Today's News-Saturday, May 9, 2009

HAPPY 63RD ANNIVERSARY WPPA

Today is a historic day for the Pottsville Broadcasting Company. WPPA News and Program Director Jay Levan talks with President and General Manager Argie Tidmore:

WPPA ANNIV 1
1:34

WPPA ANNIV 2
1:40

FIRE DESTROYS PORT CARBON BUSINESS

Charred rubble is all that remains of a Port Carbon beauty shop following a fire Friday. The early morning blaze at Arlene and Nettie Beauty Salon on Fifth Street leveled the property, and now investigators have deemed it suspicious. State police fire marshal John Burns is handling the investigation. Anyone with information can call state police at Frackville at 874-5300.

RELAY FOR LIFE UNDERWAY

The annual Pottsville Relay for Life got underway Friday with about a thousand people walking the track for the American Cancer Society. As has been the case for the start of the relay, Mother Nature provided rain showers, but that didn't dampen the spirits of people walking for a purpose. As darkness fell, luminaries were lighted to line the track at Veterans Memorial Stadium to remember loved ones who battled cancer. The Pottsville Relay for Life goes until 3pm today.

WATER BOIL ADVISORY

Customers in the Blythe Township Water Authority are under a boil advisory until further notice due to a water main break. Affected customers are residents of New Philadelphia, Silver Creek, Cumbola, New Castle and East Norwegian Townships and St Clair borough. Water pressure may also be affected.

FOOD SAFETY QUESTIONED

As the nation deals with the outbreak of H1N1 Flu, some consumers aren't sure if pork is safe to eat. A food-safety specialist in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences is ready to dispel the confusion. Gary Abdullah has the story:

ABDULLAH

COLD CASE FILE

State police at Schuylkill Haven are still looking for a woman involved in a chain reaction crash in September, 2007. Trooper Todd Heintz, the investigating officer, says they are looking for the unknown woman who was driving one of the three vehicles involved in the crash that killed an Ashland motorcyclist. The woman, driving a white car, attempted to make an illegal left turn from Route 61 onto South Centre Street. A motorcycle driven by David Zerby slid sideways and struck a car in the line of traffic. Zerby was thrown into the window of Donna Wabby's car. Troopers are looking for new information as to the identification of that woman. Contact PSP Schuylkill Haven with any leads at 593-2000.

PITTSBURGH MAYOR
Pittsburgh mayor has big lead in campaign funds
PITTSBURGH (AP) - Campaign finance reports show Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has more than 10 times as much money on hand as his nearest rival. Ravenstahl is seeking the Democratic nomination for a second term May 19 against city Councilman Patrick Dowd and attorney Carmen Robinson. As of May 4, Ravenstahl had more than $480,000 in the bank
compared to less than $45,000 for Dowd. Robinson didn't file a report. Candidates who spent more than $250 were required to do so by Friday. The reports show Ravenstahl also raised far more money than Dowd and spend far more. Ravenstahl's biggest expense was television
advertising, which cost his campaign $85,000.

COWBOYS CANOPY COLLAPSE
State board probing Cowboys practice site collapse
DALLAS (AP) - The Texas Board of Professional Engineers is investigating the collapse of the Dallas Cowboys indoor practice facility -- leaving 12 people hurt. The structure fell last Saturday during heavy winds. Board spokesman Lance Kinney says the board typically deals with whether an engineer is licensed and qualified, and whether the plans are up to code. Records released by Irving this week did not include the name of the engineer who signed off on the design, nor did they include the building's specifications or blueprints. A spokeswoman for Irving declined comment. The facility was designed and built by Summit Structures of Allentown, Pa., just months after a similar building for the Philadelphia Regional Port Authority collapsed. Summit ultimately agreed to pay the port $4.8 million to settle a lawsuit. Details were in a confidential agreement between the parties in 2007 -- that was made public Friday by the port.

FELONIOUS CANDIDATE
Pa. felon-who-would-be-mayor challenges conviction
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A northeastern Pennsylvania businessman says he's found a witness who can clear him of his 1991 conviction for receiving stolen property - a conviction that prevents him from holding public office. Bob Bolus is the only candidate seeking the Republican
nomination for mayor of Scranton. An appeals court ruled that he can be on the ballot in the May 19 primary because a challenge was filed one day too late. Bolus filed court papers this week saying he found a witness who will testify that he had nothing to do with the removal of a
front-end loader at the heart of the case. Lackawanna County District Attorney Andy Jarbola says Bolus has exhausted all his appeals and prosecutors will vigorously challenge the latest.

CAREGIVERS-ABUSE
2 Pa. caregivers accused of abusing woman
TUNKHANNOCK, Pa. (AP) - Two northeastern Pennsylvania women are accused of making a mentally challenged woman drink urine and eat feces. The 27- and 31-year-old Tunkhannock women worked for ARC, an agency that serves the mentally challenged, at the time they
allegedly abused one of the agency's clients. The Wyoming County district attorney says the defendants told the victim that a bottle full of urine contained lemonade and that bits of feces in her pudding were special Tootsie Rolls. They are also accused of putting insects in the woman's sandwich and making tea from toilet water. Both women were arraigned Friday and are free on $20,000 unsecured bail pending a May 15 preliminary hearing. Officials at ARC's headquarters in Tunkhannock Township had no comment.

PATIENT COVERS PAYROLL
Police: Patient's money used for care home payroll
GIBSONIA, Pa. (AP) - A Pittsburgh-area care home owner is charged with forgery for allegedly cashing a $22,000 check from the patient's account to cover the facility's payroll and other
expenses. Police charged 50-year-old Scott Gordon, of Beaver Falls, with cashing the check in March. The patient can't care for himself but maintains a checking account with his sister to cover his expenses at Gordon's Bon Venue personal care home in Hampton Township. Gordon was charged and arraigned Friday. Court records do not list an attorney for Gordon, whose home phone has been disconnected. State welfare officials are now running the care home and say Gordon has been banned from the facility which is operating far below its 224-patient capacity.

SWINE FLU-PENNSYLVANIA
8 more swine flu cases confirmed in Pa.; 10 total
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Pennsylvania health officials have confirmed eight additional cases of swine flu, but none of the patients is sick enough to be hospitalized. The health department said Friday the newly confirmed cases are: one each in Allegheny, Chester, Luzerne and Lycoming counties; and two each in Bucks and Philadelphia counties. Officials say more cases are being confirmed due to stepped-up testing, and there's no cause for alarm. Two cases had been confirmed previously in Montgomery County, bringing the statewide total to 10. Both have recovered. The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Friday was reporting 18 "probable" cases of swine flu in 10 counties: Adams, Cambria, Chester, Franklin, Lehigh, Mercer, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Westmoreland and York.

HAZLETON CHILD DEATH
Pa. man guilty of 1st-degree murder in baby death
WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) - A northeastern Pennsylvania man who admitted killing his girlfriend's 3-month-old son is guilty of first-degree murder. Alan Leitzel Jr. pleaded guilty last week in Luzerne County Court to a general count of homicide. After a trial to determine the severity of the homicide charge, a judge ruled Friday that the 26-year-old West Hazleton man was guilty of first-degree murder. The baby's mother, Tiffany Simmons, testified that Leitzel loved the baby and didn't mean to kill him. Prosecutors say Leitzel is a racist who hated the biracial baby. They noted that he had a swastika tattooed on his chest.

ABDUCTION-BEATING
Pa. abduction victim won't cooperate with police
SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) - A northeastern Pennsylvania man who said he was forced into a van, beaten and thrown out more than two miles away isn't cooperating with a police investigation.
Scranton Police Detective Capt. Al Leoncini said Friday that the 20-year-old Madison Township man signed a statement saying he doesn't want police to investigate further. Leoncini says that
means police are "basically finished" looking into the attack reported early Thursday. Leoncini says police have determined that the attackers knew the victim, although the victim told police Thursday that it was a case of mistaken identity. Leoncini says a witness saw one of the attackers leave the scene in the victim's pickup truck, which was still missing as of Friday.

BUS DRIVER BEATEN
2 arrested in Philadelphia bus driver beating
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Police have arrested two suspects in the brutal beating of a bus driver in downtown Philadelphia. Police say two teenagers beat a Southeastern Pennsylvania
Transportation Authority bus driver April 2 following a fare dispute. Police released surveillance video Thursday to get the public's help in identifying suspects. Police arrested a 17-year-old suspect Friday afternoon and an 18-year-old man surrendered Friday night. Police say the driver allowed the teens to ride from the Philadelphia suburb of King of Prussia to downtown even though they hadn't paid the proper fare. He says once the bus got downtown, the two teens waited as the other passengers got off, then attacked the driver. He was injured badly enough to be hospitalized.

STATE POLICE-VICTIM NAMES
Pa. State Police reverses policy on victims' names
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - The Pennsylvania State Police is backtracking on a blanket policy to withhold victims' names from news releases just one day after it was issued. Spokeswoman Cpl. Linette Quinn said the department rescinded its policy Friday after realizing it was too broad.
Quinn says the policy directed troopers not to release the names or addresses of victims, and put only their ages and ethnicity on public news releases. She says the idea was to expand a longstanding practice of withholding names of sexual assault and rape victims to also include victims of sexual harassment. The policy is being rewritten to clearly define which crime
victims it will cover. Quinn says a new policy should be in place by the end of May.

AMISH-OUTHOUSE DISPUTES
Judge orders 2 Amish families out of homes
EBENSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A judge ordered two Amish families out of their western Pennsylvania homes for failing to comply with municipal building and sewage requirements. Cambria County Judge Norman Krumenacker gave Joely and Mary Swartzentruber, along with John and Susan Miller, until Monday morning to leave or be evicted by sheriff's deputies. The defendants are members of a conservative Amish sect known for their severe restrictions on technology. They did not have a lawyer at a contempt hearing Friday. County sewage officials say the families have cited religious beliefs in failing to install permitted sewage systems. Another member of the Amish sect was sentenced in March to 90 days in jail after refusing to bring a pair of school outhouses into compliance.

PULLMAN PORTERS
African-American Pullman porters to be honored
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - The unsung men known as Pullman porters are getting recognition for their historical legacy. On Saturday, in conjunction with National Train Day, a handful of surviving Pullman porters in their 80s and 90s are being honored during a ceremony at Philadelphia's historic 30th Street Station. Similar gatherings have been held in Oakland, Chicago and Washington. Four men are expected to attend the Philadelphia event; a fifth
man has been ill and may not be able to travel. Amtrak officials say the remaining living porters may only number in the dozens. The founder of a Pullman porter museum in Chicago says the
dignified, articulate porters helped change race relations in America. Lyn Hughes says Pullman porters were the only exposure many white Americans had to blacks.

KABUL (AP) - A joint U.S.-Afghan probe has found that civilians were killed during a battle in southern Afghanistan, but officials don't know yet how many. Initial results from the investigation found that Taliban fighters forced villagers into houses from which they attacked Afghan and U.S. forces. Bombing runs would have then targeted those houses.

ST. LOUIS (AP) - Severe weather has socked the nation's midsection, killing at least five people in Missouri, Kentucky and Kansas. Missouri's governor has declared a state of emergency and
plans to tour damaged areas today.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - In California, a cool sea breeze has given firefighters some relief. But a wildfire that's forced more than 30,000 people from their homes in the Santa Barbara area is still only about 10 percent contained. The fire has burned about 80 homes and blackened 8,600 acres.

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Barack Obama is pushing Congress to send him legislation by Memorial Day that would put a tighter rein on the credit card industry. In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama says Americans need to live within their means and pay what they owe. But he says they are too often being "ripped off" by sudden rate hikes, unfair penalties and hidden fees.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Missouri Sen. Kit Bond, delivering the GOP's weekly radio and Internet address, says that President Barack Obama's plan to close the Guantanamo detention center "is a dangerous case of putting symbolism over security." He says the president needs to tell the American people where the terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay will be sent.