Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe NOT ALL DIOCESES WINCING FROM SCANDAL As the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston resigns in disgrace and others try to put that financially ruined organization back together, many other Catholic dioceses find themselves in better shape, nearly scandal-free and not on the rocks of fiduciary disaster. Memphis is among them. Advertisement The Memphis Commercial Appeal says that the Diocese of Memphis is still in good shape, with its lay community -- for the most part -- still strongly behind what the church is doing. One way that Memphis Catholics are showing their on-going trust in the church is the increasing level of contributions being sent to Catholic charities and dropped into collection baskets on Sundays. The publication says that the Bishop's Appeal in the Memphis area has nearly reached its $2.3 million goal. Meanwhile, some tell the publication that all the media attention being given scandals within the priesthood smacks of persecution from some quarters. Advertisement UNITED'S WOES EXACERBATED BY DISCOUNTERS The financial problems faced by United Airlines have been made worse in recent years by the rise in discount carriers ... including Southwest, AirTran and Frontier. Even though United has fought back with its own "shuttle" airline among many cities in the West, the costs of operating such a long-established carrier, with all the baggage that comes with age and complexity, have hamstrung the carrier's ability to rise above its debts. The Denver Post says, for example, that during a time when Frontier's niche in that city was improving from 3 percent just five years ago to 11 percent today, United's share has dropped. While Southwest has been strong in the profits column and even stronger on Wall Street -- it was first to get back into the air after Sept. 11 and stay in the black -- United has gone farther and farther into the red. Meanwhile, Delta plans a new no-frills airline in 2003 and JetBlue continues to expand. All this means venerable United will have a tough row to hoe in returning to profitability. FEWER PRISONERS ON DEATH ROW A new report, released over the weekend by the U.S. Department of Justice, shows that fewer people are on "death rows" in the nation's prisons than at any time in recent memory. The figures show that 3,580 people were waiting to walk the "final mile" in 2001, vs. just over 3,600 a year earlier. Advertisement There were 66 executions in this country last year. In 2000 the total was 85. By the end of this year the figure will likely be around 70. On a state-by-state basis, Oklahoma carried out the largest number of executions in 2001 ... 18. Seventeen were put to death in Texas. The total in Missouri was seven. Among the two federal prisoners executed was Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. His death, at a federal facility in Terre Haute, Ind., brought international media attention. After his execution, the story quickly died along with him. SCAMMED INTERNET AUCTION USER GETS REVENGE Officials in the Chicago area report that a 38-year-old man has been arrested on two counts of forgery. The Chicago Tribune says that he reportedly bilked thousands of dollars from users of the eBay on-line auction site. The case was cracked by a 21-year-old New Orleans student who started playing Sherlock Holmes after the man allegedly sent him a bad check for some $3,000 for Apple computer equipment the student was offering for sale on line. Eric Smith launched a nationwide campaign to find the seller by using the very Internet over which he was bilked. He went onto Web sites and bulletin boards seeking information from other users of Apple computers. Advertisement Soon others who reportedly fell victim to the same bad check scam started offering information ... and giving names and addresses. One Apple user even sent Smith a digital photo of the suspect's house so he could go and form his own one-man stake-out. Smith finally decided he had to go it alone when police officials -- including some from the FBI and the Secret Service -- basically told him: "Go away, kid, your problem is small potatoes." When he used his girlfriend's eBay account to offer more Apple equipment for sale, Smith reports that the accused man fell for the bait. Ironically, the last name of the man arrested in the scam during this holiday season is ... Christmas.
