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Last evening, Erie City Council passed a resolution saying, basically, they they oppose the building of the tires to energy plant. We don’t think that has any legal or binding power though.

Congrats to Erie blogger emeritus Eden on having her manuscript move on to the semifinals of Amazon’s 2009 Breakthrough Novel Awards. You can read an excerpt here.

James Cousins, a police officer for the city of Erie, was video taped at a local bar joking about, amongst other things, a homicide victim. That video, of course, was posted to YouTube. Here’s the video, please be aware there’s some salty language, so it may be NSFW.

Cousins has been suspended, with pay, pending an internal investigation. Being a police officer is a stressful job, and we have no problem at all with officers letting off some steam, but perhaps some better judgement could have been used here (and maybe not posted to YouTube).

If you buy the Erie Times-News at the newsstand or in a machine, prepare to pay more. Starting May 2, the price of the papers printed Monday through Saturday will go up from $0.50 to $0.75. No word on the price of Sunday papers, which honestly is the only paper we buy, mostly to get the coupons. And the Best Buy ad.

Gamblers at Presque Isle Downs wagered $41.4 million, $37.9 million of which was won back by gamblers. This figure was slightly down compared to 2008.

The Community Blood Bank will hold its 42nd annual Donor Dinner
at the Bel-Aire Thursday April 16 at 7 p.m. The annual dinner is held to
recognize those people who give so selflessly to the community by regularly giving blood. Those being honored have all met a Milestone in blood donations: 5,10,15, 20 and so on up to 100 gallons. One donor, Roman Kloecker, has made time to visit the blood bank over 800 times over the past 25 years to reach the 100-gallon mark. Less than 100 people in the entire United States have donated that much blood.

Gannon University will welcome to campus for a guest lecture an author and speechwriter for former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. The lecture, to be given by Gregory Levey, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16 in room 101 of the University’s Zurn Science Center, 143 West 7th St. The lecture is free and open to the public. Levey will discuss his experiences working for the Israeli government as well as his book, Shut Up, I’m Talking: And Other Diplomacy Lessons I Learned in the Israeli Government – A Memoir, published in 2008 by Simon & Schuster/Free Press. The book is described as a “startling account of Levey’s journey into the nerve center of Middle Eastern politics at one of the most turbulent times in Israeli history.” Levey, according to his Web site, went on to serve as a speechwriter for Ehud Olmert, prime minister of Israel from 2006 until March 31, 2009.

The Manufacturer & Business Association honored 201 graduates of its training programs during a special recognition ceremony on Tuesday, April 14, at the Association’s Conference Center, 2171 West 38th Street at Pittsburgh Avenue. The training graduates, who represent 102 area companies, have completed any one of the Association’s certificate programs including: Lean Operations and Six Sigma, HR Essential Certification, Computer Software Specialist Certification Series, Leadership for Team Leaders Series or Supervisory Skills Series. Graduates work in manufacturing, health care, service and governmental fields throughout the Association’s 17-county membership area.

Sports

The Bowie Baysox completed a three-game series sweep of the SeaWolves by a score of 9-3 on Wednesday night at Jerry Uht Park. The loss drops the SeaWolves to 4-3 on the season.

Ok, we officially don’t understand the NBA D-League playoffs. First, high seeded teams can pick who they want to play, then the playoffs are 1 and done. The Bayhawks lost Tuesday night and their season is done. Basically, a team only has to win 2 playoff games to make it to the finals, which is a best of three series.

The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Flyers 4-1 last night in Game 1 of their NHL playoffs series. Game 2 is Friday night in Pittsburgh.

Events