The PA Supreme Court has ruled that Steven Porter will not be on the ballot this November.  Porter had appealed a lower court’s ruling that 1,500 of the signatures on his nominating petitions were invalid.  Despite having campaigned numerous times, Porter violated PA election law by completing information for voters.  Porter says he will run a write-in campaign

Speaking of that congressional race, former New York City mayor and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani was in town yesterday to campaign for Phil English. Giuliani spoke at a fundraising event at the Manufacturing and Business Association. WSEE quotes Giuliani as saying:

If you spend enough money on negative campaigning it has an impact. It’s to the congressman’s credit that he maintains a lead because in a lot of cases and a lot of districts Republicans as a result of this are behind. He’s got the record and the kind of strength to maintain a lead and he’s going to win this election.

Did someone brief Giuliani before the event? The last set of polls had English down several points. Our goal is to be bipartisan, but we think that English and the RCCC have been running a lot of negative TV and print ads. Our favorite is the sled dog ad.

We’ll give both candidates in the congressional race one final opportunity to make their cases here in op-ed fashion. No negative attacks – rather, tell us why you’re the right person for the job and tell us what you’re going to do if elected.

The Benedictine Sisters held a vigil last night in the neighborhood where 15-year-old DaQuan Crosby was shot last month.

Jury selection began today in the trial of former State Superior Court judge Michael Joyce. No jurors were selected yesterday, and selection will continue today. The problem seems to be no jurors are available for the expected three to four week duration of the trial.

Elmira, New York (near Corning) is getting its first ever CBS affiliate television station.  CBS signed an affiliation agreement with WENY-DT Elmira which is owned by Lilly Broadcasting of Pennsylvania.  Lilly also owns WSEE and WICU in Erie.

Ralph “Bucky” Phillips appeared yesterday before a court in Rochester, NY, appealing his conviction for murdering a New York State Trooper and shooting and wounding two others.  Erie County District Attorneys made an appearance to represent local interests since one of the wounded state troopers was flown to Erie for medical attention.  Pennsylvania Police caught Phillips in Warren County.  In the words of Bucky himself, he’s “guilty as hell.”

The Erie School District has chosen Infinite Campus, Inc. to provide its student data management system.  When the new system went live in August, a consultant remarked it was one of the most efficient ‘go-lives’ he had seen.  Nice to see something go right for the district.

A decision on the new Millcreek schools superintendent is set to be made before the next Millcreek Township School Board meeting on October 27. The field of candidates has been narrowed to three: David A. Cox, outgoing superintendent of Culpeper County schools in northern Virginia; Michael Golde, superintendent of the Chichester School District in Boothwyn, Pa.; and Michael Latusek, superintendent of the Elizabeth Forward schools in Elizabeth, Pa.

Gannon University and the Manufacturer & Business Association have formed a strategic partnership whereby the Association’s members can take Master of Business Administration classes through Gannon on-site at the Association. Members of the Association, as well as their employees, will be able to take the classes at a special, reduced tuition rate.  In the interest of convenience for these unique students, classes will be offered on Saturdays at the Manufacturer & Business Association’s Conference Center, 2171 West 38th St.

Sports

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Boston Bruins in a shootout 2-1. Miroslav Satan scored in regulation and Evgeni Malkin had the winner in the shootout. The Pens face the Hurricanes at home Thursday. 

Senior Jennifer Coleman of the Mercyhurst College field hockey team has been named the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Athlete of the Week for the sport of field hockey, announced Monday by PSAC league officials. Gannon’s Kevin Minor (South Euclid, Ohio/Shaw) has been named Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division Defensive Player of the Week. Penn State Behrend freshman Arica Christman (Sharon/Sharon) has been named the ENTERPRISE RENT-A-CAR athlete of the week for the week of October 20, 2008. Kyle Jastromb (Kent, Ohio/Kent Roosevelt) claimed medalist honors and the Allegheny College men’s golf team took third at the Muhlenberg College Invitational to wrap up the team’s 2008 fall season.

With many American Indoor Football Association teams already having tryouts, the Erie Riverrats wanted to make prospective players aware of the Riverrats’ plans for tryouts for their 2009 team. With the season not expected to begin until March 2009, the Riverrats plan on hosting tryouts after the finish of most of the local college football seasons in early 2009. The Rats wanted prospective players to be aware of the tryout schedule so players don’t get worried they may have missed their chance to become a Riverrat and so prospective players don’t get too hasty in signing with other clubs.

Events

The Erie Otters will read Halloween stories to the 3rd Graders at Chestnut Hill Elementary School on Tuesday, October 21. The students will be able to ask the hockey team players questions the last 15 minutes.

Peter Leyden, the first managing editor of Wired, will present “The Rise of the Millennial Generation: The Young Generation That Will Change America and the World” at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Tuesday, October 21. He will speak at 7:30 pm in the McGarvey Commons of the college’s Reed Union Building; admission is FREE and the lecture is open to the public. 

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.