Briefly... CITY/REGION

Zoo honors 3 for conservation

In celebration of its sesquicentennial, the Philadelphia Zoo has named Denise Rambaldi, executive director of the Golden Lion Tamarin Association, the winner of the zoo's Gift to the Planet, the inaugural Global Conservation Prize, presented by Peco Energy.

Over the next 10 years, the annual prize will support a significant portion of Rambaldi's work to protect the critically endangered golden lion tamarin in Poço das Antas, Brazil.

The zoo also announced recipients of two other conservation awards: Douglas C. Walker, Philadelphia conservationist, the Conservationist Impact Award; and Nyeema Harris, graduate of the zoo's Junior Zoo Apprentice Program, named Emerging Conservation Leader. Awards will be presented March 18 at Loews Philadelphia Hotel.

Speaking to parents

Some venerable Philadelphia colleges are trying to tap the booming pool of Hispanic students - by offering, for their parents, Spanish translations of admissions and financial-aid material.

Among the schools making such an effort are Bryn Mawr College and the University of Pennsylvania.

Family comfort level is important in the Hispanic community, where parental ties are strong, said Deborah Santiago, vice president for policy and research at Washington-based Excelencia in Education.

N.J. weighs sports wagering

A New Jersey Assembly panel soon will take up legislation to allow horse-racing tracks and casinos to accept sports wagers.

It would let gamblers make bets in person, over the phone or online, although wagers would not be allowed on college games that take place in the Garden State or involve a New Jersey college team, regardless of where the game was played. A change in the state constitution would be required to permit such gambling.

Cash-for-grades admission

Megan Laboy, 30, a former social-studies teacher at Colts Neck High School in New Jersey, has admitted pocketing "charitable donations" from students looking to improve their grades.

Laboy pleaded guilty Friday in Monmouth County Court to theft by deception, admitting that she received between $200 and $500 in donations from her students during the 2008-09 school year. The students were told that they would receive extra credit for the donations and that the cash would go to charities. But Laboy instead kept the money for herself.

April trial in bodies case

A tentative trial date of April 26 has been set in Luzerne County (Pa.) Court for Hugo Selenski, on whose Kingston Township property as many as 12 bodies were found buried.

Selenski is awaiting trial in the deaths of two of the people whose bodies were unearthed in 2003. He has been acquitted of murder in the deaths of two others.

Selenski is behind bars for a 2003 home-invasion robbery.

- From staff and wire reports