Democrat and Chronicle from Rochester, New York • Page 1

IN SPORTS ALL-GREATER ROCHESTER BOYS HcCj I THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2009 DemocratandChronicle.com 75 CENTS NEWSSTAND ECONOMY IN CRISIS INSIDE TODAY 'Not satisfied' by first 100 days Hope for recovery grows as Americans step up spending. IliiLifisIJ President Barack Obama said Wednesday that much work remains. "We cannot go back to an economy that is built on outdated regulations that allowed recklessness of a few to threaten the prosperity of all," he said, my shrank again in the January-March period at a 6.1 percent rate Americans stepped up purchases of cars, furniture and appliances. The surge in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, JEANNINE AVERSA THE ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON Consumers snapped back to life during the first quarter of 2009, renewing hopes that the recession is losing steam. Even though the econo -HI STORIES: 3A Obama Leads give family, friends hope in search for teen 4 1 1 I 't could lead to a rebound later this year.

Stocks rose on the improved outlook, with the Dow Jones industrial average reaching its highest ECONOMY, PAGE 4A lit i sW, Mud i MIM: i BUSINESS N.Y. BOTTLE LAW CHANGES REFLECT NATIONAL TREND TURN TO PAGE 5B LOCAL PATERSON SIGNS TRAFFIC-LIGHT CAMERAS BILL INTO LAW TURN TO PAGE IB SPORTS RED WINGS EDGE BUFFALO TURN TO PAGE ID LOCAL MONROE COUNTY GETS AN 'F' FOR AIR QUALITY TURN TO PAGE 3B COMMENTARY MARK HARE CLINIC OPENS STUDENTS' EYES TURN TO PAGE IB j3 Ss'- Ml LOCAL EX-NFLER WOWS STUDENTS TURN TO PAGE IB SHOWERS LATER 68 58 Expanded Weather 6D ALSO INSIDE CROSSWORD 2A, WEEKEND EDITORIALS 7A DEATHS 2B MOVIESTV WEEKEND CLASSIFIED 1 12B COMICS WEEKEND Local weather QJ on your cellphone Text ROCWEATHER to 44636 Copyright 2009 Gannett Rochester Newspapers Four Sections 1 SABREE HILL Rachel Stein, one of Brittanee Drexel's best friends, puts up a missing person poster in front of the Bar Harbor Motel in Myrtle Beach, S.C. Wednesday. Drexel was staying at the motel when she disappeared Saturday. Witnesses might have seen Chili girl Ex-club officer charged in glider approval forgery MICHAEL ZEIGLER STAFF WRITER The former president of the Finger Lakes Soaring Club has been charged with faking an airworthiness certificate for a glider used to give rides to the public.

Douglas I. Bradley of Pittsford was charged Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Rochester with forging and altering a standard airworthiness certificate, using a forged standard airworthiness certificate and making a false statement to a federal official in August 2008 at the club's field at Dansville Municipal Airport in Livingston County. An investigation determined that the altered certificate, which was dated Aug. 22, 2008, bore the signature of a Federal Aviation Administration official who had been dead for two years and whose authority to certify airworthiness ended in 1997.

Although the two-seat glider allegedly made 41 flights with a false certificate including some with paying customers the aircraft was safe and the pilots and passengers weren't in danger, said Tom Roberts, the club's current president. "The certificate is really just a piece of paper," he said. "It doesn't make an aircraft any more airworthy." Roberts said Bradley was removed as president when club members learned of the alleged deception. "If I had known that he had done this, I probably would have laid down in front of it (the glider) and not allowed it to be re- GLIDER, PAGE 4A S. r-i UllWdlllb-UgUlU and jewelry! oeii your i 4 i About Drexel Friends describe missing teen as confident, fun-loving, 4A was last seen Saturday night while she was in Myrtle Beach on spring break.

But Brittanee's whereabouts were still a mystery at 9 p.m. Wednesday. "They've just had rumors. We have not located her," grandmother Carol Wagner of Brockport said DREXEL, PAGE 4A lion in emergency spending to fight the outbreak. The World Health Organization raised its threat level to the second-highest ranking, meaning it believes a global outbreak of flu is imminent.

A Mexico City toddler who traveled to Texas with family and died Monday night at a Houston hospital became the first death from the out Iff tii 1 1 VICTORIA E. FREILE, ERNST LAMOTHE and GARY McLENDON STAFF WRITERS Brittanee Drexel's family and friends were cautiously optimistic about a report Wednesday that the missing 17-year-old Chili girl was seen on a bus in South Carolina, but it didn't bring an immediate break in the case. After days of no news, no leads and no information, the tip provided a glimmer of hope. Drexel STEVE JESSM0RE Myrtle Beach Sun News Myrtle Beach police patrol the beach around 3rd Avenue South Wednesday after someone reported seeing Brittanee Drexel get off a bus nearby. I c.

i i i '1 on S.C. bus v. I More inside The international situation, 6A The national situation, 6A The Rochester-area situation, IB said there were confirmed cases in 10 states, including 51 in New York. Later, at least three more cases were reported in Maine, I r' ifc Swine flu continues to affect area, nation break in the United States. Eight states closed schools Wednesday, and President Barack Obama said wider school closings might be necessary to keep the flu from spreading.

Texas called off all public high school athletic and academic competitions at least until May 11. Dr. Richard Besser of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention THE ASSOCIATED PRESS The number of suspected swine flu cases in the Rochester area continued to grow Wednesday. All of the local cases so far have been mild, but concerns about the outbreak are growing worldwide. Among the developments Wednesday: President Barack Obama asked for $1.5 bil I I A -a vj ft IV.