State News-Wednesday, Jan. 3rd

WASHINGTON (AP) - How well would first responders in your area be able to communicate with one another during a disaster? Odds are the answer is discouraging. The Associated Press has obtained a draft portion of a federal report. Of the 75 American cities and regional areas graded, only six get top marks from the Department of Homeland Security. The nation's capital falls into that category. So do San Diego,
Minneapolis, Columbus, Ohio; Sioux Falls, South Dakota -- and Laramie County, Wyoming. Pittsburgh scored as well as New York City, but Philadelphia didn't do as well. On the bottom end of the survey are a couple of big cities, including Chicago and Cleveland.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Journalists at Pennsylvania's largest newspaper should find out today who among them will keep their jobs. The Philadelphia Inquirer is laying off 68 newsroom workers --about 16 percent of the staff. Some were notified yesterday that they're losing their jobs. A company spokesman says all workers to be laid off will be notified by today. The layoffs are in response to sharp declines in circulation and
ad revenue. The Inquirer currently has 415 newsroom workers -- but had 500 before cutting through buyouts in 2005. Its sister paper, the Philadelphia Daily News, isn't expecting any layoffs. That paper only has 105 newsroom workers, down from 130 before buyouts in 2005.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - With the speaker's race over in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, leading lawmakers say the next thing to do is change the House rules. Speaker Dennis O'Brien says he wants the public to be able to see what lawmakers are doing. So do Democrats and the group of reform-minded Republicans who worked together to get the Philadelphia Republican elected speaker of a chamber with a
Democratic majority. The deal to install O'Brien as speaker came together after a Democrat said he was supporting Perzel for speaker. With Democrats having a one-seat majority, it seemed likely to work until O'Brien was tapped for the job. Republicans tried to counterattack by nominating a couple of Democrats for speaker, but both refused the nominations.

SEATTLE (AP) - Starbucks is cutting trans fats from the doughnuts, muffins and other treats in half its U-S stores. And officials say they plan to eventually drop the artery-clogging fats from company-operated coffeehouses across the country. A spokesman says the world's largest specialty coffee retailer has been working to eliminate trans fats from its food menu for about two years. Trans fats - which are listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil - are believed to be harmful because they wreak havoc on cholesterol levels. Standalone Starbucks stores in Seattle; San Francisco; Chicago; Los Angeles; San Diego; Boston; New York; Philadelphia; Washington, D-C, and Portland, Oregon will have zero trans fats in their food today. The other half of U-S stores are to follow suit later.

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - F-B-I statistics show that Lackawanna County didn't record a murder in 2006 - the first time it has gone without a homicide in at least 32 years. District Attorney Andy Jarbola credits the unusual milestone to a combination of proactive law enforcement, cooperation by residents, and some innovative programs. Jarbola says officials look for information from the community, follow up and act on it and "nip it in the bud." He says the idea is to get to little problems before they become big ones. Lackawanna County is the state's 17th largest county with about 210-thousand residents.