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May 31, 2005
CATHEDRAL STAFF BAN FILMING AFTER SHEEN SMOKING GAFFE
http://www.contactmusic.com
Officials at Washington DC's National Cathedral have banned location filming after they spotted MARTIN SHEEN's presidential character on THE WEST WING put a cigarette out on their floor.
Cathedral staff nixed director DAVID DOBKIN's plans to shoot a scene for upcoming comedy THE WEDDING CRASHERS at the US capital building after they caught Sheen's PRESIDENT JED BARTLET trashing a cigarette.
Dobkin says, "The West Wing had filmed there, and Martin Sheen had put a cigarette out on the floor and walked out, and it was on the show.
"They were really upset about it, so they were not allowing filming anymore."
Posted by Jo at 09:16 AM
May 22, 2005
Moloney Moonlights as Frey
By Jay Bobbin
zap2it.com
LOS ANGELES (Zap2it.com) - Some names are so well-known, they seem to tell entire stories.
Amber Frey is one, but Janel Moloney didn't know much about her until agreeing to play her. The co-star of "The West Wing" portrays the former mistress of convicted murderer Scott Peterson in the new CBS movie "Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution" Wednesday, May 25.
Adapted from Frey's autobiography, the film dramatizes the start of her romance with Peterson (Nathan Anderson), her realization that he had a pregnant wife -- Laci -- who was missing, and her eventual effort to help Modesto, Calif., police gather evidence against him. "Saturday Night Live" alumna Nora Dunn plays Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, a co-executive producer of the movie.
Commenting on the women's resemblance, some television reporters told Moloney she might be offered the Frey role. "To me, it was just hilarious," the actress says. "I would have never thought it would happen. Then I was asked to do this movie, I thought about it, and I decided to do it."
At that time, the story of Amber Frey literally came as news to Moloney, who'd had "absolutely no interest on any level" in the Scott Peterson case as he became the prime suspect in the deaths of his wife and unborn son.
"In fact, I had more of a distaste for it," Moloney says. "I thought it was the typical overblown, sensationalistic story of the kind we Americans love for some reason. Most people like scandals involving attractive people."
Playing Frey began to intrigue Moloney after she "read her book and started to think about the challenge of doing the role. It became appealing to me as an actress. The story itself is pretty straightforward, and there was nothing about Amber or what she did that I had any trouble with. It was more the aspect of our fascination with the story and the media's attachment to it. Every second, you'd turn on the news and there would be something about it, when all these really important things were going on in the world."
In making the movie, Moloney tried to forget all the "buzz" around the Frey-Peterson story and focus on the individuals involved. "I felt I needed to understand what Amber's big dreams and hopes were. I viewed her as an innocent, someone with an almost childlike openness and faith in people. It's challenging to play that without seeming corny or naive."
Frey briefly visited the film's set, and Moloney found her "just a nice girl, nothing way out of the ordinary. She was under so much scrutiny, I think she had to be someone she maybe really wasn't. She got her butt kicked no matter what she did, and I think she handled things extremely gracefully."
Had "The West Wing" not ended its run early this season, the Frey movie would have pitted Moloney against herself as Donna Moss on NBC's Emmy-winning White House drama, which enters its seventh year this fall. The reshaping of the series is sure to continue as President Bartlet's (Martin Sheen) administration wanes, and Moloney is unsure just how Donna will figure in.
However the show's next election turns out, Moloney doubts Donna "will be an assistant anymore. She's kind of found her own voice. More than almost any other character on television, I think she's really grown up on the show."
Posted by Jo at 09:14 AM
May 18, 2005
TV movie tells Amber Frey's story
BY MIKE HUGHES
Asbury Park Press
As Amber Frey's image reached newspapers and TV screens, people made quick judgments about Scott Peterson's "other woman.''
After all, she slept with Peterson in the months before his pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared.
People made negative assumptions. They were wrong, says Janel Moloney, who stars in "Amber Frey: Witness For the Prosecution,'' airing 9 p.m. May 25 on CBS.
"I think she intuitively did the right thing,'' Moloney says. "She endured and became strong.''
That's portrayed in the movie and in Frey's book, "Witness: For the Prosecution of Scott Peterson (ReganBooks, $25.95). For Moloney (''The West Wing") this was fresh.
''I wasn't following the case," she says. ''I saw her once on 'Oprah,' because I always Tivo that show."
Blonde, slim, and attractive, the single mom and professional masseuse had no idea Peterson was married. When she discovered his wife was missing, ''her instincts were very moral," Moloney says. ''She called the police right away."
In her book, Frey writes of a tough childhood after her parents' divorce. She graduated from the two-year Fresno City College with degrees in child development and general studies; she became a massage therapist and started her own business.
She also had bad luck with guys. One, the father of her daughter, left when she was in her first trimester. Another dated her after separating from his pregnant wife.
Then, she writes, a friend met a guy at a convention and a blind date with Frey was set for Nov. 20, 2002. ''Scott Peterson sounded absolutely perfect ... Scott was intelligent, good-looking and very funny, and he seemed eager to settle down."
Frey's story impressed Moloney. It's the opposite of her ''West Wing" role as Donna Moss, Josh Lyman's former aide. ''Josh and Donna would never rush into anything," she says.
Frey rushed into a romance with Peterson, who said he lived in Sacramento and had never married. She hadn't intended to have sex on their first date, she wrote, but did.
A friend heard a rumor that Peterson had a wife. But he had told Frey he was a widower.
Soon, Frey asked a policeman friend to check on him. He came back with the news: This was apparently the same Scott Peterson of Modesto whose wife had disappeared a few days earlier, on Christmas Eve - 34 days after he'd met Frey.
Even after Laci Peterson disappeared, Frey wrote, he had phoned her, claiming to be in Europe.
''The lies never stopped," she wrote. ''His wife was missing - and eight months pregnant - and Scott had been on the phone with me almost every day. He had been talking about his feelings for me and about our future and about that big, lonely house in Sacramento, just waiting for the right woman."
She agreed to a police request: Feigning naivety, Frey continued the phone conversations; she recorded them and tried to get information from Peterson. She also avoided friends and family.
''She was completely isolated," Moloney says. ''The only person she was able to talk to was Scott."
Moloney, 35, jumped into the four-week filming as soon as ''West Wing" ended its season. The relatively unknown Nathan Anderson plays Peterson, with Paget Brewster as Frey's friend and ''SNL" alum Nora Dunn as Gloria Allred, her lawyer.
It was late in the project by the time Moloney met Frey.
''We have a lot of physical similarities," she says. ''She has a very specific look ... she's a very nice young woman. She's got a lightness, an upbeat nature I hadn't expected."
Frey is now 30, a mother of two who quotes Bible verses. She testified in the successful prosecution and wrote that she's found peace:
''Scott Peterson had charmed me. He was good at that ... but there was nothing on the inside. He was an empty vessel."
Posted by Jo at 10:19 PM
May 16, 2005
NBC announces fall schedule
by Hal Boedeker
Orlando Sentinel
A lottery-winning rascal, a fertility clinic and Martha Stewart are among NBC's hopes for reviving its schedule after a disastrous season.
NBC unveiled its fall lineup Monday to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall in New York. The network is dealing from an unusually weak position: It has fallen from first to fourth in the 18-to-49 age group that drives advertising money.
Of five series introduced this season, only one made it to a second year: Friends spinoff Joey, which retains its 8 p.m. Thursday slot despite sliding in quality and ratings. In one of the bigger surprises, the network made no changes to Thursdays, where it once dominated but now is eclipsed by CBS.
The network will offer two versions of The Apprentice, although that series has cooled considerably from a year ago. The original with Donald Trump airs on Thursdays, and a new spinoff with homemaking guru Stewart will run at 8 p.m. Wednesdays.
Gone from the lineup are American Dreams, Law & Order: Trial by Jury, Revelations, Committed, The Contender and Medical Investigation. Axed earlier were Father of the Pride, LAX and Hawaii.
The network will rework every night except Thursday, add six new series and shift The West Wing to Sundays. The White House drama is likely to go against CBS' Cold Case and ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Fear Factor and Scrubs didn't make the fall schedule but will return later.
"NBC viewers will see fresh talent and bold, original concepts in our new series next year," said Kevin Reilly, president of NBC Entertainment, in a statement.
The network is especially high on My Name Is Earl, a comedy that casts Jason Lee as a crook who wins the lottery and starts a crusade to repay old debts. It will air at 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
The network also will add three dramas and a reality series:
l . Fathom, 8 p.m. Mondays: In this adventure, a new form of sea life confounds people around the globe. Lake Bell of Boston Legal leads the cast.
l . E-Ring, 9 p.m. Wednesdays: Benjamin Bratt and Dennis Hopper star in the drama about decision-making at the Pentagon. The series comes from CSI executive producer Jerry Bruckheimer and inherits the West Wing time slot.
l . Three Wishes, 8 p.m. Fridays: In the reality series, singer Amy Grant helps deserving people realize their dreams.
l . Inconceivable, 10 p.m. Fridays: Ming-Na of ER and Jonathan Cake play the co-founders of a fertility clinic.
NBC has two comedies lined up for later. Four Kings follows four lifelong male buddies (including Seth Green) who share a swank apartment. Thick and Thin is about a young woman (Jessica Capshaw of The Practice) dealing with great weight loss while still surrounded by a fat family.
The broadcast networks are unveiling their fall lineups this week in New York. ABC and the WB reveal their plans Tuesday. Most-watched CBS goes Wednesday. Fox and UPN will share their strategies on Thursday.
Posted by Jo at 03:46 PM
May 15, 2005
'West Wing' actor to speak at Jewish Federation
By John Kiesewetter
Cincinnati Enquirer
'The West Wing" actor Josh Malina is looking forward to his trip to Cincinnati next week, though he doesn't want to make a habit of doing too many speaking appearances.
He'd rather be a full-time actor - though his future on NBC's White House drama is iffy. His character, Will Bailey, worked this season for lame-duck Vice President Bob Russell (Gary Cole), who failed to win the Democratic presidential nomination in the April 6 season finale.
"Truthfully, I don't know if I will be back," says Malina, 39, who addresses the Jewish Federation of Cincinnati May 24. Those who donate to the fund-raiser will be invited to his talk at Rockdale Temple.
"I asked (the producers) before we finished the season, and was basically told, 'We don't really know.' I want to come back. I feel it's one of the greatest shows ever to be on television," he says. Despite declining ratings, the drama has been renewed for a seventh season.
Next season will feature Democrat Matt Santos (Jimmy Smits) and Republican Arnold Vinick (Alan Alda) campaigning to succeed President Josiah Bartlett (Martin Sheen). In the April 6 finale, Josh Lyman (Bradley Whitford) bought a beer for Bailey and Donna Moss (Janel Moloney), hinting they could join the Santos staff this fall.
"If I'm not invited back, I won't take it personally. The show is going in a new direction," he says.
In the short term, Malina might have to rely on poker - again - to pay the bills. He's executive producer of Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown" with actor Noah Emmerich ("The Truman Show"), his roommate at Yale. They frequently paid the rent with poker winnings, he says.
Six new "Celebrity Poker Showdown" episodes air in August. .
"This is our hobby, and it has turned into this fantastic thing," Malina says.
Posted by Jo at 09:43 AM
May 09, 2005
Vinick for president! Saving 'The West Wing.'
By Jeremy Dauber
Christian Science Monitor
NEW YORK – A cherished and beloved American institution is at a crossroads and potentially facing disaster. Yes, it seems like it might be sturdy now - sturdier than some of its critics give it credit for. Still, some major changes in direction need to happen under bold leadership so those who have come to depend on it won't be plunged into utter crisis.
I'm talking, of course, about "The West Wing". (Yes, I know what you were thinking, but unless Social Security gets mentioned on "Alias," it's not going in the column.) After the last few seasons in the wilderness, the show has gotten a new lease on life with a series of episodes about the upcoming presidential election. But though the season finale has left viewers with emotions that they haven't felt in a while, like excitement, suspense, and anticipation, it's sad to say that snatching victory from the jaws of defeat - or, more precisely, interest from the jaws of ennui - has always been a difficulty for the show.
Remember when the president's daughter was kidnapped at the end of the season and Bartlett stepped down, leaving a Republican in charge of the Democratic White House? Who could forget? Remember how the whole thing resolved itself? Me neither.
"The West Wing" has been a great show, and a good show, and a mediocre show. It has the potential to be a great show again, and, in that spirit, I assembled a blue ribbon fact finding commission to come up with some suggestions for how to ensure that it does so. I've condensed their findings for you here; I know you're all busy.
First and foremost - and I can't stress this enough - elect Vinick. Jimmy Smits fans, put away those poison pens; Smits is a good actor and he's done fine work, though he's shined more notably elsewhere, like on NYPD Blue.
Still, if he's elected the show will be just treading water with a younger Bartlett clone - and do we really need more of the same? If Vinick becomes president, on the other hand, we're in genuinely unexpected territory. Everything becomes surprising - how does this moderate Republican reach out to his more radical party? What does his cabinet look like? It's all new, and when you've been running a show this long, new is good.
For Democratic fans who like seeing one of their own in the White House - and for whom Josiah Bartlett is the last remaining sign of the days when the Democrats used to have control of things - just a quick reminder: this is a television show. Speaking for myself, I'll take a show that's interesting over a show that's right on policy every time. (I'd also take a presidential administration that's dull and unlikable over one that's wrong on policy every time, but that's another column as well.)
Of course, if Vinick is elected, that begs the question: what about the rest of the cast? How are these Democratic staffers going to continue in a Republican administration? Are they going to remain on the show? Which leads me to my next suggestion: let's throw C.J. in jail. And Toby, too.
I'm not hard-hearted; in fact, Alison Janney and Richard Schiff should be delighted, since it's the best way to keep them on the cast. Administrations come and go, but policy scandals and investigations can last forever.
It also gets the characters out of the White House and lets us see another side of them - but not the cloying sides that came out of those "special family" episodes, which basically screamed "Please give me an Emmy!". Instead, we'll be witness to two seasoned political operatives fighting tooth and claw for their own personal and professional lives. And not just to get another bill passed, either; it's the closest thing to the adrenalin rush "24" delivers on a week to week basis you could possibly get on this kinder, gentler show.
Would this sort of scandal possibly be a realistic source of interest or discussion to characters in a series set in a Republican White House? Two words for you: Monica Lewinsky.
And as for the other characters? Let's see Josh and Donna finally get together and go off for a long-deserved vacation somewhere quiet. Let's see a wedding on the Rose Garden grounds between Zoe and Charlie. And let's then, for goodness' sake, see them off the airwaves. It's time for a new guard.
Sure, we love these guys, but in recent months and years it's been guest stars like Marlee Matlin, Evan Handler, Ron Silver, John Goodman, Stephen Culp, and others that have added a frisson of interest to the staling emotional dynamics in the current cast. Before we fall into "Will and Grace" territory - a dying show which relies solely on a constant infusion of guest star blood - take advantage of the opportunity to create an entirely new cast. Well, mostly new, at any rate; some old faces might be nice to see. Case in point: Emily Procter is willing to reprise her Ainsley Hayes character? She was a Republican, after all.
There are plenty of other possibilities, but this should be enough to get things started. Let's build a bridge to the new season and make the West Wing great again.
Thank you very much, and I hope I have your vote. Especially if you're an executive producer of the West Wing.
Posted by Jo at 06:50 PM
Writer gives Dole Institute inside look at 'West Wing'
By Mike Belt
Lawrence Journal-World
Americans judge their politicians too superficially, and that's why so many people wonder why their president isn't more like Martin Sheen's character on the popular television show "The West Wing," according to one of the show's writers.
"He acts presidential. He seems presidential," said Eli Attie, during an appearance Wednesday night at Kansas University's Dole Institute of Politics. "It's an act."
But being the real president is more than acting, said Attie, who has been a writer for "The West Wing" the past four years after working as a special assistant to President Bill Clinton, a speech writer for Vice President Al Gore and chief speech writer for former House Democratic leader Richard Gephardt, of Missouri.
"Leadership is a quality of decision-making, intellect and character," Attie said. "Working on ‘The West Wing' the past four years and seeing the power and effectiveness of that act makes me believe, even more than I did before, that we judge our politicians too superficially in this country."
Attie talked informally about his experiences in television and politics for about 90 minutes to a crowd that Dole Center officials estimated at 400 people. Dole Senior Fellow Steven Jacques, who worked with Attie in the Clinton White House, moderated the event.
Attie answered many questions from the audience, including one from KU freshman Marc Langston, Wichita, who wanted to know how much the show was driven by current issues. Attie responded by saying the issues were one link between the show and reality, but that the show was about the characters and the drama of presidential politics.
Attie credited "The West Wing" creator and former lead writer Aaron Sorkin for the show's quality and popularity.
"He believed very deeply that his goal was to entertain people," Attie said.
Afterward, Langston said he agreed with Attie's answer.
"I think he's right," Langston said. "There is no conscious political agenda for the show, but at the same time there does have to be (issues) because it's the political motive for the show."
Attie said he was a liberal Democrat and couldn't write a speech for President George W. Bush. Yet he said he could imagine "The West Wing" having a Republican president in place of Sheen's Democrat, Josiah Bartlet, and remaining a show of quality.
Attie gave away no secrets about who the next president will be in "The West Wing" series as President Bartlet steps down.
Lawrence resident Ben Eggleston, a fan of "The West Wing," was among those in the audience Wednesday night.
"It was interesting hearing about how story ideas get created," he said. "It does seem they try to make the show about characters more than issues.
Posted by Jo at 06:46 PM
Who's new?
Established TV dramas juggle casts and hope audiences stay with them
By Valerie Kuklenski
udailynews.com
There was a time when a lead actor needing a way out of a TV series would have given writer-producer Rene Balcer a serious case of stress.
Not any more. As a writer on "Law & Order" for its first 10 years and the show-runner for four, he had seen plenty of people come and go at the New York police precinct and prosecutors' offices that are the setting of the NBC series.
So it was not such a big deal when it became obvious that Vincent D'Onofrio needed to lighten his duties at "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," the spinoff series Balcer now runs as executive producer.
"We just realized the workload was so insane that we had to come up with a solution in order to keep Vincent on without killing him," Balcer said matter-of-factly. Hourlong episodic television has a reputation as the most brutally demanding work for actors on camera.
"So we came up with this notion - it's not a new notion - of having alternating partners from week to week," Balcer said. Next fall, D'Onofrio and Kathryn Erbe will co-star in half the episodes, while "Law & Order" alum Christopher Noth revives his Detective Mike Logan character in the remaining episodes, opposite a woman partner whose casting has not been announced.
It's just one of many cast shuffles viewers will notice in network dramas. "Sopranos" regular Michael Imperioli has stepped into "Law & Order" as a detective so that Jesse L. Martin could take a few weeks off to film the musical "Rent." Noah Wyle will be leaving "ER" soon.
And then there's "The West Wing," which could undergo an extreme series makeover in the coming season as lame duck Josiah Bartlet (Martin Sheen) turns over the Oval Office to a new presidential administration. Front-runners for "West Wing" stardom are Alan Alda as Republican Sen. Arnold Vinick and Jimmy Smits as Democratic Rep. Matt Santos.
Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television, sees turnover among actors as a good thing for both viewers and series writers.
"With a single set of characters, in time you run out of things to do with them," Thompson said. "By the time we got to the end of 'Friends,' there was nothing to do with it. We had seen all the permutations."
He said switching out characters "puts some new narrative DNA into the mix."
Balcer recalled the anxiety he and "L&O" creator Dick Wolf experienced when George Dzundza asked to be written out so he could spend more time with his family. His detective character was killed off at the end of the first season.
"The first two or three seasons, that's when the show is precarious anyway. It doesn't matter what show you're on," he said. "So any major change caused a lot of trepidation. We didn't know how the audience was going to take it. It could have been a potentially fatal blow, especially since he was in the first half of the show, and that's when people tune in."
But "Law & Order" withstood the departure of Dzundza, Michael Moriarty and virtually everyone else on camera. In the fall of 2000, the series had a completely different core cast from the one it began with 10 years earlier.
Bob Gustafson, director of the Entertainment Industry Institute at California State University, Northridge, says a series' structure is key to weathering cast changes.
"I think if the world of the show - the setting and the tone and the feel - if that's interesting and compelling, the residents in that world can change, and (viewers) will come back," he said. "If that world is not compelling, more than the characters in it, it won't last."
Imperioli says viewers' sticking with a series through its cast changes is a testament to the quality of the writing. He thinks dramas lend themselves to such transitions more easily than comedy series.
"Sitcoms aren't as story-driven as they are by a specific type of humor that comes from a character, whereas especially in these crime dramas, they're really more story-driven shows," Imperioli said. "So as long as the stories are interesting and you get good actors, I think people are going to be willing to try it."
Putting new faces on established shows became easier with the advent of big ensemble productions in the early '80s. "Hill Street Blues" and "St. Elsewhere" went through it, and the list of players on "Dynasty" is as long as Aaron Spelling's arm.
But in the age of network audience erosion and channel-surfing, series are desperate to hold on to their shares of viewers - particularly those on NBC, which has seen sharp ratings declines this year. It's a judgment call whether stability or change brings about that end.
Odds are in favor of a Smits presidency on "The West Wing." Alda would be 70 in the fall of 2006, when the new administration settles in. And he's a New Yorker, while the show films in Burbank. Also, John Spencer's chief of staff character, Leo McGarry, was tapped in the season finale to be Santos' running mate, increasing the likelihood that other supporting players would stay on if Smits wins.
It also would seem obvious to placate its mainly Democratic audience with another Democrat in power. A recent Zogby poll of "West Wing" viewers showed Smits beating Alda, 44 percent to 28 percent.
"Well, I'm very flattered by that, and Zogby is very respected, as we all know," Smits said. "But considering the effect that polls had on the 2000 election and the more recent election, I can only put so much credence in the polls."
A politically active Democrat who spoke at his party's national convention in 2000, Smits says he is gaining insight about the way things work inside the Washington Beltway, as well as a little perspective.
"I like the fact that this season we're hearing on the show strong voices on both sides of the aisle. I think it's a good move that (executive producer John Wells) made to have a character (played by) an actor who is as appealing as Alan Alda that gives that strong Republican voice."
TV expert Thompson says shaking the show up with an Alda victory would be a good idea - if a very dangerous one.
"There are no slouch characters (in the current ensemble). They've taken home a bevy of Emmy Awards, and there's a big fan base for those people.
"But I think it's done what it could do. It's had some memorable stories, (but) it needs to pull a 'Law & Order' now. And they've got a perfect excuse to do it because they've got it built into the narrative."
Balcer says all types of shows - legal dramas, police procedurals, hospital series - can succeed with new players.
" 'Lost' - you could kill off half your cast and no one would really notice," he said. "And 'Desperate Housewives' - I mean, you can't even get them to do a photo shoot together without clawing each other's eyes out, so who knows who could move in and out of a neighborhood?"
Balcer points out that even the 1960s sitcom "Bewitched" survived a big personnel change.
"Look, ever since they changed a Darrin (Dick York) for a Darrin (Dick Sargent), people will accept a cast change."
---
Posted by Jo at 06:43 PM
'West Wing' candidate is Santa Paula's man
City claims character as own
By Kathleen Wilson
Ventura County Star
Santa Paula offered all the trappings to open Sen. Arnold Vinick's presidential campaign headquarters on Monday except one.
John Philip Sousa's march music played in front of the city's historic depot. Raucous supporters hoisted signs saying "Santa Paula's Next President" and "Vinick is Our Man." Red, white and blue balloons and U.S. flags floated in the breeze.
Only the candidate was missing.
Vinick couldn't appear because he's pure fiction, a character dreamed up by writers of "The West Wing" as the Republican nominee for president on the long-running NBC series. But that didn't stop the Santa Paula City Council and City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz from making him Santa Paula's favorite son.
Once the character played by Alan Alda said he was from a citrus-producing area, the game was on for the city that calls itself "The Citrus Capital of the World."
"Until someone claims him as theirs, we're going to claim him as ours," Bobkiewicz said.
The Santa Paula campaign for Vinick has been building since city officials heard Alda's citrus line on a show airing Jan. 26.
Mayor Mary Ann Krause wrote to Alda, executive producer John Wells and the show's writers. She sent gift packages of oranges to the actor and others on the hit series. Every week Bobkiewicz mailed postcards picturing Santa Paula.
But with no firm commitment from the producers, the City Council decided in April to open a campaign headquarters anyway. Council members authorized spending up to $1,000. The money paid for campaign buttons, bumper stickers and T-shirts that will be sold from the depot throughout the summer.
City officials picked Monday for the opening because Benjamin Harrison, the nation's 23rd president, visited the depot on the same day 114 years ago.
New-style campaigning is part of the effort, too. The city has started a Web site http://www.santapaulaforvinic k.com.
City officials are hoping for national publicity. Bobkiewicz mailed invitations and buttons to Jay Leno, Katie Couric and Tim Russert.
Bobkiewicz said the city -- which is facing budget and labor troubles -- also needs a little amusement.
"I fully admit this is a little kooky, but at the same time it's fun," he said.
City residents and employees had a few pithy remarks of their own as they attended the opening Monday morning. "I want you to know I haven't been able to get behind a presidential candidate since Pat Paulsen," said city building inspector Larry Beem.
Beem, who had rearranged his work schedule to attend, said he didn't mind the connection.
"If he's from somewhere, he might as well be from here."
Santa Paula could have competition for Vinick from citrus-rich Fillmore, though. Last year producers of the show filmed a segment announcing Vinick's candidacy in front of Fillmore City Hall.
This isn't the first time Santa Paula has wanted to put its name on the map. Last year, city leaders mounted a successful campaign to get the Los Angeles Times to restore Santa Paula to its weather map.
Posted by Jo at 06:39 PM
Festival is chance for Turks to educate about their culture
By PRASHANT GOPAL
northjersey.com
TEANECK - A new cultural association wants to educate North Jerseyans about Turkish culture and history and correct those who mistake Turkey for a fundamentalist nation.
Turkey is, in fact, a secular Muslim country that, for more than 80 years, has been a democracy based on the principle of separation of church and state.
On Sunday, the year-old Hudson Turkish American Cultural Association put on its second annual festival at Fairleigh Dickinson University. |The 400-member organization will soon open a 4,000-square-foot cultural center in Ridgefield, where it |will offer Turkish cooking classes |and English and Turkish language lessons.
"Our goal is to represent the whole Turkish community in New Jersey and form a bridge with other organizations," said Guvene Kulen of Palisades Park, the group's president. "We believe enemies in the world become enemies because they don't know each other. We believe there's a lot of misunderstanding about Turks and Islam, our religion."
The group is organizing a trip to Turkey this month for 25 non-Turkish Americans. The idea is to give the travelers a taste of Turkey's diversity and tolerance, Kulen said. The itinerary includes visits with Jewish and Christian leaders, he said.
The trip was organized, in part, in response to the recent portrayal of Turks as fundamentalists and terrorists in two American television programs, NBC's "The West Wing" and Fox's "24."
An episode of the "West Wing," for instance, depicted Turkey as a country that beheaded women who commit adultery.
Elshan Gasimov, 20, a Turk from Azerbaijan who moved to the United States last year, said Americans know very little about his culture.
"When I came here, I got |a lot of strange questions," Gasimov said. "Someone asked me, 'Do you guys have cars?'ź"
But Arzu Karagulle, a 21-year-old Manhattan College student who moved to West New York from Turkey 2˝ years ago, says she got a much different reaction.
"They say they want to come to Turkey and they'd love to learn about our culture," Karagulle said.
Sunday's festival featured a large spread of Turkish dishes, carpets, books and crafts.
Lucia and Kevin Brown of Maplewood brought along their 2-year-old son, Andrew. The Browns aren't Turkish, but Lucia Brown lived in Turkey for a few years as a child.
"It's part of me," Lucia Brown said, looking down at her son. "I want it to be part of him as well."
Posted by Jo at 06:36 PM