Today's News-Wednesday, March 18, 2009

ARGALL SWORN IN

Tuesday was one of the biggest days in Dave Argall’s political career as he was sworn in as state Senator for the 29th District. Argall makes the transition from the state House after winning the special election March 3rd to replace the late Senator Jim Rhoades. He took the oath of office from federal Judge John Jones the Third, a Pottsville native, with family and friends by his side. Argall said he’s ready to get to work, but is humbled to fill the seat once held by his friend and colleague Jim Rhoades:

ARGALL SWEARING IN

Speaker of the House Keith McCall also announced that the special election to replace Argall will take place on May 19th, coinciding with the primary election.

MATTHEWS APPEARS IN POTTSVILLE

CHRIS 1

You've seen him on MSNBC's "Hardball"...many critics love to hate him. The outspoken political commentator, Chris Matthews, was the honorary guest speaker at the annual Friendly Sons of St Patrick luncheon. Several hundred from Pottsville and surrounding areas gathered at the Pottsville club to hear Matthews honor the patron saint of Ireland. Matthews grew up in suburban Philadelphia in an Irish-Catholic family. Be sure to listen to WPPA's Step Up to the Mic beginning at 10am to hear his address.

Pa. turnpike boss' link to ex-senator in question

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chairman Mitchell Rubin is under pressure to resign because his name came up in a corruption trial. Rubin wasn't a defendant in the trial. But Rubin got a taxpayer-financed consulting job controlled by former Sen. Vincent Fumo, who was convicted of 137 corruption charges. Fumo's prosecutors called the $30,000-a-year, five-year contract a ghost job. Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi says Rubin should explain himself. He says if Rubin can't give an adequate explanation, he should resign immediately and return the money from the consulting job to the state. Rubin's wife, longtime Fumo aide Ruth Arnao, also was convicted Monday of all 45 counts against her.

Official to plead guilty in Pa. courthouse scandal

SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A probation official in northeastern Pennsylvania has agreed to plead guilty to tampering with juvenile court records. Sandra Brulo is the fourth figure to be charged in an unfolding courthouse corruption scandal in Luzerne County. Court documents filed Tuesday say she will plead guilty to obstruction of justice. The 56-year-old Brulo allegedly tampered with the records to evade liability in a civil suit filed on behalf of hundreds of
juveniles who may have been improperly sentenced to detention. Her co-defendants in the suit are former Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan. They pleaded guilty last month to fraud after prosecutors accused them of taking kickbacks to send juvenile offenders to private detention centers.

Judge: Journal Register can pay newsprint maker

NEW YORK (AP) - A bankruptcy judge says Yardley, Pa.-based newspaper publisher Journal Register Co. can pay part of a $2.7 million newsprint bill that will allow it to keep printing. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Allan Gropper gave the owner of the New Haven Register in Connecticut and other newspapers permission to pay Canada-based Kruger Inc. and other vendors that the publisher considered critical to its operations. A lawyer for Journal Register warned that the company would run out of newsprint within two weeks without the payment. In a hearing in New York on Tuesday, the judge also approved the appointment of Robert Conway as interim CEO, replacing James Hall. Conway was already slated to become chief restructuring officer.

Police: Concrete in Pa. fatal wasn't from bridge

LEHIGHTON, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania State Police say the chunk of concrete that went through a windshield last week in the Poconos, killing a driver, didn't come from a bridge. Police say the concrete came from the roadway and was somehow kicked up by another vehicle running over it on the Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike. Police say it was a freak accident that killed 48-year-old Pierre Louverture of Long Pond on Friday in Franklin Township,
Carbon County. A front-seat passenger grabbed the steering wheel to guide the car out of traffic.

Amish Pa. farmer sentenced to jail over outhouse

EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania Amish farmer was ordered to spend 90 days in jail after refusing to bring a pair of outhouses into compliance with state sewage laws.
Andy Swartzentruber, of Ebensburg, cites his conservative religious beliefs for refusing to abide by a court order to make the privies used by schoolchildren compliant and pay a $500 fine.
He was led away by a sheriff's deputy after Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker on Tuesday upheld a contempt of court ruling. The dispute dates back a couple of years. Krumenacker says he had no choice but to sentence Swartzentruber to jail and pay a $1,000 fine. He also ordered the Amish school and outhouse padlocked. Swartzentruber can be released early if he complies within the 90 days.

Jurors' online posts concern trial lawyers

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The corruption trial of former Pennsylvania state Sen. Vincent Fumo isn't the only one to be disrupted by a juror's online writing. A Fayetteville, Ark., man serving on a jury in a civil case posted Twitter messages during the trial. The losing party appealed
last week, saying juror Johnathan Powell's postings showed bias. Powell told The Associated Press that the complainants were "grasping at straws" to try to undo the award. In the Philadelphia case, juror Eric Wuest put a posting on Facebook late Friday saying, "Stay tuned for a big announcement on Monday everyone!" His posting foreshadowed a verdict finding Fumo and a former aide guilty on all charges. Defense lawyers tried to have Wuest removed, but the judge wouldn't do so. He said he found the juror credible when he said no one outside the jury had influenced him.

Pa. man gets 30 years for NY trip for child sex

READING, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man who authorities say went to New York state to have sex with a 2 1/2-year-old girl has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. Court papers say 47-year-old Richard King Jr. of Brecknock Township, Berks County, made arrangements over the Internet to meet the girl and her mother in Buffalo, N.Y., and travel with them back
to Pennsylvania. Court papers say King admitted to having sex with the toddler in November 2003. King was arrested in April 2004 and pleaded guilty in 2006. At Monday's sentencing, defense lawyer Ronald Travis asked for time served. King also faces state charges. Berks County District Attorney John Adams says his office will review the federal sentence to
determine whether to proceed with the state charges.

Bertucci's sells restaurant chain Vinny T's

NORTHBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - Bertucci's Corp. says it is selling off the Vinny T's of Boston chain to focus on its own Italian restaurant brand. Northborough, Mass.-based Bertucci's announced Tuesday that Vinny T's would be acquired by C&T Restaurant Management LLC for an undisclosed price. C&T currently operates Pomodorino, a chain of Italian restaurants on Long Island, N.Y. Bertucci's purchased the Vinny T's chain - formerly known as Vinny Testa's - for $6.8 million from Buca, Inc., in Sept. 2006. There were 11 Vinny T's at that time, but now there are seven - six in the Greater Boston area and one outside of Philadelphia. Bertucci's operates 94 restaurants in 10 states and the District of Columbia.

3 face vehicular homicide for Philly-area crash

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) - Three men accused of letting an unsafe tractor trailer on the road where it caused a fatal accident in suburban Philadelphia are charged with vehicular homicide.
In addition to the man accused of driving the truck that crashed on the Schuylkill (SKOO'-kill) Expressway in Montgomery County on Jan. 23, the truck's owner and a mechanic were charged Tuesday. The mechanic is a Milton, Del., man who's accused of signing the truck's inspection report without seeing the truck. A police affidavit says none of the rig's 10 brake assemblies
worked effectively and three brake assemblies failed completely. The crash killed 49-year-old David Schreffler of Fort Washington.

Court overturns new trial order in Pa. fratricide

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man convicted of fatally stabbing his brother when they were both teenagers won't get a new trial after all. The state Superior Court on Monday issued the ruling that said evidence of Zachary Witman's guilt is overwhelming. Witman is serving a life sentence for the 1998 attack on his brother Gregory at their New Freedom home in which he was stabbed 65 times in the neck. The appeals court says a York County judge should not have granted a new trial based on a claim that Zachary Witman's legal defense was inadequate. At the time of the killing, Zachary was 15 and Gregory was 13. Zachary's lawyer says a decision about whether to appeal the latest ruling hasn't been made.

Toads on the road get a hand in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - How did the tiny toad cross the busy city road? Not easily, thanks to increasing development and traffic near its habitat. Dozens of Philadelphia volunteers are gearing up to make this year's trip safer for the hopping herpetiles, which are killed by cars in large numbers during their spring breeding migration from woods to a reservoir across a Philadelphia street. For the first time, a coordinated strategy is in place involving about 50 volunteers. They will keep an eye out for the migration to begin and set up city-approved traffic detours when the one-inch toads take to the road. Lisa Levinson spearheaded the effort. She says she got the idea when she was coming home from work and saw dozens of toads crossing
the road.

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's looking like it's going to be a tough day on Capitol Hill for AIG Chairman and CEO Edward Liddy. Liddy took over the insurance giant last fall at the request of the government. Now he's going to have to defend more than $200 million in bonuses paid to employees, despite AIG needing a $170 billion federal bailout.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve wraps up a two-day policy-making session today, but with its key lending rate already near zero, experts say don't expect a interest rate cut. Economists are looking to hear what other tools the Fed plans to use to jolt the economy out of recession.

ST. POELTEN, Austria (AP) - The Austrian man accused of imprisoning his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathering seven children with her has pleaded guilty to all charges against him. On the third day of his trial, 73-year-old Josef Fritzl told the court he'd had a change of heart and acknowledged what he called his "sick behavior." The charges include homicide for the death of one of the children.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is preparing to send more federal agents to the U.S.-Mexico border. It's part of an effort to stem the flow of drugs, guns and violence that has been plaguing the region.

NEW YORK (AP) - Actress Vanessa Redgrave has been seen walking into Lenox Hill Hospital in New York where her daughter, Natasha Richardson, is believed to have been taken with a serious head injury. Richardson fell during a skiing lesson in Canada on Monday.