Today's News-Thursday, February 5, 2009

SIX CHARGED IN COMPUTER HACKING

Six teenagers have been charged in a computer hacking scheme. Pottsville city police filed various charges yesterday in connection with an ongoing investigation, where they allegedly hacked into Pottsville's on line grading system and changed grades. The Republican and Herald reports that the group used a teacher's password to change 10 assignment grades through classroll-dot-com, a grading system that Pottsville school district uses. Jared Cicero, 18, a student at Penn State, was reportedly asked by 18 year old Marcus Toomey, a Pottsville high senior, to log on and change his grades. In addition, Francesco Mercuri, Daniel Montgomery, Christian Newton and Jamie Wang were all charged with various identity theft and conspiracy charges for making grade changes. The latter four are are all enrolled in college. All will receive a summons to appear in court.

MONROE COUNTY MAN CHARGED WITH INDECENT ASSAULT OF A TEENAGED GIRL

A Monroe County man is charged with corrupting the morals of a minor, aggravated indecent assault and other counts in connection with an incident in Schuylkill Haven early Wednesday. Patrolman David George stopped a vehicle driven by 50 year old Scott Kuehner of Kunkletown and occupied by a 16 year old girl. They were stopped near Parkway and Columbia Street. The investigation found that Kuehner and the girl met on line and agreed to get together after the girl's mother went to bed. They drove around Schuylkill Haven and ended up at Bubeck Park, where Kuehner tried to get the girl to engage in sexual acts with him, even though the girl said no on two occasions. Charges against Kuehner were filed in the office of District Judge James Ferrier, and he's jailed in Schuylkill County Prison.

THREE HOMES HEAVILY DAMAGED IN HAMBURG FIRE

Two firefighters were injured battling a blaze that heavily damaged three homes in Hamburg yesterday afternoon. The Reading Eagle reports that fire broke out at 19 North Fourth Street, and spread to 17 and 21 North Fourth. The firefighters were hurt when the second floor at 19 North Fourth Street caved in on them. Both were taken to the hospital for treatment of minor burns. Power was knocked out in parts of Hamburg for several hours. Firefighters from Hamburg were supported by crews from other parts of Berks and Schuylkill counties.

WATER BOIL ADVISORY

Some customers of the Blythe Township Water Authority are under a water boil advisory today due to a water main break. Residents in Duncott, Mackeysburg, Hecksherville, Primrose, Forestville, Black Health and Pine Hill are to boil their water before using it for the next 48 hours.

RENDELL BUDGET

Gov. Ed Rendell has outlined a $29 billion budget that includes the kinds of tough budget choices he and legislative leaders have warned about for months. There are hundreds of program cuts, some tax increases and thousands of job cuts. Rendell's 2009-10 spending plan is a 2.5 percent increase from what was originally approved for 2008-09. It would expand spending on education, prisons and health coverage. It also would rely heavily on expected federal stimulus money and drain hundreds of millions of dollars from the state's "rainy day" contingency fund. The spending plan would not increase any broad-based taxes, but would allow nearly every county to add a penny on the dollar to the sales tax. Many key proposals have trickled out in recent days, from adding a dime per pack to the cigarette tax to legalizing video poker machines and using the money generated to help thousands of college students pay tuition. But one new proposal sure to ignite debate is the idea of eliminating 400 of the state's 500 school districts to make public education more efficient. Rendell wants lawmakers to fund a commission to plan for consolidation.

Rendell calls for school mergers statewide, saying less is more when it comes to taxes

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is calling for the first state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts in at least 40 years. He says fewer districts would mean a lighter local tax burden on property owners. But the idea is likely to meet resistance from local school boards whose members fear that mergers would close some schools and cause overcrowding in those that remain. Rendell says he wants a legislative commission to develop a plan to reduce the state's 500 public school districts to no more than 100, ideally. The last major state-ordered consolidation of Pennsylvania school districts occurred in the 1960s, when the state had more than 2,000 districts. More than 40 percent of the state's school districts enroll fewer than 2,000 students each. More than 80 percent enroll fewer than 5,000. But some other small districts that have explored dissolving boundaries with a neighbor have concluded that the costs of merging outweigh the benefits.

Pa. House debate on rules changes becomes fight over whether lawmakers can work for lobbyists

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A debate in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives over the chamber's internal operating rules transformed unexpectedly into a vote on whether sitting lawmakers should be allowed to work for lobbying firms. The verdict? Apparently, yes. A Republican-backed measure to ban members from working for lobbyists passed unanimously before Democrats apparently had second thoughts and overturned the earlier vote. The focus on lobbyists occurred almost as an afterthought, following hours of debate over the rules that will govern House operations over the next two years. Shortly after the lobbyist employment ban was rejected, the chamber voted 104-94 to adopt new rules. They made it harder for House members to run out the clock as the 11 p.m. curfew expires. They also gave the Rules Committee the ability to amend bills coming back from the state Senate on concurrence. Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne, sponsored a late change that expanded the makeup of House committees so they will include 15 Democrats and 11 Republicans. The rules had previously called for a 14-10 split.

Funeral for Pa. officer killed in highway accident to be held Thursday in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A suburban Philadelphia police officer struck and killed by his own police car after making a traffic stop will be laid to rest Thursday in the city. The funeral Mass for Middletown Township Officer Christopher Jones is set for noon in the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. Police say Jones stopped a sedan on northbound Route 1 in Middletown on Jan. 29 and parked his cruiser behind the vehicle. He was apparently walking back to his cruiser when he was hit, causing three cars to collide and pinning Jones beneath his vehicle. He later died at a hospital. Jones was 37 and a father of three. He had been on the force for 10 years.

Episcopal Church upholds ouster of Pa. bishop convicted in cover-up of brother's sex assaults

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An Episcopal Church panel has upheld its decision to defrock a bishop from Pennsylvania for covering up his brother's sexual assaults of a teenage girl in the 1970s. The special Court for the Trial of a Bishop rejected a request by Charles Bennison Jr. to reduce the sentence. The nine-person panel of bishops, priests and church members says it hopes the ruling allows Bennison to seek "reconciliation and peace." After a four-day trial in June, the panel found Bennison guilty of two counts of "conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy." In October, it unanimously chose the harshest sentence for Bennison, who was bishop of the nation's fifth-largest Episcopal diocese for a decade. His attorneys say they will appeal what they called an "unwarranted sentence" and "a grave injustice against a man who has served the Episcopal Church faithfully for four decades."

Victim's nephew, 5 others accused in suburban Philadelphia home-invasion slaying

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Prosecutors in suburban Philadelphia are accusing six men of taking part in a home-invasion robbery that led to the death of a Center City businessman - and one of the suspects is the nephew of the victim. Montgomery County authorities say 25-year-old Angelo Shin, of North Wales, is charged with third-degree murder. Prosecutors allege that Shin helped to plan the Jan. 9 robbery that ended with the death of his uncle, 58-year-old Robert Chae, who owned a beauty supply shop in downtown Philadelphia. District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman calls Shin "a bit of a gangster wannabe" who expected to be paid $2,000 for his role. Five others are accused in Chae's death, the home invasion, or acting as lookouts or getaway drivers. Chae and his wife were preparing to leave for work when they were ambushed in their driveway. Chae was bound with duct tape, and prosecutors say he suffocated, contrary to earlier reports that he had been stabbed to death.

State to provide $500,000 to help suburban Philadelphia town battle arsons

COATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) - The state is providing $500,000 to help a suburban Philadelphia town battle a plague of arsons. Gov. Ed Rendell says Coatesville is "under siege" by whoever is responsible for the fires, 18 of which have occurred in the area since the start of the year. He says the city's existing budget cannot cope with the crisis. The money will come through the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the Department of Community and Economic Development. It will be used to pay for police and fire department overtime and to help victims. The announcement came as authorities announced that yet another fire had been deliberately set overnight. The blaze damaged the back of a Coatesville home at 9:35 p.m. Tuesday but was quickly put out. City officials declared a state of emergency last month after a blaze struck 15 row houses, displacing dozens of people. Man charged after Philly elementary school boys found with heroin

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Philadelphia man has been arrested on drug and other charges a day after five second-grade boys were found with packets of heroin that they were passing around in their elementary school. Police say 35-year-old Robert Parks is charged with possession of narcotics, endangering the welfare of a child and reckless endangerment of another person. He's in police custody and it's unclear whether he has an attorney. A hearing is set for Feb. 24. Authorities say a teacher at Delaplaine McDaniel Elementary School in South Philadelphia spotted the boys with the packets Tuesday. A school district spokesman says one boy put a small amount of the drug in his mouth but quickly spit it out. The boys were taken to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia as a precaution but later released. Philadelphia Police Lt. Frank Vanore says he doesn't know whether they were back in school the next day.

Is it porn? Prosecutors going after teens who 'sext' racy cell phone images, stirring debate

CHICAGO (AP) - Though youth is fleeting, images sent on a cell phone or posted online may not be, especially if they're naughty. Teenagers' habit of distributing nude self-portraits
electronically is often called "sexting" if it's done by cell phone. It has parents and school administrators worried, and some prosecutors have begun charging teens who send and receive such images. But is that the best way to handle it? In some cases, the photos are sent to harass other teens or to get attention. Other times, they're viewed as a high-tech way to flirt. Either way, law enforcement officials want it to stop, even if it means threatening to add "sex offender" to a juvenile's confidential record. This month in Greensburg, Pa., three high school girls who sent seminude photos and four male students who received them were all hit with child pornography charges. A public defender says all but one of the students accepted a lesser misdemeanor charge. The mother of one boy is considering fighting all charges.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says failure to act on an economic recovery package could lead to a lengthy recession -- that could be irreversible. The warning comes in an editorial in today's Washington Post. Obama writes that more jobs, savings and homes are lost with each passing day.

NEW YORK (AP) - The nation's retailers are reporting dismal January sales as shoppers dig deep into survival mode. The downward trend crosses a spectrum of retailing from department chains to teen stores.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The president calls the newly signed bill renewing the State Children's Health Insurance Program "only the first step." Barack Obama describes the measure as a "down payment" on his commitment toward health coverage for every American. The bill extends government coverage to millions of children.

WASHINGTON (AP) - A Senate panel meets today to look into a deadly salmonella outbreak that has led to what appears to be a record number of recalls. More than 1,000 peanut products have been recalled after hundreds of people got sick all around the country. Eight of those people died.

COVINA, Calif. (AP) - The ex-husband of a victim of a Christmas
Eve massacre is getting demands from a California landlord to pay
the dead woman's rent. The landlord claims the dead woman "gave
insufficient notice to vacate" the apartment. She and her son were
killed Dec. 24 by a gunman dressed as Santa Claus.