I for one am very saddened by this news. This is how I first learned Spanish…

Taco Bell Chihuahua, Gidget, dies at 15

July 23, 2009

Gidget the Chihuahua, whose Taco Bell commercials made her a star, has died. She was 15.

The owner of Studio Animal Services in Castaic says Gidget suffered a massive stroke late Tuesday at her trainer’s home in Santa Clarita and had to be euthanized.

Gidget was the sassy mascot in Taco Bell commercials from 1997 to 2000. While other dogs had bit parts, it was her bug-eyed, big-eared face that was seen pronouncing “Yo quiero Taco Bell,” Spanish for “I want Taco Bell,” in a male voice dubbed by Argentine actor Carlos Alazraqui. A few years later, Alazraqui landed the role for which he is best known: Deputy James Garcia on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911!”

The Taco Bell ads provoked some criticism from activists who said they used Mexican stereotypes.

Gidget also had a role in the movie “Legally Blonde 2,” but others associated with the ad campaign weren’t so lucky. Earlier this year, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the creators of the Chihuahua character hadn’t been properly compensated for their work, and Taco Bell was ordered to pay $42 million.

Gidget’s trainer, Sue Chipperton, in an interview earlier this year with the People Pets website, described the diminutive dog as a consummate professional on the set. But, she said, Gidget had been the victim of typecasting, which limited her career choices (or, rather, Chipperton’s choices on her behalf).

– Lindsay Barnett

‘Addams Family’ set for Broadway

“The Addams Family” musical has found a home on Broadway. Its producers said Wednesday the show will open April 8 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. Previews will begin March 4 after a Chicago tryout that starts in mid-November.

As previously announced, Nathan Lane will play Gomez and Bebe Neuwirth will be his wife, Morticia, in the production. Also in the cast are Kevin Chamberlin as Uncle Fester, Jackie Hoffman as Grandma and Zachary James as the butler Lurch.

– associated press Daughtry album bumps Jackson’s

It took an “Idol” to supplant an icon. Michael Jackson has posthumously had the top-selling album in the U.S. for the last three weeks, but the honor now belongs to Daughtry, led by former “American Idol” contestant Chris Daughtry. The act’s second effort, “Leave This Town,” sold 269,000 copies in the U.S. during the week ended July 19, according to Nielsen SoundScan, placing it at No. 1 on the U.S. pop charts.

Jackson’s hits collection “Number Ones” added an extra 192,000 to its sales total during the same period. But that’s down significantly from the 349,000 copies it moved the previous week, hinting that Jackson’s sales momentum may be slowing — at least until concert promoter AEG releases a tribute film.

All told, 647,000 Jackson albums were sold last week, down from the 1.1 million the previous week.

– Todd Martens CBS channels to rebrand newscasts

CBS-owned KCBS Channel 2 and KCAL Channel 9, which make up the largest duopoly in the U.S., announced their intention Wednesday to introduce a shared name for the stations’ combined 64-plus hours of live local newscasts each week. The new brands CBS 2 NewsCentral and KCAL 9 NewsCentral will debut this fall.

“While our anchor teams will remain attached to their current newscasts,” said Patrick McClenahan, president of the two stations, “viewers will be able to count on the combined forces of both stations for an improved and more consistent focus on local news coverage — 11 hours each weekday, beginning at 5 a.m. and continuing to 11:35 p.m.”

– Greg Braxton ‘L.A. Law’ judged top legal drama

The verdict is in from a 12-member jury of the American Bar Assn.: “L.A. Law” topped “Perry Mason” as the best legal drama in TV history.

Despite a testament to “Perry Mason” by U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor during her confirmation hearings last week, the TV drama starring Raymond Burr came in second to the series depicting the fictional L.A. firm of McKenzie, Brackman, Chaney & Kuzak.

Rounding out the top five are “The Defenders,” “Law & Order” and “The Practice.”

– Carol J. Williams White Stripes on the big screen

While Jack White is touring in support of his latest indie group the Dead Weather, it was announced this week that the band that shot him to fame, the White Stripes, will release a concert film in the fall.

Directed by Emmett Malloy, “Under Great White Northern Lights” follows Jack and Meg White across Canada, where they went out of their way to play unconventional venues such as a city bus and a bowling alley. It premieres at the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 19.

– Scott T. Sterling Finally

LACMA en Español: The Los Angeles County Museum of Art went bilingual on Twitter on Wednesday. The museum launched account @enLACMA to provide Spanish-language tweets to online users.

Sunset Strip fest: The second annual Sunset Strip Music Festival, set for Sept. 10-12, will shut down the Strip between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevard for its final day, organizers said Wednesday. The lineup includes Chris Cornell, Pepper, Kottonmouth Kings, LMFAO, Shwayze, Shiny Toy Guns and the Donnas.

A 21-year-old man was charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting his baseball coach over the weekend because the coach wouldn’t allow him to bat in the game.

Deangelo Williams, of the 10400 block of South State Street, was charged Tuesday with attempted first-degree murder, according to a release from police. Williams is scheduled to appear for a bond hearing Tuesday morning.

The shooting happened Sunday in Abbott Park about 2:20 p.m. near East 95th Street and South Michigan Avenue, police said.

An adult baseball team called the Chicago Cardinals was scheduled to play two games in the park Sunday, but trouble began after the first game when the team’s coach pulled a pitcher from the game, authorities said.

Williams, who pitched during the first game, took offense when the coach, listed on the Cardinals’ Web site as Glynn Hall, decided to put in another pitcher, according to police.

The pitcher went to fetch a gun and shot the coach four times, police said. The coach was initially taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn where he was listed in good condition.

The Cardinals were playing another adult league team called the Chicago Hit Men when the incident occurred, authorities said.

J.C. McDowell, founder and president of the league, said the incident was “unforeseen.”

McDowell said players are chosen by their coaches and usually have a recognized relationship. He said tryouts are initially conducted but there is no way to screen players.

Chicago Cardinals coach Glynn Hall, 44, was resting at his home Monday afternoon after being shot in his back, neck and twice in his arm, according to McDowell.

Hall shared a “father-son” relationship with the suspect, McDowell said. The suspect is a pitcher who had just led his team to a playoff berth in an earlier game.

“Everybody was wondering why they were arguing because nothing should have been wrong,” McDowell said. “We later found out he wanted to bat and Glynn wouldn’t let him because his average was low.”

The 18-and-over league is aimed at keeping young adults off the streets and strengthening their baseball skills, McDowell said.

AKA National President, Barbara McKinzie

UPDATE: Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. International President Barbara A. McKinzie issued the following statement in regards to the allegations of misappropriation of funds against her.

Although I do not usually comment on active litigation or the allegations raised in that litigation, I am compelled to speak publicly at this time. The allegations in a recent lawsuit against AKA leaders are without merit.

The most outlandish misrepresentation is the so-called $900,000 wax figure of me. That amount was allocated by the AKA Board of Directors to help defray overall expenses for our 2010 convention.

Two new wax figures – one of me as president at the time of the centennial and one of our first international president – were purchased for a total of $45,000 by the Centennial Boule Hostess Chapters – not the national organization – to complement the wax figure of our founder created in 1996.

Under its new leadership, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. (AKA) has enforced stringent financial standards as part of a professionalization of our organization, which is comprised of more than 260,000 members in more than 950 chapters worldwide.
Accounting and budgetary practices have been tightened, erasing past IRS liabilities and cost overruns.

Change never comes easy. The malicious allegations leveled against AKA by former leaders are based on mischaracterizations and fabrications not befitting our ideals of sisterhood, ethics and service.
Further allegations about personal use of AKA funds are false and unsupported by the organization’s audited books. All expenses were consistent with furthering AKA’s mission.

As part of the professionalization of the organization and in accordance with AKA’s Constitution and Bylaws, the Board of Directors authorized a stipend for the president. The Board is the elected governing body of the organization.
AKA regrets that it has been put in the position where comments are expected about ongoing litigation. The Sorority understands the litigation process and will not try to subvert or circumvent it. Nevertheless, AKA and its leadership are proud of its successes and look forward to advising its membership and the public of its continuing successes.

We are committed to continuing this course of maintaining the financial integrity of our proud organization to serve the best interest of our members and advance our mission.

What do you think of President McKinzie’s statement? Share your thoughts below

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Members of AKA want National President Fired

Members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s oldest sorority for collegiate and professional black women, are asking a D.C. court to remove the group’s national leadership and order its president to return funds allegedly paid in contravention of the organization’ s bylaws.

The group’s national president, Barbara McKinzie, has come under fire for a long list of alleged financial misdeeds. The most interesting of those allegations: The plaintiffs claim McKinzie used the organization’ s money to commission a $900,000 “living legacy wax figure” of herself.

McKinzie could not be reached for comment.

Eight members of Alpha Kappa Alpha filed the complaint in D.C. Superior Court on June 20 “to restore their beloved sorority to its former high standards of governance, corporate transparency and active member communication,” according to the complaint itself.

Alpha Kappa Alpha (AKA) was founded at Howard University in 1908 and now boasts more than 950 chapters in cities and colleges around the world, claiming more than 200,000 members that include some of the most prominent and successful black female business leaders in the country.

The membership rolls include at least one retired D.C. Superior Court judge, Mary Terrell, and former D.C. Mayor Sharon Pratt.

Most Washingtonians recall the organization’ s centennial celebration last summer — downtown D.C. was swarmed by thousands of AKA members decked head to toe in pink and green. The event drew nearly 20,000 guests to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, setting a Guinness world record for the largest sit-down dinner in the history of conventions worldwide.

The event itself, though, is part of the controversy. The massive attendance — and a registration fee that was twice as high as it had been in prior years, $500 per person — generated significant surplus funds for the organization, the plaintiffs allege. The plaintiffs claim that McKinzie, with the approval of the group’s directors but without the approval of the overall membership, spent the surplus funds on McKinzie’s “pet projects,” including the wax figure, projects to help Liberian women, the Ford Museum and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History.

In addition, the plaintiffs took issue with McKinzie’s alleged misuse of a corporate credit card for personal expenses, a $375,000 lump sum payment McKinzie received, and a $4,000 monthly stipend McKinzie is to be paid for four years after she leaves office.

According to the complaint, McKinzie’s position is typically an unpaid one, and the payments allegedly should have been included in a budget to be discussed at the group’s 2008 annual meeting, called the Boulé. McKinzie first delayed that budget discussion and then canceled it, the complaint alleges.

The group’s directors have asserted in the past that the payments were to compensate McKinzie for a significant amount of accounting and consulting work she did on behalf of the organization.

The group’s accounting and investment strategies are also under fire. According to the complaint, several of the deductions on the sorority’s 2006 and 2007 tax returns are “unreasonably large and inappropriate” and may “expose[] the organization to potential IRS claims and obligations.” The sorority is a non-profit organization incorporated under D.C. law. It also has a non-profit foundation that is incorporated in Illinois .

Under McKinzie’s leadership, AKA also shifted several million dollars of the sorority’s and the foundation’s funds from cash and cash equivalents to stock and bond investments — those investments have since plummeted in value, according to the complaint.

The organization has also allegedly spent more than $500,000 in legal fees in 2008 and 2009 for “actions against whistleblowers.”

Members who have voiced concerns over the alleged financial improprieties have had their membership privileges “withdrawn, suspended and otherwise adversely affected,” according to the complaint.

CITY HALL | Alderman proposes lifetime ban for scofflaw owners

Owners of dogs designated as dangerous could be forever prohibited from owning dogs in Chicago if they thumb their noses at city safeguards, under a crackdown proposed by an influential alderman.

Ald. Eugene Schulter (47th), chairman of the City Council’s License Committee, wants to yank the regulatory leash tighter than it has ever been yanked before in response to a recent incident in his Northwest Side ward that endangered area residents.

A man whose two Pit Bulls had been declared dangerous after attacking three people got them back after one year of behavior modification training — on the condition that he abide by rigid safety requirements and only take them off his fenced-in property to go to the veterinarian.

Instead, one of the Pit Bulls escaped through the back gate and made its way 150 feet down the alley behind a street that’s home to three dozen kids under the age of 10.

Although the wandering dog has since been taken away, the owner told Schulter and his constituents at a neighborhood hearing last week that he intended to get four more dogs and “feed them ragdolls.”

“He is not a rehabilitated owner. He has paid money to modify his property and train his dogs. But, he hasn’t learned anything. He just doesn’t get it,” said Steve Bensinger, who lives three doors away.

“Just replace the words, ‘dangerous dog’ with ‘loaded gun.’ I have three kids under the age of 7. I’m afraid his irresponsible actions will lead to some tragedy that is avoidable.”

Over the years, vicious and sometimes fatal attacks by dangerous dogs have prompted repeated attempts to target Pit Bulls and Rottweilers.

The Daley administration and Schulter have steadfastly opposed breed-specific bans.

Instead, the City Council approved a dangerous dog ordinance that requires owners to: purchase liability insurance and indoor and outdoor pens; put up fences and signs; walk their dogs only if the animals are muzzled and on short leashes and in some cases, confine repeat offenders to their property.

Schulter’s ordinance would get infinitely tougher.

It would impose a five-year ban on dog ownership in Chicago against any owner found guilty of ignoring the dangerous dog requirements.

And those with multiple violations over a five-year period would be barred forever from owning a dog within the city limits. Violators would face up to six months in jail. Their dogs would be seized.

As harsh as it sounds, Schulter believes the dog lover equivalent of the death penalty is justified.

“We’re trying to send a signal out that, if you have dangerous dogs, you had better abide by the regulations imposed on you,” Schulter said.

“It’s not the animals that are the problem. … It’s the individual. This is an attempt to do something in those rare circumstances where the owners do not care.”

Schulter’s proposal was not the only dog-related ordinance introduced at Wednesday’s City Council meeting.

Ald. Richard Mell (33rd) wants to impose a $300 fine against owners whose dogs create a nuisance by barking excessively, even after a warning.

“Some of these dogs bark all night long. A lot of people let their dogs sit outside all night. These dogs keep people up. There’s nothing more irritating than a barking dog,” Mell said.

Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) – Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz became the latest star implicated in baseball’s ever-growing drug scandal, acknowledging Thursday that the players’ union confirmed he tested positive in 2003.

Shortly after hitting the go-ahead home run that beat Oakland 8-5, Ortiz responded to a story on The New York Times’ Web site that he and former teammate Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs six years ago.

“I’ve just been told that the report is true,” Ortiz said in a statement after contacting the union. “Based on the way I lived my life I’m surprised to learn I tested positive.”

The popular Big Papi, who had never been linked to drugs, said he intended to find out what was in his system and would tell the Red Sox and the public.

“You know me — I will not hide and I will not make excuses,” he said.

Alex Rodriguez, Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens and Sammy Sosa are among the many All-Stars tainted by the cloud of steroids and drugs, which has called into question some of the sport’s greatest achievements over the last two decades.

Ortiz and Ramirez led the Red Sox to the World Series title in 2004 – their first in 86 years – and another championship in 2007.

Ramirez, now with the Los Angeles Dodgers, recently served a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy. Asked about this second alleged doping violation, he told reporters in St. Louis: “You want more information, I’m pretty sure you guys got the phone number to the union. Call the union, and they can explain that to you guys.”

“Me and David, we’re like two mountains,” he said. “We’re going to keep playing the game, and we’re going to keep doing good. We’re trying to move forward; that’s the key here.”

Red Sox manager Terry Francona, who guided Boston to those two titles, said the news “blindsided everybody,” including Ortiz.

“Nobody condones the use of performance-enhancing drugs … the testing procedure was confidential. I don’t know how you can go back on that now,” he said.

In 2003, 104 major leaguers tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs; the results were supposed to be anonymous and are now under court seal.

“Precisely for that reason, the Players Association will not, indeed cannot, comment on whether the information is accurate,” union leader Donald Fehr said.

The Times’ story cited lawyers involved in pending litigation over the testing results who spoke anonymously because the information is under seal. The newspaper did not say what the players tested positive for.

“Can somebody in baseball — we’re all begging, people — get that stupid list out and move on,” Chicago White Sox manager Ozzie Guillen said. “This is ridiculous; this is embarrassing; this is a joke. Whoever is there is there, get them out, and that’s it.”

As for Ortiz, “too bad for him, too bad for baseball. Too bad for both,” New York Yankees star Derek Jeter said.

“I’m sad for everyone. Once again, we’re sitting here talking about this again.”

There were no penalties for a positive test in 2003 – the anonymous tests were conducted to determine if it was necessary to impose mandatory random drug testing across the major leagues in 2004. But federal agents seized the results as part of the BALCO investigation. The union has argued the search was illegal, and the case is currently before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

In the meantime, the names on the list keep coming out one by one.

In June, the Times reported Sosa also was on the 2003 list, and Rodriguez admitted using performance-enhancing drugs after he was linked to the 2003 list earlier this year.

Asked about this latest report involving Ortiz, Rodriguez said, “Well, he’s my friend, and I care for David.”

“I have nothing else to say about that,” the Yankees star said. “No, I’m not talking about it.”

Major League Baseball declined to comment on the Times’ report, telling The Associated Press it didn’t have the list of players who tested positive in 2003. Red Sox owner John Henry did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

Try as it might, baseball has not been able to escape the drug stain.

“We’re just trying to move on and play the game, and play it clean, play it the right way, Texas pitcher Kevin Millwood said. “And this cloud keeps looming over. And when these names keep leaking out, it just builds this whole thing back up again.”

The news revived an ongoing debate – should all 104 names be revealed?

“Coming out every couple months with a couple names here, a couple names there, it could go on for years and years and years. It reopens a wound we’re trying to close. I don’t know what can be done,” Seattle pitcher Jarrod Washburn said.

Said Atlanta star Chipper Jones: “It’s like somebody wants to keep this on the tips of everybody’s tongues. And if that’s the case, I’d rather we just got it over with.”

Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon played with Ortiz and Ramirez on those championship Red Sox teams. Will fans think those Boston clubs were full of steroid users?

“That probably is what being said, and that’s what makes guys like me upset,” Damon said.

Ramirez was a long-established star in 2003. Ortiz, in contrast, had been a part-time player before that season.

Ortiz had never hit more than 20 homers in a season as a part-time player in Minnesota early in his career. He came to Boston as a platoon player in 2003 and had four homers by July 1, then hit 27 the rest of the year.

Ortiz followed up with seasons of 41, 47 and 54 home runs as he stamped himself as one of the best sluggers in the game.

Last year, he dipped to 23 home runs, and his slump continued this season. He’s hitting only .228 with 14 homers.

Ramirez returned from his suspension this month and quickly re-established his presence in the middle of the lineup for the NL West-leading Dodgers.

Boos have rained down on Ramirez throughout this week’s series in St. Louis whenever he comes to the plate or touches the ball.

“He’s a great player, and I don’t think the suspension has anything to do with it,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. “Personally, if he never got suspended they’d still be booing the hell out of him.”