Where David crosses Letterman

Lawrence, Ind. David Letterman is getting his wish to have a road named after him even though it’s not exactly what he hoped for.

The City Council in this Indianapolis suburb unanimously approved a resolution Monday renaming a portion of a street after the talk-show host, an Indianapolis native.

A recent gag on “Late Show” has had him asking Indianapolis officials to rename Interstate 465 the “David Letterman Expressway.”

Lawrence officials couldn’t do that, but the council did rename as David Drive a portion of 59th Street. It will cross an existing street called Letterman Road named years ago for a hospital in San Francisco.

As a result, there will be an intersection of David Drive and Letterman Road. Deputy Mayor Chuck Ricks said the signs would be designed so that the words “Drive” and “Road” will be small, allowing “David Letterman” to stand out.

Ryder seeks dismissal of charge

Los Angeles Prosecutors asked a judge Wednesday to dismiss a felony drug charge against Winona Ryder, who faces charges she stole nearly $6,000 worth of designer merchandise and illegally possessed a painkiller.

The district attorney’s office said Ryder’s defense offered a sworn statement that the actress had reason to possess the pills, which were a generic form of the prescription painkiller Percocet.

A source close to the case said Ryder’s defense attorneys provided evidence that she received the pills from a doctor.

Madonna’s Bond video is out

London Madonna’s newest video is giving her the chance to get out a little aggression.

A still photo released Tuesday from the “Die Another Day” video shows the 44-year-old trying her hand at karate. The song is from the soundtrack of the upcoming James Bond film of the same name.

The video premieres today on MTV. The singer will also make a brief cameo appearance in the movie.

“Die Another Day,” starring Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry, comes out Nov. 22.

Monroe’s mandolin at stake

Owensboro, Ky. With less than a month left to make its last payment, the Bill Monroe Foundation still owes the bulk of the $1.12 million bid for the bluegrass star’s famed mandolin.

The Rosine-based organization has until Oct. 26 to make a payment of $965,000 for Monroe’s 1923 Gibson F-5 mandolin, which is stored in a Hendersonville, Tenn., vault.

If the group doesn’t come up with the money, the mandolin on which Monroe performed classics such as his “Blue Moon of Kentucky” will revert to his family. And it likely would go on the auction block again.

Monroe, who died in 1996 at 84, is credited with bringing bluegrass music wide popularity and giving the mandolin a new role as a lead instrument in country, pop and rock.