Penn State Erie, The Behrend College has confirmed that 10,868 Social Security numbers in historical data on a computer at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, could have been breached. The data belonged mostly to alumni. It’s not clear if the data was downloaded by anyone, but the school is being careful and notifying people. Might be a good time to get some LifeLock or your free credit report from annualcreditreport.com (this is free – don’t be confused by freecreditreport.com, which is a pay site.) The bigger question is why was data like social security numbers on a desktop workstation and not locked away in a server somewhere?

Some smart local folks have started an online petition asking for the local Shriners hospital to remain open. We hope officials at Shriners headquarters will listen. As of the time we write this, it has over 12,900 signatures.

Thanks to Joel for clearing up whether or not the recycling center will open this weekend or not. He says:

Just called the recycling center to get on the list for April 25th, the next scheduled event. They took my name & no. and said they’d get back to me as the event is “up in the air,” and the April 11th event was cancelled. Other dates include:

Event Dates (9 am to 3 pm – All Saturdays)
April 25
May 9 & 23
June 13 & 27
July 11 & 25
August 8 & 22
September 12 & 26
October 10 & 24

Police responded to Presque Isle State Park yesterday after a report came in of a man’s body floating off shore in Lake Erie. The man, who has not been identified, is reported to be in his 40s or 50s and wearing a heavy coat and pants.

Buzz Andrezeski is asking for a judge outside of Erie county to review his claim that Mark Divecchio should not be on the ballot, claiming local judges may not be able to make a fair judgement of the case.

Hop on in to the Community Blood Bank this Good Friday. The first 50 donors who come in on Good Friday get a potted Primrose, the first flower of spring, generously donated by Stan’s garden Center on Buffalo Road. And of course it wouldn’t be Easter without chocolate so there’s sponge candy for the first 50 donors from Romolo Chocolates across from Frontier Park. The blood bank, at 26th & Peach is open from 9am to 6pm Friday and is open from 9am to 12:30pm on Saturday. No appointment is needed to save a life.

The Gannon University Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) will host a special fundraiser featuring Edinboro University’s nationally-ranked wheelchair basketball team. The fundraiser, Gannon’s annual wheelchair basketball competition, will be held Thursday, April 16 in the University’s Hammermill Center, Peach Street and South Park Row. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the competition will begin at 7 p.m. Tickets are $2 if purchased in advance and $3 if purchased at the door. Advance tickets can be purchased in Gannon’s Waldron Campus Center, 124 West 7th St. All proceeds from the event will benefit the Therapeutic Riding Equestrian Center (TREC), a nonprofit recreational therapy organization. The event will begin with Edinboro’s wheelchair team playing an exhibition game. Then, eight Gannon teams, each with one Edinboro player per team, will hold a competition.

Erie Art Museum Director John Vanco, joined by architect Anne Chen
of Pittsburgh’s Edge Studio, will speak in conjunction with Earth Week activities sponsored by Mercyhurst College and the University of Pittsburgh. Both presentations will discuss the green-building aspects of the Erie Art Museum’s $9 million building expansion project. The project architect is Edge Studio, an award-winning firm that “focuses on the role that design plays in shaping experience and perception.”
On Monday, April 20 at 10:30, Vanco and Chen will participate in a session sponsored the University of Pittsburgh at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, 1000 Fort Duquesne Blvd., Downtown Pittsburgh. “Green Building Case Studies” will evaluate large-scale sustainability projects around the country, from the Erie Art Museum to New Orleans.

“Living with Animals: A New Perspective on Human Evolution” is the topic of an upcoming lecture by internationally known paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman, who will be a guest of the Mercyhurst Archaeological Institute Visiting Speakers Series on Friday, April 17. Shipman, adjunct professor of biological anthropology at Penn State University, will speak at 4 p.m. in Room 114, Zurn Hall. Her talk is free and open to the public.

Have a good weekend – we’re taking it off to spend with family, see you on Monday.

Sports

The Erie Seawolves beat the Altoona Curve 10-7 last night at the Uht. The win puts the Wolves at 2-0 on the young season. The same teams play tonight, game time is 6:35 p.m.

The NBA Development League Erie BayHawks will honor forward Erik Daniels for being named to the Gatorade All-NBA D-League First Team, during ceremonies prior to the Saturday, April 11, final regular season game at the Tullio Arena. Daniels, a two-time D-League performer of the week, has registered a league high 28 double-double performances and is averaging 21.1 points and 10 rebounds per game thus far this season. He will be presented his league award just prior to the game’s tipoff.

The Mercyhurst softball team dropped a PSAC West double-header at rival Gannon Thursday, as the Golden Knights took game one 4-1 before posting a thrilling 5-4 victory in 10 innings to sweep Mercyhurst.

Events