Joshua Lilly of Erie has been sentenced to 7 to 14 years in state prison for molesting a girl, who was 8 or 9 years old at the time of the crime.

Jeremy Noyes, who was arrested last month by the FBI for among other things, wanting to start a colony of sex slaves, is asking to be released. Noyes originally was not ordered to jail but voluntarily went to the Erie County prison because friends he was staying with were being harassed. Noyes is asking to be released and to live with his father who lives in Atlanta, Georgia. A few readers have speculated that Noyes is not guilty of child pornography charges but that he pretended to be interested in children so as to scare off a woman stalker.

The City of Erie wants Gannon University to pony up some money in lieu of property taxes. Gannon, like Mercyhurst and LECOM, pay no property taxes on their buildings. LECOM and Mercyhurst have plans with the City to do what’s called a Payment in Lieu of Taxes program. Mercyhurst is paying $500,000 over three years and LECOM is paying $300,000 over three years. The city is smarting from the loss of the Verizon building, which Gannon bought, taking $300,000 in taxes paid with it. Gannon says they contribute to many other programs locally, both with cash and non-cash contributions.

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong has been transferred from Erie County Prison to a federal penitentiary. She will be in federal care and receive mental health care for no more then four months. She will eventually head to trial in the Brian Wells pizza bomber case.

GE Wind in Erie will be one of the companies that will benefit from Governer Ed Rendell’s new wind energy initiative. The plan will better connect wind energy companies and their suppliers and boost the growth of Pennsylvania’s alternative energy industry

A bunch of local Browns fans are out $145 after their cars were towed from a lot at 36th and Peach near the Liberty Plaza. The lot has no parking signs on it – but its certainly not good publicity for Bizarro Towing and Levin Management Corporation, based in New Jersey.

More than a few Erie bloggers have noted the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article discussing the proposed tire-to-energy plant, and some are asking how the Erie Times News dropped the ball by not reporting on some of the issues raised in that article. Eriepressible and The Press and Tower both look at the reporting done by the Tribune and the Times.

Thomas Friedman, who wrote the excellent “The World is Flat” has a new book out called Hot, Flat and Crowded Erie and the GE Transportation plant are discussed in the book.

A hearing was held last night in Linesville to discuss the state’s plan to allow only special fish food at the Pymatuning Spillway. There have to be bigger issues for our legislature to worry about.

Erie Insurance and the Greater Erie Area Habitat for Humanity are partnering to build a new home that will be the first “fortified home” in Pennsylvania. The Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS) designates standards for the Fortified home program which go beyond building code requirements to increase a home’s overall resistance to natural hazards based on its location. The three-bedroom one-bath home is under construction on East 3rd Street.

Rebecca Hart of Erie finished 12th in the equestrian Grade II individual championship test finals at the Paralympics in Hong Kong. Congrats, Rebecca!

LORD Corporation has been selected by Korea Aerospace Industry (KAI) and Korean Air (KA) to supply main and tail rotor spherical bearings and dampers for the Korean Utility Helicopter (KUH) program. The 8-ton helicopter is being developed by the Korean Ministry of Defense and will replace many of South Korea’s 700 helicopters. LORD’s legal department and engineers are going to have a fun time complying with the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) with this project.

The PA smoking ban goes into effect on Thursday. If you’re a gambler, Presque Isle Downs and Casino will be 75% smoke-free. Restaurants, lobbies and other common areas will be 100% smoke-free.

Sports

The crying sound you may have heard around the office today was from fantasy football players who had Tom Brady on their rosters and were counting on another great year from him. Brady was hurt in the first quarter on Sunday and it was announced yesterday he will miss the entire season. Ouch.

In Major League Baseball, the Baltimore Orioles spanked the Indians 14-3. The Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the Houston Astros 3-2. The Detroit Tigers beat the Oakland Athletics 14-8.

ErieSportsFans reports that you can get half price tickets in several areas of PNC Park when you buy online and use this code: EBUCS. This will work for all remaining home games.

The Erie Otters play the Niagara IceDogs in the last exhibition game of the season this Thursday at Niagara.

Events

There will be an Erie Bloggers Get Together/Billiards Party today from 7 p.m to 9 p.m. at the Fox and Hound pub by the Millcreek Mall. Come to play billiards or just to socialize! You don’t have to be a blogger to attend. Anyone with an interest in Erie, blogs, or technology is welcome to come and hang out and meet some local Erie bloggers. For more info, contact Michael Mahler at (814) 456-9833 or info@eriegaynews.com.

The Erie based non-profit Gem City Concert Band is seeking new members for the Fall 2008 season. The 50 member concert band is under the direction of Scott Tomlison and plays a variety of music styles such as old overtures, show tunes, traditional concert band pieces, movie scores, and marches. Rehearsals are held Tuesday evenings from 8:00 to 9:30 p.m. with Fall ’08 rehearsals beginning September 9th. All instruments are welcomed. Membership is free and interested musicians should call 814-899-8467, email, or visit the official website.

The Pennsylvania Porcelain Artist Show and Annual Convention, “Attic Treasures,” will be held September 19 and 20 in Franklin, Pa. Admission is free and the hours will be 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Although the convention is usually held in Pittsburgh, Erie, or Harrisburg, this will be the first year Franklin will hold the event. This event was last held in Franklin in 2000.

View this past Sunday’s comprehensive events list to see a list of events for the week and months ahead. If you would like your event posted here, please contact us via our online form.