Today's News-Monday, April 21st

State police at Frackville are looking for arsonists who set fire to a building in Schuylkill Township late last week. Troopers now report that between Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, burglars threw a log threw a window at 329 Old Route 209 and dumped diesel fuel onto the floor and furnishings, then set it on fire. The arson determination was made by Fire Marshal John Burns and Trooper Robert Wessner of the forensic services unit. Anonymous tips are being accepted by Frackville state police by calling 874-5300. The property is owned by Reading Anthracite Company.
(Jay Levan)

County residents took advantage of opportunities to help the environment over the weekend, as Kerry Dowd reports:

WEINER EARTH DAY (click to listen)
(Kerry Dowd)

State and local police were busy during a Friday night DUI checkpoint near Coaldale. The North Central Highway Safety Network reports that 387 vehicles were detained and 6 operators tested for DUI. Officers made one adult DUI arrest. During the sweep, there were 9 other traffic arrests, 2 seat belt citations and two warnings issued. Five police departments and 12 officers participated Friday night. Checkpoints are scheduled again this week, on Route 61, 183, 901, 209 and other main roadways in Schuylkill County.
(Jay Levan)

If you are 55 years or older, and a good speller, Diakon Community Services for Seniors is looking for you. The 2008 Older Adult Spelling Championship is scheduled for May 12th at Trinity Lutheran Church in Pottsville. The competition gets underway at 6:30 for the Schuylkill County championship.
Interested competitors must register by calling Susan Long at Diakon at 624-3018, or toll free at 800-621-6325. The Schuylkill County winner will travel to York for the state championship on May 28th.
(Jay Levan)

PA sportsmen want presidential candidates to sharpen their aim. Deborah Smith has the story:

SMITH (click to listen)
(Keystone State News Connection)

Clinton, Obama trade negative attacks days before Pa. vote
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama swapped some of the most negative attacks of the campaign two days before the Pennsylvania primary. Each unleashed television ads yesterday that accused the other of maintaining ties to special interests they both claim to reject. Pre-primary polls show Clinton with a lead in the state she must win to sustain her candidacy. She plans appearances in Scranton, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg and Philadelphia today. Only seven other states, plus Guam and Puerto Rico, have yet to hold primaries.

5 men die in separate weekend shootings in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Five men died in separate shootings in Philadelphia over the weekend, and police have no suspects in any of the cases. The men died between Saturday morning and yesterday morning in northwestern and southwestern sections of the city. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says authorities must try to figure out "anything that we can do to maybe make the situation less likely" to happen again. He says police will look at whether the killings occurred in any of the city's designated high-crime areas. If so, Ramsey says he will assess whether enough officers are deployed there.

Obama says McCain would be better than Bush
READING, Pa. (AP) - Democrat Barack Obama often argues that electing John McCain would be like giving President Bush a third term. But he said yesterday that the Republican presidential candidate would be better for the country than Bush has been. Obama made the remark at a rally in Reading. But he also said that he and opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton would be better leaders than McCain. The McCain comment could undercut Obama's efforts to portray the future GOP nominee as an extension of Bush's unpopular tenure. Clinton chided Obama for the remark, saying, "We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain." McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds says Obama's comment "underscores that John McCain has the strength to change America and move this nation forward."

Mayor to meet slots developer about revitalization promise
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl is adamant a slots parlor developer keeps a promise to revitalize a city neighborhood. Ravenstahl says he plans to meet with Majestic Star developer Don Barden. Barden's company asked the Pennsylvania Gaming Board for permission to eliminate a $3 million commitment to redevelop the city's Hill District. Barden offered the money in 2006 as part of his bid to win the Pittsburgh slots license. Barden says his company changed course because the city and Allegheny County gave the Pittsburgh Penguins authority to develop land once the team's new arena is built in the Hill District. Barden's slots parlor is being built elsewhere in the city. It is scheduled to open in May 2009.

Bill Clinton: Hillary qualified to be commander-in-chief
MILFORD, Pa. (AP) - Former President Clinton is playing up his wife's Pennsylvania roots two days before the state's crucial presidential primary. Clinton appeared yesterday at a private home in the quaint Pocono Mountains town of Milford. He noted Hillary Rodham Clinton's father grew up about 50 miles away in Scranton and is buried there. He said her father and brother played football at Penn State. And he said - in his words - "We've all drunk beer at Cooper's." That's a Scranton seafood joint. Bill Clinton campaigned earlier yesterday outside Pittsburgh, where he said tomorrow's primary between his wife and Sen. Barack Obama is about "who wants it the most." He also addressed a small crowd at an airplane hangar in Tobyhanna, then set out for the Philadelphia suburb of Essington for his final stop of the day.

Pennsylvania pols tout Clinton, Obama on Sunday talk shows
Pennsylvania politicians hit the airwaves in force yesterday to tout their respective presidential candidates. Gov. Ed Rendell says he thinks New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton will win Pennsylvania's presidential primary by single digits over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama. Rendell, a Clinton supporter, appeared yesterday on CBS' "Face the Nation." He appeared with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, who supports Obama. Rendell says the race has tightened because of Obama's "almost obscene" spending. Casey says Obama has made "tremendous progress" over the last six or seven weeks. Two politicians from Philadelphia, Mayor Michael Nutter and U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, appeared on CNN's "Late Edition." Fattah supports Obama, while Nutter is backing Clinton.

HD enthusiasts crying foul over cable TV's crunched signals
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Comcast Corp. and other cable TV companies are packing more HD channels than ever into limited bandwidth. But some owners of the pricey plasma, projector and LCD TVs are complaining that they're not getting the high-def quality they paid for. They blame the increased signal compression being used to squeeze three digital HD signals into the bandwidth of one analog station. Compressing the signal is cheaper than costly infrastructure upgrades to increase capacity. Information is nearly always lost when signals are compressed and then uncompressed. But Philadelphia-based Comcast says the process should be made unnoticeable to the eyes and ears. Comcast says it constantly monitors its network and makes adjustments for the best picture quality.

Other Pa. contests compete with Dems' presidential primary
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Democratic presidential candidates aren't the only ones on the ballot in tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary election. The drawn-out battle between Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barack Obama of Illinois has spurred a voter-registration surge. But voters will also decide nominations for dozens of other elective offices - from state treasurer to the Legislature to Congress. Four candidates are vying for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer. Three Democrats are also battling to succeed state Sen. Vincent Fumo. He bowed out of the race as he prepares for trial on federal corruption charges. None of Pennsylvania's 19 members of the U.S. House of Representatives faces a primary challenge this year.

JERUSALEM (AP) - Former President Jimmy Carter says the militant group Hamas is prepared to accept the right of Israel to "live as a neighbor next door in peace." Carter's comments in Jerusalem came after he met last week with the top Hamas leaders in Syria.

SELMA, Ala. (AP) - John McCain is in Selma, Alabama, to recall the courage of civil rights marchers who were beaten bloody in 1965. The presumed GOP nominee is launching a weeklong tour of communities he says are suffering from poverty and inattention from presidential candidates.

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama have been trading some of the most negative attacks of the campaign ahead of Pennsylvania's Democratic primary. Meanwhile, campaign finance records show Obama began the month with a 5-to-1 cash advantage over Clinton, who's saddled with debt.

NEW YORK (AP) - Pope Benedict's just-completed trip to America is being called an "enormous success" in the short term by Catholic writer Russell Shaw. But the former spokesman for the U.S. bishops' conference says it's anyone's guess if the papal visit will have a significant long-term impact.

SUPREME COURT (AP) - The Supreme Court hears arguments this week in the case of a man who says his former girlfriend's statements should not have been used against him at his murder trial. Dwayne Giles says he was deprived of his right to have the woman cross-examined -- even though he was the one who killed her.