Today's News- Tuesday, May 13th

There is enough evidence to send Norman Nickle to trial in the murders of two young people in Pottsville. That was the ruling yesterday by District Judge James Reiley. 53-year-old Nickle is charged with multiple homicide counts and related charges in the deaths of 17-year-old Cayla Turner of Port Carbon and 19-year-old Joshua Yevak of Pottsville in March. Nickle shot the pair in his 13th Street home, then placed their bodies in the basement for two weeks. District Attorney James Goodman did not say when the trial would take place, or if they would seek the death penalty, according to the Republican and Herald. Two firearms charges were dropped against Nickle, but a request from his attorney to drop one count each of criminal homicide, aggravated and simple assault were overturned. Nickle remains in Schuylkill County Prison, without bail.

Blythe Township is appealing a state agency's decision against a construction landfill. The PA Department of Environmental Protection denied the application for the BRADS landfill last month. An appeal was received by the agency yesterday. The agency cited deficiencies on four different issues as the reason for turning down the application. Among the issues were environmental impact, mine subsidence, air quality impact and leachate management. DEP said that the matters were not adequately addressed by the applicant. Blythe Township and investors began the process in 2004.

Pottsville City Council held their regular monthly session last night. Allie Raring has more:

RARING MAY COUNCIL

This is National Tourism Week across the nation. To Schuylkill County, its an important part of the economy. Several events are planned to mark the observance, including the introduction of a new "Walking Tour" brochure for historic Pottsville, to the unveiling of the 5th county-wide tourism map at the Schuylkill Mall today. Schuylkill County has many gems to attract tourists. With the high price of gas possibly putting a dent in people's vacation plans, Visitors Bureau Director Mark Major says that it’s a good opportunity for people to make day trips to the area:

MAJOR

Tourism is Pennsylvania's number two industry.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Sovereign Bancorp Inc., the nation's third-largest savings and loan, says its two biggest shareholders are planning to boost their investment in the company. Philadelphia-based Sovereign, which has a number of branches in Schuylkill County, seeks to raise $1.5 billion to hedge against an economic slowdown. Spain's Banco Santander and Relational Investors, of San Diego, plan to participate in Sovereign's $1 billion common stock offering. That's according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing. Sovereign also plans to issue $500 million of subordinated debt. Madrid-based Santander, which own 24.9 percent of Sovereign, and Relational, which owns 6.3 percent, did not disclose how much they plan to invest. Santander and Relational were once at loggerheads over control of the Philadelphia thrift.

READING, Pa. (AP) - A former mortgage broker who pleaded guilty to fraud is asking a federal judge to delay his sentencing. Wesley Snyder, who did business in Reading, and had clients in counties across southeastern Pennsylvania, says he should be granted the delay because his lawyer died. He had been represented by Reading lawyer Emmanuel Dimitriou, who died in March. Prosecutors say Snyder engaged in a Ponzi scheme in which he defrauded 811 borrowers and 31 investors out of $29.2 million.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Preliminary bids on a 75-year Pennsylvania Turnpike lease came in so close to each other that at least some of the bidders have been given five more days to sweeten the pot. The governor has not said how high the initial bids were or how many qualified for the additional time. But Rendell says, "given what's happened to the market recently," he is happy with the results so far.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A proposed compromise on legislation to ban smoking in most public places in Pennsylvania is stalled. Gov. Ed Rendell and Democratic senators are insisting that state law should not stop municipalities from enforcing stronger prohibitions. The legislation has been mired in disagreement in Harrisburg for 10 months.

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - Billionaire developer Ed Roski Jr. calls the collapse of the steel industry a tragic chapter in the nation's history. But Roski proposes a warehousing and assembly development that he says will bring 5,000 jobs and "a new age of industry" to the Bethlehem region. Roski told a luncheon he hopes to start construction next spring on 441 acres of former Bethlehem Steel land.

JAMISON, Pa. (AP) - Emergency workers are cleaning up after a gas line fire that burned for hours in Bucks County's Warwick Township. The fire started during Monday's storm. An electrical surge from power lines and a transformer knocked down by a falling tree melted the buried line and ignited the gas. Police say one road is likely to remain closed through the Tuesday morning rush
hour.

INDIANA, Pa. (AP) - Opening statements are expected in the case of an Indiana County teenager accused of setting a fire that killed her adoptive father. Prosecutors say 17-year-old Codee Wheeler, of Blairsville, set fire to her home last March while her adoptive father, 57-year-old William Wheeler, was inside.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The polls have opened for today's West Virginia primary. Democrat Hillary Clinton is expected to score a double-digit victory over Barack Obama. But the Illinois front-runner holds a near-insurmountable lead in the delegate race, and has been spending time focused on the fall campaign and likely Republican nominee John McCain.

BEIJING (AP) - The death toll from yesterday's magnitude 7.9 earthquake has risen to nearly 12,000. But that figure is expected to increase as the search continues for thousands of people still trapped in collapsed buildings. China says it would welcome international aid.

YANGON, Myanmar (AP) - More dire signs of conditions in cyclone-ravaged Myanmar. U.N. officials say only a tiny portion of international aid is reaching storm victims amid reports that the military regime is hoarding supplies for itself and handing out food that's not fit to eat. At least 62,000 people are counted dead or missing ten days after the cyclone struck.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - There's no let-up in the wildfires plaguing Florida's Atlantic coast. There were flare-ups overnight in the Brevard County town of Palm Bay, where around 70 homes have been damaged, and 3,500 acres have been scorched. All 18 schools in Palm Bay will be closed today.

DALLAS (AP) - A Texas man was given a citation for refusing to stop talking on his cell phone aboard a Southwest Airlines flight. Police ticketed Joe David Jones after the plane landed at Love Field in Dallas. A business associate says Jones was on the phone talking with a hospital about his seriously ill father's medical care.