With a serendipitous calm before the year's biggest rainstorm, students across Penn put their license to Fling to good use. Although the forecasts predicted cold weather and a 30-percent chance of rain on Saturday, most of the two-day carnival was marked by sunny skies and cool but pleasant weather.

NEW YORK, N.Y. - He may not look it, but Penn Trustee George Weiss is akin to a fairy godmother - well, almost. Weiss wears a suit and tie instead of a wand and wings, but he and other supporters of undergraduate financial aid at the University make wishes come true by providing scholarships for hundreds of Penn students each year.

The School of Arts and Sciences has scaled back this year's faculty recruiting efforts due to unprecedented success last year, and some officials say smaller academic programs are feeling the squeeze the worst. According to Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences Dennis DeTurck, Penn's recruitment and retention efforts last year were more successful than administrators had anticipated.

Despite cold temperatures, long waits between sets and a parking ticket issued to Third Eye Blind, the Social Planning and Events Committee labeled the sold-out Friday concert a big success.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a preliminary injunction Friday that forbids a controversial casino referendum question from being placed on the May 15 ballot. The court also asked both sides - the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board and Philadelphia City Council - to file briefs by April 27 and will likely issue a filing ruling before the May primary.

When one low-income student at Patrick County High School in Stuart, Va., was accepted to college, he may have been the second happiest person in the world.

As the investigation into the student loan industry continues, politicians, higher-education organizations and University administrators are expressing hope for the future of student loans.

According to General Motors executive Larry Burns, it may take "changing the DNA" of cars to solve the environmental problems of the automobile industry. Burns, GM's vice president of research & development and strategic panning, discussed goals for the future of GM and the automobile industry yesterday evening before an audience of a few dozen Engineering students and professors at Levine Hall.

Next year, stipends for graduate students in the School of Arts and Sciences will increase from $18,000 to $18,300. But some students are saying that this increase is too small, and that the University should be doing more to fund graduate education. Members of Graduate Employees Together -University of Pennsylvania, a graduate student group that advocates for teaching and research assistants, say the $300 increase is not enough to match inflation and projected cost of living increases in Philadelphia.

Two sexual assaults occurred last week on campus for which the attackers will not be prosecuted, and Division of Public Safety officials say these cases show the dilemma they often face in proceeding with incidents of sexual assault. In both incidents, the victim knew her attacker and reported the crime to Penn Police but ultimately decided not to prosecute.

Rare poetry recordings of Ezra Pound are now available for download on PennSound, the University-wide archive of Mp3 poetry sound files. Files from Pound - an acclaimed poet - include previously unknown recordings that were made between 1962 and 1972. On the site, his work is complemented by a detailed essay by Richard Sieburth, an acclaimed translator and author.

When you've got a problem in Philadelphia, who you gonna call? Why, Bob Brady, of course. This mayoral candidate has made a career out of bringing people together and ending disputes between competing groups, first as the local Democratic Party chairman and then as the congressman representing Pennsylvania's first congressional district.

If you are reading this article with blurred vision, chances are you've already embraced the Spring Fling spirits. And, not surprisingly, you're not alone. About 1,750 guest passes were sold this year - a bit of a drop from last year's sale of 1,800. But a range of changes to this year's Fling promises just as good of a time.

There may be more than a few people you shouldn't offer a beer to this weekend. In response to the increased number of students on and around campus this weekend, Penn Police will similarly raise the number of officers on the streets, said Capt. Gerald Leddy, special events coordinator at Penn's Division of Public Safety.

What sells out even faster than Ben Folds tickets? Last night's Penn Alumni Club of Philadelphia event, which, with a private tour of famed French restaurant Lacroix, a three-course dinner and an intimate discussion with Psychology professor Paul Rozin, sold out in fewer than 24 hours.

Weather is always a concern for the outdoor Spring Fling, and this year is no different: There is a 30 percent chance of rain on Saturday and temperatures ranging in the low 50s all weekend.

One of the University's own, Nutter graduated from the Wharton School in 1979 and held a position on City Council from 1991 to 2006.