Happy Friday and welcome to May!

Huge kudos and thanks to Erie native Kevin Dietly. Mr. Dietly, our new hero, had a letter to the editor published in today’s Boston Globe sticking up for Erie after Sen. Thad Cochran jobbed us earlier in the week. Here’s the letter. He also lambasts reporter Sasha Issenberg for calling us a “dismal lakeside city in the northwestern corner of Pennsylvania.” You, Ms. Issenberg, are not invited to CelebrateErie this summer.

A couple of students will miss their graduation at Slippery Rock because they had recently returned from Mexico. The school received calls from “hundreds” of parents and students who freaked out about all this swine flu stuff. Several of the affected students are from Erie county. The Meadville Tribune has more.

Police are looking for a burglar who broke into a house in North East and stole some jellybeans. That’s all, just some jellybeans. Jelly Belly = stunned.

The Erie Book Store in Lovell Place is holding a used book sale this weekend. All used books and select new titles will be discounted.

Erie County officials are asking a state agency to review operations at the new 911 dispatch center after officers were sent to the Jayson Sack shooting without being notified the suspect, Joel Atkin, may still have been in the area and armed.

A 14-year-old student at Erie County Vo-Tech in some hot water after being found to have a counterfeit $100 bill. As is custom, the Secret Service is handling the investigation.

Michael Joyce is now in jail. Carry on.

National Fuel Gas will be cutting its gas supply charge by 8%, effective today. The average bill is expected to go down by about $10 a month.

Erie Indemnity Company announced financial results for the first quarter 2009 yesterday. Net income per share-diluted was $0.19 per share in the first quarter 2009, compared to $0.51 per share in the first quarter of 2008. Policies in force grew 3.2 percent to over 4.0 million at March 31, 2009 compared to 3.9 million at March 31, 2008. Growth in policies in force is the result of continuing improvements in policyholder retention and increased new policies sold. Losses from investment operations were $25.6 million for the first quarter of 2009, compared to $5.2 million for the first quarter of 2008, driven by losses on the Company’s limited partnership investments.

National Fuel Gas reported their earnings yesterday. They reported GAAP earnings for the second quarter were $73.5 million or $0.92 per share, a decrease of $21.5 million, or $0.19 per share from the second quarter of 2008.

If you are into the Bayhawks, we’d recommend checking out Blog Talk Bayhawk, a new local blog covering the Hawks written by Matt Hubert.

The PA National Guard in conjunction with the PA National Guard Association will hold their Combined Senior Leadership Conference in Erie this Thursday-Sunday, April 30 – May 3. The conference is expected to draw approximately 700 people with an estimated economic impact of $675,000. The conference will be held at the Bayfront Convention Center, the Sheraton Erie Bayfront Hotel as well as several overflow hotels throughout the area.

Check out the bright ideas of regional inventors vying for the $10,000
top prize in the InnovationErie: Design Competition on view from May 8 through June 27, 2009 in the Erie Art Museum Annex Gallery, 423 State Street. A public opening reception will be held in on Friday, May 8, 2009 from 7-9 p.m. in conjunction with the Museum’s $9 million expansion and renovation project groundbreaking festivities.

The cost of long term care in Pennsylvania is rising at a rate outpacing inflation, putting significant financial pressure on those in or near retirement, according to an annual study by Genworth Financial. At the same time, the current economic downturn has led to a decline in home values and investment returns for many residents of Pennsylvania, creating further financial planning challenges for many in the state. The median annual cost for a private nursing home room in Pennsylvania ranges from $68,620 in Sharon to $112,420 in Allentown-Bethlehem. The annual cost in Philadelphia is $93,075, while the cost is Pittsburgh is $91,250 and Erie is $87,053.

Sports

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League announced today that they have acquired a second round pick in the 2010 OHL Priority Selection and a sixth round pick in the 2012 OHL Priority Selection from the Sarnia Sting in exchange for three picks in the 2009 OHL Priority Selection.

The Otters sent a third (50th overall), fifth (94th) and sixth (110th) round pick to the Sting to complete the trade.

The Seawolves were off last night. They start a series in Altoona tonight. Game time is 6:35 p.m.

Six members of the fifth-ranked Mercyhurst College women’s lacrosse team earned postseason honors from the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Wednesday afternoon.

The Gannon men’s golf team completed the 2008-09 season with a second-place finish during its own Gannon Spring Invitational hosted Thursday afternoon at the Lake Shore Country Club.

Events