What would you take with you to a desert island? another asked. "A bottle of gin," he replied.
The school principal called Goodman's comments "inappropriate," but surmised that they sailed over most of the students' heads.
The next day, Goodman said at a news conference that he was simply being honest.
"I'm not going to lie to children. I'm not going to say I would take a teddy bear or a Bible or something like that."
Asked by a reporter if he has a drinking problem, Goodman returned to showman mode. "Oh, absolutely not -- I love to drink!" Ba-dum-bum.
-- Amy Argetsinger
New Yorkers Turning Cool To Olympic Gamesmanship
The Olympic dreams of New York's mayor have become Olympic-size headaches.
For weeks, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has taken a beating in public opinion over his plans to convert a swath of the West Side into a football stadium that would host the New York Jets and possibly the Olympic Games.
Now comes a poll showing fewer New Yorkers support the Olympic Games coming to their town than residents of the competing host cities.
According to a survey by the International Olympic Committee, residents of Paris, Moscow, Madrid and London show greater desire for the torch.
New Yorkers worry about traffic, cost and a missed opportunity in installing bleacher seats rather than building much-needed housing.
"It's Bloomberg's Olympic dream, it's not the working-class dream for the city," said Harvey Robins, a top official in the administration of two previous mayors.
"He's lost touch with how hard it is for ordinary people to live in the city."
-- Michelle Garcia
A Hunger for Knowledge Can Help Feed the Family, Too
Students of the North Fort Worth Boys & Girls Club who show up on Fridays with three graded papers of 90 or above can take a bag of groceries for their family.
Branch executive director Mary Perez said the students live in one of Fort Worth's most economically depressed neighborhoods. It is a tightknit Latino community in which 68 percent of residents live at or below the poverty income level.
After children complained of being hungry and their parents came asking for food, Perez started the Food for Thought program three years ago to reward students with food if they get good grades.
"I don't believe in giving handouts. I believe that children need to learn to earn things that they receive," Perez said. Since the program was implemented, students on the A/B Honor Roll have risen from 24 percent to 58 percent. Although finding funds for the program is difficult, Perez said, "Good things always work out."
-- Caroline Keating
