Faces & Names: Former Duluthian wins award for innovation

A former Duluth and Superior resident informs the News Tribune that an entry he wrote has been chosen for an R&D 100 Award, which is an award that people in the business call the “Academy Award of Innovation.”

Thomas Deering King lived in the Twin Ports in the late ’70s and early ’80s and is now an employee of Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He said the winning invention, called “solution deposition planarization,” is an advance in superconductor manufacture. King, a technical writer trained at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, wrote the entry.

So how does an award-winning technical writer describe the process of solution deposition planarization?

“Imagine painting a rough concrete wall. Multiple layers of paint would make the rough surface smoother and smoother. Superconductors must be grown on molecularly smooth surfaces, and scientists here at Los Alamos National Laboratory and at Sandia National Laboratory developed a method that uses multiple liquid layers to achieve the necessary smoothness,” he wrote.

He said the process is simpler and cheaper than current polishing technology, and there are no industrial acids or wastes.

Award winners will be honored in the September issue of R&D Magazine.

Clinton’s wedding a no-fly zone

Chelsea Clinton’s wedding along the Hudson River will be under a no-fly zone.

The Federal Aviation Administration says local airspace will be restricted from 3 p.m. Saturday to 3:30 a.m. Sunday.

Clinton, the daughter of former President Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, will wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky on Saturday evening in Rhinebeck, N.Y. That’s about 90 miles north of New York City.

FAA spokesman Jim Peters said Thursday that decisions to restrict air space are made in consultation with other federal agencies. He could not confirm whether the Secret Service requested this one.

DeGeneres out as 'American Idol' judge

Ellen DeGeneres is leaving "American Idol" after one season as a judge for the hit Fox TV singing contest.

A person close to the show said DeGeneres won't return for the 10th season, which gives "American Idol" two vacancies on its judging panel. Fox has yet to announce a replacement for Simon Cowell, who left at the end of last season to start a new talent show for the network.

The person, who lacked authority to comment publicly on DeGeneres, spoke on condition of anonymity.

With "American Idol" facing ratings erosion, the

comedian-talk show host's exit gives Fox the chance to make a fresh start with a revamped judging panel. The show returns in January.

Duluth’s first family expecting again

Duluth’s first family is expecting its third child in January, Mayor Don Ness confirmed Wednesday night after he did some recent vaguebooking:

“2+1=3,” Ness wrote as his status update on the social networking website Facebook, where his friends guessed what he was talking about and the mayor confirmed.

“I love being a dad and I’m absolutely thrilled about adding to our little family,” Ness said in an e-mail to the News Tribune. “My wife Laura is amazing — she’s a great mom and holds everything together. Plus, she’s beautiful when pregnant. That’s not the reason we’re having another, but it doesn’t hurt.”

Ness and his wife Laura have two children: Eleanor is 5, and James is 3.

Hanna wards off grizzly bear

TV host and zookeeper Jack Hanna says he took his own advice and used pepper spray on grizzlies headed toward him.

The Columbus Zoo keeper and frequent David Letterman guest says he was with his wife and other hikers in Montana’s Glacier National Park on Saturday when they saw the mother bear and two large cubs coming toward them. Hanna and the others moved slowly back up the trail to a clearing and stood still while the mother and one cub passed by.

Hanna says the other cub, weighing about

125 pounds, charged toward the hikers. Hanna sprayed the bear in the face,

and it fled.

Hanna had recently filmed a message for the National Park Service encouraging hikers to carry pepper spray.

Stones’ Wood art on display

Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is going to Ohio with a different kind of solo show, spotlighting his paintings and other art.

The Butler Institute of American Art says the exhibition opening is the first for Wood at a major American museum.

The 63-year-old British musician plans to be at the museum for a reception on the show’s opening day, Sept. 21.

Butler chief curator and director Louis Zona describes Wood’s art style as lively and appealing. The museum notes that the rocker picked up a paint brush at the age of 12, before he started playing guitar.

Bond star Craig signs on for ’Tattoo’

Daniel Craig has a new mission. The current star of the James Bond films has signed on for the English-language remake of “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”

Distributor Sony Pictures confirmed that Craig is taking on the role of journalist Mikael Blomkvist in the thriller based on the first novel in the best-selling series from the late Swedish author Stieg Larsson.

The violent story teams Blomkvist with the title character, Lisbeth Salander, a deeply troubled genius tormented by a terrible childhood, as they delve into the mystery of a missing girl whose disappearance leads them to a string of decades-old murders.

Gibson talks to police about ex-girlfriend’s alleged extortion

Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators interviewed Mel Gibson on Sunday about allegations that his former girlfriend tried to extort him by threatening to make public her allegations of domestic abuse and the much-publicized audio recordings.

Gibson, who is under investigation for alleged domestic violence and child endangerment in connection with an incident earlier this year, spoke to the detectives only about the extortion allegations against Oksana Grigorieva, his former girlfriend with whom he had a child.

“He wanted to make formal complaint for the allegations for extortion and provide information to the detectives,” said sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore. “Detectives will investigate this wherever it leads.”

Gibson’s lawyers last week met with sheriff’s investigators and presented evidence they said supported the extortion claim.

They also revealed that Grigorieva sought a multimillion-dollar payout as the couple split, according to law enforcement sources

Grigorieva last Friday angrily told reporters Gibson was lying about the extortion allegation. “Because Mel is lying. He is lying. There is no extortion. There is no texts and no e-mails. ... I am fighting for my child. He’s just a liar, and it will come in the court, just wait.”

She denied that her family had leaked recordings to Radar Online in which a voice purportedly that of Gibson hurls profanities and threats at her.

Superior man up for national Meals on Wheels award

Senior Connections in Superior is urging area residents to vote for one of its volunteers in a national video contest organized by the Meals On Wheels Association of America.

Volunteer Lew Martin is in the running to become the national association’s 2010 American Volunteer. Martin, 93, has been volunteering for the program for decades and continues to serve as a Senior Connections board member, vice president — and meal site dishwasher.

Martin eats lunch at the Senior Center nearly every day “and can reliably be found washing dishes immediately following the meal,” said Rhoda Nagorski, Senior Connections Director.

Martin also is a Douglas County Board member.

View Martin’s nomination video and vote at www.mowaa.org. If Martin places in the top three, Senior Connections will get a cash award of $500, $750 or $1,000.

President Obama to appear on 'The View'

ABC’s “The View” has welcomed many notable guests, but none more prominent than President Obama, who is scheduled to visit for Thursday’s edition.

In making the announcement on Monday, executive producers Barbara Walters and Bill Geddie said this marks the first time a sitting U.S. president has visited a daytime talk show.

They said the majority of the hour will be devoted to Obama’s appearance, which will touch on topics including jobs, the economy, the Gulf oil spill and family life inside the White House. It is scheduled to tape on Wednesday.

“We are so pleased and honored,” Walters said.

Walters will make a special return to the studio for the occasion, joining co-hosts Whoopi Goldberg, Joy Behar, Elisabeth Hasselbeck and Sherri Shepherd. Other than a brief segment broadcast from her home this month, Walters has been off the air since undergoing open-heart surgery in May and had not planned to be back until September.

Chamber holds golf tourney

The Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Golf Classic at Northland Country Club on Monday. See the attached photo for more coverage.

Small city, big title for Floodwood mayor

Floodwood Mayor Jeff Kletscher has been elected president of the Minnesota Association of Small Cities.

Kletscher has been mayor of Floodwood since 2003 and served on the City Council for 10 years before that. He’s a native of Vesta, Minn.

As president of the Minnesota Association of Small Cities, Kletscher will be leading the second largest municipal membership organization in the state (only the League of Minnesota Cites is larger).

Kletscher is assuming the presidency at a time when Minnesota cities are receiving significantly less support from the state, according to a statement from the association.

“Although all cities have had to deal with less revenue, the issues facing small cities are especially hard simply because we have less to cut,” Kletscher said.

'Inception' dissolves 'Salt' in weekend box office race

Leonardo DiCaprio’s “Inception” has won a battle of superstar action thrillers over Angelina Jolie’s “Salt” at the weekend box office.

“Inception” remained the No. 1 movie for the second straight weekend with $43.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The Warner Bros. thriller featuring DiCaprio as leader of a team that sneaks into people’s dreams raised its 10-day total to $143.7 million.

Sony’s spy caper “Salt” debuted a solid No. 2 with $36.5 million. The movie stars Jolie as a CIA operative who goes rogue after she’s accused of being a Russian sleeper agent.

Coming in at No. 3 with $24.1 million was Steve Carell’s family hit “Despicable Me.” The animated comedy raised its domestic total to $161.7 million.

In a rare convergence of fresh ideas, the top three movies all were original stories, not sequels or adaptations of comic books, best-sellers, video games or other pre-existing material.

Love in Bloom

Actor Orlando Bloom and model Miranda Kerr have married, her employer said Friday.

Upscale Australian department store David Jones, which employs the

27-year-old Australian model as a fashion ambassador, said she will not attend a spring season launch on Aug. 3 because she was honeymooning with the 33-year-old British star of “Lord of the Rings” and “Pirates of the Caribbean.”

“Given the exiting news that Miranda and Orlando have recently wed and will be enjoying their honeymoon together, Miranda will not be with us” for the launch, David Jones spokeswoman Colette Garnsey said in a statement.

The statement did not say where or when they had married. David Jones would not be commenting on personal aspects of the announcement, that statement said.

‘Bones’ extra sues star for harassment

“Bones” star David Boreanaz was sued last week for alleged sexual harassment by a woman who appeared as an extra on the show last year.

Kristina Hagan sued Boreanaz and 20th Century Fox Television for more than $25,000 on sexual harassment and intentional infliction of emotional distress claims.

Her lawsuit alleges the actor repeatedly tried to kiss and fondle her after she appeared as an extra on the show in August. It claimed the incidents occurred in several locations, including the actor’s car.

The suit claims she repeatedly met with the actor because he promised her a recurring role on the Fox TV series, but that role never developed.

“The allegations concerning any alleged inappropriate conduct by David Boreanaz are totally fabricated and absurd,” Boreanaz publicist Holly Shakoor said in a statement. “There is no validity to this lawsuit.”

Papa Lohan faces harassment charge

Actress Lindsay Lohan’s father faces a harassment charge in New York after his former fiancee says he kicked and threatened to kill her.

Michael Lohan is due in a Southampton courtroom on Aug. 18.

His ex-fiancee, 27-year-old Kathryn Major, told police that she and the 50-year-old Lohan argued on Monday over a missed cell phone call at the home they shared in Water Mill on Long Island. Major says Lohan kicked and threatened her.

Lohan’s attorney, Lisa Bloom, said her client denies all the charges. She confirmed in an e-mail that the couple, who were engaged in April, have split.

Lohan was in Los Angeles last week to watch his daughter surrender to begin a 90-day jail term for violating terms of her probation.

Have an event that just happened that you’d like to share? Pictures, perhaps, or other goings-on from the Northland to Hollywoodland? Send them to facesandnames@duluthnews.com.

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