Today's News-Wednesday, September 10th, 2008

Fire forces evacuation of Pine Grove business

A fire inside the duct work at the Guilford Mills plant in Pine Grove forced an evacuation Tuesday morning. Before 10am, firefighters from Pine Grove and surrounding communities responded to the textile plant. Pine Grove fire chief Dave Sattizahn explains what they found:

SATTIZAHN PINE GROVE
:25
O.C. go from there

More than 30 employees were forced from the plant for about an hour. An exact cause is not known.

Employment outlook sluggish for 4th quarter in Pottsville area

Pottsville area employers are expected to hire new workers at a sluggish pace during the 4th quarter, according to a Manpower survey. Company officials say that of those employers surveyed, a quarter expect to hire more workers, while about a third expect to reduce their payrolls in the final three months of the year. Those business segments expecting growth in hiring are the education field. Construction companies expect to cut staff this fall. Nationwide, the Manpower survey projects a 22 percent increase in hiring, while 13 percent of those surveyed expect to cut payrolls.

No pot harvest for Pottsville man

Another tip from a concerned Pottsville resident has ended the marijuana growing season for a city man. Drug investigators seized an indoor growing system for pot at the North Second Street home of Ira Moskowitz. Pottsville police found budding plants, heat lamps and other equipment necessary to grow the weed. Following lab analysis, Moskowitz will be charged with several drug charges.

Rehrig to be extradited today

A convicted rapist on the lam from police for a year will be extradited to Schuylkill County today to begin serving his sentence. 52-year-old Russell Rehrig was nabbed on the boardwalk in Atlantic City Friday night. He was convicted last fall of sex crimes against three children and was sentenced to decades in prison even though he was on the run. Rehrig appeared in court yesterday in New Jersey.

Allentown insurance accused of defrauding seniors

State investigators say an Allentwon area insurance agent stole more than $676,000 by selling senior citizens fraudulent policies and investment products. State Attorney General Tom Corbett says 54-year-old Thomas Serfass of the Allentown area faces more than 75 counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception and related charges. District Judge David Harding ordered Serfass held in the Lehigh County Prison in lieu of $200,000 bail following an arraignment Tuesday. Investigators say so-called "private annuities" and "asset protection policies" were marketed to 25 central- and eastern-Pennsylvania victims ranging in age from 60 to 85. Rather than being deposited in any form of secure, interest-bearing account, investigators say the money was used for business and personal expenses.

US appeals court OKs Facenda suit against NFL

The National Football League says it looks forward to defending a lawsuit over the use of legendary football announcer John Facenda's voice. Facenda's son is suing over the brief use of his late father's voice in a show about a John Madden video game. Facenda's contract barred the use of his voice for product endorsements. The NFL argues that the show on the making of the 2006 Madden video game was an artistic endeavor. But the three-judge panel, in a ruling Tuesday, says the show is clearly a commercial. The program aired on the NFL Network just before the game's release. Facenda, who died in 1984, was a prominent Philadelphia TV anchorman whose deep tone was dubbed the "voice of God." He was the voice of NFL Films for two decades.

AG says legislative bonus case arrests may be delayed

Pennsylvania's attorney general says he's using "an abundance of caution" it trying to keep the legislative bonuses case from affecting the upcoming election. Attorney General Tom Corbett says he won't arrest anyone in that case between Oct. 1 and Election Day. He says the self-imposed moratorium is modeled on a policy that was in force when he was a federal prosecutor. Corbett, a Republican, says it's possible that doing so will affect his chances for re-election. He's challenged by Democratic candidate John Morganelli, the Northampton County district attorney, and Libertarian candidate Marakay Rogers, a York lawyer. Morganelli says he will comment on the latest developments at another time. Rogers says she supports Corbett's pre-election ban on the filing of charges, but that it's likely to raise questions among some voters.

McALLEN, Texas (AP) - Authorities in Corpus Christi, Texas, will open up an evacuation route this morning for people heading inland ahead to get away from Hurricane Ike. Forecasters say the storm now in the Gulf of Mexico could strike near Corpus Christi on Saturday.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats in Congress are pushing the idea of another economic stimulus package of more than 50 billion dollars. The White House and Republicans are against it though, and the Congressional Budget Office says it'll only add to a near record deficit.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korean officials are denying that their leader, Kim Jong Il is very sick. The country's number-two leader says there's "no problem." North Korea's news
agency says Kim sent Syria's leader a birthday greeting today.

GENEVA (AP) - Scientists have successfully fired protons all the way across the world's largest particle collider. The hope for scientists is that they'll eventually get to within a split second
of recreating the big bang, which they theorize was how the universe was created.

LAS VEGAS (AP) - The Mirage hotel and casino in Las Vegas is giving its iconic volcano a 25 million dollar facelift. When it's done, 120 new fireball-throwing devices will be choreographed to
erupt in sync with a drum score co-composed by former Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. The score will piped through a high-tech sound system.