Today's News - Saturday September 1st

NEW BOSTON - An early Friday morning fire in New Boston is the work of an arsonist. A fire marshal investigating the fire at 340 and 342 Roosevelt Drive in New Boston, Mahanoy Township believes it was intentionally set. The fire was called in around 3:30 yesterday morning to the double block home 49-year old Joseph Pecika at 340 Roosevelt and 52-year old Richard Eames at 342 Roosevelt. The fire started at the rear of 340 Roosevelt. The blaze gutted a storage room there and also did damage to the adjoining home. Damage is estimated at $20,000. No one was injured. Anyone with information is asked to call State Police at Frackville at (570) 874-5300.

FOUNTAIN SPRING - A Schuylkill County native, who's been an extremely successful collegiate soccer coach, will be honored today. Butler Township native Joe Bean, who is the nation's winningest collegiate men's soccer coach, will be honored Saturday afternoon during the Twin Valley Cup Soccer Tournament at North Schuylkill. Bean, who graduated from Butler Township High School in 1957, has racked up 607 wins over 44 coaching seasons, with 38 years at Wheaton College in Illinois. His impressive record also includes 66 consecutive match wins. His team won NCAA Division Three championships in 1984 and 1997. He was recently inducted into the National Soccer Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame. Bean, and his wife, will be honored during ceremonies at approximately 12:45pm Saturday afternoon. Welcome home to Joe Bean.

UPPER SCHUYLKILL COUNTY - A big weekend kicks off today in northern Schuylkill County. The Upper Schuylkill Downtown homecoming festivities offer something for the young and young at heart in the host communities through Monday, Labor Day. The borough of Ashland hosts their annual ABA Mummer's parade and celebrate's their 150th anniversary. Numerous activities highlight the day Saturday. Girardville, Shenandoah and Ashland host a variety of events during the day and evening Sunday. There are also events planned for Labor Day as well. For a complete list of events, log on to upperschuylkill-dot-com.

SUNBURY - A Schuylkill County man who threatened his ex-wife and a judge is behind bars. Police report that 53-year old John Lupotsky of Ashland, upset over the outcome of a custody hearing, allegedly went to Sunbury attorney Joel Wiest's office Wednesday with an unidentified friend and threatened to shoot his former wife, Nancy Dennis, of Bonneau, South Carolina, in the head and kill Judge Charles Saylor, according to a criminal complaint filed by Sunbury City police. Lupotsky was charged early Friday morning with two counts of misdemeanor terroristic threats and is now in Northumberland County Prison in lieu of $50,000 cash bail.

SCHUYLKILL COUNTY - It's the last getaway weekend of the summer. It's also time to drive defensively. PennDOT Secretary Allen Biehler (bee-lur) and State Police Commissioner Jeffrey Miller are encouraging motorists to drive safely and allow extra time for travel during the busy Labor Day weekend. Motorists are reminded that with heavier traffic than usual, they should be aware of posted speed limits, wear their seatbelts, restrict cell phone usage while driving and of course, don't drink and drive. According to PennDOT, 1,168 crashes and 13 fatalities occurred during last year's Labor Day driving period, with alcohol involvement accounting for 190 of those crashes and seven fatalities. In an effort to enhance road safety and protect motorists, the Pennsylvania State Police will be conducting DUI checkpoints and roving patrols. PennDOT will remove lane restrictions on interstates, including the work zone on Interstate 81 and other high-volume expressways when possible, but restrictions cannot be lifted on some larger projects. Motorists can visit PennDOT's Web site at www.dot.state.pa.us and click on "Traveler Information" to find links to interstate travel advisories and weather conditions.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Governor Ed Rendell says Pennsylvania's student-loan agency may not be on sound financial footing. Rendell expressed his concerns in a letter earlier this week to
the leaders of the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency's board of directors. The governor says PHEAA's operating income and net assets both declined during the first nine months of the 2006-07 fiscal year, compared to the same period in the prior year. Rendell says this shows PHEAA hasn't done enough to streamline its operations. But PHEAA spokesman Keith New says Rendell is misinterpreting the the numbers. Among other things, he says the more than 11 million-dollar decline in net assets represents money the agency spent on student aid programs.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Governor Ed Rendell wants the Legislature to create a board to study the idea of a statewide health plan for teachers. Rendell says it could districts save money and prevent teachers' contract talks from being hung up over rising insurance costs. Under Rendell's plan, the state would also contribute money to the health plan, in addition to subsidies the state already pays to school districts. Five hundred of the state's 501 school districts would be covered by the plan, which was first reported by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Only Philadelphia would be exempt from the plan. If the Public School Employees' Benefit Board determines the health plan would be cost effective, the board could establish a plan and gradually bring school districts into it.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Plaintiffs who successfully sued to overturn Hazleton's illegal immigrant law want the city to pay millions of dollars in legal fees. U.S. District Judge James Munley struck down the Illegal Immigration Relief Act in July, ruling it unconstitutional. Hazleton is appealing the ruling. Lawyers representing the plaintiffs asked Munley today to award them more than two million dollars in fees and another $45,000 in related costs. Hazleton Mayor Lou Barletta calls the request absurd and says the city will fight it. Barletta has raised $400,000 for the city's legal defense fund, of which about $150,000 has been spent.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - If you're planning to travel Interstate 476, the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, you might want to do a little advance planning. The Allentown Service Plaza will close temporarily next Wednesday, September 5th, at 6 a.m. Turnpike officials say it's time for a makeover. The plaza was built in the late 1950s and is in need of sprucing up. Actually, the old plaza will be demolished and in its place will go a modern food court, a full service convenience store, and larger rest rooms. It's expected to open around next Memorial Day.

BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig is set to announce his resignation today, and his party hopes it will be spared the embarrassment of a prolonged scandal. Craig was caught up in a sex sting in a Minneapolis airport restroom, although he says he did nothing wrong.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (AP) - Republican Senator John Warner of Virginia says its time to "make way for others." Warner says he's decided not to run for reelection after nearly 30 years in the Senate. He's been one of the most authoritative voices in Congress on the military and a key figure in the current Iraq debate.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Federal mine officials are calling off the search for six trapped miners in Utah. The men have been trapped in the mine for nearly four weeks and rescue workers say they're out of options to reach them. Says one official, rescue efforts are over.

PENTAGON (AP) - President Bush has gotten a first hand briefing on the strain on troops and their families caused by the deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Bush heard from the military chiefs yesterday at the Pentagon. Indications are that the president plans to stick with his current approach at least into 2008.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S. commanders and local authorities in Afghanistan report 40 more suspected Taliban fighters have been killed. Some were caught in the region where South Korean hostages were freed by insurgents this week. The coalition says the operation seized ammo including artillery rounds and rocket grenades.

BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) - One of those giant new Airbus super jets has scraped a wing tip. The A380 bumped into the door of a hanger at the Bangkok airport today. The jet suffered only minor damage. It was taxiing at the time with reporters and VIPs on board.

ATLANTA (AP) - Mega Millions players in four states have defied the odds against winning a 330-million-dollar-jackpot. Four tickets matched all six of the numbers in last night's drawing. One lottery official says there's a better chance of repeatedly getting struck by lightning than winning Mega Millions.

KERNVILLE, Calif. (AP) - Six family members, including a baby, have been killed in the crash of the single-engine plane in California. Yesterday's crash happened at a remote airport in Kern County. The plane crashed on approach. The family had flown from Santa Monica on a camping trip.

BETHESDA, Md. (AP) - Be really careful riding all terrain vehicles. That's the word this holiday weekend from the Consumer Product Safety Commission. There have been 30 deaths in 20 states in just the past month. The commission's Scott Wolfson says one problem is kids driving 500-pound vehicles that can go 50 miles-an-hour.

MIAMI (AP) - The sixth named tropical storm of the Atlantic hurricane season is Felix. A tropical storm warning has been issued for the islands of Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao. Top sustained winds are around 40 miles-an-hour.

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Kroger grocery chain says it's recalling a big batch of store brand potato salad. The chain is concerned "Southern-Style" and "Mustard" potato salads may be tainted with E. coli bacteria. The salad has a sell-by date of September 5th. No illnesses have been reported.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Utilities in California are urging customers to lighten up on electricity use as the state continues to wither under a heat wave. Cooling centers have also been opened. Cloudbursts laced with lightning unleashed downpours in the mountains and deserts, leading to flash flood watches and warnings.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - A federal appeals court says the Bush administration can go ahead with a pilot program to allow as many as 100 Mexican trucking companies to freely haul their cargo anywhere in the U.S. for the next year. The Teamsters union and others had filed court papers saying the program would endanger highway safety.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP) - The nation is honoring the late Gerald Ford with a postage stamp. A stamp features a painting of the former president and honors his life of public service. Eighty million of the stamps went on sale Friday.