Today's News-Friday, March 13, 2009

FIRE RIPS THROUGH TAMAQUA ROW HOMES rewrite

An early morning fire in the 200 block of Bowe Street in Tamaqua damages three homes. Kerry Dowd was on scene and filed this report:

DOWD TAMAQUA FIRE

Tamaqua fire chief Swoyer tells WPPA/T102 News that flames were shooting from the second floor bedroom at 208 Bowe Street when they arrived. A cause of the blaze is not yet known.

ASSAULT WHILE DRIVING ON I-81

Two women are charged with harrassment following an unusual incident on Interstate 81 in Butler Township Thursday afternoon. Frackville State Police report that 23 year old Jasmine Fulton of Williamsport and 33 year old Jennifer Fashauer of Archbald were passengers in a car driven by Jason Fashauer, also of Archbald, when Fulton kicked the driver in the head while he was operating the vehicle. After coming to a stop on the median near mile marker 119, the two women began to fight. The incident happened around 1:45pm yesterday.

ONE HURT IN ROUTE 61 CRASH

A New Philadelphia man was injured in a 3 car crash on Route 61 Thursday afternoon in Port Clinton. Troopers from the Schuylkill Haven barracks report that Albert Seiler of Ashland was attempting to make a left hand turn from Broad Street on to Route 61 while Jeffrery Rear of West Reading was northbound on 61, attempting to turn onto Broad Street. Seiler turned in front of Edward Bernitsky of New Philadelphia, who was headed south. The two collided, spinning Rear's car around. Bernitsky then struck Seiler's car. Bernitsky was taken to Schuylkill Medical Center for treatment of his injuries. The crash happened around 4:30pm yesterday.

ST PATRICKS DAY PARADE

Downtown Pottsville will be awash in green Saturday for the annual St Patricks Day parade. Sponsored by the John F. Kennedy Division of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the days events begin with a Mass at St. Patrick's Church at 8am, followed by a breakfast at the PorterHouse Grille. At 11am, the parade moves out at 12th and West Market through the downtown, complete with bagpipers, marching units and several bands complement the festivities to celebrate Irish heritage. Ladies AOH State and Local President Mary Ann Lubinsky is this year's grand marshal. Following the parade, a Grand Irish Party is scheduled at the Humane Fire Company on Laurel Boulevard. This is the 34th annual St Patrick's Day parade in Pottsville.
Y YOUTH EXPERIENCE SET TO OPEN

The Schuylkill YW/YMCA are set to give area teens a place to relax, hang out and work out, with the opening of the Y Youth Experience. Thursday night, an open house was held at the former Pottsville Armory, home to the Schuylkill Y, to unveil the multi-faceted center for kids 10 to 17, as explained by Y Senior Program Manager Chris Grassley:

GRASSLEY

The state of the art..Live Y- ire recording studio is made possible by the Pottsville Broadcasting Company, and much of the work and equipment has been through volunteer efforts and donations. The official opening of the Youth Experience Center will be held on Sunday from 3 to 6pm, with a live remote broadcast on WPPA and T102.

Pa. House Dems' legal files fights get court date

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The battle over who should have certain legal files related to the Pennsylvania legislative bonus investigation is heading to court. Dauphin County Judge Lawrence Clark has scheduled a hearing for Friday regarding the House Democrats' lawsuit against their former lawyer, Bill Chadwick. Clark's Wednesday order says Chadwick must bring the entire file to the Harrisburg courthouse and can't disclose, transfer or mutilate any of it.
The House Democratic caucus sued the Washington-based lawyer and his consulting firm on Monday. Chadwick says he isn't giving it up without a court order because former Democratic Leader Bill DeWeese is invoking lawyer-client privilege.

Teen accused of setting 9 Pa. fires faces hearing

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - A preliminary hearing is scheduled Friday for a 19-year-old man accused of setting nine fires in Coatesville. The small city has been plagued by arson in recent months. Both the prosecutor and the lawyer for Roger Leon Barlow Jr. of Downingtown say they expect the hearing to take a long time because he faces so many charges. Barlow is accused of setting nine fires in Coatesville between Jan. 2 and Feb. 3 of this year, including one that destroyed 15 row houses on Jan. 24. He also faces three counts of aggravated assault for injuries suffered by two firefighters and a police officer. Barlow's lawyer says his client wasn't at the scene of any of the fires and doesn't understand why he was arrested.

Pa. hospitals say economic troubles are mounting

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania's hospitals say they are seeing fewer patients and tighter finances as a result of the weak economy. A survey released Thursday by The Hospital & Healthsystem Association of Pennsylvania shows economic conditions worsened in a number of categories since a December survey. For instance, 59 percent of hospitals report a moderate to significant increase in the number of patients who do not have coverage or need financial help. That's up from 50 percent in December. More hospitals are seeing a drop-off in admissions and elective procedures. In addition, 84 percent of hospitals have reduced staff, or are considering it. That's up from 62 percent in December.

Pittsburgh-area airports get $12M from stimulus

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Two airports serving the Pittsburgh area are getting $12 million to repair and renovate runways as part of the federal government's economic stimulus package. Vice President Joe Biden says the spending will not only create jobs but improve aviation safety in the long term. The two airports are the first of several hundred across the country expected to get federal stimulus money. Pittsburgh International Airport, the region's main airport, is getting $10 million to repair one of its four runways. Another $2 million is going to Allegheny County Airport to renovate a taxiway and relocate a ramp. That's a smaller airport that doesn't have scheduled passenger service but handles many charter flights.

Retired Pa. judge appeals fraud conviction

ERIE, Pa. (AP) - A retired Pennsylvania Superior Court judge is appealing the insurance fraud conviction that got him sentenced to three years, 10 months in federal prison. Michael Joyce was convicted in November of two counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering. Prosecutors say the suburban Erie man exaggerated neck and back injuries he sustained
in an August 2001 crash to falsely collect $440,000 from insurance companies. Joyce says he made mistakes and was sloppy in his letters to the insurance companies, but has steadfastly maintained his innocence. The one-paragraph appeal motion filed on his behalf Thursday
doesn't specify the reasons for the appeal.

Pa. lawyer Karoly faces new tax, charity charges

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - An indicted Allentown criminal lawyer faces new charges of attempting a $500,000 charity scam and failing to report $5 million in income. Lawyer John Karoly Jr. had already been charged with faking his brother's will after his brother and sister-in-law died in a 2007 private plane crash. Karoly's lawyer attributes that charge to a family dispute over the will. Defense lawyer Robert Goldman says the government can't prove the new charges. He questions whether Karoly is a target because he has won large civil awards for alleged police misconduct.

Key hearing in Philly newspaper bankruptcy delayed

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A hearing that could decide who controls Philadelphia's two largest newspapers amid a bankruptcy filing has been delayed until late March. The parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News filed for bankruptcy last month, citing about $395 million in debt. Housing mogul Bruce Toll, already a key investor in Philadelphia
Newspapers LLC, is among those pledging $25 million in interim financing. But some creditors oppose terms that include the retention of Chief Executive Brian Tierney. They have proposed
their own $20 million financing package. A judge Thursday postponed a hearing on the matter until March 24 and March 25 while the two sides negotiate. The parties are due in court next week on other issues.

Settlement in fire case costs Penelec $200,000

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Electricity provider Penelec must contribute $200,000 to a low-income aid program under a settlement stemming from a fire at a home where it had shut off the power. The Public Utility Commission approved the settlement by an unanimous vote Thursday. The case involves a residence in Indiana County that was sold in the summer of 2007. There was confusion over who should pay for electricity consumed before a new occupant moved in. Penelec cut off the power two days before a fire seriously injured an occupant of the home. Under the settlement, Penelec agreed to changes in its procedures for notifying customers of an impending shut-off and to pay $200,000 to the Dollar Energy Fund. That's a nonprofit that helps people on fixed income pay their bills.

Philanthropist Leonore Annenberg dies at 91

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A longtime friend of the late Leonore Annenberg says the public will likely never know the full extent of her philantrophy. Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corp. of New York, says she and her husband, billionaire publisher Walter Annenberg,
gave many of their gifts anonymously. Mrs. Annenberg died Thursday at the age of 91 at a hospital in Rancho Mirage, Calif. She ran the Annenberg Foundation, which has given more than
8,000 grants to nonprofit groups totaling nearly $4.2 billion since its creation in 1989. She had led the institution since her husband's death in October 2002.

DA, Pittsburgh McDonald's reach deal to curb drugs

PITTSBURGH (AP) - A prosecutor says he's satisfied that an agreement with McDonald's will curb drug trafficking at three downtown Pittsburgh locations. Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. says he's limited in what he can say about the agreement because of negotiations with the fast-food giant and its lawyers. But he says McDonald's was cooperative and responsible. Among other things, Zappala says McDonald's will train employees to identify and report drug dealers and drug-impaired people in or near the restaurants. Earlier this week, a manager at one of the restaurants was arrested on charges he illegally sold prescription drugs there. Most of the drugs sold around the restaurants were anti-anxiety drugs. Zappala says they are often combined with methadone to produce a heroin-type high.

Pa. man convicted in wife's electrocution

YORK, Pa. (AP) - A south-central Pennsylvania man who maintained his wife's electrocution death was an accident has been convicted of third-degree murder and other offenses. But a York County jury acquitted 38-year-old Toby Taylor on Thursday evening of the most serious charge of first-degree murder. District Attorney Stan Rebert says he will seek the maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in prison for the Lower Windsor Township man. In addition to third-degree murder, Taylor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and reckless endangerment in the Jan. 23, 2008 electrocution of 29-year-old Kirsten Taylor Taylor had maintained he used an electric shock to stimulate his wife during sex.

Va. gay porn producer found guilty of Pa. murder

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A gay pornography producer from Virginia has been found guilty of murdering a rival in his northeastern Pennsylvania home. Harlow Raymond Cuadra could face the death penalty for killing 44-year-old Bryan Kocis and setting his house on fire in January
2007. Luzerne County Assistant District Attorney Michael Melnick says Cuadra and his former lover, Joseph Kerekes, stabbed Kocis to death and tried to burn down his home to cover up the murder. Prosecution witnesses say Cuadra and Kerekes were business partners trying to lure an actor away from Kocis' company. Kerekes pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in December. Sentencing proceedings for Cuadra are scheduled to begin Friday. Cuadra and Kerekes are both from Virginia Beach, Va.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says the economic crisis isn't as bad as some people think and he warns against overreacting to bad news. Meantime, Republican lawmakers say they'll keep a close eye on how economic stimulus money is spent.

HONG KONG (AP) - Analysts are still reluctant to predict an end to the vicious selling that has ravaged international stock markets despite a recent upturn. Asian markets soared today on the prospect of fresh stimulus measures in China and Japan and a Wall Street rally.

BOSTON (AP) - The head of Bank of America is warning against any move to nationalize banks. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis says it would be a "nightmare" and create a false impression that all banks are insolvent. He says that could become a self-fulfilling prophecy among investors.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff says military leaders are putting the finishing touches on a review of objectives in Afghanistan. Getting rid of terrorist safe havens in Pakistan is one key point. Adm. Mike Mullen appeared yesterday on PBS' "The Charlie Rose Show".

NEW YORK (AP) - Some of the people swindled by Bernard Madoff are disappointed that he didn't say who helped with the scam or where all the money went. In pleading guilty yesterday to a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme, Madoff said he was deeply sorry.