Penn is channeling outrage about violence against women into action. Thanks to a $270,000 grant from the Department of Justice Office on Violence AgaProxy-Connection: keep-alive Cache-Control: max-age=0 st Women, Penn will institute recent Rutgers graduate Jessica Mertz as a Violence Prevention Educator. Mertz will promote education about violence against women by coordinating cooperation between v

President-elect Barack Obama met with the nation's governors in Philadelphia yesterday to discuss state issues affected by the financial crisis. Obama called on the National Governors Association to assemble at Independence Hall, in a move Pennsylvania Gov.

In a remarkably close election, the Penn Democrats has elected College sophomore Jordan Levine as its next president.

Jan. 20, 2009, will be a historic day. George W. Bush (Yale, Harvard MBA) will no longer be the president of this nation, ending a reign that I will generously term disgraceful. After eight years of incompetent decision-making and leadership, Obama and Co.

The University Board of Trustees nominated 1981 Law school alumnus David Cohen to replace James Riepe as chairman of the board beginning in Nov. 2009. Riepe, senior advisor and retired vice chairman of investment firm the T. Rowe Price Group, has been chairman of the board since 1999.

Provost Ron Daniels and I have something in common: We'll both depart dear old Penn next semester. But we're also very different in that sense - I'll take off in May after donning a cap and gown, but he's heading to Johns Hopkins at the beginning of March to assume his new position as the university's president.

Randy Wittman probably expected to see his kid at Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind. The former Indiana All-American and current coach of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves got his wish on Sunday - only his son was wearing Cornell red, not Hoosiers' cream and crimson.

Lawyers for former Economics professor Rafael Robb filed an appeal of his 5 to 10 year sentence for killing his wife, Ellen, two years ago. Frank DeSimone, Robb's attorney, told The Philadelphia Inquirer he filed a motion for reconsideration because he felt Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas Judge Paul Tressler did not understand the motive of a letter Robb sent to his 14-year old daughter, Olivia.

Developers' plans to build an 11-story extended-stay hotel at 40th and Pine Streets received unanimous approval from the architectural committee of the Philadelphia Historical Commission last week. The committee's decision has no legal bearing on the hotel's construction, but its recommendation will be factored into the decision of the full historical commission.

Offensive coordinator Bill Schmitz will not return for a third season with the Penn football team. The Athletic Department announced in a statement this afternoon that Schmitz's contract will not be renewed for 2009. "We appreciate his efforts during the last two years, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors," head coach Al Bagnoli said in the statement.

By ANDREW SCURRIA Senior Staff Writer scurria@dailypennsylvanian.com Andreas Schreiber played last night for the first time this year after spending weeks recovering from a shoulder injury he sustained in preseason practice. Coach Glen Miller had kept the injury, and Schreiber's status, murky.

Janice Dow is a College sophomore from Rowland Heights, Calif. Her e-mail address is dow@dailypennsylvanian.com.

Youth civic engagement in Philadelphia isn't just limited to voting on Election Day. Almost one year after it began, the Philadelphia Youth Commission - a group of city residents between the ages of 12 and 23 - has helped young people get more involved in politics and made plans to work with City Council on key issues.

There was an eerie feeling last night at the Palestra, even before the game tipped off. Scanning the arena from press row, I saw completely empty sections in the second tier of the historic gym. Penn's cheerleaders moved their seats from the baseline to the front rows of the student section to fill the rows of sparsely-filled bleachers behind the basket.

Nov. 27 - A man unaffiliated with the University, 63, reported that someone stole his CD player from his secured vehicle on the 4300 block of Chestnut Street at 10:30 p.m.

Jay Wright is starting to like this Palestra joint. "I always take the guys for a tour," said the Villanova coach. "They said, 'Coach we did this last year.' I said, 'We're gonna do it anyway because I like it.'" You might, too, after six straight triumphs over the custodians of College B