Assistant Director

Henry Smith has a wife, three kids, a college degree and a white-collar job, and he owns a home in Southwest Philadelphia. One thing he no longer has is this secret: He never took the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Smith, who starred in basketball at West Philadelphia High (class of 1984) and later became a rebounding leader and consistent scorer at St. Joseph's University, read with interest last week about the concerns of the Black Coaches Association. The BCA, among other things, continues to question why the NCAA places so much emphasis on a test, the SAT, that has been found to be culturally biased.

MERION GOLF CLUB has much to gain by hosting the 113th U.S. Open. The value of national media exposure for the historic East Course - site of the event for the first time in the electronic era - cannot be measured. What can be measured is the economic gain for greater Philadelphia. According to USGA estimates, Philadelphia and the surrounding area's economy will be flooded with $100 million to $120 million in extra revenue this week alone. That figure includes money spent on tickets, hotel rooms, dining and nightlife by the more than 190,000 spectators attending Merion's practice sessions and tournament rounds.

Fans yelped with delight Sunday evening as a frenetic stretch of action closed out the U.S. Open. But local officials were likely uttering more subtle sounds: sighs of relief. After years of preparation, the nation's golf championship has concluded at Merion Golf Club, a course known more for its cramped suburban surroundings than for its ability to host nearly 40,000 people per day. As the tournament drew near, there were questions of logistics - from spectator parking to security and space for tents - and on Monday and Thursday of last week, torrential downpours muddied the grounds and delayed play.

David C. Campbell, outgoing superintendent of the Rose Tree Media School District, has been appointed assistant executive director of the Delaware County Intermediate Unit (IU) for a term running until June 30, 1990. The Intermediate Unit Board of School Directors voted, 9-0, with one abstention and five members absent, Thursday night to name Campbell to the post held previously by Judson E. Newburg, who retired in January. The abstaining vote came from Ruth Bretz, who represents the Rose Tree district.

Landlords from across the region sued the Philadelphia Housing Authority on Friday, alleging that the agency fraudulently took their money for an illegal lobbying fund and for the "personal enrichment" of PHA employees. In the federal lawsuit, eight property owners seek payments of $10,000 to $100,000 for each person required to pay for training to participate in the Housing Choice voucher program. Between 2008 and August 2010, PHA required landlords participating in the federally funded voucher program to pay $200 each for a training course.

You think car-insurance premiums are prohibitive? Pity the filmmaker whom insurers deem too old to make a movie. Senior artists often produce the most memorable works. Think of Henri Matisse, Louise Nevelson and Willem de Kooning. Sadly, their moviemaker counterparts such as David Lean and Billy Wilder are thwarted by carriers who demand impossibly high premiums for "completion bonds" before a project may begin. This compulsory coverage amounts to a collision-and-damages policy for the film: If investors withdraw their money after a director dies, becomes ill or is involved in an accident, funds are guaranteed to finish the movie.

Pssst! Hey, if you are ever accused of ripping off a grocery store or snatching a few watches from a jeweler's shop, just reimburse the business within, say, three years, and everything will be all right. Don't believe it? Well, consider the case of John McDaniel, assistant managing director for Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania Black Conference for Higher Education accused McDaniel of stealing $13,000 after the money turned up missing from its bank account in 2000 and 2001. McDaniel had access to the bank account because he was chairing the group's 2001 convention.

A longtime top aide at the Pinelands Commission has been suspended from his post, apparently after clashing with a superior. Assistant director William F. Harrison was suspended last week after a confrontation with executive director Annette M. Barbaccia, according to sources familiar with the incident. The exchange, during which Barbaccia accused Harrison of insubordination, was apparently sparked by Harrison's giving information on regional growth areas in Atlantic County to Bradley Campbell, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection.

To Christopher Simpson, research director of Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, government archives are gold mines. Digging for nuggets of fact, he unearths new ways of looking at the truth. The boyish-looking author of investigative books and articles is visible only briefly in Marcel Ophuls' 4 1/2-hour documentary about the sadistic Nazi lieutenant nicknamed "the Butcher of Lyon. " Yet, as master of facts, Simpson's influence is pervasive, helping to guide the Academy Award-winning movie, which has its Philadelphia premiere today at 3 p.m. at the Jewish Community Center/Gershman YM & YWHA.

Clifton Geathers stands out for obvious reasons, but he may have a leg up on his competition because of Chip Kelly's professed preference for rangy players. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound defensive lineman, acquired from the Indianapolis Colts this offseason in exchange for fullback Stanley Havili, has gotten a lot of action with the first-team defense during spring practices. "Clifton's done some pretty good things since we've had him here," Kelly said Wednesday. "I think he's got extremely long arms.