The north
10 years ago
May 9, 1998:Edward John Noble Hospital, Gouverneur, will close its books on 1997 with a loss of about $106,000, a poor showing after several favorable years. Administrator Charles P. Conole said the hospital dealt with several expensive issues last year.
25 years ago
May 9, 1983:Discussion of an estimated $556,075 in facade improvements to 51 downtown Watertown buildings began today with architect Robert Joy, Glens Falls, and local merchants and building owners. Mr. Joy made formal presentation of a project manual prepared for Watertown Alive that was developed in part with funds from the New York State Council on the Arts.
50 years ago
May 9, 1958:A big Navy P2V Neptune patrol bomber landed safely Thursday at the Watertown Municipal Airport after two of its tires blew out, and the weaving ship was brought a stop 1,400 feet from the end of the northeast-southwest runway. The twin-engine plane, based at Floyd Bennett Field, New York, carried a five-man crew and a passenger. No one was injured. The plane, engaged in secret missile work, was under guard during the night.
75 years ago
May 9, 1933:The removal of about 3,500 tons of earth, clay and stone, which slid into the power canal leading to the Northern New York Utilities Inc. power plant at Black River recently when the water was let out, was started this morning. The work is being done by John Thompson Construction Co., Carthage.
100 years ago
May 9, 1908:The Watertown Sand Brick Co. is insolvent. Four of the creditors petitioned the U.S. district court for the appointment of a receiver. Although no schedule of liabilities and assets has been prepared, it was said that the liabilities were about $45,000.
125 years ago
May 9, 1883:Men have been engaged this forenoon pumping out what little water there was left in the cistern on Public Square, and it will be repaired immediately.
The world
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Today is Friday, May 9,the 130th day of 2008. There are 236 days left in the year.
Today's Highlight in History:
On May 9, 1754, a cartoon in Benjamin Franklin's Pennsylvania Gazette showed a snake cut into sections, each part representing an American colony; the caption read, "JOIN, or DIE."
On this date:
In 1945, U.S. officials announced that a midnight entertainment curfew was being lifted immediately.
In 1961, FCC chairman Newton N. Minow decried the majority of television programming as a "vast wasteland" in a speech to the National Association of Broadcasters.
In 1974, the House Judiciary Committee opened public hearings on whether to recommend the impeachment of President Nixon.
In 1980, 35 people were killed when a freighter rammed the Sunshine Skyway Bridge over Tampa Bay in Florida, causing a 1,400-foot section to collapse.
In 1987, 183 people were killed when a New York-bound Polish jetliner crashed while attempting an emergency return to Warsaw.
Ten years ago:Indonesian President Suharto left his troubled country for a summit in Egypt with a warning his army would quell violence over his 32-year rule and the worsening economy.
Five years ago:The United States and its allies asked the U.N. Security Council to give its stamp of approval to their occupation of Iraq. The Republican-led House approved 222-203 a $550 billion tax cut package. In Cleveland, a camouflage-clad gunman fired hundreds of rounds as he roamed the halls of Case Western Reserve University's business school, killing one person. (Suspect Biswanath Halder was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison).
One year ago:Vice President Dick Cheney pressed Iraq's leaders to do more to reduce violence and achieve political reconciliation in a visit to Baghdad that was punctuated by an explosion that shook windows at the U.S. Embassy where Cheney was visiting. Pope Benedict XVI began his first trip to Latin America as he arrived in Brazil.
Today's Birthdays:CBS News correspondent Mike Wallace is 90. Actor Albert Finney is 72. Musician Sonny Curtis (Buddy Holly and the Crickets) is 71. Producer-director James L. Brooks is 68. Singer Tommy Roe is 66. Singer-musician Richie Furay (Buffalo Springfield and Poco) is 64. Actress Candice Bergen is 62. Pop singer Clint Holmes is 62. Actor Anthony Higgins is 61. Singer Billy Joel is 59. Blues singer-musician Bob Margolin is 59. Rock singer-musician Tom Petersson (Cheap Trick) is 58. Actress Alley Mills is 57. Actress Wendy Crewson is 52. Actor John Corbett is 47. Singer Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode) is 46. Rapper Ghostface Killah is 38. Country musician Mike Myerson (Heartland) is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer Tamia is 33. Rock musician Dan Regan (Reel Big Fish) is 31. Rock singer Pierre Bouvier (Simple Plan) is 29. Actress Rosario Dawson is 29. Actress Rachel Boston is 26.
Thought for Today:"We cannot put off living until we are ready." — Jose Ortega y Gasset, Spanish philosopher (1883-1955).
