People

SPIKEY-HAIRED STUDENT ACES THE SAT TEST

To look at high school junior Anthony Daggett you'd think that he's just another average kid. Average-looking he may be, but when it comes to brains, Daggett is making news. He just found out he got a perfect 1600 on the latest round of SAT tests. Daggett, a student at Brophy College Preparatory school in Phoenix is, according to the Arizona Republic, a lanky vegetarian. By the way, he did take several classes that were put together to help students prepare for the national exam. Close to having a photographic memory, the 16-year-old Daggett is taking a heavy course load at the exclusive prep school, but only needs about and hour to complete his homework each night. A lover of punk-rock music and major league baseball -- he adores the local Diamondbacks -- Daggett tells the paper that he has no idea what will be his college major. "I'm waiting for divine intervention to tell me," he says. He is one of only four students, nationally, to ace the SAT.

ALAN JACKSON OUTDOES HIMSELF

Back in 1993 personable country singer Alan Jackson saw his first major hit, "Chattahoochee," rise to the No. 1 spot on the country music charts and stay there for four weeks. Now, according to the keepers of music statistics, Jackson's newest effort, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)," has been at the top position for a fifth consecutive week. That sets a new record for Jackson. The song is on the singer's new "Drive" CD, which was released Tuesday. There was great demand for the patriotic ballad, inspired by the events of 9/11. "Drive" contains two versions of the song, a studio version and a recording of his first public performance of the hit during the Country Music Association awards on Nov. 7. Just minutes after "Where Were You" was debuted during the broadcast, there was an immediate call for the song to be released to radio stations. Thousands of fans logged onto Jackson's Web site demanding a copy.

MAN SUES BECAUSE OF TOO MUCH 'SPAM'

A California man has gone to court to try to block what he sees as a growing avalanche of commercial advertising -- "spam," in the parlance of computer users. The San Francisco Chronicle says that the straw that broke the camel's back came when Internet entrepreneur Rodney Joffe's cell phone suddenly went off while he was in the audience of a performance of "Riverdance." No, it wasn't a call from a friend. It was an "ad" from a mortgage company telling him that the Fed had just lowered interest rates and that Joffe should refinance his home. The publication says that Joffe is leading a one-man crusade for legislation that will keep cell phones from becoming the latest arena for unsolicited advertising. By the way, some wireless companies are already reconfiguring their transmission systems to allow a wider array of information to be sent to cell phones and portable devices. Joffe says that much of what they are proposing is great ... except for the possibility of a continuous flow of 'spam.' As a result of Joffe's crusading, California legislators are considering making it an infraction for any company to send an unsolicited message to the user of a cell phone or portable, wireless computer device.

VENERABLE ARIZONA SEN. FANNIN DIES

Former Arizona Gov. and U.S. Senator Paul Fannin is being remembered as the man who fought to bring a precious commodity to the burgeoning populations of his state ... water. The Arizona Republic, in reporting the death of the political icon, noted that Fannin was a politician who possessed something most people in the limelight don't have, a sense of humility. Fannin was first elected governor of Arizona in 1958. He served in that capacity until 1964 when he went to Washington as one of the state's senators. He soon got the reputation of putting in 12-hour days and attending every meeting the clock would allow. He remained in the Senate until the late 1970s. Many say his greatest contribution to his home state was leading the fight for the creation of the Central Arizona Project to bring Colorado River water to central Arizona. Without the agreement, the modern-day expansion of the Phoenix area would have never been possible. Fannin's son Bob continues the family tradition. He is chairman of the GOP in Arizona. A legendary son of Arizona, Paul Fannin was 94.

COUNTRY STATION CAVES IN TO LISTENERS

If you know anything about country music you know about radio station WSM in Nashville. It's the station that Garrison Keillor mentioned in the Ken Burns documentary "Empire of the Air: The Men Who Made Radio" when he was asked what he was able to listen to as a kid growing up in Minnesota. "SM," as most listeners call it, has been the station that has originated the Grand Ole Opry for the past 76 years. Recently there had been rumors floating around Nashville that the parent company of WSM, Gaylord Communications, was about to make sweeping changes in the station, including possibly dropping the Opry broadcasts. The Tennessean newspaper says that listeners would not stand for it, making sure that Gaylord knew that to "destroy" the format of WSM was tantamount to a committing a cardinal sin. So, this week, ending weeks of speculation and what country.com calls "listener outrage," the company acquiesced, saying that it would keep the station "largely intact." The Opry stays as do most of the familiar announcers. In making the announcement, Gaylord's CEO Colin Reed noted that during a recent trip to London he mentioned to a worker at a car rental counter at Heathrow airport that he was from Nashville. "Oh," the clerk noted, "the home of the Grand Ole Opry." Nashville radio listeners may have that clerk to thank for Reed's decision.

PFIZER EXECS OPT TO HELP THE ELDERLY

Executives of the world's largest drug company say they will offer many low-income elderly people a steep price break on their prescription needs. Published reports indicate that Pfizer says it will set up a flat fee of $15 a month for each prescription, a fraction of usual retail prices. The announcement was made Tuesday in Washington. The prices of prescription drugs and the role of Medicare have been hot political issues in recent months. In making the announcement the company said it is not trying to undercut Congressional efforts to set up more drug benefits under Medicare, a program that provides medical insurance for more than 40 million senior citizens. Meanwhile, many senior advocacy groups, including AARP, say they like the plan put forth by Pfizer but still want more Congressional action to lower medical costs.

UPI DAILY SURVEY QUESTION NO. 248

Now that e-mail has taken the world by storm, does anyone still go to the local post office any more, except at Christmastime? So, here is today's question: "How often do you go to the post office anymore ... and to do what?" Put MAIL in the subject line and send to [email protected] via the Internet.

RESULTS OF QUESTION NO. 243 (MOVIE)

Last week we asked about your favorite black and white movies. The response was huge. Here are some of the replies. My thanks to all who mentioned "Casablanca." I agree, it's a wonderful movie and, yes, Claude Rains steals the show. Nigel chimes in from Australia saying that he saw "Metropolis" a few years ago and it was "spellbinding," considering it was made in the 1920s. It's a great film, Nigel. I think everyone who has any interest in the development of the cinema should rent it. It's also a wonderful example of the incredible level to which the German film industry had risen during the silent era. Juanita suggests "The Grapes of Wrath." Juanita, Jane Darwell was my all-time favorite. I can't watch the scene where Henry Fonda leaves in the middle of the night without sobbing. "Whenever a cop is beatin' up on a kid, ma, I'll be there." And the scene where the bankers try to foreclose. "It ain't no piece of paper that makes it our'n!" And the ending where Jane Darwell sums it all up. Wow. Mary remembers "The Third Man" with Joseph Cotten (my Mom's favorite actor) and, of course, Orson Welles. Votes also came in for "The Maltese Falcon." "Wuthering Heights" is Barbara's favorite. More later about this. GBA.