I covered a pretrial hearing on Thursday involving Survivor Doe's civil suit against Gerald Robinson. The case, which the Ohio Supreme Court recently refused to dismiss, involves a Toledo woman, now in her 40s, who said the priest and Jerry Mazuchowski abused her in satanic rituals when she was a child. She said the two dressed as nuns and used fake names, so she did not know their names until she saw them in the media in 2004 and 2005.
She also said in her suit that her mother was in training to become a high priestess of Satan.
Judge Ruth Ann Franks ruled on Thursday that she would not recuse herself -- step aside -- from the case, as Survivor Doe's attorney had requested. For one thing, the request for recusal said Judge Franks was raised a Catholic, which turned out to be erroneous. She also said her husband's role in the 1980 murder investigation, when he was a police lab technician, was unrelated to the civil case and no reason for her to step down.
A trial date was set for May 4, 2009. I really wonder if this case will ever come to trial. Only time will tell.
You can read the full story here.
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I really enjoyed meeting Rimpoche Nawang Gelek in person last week. He's a Buddhist teacher in Ann Arbor who fled Tibet in 1959. He has taught a number of celebrities -- not necessarily Buddhists, just people seeking his wisdom -- including Allen Ginsberg, Paula Cole, Philip Glass, and Paul Simon.
The Dalai Lama is coming to Ann Arbor in 3 weeks and I'm planning to cover his talks, but I am still awaiting a response to a request for media credentials.
Meanwhile, the Rimpoche (an honorary term for a reincarnated lama) had some great insights into the unrest in Tibet. You can read my two stories, the first a general profile and update on Gelek Rimpoche and the Dalai Lama's visit here and his observations on Tibet here.
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Have you ever heard, seen, or played the video game "Rock Band"? We bought it this week and it is truly a blast. We had some people over the last two nights to play it and I haven't laughed so hard in a long time. It's like Guitar Hero, with vocals, drums and bass, so 3 or 4 people can play at once. We named our band Yonkers. The first night, we played with my daughter Cara and her friends, all in their early 20s, and we really rocked the house. Last night, we played with friends who are our own age and we were terrible... but it was so hilarious, no one cared.
You could get addicted to this game... good thing I don't have a lot of free time or I'd be hooked.

Toledo, Ohio
March 29, 2008.