Good news and bad news out of Fort Wayne today, and it’s the same news: Carol Tannehill is leaving The News-Sentinel. The paper’s ace restaurant critic and feature writer departs soon to become editor of Home Cooking magazine, down Berne way. Alan used to be her boss, and I know how much he relied upon her, and how popular she was with readers.
Some of her best work wasn’t even food-related; she could really write a personal essay. I think my favorite was about her father’s home movies, which were years ahead of their time — on Christmas morning, he made them get out of bed multiple times, so he could get several angles and good coverage shots. She also did an outstanding job describing her breast-reduction surgery, which wasn’t easy, I’m sure.
So that’s the bad news and the good news — bad for the paper, good for her.
In that spirit, of food and journalism, here’s a recipe for pumpkin muffins. I made them tonight and served them with split-pea soup. It’s really too late in the season for that soup, which is wintry, and the muffins are better in fall. But when it’s 30 degrees, I figure it doesn’t really matter. I clipped the recipe from The New-Sentinel oh…two, maybe three redesigns ago. It’s from Jane and Michael Stern’s “Taste of America” column, and the muffins are credited to the Publick House in Sturbridge, Mass. So:
Pumpkin muffins
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup light vegetable oil
2 eggs
3/4 cup canned pumpkin
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup raisins
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12-cup muffin tin, or line with paper muffin cups.
Mix sugar, oil, eggs and pumpkins.
Sift together flour, baking powder, soda, salt and spices.
Quickly stir together both mixtures and fold in nuts and raisins. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until golden brown. Cool and eat.
Jim said on March 22, 2006 at 7:48 am
Has the “abandon ship” been given in The N-S newsroom??
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mary said on March 23, 2006 at 12:33 am
I’m enjoying my new job a lot. More than I thought I would. Aside from being very busy and not a bit bored, I’m in a hospital that has a Percy Faith Memorial Recovery Room. John Ritter died in my hospital, and Bob Hope was there a lot. I do new employee orientation in the Bob Hope room. And, from the parking lot I have a view of the giant sorcerer’s hat shaped building at the Disney studio/office complex.
I am baffled about one thing. The special in the cafeteria always has artichoke hearts as an ingredient. Canned ones. Somewhere, this company has a huge stockpile of canned artichoke hearts they’re trying to use up. I’ve had rice with artichoke hearts, chicken with AH, trout with AH, pasta with AH and pizza with AH. I’m starting to brown bag it to avoid them.
Also. It’s a Catholic hospital and they have the ability to spy on employee computer use. I keep almost sending postings from work, then chickening out. Artichokes, Percy Faith, and spying on employees. What has become of us.
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brian stouder said on March 23, 2006 at 10:31 am
“Artichokes, Percy Faith, and spying on employees. What has become of us?”
Mary – sounds like you have an opportunity to engage in a subtle bit of 21st century brown nosing, if your computer activity is monitered. A post here or there on company time extolling how marvelous your boss is, might pay a dividend or two!
Thanks to someone a few days ago, I registered at the SacBee -and I really like their news and editorials.
This morning, I confess I clicked on this article because the sub-head had a prurient appeal….and then I quickly became quite troubled by the whole thing.
“Gang-rape charges for pair dropped
Cell phone clips show the woman was helping make a porn video.
By Crystal Carreon and Cameron Jahn — Bee Staff Writers
Published 2:15 am PST Thursday, March 23, 2006
Charges against two men accused of gang-raping a 19-year-old Sacramento woman were dropped Wednesday after authorities came across grainy footage from a cell phone that showed the acts were consensual and part of a pornographic video.
The woman, identified in court records as Kimberly B., may now face criminal charges of her own, including making false statements to police.
Cousins Sarn Saechao, 25, and Chiem Saechao, 21, who if convicted could have faced life sentences for the Feb. 6 alleged sexual assaults, appeared briefly in court Wednesday and heard through a Mien interpreter that the case – including nearly a dozen felony counts against them – was dropped.
The case, which police had called “one of the most brutal” assaults in recent memory, deteriorated this week after a defense attorney brought to the attention of authorities a compact disc that contained 15 camera-phone clips, lasting 15 to 20 seconds each, of the alleged victim apparently making pornography with the men she later accused of raping her.
The woman told police she was restrained and assaulted for 12 hours near her Tahoe Park apartment. She had bruises and tears to support her claims.
But on Monday, Deputy District Attorney Noah Phillips said he learned of the video, obtained by Sarn Saechao’s defense attorney. On Tuesday, the prosecutor viewed it with Sacramento Police Detective Alisa Buckley, and on Wednesday morning, he spoke with the woman.
“It was clear that this case could not be prosecuted,” Phillips said.
The woman, he said, recanted the allegations of rape and mentioned that a pornographic video was being made for money.
At Wednesday’s hearing, Phillips also asked a judge to dismiss the arrest warrants for two other men and a 15-year-old boy who had been sought in connection with the alleged crimes and featured at a police press conference earlier this month in which a $1,000 reward was announced.
At that press conference, police characterized the sexual assault as one of the most brutal cases they ever investigated and lauded the woman’s courage for coming forward.
Defense attorneys Paul Irish and David Lynch said their clients had steadfastly maintained their innocence. Lynch, a public defender for Chiem Saechao, said the woman had held onto her claims until she was confronted with the video.
He accused authorities of trying to prosecute his client without “thoroughly” investigating the allegations.
Buckley, the lead detective on the case, did not return a phone call for an interview, but Capt. Joe Valenzuela said police “cannot start second-guessing our victims and witnesses.”
“In this case, it was very clear to her that this was a very brutal act,” Valenzuela said of Buckley.
Valenzuela said police will present a case to the District Attorney’s Office to file charges against the woman for allegedly making false claims to police.
Nicolette Bautista, executive director of WEAVE, a domestic violence resource and rape victim advocacy center in Sacramento, said Wednesday’s revelation could cloud the credibility of true victims of rape and hinder them from coming forward.
“It angers victims,” Bautista said of the false claims.
Valenzuela said investigators had heard of a video and were searching for it when defense attorney Irish came across the footage.
Chiem Saechao’s relatives, who were awakened by a police search of their home Friday morning, said authorities confiscated at least five of their cell phones. A computer was also taken from the home.
“I don’t know how the video came out,” said Chiem Saechao’s older brother, David.
He and other family members said they had been waiting for the truth to come out.
“I knew they were innocent in the first place,” said Thuy Nguyen, David Saechao’s fiancée.
A family friend, Song Vang, 22, said Chiem Saechao’s relatives and others close to them had been publicly shamed by the allegations against the Sacramento man. David Saechao said they can’t wait to welcome his brother home. He was expected to be released from custody today.
It remained unclear when Sarn Saechao would leave jail.
“I got my son back,” said Chiem Saechao’s father, Yoon Saechao. “So I thank God.”
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