National Briefing

WISCONSIN

Mayor praised as hero will run for governor

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who was hailed as a hero this summer for confronting a man wielding a metal bar, officially announced he is running for governor.

He has said that he deferred his decision until he was sufficiently recovered from the August attack at a state fair that left him with head and hand injuries. His decision was a relief for the Democratic Party after incumbent Gov. James E. Doyle decided not to seek a third term. The 55-year-old Barrett said he’ll build his campaign around the issues of jobs, education and the economy.

PENNSYLVANIA

Swim club to file for bankruptcy

A suburban swim club accused of discrimination last summer after revoking the memberships of mostly black and Latino children plans to declare bankruptcy, a newspaper reported.

In an e-mail to club “friends and families,” President John Duesler said the board of directors had voted to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy this week, the Philadelphia Daily News reported.

Duesler wrote that many would blame the bankruptcy on legal proceedings and negative media exposure, the newspaper said.

But, he said, “the truth is that the club has struggled to stay out of the red for at least the last decade” and owes more than $100,000 in operational expenses and legal fees, the newspaper reported.

MISSOURI

Jet lands safely after hitting flock

Airport officials in Kansas City say a passenger jet struck a flock of birds shortly after takeoff and returned to land safely.

The Frontier Airlines flight took off Saturday night bound for Denver when it hit the birds at an altitude of about 4,000 feet.

Kansas City International Airport spokeswoman Kathleen Hefner told KSHB-TV that both engines were hit, but only one lost power.

Bird-aircraft collisions are not unusual, but they are being more scrutinized since US Airways Flight 1549 safely ditched in the Hudson River in January after striking a flock of geese after takeoff from New York’s LaGuardia Airport.

AND FINALLY . . .

Shelved, but not forgotten

A high school librarian in Phoenix says a former student returned two overdue books checked out 51 years ago along with a $1,000 money order to cover the fines.

Librarian Georgette Bordine said the two Audubon Society books checked out in 1959 and the money order were sent by someone who wanted to remain anonymous.

Bordine said a letter explained that the borrower’s family had moved and the books were mistakenly packed. The money order was to cover fines of 2 cents per day for each book; that’s about $745 total. Extra was added in case the rates had changed.

-- times wire reports