It’s April 15. If you haven’t finished your taxes, or if you haven’t even started yet, today’s the day to get them in or you’ll need to file an extension. Unlike past years, local post offices won’t stay open late to help people get things postmarked on time, but several APCs will be open 24 hours.

A Tax Day Tea Party will be held today from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Griswold Park.

Erie County Executive Mark Divecchio will be on the May ballot as Anthony Andrezeski’s petition has been thrown out of court. Erie County Judge Michael Dunlavey said the petition lacked evidence and that it was filed 21 days after the deadline for objections. Buzz = stunned.

In other election news, Rich Figaski, a candidate for Millcreek Township Supervisor, has raised objections as to why members of the Millcreek Water and Sewer Authority went to local restaurants after meetings on the taxpayer’s dime. He claims over $22,000 was spent over the last two years.

14-year-old Sierra Lillie of Erie had been chatting with a man from Montana online for the last two years. On Sunday, she went missing and local officials and the FBI are looking for Lillie and Donald Ray Cates, 21, of Billings. They think the two are hitchhiking or using other public transportation. If you have info, please call (814) 452-4516.

Eriez and Toratec have combined magnetic separation and metal sorting technology to create the new state-of-the-art EcoTowerSort. The compact machine is designed to enables total recovery of valuable metals at a lower overall investment cost, according to the company. EcoTowerSort can be used for the sorting of aluminum, stainless steel, copper cables and heavy fractions. It can even recover stainless steel and plastic coated wires.

Just a short time after announcing they are purchasing National City branches in the Erie area, First Niagara Financial Group has announced the pricing of an underwritten public offering of 27,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock at a price to the public of $12.25 per share for gross proceeds of approximately $330.8 million. The net proceeds to the Company after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses are expected to be approximately $313.6 million.

The Manufacturer & Business Association (MBA) announced today that state Senator John Eichelberger (R-Blair) and Representatives Curt Schroder (R-Chester) and Daryl Metcalfe (R-Butler) have introduced a constitutional amendment drafted by the MBA, seeking to ban the creation of unions by any process other than by private ballot. The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA), or “card check,” now being considered in the U.S. Congress, would allow employees to organize a union by getting a majority of employees to sign cards, replacing the well-balanced, federally supervised private-ballot process that exists today. It also would force employers into binding arbitration if a contract could not be reached within the first 30 days.

Governor Edward G. Rendell today recognized fifteen Pennsylvania businesses and organizations that are adopting environmentally friendly practices and technologies and are working to revitalize communities, reduce pollution, and educate the public on the benefits of being good stewards of the state’s natural resources. In Erie County, Lake Erie Biofuels was recognized. Lake Erie Biofuels LLC teamed with the Greater Erie Industrial Development Corporation in 2006 to develop Lake Erie Biofuels on a former brownfield. The project injected $54 million into the area’s economy and its product is resulting in a number of environmental benefits. The commercial use of the company’s first six months of production reduced carbon dioxide emissions by 276 pounds by replacing the petroleum-based fuels, or the equivalent of taking 50,550 automobiles off the road.

From College Drive to Jordan Road, Louis and Evelyn Balmer have supported Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, since its founding sixty years ago—first through education and now through their philanthropy. Today, the Balmers contribute to students’ classroom experiences through the Louis W. and Evelyn H. Balmer Trustee Scholarship. The couple provided a $50,000 gift to create the scholarship, which gives initial preference to students pursuing a chemistry degree. The Balmers live on campus too; they have a Jordan Road address these days.

Sports

The SeaWolves dropped their second consecutive ballgame to the Bowie Baysox on Tuesday night at Jerry Uht Park by a final score of 7-2. The loss drops the SeaWolves to 4-2 on the season. The same teams play tonight at 6:35 p.m. at the Uht.

Owen Sound Attack forward Joey Hishon scored a pair of goals to lead Team Canada to a 4-2 win over Sweden yesterday at the World Under-18 Hockey Champioships being held in North Dakota and Minnesota. Ryan O’Reilly of the Erie Otters was held pointless in the game.

Ryan O’Reilly heads a list of three members of the Erie Otters included on the National Hockey League Central Scouting Service Final Rankings for the 2009 NHL Entry Draft released today. The 2009 NHL Entry Draft will be held June 26-27th in Montreal. O’Reilly was listed 39th among North American skaters, down from his ranking of 35th in the Midterm list released in January. Tyler Hostetter saw a significant improvement in his rankings. The second year Otters defenseman was listed 155th in North American on the CSS Final list after coming in 175th overall in the Midterm ratings. Jaroslav Janus rounded out the list of Otters including in the CSS Final Rankings, listed 13th among goaltenders who played in North America during the 2008-09 season.