Today's News- Tuesday, September 9th, 2008

Weekend drug bust nets arrest of Pottsville man

Tips from neighbors who have had enough of drug dealing resulted in the arrest of a Pottsville man over the weekend. Pottsville police say that those tips led to a search warrant being executed at an apartment at 307 Fairview Street Saturday night. Police found marijuana and methamphetamine packaged for sale, cash and drug paraphernalia at the second floor apartment of 22-year-old Anthony Harkins. He was arraigned and taken to county prison. This is the same location where a drug bust took place earlier this year against Jose Monroy. Pottsville police welcome confidential tips about drug dealing at 622-1234, mailbox 150.

Copper thefts continue to plague area businesses

High prices for metals has police looking for thieves who burglarized a coal breaker in New Castle Township. Monday morning, state police were called to the St. Nicholas Breaker, owned by Reading Anthracite, where several hundred feet of copper wire were stolen. Troopers are investigating.

New wood furnaces may be outlawed in Pottsville

Pottsville City Council introduced an ordinance last night that will regulate existing outdoor wood fired furnaces, and prohibit new ones from being installed at city homes. Last month, the issue was raised about the safety of the devices and the environmental problems they pose. Now, Pottsville proposes that existing furnaces be operated by city permit, and if the ordinance passes, no new outdoor wood furnaces would be allowed to be built. City Administrator Tom Palamar outlines some of the provisions:

PALAMAR
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o.c. These things safely

David Zerbe, 2155 Mahantongo Street, questioned council about an application for a wood furnace permit made by a neighbor last month. Council said that the application would be grandfathered, but would still have to abide by all regulations outlined in the ordinance. Fines for non-compliance could be as high at $600. A vote on the measure is expected next month.

Judge: Pa. mass killer too unstable to be executed

Luzerne County prosecutors say they'll appeal a judge's ruling that mass murderer George Banks is too mentally ill to be executed. Assistant District Attorney Scott Gartley acknowledges that the 66-year-old man is mentally ill. But he sais Banks "comprehends the reason for his sentence and its implications" and thus meets the legal standard for execution. Defense experts testified at a hearing last month that Banks believes his sentence has been vacated by God or Jesus and that he is no longer under the threat of death. They testified that Banks thinks he's being held in prison as part of a conspiracy to get him to renounce his religious beliefs.
Banks killed 13 people in a 1982 shooting rampage in northeastern Pennsylvania. Five of the victims were his own children.

Here is the latest Pennsylvania news from The Associated Press

LANCASTER, Pa. (AP) - Republican Sen. John McCain and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin will bring their campaign to the presidential battleground state of Pennsylvania. They'll hold a rally Tuesday at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. McCain told donors at a fundraiser Monday in Chicago he's overwhelmed by the buzz Palin is generating for his White House bid.

CHICAGO (AP) - Philadelphia-based Sovereign Bancorp is among the banks that could take a hit on the value of preferred stock they hold in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. That's because of the U.S. government's move to bail out the mortgage giants. Investment, banking and insurance companies are thought to be particularly vulnerable as a result of the government rescue.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A U.S. senator says the number of American troops and contractors who've been accidentally electrocuted in Iraq is higher than previously reported. After being briefed by the Pentagon inspector general's office, Pennsylvania's Bob Casey says the number now stands at 18. The IG's office has been investigating the death of a Green Beret, who was electrocuted while showering in his barracks.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A molecular biologist who's searching for a cure for malaria is among five people being named Heinz Award winners. Dr. Joseph DeRisi invented the ViroChip, a small glass wafer containing some 22,000 DNA sequences from more than 1,300 viral families. It enables scientists to identify existing viruses and detect new ones.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pennsylvania officials say an Illinois pipeline contractor is top bidder on a state airplane Gov. Ed Rendell decided to sell earlier this year. The state General Services Department says Underground Inc. of East Moline has agreed to buy the 1981 Beech King Air 200 for nearly $1.4 million. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports that's higher than the state paid for the twin-engine turboprop 16 years ago.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Bush today will tell military planners in Washington he's agreed to pull 8,000 more troops out of Iraq by February. Senior defense officials say Bush is adopting a compromise from his military team.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - The U.S. coalition says a roadside bomb in eastern Afghanistan has killed three coalition soldiers and an Afghan contractor. The overwhelming majority of coalition
soldiers in that part of Afghanistan are American.

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - With Hurricane Ike tearing things up in Cuba, the governors of Louisiana and Texas are getting their people ready for a weekend landfall. Ike's winds are 80 miles an hour but are expected to rev up again over the Gulf of Mexico.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - No jurors have been seated yet for O.J. Simpson's robbery-kidnapping trial but 16 people have been excused for various reasons. A lawyer for Simpson's co-defendant has argued the Las Vegas jury pool has too few blacks to fairly deliberate the fate of the two black defendants.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A yellowing sheet of paper with a famous corporate secret is being moved today under heavy guard. KFC is temporarily relocating Colonel Sanders' handwritten fried chicken recipe. It will be in a briefcase that's handcuffed to a former New York City detective who will be driven to an undisclosed location in an armored car.