Pennsylvania

Court keeps Nader off presidential ballot

A Pennsylvania court struck a blow to Ralph Nader’s presidential campaign Wednesday, blocking him from the ballot there due to fraudulent signatures.

The campaign’s 51,000 submitted signatures included names such as “Mickey Mouse” and “Fred Flintstone,” according to Commonwealth Court President Judge James Gardner Colins’ 15-page ruling.

Nader needed 25,697 valid names to qualify for Pennsylvania’s ballot; Colins ruled that fewer than 19,000 of the campaign’s signatures were legitimate.

“I am compelled to emphasize that this signature-gathering process was the most deceitful and fraudulent exercise ever perpetrated upon this Court,” Colins wrote in a ruling produced after at least 11 judges in four courtrooms pored over the signatures for about two weeks.

The Nader campaign, which has fought 21 states in court over ballot access, dismissed the court’s decision as partisan.

“Obviously he doesn’t care very much for voter intent,” said Nader spokesman Kevin Zeese of Colins. “This is a partisan judge trying to undermine a guy who has a history of credibility.”

Washington, D.C.

Fox taking issue with indecency fines

Fox Broadcasting Co. disagrees with a finding by federal regulators that an episode of “Married by America” was indecent, but isn’t saying whether it will appeal a nearly $1.2 million fine.

The Federal Communications Commission said Tuesday that some of the material in the reality series, which featured male and female Las Vegas strippers in a variety of sexual situations, was indecent and patently offensive. It included a scene where a contestant was on all fours in his underwear as two female strippers spanked him.

FCC commissioners voted unanimously to fine each of the 169 Fox TV stations that aired the program $7,000. Fox has 30 days to appeal the fines, which total $1,183,000.

“We disagree with the FCC’s decision and believe the content is not indecent,” said Joe Earley, a spokesman for Fox Broadcasting Co.

Arkansas

Report: Bus shouldn’t have been driven

A tour bus that crashed along an Arkansas highway, killing 14, was in such poor condition before the wreck that it should have been kept out of service, investigators said Wednesday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said it found pre-existing cracks on frame rails that held up the motor in the rear of the bus.

The agency did not link the cracks to the crash, saying the cause remained under investigation. Authorities still were looking at whether the driver, Herbert Walters, fell asleep at the wheel.

The cracks should have been discovered during an annual inspection and resulted in an “out-of-service” order, which would have required the company to fix the problem before the bus was allowed back on the road, said Gary Van Etten, the NTSB’s lead investigator.

Maryland

Ex-governor wants public AIDS registry

The state should establish a public registry for people with AIDS to help stop its spread because “other methods of prevention aren’t working,” Comptroller William Donald Schaefer said Wednesday.

“People should know if they are around people with AIDS,” said Schaefer, a former governor and mayor of Baltimore. “I feel it’s absolutely necessary that a registry be set up. It (AIDS) is an epidemic in Africa, and it’s an epidemic here.”

Schaefer said he was not being critical of people with AIDS: “I feel very sorry for them. They are going to die.”

The comptroller, who proposed a similar registry when he was governor, raised the issue last week at a meeting of the state Board of Public Works.

Idaho

School turns down lottery donation

During these tough budget times, schools don’t often pass up a check for $10,000. But that’s just what one Idaho charter school has done — to set a moral example for students.

The North Star Public Charter School turned down the money because it came from the Idaho State Lottery and school officials decided that taking gambling money would conflict with the school’s mission of developing virtuous citizens.

“We couldn’t in good conscience take the money,” said Gale Pooley, co-founder and chairman of the school board. “It’s the less fortunate and the poor in the communities who are buying these tickets, and children are the ones who will pay for it.

“I’d like to say we’re lucky the check wasn’t for $2 million or $10 million,” Pooley joked.