Russian Pianist Wins Van Cliburn Contest
FORT WORTH, TX -- Russia's Alexander Kobrin, 25, won the gold medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, a prestigious 17-day contest known for launching classical music careers.

Artist may have painted path to missing da Vinci
ROME -- "Cerca trova" — seek and you shall find — says a tantalizing 500-year-old message painted on a fresco in the council hall of Florence's Palazzo Vecchio. Researchers now think these cryptic words could be a clue to the location of a long-lost Leonardo da Vinci painting and are pressing local authorities to allow them to search for the masterpiece of Renaissance art. Maurizio Seracini, an Italian art researcher, first noticed the message during a survey of the hall 30 years ago, but his team lacked the technology then to see what lay behind Giorgio Vasari's 16th-century fresco, Battle of Marciano in the Chiana Valley.

George Lucas and San Francisco Celebrate the Digital Arts With the Inauguration of the Letterman Digital Arts Center
SAN FRANCISCO-- Opening the door to the future of digital arts, filmmaker George Lucas and nearly 2,000 guests celebrated the unveiling of the Letterman Digital Arts Center, a 23-acre, 860,000-square-foot production campus in the heart of city's historic Presidio. The Letterman Digital Arts Center is devoted to the production of digital cinema and videogames and the creative exploration and innovation of new digital tools that allow artists to bring anything they can imagine to life.

Vote splits 3-2 on arts group deal
ISLAMORADA, FL -- The amphitheater at Founders Park in Islamorada got a new lease on life Thursday, as Islamorada Village Council members agreed to a pact with a local arts group. The council approved a contract with Islamorada Community Entertainment on a 3-2 vote. Under the agreement, ICE members would raise $250,000 toward completing the partially finished project. Islamorada would contribute another $104,000, plus previously pledged money from the Tourist Development Council, TIB Bank of the Keys and the Islamorada Friends of the Arts. ICE volunteers then would manage and book the outdoor performance venue for 90 days a year. The council can schedule events at the amphitheater on 270 days a year, which include major holidays and special events. ICE would cover production costs, but Islamorada would pay routine maintenance, utilities and insurance for the amphitheater.