On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2002, the world population was approximately 6,337,730,342 people[â ]
2002Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (born 1982)[â ]
Joshua Ryan Evans was an American actor who became known for his role of Timmy Lenox in the soap opera Passions. Evans was aged 17 to 20 during his tenure on Passions, but had the appearance and voice of a small child due to achondroplasia, a form of dwarfism. He was 3Â feet 2Â inches (97Â cm) tall.
2002Chick Hearn, American sportscaster (born 1916)[â ]
Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn was an American sportscaster who was the play-by-play announcer for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association for 41 years, as well as the team's assistant general manager for seven years beginning in 1972. Hearn was the first broadcaster named to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Hearn is remembered for his rapid fire, staccato broadcasting style, associated with colorful phrases such as slam dunk, air ball, and no harm, no foul that have become common basketball vernacular. Hearn broadcast 3,338 consecutive Lakers games starting on November 21, 1965. Most of Hearn's games in the television era were simulcast on both radio and television, even after most teams chose to use different announcers for the different media.
2002Franco Lucentini, Italian journalist and author (born 1920)[â ]
Franco Lucentini was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and editor of anthologies.
2002Darrell Porter, American baseball player (born 1952)[â ]
Darrell Ray Porter was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1971 to 1987 for the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, and Texas Rangers. The four-time All-Star was known for his excellent defensive skills and power hitting ability. He struggled but was never able to overcome a substance abuse problem, yet went on to become the most valuable player of the 1982 World Series with the St. Louis Cardinals. Porter died from accidental drug toxicity in 2002 at the age of 50.
2002Matt Robinson, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1937)[â ]
Matthew Thomas Robinson Jr. was an American actor, writer and television producer. Robinson was the first actor to portray the character of Gordon Robinson on the PBS children's TV program Sesame Street. When Sesame Street began in 1969, not only did Robinson play Gordon, but he also provided the voice of the puppet Roosevelt Franklin and was one of the show's producers. He left the show in 1972. In later years, when producers needed a last name for the Gordon character, then played by Hal Miller and later Roscoe Orman, they used Matt's last name.
Co-Op City, sprawling apartment complex in northeast Bronx carefully designed as dream home for civil servants and garment workers in 1960's, is transformed by its nearly 8,000 aging residents into largest de facto retirement home in nation; once attracted young families with promise of low-cost homes who cared for families there for decades, but who now need care of their own; experts say such naturally occuring retirement communities (NORCs) are cropping up nationwide as baby boomers creep toward frailty and immobility of old age; predict in next 30 years as many as 63 million elderly men and women will be living in their own homes, which were not designed for aged; photo (M)
Astoria (NYC), longtime center of New York City's Greek life, is undergoing changes in population as number of Greeks living in neighborhood diminishes and area becomes increasingly more diverse, with Mediterranean flavors still present in culture, food and ethnic background of residents; photos (M)
Central New Jersey communities are hardest hit by power failures resulting from thunderstorms, as 86,000 residents wait for power to be restored by Jersey Central Power and Light after two days in 90-degree heat and candlelight (M)
New York City weathermen predict that eight straight days of 90-degree heat could end in one day, which could help bring end to bad attitudes New Yorkers are developing as result of unpleasant weather; photos (M)
LivePlanet, media venture founded by Ben Affleck, Matt Damon, Sean Bailey and Chris Moore, is relying for survival on traditional television and movie work, having been forced to put aside vision of integrating Internet into mainstream entertainment; will be doing documentary on minor league baseball for HBO and drama series for ABC, and it expects to reach film production deal with Walt Disney Co; these deals will buy time for LivePlanet to pursue more experimental projects; photos (M)
Janet Maslin reviews books The Sexiest Man Alive: A Biography of Warren Beatty by Ellis Amburn and Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon by Jerry Oppenheimer; photos (M)
Bradley P Farnsworth, controller and chief accounting officer at Dynegy from 1997 to early 2001, charges in lawsuit against company that he was fired after refusng to go along with plan to alter company's accounting standards in summer of 2000 to hide energy trading losses and boster profits; says he was told that without change, company would not meet third-quarter profit forecast, which it ultimately did; does not say whether Dynegy adopted changes without him; photo (M)
Burst of widespread Palestinian violence in defiance of Israel's toughening military crackdown leaves 14 dead and scores wounded in West Bank; suicide bombing of bus in Galilee at start of workweek in which 9 people die is first of five attacks, that include shootout near Damascus Gate in Jerusalem's Old City that left three people dead, two ambushes that wounded seven Israelis and ambush near Nablus in which married couple die; bus attack is condemned by Pres Bush; Israeli government vows to pursue bombers 'without mercy;' blame Palestinian leadesr Yasir Arafat for escalating violence; Israeli Army adopts new tactic aimed at deterring suicide bombers; blows up nine houses of families of past bombers around Nablus, Jenin and Hebron, in addition to two other houses destroyed earlier; map; photos (M)
Many ice dancers contend that their sport is still worth developing and practicing, despite scandals and rampant judging corruption that have tarnished its image; photo (M)
Bush administration softens stance against financial aid for struggling countries and will grant up to $1.5 billion in short-term loans to Uruguay; loan will be first of kind by administration to assist other country directly in financial crisis; administration's earlier opposition to such assistance, which it maintained is often wasted and is unfair to American taxpayers, discussed; administration felt it unwise to lend money to countries facing unsustainable debt loads until they undertake steps to restructure finances; decision is made following passage of emergency legislation by Uruguayan Congress to help quell nation's economic crisis; administration officials say they expect loan to be repaid within days, once Uruguay receives longer-term package of loans from World Bank, IMF and Inter-American Development Bank that will bring total assiatance to $3.8 billion; decision comes as Treas Sec Paul H O'Neill arrives in Brazil on first leg of trip aimed at helping reassure Latin American officials about US attention to troubled regional economy; says loan will help Uruguay address intense external pressures, and is made in recognition of concrete actions by Uruguay to address them (M)
Designers and programmers at America Online are readying annual upgrade of service, version 8.0, and are putting focus back on chat rooms and other forms of interaction and self-expression in hopes of winning back disaffected uses; this represents step backward from trend of recent years, in which annual upgrade offered more space devoted to advertising, more promotions for high-tech gadgets and more links to other divisions of AOL Time Warner in hopes of impressing Wall Street with potential for synergy; photos (M)
Article on Laura Rothenberg, 21, of Manhattan, who has been battling all her life with cystic fibrosis and whose recorded diary of past two years of her life, My So-Called Lungs, will be broadcast on National Public Radio program All Things Considered; photos (M)