People news 10/5/03

Diana Ross' trial date moved back again

TUCSON, Ariz. -- The drunken driving trial of singer Diana Ross has been postponed again. The trial, originally set for Sept. 9 and then Dec. 9, has now been moved to January 14.

The December date was a court calendar mistake, since the Tucson city court isn't holding trials that week.

Ross, 59, was arrested last December after a woman reported seeing a car driving on the wrong side of the road.

Ross has pleaded innocent to three drunken driving-related charges. If convicted, she could receive jail time and a fine.

Police said Ross had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20 percent, more than twice Arizona's limit of 0.08 percent. According to a police report, officers at the scene said the singer was unable to walk a straight line and fell while trying to stand on one leg and count to 10.

Croc hunter gets offer to move Australia Zoo

BRISBANE, Australia-- A tug of war has erupted among municipalities in Queensland state hoping to lure -- or keep -- crocodile hunter Steve Irwin's crocodile park and zoo.

Irwin and his American wife, Terri, run the Australia Zoo in the northeastern town of Beerwah, which attracts tourists from around Australia and abroad.

But recent claims by Irwin that he had bureaucratic problems getting his $27 million expansion plans approved by the Caloundra City Council prompted Gold Coast City Mayor Gary Baildon to promise a red-tape-free ride if Irwin relocated to the world-famous Gold Coast.

"The Gold Coast Bulletin wants you here -- you, Terri and your Australia zoo," the newspaper said in a recent editorial. "We've been crying out for a while for a new attraction and there are few bigger than you."

Irwin is negotiating with three local councils about relocating the park, Australian Associated Press reported Friday.

Irwin was uncharacteristically tightlipped on where he would take his crocodile shows, and hasn't ruled out moving the park to New South Wales state and its capital city, Sydney.-- From wire reports

------

On the Net:

http://www.crocodilehunter.com/

------

NEW YORK (AP) -- Jazz violinist Regina Carter made history when she played the famous Paganini violin at its home in Genoa, Italy. Now, she'll be able to repeat the feat in the United States.

Carter, the first black, nonclassical musician to play the 18th-century virtuoso's revered instrument, is set to play the violin once again in a special performance at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall next month.

The Guarneri violin, known as "the cannon" because of its booming sound, will travel to New York City for the first time in three years for the Nov. 3 concert, it was announced this week.

The violin is usually played only by the winners of the famous Paganini competition. Although there was strong opposition by some classical purists who thought only a classical musician should play the Paganini violin, Carter performed with it in Genoa in December 2001, then later returned there to record her album "Paganini: After a Dream" (Verve).

------

On the Net:

http://www.lincolncenter.org/default.asp

http://www.vervemusicgroup.com/artist.aspx?aid2956

------

HONG KONG (AP) -- Nine Hong Kong movie greats of the 1960s and '70s were the first celebrities to cast handprints for a planned "Avenue of Stars" modeled after Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

They included action film stars Jimmy Wong Yue, Ti Lung and Tso Tat-wah and comedy stars Woo Fung and Michael Hui, who became famous during one of the prime periods in the 100-year history of Hong Kong's movie industry.

Others picked by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association were filmmaker Raymond Chow, director Chor Yun, "movie princess" Connie Chan Po-chu and "movie prince" Patrick Tse Yin, father of pop singer Nicholas Tse.

The avenue, set to open next year as a waterfront tourist attraction, will initially feature about 70 movie personalities' handprints, officials said Friday. The first handprints were taken Thursday.

The Hong Kong Tourism Board has declined to identity other candidates, but likely choices include Jackie Chan, Jet Li, Michelle Yeoh, Tony Leung and director Wong Kar-wai.

The avenue, sponsored by Hong Kong's New World Group conglomerate, is expected to cost $5 million, said Tourism Board spokesman Simon Clennell.

------

LONDON (AP) -- Caprice Bourret accepted undisclosed libel damages Friday from a newspaper that claimed the model-actress was a "gold digger," her lawyer said.

The amount of the out-of-court settlement wasn't disclosed.

Bourret, 28, who recently finished a run in the West End musical "Rent," was at the High Court in London to hear the settlement of her libel action against Associated Newspapers, publishers of The Mail on Sunday.

The case centered on an article published in August about her engagement to Alex Davis, described as the grandson of an oil tycoon. Her lawyer, Simon Smith, said The Mail on Sunday quoted an unidentified ex-boyfriend as saying she was "desperate to land a rich bloke."

It quoted an unidentified source, said to be close to Davis' mother, Nancy, as saying the Davis family considered Bourret to be a "gold digger."

Smith said the Davis family didn't hold that view, and that Mrs. Davis was on record as saying that Bourret was a perfect match for her son.

He said The Mail on Sunday accepted that the allegations were untrue, had apologized to Bourret and agreed to pay her legal costs. News reports said Bourret accepted a substantial sum in damages.

Bourret said after the hearing that she will give the money to several charities. "At the end of the day ... something good came out of something horrible," she told reporters.

------