State News-Friday, Sept. 15th

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Hundreds of priests in the Philadelphia Archdiocese will meet today to hear from two people who were sexually abused by Roman Catholic clerics. Cardinal Justin Rigali called the meeting, which will take place at the archdiocesan seminary in Wynnewood. The priests will be addressed by a man and a woman who were abused by priests as children. They will also hear from a parent of two other victims. A three-year probe by a Philadelphia grand jury identified 63 archdiocesan priests as abusers since the 1950s and accused church officials of a cover-up. Seventeen of the offenders have been defrocked and others have been relieved of pastoral duties. A national group Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests praises the victims for sharing their stories, but suggests the church's motive is "damage control."

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A panel working on recommendations for dealing with a money shortage for transportation in Pennsylvania will meet today in Philadelphia and on Monday in Harrisburg. The commission will develop recommendations by November 15th for possible legislative action next year. Similar meetings have been held in Scranton and State College. The Pennsylvania Transportation Funding and Reform Commission heard comments on the shoestring budget of a local bus line, the crumbling condition of Interstate 80 bridges, and a disabled woman's difficulty getting a cab to an airport. PennDOT says it needs more than 500 million dollars a year to erase a deficit and preserve Pennsylvania's highways and bridges.

NEW YORK (AP) - If Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl ranks the top ten coolest things about being the city's youngest mayor, last night's appearance on David Letterman's "The Late Show" is likely near the top of the list. Letterman wouldn't let viewers forget Ravenstahl is only 26, asking, "An appearance like this, does it interfere with your homework?" The sometimes acerbic host took it relatively easy on Ravenstahl because of the unfortunate circumstances around his becoming mayor.Ravenstahl was city council president and took office only afterhis predecessor, 61-year-old Bob O'Connor, died of brain cancer on Septeber first. Letterman quipped, "Forget mayor, how does a 26-year-old get to be president of the city council?" Ravenstahl said he campaigned door-to-door for three months when he was just 23. Ravenstahl has also been featured on CNN and the front page ofThe New York Times. He consulted with the late Mayor O'Connor's family before agreeing to appear on Letterman's show.

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) - Opening statements have begun in the murder retrial of a woman involved in a love triangle involving three students from the former Soviet Union. Twenty-four-year-old Irina Malinovskaya is charged with killing 24-year-old Temple University student Irina Zlotnikov in December 2004. Yesterday, prosecutors showed jurors two large pictures of Zlotnikov, who was found bludgeoned to death at the NewCastle County, Delaware, apartment of Malinovskaya's ex-boyfriend,Robert Bondar. Zlotnikov was studying pharmacy at Temple at the time. Bondar was a law student at Widener University in Chester, Pennsylvania, and Malinovskaya was a student at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School. Prosecutors in the Wilmington trial say evidence will show Malinovskaya was the one who struck Zlotnikov in the head. The defense has argued that no weapon was found and no one actually sawMalinovskaya in Bondar's apartment that night. The first trial ended in a hung jury in February.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Former state Banking Secretary William Schenck plans to open a bank in Pittsburgh that would serve medium-sized business, professionals and wealthy people in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New Jersey. Officials say Tri State Capital Bank, which has yet to meet regulatory approvals, would have 100 (M) million dollars in capital and employ 65 people. Schenck, who resigned August 15th, will be the bank's president.