Of Human Interest; News lite

BEN FRANKLIN SCHOOL TO STAY OPEN

Several anonymous donors have pitched in enough money to keep Boston's Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology open, the Boston Globe reports.

The century-old college, offering degrees in science and engineering, was launched with money from Franklin's will, which instructed the funds were to be used for "public works."

The school announced in April it did not have enough money to keep running so parents began a letter-writing campaign asking for donations to fill a $500,000 deficit.

The school also is working to pursue a partnership with other schools in the area.

SEX TOY SHOP CAN'T RUN ADS

Sex toy shop Ann Summers is suing the British government because the company has been banned from advertising staff openings with the government employment clearinghouse -- Jobcentre -- the London Telegraph reports.

Jacqueline Gold, chief executive, says she has taken several senior Jobcentre employees around an Ann Summers shop to try to persuade them it is a reputable high-street retailer, not a smutty sex shop.

She told the paper: "You can buy vibrators in Selfridges but they are allowed to advertise in Jobcentres. The whole thing is a farce."

A government spokesman told the paper the ban would be vigorously defended because "our business is a serious one which can and does radically affect job seekers' lives."

PERSONALITIES CHANGE AS PEOPLE AGE

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley, who studied more than 132,000 adults ages 21 to 60, say peoples' personalities continue to change after age 30.

The study focused on the "Big Five" traits -- conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism, openness and extraversion.

The researchers found certain changes occur in middle adulthood. Conscientiousness increased throughout the age range studied, with the biggest increases in a person's 20s.

Agreeableness increased the most during a person's 30s, neuroticism declined with age for women but did not decline for men, openness showed small declines with age for both men and women and extraversion declined for women but did not show changes in men.

Both neuroticism and extraversion scores were higher for younger women than for younger men.

PERFUME AS A WEAPON

Police have charged a Stuart, Fla., woman with aggravated battery for wearing an excessive amount of perfume in an attempt to harm her husband.

The New York Post reports Lynda Taylor, 36, was arrested after she allegedly doused herself with perfume, burned scented candles and loaded the house with lavender-scented sachets to make her husband, who is very sensitive to chemicals, sick.

David Taylor is disabled because he has allergies caused by mold and hazardous chemicals he was exposed to while working construction.

David Taylor told police the incident began when he received a disability settlement and refused to give his wife half. The couple is getting a divorce.