Today's News-Wednesday, June 10, 2009

SENATE COMMITTEE APPROVES LAND TRANSFER

One of the last pieces of the Schuylkill YMCA transformation was moved forward yesterday with a state Senate committee's approval to transfer the former National Guard Armory to the Y. That's according to Senator Dave Argall, who says Senate Bill 852 authorized the Department of General Services to transfer the Pottsville property at a sale price of $160-thousand-dollars. A $600-thousand-dollar DCED grant secured by the late Senator Jim Rhoades helped to make that happen. The Senate bill moves on for consideration.

BURGLARY SUNDAY

Investigation continues into a burglary at a city home Sunday. Around 10:30pm, police were called to the home of Kathy Martin and Sterling Leymeister on Mauch Chunk Street. Police found that a window was smashed and the home burglarized, with a large sum of coins and multiple pieces of jewelry taken. Leads are being investigated now by Pottsville city police.

FUGITIVE TURNS HIMSELF IN

A New Philadelphia man wanted for simple assault turned himself in to state police yesterday. 27 year old Haitham Hassan was charged with assaulting the woman on Interstate 78 May 29th. Hassan reported to the Hamburg barracks and was arraigned. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.

ANOTHER COPPER THEFT

Schuylkill County was the victim this time in a theft of copper wire. A communications tower along the Burma Road was the site of the theft which happened over the past two months. Frackville state police are investigating. The value of the stolen wire is unknown.

DRUG SELLER PLEADS GUILTY

A Shenandoah woman pleads guilty to selling cocaine. Court records indicate that 39 year old Brenda Kufro entered the plea to delivery of a controlled substance and related counts after she sold a small amount of cocaine to a confidential informant in Shenandoah last year. Kufro remains free on bail until sentencing in August.

DIGITAL TV THIS WEEK

TV officially goes digital this week, and some groups are working to make sure free access to information over the airwaves stays that way as much as possible. Jonathan Lawson, executive director of the advocacy group Reclaim the Media, says television stations in Pennsylvania have been doing a good job explaining that the change is near. But, people in Pennsylvania who depend on older-model TVs with the "rabbit-ear" style antennas also happen to be the viewers least likely to know about the switch. Some, he adds, can't afford the change.

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Lawson says Congress authorized the digital TV coupons in an effort to keep television access free, even after the conversion. While there are plenty of online sites where you can get a converter box for the value of the coupon, he warns that finding a box at a local electronics store at the coupon value is not so easy.

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For more information, log onto www.dtv.gov.

MIDDLETOWN, Pa. (AP) - A second Pennsylvania local government has passed a law limiting where sex offenders can live. This happened even though a federal court has struck down the first effort to do so. Middletown Borough's ordinance would prevent sex offenders from living within 500 feet of schools, parks and libraries.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A kidnapped 1-year-old Philadelphia boy has been found safe in Maryland. Authorities say Vanessa Perez fled when police caught up with her in Germantown, Maryland last night. She left the boy behind. Some think Perez was perhaps trying to replace her own son of the same age, who's in foster care.

WEST CHESTER, Pa. (AP) - In the western suburbs of Philadelphia, one kayaker is dead and another is missing following an accident on a creek. West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn says the two men were seen going over a dam yesterday on the Brandywine Creek. That's near the border of East Bradford and West Goshen Townships in Chester County.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) - 26-year-old Jose Carrasquillo is expected to be charged today in conncection with the rape of an 11-year-old Philadelphia girl. Authorities say his DNA matches evidence at the scene of the attack on June 1. Police are looking to see if the suspect can be linked to more victims.

WASHINGTON (AP) - Vice President Joe Biden plans to attend a construction groundbreaking for the Route 34 bridge project in Carlisle tomorrow. He's traveling to central Pennsylvania as part of a national tour drawing attention to infrastructure improvements which create new jobs.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - In Hockey, the Pittsburgh Penguins have forced a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals by beating the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1 last night. Detroit shoots for its second straight championship Friday night in the motor city at Joe Louis Arena.

NEW YORK (AP) - Chrysler is a step closer to emerging from bankruptcy protection. The automaker is ready to sell most of its assets to Fiat, now that the Supreme Court has rejected an appeal aimed at blocking the deal. Chrysler also won approval from a bankruptcy court to terminate the franchises of 789 dealers.

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Obama administration is ready to issue broad new guidelines that would rein in pay at financial institutions. President Barack Obama's economic team plans to
unfurl broad executive pay principles that would put a premium on long-term performance over short-term gain.

NEW YORK (AP) - An annual survey finds that charitable giving by Americans fell by 2 percent in 2008, thanks to the recession. The last previous overall drop in giving was in 1987, the year of the record-shattering Black Monday stock market collapse.

BAGHDAD (AP) - Iraqi officials say at least 15 people are dead and dozens wounded from a car bombing in a Shiite area in the country's south. Police and hospital officials say the blast was
targeting a market district in the town of Bathaa.

UNDATED (AP) - The Orlando Magic have won Game 3 of the NBA finals with a 108-104 victory over Los Angeles to cut the Lakers' lead to 2-1. Game 4 is Thursday night, also in Orlando. And in the Stanley Cup, the Pittsburgh Penguins have forced a seventh game by
beating the defending champion Detroit Red Wings 2-1.