Greetings. When we last left off, a recent Cornell grad had just bit the dust on NBC’s “The Apprentice,” President Skorton had passed his swim test and was preparing for the math placement exam, Cornell was coming up with new ways to get people drunk and San Francisco police had captured a renegade Collegetown criminal.

Later in the summer, arrests were made much closer to campus — both in terms of the location of the crime and of actual apprehension. Samaritan Johnson, a former employee in the Department of Athletics Summer Sports School, was arrested by the Cornell University Police Department. Johnson has been charged with two misdemeanors related to an office encounter on June 6. University officials reported that the incident involved inappropriate touching through clothing.

Two weeks after Johnson was arraigned, a student death befell the Cornell community. Police have identified a body found in the Fall Creek Gorge as Aravind Lakshmanan, a 23-year-old graduate student. Lakshmanan’s death marks the third gorge-related fatality in the last month in Ithaca.

Just outside of Ithaca, in Seneca Falls, N.Y., the first harvest of black currants produced in New York State in over half a century are being used in wine. Black currants have been banned in New York and other parts of the United States for decades because they were thought to help spread a fungus that threatened the timber industry. Three years ago, New York became the latest state to repeal the ban, and now Cornell Professor Olga Padilla-Zakour, food processing, has been working with farmers to explore new potential products for black currants. The first batch has been sold to a nearby winery, to be enjoyed on a wine tour near you.

But alcoholic beverages are not the only ones Cornell is helping to produce. Food scientists at the University have created an all-natural, restorative sports drink using sour cherries. The drink is believed to have properties of pain-prevention and muscle-damage recovery as a result of phyto-nutrients and anti-oxidants like anthocyanin, melatonin and quercetin that occur naturally in deeply colored fruits, particularly tart cherries. Among the first customers: the New York Rangers, who have been hitting the cherry juice after every game and workout.

That brings us to about where we are now — with the start of a new school year and a new class of starry-eyed freshmen to pave their way through the Big Red. The Class of 2010 has moved onto North Campus and are posed to be some of the most threatening students in any of our courses, as they represent the most selective class in the University’s history. Of 28,097, only 24.7 percent got in and 3,200 will be joining us at school tomorrow. We look forward to providing you with your Sudoku and Crossword every school day until finals. Enjoy your last day of summer.