Today's News- Tuesday, March 24, 2009

KNOWLES ANNOUNCES FOR 124TH

Another Republican candidate has thrown his hat into the 124th District race to replace Dave Argall. Jerry Knowles, a former Schuylkill County Commissioner and Tamaqua borough councilman, is seeking the nod from his party to run in May's special election to replace Argall, who won the 29th District Senate seat earlier this month. It was once held by Jim Rhoades, who passed away last year. Seventeen Republican conferees from Berks and Schuylkill County will meet Thursday to choose their candidate. Knowles joins Barron "Boots" Hetherington of Ringtown, Patrick Daly of Perry Township and Roy Timpe of Maidencreek Township, all who are seeking the nomination.

DEMS WILL MEET TO SELECT CANDIDATE

With less than two months until the May primary, county Democrats are preparing for another special election. According to Schuylkill County Democratic chairman Ed Kleha, an executive board meeting is scheduled to be held Wednesday evening to nominate a candidate. The special election is to replace former state Representative of the 124th District, Dave Argall. Argall won the 29th state Senate seat held by Jim Rhoades, who was re-elected posthumously in November. Rhoades died in October from injuries suffered in a head-on crash in Monroe County. Once a candidate is selected, it will then go the state executive committee for final endorsement. Speaker of the House Keith McCall announced the special election to be held on May 19th, which is also primary day.

POTTSVILLE MAN JAILED AFTER ASSAULTING WIFE

A Pottsville man is jailed following a weekend incident in the city. Pottsville police now say that Devon Benhart and his wife Farrah Ann were arguing about disciplining their son Saturday night. According to reports, Devon Benhart threw an aquarium across the room toward his wife. It smashed against the wall. He then pushed her against the wall, causing minor injuries to the woman. Devon Benhart was charged with simple assault and harrassment, and was jailed in the Schuylkill County Prison after he couldn't post bail.

TWO ARRESTED ON THEFT CHARGES
A Tuscarora man and woman are charged with theft. Michael Machay and Janelle Hartz are being charged after they took power tools and an air conditioner from the Walnut Street home of Kevin Machay Tuesday morning. State police at Frackville handled the investigation.

COATESVILLE ARSONS

Firefighter charged in latest Pa. arsons
COATESVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A firefighter whose mother was displaced in a December arson about 35 miles west of Philadelphia is now charged in two small trash fires set Friday night. He is 37-year-old Robert Tracey Jr., who was arraigned Monday and taken to Chester County Prison in lieu of $2 million bail. There weren't any reports of injuries or significant damage in Friday's fires, which were set a few blocks from each other in Coatesville. Tracey is the sixth person to be arrested in connection with arson in Coatesville and nearby areas since February 2008. Dozens of deliberately set fires have plagued the area in that time, including some that displaced people from their homes and one that killed someone.

PENNSYLVANIA STIMULUS FUNDS

Pa. governor announces 5 stimulus projects

BENSALEM, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell says five projects funded by the federal economic stimulus will increase energy efficiency while creating 155 jobs. Rendell says the companies doing these projects are adding more than $19 million of their own to the $3.7 million in stimulus grants. Five projects were approved Monday by the Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority, all involving energy efficiency. Rendell announced the projects while visiting a Bucks County window factory that expects to grow because of incentives in the stimulus. The projects include Bridge Business Center LP in Bucks County, Cumberland County roofing manufacturer Carlisle Syn Tech and the Sysco Food Services warehouse in Philadelphia. The others are the Williamsport Hospital and Medical Center and Campus Square Partners
in Dauphin County.

ART-FORGOTTEN LANDMARKS

Hidden City Philadelphia fest brings new to old
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A new summer arts festival wants to return the spotlight on some of Philadelphia's faded and overlooked landmarks. The Hidden City Philadelphia festival will turn them into stages for contemporary performance and visual art. Nearly four years in the making, festival will take place in nine locations from May 30 to June 28. Local and national artists will present music, dance, video, sculpture and mixed media shows created specifically for the participating sites, reflecting the venue's history or architecture. The monthlong festival is being staged in historic buildings - some in use, some long shuttered.

CARNEGIE MELLON
Carnegie Mellon president says school doing OK
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The president of Carnegie Mellon University says the Pittsburgh school is in solid shape despite losing $49 million worth of endowment funds in an alleged fraud. University President Jared Cohon spoke Monday to a group of mostly university employees. He says Carnegie Mellon will "take every legal means" it can to recover the money caught up in the
Westridge Capital Management scandal. The university is already suing Westridge. About 6 percent of CMU's operating budget comes from its endowment. He says there will be cutbacks due to the economy, but the unversity will work to keep layoffs to a minimum. Without providing a number, he said some layoffs have already happened.

SENATOR INVESTIGATION-RUBIN

Rendell removing Pa. turnpike chairman
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Gov. Ed Rendell is removing Chairman Mitchell Rubin from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. The Associated Press has learned Rendell informed Rubin of the action Monday in a letter released by the governor's office. Rendell said in the letter that Rubin has received a target letter from federal prosecutors stemming from activity that was
described in the recent federal corruption trial of former state Sen. Vincent Fumo of Philadelphia. The governor said the indictment against Fumo says Rubin and his company received $150,000 from the state for work that apparently was never done. A jury in Philadelphia convicted Fumo of all 137 corruption counts against him. Rubin's wife, longtime Fumo aide Ruth Arnao, was convicted at the same trial of all 45 counts against her.

ALLEGHENY TECHNOLOGIES-EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Allegheny Tech. CEO's pay falls by half in 2008
NEW YORK (AP) - The chairman, president and chief executive of Pittsburgh-based titanium producer Allegheny Technologies Inc. received compensation valued at $11.5 million in 2008. L. Patrick Hassey's pay is down 54 percent from the $25.2 million he was awarded a year earlier, according to an Associated Press analysis of a Securities and Exchange Commission. Hassey received a 2008 base salary of $907,917, compared with a 2007 base salary of $880,042.
Hassey didn't receive a bonus in 2008. In 2007, he was awarded a bonus of $323,886. His performance-based cash bonus fell to $5.5 million in 2008 from nearly $18 million in 2007.
Hassey also received perks valued at $722,645 in 2008, up from $567,172 in 2007.

REFORM ADVOCATE-ETHICS-LAWSUIT

Activist sues ethics panel over secrecy rules
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Citizen activist Gene Stilp is suing the State Ethics Commission over some of its rules. Stilp filed his suit in U.S. District Court on Friday, naming commission director John Contino and state Attorney General Tom Corbett as defendants. Earlier this year, Stilp paid a $500 fine to settle an ethics commission complaint that alleged he violated commission rules by telling reporters in November that he was about to file a complaint against certain public officials. In his lawsuit, the Harrisburg resident says that rule violates the First Amendment protection of free speech. He is seeking a court order barring enforcement of that and certain other commission rules.

PRIEST-ABUSE

Philly archdiocese removes priest from duty
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A priest in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has been removed from duty after a church panel found evidence he sexually abused a minor more than 30 years ago.
The Archdiocesan Review Board found credible the abuse allegation against the Rev. Gerard J. Hoffman, who was a principal or faculty member at four Philadelphia-area schools over a 26-year period. The board had been investigating Hoffman on a sex abuse allegation since July 2008. That case could not be substantiated, but the board found evidence to support a separate, unrelated allegation they received during their investigation. Archdiocese officials say Hoffman has agreed to a supervised life of prayer at a suburban Philadelphia home for retired priests.

ALLSTATE LAWSUIT

Allstate agents in court over contractor status
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A federal appeals court is being asked to revive a lawsuit over Allstate Insurance's decision to switch about 6,400 agents from employees to independent contractors.
In arguments Monday, a three-judge panel questioned the lower court's brief order that dismissed what the panel called a complex and important case. A group of agents argue that Allstate illegally switched them from employees to independent contractors in 2000. They claim age discrimination and other violations. Meanwhile, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission accuses Allstate of retaliating against a small group of agents who would not sign releases required to continue as contractors. Allstate's lawyer argued that the conversion was a legal plan designed to save money.

WOLFBLOCK DISBANDS

Philadelphia law firm disbands, citing economy
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A major Philadelphia law firm founded in 1903 is disbanding, citing the economic crisis. WolfBlock LLP has more than 300 lawyers. The firm announced Monday that the partners have voted to shut down, but not immediately. They plan to keep operating for several months so the transition will be orderly for clients and employees. WolfBlock says its core practice is real estate law and the recession has hurt that greatly. The credit crisis is another factor it the decision to close. In addition to its Philadelphia headquarters, WolfBlock has offices in Boston; Cherry Hill, N.J.; Harrisburg, Pa.; New York; Norristown, Pa.; Roseland, N.J., and Wilmington, Del.

GROCERY STORE-SHOOTING

Pa. security guard shot by shoplifting suspect
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police have identified the suspect sought in the shooting of a security guard at a Philadelphia supermarket. Police are looking for 29-year-old Jermaine Goodman, also known as Zahid Abdul Maheek. He has addresses in West Chester, Malvern and West Philadelphia. Police say he shot a security guard at a Pathmark supermarket on Sunday afternoon after being confronted about shoplifting. The guard was shot once in the forehead and once in the shoulder. He was initially hospitalized in critical condition but was listed as stable by Monday evening.

MISSING SNOWMOBILERS

Bodies of 2 missing snowmobilers found in Maine
GREENVILLE, Maine (AP) - Wardens have recovered the bodies of a Pennsylvania couple who disappeared four days ago while snowmobiling in the Moosehead Lake area. The Maine Warden Service said the bodies of 41-year-old Clifford Achenbach and his 42-year-old wife, Denise Achenbach, of Pen Argyl, Pa., were spotted by helicopter Monday frozen in the ice on the
lake's East Outlet. Lt. Pat Dorian said the couple apparently hit open water after dark Thursday night while riding their snowmobiles on the lake. The Achenbachs failed to return that night to their hotel in Moosehead Junction Township, near Greenville. The couple checked into the Moose Mountain Inn on March 16 and planned to check out Saturday. Dorian said a missing persons report was received Monday, triggering an air and ground search by 15 wardens.

MISTRESS ATTACKED

Lawyer says chemical-weapon law misapplied to case
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A defense lawyer for a woman convicted of trying to harm a romantic rival says his client was wrongly prosecuted under a chemical-weapon law aimed at terrorists, not housewives. Lawyer Robert Goldman argued his appeal Monday of the six-year sentence being served by Carol Anne Bond of Lansdale. The former Rohm & Haas laboratory technician admits she left deadly chemicals on the victim's front door handle and in her car's tail pipe. The victim - her husband's one-time mistress - was not injured. Goldman told the federal appeals court that the statute is flawed and was also misapplied to Bond's case. U.S. prosecutors say the crime is appropriately a federal concern. The judges did not indicate when they will rule.

$1 HOTEL ROOMS

Stay n' save: Philadelphia hotel offering $1 rooms
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A hotel in downtown Philadelphia is trying to stimulate business by offering hotel rooms for just a dollar. The Alexander Inn is offering five rooms at the special rate
four nights a week through mid-June during its "Guest Stimulus Program." Hotel managers say the rooms range from $119 to $169 daily but can be booked for just $1 if reserved no more than a month in advance. General manager John Cochie hopes the promotion will lead to new guests who will in turn become repeat customers. He says guaranteed reservations have more than doubled since the promotion began earlier this month. Cochie says it's a good deal for the city, too. Visitors will have extra dough to spend in restaurants, shops and theaters.

HONG KONG (AP) - The rally on Asian stock markets is extending another day following Wall Street's big Monday. The Dow gained nearly 500 points on two pieces of news: the Obama administration's plan for ridding banks of bad debts and an unexpected rise in existing home sales. Tokyo is posting the biggest gains so far today, with the Nikkei up more than 3 percent.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is holding a prime-time news conference tonight. He's expected to use it to try to cool anger over insurance giant AIG's bonus payments and put the focus back on his efforts to right the financial sector and revive the economy.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner are making a rare joint appearance before a House committee today about the bailout of insurance giant AIG and the bonuses it handed out to some employees. Bernanke and Geithner are likely to again call for legislation that would allow the government to safely
dismantle a big financial institution like AIG to minimize any damage to the nation's financial system.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The investigation into the deadly crash of a single-engine plane in Montana Sunday is focusing on the possibility that ice may have been a factor. Weather forecasters say the plane flew through a layer of air where conditions were right for icing. Fourteen people died in the crash, including seven children all under the age of 10.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - David Letterman says he's a married man. He and his longtime girlfriend Regina Lasko married last week in Montana. They began dating in 1986 and have a five-year-old son, Harry.