Reality TV finalist Francisco Patino steered developer to mosque site near Ground Zero

As if the mosque controversy could not get any weirder, it turns out the person who found the site two blocks from Ground Zero was a teenage reality show contestant from Queens.

Not that young Francisco Patino can really be faulted.

He was just doing the bidding of a real estate developer who hired him in 2006 after chancing to see him on "American Inventor." The show happened to be on a floor-model TV while the developer was shopping at a Sharper Image in Manhattan.


"I saw him on TV and I like him," the developer, Sharif el-Gamal, said Wednesday.

Patino was a 19-year-old immigrant from Colombia who played on the Queens College soccer team and had gotten on the reality show with a dual-passenger bicycle he developed after he and his older brother tried to ride the same one.

He was a decidedly appealing contestant, embracing the spirit of invention and entrepreneurship that made his adopted country great. He appeared crushed when he was voted off in the finals, but a special guest came on the air to urge him on.

"Hey, Francisco, I'm Lance Armstrong. ... I want to wish you luck. ... Live strong!"

Gamal hired Patino and presented him with a map of the Financial District. The teen's orders were to scout out properties that might be suitable for an Islamic community center.

"I told him to go out and find available buildings for the project, and he did," Gamal said. "He's a phenomenal kid. ... He's a good one."

Patino compiled a list that came to include the old Burlington Coat Factory on Park Place. The owner said that by happy chance, it was being shown the following day.

Gamal went to see it and was not at all put off by its proximity to Ground Zero.

"We were looking at buildings all over the area. I liked a lot of them, but this was the one we ended up on," the developer recalled yesterday. "It was just meant to be."

Now 23, Patino declined to comment yesterday, not wishing to speak until he got permission from his boss at Chase Manhattan Bank.

Patino surely was aware of the building's location in relation to Ground Zero. And he surely knew about the war on terror, as the brother who had helped inspire the bicycle, Sergio Cadavid, had gone on to join the Army, serving two tours in Iraq.

Even so, Patino was barely a man in 2006 and had only come to this country when he was 12. No young newcomer could be expected to understand the sensitivities beneath the contradictions.

We solemnly called it hallowed ground and spoke of the importance of remembering the murdered innocents, yet five years after the attack we had yet to build a memorial.

Human remains were still being recovered in 2006 because there had been such a hurry to get traffic on West St. moving again that an area under a service road had not been properly searched.

The Deutsche Bank building on the other side of The Pit was being demolished with such criminal indifference to fire safety that two firefighters eventually would be killed there.

And the Burlington site was available in the first place only because businesses were not answering the call to stand up to the terrorists by relocating downtown.

Patino may not have been aware of any of these particulars, but nobody who walked down Park Place in 2006 could feel the area was being treated as sacred ground. He surely could not have imagined the passions and pain that would be roused four years hence.

Britney Spears tweets from the set of 'Glee'

The buzz surrounding the Britney Spears episode of “Glee” is attempting to go head-to-head with the anticipation for both the Madonna and Lady Gaga themed episodes combined.

Spears fed the fans’ hunger for more details by tweeting,"what's up GLEEKS? Having so much fun on set!! Can't wait for you guys to see the episode!" along with a photo of her on set.

“Glee” creator Ryan Murphy told Ryan Seacrest earlier this month that the Britney scenes would involve dental work and anesthesia, but he didn’t say what role the pop star herself would play.


And although Spears didn't spill any details, we also know that no jabs will be thrown at Spears' tumultuous past.

"It’s about her music, it's not about her personal life,” Murphy told Seacrest. “I think Britney Spears is pop culture. I think she’s been through a lot, and I want to do something that says thank you.”

The bets are already going that "saying thank you" will involve finding a reason for Heather Morris's character Brittany to say, "It's Britney, [expletive.]"

H.S. Teacher Loses Job Over Facebook Posting

A Cohasset teacher, unschooled in the ways of Facebook, learned a stinging lesson this week after she lost her job over comments she put on her page.

The postings on the social networking site were discovered by Cohasset parents on Tuesday, but in just one day they caused such a furor that by Tuesday afternoon the teacher, Dr. June Talvitie-Siple, a supervisor of the high school's math and science program, was forced to resign.

"Clearly, Dr. Siple didn't know how to work Facebook. Maybe she's a great bio teacher, but the Internet is not her thing," said senior Olivia Yerardi.

The teenagers get it, but Siple learned the hard way that her Facebook postings, which were supposed to be private, were not.
"It's not smart, but if you are in professional position, maybe you shouldn't be putting what you really feel about your job or whatever on Facebook," said student Terry MacCormack.

On her Facebook page, Siple called the residents of Cohasset "arrogant and snobby," and said that she is "so not looking forward to another year at Cohasset schools."

As the high school supervisor for math and science, Siple was making more than $92,000 a year.

"I think that's pretty ungrateful, taking that much of the town budget going into the schools, filling up the position, teaching kids when her heart wasn't in to it," said resident Sam Green.

In a telephone interview, Siple said she is not apologizing for her comments, but that she is sorry that they went public. She said she was referring to the political situation in the school, which she called "very stressful," and she said she thought she was only blowing off steam with friends in private.

But back in February, when Siple got sick, she wrote on her page, "Now I remember why I stopped teaching kids. They are all germ bags."

Siple said her Facebook friends knew it was a joke.

"It's horrid. Who says that about children you are teaching, children you are raising that you are a role model for?" said parent Susan Wilcox.

Siple said she honestly thought she had set her Facebook settings on private and she took full responsibility for not doing so.

Ricky Martin to talk sexuality, fatherhood in memoir

Ricky Martin will get personal about livin' la vida loca in his upcoming memoir, Me.

USA TODAY's Cindy Clark reports that the Grammy-Award winning artist opens up for the first time about his early childhood, his experiences as a member of the boy band Menudo, and coming to terms with his sexuality. Martin also talks about being a father and his work with children around the world.

Both English- and Spanish-language editions, called Me and Yo respectively, will be published in hardcover on Nov. 2 from Celebra, a division of Penguin Group.

Was Plastic Surgeon Texting in Car Before Fatal Crash?

Dr. Frank Ryan and Heidi Montag
Frazer Harrison/Getty; Pacific Coast News

Dr. Frank Ryan, plastic surgeon to Heidi Montag and other celebrities, was sending a Twitter message about his border collie just before his fatal car accident, his ex-girlfriend tells PEOPLE.

"He lived up in Malibu on a tiny street and he was texting while driving and he accidentally went over the cliff," Charmaine Blake says.

Blake, a celebrity publicist, says Ryan's family was told by investigators that the Tweeting caused the wreck on Monday.

The dog, whose name is Jill – Blake's middle name – was in the car at the time of the crash and survived injuries to the head, eye and paw.

The California Highway Patrol confirms Ryan was texting before the crash, but investigators have not officially determined the cause of the accident.

"It is one of the elements that we are investigating," CHP Officer Steven Reid says.

Blake says she lived with Ryan from 2003 to 2006. After breaking up, they remained close and Ryan was also helping support her, says Blake.

"It was the only serious relationship I ever had and he was the love of my life," Blake, 29, says. "It was hard for us to stay away from each other."

She adds that she hopes other people learn from this tragedy that "people should not text and drive at all."

Dr. Laura Schlessinger to end radio show when her contract expires

Dr. Laura Schlessinger told CNN’s Larry King on Tuesday night that she will end her radio show following outrage over her use of the N-word last week. She told King her contract is up after this year and that she will not renew it. She said she wants to “regain my First Amendment rights” and that she is not ending her career, just her radio show.

After using the racial epithet several times with a caller last Tuesday, Schlessinger posted an apology to her website and repeated it during a subsequent broadcast. She told King that after doing radio for more than 30 years, ”I want to be able to say what’s on my mind and in my heart and what I think is helpful and useful without somebody getting angry or some special-interest group deciding this is a time to silence a voice of dissent.”

Schlessinger went on to say that radio has changed and that any kind of back and forth has ”been usurped by angry, hateful groups who don’t want to debate — they want to eliminate…. I decided it was time to move on to other venues where I could say my peace and not have to live in fear anymore.”

Schlessinger is syndicated by Talk Radio Network, which refers to her as ”the most listened-to women in radio broadcasting history.” According to Talkers Magazine, the Dr. Laura program is tied as the third-most-popular radio show in the nation (along with Glenn Beck and Michael Savage), with over 9 million weekly listeners. In August, she was nominated for the Marconi Award for network/syndicated personality of the year, which she received back in 1997.

Her flagship station is KFWB in Los Angeles.

True Blood Stars Go Naked in Rolling Stone Magazine

The stars of 'True Blood' appear naked and covered in blood on the cover of the new Rolling Stone, on newsstands Wednesday. The story is titled 'The Joy of Vampire Sex,' of which Stephen Moyer says:

"If we go from a base level, vampires create a hole in the neck where there wasn't one before. It's a de-virginization--breaking the hymen, creating blood and then drinking the virginal blood. And there's something sharp, the fang, which is probing and penetrating and moving into it. So that's pretty sexy. I think that makes vampires attractive." He laughs a little. "Plus, Robert Pattinson is just hot, right?"

And Anna (engaged to Moyer) talks about announcing her bisexuality:

“I’m not sure what the reaction was, but I’m glad I did it. There’s such an impulse to turn it into a sensational thing, when what I was really hoping to say is that it’s normal and not interesting. (smiles) I feel so lucky right now. Life is pretty great.

Read the cover story tease here and see behind-the scenes photos here.