Today's News-Friday, March 20, 2009

GARBAGE TRUCK ROLLS OVER, THREE HURT

Mechanical problems may be to blame for a garbage truck accident in Tamaqua Thursday. The truck apparently went out of control, hit an embankment and rolled over according to borough police. The truck driver, Ray Nikum of Hazleton and Carl Confer of Tamaqua were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital for treatment. Another passenger, Matt Moyer was transported to St. Luke's Miners Memorial Hospital. The investigation continues.

UNEMPLOYMENT SPIKES IN PA

More Pennsylvanians are looking for work. February's state unemployment rate stood at 7.5 percent. That was a half-percentage point increase over January as another 31,000
people joined the ranks of the unemployed who are actively seeking work. But Pennsylvania's rate remained below the national rate of 8.1 percent in February. All told, the state's employers shed 41,000 jobs in February, or about 1 in every 140 jobs in Pennsylvania. It was the biggest one-month job loss in 13 years. The February unemployment rate hit the highest mark in 16 years.

CAT COUPLE WAIVE RIGHT TO PRELIMINARY HEARING

The couple involved in mistreating cats in the Pine Grove area were in district court Thursday to face drug charges. Virginia Justiniano and Andrew Oxenrider are charged with possession of a controlled substances and related offenses. They are alleged to have sold cat food at the Cats With No Name animal sanctuary for drug money. More than 100 animals were found in deplorable conditions at the shelter when they were busted several months ago. Forty cats are still being cared for by the Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA. All charges against Justiniano and Oxenrider for the animal issues and all but one of the drug charges will go on to county court for trial.

NEW MORTGAGE RULES

Pennsylvania homebuyers will benefit from new rules governing mortgage disclosures and practices according to the state Department of Banking. They are intended to help Pennsylvanians get mortgages they can understand and repay, according to Banking Secretary Steven Kaplan. The rules will require mortgage companies to document income, expenses and other relevant information to determine a borrower's ability to pay. Brokers licensed by the banking department will also need to provide consumers with easy to understand information about variable rate loans and prepayment penalties. The new regulations also require loan salespeople to be licensed by the PA Department of Banking. Mortgage rule changes were the result of legislation signed by Governor Ed Rendell in July, 2008.

TO ITEMIZE OR NOT TO ITEMIZE

With April 15th right around the corner, a specialist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has good news for anyone trying to choose between itemizing and taking the standard deduction on their federal taxes. For years, anyone taking the standard deduction on their federal tax return couldn't deduct their local real estate taxes. But Penn State Extension Family Finance Educator Robin Kuleck says its different this year. And Pennsylvania taxpayers will have a special appreciation for the change:

KULECK

Kuleck says homeowners who filed for an exclusion under the state's Homestead Act are already seeing a reduction in their 2008 property taxes, so the federal real estate tax deduction for non-itemizers provides more tax savings.

CABBIE STIFFED

There is no such thing as a free ride, as a Hazleton cab driver found out early this morning in McAdoo. Two white females in their mid-20's hired Lanny Foose of the Hazle Yellow Cab Company to take them from Hazleton to McAdoo. When it came time to pay the $19-dollar-50 cent fare, the girls bolted without paying. The stiffed fare incident took place on North Kennedy Drive after 1:30 this morning.

STATE BUDGET-FURLOUGHS
Rendell rolls out new Pa. worker furlough plan

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The president of a union representing many Pennsylvania state employees says the union is looking at other ways the state can save money besides furloughing workers. A union representative says the administration proposes to force workers to take two unpaid days off each month through June 2010. That would save state government about $89 million. David Fillman is the head of Council 13 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. He says his members are in no mood to work under any terms other than what's in their union contract, so he's looking at other cost-saving ideas.

PHILADELPHIA BUDGET
Philly mayor's budget plan would spare libraries

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has given City Council a $3.8 billion budget proposal that would keep open 11 libraries that are slated for closure. It would also protect health centers and maintain basic city services - but at the cost of 250 city jobs and changes in the city's pension plan. The spending plan calls for a temporary 19 percent property tax increase, followed by a 14.5 percent increase next year. The city sales tax would also go up - from 7 percent to 8 percent for three years. That would require state approval. The alternative, Nutter says, would be more police, fire and medical services layoffs; reductions in library and recreation center hours, and cutbacks in trash collections to three per month. Philadelphia is facing a projected $1 billion deficit over the next five years.

FIRE TRUCK CRASH
9 Philly firefighters hurt when 2 trucks collide

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The Philadelphia Fire Department has released the names of the firefighters involved in a collision of two fire trucks downtown. One was knocked unconscious and had to be cut from the wreckage. Philadelphia Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers says he visited Lt. Richard Prather in the hospital and his first question was, "How's my guys?"
Eight other firefighters had less serious injuries from Thursday's crash. No other injuries were reported, but Ayers says a woman inside a flower shop nearly struck by one truck was taken to a hospital for observation because she was shaken up. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

SENATE-LUKSIK
Conservative Peg Luksik to challenge Sen. Specter

JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Peg Luksik, who ran for governor three times in the 1990s, formally announced she is challenging Arlen Specter for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2010. Luksik says Americans are tired of "the arrogance of Washington's elitists." She made her announcement Thursday while seated at a kitchen table in Johnstown. Luksik, a 53-year-old Johnstown resident who got involved in statewide politics as an anti-abortion activist, ran for governor as a Republican in 1990, but lost the primary. Conservative Pat Toomey is expected to join the race, but Luksik says she's undeterred. The 79-year-old Specter plans to seek a
sixth term.

RENDELL-SUNOCO
Pa. governor asks Sunoco to rescind 750 job cuts

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell is calling on Sunoco officials to rescind their plan to cut 750 jobs. Rendell says it's "unconscionable" for the oil company to be laying off 20 percent of its salaried work force when it made $776 million in profit last year. He made his argument in a letter sent Thursday to Sunoco's board of directors and later released publicly.
Rendell says he understands that some companies must lay off workers to stay afloat during the recession. But he says this is not the case with Sunoco. A spokesman for Philadelphia-based Sunoco says the layoffs are needed to keep the company profitable, competitive and attractive
to investors. Thomas Golembeski says the company will not reverse the cuts. Pennsylvania lost 41,000 jobs last month.

QVC SETTLEMENT
QVC agrees to $7.5 million settlement with FTC

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - A TV shopping channel based in suburban Philadelphia has agreed to pay $7.5 million to settle a dispute with the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC said Thursday that the payment settles government charges that QVC Inc. made false claims about dietary supplements and an anti-cellulite skin cream. QVC senior vice president and general counsel Larry Hayes says the company doesn't believe its ads were deceptive but agreed to
the settlement to avoid further legal expenses. The settlement requires West Chester-based QVC to pay $6 million to consumers who bought the products and a $1.5 million civil penalty. It was approved by a federal judge in Philadelphia on March 4.

COURTHOUSE KICKBACKS
Pa. high court wants progress reports from Luzerne

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The chief justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court wants monthly progress reports from a northeastern Pennsylvania county where two judges have pleaded guilty to corruption. Chief Justice Ron Castille made the request of Luzerne County President Judge Chester Muroski, who's been making reforms in the wake of the scandal. Former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan pleaded guilty last month to fraud after prosecutors accused them of taking kickbacks to send juvenile offenders to private detention centers. Two other court officials have been charged as part of an ongoing federal probe into corruption at the courthouse in Wilkes-Barre. Castille says Pennsylvania judges are "disheartened" by the scandal.

BROADCASTING SCHOOL SHUTDOWN
Agreement reached to complete unfinished classes

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the Connecticut School of Broadcasting has agreed to resume classes for 400 students across the country so they can finish their coursework. The private, 44-year-old school abruptly shut down earlier this
month and filed for bankruptcy relief. It subsequently suspended classes at all 25 campuses in 16 states, including the two original Connecticut campuses in Farmington and Stratford. CSB hopes to resume suspended classes as early as March 23 so students can finish their work and receive their degrees. Students should visit the school's web site at www.GoCSB.com to learn when classes will begin again. Blumenthal says students who registered and paid a deposit for
classes that were not held will receive refunds.

SPCA-VET FIRED
Pa. SPCA fires top veterinarian

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A veterinarian says he was shocked when the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals fired him. Dr. Ravindra Murarka worked for the Philadelphia-based group for nearly 18 years until he was fired last week. James Penny Jr., attorney for the PSPCA board, told the Philadelphia Daily News that Murarka runs his own clinic in addition to being the PSPCA's top veterinarian. He says the group "felt there was a conflict between his private vet practice and what the SPCA views as its mission." The society has been going through turbulent times recently. It has been run by a temporary chief executive since last month, when the board accepted the resignation of CEO Howard Nelson. It closed its shelter in the Pocono Mountains abruptly in January.

DORM-DRINKING DEATH
Coroner: Dead W.Pa. student died of alcohol, drugs

INDIANA, Pa. (AP) - An autopsy indicates a student found dead in a western Pennsylvania college dorm room died due to a combination of prescription drugs and alcohol. Indiana County Coroner Michael Baker says further testing will determine which specific drugs were involved in the death of 18-year-old Brenton Croll. Croll was a nursing student at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Croll of Roaring Spring in Blair County was found dead around noon Wednesday after apparently spending the night in a friend's dorm room.

AYERS SPEECH
Bill Ayers, in Pa. for speech, says he's sorry

MILLERSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - Bill Ayers says he's sorry for helping found a group that carried out bombings during the Vietnam War. But he says he did so to stop many thousands of people from
dying in the Vietnam War. He told the Intelligencer Journal newspaper in central Pennsylvania: "There has to be some accounting for those lives, too." Ayers has served on boards with now-President Barack Obama and the relationship between the two men was an issue in last year's
presidential campaign. Ayers is now an education professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago and was speaking Thursday at Millersville University about urban education. A small group of protesters gathered across the street, but they were outnumbered by curious onlookers.

CROSSING GUARD-SEX CHARGES
Pa. crossing guard gets 230-460 years in prison

BLOOMSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A former school crossing guard in northeastern Pennsylvania has been sentenced to 230 to 460 years in prison for sex crimes against children. Columbia County prosecutors say 61-year-old Dale Hutchings, of Berwick, molested children hundreds of times between 1998 and 2007. Police say all the victims were under 13 when the attacks began.
Hutchings worked as a crossing guard near Orange Street Elementary School in Berwick. Police began investigating him in 2007. Court papers say an 11-year-old girl accused him of putting his hand down her pants as she made breakfast at his house. Police were led to other victims who also said they were molested. Hutchings was sentenced Thursday.

CENTRE DAILY TIMES-JOB CUTS
Centre Daily Times trims 3 positions

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) - A newspaper in central Pennsylvania cites the recession in eliminating three positions, including one in the newsroom. The Centre Daily Times, based in State College, is also reducing wages for employees that make more than $25,000 a year. Those
workers will have their wages cut from between 2.5 and 5 percent. Publisher Susan Leath says the paper had to make difficult decisions in light of unprecedented economic challenges. The cuts are part of restructuring by parent company, McClatchy Co., which announced earlier this month it was slashing its total work force by 1,600, or 15 percent. The three positions being eliminated at the newspaper represent about 2 percent of its work force. Other changes are planned including reducing the width of pages by an inch.

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. (AP) - President Barack Obama says bonuses at insurance giant AIG which received federal bailout money, symbolize an "attitude of entitlement" on Wall Street.
Obama appeared on the "Tonight" show with Jay Leno, saying he was "stunned" to learn of the bonuses.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is signaling general support for heavy taxes on bonuses paid at insurance giant AIG and other federally bailed out companies. A 90 percent tax easily passed the House where the bonuses were denounced as a "squandering of the people's money." The Senate has its own plan.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama says relations with Iran can improve if the hard-line Islamic nation stops all the threats. Obama has released a video message to the Iranian government and its people urging a resolution of long-standing differences.

NEW YORK (AP) - Doctors say the eventually fatal injury to actress Natasha Richardson is easily treatable with prompt medical attention. It was four hours before she was hospitalized after a fall while skiing. The medical examiner has ruled her head injury an accident.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) - The international space station will spread it's last set of wings if all goes well today. The wings are the final pair of solar panels, installed yesterday, which will
bring the station to full power.