People talk 5/19/03

Fans of late crooner turn out for Bing Bash

SPOKANE, Wash. -- Fans of Bing Crosby from around the world were drawn to a weekend Bing Bash celebrating the late star's centennial, but his biggest group of overseas fans appears to have come from Britain.

"Right from his earliest recordings with the Rhythm Boys (late 1920s) he received enthusiastic reviews here," Malcolm Macfarlane, the editor of BING, the magazine of the International Crosby Circle, said last week from his home in Wilmslow, Cheshire. "His frequent visits to our shores cemented this popularity."

Of 320 preregistered attendees for the weekend celebration on the campus of his alma mater, Gonzaga University, at least a dozen hailed from the United Kingdom.

Crosby was born May 3, 1903, in Tacoma and grew up in Spokane. He died in 1977 at age 74.

Former first lady given public service award

LOS ANGELES -- Former first lady Nancy Reagan received the Navy's highest civilian honor during an Armed Forces Day ceremony attended by sailors who will crew a new aircraft carrier named for her husband.

Acting Navy Secretary Hansford T. Johnson presented Reagan with the Distinguished Public Service Award. A citation recognized her "poise and bearing" in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

"I spent the majority of my naval career during the Reagan administration," Master Chief Robert Conklin said. "It made me proud to be a sailor again."

Fifteen sailors and three Marines witnessed the presentation Saturday in a garden at the Bel-Air Hotel, less than a mile from the Reagan home.

"Oh my. Thank you very much," Reagan said. "I look forward to seeing you in July."

The 1,092-foot USS Ronald Reagan will be commissioned July 12 in Norfolk, Va., during ceremonies expected to be attended by Vice President Dick Cheney and Reagan, who christened the ship in March 2001.

Her husband, the nation's 40th chief executive, disclosed in 1994 that he had Alzheimer's disease.

However, "he's doing fine," she said.

Donahue draws cheers, jeers at commencement

RALEIGH, N.C. -- Liberal talk show pioneer Phil Donahue drew both catcalls and cheers with a politically tinged commencement address at North Carolina State University.

A handful of the nearly 4,000 new N.C. State graduates walked out of the ceremony Saturday at the RBC Center when Donahue began listing "what liberals believe."

Donahue, 67, whose most recent talk show on MSNBC was canceled in February after six months, said constitutional rights and privileges have been eroded, and he made a backhanded reference to the war in Iraq.

"Only Congress can declare war," he said to some cheers and boos, "and not just one man, the president."

What liberals believe, he said, "is that no one in authority should tell you to 'shush;' that executing retarded teenagers is wrong, and that unions give workers a deserved place at the bargaining table."

Donahue was invited to speak in part because he and a North Carolina State professor both attended the University of Notre Dame. He got loud applause by noting North Carolina State beat Notre Dame in this year's Gator Bowl.

"I came looking for liberals," he said, "and here at N.C. State I found friends."

'Eight Is Enough' star enters no contest plea

POMONA, Calif. -- Adam Rich, who played the youngest son on the television series "Eight Is Enough," was placed on three years probation after pleading no contest to misdemeanor charges of driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

A Superior Court judge on Friday also ordered Rich to take part in a 60-day treatment program and pay about $1,200 in fines, said his lawyer, Stephen Sitkoff.

Rich, 34, already is involved in the program, he said.

"He realized that he has had a problem with drugs and alcohol in the past" but "wants to accept responsibility," Sitkoff said.

Rich, who has been in rehabilitation programs in the past, allegedly had cocaine and drugs in his system when he was arrested Dec. 18. His car was pulled over after California Highway Patrol officers said he drove onto a closed section of Interstate 10 and nearly struck a patrol car.

The actor played Nicholas on "Eight Is Enough," which aired on ABC from 1977 to 1981.

Rich also entered a drug rehabilitation program in 1992 after pleading no contest to felony burglary and drug charges alleging he stole a drug-filled syringe from a hospital and broke into a pharmacy.