Sand

MAYBE journalists are different from the rest of the world. After all, the entire accounting industry didn't rise en masse to apologize for the shortcomings of Arthur Andersen during the Enron mess. Yet, we feel compelled to apologize to the public for Geraldo Riveria. Journalism is a serious business - especially when the subject is war and lives, both American and foreign, are on the line. During this war, we've seen some exemplary print and broadcast journalism. But even a battle for the soul of a Middle East nation isn't big enough to eclipse the egos of some TV personalities.

SINCE the OPEC members have little more than oil in their countries, and grow little if any produce, we should immediately cease exporting our goods to them. And no more financial aid, either. Let them eat their sand and drink their oil. Then they'll stop the extortion and price-fixing they use against the rest of the world. William Palmer, Philadelphia

Tucked behind the swimming pool and between the tennis courts and the blacktop hockey field is a bed of clean, yellow sand. A little slice of Maui, perhaps. Well, maybe the Jersey Shore. Call it what you will, it's definitely not a mirage. This is the YMCA and those are honest- to-goodness sand volleyball courts. The two courts are a fixture at the Phoenixville Y where they are used for four-on-four men's teams and a six-on-six coed league. The sand, several tons worth, was trucked in from local beaches, said Brian Devost, the Y's senior physical director.

Two days after several Flyers observed some kind of sand-like substance in the tunnel outside of their dressing room in Montreal - which, some say, forced them to repeatedly resharpen their skates during their Game 4 victory, and which resulted in towels being laid in the hallway later in the game - Canadiens coach Jacques Martin categorically denied that there had been a problem. Flyers officials have gone out of their way to say that they knew nothing about any sand, and nobody has accused anybody of anything nefarious.

When Dr. Mark Carroll walked into Room 3265 at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia late Thursday night he was ready to "break out my sunglasses and beach towel. " "There was so much sand, the room looked a bit like a beach," Carroll said yesterday, motioning toward Room 3265. "There was sand in her ears, eyes, the corners of her mouth . . . " "Her" is Staci Bonelli. But Thursday night, life for Staci was hardly a beach party. For four and a half tense hours, the 13-year-old girl was trapped in an eight-foot-deep sand pit she fell into while playing on the property of a Southwest Philadelphia cement company.

It was acceptable for Pennsylvania's population to trail that of New York, a pushier state with a little more land, as the 20th century began. It was tolerable when the Golden State - with six times the area - grabbed the No. 2 spot in 1945 and barely sufferable in 1973 when Texas - almost a nation in itself - stomped Pennsylvania down to No. 4. But last week the Census Bureau announced something so absurd, bizarre and downright annoying that...

Ever since an accident left her paralyzed from the waist down, Nahara Rodriguez has needed a lift to get into the water at the beach. Her wheelchair's wheels sink into the sand, so she can't roll to the surf. That may change soon, thanks to a beach wheelchair designed by local high school students. The new chair, designed by students from William Penn Charter School, is easy to maneuver in sand and water. It is collapsible, less obtrusive, and, most important, cheaper than existing beach wheelchairs.

The new mayor of this island city says it's a wonderful place to visit, but he wouldn't want you to live here. In the last decade, the year-round population of Brigantine jumped from about 4,000 to 12,000. The enrollment at its only school has gone from 600 to more than 1,000. With such rapid and disconcerting growth, the city has had to beef up its fire and police protection and build new streets. An addition was put on the elementary school; now a second addition is on the way. And most of the motels have disappeared, converted to condominiums and sold to the newcomers.

Three investigators summoned to work with the grisly discovery of Susan Reinert's body in 1979 said yesterday they had no knowledge until this week that sand could have been found between her toes. The three men, all Pennsylvania State Police officers, testified yesterday during the trial of Jay C. Smith in Dauphin County Court to rebut a claim made by a former colleague on Monday. Smith, 57, is a former Upper Merion High School principal accused of three counts of first-degree murder in the 1979 deaths of Reinert, 37, an Upper Merion High School English teacher, and her two children, Karen, 11, and Michael, 10. Reinert's nude and badly beaten body was found June 25, 1979, in the rear luggage compartment of her compact car. The car was parked at a suburban Harrisburg motel.

Tony Onesky insisted there was no political guise in his sculpture of a pair of hands in handcuffs at yesterday's ninth annual Bally's Grand Sand Sculpture Contest. But it's clear that the arrest last week of Atlantic City Mayor James Usry and other city officials didn't hurt Onesky's selection as first-place winner of the over-16 individual category for "Arrested. " "I've planned to do something with a chain for a while," said Onesky, a 33-year-old dealer at Bally's Park Place Casino Hotel.

WHAT WAS LORENZO Neal thinking? The former NFL player is the chief information officer for Safe Ride Solutions, a company that provides confidential transportation for intoxicated clients. That said, you would think that the four-time Pro Bowl fullback would know not to drive drunk. Think again. Neal was sentenced to 3 years of probation, and ordered to pay over $1,800 in court fees and fines after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in Fresno, Calif., on Monday.

Roger Federer edged Andy Murray , 7-5, 6-4, Saturday to win his fifth Dubai Championships title in the United Arab Emirates. The win was Federer's fifth title in seven tournaments and his 72d overall. The 16-time Grand Slam champion improved to 7-8 against Murray. GOLF: Rory McIlroy made two par saves on a windy back nine and finished with a birdie from the bunker for a 4-under 66, giving him a 2-shot lead over Harris English and Tom Gillis in the Honda Classic in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. Tiger Woods shot 69 and was nine shots behind.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Sands Casino Resort - which in January eclipsed Parx as the leader in table-game revenue for the fourth time since July 2010's start of blackjack and poker in the state - marked the grand opening Thursday of the latest arrivals to its new shopping mall. The Shoppes at Sands, a high-end outlet mall, is the first in a Pennsylvania casino. A half-dozen stores opened Nov. 1, followed by staggered openings over the last 3 1/2 months. Four more shops were added Thursday: Coach Factory, Chico's, Peeps & Co., and Corningware Corelle & More.

The Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem - which in January eclipsed Parx as the state's leader in table-games revenue, according to just-released figures - opened much of its new shopping mall Thursday to eager shoppers. The high-end outlet mall, the first inside a Pennsylvania casino, opened a half-dozen stores Nov. 1, followed by staggered openings of other stores, including Guess and Coach, over the last four months. Twenty-four of 31 stores are now open. A Wednesday night grand opening for the Shoppes at Sands included a fashion show featuring models in clothes sold in the stores there.

OCEAN CITY, N.J. - Despite the grandeur of whales, their burial can be a rather unceremonious affair. The decaying carcass of a 65-foot fin whale washed ashore at Seventh Street this week, leaving officials to dispose of the massive sea mammal Wednesday, following a necropsy to determine its cause of death. A preliminary examination of its ribs and vertebrae showed that the whale likely was struck by a freighter or another large vessel in a coastal shipping lane, said Bob Schoelkopf, director of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine.

Preferred Sands L.L.C., the Radnor company that supplies proppant for hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas wells, disclosed Thursday that it had arranged a $376 million debt offering to finance a recent acquisition. The company, in a news release, said that the debt was secured through JPMorgan Chase & Co. and that the transaction was led and managed by Barclays Capital and KeyBanc Capital Markets. The transaction was finalized Dec. 15. Preferred Sands announced Jan. 4 that it paid more than $200 million to buy Winn Bay Sand L.P., which operates silica sand mines in Blair, Wis., and Hanson Lake, Saskatchewan.

A woman was killed today when a dump truck carrying sand flipped and landed on her SUV in Cherry Hill. The truck, which was traveling west on Haddonfield-Berlin Road, swerved to avoid a vehicle emerging from Morris Drive, a side street, and trying to make a left turn. The truck fell on a Lexus RX350 that was heading east, said Lt. Bill Kushina, a spokesman for the Cherry Hill police. The sand in the truck shifted and the truck fell on its side atop the SUV around 11:50 a.m., Kushina said.

A four-year-old Radnor company on Wednesday moved aggressively to capture a bigger share of the lucrative market for sand used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas wells. Preferred Sands L.L.C. announced it was spending more than $200 million to buy "substantially all the assets" of Winn Bay Sand L.P., including mines in Blair, Wis., and Hanson Lake, Saskatchewan. In a statement, the privately held company founded by Michael G. O'Neill proclaimed itself the largest frack-sand producer in Canada and one of the top three in the United States.