15-year-old Daquan Crosby was murdered by an unknown assailant earlier this week. Daquan’s brother, Jovon Johnson, is returning to Erie from Winnipeg, Manitoba where he plays for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League. An arrest has yet to be made.
Majorie Diehl-Armstrong is now refusing psychotropic drugs as part of her treatment at a federal prison in Texas. She claims innocence in the death of Brian Wells.
Congressman Phil English is proposing a new approach to health care where health care plans are no longer offered through employers. Instead a health care plan would be portable, similar to a retirement account which is not dependent on an employer.
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Water Resources Compact by a vote of 390 to 25. The bill will prevent the exportation of large amounts of water from the Great Lakes Basin among other conservation protections. The U.S. Senate approved the compact in August which means the Compact will be presented to President Bush for signing. The Compact is a result of the collective effort of seven Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Pennsylvania) along with the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
The NRA will start airing a new political ad questioning Obama’s commitment to guns and gun-owners. The ads will air in Erie and several other PA cities. FactCheck.org finds the NRA’s claims to be false.
MTR Gaming announced Robert F. Griffin from Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. will become the the new CEO of MTR, replacing Ted Arneault beginning January 2nd. Shares of MTR Gaming closed yesterday at $3.23, down 9 cents.
Yesterday we published an op-ed by Kelly Kidd, the program manager for the NWPA Tobacco Control Program. Kidd discusses the smoking ban in detail providing answers to a number of questions.
It’s the end of an era. What originally began with GTE will now end with Verizon. The local time and temperature hotline, 452-6311, will see its last day at the end of this month, September 30. You’ll have to rely on the hundreds of other ways to get the current temperature in Erie. We recommend the interwebs and/or a watch.
The GravityGroup, the geniuses who designed the Ravine Flyer II, have launched a new blog and podcast. You can find them right here. Could we get just one more ride this year? I can’t wait until next May.
Mercyhurst’s Hospitality Management Department – the new name that recently replaced the bulkier title Hotel, Restaurant, Institutional Management (HRIM) – is celebrating the renewal of its accreditation by the Accreditation Commission for Programs in Hospitality Administration (ACPHA). Equally enthused is the D’Angelo Department of Music, which has been granted full accreditation by the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).
If you haven’t registered to vote, please do. You must be 18 years of age at the time of the next election, be a citizen of the US for at least one month before the next election and be a resident of Pennsylvania 30 days before the next election. Click here to register online.
Sports
Bad news Steeler fans–both Fast Willie Parker and Casey Hampton are out for next Monday’s game against Baltimore. Parker has a sprained left knee and it’s not clear how much time he will miss. Rashard Mendelhall will get the bulk of the carries.
We don’t know how we missed it, but the Erie Rugby Club started its season earlier this month. The club has won all three of its games this season with the most recent win against Akron this past Saturday.
MLB: The Cleveland Indians lost to the Boston Red Sox 5-4. Detroit lost to Kansas City 5-0. Pittsburgh Pirates were leading Milwaukee Brewers early in the game but lost 7-5.
Events
A cast reunion of the classic horror film “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” will highlight the fifth Eerie Horror Film Festival, October 9-12, at the historic Warner Theater in Erie, Pennsylvania. Cast members Gunnar Hansen (Leatherface), Ed Neal (The Hitchhiker), Marilyn Burns (Sally), John Dugan (Grandpa), Allen Danziger (Jerry), Teri McMinn (Pam) and Bill Vail (Kirk), will be reuniting for only the second time since the movie was released nearly 35 years ago.
Monsignor Thomas McSweeney will give the presentation Political Candidates and the Catholic Forum on Wednesday, September 24, at 7:30 p.m. The forum will be held at the Alex Theater at Mercyhurst North East. The event is free and open to the public. Call (814) 725-6277 for more information.
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.
I have to admit I am sad to see the time and temperature hotline go. Despite the 100′s of ways to get temperature these days, nothing is quite as easy as dialing that number (which is burned into my memory) and getting a quick update. I’m also a bit nostalgic because I remember my grandfather using that number (he introduced it to me). Even when he was living in Florida he would use it to see how the rest of us were fairing temperature wise in dreary Erie. Time and Temp, I will miss you.
I agree. I have to say even in this tech-saavy world it had its handy moments, but I haven’t called it in a long time. How many thousands, nay, millions of alarm, kitchen and wall clocks were set to the time/temp line?