The Michelson Report

The blog about pension problems in California used computer assisted reporting to help with the reporter's story.

It looked like that the reporter cross-referenced stories regarding the same topic to find a certain trend. The reporter most likely subscribed to an RSS feed about this topic to get their information.

The reporter linked the blog to the actual story. That means that they knew basic computer skills because linking from one site to another is a fairly easy thing to do.

The reporter at least has basic computer skills to contribute to the website. As a reporter, one should have a basic knowledge of how computers work, because pretty soon everything is going to go electronic.

Gov. Tim Paulenty named an assistant U.S. attorney in Minneapolis to fill the vacant Ramsey County District Attorney postion Thursday.

Robyn Millenacker, 48, will fill the position that Micheal Fetch left when he retired in October, according to the Star Tribune.

She has served as law clerk to the U.S. Magistrate Janice Symchych. She has also worked in a high profile law firm in California. She served as an assistant U.S. attorney in California, according to the Pioneer Press.

She earned her bachelor;s and law degrees at the University of Minnesota in 1984 and 1988, respectively, according to the Star Tribune.

She is originally from Rochester and now lives in North Oaks with her husband and four children, according to the Pioneer Press.

The St. Paul school board decided Wednesday evening to allow junior class at Arlington High School to graduate in the spring of 2011.

Under a measure by the school board Arlington High School juniors will be the final graduating class, according to the Star Tribune.

Students and parents at the Meeting Wednesday night also lobbied for the sophomore class to graduate in 2012, but that was turned down by the school board, according to the Pioneer Press.

At least 150 students have to stay at the school for the plan to go into full motion. They would be sharing a building with the incoming Washington Technology Middle School students, according to the Pioneer Press.

Arlington is not the only school that is closing its doors. About eight other schools in the St. Paul area are either closing or combining with other schools, according to the Star Tribune.

A Belgium Bishop resigned Friday after admitting that he sexually abused a young man that he worked with many years ago.

Robert Vangheluwe, 73, has been the Bishop of Burges since 1984, but that all came to an end when he stepped down from his position. The Bishop admitted to sexaully abusing an associate of his, while he was a Priest, according to The New York Times.

"This has marked the victim forever. The wound does not heal. Neither in me nor the victim, " Vangheluwe said, according to the BBC.

On many occasions he had asked the victim's family for forgiveness, but that was not good enough for the wound to heal, according to The New York Times.

This week has seen many resignations of prominent Catholic Church clergy. Most of the resignations have been over things other than sexual abuse, according to the BBC.

Dorthy Height, a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement, died of natural causes at the age of 98 in Washington, D.C. Tuesday.

President Obama referred to her as "the godmother of the Civil Rights Movement and a hero to so many Americans". She has known has known every president since Dwight D. Eisenhower, according to USA Today.

Height worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, in which she was apart of major national projects during the Civil Rights Movement. She helped coordinate the March on Washington in 1963, according to USA Today.

She was considered by most an unsung hero of the Civil Rights Movement, being overshadowed by Dr. King and other male leaders of the movement, according to The New York Times.

Height was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Clinton in 1994. She has also received the Congressional Gold Medal from President Bush in 2004. Those two honors are the highest achievements any civilian can attain, according to The New York Times.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said Monday that quarterback Ben Roethlisberger violated the NFL's personal conduct policy.

Goodell decided that he needed to do something about the quarterback, since this is the second time in a year that Roethisberger has made the news, regarding sexual assault, according to USA Today.

"The issue here is with respect to a pattern of behavior and bad judgments," Goodell said on the Dan Patrick radio show, according to Espn.

Goodell declined to mention when and what he would do to discipline Roethlisberger, but did say that there will be consequences for his actions that took place at a Georgia nightclub in March, according to Espn.

"I make the decision when I'm prepared to do so," Goodell said, according to USA Today.

Police watched and arrested a door-to-door salesman, who swallowed a marijuana joint, in Tennessee Monday.

Robert Sherk, 30, who is a meat salesman from Cleveland, was charged with tampering with evidence and resisting arrest, police officials said, according to The Washington Post.

Police say that he resisted arrest when they tried to approach him after he had swallowed a half-burning marijuana joint. They also questioned him about not having a permit to sell meat door-to-door, according to the Star Tribune.

Sherk is currently being held on $5,000 bond. No attorney has been hired for him, according to the Star Tribune.

The Twins opened-up their new ballpark with a win against the Boston Red Sox on Monday.

This was the first time in the history of the Twins that they opened up a new stadium with a win. Their Previous stadium openings, Metropolitan Stadium and the Metrodome, resulted in losses, according to the Pioneer Press.

"It's definitely a special place, and I'm glad it's here," catcher Joe Mauer said, according to the Star Tribune.

The Twins defeated the Red Sox 5-2 with help by Jason Kubel, who hit the first regular season home run, and Carl Pavano, who had the first victory in the new ballpark for the Twins, according to the Star Tribune.

The race for the next police chief of St. Paul came down to four finalists last Thursday.

After interviews with an advisory panel last week, Cmdr. Todd Axtell, Senior Cmdr. Colleen Luna, Senior Cmdr. Bill Martinez and Assistant Chief Thomas Smith are still in the running to become the next police chief of St. Paul, according to the Pioneer Press.

A fifth candidate dropped withdrew their name from the race, they have not been identified. Usually St. Paul Police hires their chiefs from within, according to the Star Tribune.

Public forums, hosted by St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, will be held April 26 and 27 at Arlington High School, with the latter one being held at Johnson High School. People will be able to submit written questions to the finalists, which will then be answered at each forum, according to the Pioneer Press.

Individual interviews will be conducted by Coleman after the forums, which will then led to his final decision in mid-May, according to the Pioneer Press.

A train derailment killed nine people in Northern Italy Monday, due to a leaky irrigation pipe.

The two-car train, which was filled with students and commuters, went off of the tracks because of a leak in an irrigation pipe that was just up the hill of the crash site. At least nine people have been killed along with 28 others suffering injuries, according to the BBC.

The original death toll was at 11, but a counting error reduced the number down to nine. Officials are still not ruling out people that could still be buried in the mud, according to the BBC.

No explanation of why what caused the pipe to burst has been released to the media, but Italian officials are investigating the matter, according to The New York Times.