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Noteworthy

By TIMES WIRES
Published August 1, 2006

NOTEWORTHY

Missing art, plus a slightly dead curator

So why, exactly, didn't the curator of Russia's famed State Hermitage Museum notice the theft of more than 220 works, including jewelry and enameled objects, worth about $5-million? Hard to say, because the curator died suddenly in his office just as a routine inventory check was being conducted. The museum did not identify the curator or say when or how he died. It also did not identify the specific items that were stolen. The museum did, however, release the following statement: "There are many strange aspects of this affair, but unfortunately, there is no doubt that it did not happen without the participation of museum staff." The museum also said it was trying to modernize its security system, and, in an admission that probably didn't surprise very many people, said most of its vast collection of antiquities, decorative art and Western art is not fully secured.

She does, in fact, wear combat boots

Laurie-Ann Fuca is 41, she has four children - and she left Monday for boot camp. Fuca is making history as the first Arizona woman to join the Army past her 40th birthday. Oh, and she was starting boot camp three weeks after her oldest son was sent to Iraq at age 19. The Army recently raised its maximum recruiting age to 42. And Fuca, for some reason, decided to take advantage. "I've always wanted to be in the military for a long as I can remember, but I never had the opportunity because I was a full-time mom," she said. As she prepared to pack a duffel bag for basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., Fuca said "My son was like 'You're crazy. Moms don't join the military.' " And Fuca's husband? Yes, he, too, was a bit stunned by her plans. "I said, 'Honey, you can't even watch a war movie on TV. What are you going to do in the Army?' " said Vinnie Fuca, 49.

Puritanism in Paris?

Apparently worried about an excess of flesh visible on the banks of the River Seine, the powers-that-be in Paris City Hall have banned thong bikinis, topless sunbathing and nudity at the summer sand-in-the-city event known as Paris Beaches. Violators will be fined $48. The "indecent attire" is banned because it could "provoke temptation and dangerous behavior along the bank of a river," mayoral aide Pascal Cherki said. No word on why City Hall wasn't offended in the previous five years of the popular event.

UPDATE

Cardinal's cancer

Doctors for Cardinal Francis George say tests on his bladder and other tissue show they succeeded in removing all the cancer and that he will not need chemotherapy. The 69-year-old leader of the Chicago area's 2.3 million Roman Catholics had his cancerous bladder removed Thursday, along with his prostate and part of his ureter, which links the bladder to the kidney.

[Last modified August 1, 2006, 07:56:49]