Today's News-Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Grant program to fight illegal dumping

Communities and non-profit groups are now entitled to grant monies to stop illegal dumping. That's according to Representative Dave Argall. The Illegal Dump Cleanup Grant program will focus on the cleanup of illegal dumps, site restoration and beautification, suveillance of existing dump sites and those that have been remediated and other issues. Grants of up to $25 thousand dollars will be awarded with a match of at least 50 percent of the grant amount by the grantee. Argall said that the half million dollar program will help "shield residents from the often-dangerouns conditions fostered by illegal dumping."Pa. utility shutoffs rise as many seek heating help

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - More people in Pennsylvania are heading into winter without gas or electric service than a year ago. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission says utility shutoffs were up 20 percent through October, although most have had service restored. As the mercury goes down, more people appear to be looking for help in paying utility bills. Applications for grants from a state assistance fund are running ahead of last year, and requests from local agencies are anticipated. One positive not is that heating fuel prices have eased from the record highs in early summer. Heating oil customers may spend less than last winter, but UGI is the only major gas utility charging less for gas than at this time one year ago. Pa. casino mistakenly sent promotion to thousands

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Free food and free gambling. Sounds like a deal you can't pass up. One Pennsylvania casino owner says a marketing flier promising free gambling and buffet meals for several hundred patrons was accidentally sent to tens of thousands of customers. When Penn National Gaming's mistake became evident Sunday, attempts were made to contact 45,000 customers. Customers tried to redeem the offer at the Hollywood Casino at Penn National Race Course on Monday, and casino officials decided to partially honor the offer through Dec. 25. Penn National says it had authorized the promotion to be mailed to fewer than 1,000 of its most active customers. It was sent to 55,000.

November is another slow month for Pa. revenues

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Monies continue to come into Pennsylvania's coffers at a slow rate for the 7th month in a row. The state Revenue Department said Monday that November collections were a total of $1.6 billion. That is more than 5 percent less than projections. That leaves the state nearly 7 percent, or $658 million, behind for the five-month-old fiscal year. Collections of sales taxes are 3 percent behind, personal income taxes are 2 percent behind and corporation taxes are more than 15 percent behind. Gov. Ed Rendell and state lawmakers are considering ways to cut spending or draw on reserves to keep the budget in balance. Some lawmakers say they will consider a targeted tax increase, but not a general tax increase.

Northampton CC offers free tuition to jobless

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - One Lehigh Valley college is lending a helping hand to those who want a higher education and have lost their jobs in these difficult economic times. Northampton Community College officials say the school is providing free tuition to residents of Northampton and Monroe counties. Under the school's wavier program announced Monday, those who were laid off or lost their jobs because their employer closed can take up to 12 credits in a career program beginning in the spring semester. The waiver can be used once and doesn't include fees, textbooks or supplies. Applicants must supply a letter from their former employer confirming they were laid off due to economic conditions.

Penn State mascot arrested on DUI charge

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - Police and school officials say the Penn State senior who plays the Nittany Lion mascot has been arrested on a DUI charge. His status for the Rose Bowl is in doubt. University Police Capt. Bill Moerschbacher said Monday that James Sheep was pulled over on campus around 3:15 a.m. on Nov. 22, hours before Penn State's 49-18 win over Michigan State. The officer saw that the vehicle was overloaded, with passengers piled onto each other and blocking the driver's view. Moerschbacher says after determining that Sheep had been drinking, the officer administered sobriety tests and took him to the hospital for blood tests. He was later charged with DUI and summary traffic violations.

Bear season results

Pennsylvania bear hunters bagged more than 3-thousand-bruins during last week's season. Game Commission officials say that the rifle and archery season results ranks as 5th highest statewide harvest. In Schuylkill County, 24 bears were taken, ten more than last year. Certain areas of the state will see the bear kill rise as the season is extended during this week.

GREENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - The father of a teen found shot to death
with a former state senator's handgun has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the ex-lawmaker, his wife and their son. The lawsuit was filed in Westmoreland County Common Pleas Court against Robert Regola III, who did not run for re-election.

STEVENS, Pa. (AP) - An eastern Pennsylvania man was found dead
after a fall from a tree stand as Pennsylvania's rifle deer season got off to a start Monday. The Bucks County Coroner's Office plans an autopsy Tuesday on the body of a Tinicum man found in the woods behind a home in a rural section of the county. Police say it's uncertain why the man fell. Pennsylvania Game Commission officers also are investigating who fired a slug that broke a bedroom window in Lancaster County at about 7:30 a.m. Monday. Nobody was hurt. In Berks County, a hunter had to be rescued in a remote wooded area in Spring Township, near the Lancaster County line, after falling 30 feet off a tree stand before dawn. Fifty-six-year-old Scott Schweitzer of Adamstown called family members on his cell phone and said he had fallen and hurt his back. In York Township, an unidentified 85-year-old man was taken to York Hospital after falling while hunting deer. And in Silver Spring Township, in Cumberland County, authorities say a 10-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the foot. In Adams County, a man was accidentally shot in the arm as he hunted on private property.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court has declined to block the retrial of celebrity pathologist Cyril Wecht, who is accused of using government workers and equipment to benefit his lucrative private practice. The justices did not comment on their order Monday that leaves undisturbed a federal appeals court ruling against Wecht, the former county coroner for the Pittsburgh area.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Detroit's big carmakers today will be presenting Congress with plans to restructure their ailing companies and provide assurances that the funding will help them survive. Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors plan to refinance debt, cut executive pay, and seek concessions from union workers.

TOKYO (AP) - Markets across Asia have taken a beating today. Stocks trading on Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng were hit especially hard. Oil prices dropped below $48 a barrel to a 3-year-low.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's governors are meeting with President-elect Barack Obama today in Philadelphia. The main topic
will be the billions of dollars the states say are needed to pay for health care and infrastructure projects. Many states are hoping more federal help will allow them to avoid tough decisions on budget cuts and tax increases.

BEIJING (AP) - China's state news agency reports 11 girls have died of carbon monoxide poisoning at a school in northern China. The report says the students lit a fire in their room to keep warm. A 12th girl is in the hospital.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly 200 hours of tape recordings and 90,000
more pages of documents from the Nixon White House will be released
today. The new material offers more insight to the Vietnam War and
Watergate. The audio recordings will be posted online.