State News-Thursday, Feb. 8th

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The lawyer for state Senator Vince Fumo is planning a news conference today. The senator has pleaded not guilty to federal charges that he used state workers and a nonprofit group for his personal and political benefit. The Philadelphia Democrat also has surrendered more than 200
firearms as a condition of his bail. The guns include collectibles and very large machine guns from his various homes. Prosecutors allege that the 63-year-old lawmaker used state workers and a nonprofit group for his personal and political benefit, costing taxpayers and others more than two (m) million dollars.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Republican businessman says he will begin his campaign for mayor of Philadelphia today. Al Taubenberger plans to seek his party's endorsement today and announce his campaign from his childhood home. Philadelphia hasn't elected a Republican mayor in half a century. In the last two mayoral races, Sam Katz was the G-O-P's standard bearer and ran a well-financed campaign, but that's not expected this time. The Philadelphia Daily News reported yesterday that Taubenberger had only 100 dollars for his campaign. On the Democratic side, the City Committee is to meet tomorrow to decide whom to endorse in the May primary.

PARIS (AP) - The French anti-doping agency postponed a decision today on whether to suspend Tour de France winner Floyd Landis because of a positive doping test. The decision came after Landis agreed not to race in France this year. The A-F-L-D agreed to an appeal by Landis to postpone its decision until after the U-S Anti-Doping Agency rules in May. Landis had hip-replacement surgery four and a half months ago, so it was unlikely he would have competed in this year's Tour anyway. Landis, a native of Lancaster County in Pennsylvania, has denied wrongdoing and did not appear at today's meeting.

STROUDSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A rejected casino applicant plans to appeal the state Gaming Control Board's decision to award a slots license to a competitor in the Poconos. Lawyers for Pocono Manor say they plan to appeal to the state Supreme Court. The state's gambling law allows two stand-alone slots parlors outside Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. The gaming board awarded the licenses to Mount Airy Resort and Casino, in the Poconos, and to Sands Bethworks, in Bethlehem. The board announced its choices in December, but did not disclose the reasoning behind them until last week. The board says Pocono Manor's 23-story project is unfit for the rural area. That starts a month-long period during which its decisions can be appealed to the Supreme Court.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A lawsuit accuses officials at an Allentown elementary school of covering up sexual assaults on first-graders. The suit says Central Elementary School didn't notify police about a 12-year-old boy's attacks and allowed him to remain in school. The allegations are contained in a 15 (m) million dollar federal lawsuit against the Allentown school system. They have created an uproar in Pennsylvania's third-largest city. Outraged parents are demanding the superintendent's ouster. The school district's lawyer argued in court that the schools can't be held accountable for damages for assaults by pupils. But in an interview, the lawyer says that's just a legal argument to get the case dismissed. He says various laws plus "basic
morality" require schools to protect children.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Republican leaders in the Pennsylvania Senate are saying they're going to try to cut property taxes by reducing the Legislature's financial reserves by 75 (m) million dollars. The General Assembly's "continuing appropriation," an accumulation of money not spent from one year to the next, is now at 215 (m) million dollars. The reserve is maintained in case the General Assembly needs it in a showdown with the governor. Senate Appropriations Committee chairman Gib Armstrong, a
Lancaster Republican, says it's a reform the public supports. The Legislative Audit Advisory Commission says the cost to run the General Assembly grew by nearly nine percent last year, to 308 (m) million dollars.