Today's News-Wednesday, March 26th

A daylight robbery took place at a Tower City pharmacy yesterday morning. Schuylkill Haven state police indicate that a white male walked into the Williams Valley pharmacy on East Grande Avenue after 11:30, brandishing a gun. He walked up to the counter, displayed a note and demanded prescription pain medication. The pharmacist complied with the demand, and the man fled. The suspect took off in an unknown direction. He is described as being 6 feet, to 6 feet two in height, weighing about 200 pounds. The robber was wearing dark colored clothing and a gray knit cap. Anyone with information about the robbery should call Schuylkill Haven state police at 593-2000.

A daylight robbery took place at a Tower City pharmacy yesterday morning. Schuylkill Haven state police indicate that a white male walked into the Williams Valley pharmacy on East Grande Avenue after 11:30, brandishing a gun. He walked up to the counter, displayed a note and demanded prescription pain medication. The pharmacist complied with the demand, and the man fled. The suspect took off in an unknown direction. He is described as being 6 feet, to 6 feet two in height, weighing about 200 pounds. The robber was wearing dark colored clothing and a gray knit cap. Anyone with information about the robbery should call Schuylkill Haven state police at 593-2000.

Will there be a special guest at Girardville's St. Patrick's Day parade on Saturday. The area's largest celebration of Irish heritage steps off in the northern Schuylkill County community at noon, rain or shine. And one of the Democratic presidential candidates may make an appearance. The rumour that Hillary Rodham Clinton may attend has been circulating around the county for several weeks. Now, Schuylkill County Democratic party leaders have acknowledged that they have been in contact with the New York Senator's campaign to see if a visit is possible for the parade, according to the Republican and Herald. A decision should be known shortly. Hillary Clinton has a fairly comfortable lead in the polls in the Keystone state over Senator Barack Obama. But, she trails in the delegate count right now. Former President Bill Clinton is expected to be in Montgomery and Berks counties Thursday. Senator Obama is vacationing in the Virgin Islands with his family, but expects to return to Pennsylvania by week's end.

An Orwigsburg man is facing more charges of sexual assault. Scott Donati will face two sets of charges of sexually assaulting a boy in Auburn and Schuylkill Haven during 2006 and 2007, after he waived his right to a preliminary hearing on Tuesday. Those charges include attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and attempted indecent assault, according to the Republican and Herald. Prosecutors dropped charges of statutory sexual assault and other charges in the two incidents. The 26-year-old Orwigsburg man already pleaded guilty to four sets of sex-related charges last year, and is awaiting sentencing on those charges. Those offenses could carry a maximum sentence of more than 150 years in jail, fines and registration on the Megan's Law sexual predator list for life. Donati reportedly assaulted the same six year old boy in the two incidents.

A Minersville woman is expected to be charged with criminal mischief following an incident in New Philadelphia yesterday. Frackville state police say that 48-year-old Deborah Slavena of Minersville and 30-year-old April Miller of New Philadelphia were involved in an altercation at a home on Wiggans Street. During the fight, Slavena damaged some electronic equipment belonging to Miller. State police will charge Slavena.

A nationally known recording artist is slated to appear at the Sovereign Majestic Theatre Friday night. Doylestown native Christy Jefferson will bring a combination of folk, cabaret, rock and pop to the theatre for one show at 7:30pm Friday. A trained pianist and guitarist, Jefferson has 5 albums of her own music under her belt, and has opened for acts like Kansas and Jeffrey Gaines among other headliners. She says that she got the music bug early on:

Jefferson is working on a new album now, and continues to tour. She is looking forward to returning to the Sovereign Majestic this weekend, where she performed with Celtic Heart. Christy gives us a preview:

For more on Christy Jefferson, log onto her website: http://www.christyjefferson.com/. Tickets are available at the door.

Rosie Perez: Opposing degrading contest in club launched career
KUTZTOWN (AP) - Actress Rosie Perez encourages people to follow their activist impulses. Perez spoke to a Kutztown University audience of more than 450 on Tuesday night. She says at age 19, she was a biochemistry student with no acting plans. Then she went with friends to a nightclub. Perez says a man was leading a contest for women with big behinds, and she couldn't stand it. She jumped on the stage and told the women it was degrading. The man was director Spike Lee, who had just made the movie "She's Got to Have It." He introduced himself, told her their meeting was fate, and said he wanted her to be in his next film. Her role in "Do the Right Thing" launched her entertainment career. Perez says, "My life would not have changed if I didn't have that activist spirit."

Reading girl stabbed several times with large kitchen knife
READING, Pa. (AP) - Police in Reading say a 17-year-old girl was stabbed several times with a large kitchen knife in her apartment. Paramedics say she was stabbed at least four times in the abdomen and once on each arm. She was taken to Reading Hospital, where information on her condition was not released. Police did not immediately say if they had identified a suspect in the Tuesday night stabbing. An 18-year-old city man was stabbed Monday night in an alley in another part of Reading. It was unclear if the stabbings were related.

Phila., Williamsport mayors meet to discuss crime tactics
WILLIAMSPORT, Pa. (AP) - The mayor of Williamsport says he got a lot out of a meeting with the mayor of Philadelphia to discuss crime-fighting tactics. Williamsport Mayor Gabriel Campana says his meeting with Mayor Michael Nutter in Philadelphia lasted for about two hours on Monday. He says they discussed police surveillance cameras in high-crime areas, community policing and recruiting more minority police officers. Other subjects included strategies to get guns off the streets, crime mapping and programs to reach children before they make bad decisions. He is working on scheduling a similar meeting with Cory Booker, the mayor of Newark, N.J. Campana also says Nutter accepted an invitation to visit Williamsport.

Pa. landlord sued over fire that killed 6-month-old girl
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A lawsuit alleges that a Wilkes-Barre apartment fire that killed a 6-month-old girl was caused by faulty wiring that the landlord refused to fix. Fire Chief Jacob Lisman says the cause of the July 31 fire that killed Emily Joan Hockenbury is still under investigation. The lawsuit says the girl's parents complained to landlord Anthony Balucha about insufficient smoke alarms and defective electric outlets. The lawsuit claims there were frequent electrical shorts, random power surges and lighting problems. Court papers say the girl's father, Scott Hockenbury, asked Balucha to fix the problems, but he refused. Balucha told a reporter he's not supposed to comment.

Pa. man pleads guilty in marijuana-influenced double fatal
READING, Pa. (AP) - A 19-year-old man has acknowledged that he was driving under the influence of marijuana when his car crashed, killing two of his passengers. Benjamin Ruth of Topton pleaded guilty Tuesday in Berks County juvenile court to homicide by vehicle and other charges. The 2005 crash killed 16-year-old Shay Keiper and 17-year-old Amber Krammes. Defense lawyer Allan Sodomsky acknowledged the victims' families suffered a great loss. The prosecutor asked the judge to detain Ruth pending sentencing, noting that police say Ruth had a small amount of marijuana when he was stopped for speeding in January. Charges from that arrest are pending in adult court. The judge allowed Ruth to remain free, but ordered him to surrender his driver's license.

In college towns across USA, record stores bite the dust
UNDATED (AP) - The owner of City Lights Records in State College says it's only a matter of time before he closes his storefront and sells online only. Rival State College record stores Arboria and Vibes have closed as students increasingly download their music. Downloading music has hurt the business of record stores everywhere, but stores in college towns are hurt even more. College students are the perfect market for music downloads. They have low incomes, small living quarters and endless bandwidth. Near the University of North Carolina, Schoolkids Records is closing down. Owner Mike Phillips says he's been getting a lot of e-mail messages, some from angry customers. He says if they're so concerned, they should have stopped in once in a while and bought a CD.

Clinton says she would have split with Obama's pastor
GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton says she would have left the church that Barack Obama attends if her minister had talked about America the way Obama's pastor has. Clinton's comments to reporters in Greensburg marked a clear shift in her handling of the Obama church controversy, which she had generally avoided until now. Clinton was ready for the question at her news conference, and read much of her response from notes, unlike her handling of other questions. An Obama spokesman says Clinton's remarks are an attempt to distract people from her own controversy about how she characterized a 1996 trip to Bosnia.

WASHINGTON (AP) - More weakness is being seen at American factories. Orders for manufactured goods fell for a second straight month in February. The government says demand for durable goods dropped 1.7 percent.

PENTAGON (AP) - President Bush will head to the Pentagon this morning to meet with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on the next steps for the Iraq war. Meanwhile, 55 people have been killed in Basra and Baghdad in two days of clashes between Iraqi forces and militia fighters.

BEIJING (AP) - China is demanding an investigation and a detailed explanation into the mistaken shipment of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missile electrical fuses to Taiwan. The fuses have been recovered and a probe has been launched into the incident.

DETROIT (AP) - Ford is selling its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands to an Indian company. The 2.3 billion-dollar deal is less than half of what Ford paid for the two British automakers.

GRETNA, La. (AP) - What celebrity chef Paul Prudhomme thought was a bee sting on his arm turned out to be a bullet wound yesterday. Prudhomme was hit by what police think was a falling .22 caliber bullet on a golf course near New Orleans. Despite some broken skin, the chef continued cooking at the PGA Tour event for six more hours.