Today's News- Wednesday, April 15, 2009

CAT ITEMS FOUND
Items reported stolen from an area animal shelter have been found. We told you yesterday that cat food and other supplies totaling over $11-thousand-dollars were missing from the fomer Ruth Steinert Memorial SPCA in Foster Township. State police now say that the goods were found at their new location in Pine Grove Township Tuesday. Officials from Ruth Steinert told WPPA/T102 News that an unidentified volunteer delivered them to the site in good order after the shelter completed their weekend move. Most of the items were initially recovered when shelter workers rescued a number of cats from the Cats With No Name shelter.

TRAFFIC DELAYS POSSIBLE DUE TO BEAMS MOVING AT SCH PRODUCTS
Travelers should be aware of possible delays Thursday and Friday morning as Schuylkill Products move oversized loads from their Cressona plant. Beginning at 7am, at two hour intervals, the trucks will travel on Route 901 and 183 to Route 61 north and Interstate 81 north at Frackville, and traffic backups are expected. The construction materials are bound for a job site in Clearfield County.

SEXUAL ISSUES DISCUSSED
Relationships and sex are matters that trouble high school and college students. A panel discussion about that subject was held at Penn State Schuylkill last night. Bim Angst, advisor for the campus Alliance of Straight and Gay Students, explains where the idea for the forum came from:

BIM ANGST 1

Angst said the reasons for concern about sexuality are wide ranging:

BIM ANGST 2

A panel of educators and professionals addressed questions from students at the event, which was sponsored in conjunction with the Penn State Schuylkill Office of Student Affairs.

FIRE KILLS ANIMALS AND DESTROYS BARN IN RYAN TOWNSHIP
Fire heavily damaged a barn in Ryan Township Tuesday morning, killing baby chickens. The blaze broke out on Barnesville Drive before noon. The property is owned by Eric and Pat Hartman. Firefighters from Ryan Township were aided by crews from Mahanoy City, Delano and Hometown. There were no injuries to humans from the fire.

HIT AND RUN CRASH INVESTIGATED
Schuylkill Haven state police are looking for the driver of a vehicle involved in a hit and run in Tremont overnight Monday. Troopers say that Linda Renninger's Pontiac Grand AM was parked on West Main Street in the borough during the overnight hours Monday, damaging the driver's side of the vehicle. The unknown vehicle then fled towards Porter Township. Anyone with info on the vehicle that caused the damage should call PSP Schuylkill Haven at 593-2000.

KALAS TRIBUTES
Phillies plan public memorial for Kalas
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Harry Kalas fans will have a chance to pay their respects to the legendary Phillies broadcaster. The Phillies and Kalas family announced that a public memorial
for Kalas will be held Saturday at Citizens Bank Park. Fans will be welcome from 8 a.m. until 12:45 p.m., when all fans in attendance will be directed to their seats for an on-field tribute at 1 p.m. before a game against the San Diego Padres. kalas, 73, died Monday in Washington D.C. after collapsing in the broadcast booth before a Phillies-Nationals game. The Phillies will wear a black, circular "HK" patch on the front of their jerseys this season. The team also urged fans coming to Friday night's game to arrive early for a pre-game tribute to Kalas.

KALAS DEATH
Harry Kalas died of cardiovascular disease
WASHINGTON (AP) - Autopsy results show that longtime Phillies' TV and radio broadcaster Harry Kalas died from heart disease. A spokeswoman at the Washington D.C. chief medical examiner's office said Kalas, who died Monday, had high blood pressure and suffered from atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. The disease, in which plaque buildup restricts blood flow in arteries, is a major cause of heart attacks and strokes. Known for his signature "Outta here!" home run calls, Kalas died after collapsing in the broadcast booth before the Phillies' 9-8 victory over the Washington Nationals. He was 73. Kalas is survived by his wife and three sons, including one - Todd - who is a broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Rays. Funeral arrangements are pending.

CASINO OWNER-PERJURY CHARGES
Prosecutor says Pa. casino licensing is flawed
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The prosecutor who dropped perjury charges against northeastern Pennsylvania casino owner Louis DeNaples says the investigation "unmasked numerous problems" with the state's casino-licensing process. Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico has proposed a set of reforms in a letter to Gov. Ed Rendell and legislative leaders.
Marsico recommends that the state attorney general or the state police perform background checks on gambling license applicants, not the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. He also says the gambling board be appointed by the governor, subject to Senate confirmation. It currently has some members appointed by the governor and some by legislative leaders. Marsico also says the state should prohibit convicted felons from working in the gaming industry.

PITTSBURGH SHOOTING
Judge issues gag order in Pittsburgh police case
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A prosecutor handling the case of a man accused of fatally shooting three Pittsburgh police officers says he joined in with the defense request for a gag order. First Deputy Assistant District Attorney Mark Tranquilli says he shares defense lawyer Lisa Middleman's concern about heavy news coverage tainting the jury pool. An Allegheny County judge issued
an order Tuesday telling police officers, lawyers, potential witnesses and others involved in the case not to talk about it outside court. He also ordered them not to release investigative
reports and evidence aside from public records. Lawyers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Tribune-Review asked the judge not to make the order too restrictive. The Tribune-Review's lawyer says the order appears to comply with U.S. Supreme Court rulings.

OFFICER STRUCK
Pa. cop nearly hit by truck doesn't show for court
BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) - A retired Pennsylvania city planner accused of hitting a police officer with his pickup truck has gotten charges dismissed in an unrelated, but similar case. Charges of careless driving and not yielding in an emergency response area were dropped Tuesday against 64-year-old Samuel Guttman, who worked for the city of Bethlehem from 1975 to 2002. A
judge dropped the charges because the officer who said Guttman nearly ran into him in January didn't show up in court. The charges can be refiled in the future. Guttman is scheduled to go to trial in June in an unrelated case from October in which an officer was actually struck. In that case, he is charged with aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

KILLING SPREE
Judge sets fall jury selection in Devoe case
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - A judge says she will formally find Paul Devoe - accused in the deaths of six people - competent to stand trial. The Austin American-Statesman reports online Tuesday that State District Judge Brenda Kennedy also set jury selection for Sept. 10. Devoe is accused of shooting to death a man at a Marble Falls bar, four people in a Jonestown house and a woman in Pennsylvania in August 2007 before being arrested in Long Island, N.Y. In December, two doctors declared him incompetent to stand trial. But Kennedy says that in February, staff from North Texas State Hospital at Vernon told her that Devoe had been found competent. He's been indicted for capital murder in Travis County only in two of the Jonestown deaths, but Kennedy has ruled that the jury can hear evidence of all of the killings.

CASINO OWNER-PERJURY CHARGES
Prosecutor drops perjury charges against DeNaples
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The prosecutor dropping perjury charges against northeastern Pennsylvania casino owner Louis DeNaples says it's due to legal issues. Dauphin County District Attorney Ed Marsico says to get a perjury conviction, the questioning must be precise. He says
evasive, ambiguous or imprecise testimony doesn't make the cut. A spokesman for DeNaples says the charges were baseless and Marsico "did the right thing" upon realizing that. Marsico isn't apologizing, saying prosecutors previously thought DeNaples had committed perjury.
Marsico is also dropping perjury charges against the Rev. Joseph Sica, a friend of DeNaples'. The priest released a statement saying: "I placed my trust in God, the truth and the system and I
was not let down."

HOME ROBBERY-MURDER
2 men charged in Pittsburgh-area man's death
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Police say they've charged two men with homicide in the fatal shooting of a Pittsburgh-area man during a robbery attempt. Twenty-year-old Robert Pace, of Pittsburgh, and 15-year-old Bryan Gilbert, of McKeesport, are accused of forcing their way into 34-year-old Cecil Potter's McKeesport home on Sunday and shooting him with a shotgun. Gilbert is charged as an adult. Allegheny County Police charged them with homicide, burglary and related crimes. They're being held in the Allegheny County Jail. Police say more arrests are possible.

MILITARY ACADEMY-EXPANSION
Valley Forge Military Academy plans $32m expansion
WAYNE, Pa. (AP) - Valley Forge Military Academy and College is undertaking a $32 million expansion that will allow it to double its enrollment of college cadets. School officials say the college will be able to grow to 500 cadets for the 2014-15 academic year. They say the project will be paid for by private donations along with state and federal funding. The 50,000-square foot expansion announced Tuesday will create 10 classrooms, four seminar rooms, offices and a military museum. There are also plans for expanded living space. Valley Forge currently enrolls 219 cadets in its two-year military college. The military academy enrolls about 300 seventh-grade through postgraduate cadets.

QWEST-NACCHIO
Ex-Qwest CEO Nacchio reports to prison in Pa.
DENVER (AP) - Former Qwest CEO Joe Nacchio has reported to a federal prison in Pennsylvania to start a six-year sentence for insider trading while he appeals his conviction to the Supreme Court. Nacchio was convicted in 2007 of 19 counts of insider trading. Prosecutors say he sold $52 million worth of stock based on nonpublic information that Denver-based Qwest Communications International Inc. faced trouble meeting its sales targets. He was acquitted on 23 other counts of insider trading. Nacchio asked the Supreme Court to review his conviction.
Separately, he has asked the high court to let him remain free on bail while he pursues his appeal. He also faces a lawsuit by the Securities and Exchange Commission accusing him and others of financial fraud.

COMCAST-NFL
Comcast, NFL Network in hearing on channel's fate
The dispute between the nation's largest cable TV provider and the NFL Network is getting a hearing this week. Philadelphia-based Comcast Corp. and the NFL Network are appearing before an administrative law judge at the Federal Communications Commission. The sides disagree over Comcast's treatment of the NFL channel. Comcast moved it to a premium sports tier that has fewer viewers than the digital TV package where the NFL Network wanted to be.
Comcast says it put the NFL Network in the premium package because of the high costs of carrying the channel. The NFL Network says Comcast is retaliating for not getting the right to air NFL games on its Versus sports channel. The judge will make recommendations to the FCC, which could force Comcast to carry the network in the lower-priced tier.

MOMBASA, Kenya (AP) - A detour by the USS Bainbridge to help a ship threatened by Somali pirates means the crew of the Maersk Alabama will head home without their skipper. The crew is at Kenya's Mombasa airport but rescued Capt. Richard Phillips is still aboard the Bainbridge, which is escorting the other freighter.

TOKYO (AP) - Sagging optimism sent Asian stocks mostly lower today on weak U.S. data. Wall Street futures suggest a lower open in New York. Analysts say investors scratching for good news may have been overeager in pushing prices up in the recent rally.

ROME (AP) - The interior minister says the estimated reconstruction pricetag will be about $16 billion for earthquake-ravaged central Italy. Roberto Maroni spoke on state TV broadcaster RAI. The 6.3-magnitude quake on April 6 killed 294 people. It leveled or damaged tens of thousands of homes and other buildings.

CLEVELAND (AP) - Accused Nazi death camp guard John Demjanjuk has been spared deportation to Germany for now. A federal appeals court blocked his departure after authorities loaded him in a wheelchair and took him from his Ohio home. He's back at home for now.

NEW YORK (AP) - New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan says Americans should trade fear for faith. He spoke at a prayer service last night at St. Patrick's Cathedral that began his formal installation as New York's Roman Catholic leader.