Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe (LOUISVILLE) -- Ground has been broken on a new center to honor boxer, humanitarian Muhammad Ali. The Louisville native, the former Cassius Clay, talked with visitors to the event and even did a magic trick (making a handkerchief disappear) to amuse the crowd. The Louisville Courier-Journal says that the former champ helped turn the first shovel of earth for the center, an estimated $41-million project, to be opened sometime in 2004. Phase One of the construction will be a much-needed underground parking lot for the area in downtown Louisville. It will accommodate about 450 cars and could be finished in about a year. The garage will then become the "basement" for the eventual Ali building. Advertisement The city's mayor, Dave Armstrong, told the crowd that he hoped the planned facility, in Louisville's Riverfront sector, will become the impetus for revitalization of the area. Ali is now 60 and suffers from Parkinson's disease. Advertisement (INDIANAPOLIS) -- Just a week before the world commemorates the first anniversary of the events of Sept. 11, former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani will make a major address in Indianapolis. The man dubbed "Mr. Mayor," because of his heroic work in the aftermath of the terror attacks in his city, will deliver an address at the Murat Theater. He will recognize the volunteer work of the many Hoosiers who went to New York in the days following the attacks. The Indianapolis Star says that Giuliani's appearance will serve as a fundraiser to help a local nonprofit family counseling center. Tickets are priced at $95. More than 60 members of Indiana Task Force One who went to NYC will get free admission and will share the dais with Giuliani. (SAN DIEGO) -- It would appear that the San Diego Symphony, on the verge of folding its music stands forever, has been pulled back from the precipice by the generosity of a local entrepreneur. The Los Angeles Times is reporting that billionaire Irwin M. Jacobs, who built a wireless communications empire after leaving a post as college professor, has informed the orchestra's leadership that he's willing to help bail out the group. Advertisement The publication says Jacobs used e-mail to suggest that the amount he has in mind "would be about $100 million." Now that's the kind of e-mail anyone would like to get. The orchestra, like so many in recent years that found themselves drowning in red ink, was on the verge of going dark. The sudden gift, the largest donation ever given to an American orchestra, was announced by the music director of the group before a news conference with musicians standing by. They played Dvorak's "New World" symphony, Jacob's favorite. It makes you wonder how long it will be before the symphony orchestra in San Jose calls the San Diego group asking for Jacob's e-mail address. (PHILADELPHIA) -- What to do about Philadelphia's crumbling public school system? That's a question that taxpayers and city officials have been banging their heads on the wall about in recent months. Now, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, a decision has been made over the fate of at least part of the district's deteriorating real estate. The publication says that five city schools, originally earmarked for conversion to privately run institutions, will now be utilized under "plan B." Three of them will be turned over to outside management groups. Two will be administered by the existing city schools structure. Advertisement In recent years more and more urban schools have been "partnered" with big business or run under contract by companies specializing in school administration. In the case of one of the five schools, part of the administration will be in partnership with a neighborhood redevelopment group.
