The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

THEY'RE BAAACK! CICADAS EMERGE "If we see live adults, that means they're not being immediately eat en, Jntsky said, adding tnat he confirmed emergence in about 75 Carlos Van Leeuwen, 10, a at School in Clifton, shows off a Brood cicada Thursday. Enquirer GARY LANDERS percent of Cincinnati. One site has been found in Northern Kentucky, but none in southeastern Indiana. The cicadas are finally here not all 5 billion of them, of course. But the red-eyed insects came out in sufficient numbers Wednesday night for Dr.

Gene Kritsky, a cicada researcher and biology professor at the College of Mount St Joseph, to declare Thursday morning that the emergence of the 17-year periodical insect is under way. "We had several hundred cicadas emerge from a site that on Sunday produced 12," Kritsky said. "Every day, they'll get to be more and more." Kritsky said he's found live adult cicadas, another indication that they are coming out in great numbers. That's because cicadas are tasty treats for just about every animal with teeth including humans. The cicadas know this and have evolved a defense mechanism: They come out in such great numbers that predators eventually tire of eating them.

To report a sighting to Kritsky, go online to www.msj.educicada. DanKlepal fvsn TTrn tt Anrvrr TTVtat fTT A Li 1 VM JLLl i. Mi. iliL Jl CINCINNATI.COM FINAL NEWS 50 CENTS HOT SPRING 'A crown jewel of our city' Mh to WEEKEM 1 i 'a IB ID dren i JAMMIN'GN MAIN Music for the masses hits Main Street tonight and Saturday evening, with REO Speedwagon, Melissa Auf Der Maur, Buckra, Blondie, Tracy Walker (above) and more. ZOO BASSES C.

A porp i 1 A A Premature births boost county rate 1 I. The Cincinnati Zoo celebrates spring with its oh-so-adorable new arrivals, from King Penguins (above) to a bottle-fed bonobo chimp. FRINGE FESTIVAL Choices abound for theater, dance, music and visual arts, as Fringe Festival continues. MAIFEST Covington's MainStrasse gives way to brats, beer and fun for a festive weekend. 5-11 p.m.

today, noon-11 p.m. Saturday, noon-9 p.m. Sunday. WEEWIND Find out more about these and other events in today's WEEKEND section, or go online to Cinclnnati.Com for the latest calendar listings. The Cincinnati EnquirerJEFF SWINGER Krlstle Sheanshang of Indian Hill and Dave Loftland of Anderson Township admire the artworks in the Music Room of the Taft Museum of Art during a gala Thursday evening celebrating its reopening.

The Taft reopens in style the story lies. Of the 64 infants dying from prematurity, 56 percent were African-American. This is disproportionate to the percentage of African-Americans in the county's overall population (23 percent). There are a lot of programs in Hamilton County that do outreach and provide prenatal care and other support services, but we never seem to make a dent in this. It's really disconcerting," said Patricia Eber, executive director of the Family and Children First Council and chair of the fatality review team.

Racial disparity in childhood deaths has been an issue nationwide. But data from the Ohio Department of Health shows how severe the local problem is. For example, the overall infant mortality rate for African-Americans in Hamilton County was 19.5 per 1,000 live births in 2001, the latest data available. For Cuyahoga and Franklin counties, it was 13.2. "Those cities (Cleveland and Columbus) have the same risk factors that we do, and it's just amazing that our problem is so much worse," Eber said.

By Matt Leingang The Cincinnati Enquirer Premature births among African-Americans drove up the number of child fatalities in Hamilton County last year, according to a report to be released today. A total of 145 children in the county died in 2003, up from 138 in 2002 and the second-highest total since the report began eight years ago. The record is 153 in 1998. While the report did not specifically look at child deaths in other Ohio metropolitan areas last year, Hamilton County's overall infant mortality rate for African-Americans is believed to be among the highest in the state. Experts continue to struggle to understand why.

The Hamilton County Child Fatality Review Team documents the cause of death of all children in the county 17 or younger. The goal is to identify causes that may be preventable. The majority of child deaths in 2003 75 percent -were from natural causes, a category that includes prematurity, medical disorders and infection. But prematurity is where Inside Hey, kids I Color your own Taft Museum of Art masterpiece using a full page of illustrations. I Weekend of relief from co-chairs Kate Lawrence, Rhonda Sheakley and Eileen Barrett There were brassy fanfares, top-shelf cocktails and tony appetizers.

Guests moved on to dinner in a tent that stretched from the front of the museum across the street and into the eastern tip of Ly-tle Park. The food, provided by Madeira's La Petite Pierre, included grilled black-bean salmon, beef tenderloin with horseradish sauce and orange-blossom orzo with spring vegetables. Accenting the white china on the tables were celery-green linens, 15-inch silver candlesticks and low silver By Jim Knippenberg The Cincinnati Enquirer The grand lady of Pike Street is back in action." That was the assessment of Taft director Phillip C. Long Thursday night at a gala celebrating the reopening of the Taft Museum of Art after a 2Vtyear, $22.8 million renovation. Wearing a cicada pin he insisted was from Tiffany's, Long said, "It's been frustrating to be out of commission so long.

It's just great to be back." More than 430 people, dressed in their finest, turned out for a $500-a-head party that began in the garden with no rain, no cicadas and a big sigh Online For more information on the Taft's reopening, go online to Cincinnati.com Keywod: Taft See DEATH, Page A10 See THE TAFT, Page A6 'It's a lot COMING SUNDAY Fifty years after Brown vs. Board of Education, the ruling that ended institutional segregation, most schoolchildren are still educated in separate worlds. Rumsfeld visits Abu Ghraib 5 a4 more vicious Says justice awaits the abusers ax "if r- f.V -J WEATHER rrv Terry Anderson, now (above) and as he appeared in October 1988 while a hostage. High 77 Low 57 Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, with Maj. Gen.

Geoffrey Miller, at Abu Ghraib prison Thursday. Breezy wrcn it storms. fx COMPLETE FORECAST: 68 INDEX The Associated Press and The New York Times ABU GHRAIB, Iraq Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, on a trip to Iraq shrouded in secrecy, Thursday said abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison were a "body blow for all of us" and those in the wrong would be punished. Rumsfeld flew to the notorious prison by helicopter in a dust storm with an entourage of the nation's top military officers, including Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Richard Myers.

The people who engaged in abuses will be brought to justice," the defense secretary said. The world will see how a free and democratic society functions." Rumsfeld's trip was designed to contain the growing controversy about U.S. soldiers abusing Iraqi prisoners, as depicted in more than 1,000 photographs that have come to light. ex-hostage says By Cliff Radel The Cincinnati Enquirer Shocked and dismayed. That's how Terry Anderson felt this week as he satin his Athens, Ohio, campaign headquarters, sorting through the day's bleak headlines.

He said his heart goes out to the family of Nick Berg. And to Pfc. Matt Maupin and his terribly worried Clermont County family. Moments earlier, Anderson, the Democratic candidate for Ohio's 20th Senate district deep in the state's southeast corner, had read the story of the beheading of Berg. Like Maupin, the American civilian Berg had been held hostage in Iraq since April 9.

"It's a lot more vicious than when I was held hostage," Anderson said. Anderson is America's most famous hostage. March 16, 1985, after a game of tennis and before going to work as the Associated Press' chief Middle East correspondent, he was kidnapped at gunpoint by four pro-Iranian Islamic militants in Beirut, Lebanon. They held him 7 sections, 164th year, No. 35 Associated Press DAVID HUME KENNERLY Lotteries B2 Movies Weekend Obituaries B4 Sports CI TV E6 Abby E6 Business Dl Comics E8 Editorial B6 Kids' Corner B8 Classified Fl-22 First Run Classified C4 Copyright, 2004, The Cincinnati Enquirer ees who lined the boundary of their outdoor camp, marked by rolls of concertina wire, aware from the heavy security that someone important was passing.

Some waved. Some stood without expression. More on Iraq Al-Zarqawi beheaded American Nick Berg, intelligence officials say after analysis. A4 Officials received warnings of potential abuse of prisoners. A4 hrtionto' The commander of Abu Ghraib, Maj.

Gen. Geoffrey Miller, accompanied Rumsfeld on a tour of the prison, which once held opponents of Saddam Hussein's government. The group also drove around the compound in an armored bus. They passed many dozens of Iraqi detain Online See video of WCPO's interview with Terry Anderson. Keyword: Terry Anderson X.3 See RUMSFELD, Page A10 See ANDERSON, Page A10 v4.