Former Penn State coach Paterno breaks pelvis, hospitalized

(Reuters) - Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno fractured his pelvis after falling at his home on Saturday and was hospitalized, a source close to major college football's winningest coach said on Sunday.
Paterno, 84, was admitted to an undisclosed Pennsylvania hospital on Sunday morning and was in stable condition later in the day, the source said.

Most Pennsylvania voters polled support Penn State

Even after his fall from grace amid the Jerry Sandusky child-abuse scandal, Joe Paterno is still posting poll numbers most politicians would envy.
More than half of Pennsylvania voters surveyed still have a favorable opinion of Paterno, according to a Nov. 23 poll conducted by the North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling. Only 28 percent of the 500 respondents think poorly of him, with 14 percent not sure.
Penn State enjoys even more support, with 61 percent reporting a favorable view of the university.

Penn State child sex abuse scandal leads colleges to emphasize their own reporting policies

By Elizabeth Gibson, The Patriot-News

It’s tough to imagine a single college leader who isn’t watching the Penn State child sex abuse scandal and wondering.

Wondering if something like that ever happened on their own campus. Or could.

Presidents of midstate colleges said this week that allegations against former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky are compelling them to emphasize, and in some cases re-examine, their schools’ policies on reporting sexual abuse.

“In light of recent events at Penn State, we all need to be clear about what we should do if we have suspicions of sexual abuse or if we witness or have direct knowledge about an incident of sexual abuse at LVC,” Lebanon Valley College President Stephen MacDonald said Monday in a letter to the campus community.

He described steps to take, including calling police. He listed local police department phone numbers.

MacDonald went so far as to state, “You should take action to safeguard the victim if circumstances allow.”

Shippensburg University President Bill Ruud’s message was similar.

Centre County Trial Judges Recuse; McKean County Judge Assigned

The Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) said today that all Centre County Common Pleas Court judges have recused themselves from hearing matters related to the case of Commonwealth v. Gerald Sandusky.

The judges’ recusals are intended to avoid any appearance of conflict of interest due to real or perceived connections to the defendant, the Second Mile charity, or the Pennsylvania State University.

 Because of the recusals, the Centre County president judge has requested AOPC to assign an out-of-county Common Pleas judge to handle forthcoming matters related to the case.  McKean County Senior Judge John M. Cleland has been appointed.

Until Judge Cleland is able to assume jurisdiction, miscellaneous petitions filed by counsel with respect to the Sandusky case will be heard by President Judge Kathy A. Morrow of Judicial District 41 -- comprised of Perry and Juniata counties -- who has been designated for that purpose.

Neither judge has any known connections with the defendant, the Pennsylvania State University or the Second Mile charity, nor any officers or representatives of those entities.

Judge Cleland has been a jurist since 1984.  He has served as president judge of McKean County, and as both an active and senior judge of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania.  Judge Cleland also served as chairman of the Interbranch Commission on Juvenile Justice.

Judge Morrow has been a jurist since 2004, and had engaged in the private practice of law since 1982.

A senior judge is one who has retired from active service but remains available by appointment to hear cases.

NCAA investigation of Penn State's child sex abuse scandal would be 'unprecedented,' expert says

In what might be an unprecedented step, the NCAA will be investigating the university in light of the grand jury’s findings in the indictment of Jerry Sandusky.

In a letter dated Thursday, NCAA President Mark Emmert wrote that the NCAA will “examine Penn State’s exercise of institutional control over its intercollegiate athletics program, as well as the actions, and inactions, of relevant responsible personnel.”

Normally, the NCAA restricts its oversight to on-the-field matters, like recruiting violations and players receiving extra benefits. In his letter, which Penn State released Friday afternoon, Emmert noted several NCAA bylaws require ethical conduct.

“Surely, the spirit of this bylaw also constrains behavior that endangers young people,” Emmert wrote. 

Pesticide-resistant weeds closing in on Pennsylvania

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The challenge of weeds that have become resistant to glyphosate -- the active ingredient in Round-Up herbicide -- has become an evolving national threat, with new challenges emerging and spreading annually. At least three glyphosate-resistant species on the horizon for Pennsylvania require new strategies to combat them, according to a specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Penn State Extension weed scientist Dwight Lingenfelter said several resistant species currently are approaching Pennsylvania. These weeds were controlled routinely over the years with glyphosate-based herbicide programs, but now the effectiveness of those programs is dwindling.

Students upset with New York Times

University of Pennsylvania students are upset with The New York Times

for confusing their school with scandal- plagued Penn State. Some print editions of Wednesday’s newspaper include the headline “Personal Foul at Penn” for a Maureen Dowd column that actually blasts Penn State. The column’s last line refers to “Penn scoundrels.” Penn State, not Penn, is engulfed in allegations that a former assistant football coach sexually abused children.