News Makers

Within hours of moderating the Democratic presidential candidates' debate at Dartmouth in September, NBC's Tim Russert presided over an even more important debate in Boston: Who would be president of Red Sox Nation? In a field with baseball luminaries such as writer/broadcaster Peter Gammons and former Red Sox player Sam Horn, Rob "Regular Rob" Crawford '90 stunned all by finishing second to Jerry Remy in online polling on the Red Sox Web site on October 2. Remy, a Red Sox Hall of Famer and New England Sports Network analyst, immediately named Crawford his vice president. Last summer Crawford, a former member of the Aires, got some airtime when he performed his smash hit, "I'm a Member of Red Sox Nation," on an NESN pregame show. Hear the song and read his blog at www.crawdaddycove.com....For nearly 140 years Bostons Charles Street Jail housed prisoners—including the Boston Strangler and notorious anarchists Sacco and Vanzetti—but now that developer DickFriedman '63 has transformed the infamous prison into the four-star Liberty Hotel, the granite-and-brick structure at the foot of Beacon Hill is putting up guests such as Mick Jagger. The luxury hotel opened in September, and the $l50 million renovation includes a new tower housing the majority of the 300 guest rooms. The former lockup holds 18 rooms (substantially larger than the old 7-by-10-foot cells), there's the Clink restraurant and Alibi bar, and the jail's original octagonal central rotunda, which features a 100-feet ceiling, has been transformed into a stunning lobby. "I want people to have a gasp," co-owner Friedman told Good Morning America on September 5. "I want people to say, 'Oh, my golly, this is amazing.' "...Principal investigator FionaHarrison '85 was delighted to learn in September that NASA has resuscitated the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) project, which had been cut last year for budgetary reasons. "I thought the program was dead," Harrison, a professor at the California Institute of Technology, told USA Today. "Its a great opportunity to find black holes that are hidden to optical telescopes." NuSTARis scheduled to launch in 2011....Jim Sterling '83 earned rave reviews in mid-October from The New YorkTimes for his role in Axis Glanceat New York, a "visual and aural treat" that remakes an 1848 hit, "injecting it with a huge dose of 21st-century adrenaline," according to the Times....Frank Gado '58, a driving force behind the lawsuit against the College over recent changes to the board of trustees, explained the heavenly origins of his interest in the ownership of the College in an August Valley News story. One winter night as a student, Gado says, he gazed upon the aurora borealis in the sky over Dartmouth Hall. "Here I am...looking around me at this very imposing sight," he said. 'And I asked myself, 'Who owns this place?'" It s a question he's been asking ever since. Thanks to the lawsuit, a judge will help him determine the answer...."Eighty percent of poor people have no way of participating in the civil justice system," Bill Neukom '64 told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer last October. The former Dartmouth trustee hopes to change this as president of the American Bar Association, a role he assumed in August. A partner in the Seattle's office of K&L Gates LLP and Microsoft's longtime lead counsel, Neukom and the bar association are spearheading the World Justice Project, a global justice initiative launched in 2006 to establish the "rule of law" in developing countries. "People's eyes roll when you say to them, 'Hi, I'm here to persuade you to invest in the rule of law,'" Neukom said. "But when put in terms of reducing violence and oppression or fostering economic growth, then people listen."...Jean Hanff Korelitz '83 explored "The Sloppy Syndrome" in Vogue's September style issue, delving into why so many women are reluctant to look chic and elegant, instead intentionally dressing down even the most expensive clothes. Writer Anne Stringfield told Korelitz that she feared "looking like Nancy Reagan," and producer Ilene Staples said, "Looking a little off makes me feel bratty and in charge." ...Dan Hedges '6B and his wife, Adele, are building the first self-sustaining "green" residence in Houston, Texas. Designed by JoeAdams '70 and his wife, Gail, of Adams Architects, the 5,000-square-foot home will use 150 photovoltaic panels to generate electricity and a rainwater collection and treatment system will provide water for the home, which is slated for fall 2008 completion. "I want people to think not just about solar power, but the rainwater collection and treatment and geothermal AC," Hedges, who is hoping his utility bills will cease to exist, told the Houston Business Journal....Katie Weatherston '06 helped the Big Green reach three NCAA Frozen Four ice hockey championships. Now the Canadian Olympic gold medalist is trying to revive women's professional ice hockey in her native country. Weatherston is skating for the Ottawa Capital Canucks in the new Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL), a nonprofit, player-driven league that replaced the National Women's Hockey League, which folded last May. "The players are putting in a lot of time and can play the game at low or no cost," she told the Ottawa Citizen last September. "I'd like to see the elimination of all player costs and eventually the girls get paid to play."...Jarrod Shoemaker '04 and Adam Nelson '97 have both qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Shoemaker, the former Ivy League Hepragonal Games cross-country champion, earned a spot on the U.S.Olympic triathlon team with his nth-placefinish at the ITU World Cup in Beijing in mid-September. Finishing first among the American competitors, Shoemaker bested two former Olympians. Nelson, on the other hand, is no stranger to the Olympics and, after winning a silver medal at the world championships in Japan last August, became the winningest shot putter in history ....A dozen oil paintings by Doug Leigh '46 were exhibited last May in the show "Ait in the Face of War" at the City Lights Gallery in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Leigh served as a staff sergeant in the Army's 78 th Infantry Division in Europe and began painting scenes of his World War II experiences in 2000, following a conversation with a friend and fellow veteran who still vividly remembered the "fatigue and horror" he saw on soldiers' faces. "I too remembered those faces and felt that perhaps it was time to put my memories on canvas," Leigh, who had a long career in advertising art and design in New York City, told the Connecticut Post last May.

Dan Hedges '68

Rob Crawford '90 (right)

Katie Weatherston '06

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "I got to call my father and say, 'Remember when you would say, "What are you wasting your time reading those comic books for?" Well, now I've got a job because of it!' " SCREENWRITER DAVID (FRIEDMAN) BENIOFF '92, ON HIS NEW FILM WOLVERINE, TO THE BOSTON HERALD SEPTEMBER 28

QUOTE/UNQUOTE "With a big effort, global warming is a solvable problem." JEFF COLE '91, CO-FOUNDER OF THE NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION COOLINGMAN