Several news organizations speculated that Emilio Garza ’69, ’70M.A., a former Texas state judge who currently sits on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, might be nominated to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Sandra Day O’Connor’s retirement. He wasn’t. . . . The New York Times in July wrote about the then-looming battle over the next Supreme Court nominee between Ralph Neas ’68, president of the progressive political group People for the American Way, and the chairman of a political group with close ties to the Bush administration. . . . Brian T. Fitzpatrick ’97, former clerk to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, was mentioned in a New York Times article that discussed the strong ties between top contenders for the open court seat. Fitzpatrick was hired as an adviser to Senator John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. . . . William F. Tuerk ’71 was nominated by President Bush to become the undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for Memorial Affairs. . . . President Bush announced his intent to nominate Robert J. Henke ’88 for assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs for management. . . . Roger Lavery ’71 was named dean of Ball State University’s College of Communication, Information and Media. . . . Stephen Kopp ’73, former provost at Ohio University, became the 39th president of Marshall University in West Virginia. . . . Former University of Puerto Rico Chancellor Rafael Aragunde Torres ’73 was named Puerto Rico’s new education chief. . . . Agribusiness company Land O’Lakes Inc. named Chris Policinski ’80 president and CEO. . . . Democratic fund-raiser Joseph Cari ’74, ’78J.D. was charged with extortion as part of an investigation into a kickback scheme involving a teachers’ pension fund. The plot brought more business to his law firm. According to published reports, Cari, indicted as a co-conspirator, was expected to plead guilty. . . . Joseph Tracy ’43 was named general manager of KMWB-TV in Minneapolis/Saint Paul. . . . John T. O’Loughlin ’90 was named senior vice president of marketing, planning and development for the Los Angeles Times. . . . Peter F. Flaherty ’51J.D., former mayor of Pittsburgh and deputy U.S. attorney under President Carter, died in April at age 80. . . . John R. Gaines ’51, founder of the Breeder’s Cup and the National Thoroughbred Association, died in February at age 76. . . . San Diego State University President Stephen L. Weber ’69Ph.D. was named to the NCAA’s Division I Board of Directors. . . . Jed York ’03 joined the San Francisco 49ers football team as special projects manager. . . . The Chicago Tribune profiled John Rowe ’65, ’68J.D., district director of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in Chicago. . . . Larry Morrissey ’91 is running as an independent mayoral candidate in Rockford, Illinois. . . . Glenn Forbes ’69 will take over as CEO of the Rochester Mayo Clinic in January 2006. . . . John B. Veihmeyer ’77 was appointed deputy chairman and chief operating officer of KPMG. . . . The Dallas Morning News profiled Sylvester Johnson ’82 as one of the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s highest-ranking black executive officers. Johnson is vice president and controller for 7-Eleven Inc., the world’s largest convenience store retailer. . . . Thomas McKenna ’68, ’74J.D. joined AK Steel as vice president. He will be responsible for labor relations. . . . John Scully ’64 is the new group senior vice president of LaSalle Bank Corporation. He is responsible for human resource services, Standard Federal Bank commercial lending and college recruiting. . . . The University of Buffalo named Frederick Morin III ’72 interim vice president for health affairs and interim dean of the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. . . . The South Bend Tribune wrote about Matthew Pawlak ’86 and his teaching efforts at Clay High School near Notre Dame. Pawlak teaches English. . . . John Anton ’64 was elected to the board of directors of CNF Incorporated, which provides transportation and supply-chain management services for manufacturing, industrial and retail customers. . . . Standard Insurance Company named Jane Hood ’84 vice president of marketing for its employee benefits division. Hood was formerly responsible for product innovation and brand valuation for MasterCard International. . . . Jerry McKenna ’62 was featured in the Northwest Indiana News for the statue he is sculpting as the focus of the Merrillville/Ross Township Veterans Memorial. . . . The Nashville City Paper described the volunteer work of former Irish football linebacker Rocky Boiman ’02, now with the Tennessee Titans. He was volunteering at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital. . . . Judge Walter Bieschke ’51J.D., retired Circuit Court judge of Cook County, Illinois, died at age 81. . . . James Krzyzewski ’85MBA, president and CEO of Nyloncraft Inc., was honored with the Lake Michigan College Bernard C. Radde Distinguished Service Award for his support of the college. . . . James B. McCarthy ’73 was elected to the board of directors of Protein Polymer Technologies, a maker of genetically engineered biomaterials. . . . The Livingston County (Michigan) Daily Press and Argus profiled District Judge Michael K. Hegarty ’55, ’57J.D., now deceased, on the occasion of his retirement after 13 years on the bench. . . . Greg Fawley ’01M.A. was appointed assistant vice president/branch manager for the Niles (Michigan) South branch of Chemical Bank Shoreline. . . . Jeffrey Kilinski ’81 was appointed director, interest rate products, at CME, the largest U.S. futures exchange. . . . Ramona Payne ’80 returned to Cincinnati from Virginia to become community relations director for the Playhouse in the Park. . . . Christopher Carlin ’80 was appointed director of AIDS Ministries/AIDS Assist of South Bend. The organization provides access to public support and raises community awareness about AIDS. . . . Laura J. Schumacher ’85 was promoted to senior vice president of the health-care company Abbott Laboratories. . . . Former Irish football great and present analyst on Notre Dame football radio broadcasts Allen Pinkett ’86 is leading the Hartford Financial Services Group’s educational initiative Playbook for Life, which aims to educate student athletes about finances and investing.