TODAY'S NEWS: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011

MAN WANTED IN DEATH OF POTTSVILLE MAN

THE SCHUYLKILL HAVEN POLICE DEPARTMENT HAS ISSUED A WARRANT FOR THE ARREST OF A MAN IMPLICATED IN A SUICIDE DEATH IN THE BOROUGH. SERGEANT ROBERT PHILLIPS TOLD WPPA NEWS FRIDAY THAT 26 YEAR OLD DAVID FITTING, LAST KNOWN ADDRESS IN SCHUYLKILL HAVEN, IS ALLEGED TO HAVE GIVEN A HANDGUN TO ANDREW MULLINS AT A GARFIELD AVENUE APARTMENT ON NOVEMBER 21ST. MULLINS TOOK HIS OWN LIFE WITH THE WEAPON. FITTING IS CHARGED WITH CAUSING OR AIDING A SUICIDE, A FELONY AND RECKLESS ENDANGERMENT. FITTING’S WHEREABOUTS ARE UNKNOWN AT THIS TIME. IF ANYONE HAS INFORMATION TO AID SCHUYLKILL HAVEN POLICE, PLEASE CALL THEM AT 385-9111.

PPL RECEIVES 17TH AWARD

BUSINESS CUSTOMERS GAVE PPL ELECTRIC UTILITIES HIGH MARKS IN THE 2011 ELECTRIC UTILITY BUSINESS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION STUDY RELEASED BY J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES. FOR THE NINTH TIME IN 12 YEARS, THE UTILITY RANKED HIGHEST IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AMONG LARGE UTILITIES IN THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. THE AWARD IS THE COMPANY'S 17TH OVERALL - MORE THAN ANY OTHER UTILITY IN THE COUNTRY - SINCE J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES BEGAN STUDYING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AMONG ELECTRIC UTILITY CUSTOMERS. PPL ELECTRIC UTILITIES HAS EARNED THE TOP HONOR FOR BUSINESS CUSTOMER SATISFACTION IN THE EASTERN REGION OF THE U.S. NINE TIMES IN THE LAST 12 YEARS. THE J.D. POWER AND ASSOCIATES STUDY RANKS COMPANIES ON A 1,000-POINT SCALE, MEASURING POWER QUALITY AND RELIABILITY; BILLING AND PAYMENT; CORPORATE CITIZENSHIP; PRICE/VALUE; COMMUNICATIONS; AND CUSTOMER SERVICE.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A new Corbett administration policy is
expected to produce a $200 million tax break for Pennsylvania
corporations. The agency says its new "business-friendly"
interpretation of state tax law will benefit as many as 117,000
corporate taxpayers.

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Police arrested a woman and seized about
$6,000 worth of cocaine from the woman's Pittsburgh daycare center.
A police spokeswoman says 53-year-old Reanell Booker, of Cheswick,
was arrested yesterday morning at R&B Childcare Services in the
city's Homewood neighborhood.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Authorities say a Clarion man used a
webcam to send sexually explicit videos of himself to someone he
thought was a 13-year-old girl. The "girl" was really an
undercover agent working with the attorney general's Child Predator
Unit. Authorities arrested 39-year-old Vincent Elliott on Thursday.

Federal officials are taking applications for grants to pay for
Great Lakes cleanup projects. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency is inviting states, cities, native tribes and nonprofit
groups to seek financial support for their ideas under the Great
Lakes Restoration Initiative.

TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Residents of Libya's capital, Tripoli, say
Moammar Gadhafi's regime has begun arming its civilian supporters.
Gadhafi had vowed to make such a move in a speech yesterday, as
rebels expanded their control of the country. They hold about half
of Libya's 1,000-mile Mediterranean coastline where most of the
population lives.

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Turkey's prime minister is speaking out
against the United Nations imposing sanctions on Libya. Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (REH'-jehp TY'-ihp UR'-doh-wahn)
warns that sanctions would hurt the Libyan people more than Moammar
Gadhafi's regime. The U.N. Security Council is scheduled to meet
later this morning to discuss ways to punish the Libyan leader for
his violent attacks on anti-government protesters.

WASHINGTON (AP) - As the exodus of foreign nationals from Libya
continues, the State Department says it does not believe there are
large numbers of Americans still trapped there. But spokesman P.J.
Crowley says there may be some still in need of help getting out,
and the U.S. has been working with other governments to arrange
departures.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Billionaire Warren Buffett is expressing
optimism about American's economic future. But in his annual letter
to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders he says the financial crisis
confirms the dangers of investing with borrowed money, because even
a short absence of credit can ruin a company. He also urges
investors to be wary of the games public companies play with profit
numbers.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Protests continue at the Wisconsin state
Capitol, with a network of volunteers helping to keep them alive
nearly two weeks after they began. Residents are bringing pizza,
chili and cheeses to hungry protesters and offering lodging to
supporters arriving from other cities. The protests against a bill
to curb collective bargaining rights for public employees began
Feb. 15.