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Newsmakers
Fall
2004
GENO
AURIEMMA, coach of the University of Connecticut's women's
basketball team, was named Coach of the Year by the Associated
Press news agency for leading the Huskies to a college
record of 70 straight wins and capturing the women's
college basketball national title. Auriemma won this
award three times in previous years. No other coach has
ever been named more than once.
MARIA LAURA AVANTAGGIATI,
M.D. is designing a chemical compound that kills cancer
cells but not healthy tissue. She is doing the research
at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. where she
also teaches. As a child in Italy, Dr. Avantaggiati lost
so many relatives from cancer that she decided to help
find a cure.
FABIANO CARUANA, age 11, is the youngest
chess player ever to defeat an adult International Grandmaster
at an official chess tournament. He ranks first in the
U.S. for players under age 12. Born and raised in Brooklyn,
New York, Curana spends 36 hours a week practicing while
his family spends about $50,000 a year for his chess
lessons and travel.
CHARLES CORRADO, the longest serving
musician in the U.S. Marine Band, died June 26 at the
age of 64. Mastery Gunnery Sgt. Corrado had served 45
years as a pianist, 41 of which were spent at the White
House. He died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou
Gehrig's Disease), less that a year after his retirement.
ELIZABETH
ANANIA EDWARDS, wife of Senator John Edwards, is of Italian
descent. Her father was Vincent Anania, a decorated Navy
pilot and all-American football player at the U.S. Naval
Academy. An accomplished attorney, Mrs. Edwards graduated
from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Law
School.
THOMAS F. MANCUSO, M.D., 92, died of esophageal
cancer July 4. A pioneer in finding remedies for workplace
health hazards, including radiation exposure and industrial
use of asbestos and dyes, many of his methods are still
used today. His championship of the worker cost him research
contracts, but prompted Congress to pass worker-protection
laws.
TOM PERROTTA is best known for his high school satirical
novel, Election, which was turned into a movie starring
Reese Witherspoon. He has recently released his fourth
novel, Little Children, about perfect mothers and the
children's play groups
they form in suburbia.
DORA SCHRIRO has been appointed
director of Arizona's State Department of Corrections.
Schriro, whose career in corrections has spanned over
30 years, hopes to utilize her progressive tactics in
repairing the overcrowded and dysfunctional prison system
of Arizona, which has the highest incarceration rate
in the western U.S.
FRANK SERPICO,
the former New York City detective who uncovered police
corruption in the 1970's, has an official web site, http://frankserpico.com/ that is dedicated to "whistleblowers" or as Serpico calls
them "lamplighters" everywhere. Along with his nephew
Vincent, he has started a production company dedicated
to projects that benefit society. See www.FrankSerpico.com.
DIANA
TAURASI, a junior from Chino, CA, helped lead the University
of Connecticut women's basketball team to the National
Title in March. Awarded the Associated Press Player of
the Year, Taurasi is the fifth player in UConn's history
to win the honor. UConn's team set an NCAA women's record
by winning 70 straight games. [See above,"Geno Auriemma"]
ROBERT
ZOTTI, M.D. is one of only 200 physicians in the U.S.
who belong to their local police departments' SWAT teams.
Zotti, 37, volunteers 36 hours a month with the Duluth
team in Minnesota where he is on-call for duty at any
hour. He participates in SWAT team "high risk" situations
to help enforce the law and provide medical help.
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