It’s Friday. We made it. It was looking a little sketchy there for a bit, but we persevered.

Say, do you use tools like Facebook or Twitter? Did you know you can connect with us at those sites? Check out our Facebook page and our Twitter stream. Lots of great content and people in both places.

It’s official now – as we blogged this week, all the Shriners Hospitals, including Erie, will remain open. The challenge for the Shriners will be funding these hospitals. Expect cuts and some services to be downgraded in the coming years.

Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper has announced that EMTA will receive $1.93 million dollars in federal stimulus funds to purchase six new buses.

There was a fire at the Sunny Spa on Peach Street last night, closing parts of the busy thoroughfare. The story has a happy ending – no one was hurt.

You know how we feel about PA’s arcane alcohol sales laws. Chcek out this interesting story in the Post-Gazette that talks about new ways to sell wine in the commonwealth, including selling wine from kiosk-esque vending machines in supermarkets.

Each kiosk is several feet wide and about 10 feet high. They would vend white and red wines and would be located in supermarkets that don’t currently have LCB “one-stop shops” within them, where both wine and liquor are sold. Nineteen supermarkets in the state now have one-stop LCB stores, which is an effort to let consumers buy wine and spirits at the same place they buy food.

What could possibly go wrong?

New in theatres this weekend: Bruno and I Love You, Beth Cooper.

Sports

The SeaWolves fell in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Altoona Curve, 10-4 on Thursday afternoon at Blair County Ballpark.

Edinboro University wheelchair basketball coach Jim Glatch has the United States U23 team off to a 3-0 start in the 2009 IWBF U23 World Championships in Paris, France. The head coach of the U23 team, Glatch’s team moved to 3-0 on Wednesday with a 74-18 win over South Africa.

Events

Local Shakespeare enthusiasts will have a chance to see at Gannon University in July free performances of two Shakespearian favorites. The University’s sixth annual Shakespeare Summer Nights begins Thursday, July 9 with a performance of King Lear. Additional performances of King Lear — the tale of a once-mighty king’s fall from greatness — will be held Friday and Saturday, July 10-11.

The Erie Art Museum will exhibit the works of Roger T. Hane (1939 — 1974), a highly regarded illustrator, in the Erie Art Museum Frame Shop Gallery, 423 State Street, beginning July 17 through October 3, 2009. A public opening reception will be held during Gallery Night, Friday, August 21, 2009 from 7-10 p.m. Author of Roger Hane — Art, Times and Tragedy and friend of Hane, Robert C. Hunsicker, will be available to sign books illustrating the art and life of Hane.