her husband of over 70 years, Joe; son, LyleSnodgrass and wife, Gardenia; grandson, Bucky Snodgrass;granddaughter, Deena Pauley and her husband, Robert; great-granddaughter, Deanna Parsons and her husband, Mitchell; and great-great-grandson, Isaiah Parsons, all of South Charleston; specialdaughter, Tara Appler and her husband, John, of Baltimore, Md.;brothers, Ezra Graley Jr. and Bill Graley, both of St. Albans; andsisters, Jenny Brown of St. Albans and Phyllis Kinzer of Tampa, Fla.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at CurryFuneral Home, Alum Creek, with Pastors Jack Lawrence, Ezra GraleyJr. and Arley Cravens officiating. Entombment will be held inGraceland Memorial Park Mausoleum, South Charleston.
Friends will gather from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Delcie's family wants to give a special thank you to all thestaff at Valley Center in South Charleston for their excellent careof Mom.
Harold R. Terry
Harold R. Terry, 76, of Lindside died Aug. 5, 2008. Service willbe 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Broyles-Shrewsbury Funeral Home,Peterstown. Friends may call from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday. Burial will bein Bradley Cemetery, Lindside.
Anita M. Thomas
Anita M. Thomas, 55, of Charleston died Aug. 6, 2008. Servicewill be 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Preston Funeral Home,Charleston. Friends may call 30 minutes prior to service.
Kenneth A. Tolliver
Kenneth A. Tolliver, 66, of Cain Branch Road, Gauley Bridge, diedWednesday, Aug. 6, 2008, at home.
Born Dec. 22, 1941, in Jodie, he was a son of the late BallardTolliver and Josephine Boles Cole.
He was a disabled service station attendant.
Survivors include his sisters, Sandra Kay Niday of Montgomery andElizabeth Ann Blankenship of Gauley Bridge; and brothers and sisters-in-law, Bill and Vulia Tolliver of Gauley Bridge and Wayne and JosieCole of Belva.
Service will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at the PenningtonFuneral Home Chapel, Gauley Bridge, with the Rev. Dennis Preastofficiating. Burial will be in Naylor Cemetery, Cain Branch Road,Gauley Bridge.
Friends may call one hour prior to service at the funeral home.
Gary W. Wheeler
Gary W. Wheeler, 54, of Pataskala, Ohio, formerly of Nitro,passed away Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2008, at his residence.
He was a steel worker for Ohio Steel Company. He was aProtestant.
He was preceded in death by parents, Clifford and Mearl Wheeler;sisters, Pamela and Myria; and brother, Michael.
He was a "prankster."
Surviving: companion, Kathy Mentzer of Pataskala, Ohio; son, GaryC. Wheeler of Columbus, Ohio; two daughters, Brandy Bennett of Nitroand Beth Kennedy of Sugar Grove, Ohio; brother, Glenvel A. Wheelerof Red House; six sisters, Gail Priddy of Ocala, Fla., Joyce Rotellaof Flemington, N.J., Patricia Sizemore and Carol Withrow of Eleanor,Jill Priddy of Nitro and Debra DeWeese; and four grandchildren,Elizabeth, Bradley, Corbin and Hunter.
Services will be 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 9, at Cooke Funeral HomeChapel, Nitro, with the Rev. Robert Lacy officiating. Burial willfollow the service in Goff-McClanahan Cemetery.
Friends may call 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at the funeral home.
Condolences may be sent to the family viawww.cookefuneralhome.com.
Cooke Funeral Home & Crematorium, Nitro, is in charge ofarrangements.
Stanley Paul Workman
Stanley Paul Workman, 68, of Hico died Aug. 7, 2008. Service willbe 2 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, at Mount Zion United Methodist Church,Ramsey. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Friends may callSaturday from 6 to 8 p.m. at Wallace & Wallace Funeral Home, Ansted.
The Brazilian president blamed rising oil prices for causing the current global food crisis, saying Saturday that biofuels had nothing to do with the problem, as some have suggested.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said escalating oil prices were pushing up freight costs, which in turn affected world food prices.
"Ethanol production has not contributed in any way to the food price crises," Silva told a news conference in Accra, where he was attending a three-day U.N. Conference on Trade and Development.
"It is the oil prices that have brought about high freight charges on the transportation of food," he said.
The U.N. body has criticized Brazil, however, for encouraging its farmers to grow biofuels including sugar cane, castor beans and corn, instead of traditional food crops. The U.N. body says the shift is a factor in the reduction of food production.
Silva has said such criticism is unfounded and that there is enough land for production of both food and biofuels, especially in Africa.
To solve the global food crisis, Silva said rich countries should remove their subsidies on agricultural production and give financial help to poor countries to allow them to increase their food production.
"The success that Brazil has achieved in food production can be done in Africa," he said, after a meeting with Ghana's President John Kufuor. "Forty years ago, Brazil's savannah zones were considered wastelands, but technology has changed that," and Africa can do the same.
Silva arrived in Ghana along with members of the Brazilian government's Agricultural Research Agency in Africa, which is expected to sign three agreements to transfer technology to Ghana for the production of biofuels and manioc.
Brazil's Cerrado region, a nearly 300-million-acre (120-million-hectare) arid savanna that crosses central Brazil, is a major grain producer. Its climate and soil are similar to those found in parts of Africa.
Results of Fed Cup World Group II tie between Japan and Croatia on hard court at Beans Dome:
Sunday
Reverse Singles
Akiko Morigami, Japan, def. Jelena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, 6-1, 6-2.
Aiko Nakamura, Japan, def. Nika Ozegovic, Croatia, 6-0, 4-6, 6-2.
Doubles
Rika Fujiwara and Ayumi Morita, Japan, def. Petra Martic and Ana Vrljic, Croatia, 6-2, 6-3.
Saturday
Singles
Akiko Morigami, Japan, def. Nika Ozegovic, Croatia, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.
Jelena Kostanic Tosic, Croatia, def. Aiko Nakamura, Japan, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.
A Real-Time Delivery System for NEXRAD Level II Data Via the Internet
A multi-institution collaboration demonstrated real time compression and Internet-based transmission technology to make possible an affordable nationwide operational capture, distribution, and archiving of Level II WSR-88D data.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National Weather Service (NWS) had an underutilized national resource in the real-time high-resolution level II radar data. NOAA's National Severe Storms Laboratory (NSSL) had developed a method to access the data in real time, but the challenge was finding an affordable way to disseminate the data given the limitations of the network bandwidth. NSSL needed the data to extend its severe weather research throughout the country. The Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms (CAPS) located at the University of Oklahoma (OU) had a need to use the data to initialize a high-resolution cloud model. NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) needed a method to improve its data capture rate of the level II data for archival purposes. Baron's Services, a company specializing in radar data for the commercial television market, needed the data for its customers. Driven by their various requirements, this collection of federal and state government, university, and private sector entities joined together to form the Collaborative Radar Acquisition Field Test (CRAFT) Project. In 2004, after five years of research funded by such programs as NOAA's High Performance Computing and Communications (HPCC) and Environmental Systems Data and Information Management (ESDIM) programs and a grant from the State of Oklahoma Regents, the project was transferred into operations.
This paper highlights the evolution of Project CRAFT that led to the NWS decision to implement the NEXRAD Level II central collection functionality across the contiguous United States (CONUS). This decision directly supported recommendation 5 of the National Research Council report "Fair Weather" (NRC 2003), which states, in part, that "the NWS should make its data and products available in Internet-accessible digital form." This paper also discusses the present status of CRAFT as NWS moves beyond an initial operating capability (Droegemeier et al. 2005a). The next section gives a technical description of the CRAFT infrastructure, as well as the system design, performance, and reliability considerations. The third section discusses the path to operations and the NWS national implementation of CRAFT. The fourth section describes reliability improvements in data archives, new applications created for data retrieval and visualization, and initial data mining efforts. The fifth section provides a summary of the project and discusses future directions.
TECHNICAL DISCUSSION. The NWS finished commissioning the Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) Next- Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) network as part of a $4.5 billion Modernization and Associated Restructuring Development in 1997 (Crum and Alberty 1993; Crum et al. 1998). Today the NEXRAD network consists of 121 radars operated by the NWS, 26 Department of Defense (DOD) radars, 12 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) radars, and eight support radars.
Raw data collected by each WSR-88D are used to generate four different archive level datasets as described in OFCM (2006) and Crum et al. (1993). The focus of Project CRAFT and this paper is archive level II data, also known as base data (hereafter, we use the terms interchangeably). Archive level II data are full eight-bit precision, full spatial resolution data of all three Doppler moments (radial velocity, reflectivity, and spectrum width) in polar coordinate range gates, for all elevation scans, along with appropriate metadata.
Early in the NEXRAD program, the value of full-volume, full-precision level II data for scientific research, training, operations support, and algorithm development was recognized, and in 1994 an 8-mm robotic tape cartridge recording system was installed on each radar (Crum et al. 1993). Since 1994, NCDC had been archiving the 8-mm tapes and using the same media to provide level II data to users. However, rapid advances in data transmission, compression, and storage technologies suggested that far better solutions were available and could be implemented with high reliability at reasonably low cost.
In 1995, NSSL completed development of a system for accessing the level II data in real time over dedicated Tl communications circuits called the Radar Interface and Data Distribution System (RIDDS; Jain and Rhue 1995). Before long, it became apparent these data were also becoming important for use in numerical weather prediction research (e.g., Lilly 1990; Droegemeier 1997; Xue et al. 2003; Hu et al. 2006a,b; Fig. 1), and that a long-term, reliable level II data archival and distribution system was needed. In response, CAPS and the NSSL joined forces in 1998 with the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR), the University of Washington, and the WSR-88D Radar Operations Center (formerly the Operational Support Facility) to establish Project CRAFT (Droegemeier et al. 1999, 2002). About two years later, the partnership was extended to NCDC.
Original system configuration. The foundation for Project CRAFT was laid in 1995 when the NSSL created RIDDS to extract level II data from the WSR-88D Radar Product Generator (RPG) in real time as part of its effort to develop a radar-based Warning Decision Support System (WDSS; Johnson et al. 1998; Mitchell et al. 1998; Stumpfet al. 1998; Witt et al. 1998). The WDSS was an experimental decision support system consisting of data ingest software, radar algorithms, and display software. The system used real-time level II radar data and facilitated the development of a number of single-radar severe weather algorithms currently in use on the WSR-88D. The present system, known as W DSS -Integrated Information (Stumpfet al. 2003), allows for the combination of radar data with other data (e.g., lightning, satellite, model) and is designed to assist NWS forecasters in making decisions about severe weather warnings. Figure 2 shows NSSL's new maximum azimuthal shear algorithm displayed on WDSS-II (Smith and Elmore 2004).
The original RIDDS architecture consisted of a Sun SparcStation 5/110 workstation, located at the RPG and running software developed by the NSSL, which took base data from the WSR-88D wideband 3 port and output it as user datagram protocol packets to an eight-port Ethernet hub. A circular memory buffer on the RIDDS workstation held about one volume scan of data. Until the advent of Project CRAFT, a maximum of eight users could directly access the RIDDS base data by establishing a Tl network connection (1.55 Mb s^sup -1^ and usually rather expensive) to the Ethernet hub. By the end of 1999, some 50 RIDDS sites were active around the nation, mostly associated with NSSL's testing of WDSS.
Project CRAFT sought to enhance the RIDDS capability by 1) using the Internet as a transmission medium for providing real-time base data access to a virtually unlimited number of users; 2) reducing significantly the bandwidth, and thus the cost, of the network connection to the RIDDS computer by implementing a real-time, loss-less compression algorithm (i.e., one that outputs an exact copy of the original data after decompression, without any information loss); and 3) developing a system that could be scaled to accommodate larger data streams. The decision to require the system to be scalable was critical given the expected addition of more radars (i.e., potentially all WSR-88Ds), the planned increase in level II data volume per radar (resulting from enhancements to the existing radars such as faster scanning), and the expected data loads from different radars (e.g., dual-polarization, phased-array, FAA Terminal Doppler Weather Radars). One component leading to the success of Project CRAFT was the University of Washington's implementation of a nonproprietary compression algorithm called bzip2, which, coupled with NSSL's RIDDS system, linked to an inexpensive personal computer running the UCAR Unidata Local Data Manager (LDM) software, led to the successful real-time transmission of the data to remote users via the Internet. The LDM software (Davis and Rew 1994) has been used by numerous universities, the federal government, and operational centers (Chiswell 1999). It is a distributed system for event-driven data dissemination that acquires data from, and shares them with, other networked computers.
In the original CRAFT system design, the data were transmitted from the RIDDS Sun workstation to a PC, then to an optional $2000 mutiport router and onto a standard 56 Kb s^sup -1^ phone line. The phone lines were soon upgraded to 64 Kb s^sup -1^ or greater to accommodate high data rate bursts observed under certain weather conditions during early CRAFT testing (see "Data compression"). In 2002, the NEXRAD agencies completed deployment of the Open Systems Architecture RPG (Saffle and Johnson 1999) developed by NSSL. The new architecture included the Base Data Distribution System (BDDS; Crum et al. 2003b) whose functionality replaced that of the RIDDS and LDM computers in the March 2004 Build 5 RPG software release.
Network design. Project CRAFT also attributes its success to the exploitation of two national networking infrastructures, Internet2 and Abilene. Internet2 is a nonprofit consortium of over 200 universities in the United States that works in partnership with industry and government to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies. Abilene is a Gb s^sup -1^ backbone that supports Internet2 activities by providing a high-speed interconnect among collaborators. Both Abilene and Internet2 are managed by the nonprofit University Corporation for Advanced Internet Development.
The logical networking topology originally envisioned centered on the transmission of base data from all radars to selected sites on the Abilene ring, such as high-priority NOAA facilities, the National Center for Atmospheric Research, and some universities. These sites would serve as hubs or transfer points for the entire data stream. Nodes not linked directly to Abilene (e.g., universities, private companies, other government facilities) would obtain base data via the commodity Internet for as many radars as the available bandwidth allowed. As networking capabilities continued to expand, bandwidth limitations on the commodity Internet would likely vanish. The network topology implemented by the NWS in 2004 (Fig. 3) was surprisingly similar to the original concept envisioned when CRAFT began.
Local data management software. Several significant features of local data management (LDM) added to the flexibility of Project CRAFT. One such feature was scalability. LDM has an effectively unlimited number of both data source and data recipient nodes that can be added since each functions as a transmission point. A second feature is a single LDM node that can transmit to multiple other LDM nodes. This capability allowed data from the CRAFT radars to be transmitted simultaneously to OU, NSSL, and NCDC. In the event of a communications failure, a third feature of LDM allowed the LDM PC at the radar site to automatically store the data in a local data buffer and retransmit up to four days worth of backlogged level II data when communication was reestablished. Additional storage was possible by simply increasing the capacity of the local PC disk.
Data compression. Efficient real time compression of the level II data was a key component to the success of CRAFT. Compression was needed to reduce the network bandwidth necessary to transport these data, reduce the associated communications costs, and reduce storage requirements for long-term archives at NCDC. A typical WSR-88D generates compressed level II data at rates between 22 (in clear air surveillance mode) and 77 Kb s^sup -1^ [during the fastest volume coverage patterns (VCPs) 12 and 121] or approximately 0.5 TB yr^sup -1^, worst case (OFCM 2006). Details of the CRAFT level II data compression may be found in the supplement, available online at http://dx.doi.org/IO.! 1 75/BAMS-88-7-Kelleher. Although additional steps were taken to enhance the compression of the bzip2 algorithm, such as removing all data located higher than 70,000 ft above the radar, data from certain weather events containing high gradients in the moment data (e.g., squall lines and mesoscale convective systems with deep anvil echoes) and fast VCPs (12 and 121) did not compress sufficiently to meet the CRAFT 56 Kb s^sup -1^ bandwidth. As a result, the NWS chose to double the bandwidth used during the CRAFT project, from 56 to 128 Kb s^sup -1^ per radar, for the national implementation (Crum et al. 2003a).
Network simulation. The need to ensure the CRAFT network design was scalable became important as the number of radars increased. The CRAFT network was built upon the LDM hierarchical model using the high bandwidth Abilene backbone for data transmission. Computations showed that if the entire NWS network of 121 radars was added to CRAFT, only a very small fraction of the Abilene network would be used. However, questions still remained regarding the scalability of the local bandwidth (between the radar site and the Abilene network), the system software and hardware (design used to collect and transmit the data), and the factors that determined the data latency. A network simulation model was employed to help find answers to these questions.
The simulation was done using freeware software called Network Simulator (NS; Network Simulator Web site www.isi.edu/nsnam/ns), an object-oriented, discrete event-driven network simulator developed at the University of California. The NS is capable of simulating both local and wide area networks.
The NS was used to examine three CRAFT network properties: 1) bandwidth, 2) local buffer, and 3) latency (which determines overflow queue length). The bandwidth study examined whether the capacity of the transmission circuit was correctly sized to accommodate maximum data loads, otherwise data were queued in a local buffer. The local buffer examined whether the buffer size was adequate for storing several days' worth of data before unrecoverable data loss occurred. Latency examined the delay in the packet transfer, which was an important key to deciding the usability of the level II data in real time. (Details may be found online in the electronic supplement at http://dx.doi.0rg/IO.l 175/BAMS-88-7-Kelleher.) In summary, latencies caused by insufficient bandwidth during prolonged stormy weather events (high data rates) were substantial and unacceptable for a real-time network that is expected to perform well under such conditions. Therefore, these network simulation results supported the NWS decision to double the bandwidth per radar site for the national implementation of the CRAFT-like technology.
TRANSFERRING CRAFT TO OPERATIONS. The NWS allocates resources based upon requirements. Therefore, it had to be demonstrated that CRAFT technology would help NWS meet its requirements before investments would be made by the NWS to make CRAFT-like technology operational. NWS had an ongoing requirement to archive level II data. However, it was clear that by 2004 the 8-mm tape recording system in use at that time would become logistically unsupportable. The CRAFT approach not only offered an alternative to the legacy 8-mm tape approach at approximately the same program cost, but also offered higher data archival rates. In addition, the proposed real-time data collection and distribution network would meet a newly emerging NWS requirement for real-time numerical model initialization for which data latency was a key factor. By choosing the previously described network architecture, NWS was able to deliver level II data with a latency that met both the NWS National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) requirement of 60 s and the private sector's request for latencies of 10 s or less. Furthermore, making the real-time level II data readily available without restriction on its use and redistribution would help a wide range of users.
A comprehensive description of the complex policy issues surrounding the implementation Project CRAFT may be found in Gratz (2006). CRAFT was physically implemented by the NWS by increasing the bandwidth of its internal Frame Relay network (NWSnet). The four NWS regional headquarters sites within the CONUS acted as collection points for the radar data using the existing frame relay (Fig. 3). Large LDM servers were installed at each region and were connected to Abilene via a DS3 or OC3 (45 Mb s^sup 1^) data circuit. From each regional server, LDM feeds were disseminated to four top-tier distribution nodes located at OU, Purdue University, the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas (ERC) at Asheville, North Carolina, and at an NWS server located at the University of Maryland configured to distribute data to other U.S. government organizations. The private sector, or any user, may enter into agreements with any of the three distribution entities- OU, Purdue (more information available online at http://roskilde.eas. purdue. edu/~level2/), or the ERC (more information available online at www.ercbroadband.org/centerpage. php?pagename = wsr-88d). These entities must provide the unaltered data on a cost-recovery fee basis, as per the terms of their agreement with the NWS. An example is the Integrated Radar and Data Services (IRaDS; more information available online at www.radarservices.org) program set up at OU. As part of the agreement to use the Abilene or Internet2 as the communications backbone to transmit the data, university users have free access to the data via a distribution process managed by Unidata. Government users receive the data through the toptier site located at the University of Maryland. The NWS Telecommunications Gateway provides the data to NCEP for numerical model initialization.
IMPROVEMENTS IN LEVEL Il RADAR DATA ARCHIVAL, RETRIEVAL, AND MINING. The NCDC is responsible for acquisition, archive, and dissemination services for all level II data from both civilian and military WSR-88D systems. Before Project CRAFT, the level II data archive was achieved through the use of 8-mm tapes mailed in 10-tape cases from the radar sites to the NCDC. Each 4.8-GB tape had to be checked for errors. These data were then merged and compressed, at a rate up to 10:1, to an 8-mm archive tape for long-term storage. The original 8-mm tapes received from the radar site were then degaussed and recycled (Fig. 4). In August, 2000, the NCDC began copying 8-mm tape receipts directly to the NCDC robotic mass storage system also known as the Hierarchical Data Storage System (HDSS).
Providing level II data to users from the 8-mm tape library was also expensive and time consuming. Copying the data for one radar site for one day from 8-mm tape took up to four hours. The typical level II data user required data from multiple radar sites over a period of days and the tape-based process took NCDC several days or weeks to fill these orders. Therefore, the cost for the data, especially for use in long-term, large-area climatological studies (e.g., Carbone et al. 2002), could have run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars, far more than can be accommodated by a typical research grant. Furthermore, no mechanism existed to peruse level II data online or efficiently mine vast amounts of historical data. The cost to maintain the now outdated tape system, both in the field and at the NCDC, exceeded $750,000 yr^sup 1^. As a result of these and other limitations, the nonNOAA scientific community, especially universities, had largely avoided using archived level II data for research or education when large numbers of tapes were required. In other words, in many cases the usage did not reflect a lack of interest, but rather a lack of cost-effective and timely access.
One of the principal goals of Project CRAFT was to demonstrate the efficiencies achieved in both time and cost by directly ingesting and archiving level II data at the NCDC, thereby eliminating the increasingly expensive and unreliable 8-mm recording technology in use at the time. The CRAFT system has reduced the number of interactive processing steps required for long-term level II data archival at the NCDC from eight to two. As a result, the time required to archive data decreased from several weeks to near-real time. In addition, by removing the need for 8-mm tape recorders, CRAFT eliminated the time spent by NWS field personnel recording the data, eliminated the associated hardware maintenance costs, and also substantially reduced the requirements for 8-mm tape production at NCDC. This enabled a cost saving at NCDC of over $400,000 yr ^sup 1^ in labor, supplies, shipping, and 8-mm hardware maintenance.
On average, the NCDC receives over 200 GB of level II data each day, or about 85 TB yr^sup 1^ uncompressed. The amount of data received has increased as the number of radars on the data collection network increased and with the new VCPs (12 and 121). Through September 2000, the NCDC had archived 77,000 8-mm tapes, with some data available as early as 1991. All of the 77,000 tapes have been migrated to the NCDC mass storage system. Before Project CRAFT (i.e., before 2000), the level II archive for all 121 NWS radars was only 64.9% complete (i.e., relative to the amount of data potentially available from the radars), while the DOD and FAA radar archives were only 35.7% and 9.5% complete, respectively. Consequently, for the entire network of 158 radars prior to CRAFT the archive is only 55.7% complete.
The data archival rate is now over 98%. The direct transfer of level II data to the NCDC HDSS, along with newly available software for user data retrieval via the Web, has dramatically reduced the time required to disseminate the archived data. For example, retrieval time for 20 GB of level II data from the NCDC mass storage system takes approximately 10 min today compared with 234 h previously that required processing 58 customer tapes at 9 work stations, each running for 26 h (Del Greco 2003).
The NCDC has developed a Web interface to provide direct access to WSR-88D level II digital data products via the radar resources Web page. Users are able to directly access NEXRAD data at no cost via the Web without contacting an NCDC customer service representative. To browse NEXRAD data inventories, the user links to a Graphical User Interface at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/nexradinv and can choose data by clicking on the desired station (Fig. 5) or go to http://has.ncdc.noaa.gov, select the level II option, and follow the instructions for dataset retrieval. When data processing is complete, NCDC forwards retrieval instructions to the data requester's E-mail address.
In an effort to provide better support to these end users, NCDC developed visualization tools for browsing and displaying these data. The NCDC Interactive Weather Radar Viewer and Data Exporter loads level II data and derived products, known as level III, into an Open Geographic Information System (GIS) compliant environment. The application is launched via Java Web Start and runs on the client machine while accessing these data remotely from the NCDC archive or in near-real time from other servers (Del Greco and Ansari 2005).
The NOAA NCDC Radar Viewer and Data Exporter (Fig. 6) are both written entirely in the Java programming language. There are NCDC radar viewer and exporter instructions on the NCDC Radar Resources Web page at the following URL: www.ncdc. noaa.gov/oa/radar/jnx/index.html and a tutorial at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/radar/jnx/jnxv-basics.php.
The Weather Radar Viewer and Data Exporter project consists of two programs and an open source Application Program Interface. The software is available free of charge from NCDC. The applications include the Weather Radar Viewer, a visual browser for the data, the Weather Radar Data Exporter, and the Data Export Utility. The entire software package will run on any Java-supported platform including Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. The visualization and data export software supports both the historical NEXRAD data at NCDC and real-time NEXRAD data distributed by the NWS. This allows developers and analysts to perform real-time GIS analysis on all NEXRAD data. The export of images and movies is provided in multiple formats that support the blending of radar data with other types of data.
Additional data visualization capability has been provided by NCDC in collaboration with the National Severe Storms Laboratory. NSSL has modified the Interactive Radar Analysis Software visualization software to create a platform independent application available for download at URL: http://lwf.ncdc.noaa. gov/oa/radar/iras.html. The software application allows users to read and display real time and archived level II radar data on platforms supporting Java version 1.3 and higher (Priegnitz 1995).
NSSL utilizes the level II real time data stream for a number of different applications. For example, NSSL creates a national radar mosaic for the CON US, quality controls the data eliminating undesirable artifacts such as biological targets, ground clutter, and contamination from anomalous propagation (Fig. 7), and produces a quantitative precipitation estimate every 5 min on a 1 km � 1 km grid, see Fig. 8. Leveraging this capability, radar precipitation climatologies can be derived for specific events or for a season as shown in Fig. 9.
Project CRAFT addressed not only data capture, transmission, and data archival issues, but also data retrieval issues. NSSL and NCDC partnered with the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) to test some techniques for mining the data in anticipation of the forthcoming need by the data users to extract information from the huge level II archive being built. Researchers at OU had begun a project to identify mesocyclones, areas of rotation in a thunderstorm often associated with tornadoes, using NSSL computer algorithms with the goal of creating a mesocyclone climatology (McGrath et al. 2002). As pointed out by Stumpf et al. (1998), detection of mesocyclones is important for severe weather forecasts because over 90% of mesocyclones are accompanied by severe weather such as tornadoes or large hail. The OU researchers used the original NSSL code for their project, which was fast enough to run in real time, but not considered fast with respect to mining gigabytes of data retrospectively. Processing the data through the archive tapes looking for mesocyclones took nearly as much time as it would have if it were done in real time. NSSL and NCDC worked to develop faster techniques. They combined resources with researchers at UAH who have had experience mining data from the field of geosciences. The result was the formation of a collaborative group of meteorologists and data mining experts. The study was limited to finding an accurate, yet fast algorithm to detect mesocyclone signatures. Both UAH and NSSL tried different approaches. The approach taken by UAH showed the most promise with a 2� speed-up over NSSL's fully optimized mesocyclone algorithm. Details may be found online in the electronic supplement at http:// dx.doi.org/IO.II75/BAMS-88-7-Kelleher.
Building upon this success, NCDC established a memorandum o� agreement with the Education and Research Consortium of the Western Carolinas. NCDC plans to leverage ERC computing and disk storage resources to run the mining engines mentioned above to create and make freely available special datasets (e.g., a database of all mesocyclone events) based on mesocyclone signatures.
SUMMARYAND FUTURE DIRECTIONS. One of the principal benefits of the CRAFT methodology, particularly in terms of cost and reliability, was its utilization of open source software (e.g., LDM, bzip2, Linux) and existing networking technology (the Internet, Internet2, and Abilene). By February 2003, when the NWS announced plans to adopt the project for all CONUS and select DOD radars, CRAFT had demonstrated that WSR-88D level II data could be delivered to virtually any user without loss of information content, and at low cost, using existing software and telecommunications infrastructures for 64 WSR-88D radar sites. It further had demonstrated that the long-term archive of level II data at the NCDC was more effectively accomplished via Internet-based transmission rather than 8 mm in situ recording technology. The CRAFT test bed successfully addressed the important issues for sustained operational use, such as network reliability, redundancy, and security. For these accomplishments, the NOAA group that transferred the CRAFT prototype to operations was the recipient of the 2004 NOAA Technology Transfer Award.
Today, the NWS's CRAFT-like operational data distribution system represents a unique source of information for future research in data mining, digital libraries, and distributed storage technology. The architecture provides for not only the expansion to larger datasets via enhancements to the existing WSR-88Ds (e.g., more dense scanning strategies like recently deployed VCPs 12 and 121, possibly super-resolution WSR-88D data in 2008, and possibly dual-polarization capability in 2009), but also for the future inclusion of other radars such as the Terminal Doppler Weather Radar data from the FAA, the National Weather Radar Testbed Phased Array Radar (NWRT PAR; Forsyth et al. 2005), the low-elevation scanning radars proposed by the Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere Project (Droegemeier et al. 2005b), Canadian and Mexican weather radars, or television station radar data. The NWS has added a monitoring capability to the real-time data feed to assist in minimizing network downtime. In 2008, the NWS is considering migrating from the existing network architecture (Fig. 3) to one that also includes the NOAANet Backbone and distributed through two hubs, one at the NWS Telecommunications Gateway and the other at the NWS Southern Region Headquarters (Fig. 10). These hubs will continue to send data to the existing four top-tier distribution nodes.
Future plans by NCDC include developing applications to build and export radar products using the latest Web technology including Simple Object Access Protocol, GIS Web Services, and Open-source Project for a Network Data Access Protocol. Emphasis will be placed on interoperability, Open Geospatial Consortium compliance and geophysical community based formats such as Network Common Data Format (NetCDF), Hierarchical Data Format, and the Common Data Model.
Since the implementation of the NCDC direct access web interface for level II data, online requests have increased exponentially, as have requests for large datasets. Customer orders that were primarily from the federal government and universities now include more requests from users in both public and private sectors. Level II data orders that totaled approximately 100 GB yr1 have increased to terabytes per year, with more than 1 TB accessed each month on average for the last three years.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. Project CRAFT is truly a collaborative effort among numerous institutions, and the outstanding collegiality of all involved is without question the reason for its success. In that spirit, the authors gratefully acknowledge the participation of Guy Almes of the Abilene Program and funding received from the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF) Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research Program, the NSF (Grants ATM91-20009 and ATM99-81130), and NOAA's NSSL, WSR-88D ROC, NCDC, and the ESDIM and HPCC programs. We recognize Ming Xue of CAPS for the ARPS figure, Mark Benner and Karen Cooper for their tireless work in deploying and maintaining the systems, Harry Edmon for initial adoption of the bzip2 algorithm, Yen Soon Low for his contributions to the network simulation work, and Ken Howard, Jian Zhang, and J. J. Gourley with the NSSL's Hydrometeorological Group for providing the NMQ and precipitation estimation figures. Several people within NWS played a critical role in the successful transfer of the CR A FT-like technology to a National Weather Service level Il Data Collection and Distribution Network. These people include Christina Horvat, WSR-88D Radar Operations Center; Warren Blanchard, NWS Office of Science and Technology; and (ami Casamento, Phil Cragg, and Tom Sandman, NWS office of the Chief Information Officer.
[Sidebar]
The NOAA NWS announced at the annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society in February 2003 its intent to create an Internet-based pseudo-operational system for delivering Weather Surveillance Radar-1988 Doppler (WSR-88D) Level II data. In April 2004, the NWS deployed the Next-Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) level II central collection functionality and set up a framework for distributing these data. The NWS action was the direct result of a successful joint government, university, and private sector development and test effort called the Collaborative Radar Acquisition Field Test (CRAFT) project. Project CRAFT was a multi-institutional effort among the Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the University of Washington, and the three NOAA organizations, National Severe Storms Laboratory, WSR-88D Radar Operations Center (ROC), and National Climatic Data Center. The principal goal of CRAFT was to demonstrate the real-time compression and Internet-based transmission of level II data from all WSR-88D with the vision of an affordable nationwide operational implementation. The initial test bed of six radars located in and around Oklahoma grew to include 64 WSR-88D nationwide before being adopted by the NWS for national implementation. A description of the technical aspects of the award-winning Project CRAFT is given, including data transmission, reliability, latency, compression, archival, data mining, and newly developed visualization and retrieval tools. In addition, challenges encountered in transferring this research project into operations are discussed, along with examples of uses of the data. (Page 1045)
[Reference]
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[Author Affiliation]
AFFILIATIONS: Kelleher- NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma; Droegemeier and Qualley" - School of Meteorology and Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; Levit,* Sinclair,* Jahn," Hill, and Mueller@ - Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; Crum and Smith - NOAA/WSR-88D Radar Operations Center, Norman, Oklahoma; Del Greco - NOAA/National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, North Carolina; Lakshmivarahan - School of Computer Science, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma; Miller, Ramamurthy, Domenico, and Fulker - University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, Boulder, Colorado
*CURRENT AFFILIATION: NOAA/Storm Prediction Center, Norman, Oklahoma
*CURRENT AFFILIATION: Sasaki Institute, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma
"CURRENT AFFILIATION: Weathernews International, Norman, Oklahoma
*CURRENT AFFILIATION: National Weather Service. Silver Spring, Maryland
A supplement to this article Is available online (DOI: 10. 1 I75/BAMS-88-7-Kelleher)
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Kevin E. Kelleher, National Severe Storms Laboratory, 120 David L. Boren Blvd., Norman, OK 73072
E-mail: Kevin.Kelleher@noaa.gov
The abstract for this article can be found in this issue, following the table of contents.
DOI : I O. I I75/BAMS-88-7- 1 045
In final form 25 January 2007
�2007 American Meteorological Society
