Today's News-Tuesday, August 5th, 2008

Hospitals affiliate as Schuylkill Health System

Pottsville's two hospitals are now working as Schuylkill Health System. Regulatory approvals were granted to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center and Pottsville Hospital and Warne Clinic to join forces. Good Sam is now known as Schuylkill Medical Center-East Norwegian Street. Pottsville Hospital is identified as Schuylkill Medical Center-South Jackson Street. Pottsville Hospital CEO John Simodejka will head the health system. More than 19-hundred people are employed there. Most of the integration will take place over the next several months, but hospital officials believe that a full integration will take several years.

Boscov's bankruptcy reorganization

Retail giant Boscov's bankruptcy filing yesterday will not affect the Pottsville store. The chain cites economic conditions as a major reason why they filed Chapter 11 in Delaware court to get their financial house in order. Ten of its underperforming stores will be closed, including 5 in Pennsylvania. Boscov's has also sought a $250-million-dollar loan to tide them over for the back to school and holiday shopping season. The company expects to complete its restructuring by early next year.

Second teen accused in Ramirez death asks case to be moved to juvenile court

The attorney for 17 year old Colin Walsh, one of the teens accused of criminal homicide and related counts in the death of Luis Ramirez, has asked to have his client's case moved to juvenile court. He joins 16-year-old Brandon Piekarsky in making that request. The pair, along with Derrick Donchak, are awaiting a preliminary hearing, scheduled for August 18th. Schuylkill County District Attorney Jim Goodman has said that his office would contest the cases being moved to the juvenile court.

Bomb threat at Walmart

Shoppers and employees at WalMart in St. Clair were evacuated from the store yesterday in response to a bomb threat. According to the Republican and Herald, a call was made to a store assistant manager, prompting law enforcement to scour the store in the late afternoon. Thankfully, nothing was found inside, and the store reopened around 6pm. The investigation is continuing.

Bear causes crash on I-81

A black bear crossing Interstate 81 caused a tractor trailer crash last night. Charlie Hill of Randolph, Massachusetts hit the bruin with his rig in Kline Township around 8:30pm. Hill and his passenger were not hurt, and damage to the rig was minor. The bear was removed from the highway by the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

Nader gets on Pa. ballot

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Barring a challenge like the one that knocked him off the Pennsylvania ballot in 2004, Ralph Nader will get to compete in the state as an independent presidential candidate. Nader is still fighting a court order to pay $81,000 in legal costs of the voters who challenged his nomination papers the last time around. He apparently succeeded in collecting the 24,666 voters' signatures that he needed by Friday to qualify for the Nov.
4 ballot. The deadline to file challenges to independent and third-party candidates is Friday, Aug. 8. On Monday, Nader and his 2004 running mate, Peter Miguel Camejo, said the ballot challenge was orchestrated by Democratic lawmakers and House aides as part of a conspiracy to illegally spend public money for political purposes. In the 2004 challenge, nearly two-thirds of Nader's signatures were declared invalid following a review that involved 11 Commonwealth Court judges.

Pa. House deputy speaker asks DeWeese to resign leadership post in wake of bonus scandal

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - An unfolding political corruption scandal in Harrisburg has prompted Deputy House Speaker Josh Shapiro to call for the House Democratic leader, Bill DeWeese, to resign his leadership post. Shapiro says DeWeese has lost the voters' trust and could hurt
the election chances of other Democrats. However, DeWeese accused Shapiro of mounting a personal attack that is distracting the caucus. And DeWeese showed no sign of relinquishing the leadership post he has held for 12 years. DeWeese was not implicated in the charges filed last month against 12 people connected to the House Democratic caucus. Shapiro is not the first Democrat to publicly call for DeWeese to resign. He also said he does not know whether a majority of Democratic representatives support his position.

Petraeus: More than 80,000 buildings under review

WASHINGTON (AP) - The top commander in Iraq says more than 80,000 facilities in Iraq will be inspected for faulty wiring as part of an effort to prevent future accidental electrocutions of
U.S. troops. Gen. David Petraeus spelled out the extent of the review that began last month in a letter to Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey. He had questioned what changes had been made following the death of Sgt. Ryan Maseth, a Green Beret from Pittsburgh who was electrocuted
while showering. Petraeus says a team has been named to oversee the review of more than 80,000 facilities, which include 6,000 pre-existing Iraqi facilities. All are maintained by the Logistics Civil Augmentation Program. The team will also develop repair and prevention plans.
Casey says in a statement that the inspections "should have been taken a long time ago," but he is pleased that Petraeus was making the changes. At least 10 U.S. soldiers, five Marines and a third-country contractor for the Defense Department have been identified as having died by electrocution in Iraq.

7 more city workers suspended in starvation death

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter plans at least two private meetings today with staff at the city Department of Human Services. Philadelphia officials on Monday suspended seven more city workers in the case of a disabled teen who died under a city
agency's watch. A grand jury report found that the workers all bore some responsibility in the death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly, who died of starvation and infection. Those who were
suspended Monday were not actually charged in the girl's death. Nine people have been charged in the case, including Danieal's parents and two city social workers. Those two workers, who face charges of child endangerment, have already been suspended. Monday's actions came exactly two years after the discovery of the emaciated, maggot-infested body of Danieal, who had cerebral palsy. At a news conference, Mayor Michael Nutter choked up while noting his own daughter is just a year younger than Danieal was when she died. He angrily said if any city employee was guilty of such neglect he'd like to punish them himself.

Man goes on trial in killing of Pa. police officer

READING, Pa. (AP) - Prosecutors in Reading are seeking the death penalty against a man on trial in the shooting death of a plainclothes police officer two years ago. Courtroom spectators wept Monday as prosecutors played the 911 call made when 40-year-old Officer Scott Wertz was shot and killed near City Hall in August 2006. Prosecutors say Wertz was chasing 26-year-old Cletus Rivera, of Reading, when Rivera shot him in the chest. Wertz, of Spring Township, was working an auto-theft detail at the time of the shooting. Prosecutors say he had been responding to a report of a fight and gave chase when he saw Rivera stuff something down the front of his pants and run. Defense attorney Jay Nigrini says Rivera didn't know that Wertz
was a police officer and acted in self defense. A jury was brought in from Northampton County because of extensive media coverage of the case in the Reading area.

Officer pleads guilty in fight at Pa. atty's party

HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - One of two police officers has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for a fight at a prominent Blair County attorney's home last month. Hollidaysburg police Officer Jeffrey Friday has paid $428 in fines and court costs after pleading guilty to the summary offense on Monday. Logan Township police Officer Matthew Lindsey and a third man,
40-year-old Jamel Mallad of Hollidaysburg, have also been cited in the July 16 fight at defense attorney Thomas Dickey's home. State police in Blair County asked troopers in Bedford County to investigate the fight because local attorneys and police were in attendance. Police and the citations don't say what role any of the men had in the alleged fight.

Wecht's lawyer asks appeals court to dismiss case

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A lawyer for pathologist Cyril Wecht says his client should not be retried on federal fraud and theft charges and the case against him should be dismissed. Attorney David Fine made the request to a three-judge panel of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He says U.S. District Judge Arthur Schwab erred April 8 when he declared a mistrial without
questioning jurors, talking to attorneys or considering other alternatives. Wecht's consultations on high-profile deaths have earned him millions. He is accused of using his former Allegheny County coroner's staff to do work for his private practice. Schwab declared a mistrial after the jurors gave him a note saying they were "essentially deadlocked" on reaching a decision on any of the charges against Wecht. The jurors had deliberated the 41 counts for more than 50 hours over 11 days.

Sneaker-lovers camp out in Philadelphia for Nikes

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - New sneakers being released on Tuesday at the Ubiq footwear store in Philadelphia already have a waiting audience - and they've been waiting for days. Eddie Ortiz Jr. and his father have been living on a street corner since Saturday morning waiting for the footewear designed by Ahmir Thompson, drummer for the Grammy-winning hip-hop band, The
Roots. Thompson designed the $225 red, green and gold Air Force 1 sneakers as part of the shoe company's 1World collection, which will feature 18 designs over eight months. By late Monday morning, 26 people had lined up in a makeshift sidewalk campsite. While sneakerheads - as sneaker collectors call themselves - regularly camp out for new releases, store supervisor Kyle Dunn says Ubiq has never had this many people waiting in line. Sneakerheads say their passion is like collecting baseball cards or comic books - and it's a big deal, especially in Philadelphia
and New York.

Moody's upgrades Pittsburgh bond rating again

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Moody's Investors Service has upgraded Pittsburgh's debt rating for the third time in two years. The rating service noted the city projects a surplus of $19 million in fiscal 2008. That's six times the size of the city's budget surplus in 2004, when its bonds had a "junk" rating. Moody's increased its rating on the city's debt from Baa2 to Baa1, which means the city's financial risk is "medium-grade". The city plans to refinance $72 million in bonds on Thursday to save about $3 million in interest payments. The city remains under two financial oversight boards and continues to struggle with pension obligations, a shrinking tax base and high debt.

Grammy-nominated gospel singer recovering in NJ

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) - A Grammy-nominated gospel singer is recovering in New Jersey from a car crash that killed his wife and grandson. The Rev. Timothy Wright is undergoing rehabilitation at the Kessler Institute in West Orange. He had been hospitalized in Pennsylvania after the July 4 accident. The 61-year-old Wright's car was hit head-on by a motorist driving the wrong way on Interstate 80 near Danville, Pennsylvania. The other driver was killed.
Doctors are scheduled to discuss Wright's condition at a news conference Tuesday. Wright founded the Grace Tabernacle Christian Center in Brooklyn's Crown Heights neighborhood. He has released more than a dozen gospel recordings and was nominated for a Grammy award in
1994.

Tickets for Gorbachev in Phila. available Aug. 26

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia says tickets for a ceremony honoring Mikhail Gorbachev will be available to the public this month. Former President George H.W. Bush, who's the chairman of the Constitution Center, is to present the Liberty Medal to Gorbachev on Sept. 18. The former Soviet president is being honored for his role in ending the Cold War and bringing hope to those living under Communism. Members of the Constitution Center can get tickets free of charge on Aug. 25. Nonmembers must pay a $7 per ticket service charge and can order tickets by calling 888-633-2572 starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 26.

Angelou, Lear named for 2008 Marian Anderson Award

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - TV producer Norman Lear and author Maya Angelou will be honored in Philadelphia this fall as the 2008 recipients of the Marian Anderson Award. The award honors artists whose leadership benefits humanity. Mayor Michael Nutter says Lear and Angelou were chosen because of their ability to "change society through their art and the courage of convictions." Angelou and Lear are to accept their awards at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts on Nov. 17. Each award carries a $100,000 honorarium. Eighty-year-old Angelou has written more than a dozen best-selling books including "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings," as well as three Grammy-winning spoken-word albums, poetry, plays and children's books. Seventy-six-year-old Lear was creator, producer and writer for television series that became cultural landmarks including "All in the Family," "Sanford and Son," "The Jeffersons" and "Maude." In 1982, he founded the advocacy group People for the American Way.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The government reports that consumer spending numbers fell in June, after being adjusted for inflation. The drop comes as shoppers were hit with the biggest rise in prices in nearly three decades. On Wall Street, stocks have pulled off their lows and turned mixed, after a tumble in oil prices linked to concerns about weak consumer spending.

LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Barack Obama is proposing that the U.S. sell 70 million barrels of oil from its emergency stockpile. He said the move could help drive down gasoline prices. Also speaking on energy topics, John McCain is pushing for more oil drilling off the U.S. coast.

BALTIMORE (AP) - A father accused of abducting his daughter in Boston is agreeing to return to Massachusetts to face charges. Officials say the man was arrested over the weekend after
authorities lured him out of a Baltimore home. The 7-year-old daughter was not harmed. Authorities say the man known as Clark Rockefeller used several aliases. They're trying to learn his real identity.

CHICAGO (AP) - Conservative political commentator Robert Novak is announcing his immediate retirement. The 77-year-old columnist was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor. The Chicago Sun-Times reports on its Web site that Novak's prognosis is "dire."

NEW YORK (AP) - Something else you'll have to pay extra for in the skies. JetBlue is going to charge its passengers for pillows and blankets. The charge will be $7 on flights longer than two
hours. It's the latest in a string of charges the company says are providing a revenue boost to help offset higher jet fuel costs.