Today's News-Saturday, August 2nd, 2008

Piekarksy asks for change to juvenile court

One of the Shenandoah teens who have been charged with criminal homicide and other counts in the death of Luis Ramirez is asking to have his case moved to juvenile court. The Republican and Herald reports that Brandon Piekarsky's attorney Fred Fanelli petitioned Schuylkill County Court to release his client from jail, where he's been since last week. A hearing on that request has been made, but DA Jim Goodman says his office will contest that. Piekarsky and Colin Walsh face criminal homicide, ethnic intimidation and other charges, and Derrick Donchak was charged with ethnic intimidation and other offenses in the July 12th beating death of Luis Ramirez.

Last day of the Schuylkill County Fair

Activities at the 25th Anniversary of the Schuylkill County Fair will be jammed packed on the final day today. The fairgrounds open at 1pm on Oldies Day. Aldaliz Corona, winner of Schuylkill County Idol 6 will perform at 7pm, and former Monkees frontman Davy Jones will close the fair with the 9 o'clock show. Last night, country superstar Mark Chestnutt and the New South Band packed the house with a mix of his original hits and other country favorites. Fair officials estimate that more than 7-thousand-people enjoyed the fair, and fireworks Friday.

Theft of wire in Tamaqua

Another area business was victimized by burglars this week, this time in Tamaqua. Someone entered the former Mitchell Furniture building on West Broad Street earlier this week and took 800 to 1000 pounds of electrical wire. Thieves got into the building through a locked garage door. Tamaqua police are investigating.

Bomb threat suspect apprehended

A Northumberland County teen taken into custody yesterday in connection with Tuesday's bomb threats is reportedly under supervision after a suicide threat. The News-Item reports that a 17-year-old male who lives along Trevorton Road was taken into custody by State Police at Stonington Thursday after allegedly confessing to making bomb threats in Shamokin, Coal Township and Zerbe Township. Once in custody, the teen allegedly threatened to commit suicide. Reportedly, the teen was committed to a mental health unit at an area hospital. Authorities were alerted about the teen after neighbors read about the bomb threats in the paper, and told police the teen had made similar threats to them. No charges have yet been filed against the boy.

Everything ready for cruise

Organizers of the Great Pottsville Cruise are ready for the 15th edition. The committee held its final meeting this week to put the finishing touches on the event, which begins Wednesday night with a Cruise In and Deck Party at the Pottsville Club. Thursday, the younger set gets to show their stuff at the Generation X Sound Off and Car show at the Yorkville Coney Island. Friday night, leather jackets and poodle skirts will be the dress of the day at a Sock Hop at Pine View Acres. Saturday, its another full day of showing off the cars with Cruise in events in downtown Pottsville. And Sunday, Its the Great Pottsville Cruise...Dennis Gage, host of Speed Channel's "My Classic Car" program and Genevieve (zhawn-vee-ev) Shappell of ESPN2's "Bidding Wars" will be special guests of this year's cruise. Listen to WPPA all week for updates on the Great Pottsville Cruise.

2 dead, 1 in custody in shooting at Pa. warehouse

BRISTOL, Pa. (AP) - Two people are dead after a shooting outside a suburban Philadelphia book warehouse Friday and a man described as a disgruntled former employee is in custody. Simon & Schuster spokesman Adam Rothberg says the victims were employees of the publishing company's warehouse in Bristol. The shooting happened around 3:30 p.m. during a shift change at the warehouse, which employs 125 full-time workers and is located about 20 miles north of Philadelphia. Bucks County District Attorney Michelle Henry has identified the alleged gunman as 32-year-old Robert Diamond of Bristol Borough. She says he was fired in April for absenteeism. The victims were 46-year-old temporary worker Angel Guadalupe and 52-year-old Reginald Woodson. Rothberg says the company is sending in grief counselors for employees.

Report: Disabled Pa. girl was failed at every turn as she wasted away

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A top Philadelphia official has resigned after being named but not charged in Thursday's grand jury indictment of two Department of Human Services workers.
Mayor Michael Nutter suspended and intended to fire assistant health commissioner Carmen Paris. But in the meantime, Paris tendered her resignation Friday. The grand jury's report says that in 2006, Paris -- at the time the interim health commissioner -- directed the medical examiner's office not to cooperate with investigators looking into the death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly. The girl weighed just 42 pounds when she died of starvation and medical neglect in 2006. She had cerebral palsy. Grand jurors recommend murder charges against the girl's mother and endangerment counts against the father. The jurors also recommend counts ranging from involuntary manslaughter to endangerment against two city social workers and
two people who worked for a private care agency.

Senate approves Great Lakes compact

WASHINGTON (AP) - A compact to prevent the diversion of water from the Great Lakes has passed the U.S. Senate and awaits action in the House. President Bush has said he'll sign the measure into law and both major presidential candidates support it. The agreement was negotiated by eight Great Lakes states including Pennsylvania. It prevents countries or remote states from tapping into the lakes from their natural drainage basin with rare exceptions. In addition, states would be required to regulate their own large-scale water uses and promote conservation. The National Wildlife Federation called on the House to quickly follow the Senate's lead, but that will have to wait until next month, when Congress returns from its August recess.

Johnstown-area man pleads guilty to 3rd-degree murder in fatal beating

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Johnstown-area man has pleaded guilty to third-degree murder fatally beating another man. Twenty-year-old Daniel Manculich, of Jackson Township, faces 10
to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced for beating 48-year-old Richard Lantzy with a blunt object on Aug. 10 at Lantzy's Johnstown home. Lantzy died Aug. 21. Police say Manculich told investigators he was sexually assaulted by Lantzy and then blacked out. Under a plea-agreement, a first-degree murder charge was dropped.

2 people charged in historic district evacuation

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Florida man and woman who are accused of trying to bring knives and ammunition into a Philadelphia federal building are being held without bail on weapons charges. The federal building and part of Philadelphia's historic district were evacuated Thursday after Louis and Kathy Boumpani tried to bring the items through a metal detector. Authorities say the Boumpanis are from Palm Coast, Fla. The couple tells authorities they drove to Philadelphia in order to talk the FBI "to report incidents of identity theft and mortgage fraud against them." Agents say the pair were carrying two briefcases and a cardboard box "with materials that they felt were relevant to their presentation to the FBI." When the briefcases and box were scanned in an X-ray machine, federal security officers say they found knives, shotgun shells and other ammunition. The pair will be held until their next court appearance on
Wednesday.

FCC rules Comcast violated Internet access policy

WASHINGTON (AP) - The FCC has ruled that Comcast violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some of its subscribers. The 3-2 vote enforces a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Net. The cable giant must now change the way it manages its network. No fine was imposed. But the commission did order the company to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of file-sharing software.
Republican FCC Chairman Kevin Martin criticized the company for failing to tell customers exactly how it was managing its traffic. He says Comcast managers had arbitrarily picked an application and blocked their subscribers' access to it. Comcast says it is disappointed in the divided conclusion and believes its network management choices were reasonable. It says it
didn't block traffic, it only delayed it.

Pa.'s biggest wind power project gets state's OK

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's largest wind power project has the go-ahead from the state, although one county's approval is being challenged in court. The state Department of Environment Protection this week said it approved plans by AES Corp. to protect creeks, streams and residential properties on Armenia Mountain in northcentral Pennsylvania.
The Arlington, Va.-based company wants to erect more than 120 wind turbines north of Canton on the Tioga-Bradford county border. But the Tioga Preservation Group is challenging a conditional approval from the county's planning commission. State officials said the turbines will provide 150 megawatts, enough power for 47,000 homes.

Two W.Pa. sewage treatment plant operators charged

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The operators of two western Pennsylvania sewage treatment plants are accused of falsifying nearly 1,500 monthly tests on discharged water. The state Attorney General charged 49-year-old John Forster, of Penfield, and 55-year-old Donald Rucinski, of Weedville, with unsworn falsification, tampering with public records and violating Pennsylvania's Clean Streams Law. Forster operated the Huston Township plant in Clearfield County. Rucinski operated the Jay Township plant in Elk County, where Forster was back up operator.
Authorities say the state Department of Environmental Protection became suspicious of the results. A message left for Forster wasn't returned; Rucinksi has an unlisted number. It's unclear if they have attorneys.

Philadelphia man convicted of killing teen on bike

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A 19-year-old Philadelphia man has been convicted of fatally shooting a 14-year-old bicyclist during a road-rage incident last July. Charles Meyers was convicted Friday of third-degree murder and two weapons counts. He was acquitted of first-degree murder. Meyers says he shot Tykeem Law in the chest after an argument about getting out of the street. He claims he acted in self-defense after the boy reached under a T-shirt as if reaching for a weapon. Prosecutors say Meyers lied. Five witnesses - including two in Meyers' car - say the boy never made any threatening moves.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Democratic Senator Tom Daschle wants the FBI to give an accounting of their investigation of a government scientist who killed himself this week. Bruce Ivins' suicide comes just as prosecutors were set to file charges against him for the 2001 anthrax mailings.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The White House has earmarked plenty of time for President Bush to take in some of the competition at the Olympics when they get underway next week. He leaves for Asia on Monday.

UNDATED (AP) - GOP candidate John McCain is taking the day off the presidential campaign trail. Democratic rival Barack Obama will be in Florida to talk to the National Urban League conference.

BEIJING (AP) - The International Olympic Committee has stripped gold medals from the U.S. men's 1,600-meter relay team that competed at the 2000 Olympics. The move follows sprinter Antonio Pettigrew's admission that he was doping at the time.

UNDATED (AP) - College football coaches have pegged the Georgia Bulldogs as the nation's top-ranked team to start the season. Southern Cal and Ohio State are 2nd and 3rd on the USA Today list. The AP puts out its poll later this month.