The Charlotte Observer from Charlotte, North Carolina • 33

Stir things up with the Asian frier I Price varies by county I 50C WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25 2006 wwweharlnttrnni DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SERVICES INSIDE More than 250 women children turned away in Mecklenburg County last year Beds for Victims of Domestic Violence 42 last year The shelter which provides women and children a safe place to live for 30 days has fewer beds than some surrounding smaller counties is a serious failure on our county commissioners Chairman Parks Helms said need to face up to the fact that we have not dealt with the issue with the degree of urgency that we The report found: Victims who call the Mecklenburg County Commission for counseling must often wait several months for an assessment especially Spanish speakers Domestic disturbance calls to Charlotte-Mecklcnburg police have increased 26 percent since 2001 SEE VIOLENCE I 13A By Carrie Levine clevnecharlotteobserver com The number of emergency shelter beds for domestic violence victims in Mecklenburg is a new report on domestic violence services has found The only shelter for domestic violence victims has 29 beds and turned away more than 250 women and children National I 10A Alito is one step closer to high court SOURCE Merklenbura Countv Senate Judiciary Committee approves Supreme Court nominee in a party-line vote Full Senate debate begins today with Democrats all but conceding defeat PALESTINIAN ELECTIONS FUNERAL FOR SLAIN 5-YEAR-OLD GIRLS Goodbye to 2 Business i tn Disney buys Pixar in $74 billion deal A vote in land of Little consensus except for change on eve of parliamentary elections The all-stock transaction again makes Disney a leader in movie animation It also makes chief executive Steve Jobs largest shareholder Local I IB Still awaiting winters bite January temperatures have been the highest since 1990 and forecasters say February may bring above-average temps too But store that coat just yet World I 4A trial remains on hold Court cites missing witnesses Testimony scheduled to resume Sunday DAVID FOSTER III dtfosteriacharlotteobserver com The casket of Samantha and Tessara Crespi is wheeled to a hearse after the funeral at St Matthew Catholic Church Tuesday By Anne Barnard Boston Globe GAZA CITY Gaza Strip Mohammed Darwish worried that an Islamic-controlled parliament would stop him from wearing his flashy haircut H's triends fretted more about security and jobs And one of th to the haircutter himself insiscd that an Islamic government would make everything better Lounging on a stoop in jeans and black bomber jackets Darwish and his friends were the very picture of the disillusioned youth that Palestinian politicians want desperately to attract in elections to the legislative council for the West Bank and Gaza Strip How to vote and whether to vote were the subjects on their minds on the eve of the ballot Like many young men in this teeming Palestinian city with no movie theaters and few diversions they spent the afternoon watching passing cars and women Though their trendy outfits nearly matched the young men reflected a broad spectrum of Palestinian views: They disagreed about Fatah the dominant party Hamas its militant challenger and frustration with the weak rule of the Palestinian Authority which has been unable to control armed gangs that have rioted across Gaza in the run-up to elections have no hope in anybody" said Taw fik Abed 23 situation brings you to lose hope You see people running across the street shooting each other You could be killed and you see the situation as Abed said he will not vote even though a member of SEE ELECTIONS I 7A Saddest words in church full of children: Forever 5 Mother talks of lives demons of mental illness Also in the News Can Ford reform? i 3D Record cold in Europe i 9A Can fish oil fight cancer? i 2A and Sammie Crespi have provoked thousand she said people should think of her as sacrificial lambs whose deaths dramatize the effects of mental illness Samantha Joy Crespi was the one who loved lambs and understand how people could eat lamb chops her mother said Tessara the fourth of their five children roughly translates from Greek into SEE FUNERAL I 16A MORE INSIDE 16A I Father moved to state prison hospital 16A I How depression affects Americans By Ken Garfield Religion Editor Kim Crespi celebrated the brief lives of her 5-year-old twin daughters Tuesday w'hile lamenting the that might have led her husband to stab them to death She never mentioned specifics of the slayings that brought 750 mourners to St Matthew Catholic Church in south Charlotte nor the fact that her husband is charged with murder But in a eulogy always measured and sometimes even upbeat she spoke twice of mental And w'hile acknowledging that the deaths of Tessa The church was full of children The teenagers who crowded on two long pews heads buried in one shoulders The toddlers who looked puzzled at all the people dressed in black The babies who cried because so many others were crying And in the middle of the sanctuary two little girls in one hite casket You come to a funeral hoping to understand But Tuesday there was no understanding The singing and praying could not wash away the box at the center of St Matthew Catholic Church where Tessa and Sanunic Crespi lay side by side under the lid At the wake their favorite dolls rested with them in the casket SEE TOMMY I 16A Coming Thursday Spring Dreaming Garden plants to consider as winter melts into spring Windy colder High: 47 Low: 23 Mostly sunny this afternoon Clear and cold tonight Forecast 6B UPN WB MERGE INTO CW' TV network without Charlotte home Ask Amy 7E Horoscope 7E Business ID Movies 5E Classified IF Obituaries 4B Comics 6E Sports 1C Editorial 14A TV 5E Delivery Assistance (800)532-5350 demographic that advertisers covet including Next Top Hates and ill be creating a viable entity one well-equipped to compete thrive and serve all SEE UPN-WB I 13A of the two networks called The CW will debut on many former affiliates though where it will land in Charlotte is not yet known Executives said The CW will ofier the most popular shows from UPN and The WB programs targeted at the 18-34 age By Mark Washburn TVRadio Writer thundering will be moving in with the cerebral Gilmore as rival TV netlets WB and UPN announced on Tuesday they are merging Beginning this fall an alliance COURTESY OF WARNER BROS ADAM ROUNTREE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHOTO Tom Welling and Kristin Kreuk of The and Chris Rock-narrated Hates Chris" will be on The CW This newspaper is printed in part on recycled paper and is recyclable 7 2006 The Charlotte Observer Vol 137 No 25.