Shuttle Destruction Double Whammy for UC Scientist

Millie Hughes-Fulford, director of the Laboratory of Cell Growth at the University of California at San Francisco, lost friends and years of scientific research when the space shuttle Columbia fell apart on re-entry Feb. 1.

ÒLosing all that science was a big blow, but we can recover the science. The real blow is the crew,Ó Hughes-Fulford said. Before becoming a UC scientist, Hughes-Fulford was a former astronaut who blasted into space aboard the Columbia in 1991.

ÒThat was my ship,Ó she said.

Hughes-Fulford, who was at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida when the shuttle blasted off Jan. 16, was working on experiments to better determine how microgravity depresses the immune system, focusing on the precise cellular mechanisms behind physiological changes in astronauts in space.

Woman of the Year Named in 12th Assembly District

Assistant Speaker pro Tempore Leland Yee has announced that former San Francisco School Board member and community advocate, Libby Denebeim, will be honored as the 12th Assembly District's 2003 Woman of the Year.

Denebeim, a westside resident, served as an elected member of the San Francisco Board of Education from 1981 to 1993, and was president in 1988. She is currently a member of the board of directors of SF Head Start, SF Adult Day Services Network, SF Study Center and the SF Chapter of the National Council of Jewish Women. She also serves on the Children's Mental Health Policy Board's Advisory Committee and the Public Affairs Committee at Jewish Family and Children's Services.

For 10 years, Denebeim was president of Hospice of San Francisco, an organization which she co-founded. She also served 14 years on the SF Mental Health Association's board of directors, on which she also served as president from 1975-1977. She has chaired the SF Delinquency Prevention Commission and served on the Mayor's Advisory Council on Families, Children and Youth as well as on the mayor's HIV task force. In addition, she has served on many other advisory boards relating to education, youth and senior services, health and mental health services and political advocacy.

"Libby's contributions to San Francisco's children, youth, seniors, families and mental health issues have been innumerable. Libby was the obvious choice for Woman of the Year," Yee said.

Summer Classes at Randall

The Randall Museum offers an array of Spring Break workshops and summer camps to provide hands-on fun for everyone. For a complete schedule of this year's programs, and instructions on how and when to register, call the museum at 554-9600 or visit the website at www.randallmuseum.org. Pre-registration is required for all workshops and day camps. Classes are filled by lottery on the registration deadline.

City College's John Adams Campus Hosts Health Fair

City College of San Francisco's John Adams Campus hosts its eighth annual comprehensive community health fair on Thursday, April 3, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Medical and health-related services available will include anemia testing, STD testing, blood pressure and blood sugar screenings, back exams, mental health referrals, disaster preparedness tips, hearing tests, body fat measurements and more. Information on a wide variety of topics, such as safe sex, acupuncture, drug abuse, birth defects, cancer and heart and lung diseases, will be offered.

According to Linda Squires Grohe, dean of the John Adams Campus and the School of Health and Physical Education, the fair's focus is twofold. It serves as an expression of City College's gratitude to the residents of San Francisco for their support, especially regarding Proposition A on the fall 2001 ballot. The measure provides City College with $195 million to undertake the most extensive building campaign in its history. Also, the fair aims to provide health services and a preventative approach to health care for the public.

Eagle Scouts Make the Grade

Boy Scouts Troop 58, chartered by the Konko Church in Japantown, honored five scouts who made Eagle Scout March 1, including two from the Richmond District. Only four percent of scouts make the Eagle grade.

Richmond District residents and George Washington High School graduates Nathan Gin, a City College of San Francisco student, and Aaron Wong, who attends UC-Santa Cruz, earned their Eagle badges. Also making Eagle were Mathew Tom, Brandon Kwan-Leong and Jonathan Lai.

Troop 58Õs 49 scout members, 22 of whom are from the Richmond and Sunset districts, will participate in the upcoming Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival parade. For more information, call pack leader Mathew Tom at 467-9077.

YMCA to Honor Volunteers

Celebrating 150 years of service, the YMCA of San Francisco is honoring volunteers and teen volunteers of the year at a lavish dinner event.

Local volunteers being honored include Sophie Marie Clavier and Benjamin Richeda (teen), from the Richmond YMCA; Michael Creedman and Sophie Celi (teen), from the Presidio YMCA; and Ronald Weber and Nick Stevens (teen), from the Stonestown YMCA. The YMCA's event will be held at the Argent Hotel, located at 50 Third St., on April 11, at 6 p.m.

Teens Graduate from Academy
Fifteen students at the Media Arts Academy at the Richmond Village Beacon Center at George Washington High School graduated March 27. The students learned how to create web pages, flash animation and take digital photography and video.

Business Recycles Greeting Cards
Old holiday, birthday and other types of greeting cards can be donated to St. Jude's Ranch in Nevada, where the children living there cut them up and paste them onto a pre-printed card stock. The youth get 15 cents per usable card, which is put into a college or other fund for the youth.

St. Jude's Ranch for Children is a non-profit group that provides a home for abused, abandoned, neglected and other "at risk" children. To donate cards, drop them off at the Standard 5&10, located at 3545 California St. in the Laurel Village Shopping Center. For more information, call 751-5767.