Ambushed in Tulsa?

Journal Record, The (Oklahoma City), Aug 4, 2000

SAN FRANCISCO (NYT) -- An Antiques Roadshow insider says that Dan Rather and a 60 Minutes II crew came to Tulsa to film the show for a segment, and many of the appraisers were worried that some kind of expose is planned. Most people interviewed thought his questions rather inane, says the source, but still worried that it was a setup. "They have sent crews to about three shows, and it is possible they have some negative material they are holding back while they gather footage and quotes to round it out."

Roadshow, PBS' most successful series ever, no longer has thousands of people waiting in line because it uses Ticketmaster to distribute a set number of free tickets about six weeks before it comes to town. This, the insider writes, is "just as well, since we were turning away up to 15,000 people in some cities, causing near fits in the downtown streets of America's heartland."

Ever more protective

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) -- With some 19.5 million people in the United States telecommuting at least some of the time, computer users have become increasingly aware that their home PCs are a potential threat to their company's computer systems. A poll of more than 300 consumers by Fairfax-based data protection company PromiseMark found 60 percent of respondents have a fear of unintentionally sending a virus to co-workers. In fact, 35 percent of respondents said their home computers had been victimized by a computer virus and, of those, 45 percent lost data. The poll also found that 65 percent of respondents either conducted office work on their home computers or allowed members of their family to use their work laptop.

Custom colors

ORLANDO (NYT) -- Among the multitude of special effects at Walt Disney World's "IllumiNations 2000: Reflections of Earth" are lasers in all colors, including four seen nowhere else: lagoon blue, mint green, pumpkin orange, and lavender. The 13-minute nighttime show takes place on and above World Showcase Lagoon at Epcot and includes an Earth globe wrapped in 15,000 light-emitting diodes.

Controversy brews over Stroh marker

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (Cox) -- How much is a Stroh Brewery historic site marker worth if it was once mounted on the Detroit brewery, long since demolished, of a company that no longer makes beer? Maybe as much as $5,000, figures John McCarthy, one of the owners of Adam & Eve Architectural Salvage, which sought bids on the 5-foot tall aluminum marker on the online auction house eBay during the weekend. "There's not much interest here, but some bar owner in Detroit would love to have this," McCarthy said.

Stroh's had been a major brewer in the Midwest for 150 years, since Bernhard Stroh emigrated from Germany and began selling his own brew from a street cart. It says so on the marker. Michigan put the historic marker on the building in 1978.

Now, how much is it worth if it's stolen property? "It's the property of the state of Michigan," said Laura Ashlee, a coordinator in the Michigan Historic Preservation Office. It says as much in small print at the bottom of the inscription on the marker.

The Stroh family, now in the real estate business, didn't know the marker was missing until they learned that Adam & Eve was trying to sell it. When the brewery was demolished in 1985 or 1986, the marker and other architectural artifacts were stored in a company warehouse, said John Stroh III, president and CEO of the company. The warehouse has been broken into several times, but no one realized the marker was missing, he said.

"I'm sure this fella bought it legitimately from someone," Stroh said, but he still wants it back.

Adam & Eve bought it last fall as part of an eclectic collection of artifacts from the yard of former Ocean Ridge mansion owner Philip Schwab -- a collection it paid $100,000 to salvage, the most the West Palm Beach firm has ever paid.Schwab once owned a nationwide demolition firm but his firm went into bankruptcy and his $6 million estate was sold in foreclosure. But Schwab's firm did not demolish the Stroh brewery, Stroh said.

McCarthy has removed the marker from the eBay auction -- no bids were made during the four days it was offered. But he said, "We're not just going to hand it over." Said Michigan's Ashlee: "When something says `property of' right on it, you ought to have a little idea who it belongs to." But McCarthy said he wants to see a police report or other documentation that the marker was stolen. All he's received so far is several e-mails from a Michigan State Enforcement Department agent threatening him with arrest. "To have someone say we're going to take it away or you're going to jail is not every nice," McCarthy said. "They ought to thank us for saving it." Michigan isn't backing down either: "We have no intention of asking the taxpayers of Michigan to purchase property they already own," Ashlee said. Stroh said, "My strong preference is to work this out amicably."

Fancy a locomotive?

KEARNY, N.J. (AP) -- You can snap up the one-of-a-kind Chesapeake & Ohio No. 614 for at least $1 million. The owner will even throw in two auxiliary cars for free. But rail buffs and model train lovers take note: This little beauty isn't going to fit under your kid's Christmas tree. It's an 890,000-pound, 112-foot long, fully functional steam locomotive that can reach speeds of 125 mph. It's got enough muscle to pull an Amtrak train.