Cochise College alumni and history enthusiasts can now explore past issues of The Heliograph, a student newspaper, through the Arizona Memory Project (AMP), a statewide digital repository.

Volumes of The Heliograph published between 1960 and 1980 are now accessible online, providing insight into the college’s history and the lives of its students. Readers can browse all issues at azmemory.azlibrary.gov. In addition, The Heliograph is featured as a subcollection on the AMP landing page, making it easy to find and view.

“The digitization of The Heliograph represents a significant step toward preserving the college’s legacy,” said Ashlee Gray, college librarian-archivist. While the AMP files are available at 150 dpi to ensure faster load times and efficient storage, those seeking higher-resolution copies can request them directly from Cochise College Libraries.

“The Heliograph captures student life, community involvement, and Cochise College through the decades,” added Gray. “We’re proud to make this valuable resource available to the public and to archive the college’s history for future generations.”

According to the AMP website, “The Arizona Memory Project helps researchers discover information related to the history and government of Arizona by providing access to primary sources in Arizona archives, museums, libraries, and other cultural institutions.” The Arizona State Library, Archives, and Public Records manages the project and is dedicated to preserving and sharing the state’s historical and cultural heritage.

First published in the 1960s, The Heliograph covers a range of topics from student achievements, athletics and college events with famous performers. The newspaper provides a unique lens on the changing perspectives of students at Cochise College, making it a unique resource for alumni, students, faculty, staff and the general public. 

For more information or to explore The Heliograph, visit the Arizona Memory Project website: azmemory.azlibrary.gov.

Already taken a DNA test with another service? We have great news for you! Starting today, and for a limited time only, you can upload your DNA data to MyHeritage and get full access to all DNA features for free, forever! We support uploads from Ancestry, FamilyTreeDNA (Family Finder) and 23andMe. 

For each NEW* DNA file that you upload this week, you’ll receive free access to all advanced DNA features including the Ethnicity Estimate and Genetic Groups, DNA Matches, and all tools to analyze your relationship to your matches, saving you the usual $29 unlock fee per file. This rare offer is valid for the next few days only, until October 6, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. 

Upload your DNA file to MyHeritage 

*This offer is valid for new DNA files that are uploaded to MyHeritage for the first time. It does not apply to DNA files uploaded in the past.

Putting your DNA on MyHeritage can open a whole new world of discoveries, and is a great way for anyone interested in finding new matches and information to “fish in multiple ponds.”

It’s led some MyHeritage users to make life-changing discoveries: Monika Fleming, who learned as an adult that she was adopted, discovered her birth father’s identity and connected with 3 siblings!

Why upload to MyHeritage 

• High-resolution ethnicity reports covering 2,114 geographic regions
• Huge global DNA database
• The best service for European DNA matching
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• Full privacy controls: only you can see your data
• MyHeritage is the only DNA company that has committed never to sell or license users’ data to third parties

What’s included in this special offer:

• Ethnicity Estimate and Genetic Groups: Pinpoint where your family came from across 2,114 geographic regions
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• Theory of Family Relativity™: Leverage MyHeritage’s powerful technology that uses family trees and historical records to craft theories about relationships between DNA Matches
• All other DNA features available on MyHeritage

These features will remain free forever for the DNA kits you upload during this week. Note that this offer is valid for new DNA files that are uploaded to MyHeritage for the first time. It does not apply to DNA files uploaded in the past.

How to upload your DNA data

Don’t miss out on this unique opportunity to make the most of your DNA results. Upload your DNA file to MyHeritage today!

David Bintz, 69, and his younger brother, Robert Bintz, 68, were exonerated after advocates had DNA evidence from the case examined.

Two Wisconsin brothers who spent the last 25 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of killing a woman in 1987 have been released after DNA evidence tied the murder to another suspect, The Wisconsin Innocence Project announced Friday.

David Bintz, 69, and his younger brother, Robert Bintz, 68 were sentenced to life in prison in 2000, after prosecutors say they killed Sandra Lison, 44, a mother of two, the Green Bay Press Gazette reports.

Lison’s body was found near a trail in the Machickanee Forest about 30 miles from Green Bay on Aug. 4, 1987, according to Robert Bintz’s motion to vacate. Detectives noticed Lison’s slip and nylons had been removed and most of the buttons on her dress were undone, and they determined she had been beaten, strangled, and sexually assaulted.

Semen was recovered from Lison’s body via vaginal swabs and from her dress, which also had been stained with blood. This DNA evidence did not match the Bintzes, according to the Wisconsin Innocence Project, but after the case went cold for a time, the Brown County District Attorney’s Office in 1998 eventually charged the two brothers with killing her. 

Prosecutors alleged at the Bintzes’ trial that the two killed Lison during a robbery at the Good Times Tavern, a bar she worked at, the night before her body was discovered, according to the motion to vacate. 

Prosecutors also depended on testimony from David Bintz’s cellmate in a jail where he had been serving time for an unrelated crime. The cellmate told guards about nightmares David Bintz was having, claiming he yelled “make sure she’s dead” in his sleep, according to theInvestigative Genetic Genealogy Center. The cellmate also said David Bintz later admitted to helping his brother kill Lison.

You can read more in an article by Pocharapon Neammanee published in the Huffington Post web site at: https://tinyurl.com/bd69vxnj.

This is a Plus Edition piece authored by Dick Eastman under copyright. .

The post-PC world is here, I think. That is, PC computers as we know them are gradually fading and will eventually be found only in museum exhibits within another ten years.

Included among desktop and laptop systems of today are Windows, MS-DOS, Macintosh, Linux, UNIX, BSD, ReactOS, Chromebook, and Chromebox PCs. (For this article, I will not include Apple or Android "smartphones," nor tablet PCs.)

The computing environment following the slowdown in desktop and laptop computer sales is referred to as "post-PC".

Most industry analysts believe that consumers and companies are currently substituting "smart" cell phones, tablet computers, and soon to be developed lightweight computing devices not even invented yet for desktop and laptop computers. Many times, the always expanding, fast wireless networks and cloud computing are enabling small, lightweight devices to replace conventional desktop PCs. Having a strong computer of your own is not necessary; the power can exist either in your own computer or anywhere in the cloud. 

Actually, compared to the average desktop computer of ten years ago, today's tablet PCs have more computing capability and better displays. Better screens than most desktop computers had only a few years ago are found on today's iPad and the newest Android tablets. For instance, contrast the Retina display screen of today's iPad with the standard VGA screens used on desktop computers only a few years ago. Even people with vision issues will find the Retina display easier to use.

Who can project what developments over the next ten years will bring? Twenty years would be even more interesting.

To be sure, desktop and laptop computers are today are most likely always more powerful than any portable device. But I wonder if we should be tracking our forebears, reading and writing emails, playing online games, or accessing our online bank accounts using so much power? 

Whether that capacity lives on our desktop or remotely in the cloud, we all have more computing capability now than we need. Likewise, everyone of us already has more storage than we can ever need. In conventional computers, we can now purchase one terabyte (1,000 gigabytes) disk drives for less than $75 US (see https://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Portable-External-Hard-Drive/dp/B07CRG7BBH for one such example) or access essentially infinite storage space securely in the cloud, paying modest prices for just the storage space we really use. 

Other than for some devices that will be used in corporate offices, I think desktop and laptop computers will finally wind up in the trash heap. 

The only thing postponing the change, in my opinion, is that nobody has yet developed a decent substitute for the conventional QWERTY-keyboard. Once a decent, portable keyboard is developed, desktop and laptop computers will vanish from view. (For one fascinating example, check out the Amazon Alexa computer line. A few of them retail for $35.00 U.S. or less; even the least expensive models have dependable voice "keyboards." 

Not one keyboard for iPads or Android tablets matches the clickety-click IBM keyboard I had on my desktop PC 35+ years ago. Still, I see engineers creating decent keyboards for tablet PCs finally. Even my little keyboard connected to the iPad Mini has great "touch and feel" and is simpler to use than the usual "glass keyboard" that is shown on the screen of a tablet computer. Its compact scale, which fits the size of the iPad Mini, is the sole disadvantage—that of a smaller than-average keyboard.

Once a good, portable keyboard becomes accessible, what will happen to vendors of genealogical programs? Will Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy Family Tree, Heredis, Reunion, MacFamilyTree, AncestralQuest, Family Historian vanish from sight?

The quick response is: "I doubt if they will vanish. Still, I think lots of cloud-based genealogical tools will augment or replace them.

The longer response starts with the knowledge that long-time computer professionals who regularly monitor the newest trends in the computer sector oversee the companies that created and support these desktop and laptop programs. They will not just stop. Seeing what is happening, these managers and software programmers will change their own products as the years pass. 

Many new "apps" that install in a tablet computer and act as duplicates or clones of the software and data in your former desktop of laptop computer running Windows or Macintosh operating systems marked the first genealogy tool advancement following desktop systems. The Google Play Store and the iPad App Store feature several of them listed here.

Still in great use today, these tablet "apps" are excellent travel companions or visiting relative utility. Still, their limited storage capacity and lesser comping capability define tablet computers. No matter how good a tablet genealogy app gets, it most likely will never match desktop and laptop computer capabilities.

Already upon us is the next development in genealogy software: cloud computing. Powerful servers plus several terabytes or even petabytes of storage space accessible in data centers' "disk farms" can produce data storage space plus computational capability that meets and usually surpasses the most costly personal computers of today. Not only may terabytes of family pictures, movies, maps, and photos of original records be added using cloud technology, but there is also room for many gigabytes of text content. Even better, with a tablet computer any of these can be readily added, changed, handled, and shown.

New features added to Family Tree Maker, RootsMagic, Legacy Family Tree, and the other applications utilizing the new technologies should reflect changing technology. Some of these might retain their original name ("Family Tree Maker for the Cloud"), or else be given brand-new names ("rootstrust"). Some of the cloud-based applications already have new features added to interact with remote databases in the cloud and to work with other genealogists who have already uploaded images of original source records, pictures of shared ancestors, and even movies. Clearly more utility will show up in the future.

Though we consider most every program available today as either Windows or Macintosh, that limitation is not permanent. There is no reason why any one of these programs—or comparable ones developed from scratch—could not be produced for Android, Apple iOS, or cloud-based languages including perl, PHP, and others. Actually, running a genealogy program on a web server and accessing it from any machine able of running a web browser offers great benefits. Already doing this effectively are the Next Generation of Genealogy Sitebuilding (at http://www.tngsitebuilding.com/), Webtrees (at https://wiki.webtrees.net/en/Main_Page), MyHeritage, FamilySearch, Ancestry.com, WikiTrees, and other cloud-based genealogy tools. 

The choice of the operating system by the user is starting to be irrelevant. Windows, Macintosh, or even Android instead? Apple iOS for iOS Linux? Chromebook questions? Who gives a damn? If the program is created as a web-enabled application in the cloud, everyone can use any one program.

The remainder of this article is reserved for Plus Edition subscribers only. If you have a Plus Edition subscription, you may read the full article at: https://eogn.com/(*)-Plus-Edition-News-Articles/13412916.  A Plus Edition password is required to access that article.)

If you are not yet a Plus Edition subscriber, you can learn more about such subscriptions and even upgrade to a Plus Edition subscription immediately at https://eogn.com/page-18077. 

Two brothers have had their freedoms restored after spending 25 years behind bars for a crime they didn't commit.

Brothers David Bintz and Robert Bintz have been cleared of the 1987 killing of Sandra Lison, according to a press release from the Wisconsin Innocence Project.

The brothers were represented by the Great North Innocence Project.

Their release comes after genetic genealogy DNA results showed the perpetrator in the 1987 slaying of Lison near Green Bay was someone else – William Joseph Hendricks, a man with prior convictions for similar crimes.

After a hearing on Wednesday, Brown County Circuit Court Judge Donald R. Zuidmulder signed an order calling for the brothers’ immediate release.

“We could not be happier to welcome David Bintz home,” said Rachel Burg, WIP co-director. “The Wisconsin Innocence Project has been fighting for Mr. Bintz’s freedom for more than 20 years. We are honored to have worked on his behalf and by his side throughout this arduous process. Finally, our hearts go out to the Lison family, and we hope they can now find closure.”

You can read more in an article by Chad Thompson published in the wkow web site at: https://tinyurl.com/3887hvvp.

In a significant response to a data breach that rocked millions of its users, genetic testing company 23andMe has agreed to a $30 million settlement. The breach, which occurred in 2023, exposed sensitive data from millions of customers, leading to concerns about the company’s security protocols and its ability to safeguard personal and genetic information.

Founded in 2006 by Anne Wojcicki, Linda Avey, and Paul Cusenza, 23andme mission is to make personal genetic information accessible to everyone.The company has revolutionized the way people trace their genealogy and understand their health through its easy-to-use saliva testing kits. Users simply provide a sample, which is then analyzed for genetic markers related to ancestry, health, and wellness.

One of the company’s key services is its DNA Relatives feature, which allows users to connect with genetic relatives based on shared DNA segments. Over the years, 23andMe has helped millions of users discover their family origins, connect with previously unknown relatives, and learn more about their health predispositions.

The 2023 Data Breach

In October 2023, 23andMe experienced a credential stuffing attack, a type of breach where attackers use previously stolen login credentials from unrelated websites to gain access to accounts. This incident compromised the personal data of 6.9 million users, many of whom had opted into the DNA Relatives feature. The breach affected 14,000 user accounts directly, exposing sensitive information such as health data, genetic profiles, and other personal details. Additionally, reports indicated that specific communities, including Jewish and Chinese users, may have been targeted, raising concerns about the motivations behind the attack.

While the company maintains that its core systems were not directly breached, the incident highlighted vulnerabilities in user account security, prompting criticism of 23andMe’s security measures. In the wake of the breach, users expressed concerns over how easily their personal data—especially sensitive genetic information—was accessed and misused.

Following the breach, a class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of the affected users. The lawsuit alleged that 23andMe had failed to protect user data adequately, allowing hackers to compromise sensitive personal and genetic information. The case was consolidated into a multidistrict litigation in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

You can read more in an article at: https://www.eladelantado.com/us/23andme-settlement/.

The nonprofit journalism organization Invisible Institute has launched a new tool that allows people to look up police employment history. 

The National Police Index, created in partnership with Innocence Project New Orleans and Human Rights Data Analysis Group, compiles data obtained from state police training and certification boards. The tool currently shows data in 17 states, including Illinois. Data for more states is expected to be available soon. 

On the site, users can select a state, then search an officer’s name, agency or unique identifier number. The site will then show the officer’s start and end dates at their agency of employment and the reason for separating from the agency. 

The tool comes two months after Sangamon County Deputy Sean Grayson killed Sonya Massey in her home in Springfield, Illinois. Records show Grayson worked at five different police departments prior to the shooting and had documented misconduct in at least two of those departments.

“If the Sangamon County sheriff knew people could easily monitor a police officer’s employment history, maybe Sean Grayson would have never been hired,” Chaclyn Hunt, legal director of Invisible Institute, said in a press release. “So-called ‘wandering officers’ have presented a significant danger to residents of every state, and an impediment to lasting police accountability.”

Illinois has a similar officer lookup tool that allows users to see which departments an officer has worked for, but unlike the National Police Index, it doesn’t give the reason why they left. 

“Police often avoid accountability by moving to another agency rather than face discipline,” Tarak Shah, data scientist at the Human Rights Data Analysis Group, said in the press release. “This tool, allowing anyone to look up and track the histories of such officers, provides an invaluable service for the human rights community in our fight against impunity.”

On Saturday, Oct. 12, at 9:45 am, Larry Cates will present “An Introduction to Wills and Estates for Family History.”

Clallam County Genealogical Society will host the event. The program will be available via Zoom and all are invited to join. In this presentation, Cates will discuss two major ways property is passed between generations and how the accounts of a deceased person are reconciled, how the records can be located and accessed. Learn about their types, structure, and implications for family history. Probate records provide information, not just about the family of the deceased, but also about the relationships and roles of many others in the community.

Larry W. Cates has been a professional genealogist for several years. For his contributions to genealogy in research, preservation of old documents, his books, articles and lectures, he has received several outstanding awards including the National Genealogical Society’s prestigious Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship. He is presently the librarian of the Hi Point, North Carolina Public Library Heritage Research Center, and the editor of the Guilford Genealogist.

To get the Zoom meeting number and passcode, contact the Clallam County Genealogical Society by phone or email. For more information, check our website.

Phone: 360-417-5000 Email: askus@clallamcogs.org. Our website: www.clallamcogs.org

The program will also be shown at the CCGS Research Center located at 304 E. 8th Street, Port Angeles, WA 983662. Researchers are always welcome to visit and use the facility.

There is no charge to hear this outstanding speaker.

The following is a press release written by QIAGEN:

QIAGEN N.V. announced that Bode Technology, the largest private U.S. forensics laboratory company with a growing presence in other regions, will become the exclusive global commercial partner for the GEDmatch PRO genealogy database, which is used to assist police and forensic teams with investigative comparisons of genetic data.

The multi-year agreement between QIAGEN’s subsidiary Verogen and Bode extends the long-standing partnership of two leading companies in forensic investigative genetic genealogy (FIGG) to further accelerate the use of GEDmatch PRO in law enforcement and identification of human remains. QIAGEN has been providing GEDmatch PRO to customers since the early 2023 acquisition of its subsidiary Verogen, a proven leader in equipping forensic science laboratories and criminal investigators to use next-generation sequencing (NGS) to gain deeper insights.

GEDmatch PRO is the leading forensic investigative genetic genealogy solution and has been used around the world to solve cases that could not be solved with traditional genetic fingerprinting. When capillary electrophoresis (CE) based analysis fails to yield an identification, NGS can find patterns of ​single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) as the basis for finding genetic associations in GEDmatch PRO.

Combining QIAGEN’s expertise in forensic products and Bode Technology’s in forensic services will also further boost the use of QIAGEN’s next-generation sequencing (NGS) products for use in human identification (HID) and forensic investigations.

As part of the partnership, Bode will manage all commercial transactions for GEDmatch PRO globally, while QIAGEN will continue to develop new features with input from Bode’s genealogy experts. Bode will maintain the highest level of data security as GEDmatch PRO users will continue to own their case data and no additional identifying information will be shared with Bode.

QIAGEN’s subsidiary will continue to have sole responsibility and manage the separate GEDmatch consumer database and its free DNA comparison-and-analysis website, which are not affected by this partnership.

”This partnership will accelerate the adoption of using extensive DNA data to enable many cases to be solved, including investigations that have gone 'cold', and bring resolution to the families and friends of victims,” said Richard Price, Vice President and Head of QIAGEN's Human Identification and Forensics business. “This partnership leverages the resources of QIAGEN and Bode to further improve GEDmatch PRO while maintaining the highest level of ethics, data privacy and security that customers have come to expect. QIAGEN has worked well with Bode for over 20 years and this is a natural step in our partnership.”

“Our commercial responsibility for GEDmatch PRO means that law enforcement and other professionals can work with a single full-service accredited DNA provider for forensic analysis,” said Mike Cariola, President and CEO of Bode Technology. ”Our complete in-house workflow and extensive experience working with investigators means we can recommend the best technologies for specific cases and maximize the likelihood of successful outcomes.”

Bode will focus on client acquisition and service. As the largest private forensic DNA laboratory in the U.S. and a growing presence worldwide, including projects in Europe, Australia and the Middle East, Bode has nearly 30 years of experience providing a comprehensive set of state-of-the-art forensic DNA collection products, ISO 17025 accredited DNA analysis services, and research services to law enforcement, the justice system, and other government agencies worldwide.

QIAGEN has a leading position in the use of NGS for forensic and human identification applications and will continue to focus on enhancing GEDmatch PRO's software tools, security, and other features. QIAGEN leverages its NGS and FIGG technology on its MiSeq FGx instrument and ForenSeq Kintelligence workflow which is designed for use in forensic labs. This workflow can deliver results from severely degraded or contaminated DNA and challenging samples that are common in forensics. 

Investigators in Philadelphia are exhuming samples from eight bodies buried in a potter's field this week in the hope that advances in DNA-based sleuthing can help them identify the long-ago victims and perhaps learn how they died.

The victims include a 4- to 6-year-old girl found dead in 1962, an infant boy found in 1983 and three men and three women found between 1972 and 1984.

Philadelphia Police, FBI and forensic specialists work to exhume bodies at Parkwood Soccer Field/Potters Field for DNA-based testing in Philadelphia, Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2024. Credit: AP/Jose F. Moreno

“When there is an ID, it is satisfying to be able to give that information to the family, to give that closure to the family. Your loved one is now identified,” said Ryan Gallagher, assistant director of the Philadelphia Police Department’s forensics unit.

The dig is the latest task in the city’s long-running effort to identify its unknown dead, who were buried at the small field in northeast Philadelphia through the late 1980s. Detectives will now work with genetic genealogists, the city Medical Examiner’s Office, the FBI and others to piece together the mystery of who they are and how they died. Some of the work, in Philadelphia and elsewhere, is being funded through federal grants.

And they have cause for optimism, after scientific breakthroughs in recent years led them to identify the city’s most famous unclaimed victim, long known as “America’s Unknown Child” or “ The Boy in the Box.” The small child, whose battered body was found inside a cardboard box in 1957, was identified in late 2022 after decades of work as 4-year-old Joseph Augustus Zarelli. Investigators have some theories on how he died, but so far have not announced any conclusive findings.

That case followed a string of cold cases that were re-examined and sometimes solved around the country, including the Golden State Killer, through advancements in genetic genealogy.

Joseph’s body had also been buried in the city-owned potter’s field until those devoted to the case moved him to a featured spot just inside Ivy Hill Cemetery, under a weeping cherry tree. Last year, they dedicated a new headstone with his name and picture on it on his 70th birthday.

Police hold out hope they can do the same one day for the eight victims included in their current project, who all died in violent or suspicious ways. If they can find family members through DNA tracing, they will ask if they can help piece the story together.

Homicide Lt. Thomas Walsh, speaking from the potter's field Tuesday, said it's rewarding to see “the relief on the people’s faces when you can sit down in their living room and tell them, ’Hey, this is your loved one, that’s been missing for 30, 40 years.'”

“Of course, it’s tragic, the way it ended, but the relief is there, that they finally know this is my loved one and this is where they’re at,” he said.

Solving cold cases is a yearslong pursuit that mixes art with science.

“There's always that eureka moment,” Walsh said.

“Not everything’s cellular devices and video cameras,” he said. “Sometimes it takes good old-fashioned police work to bring a case in.”

You can read more in an article published in the Newsday web site at: https://www.newsday.com/news/nation/philadelphia-potters-field-bodies-dna-r54410#