Don’t forget that Discover Presque Isle is this weekend. It is the primary fundraising event for the Presque Isle Partnership and is renowned for bringing together over a hundred quality food and craft vendors resulting in the area’s largest outdoor arts and crafts show. You can download a schedule here.

David Justka had his arbitration hearing today, seeking his job back. Justka, if you remember, is a former EMTA bus driver who has had several accidents, including killing local surgeon David Sanders in 2005. No offense to Mr. Justka, but there’s got to be something you can be doing that doesn’t involve driving a bus.

Christopher Doty, 23, has been arrested in Bradford County, Florida. He was wanted in Erie for viciously beating a local man.

WJET is reporting that the county’s recycling program is out of money and it will now cost you to recycle your e-waste and chemicals. Expect to pay $0.44 per pound for electronics and $1 per pound for chemicals. The remaining Saturday programs will now cost you some money, but if you can, you should still recycle your materials.

Dale Hannah blogged yesterday about an upcoming community forum being put on by those in charge of gaming funds to hear opinions from people where funds should be directed. From the post:

Carolyn Gold, Gaming Funds Manager, and Jennifer Dobbs-Woods, Chairperson of the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority, have set up a community forum at which they will hear recommendations from private citizens, as well as non-profit and for-profit organizations about the use of Uncommitted Funds portion of gambling revenues.

The public forum is scheduled for Monday, August 3, 2009, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. The Forum will take place at the Hirt Auditorium, Blasco Memorial Library, 160 East Front Street, Erie, Pa.

Citizens, this website would love to have some gaming money. We make a cultural contribution, right? We could use the money to hire some writers (and pay the ones we have.) #justsayin.

GE Marine, a unit of GE Transportation, announced today that it has successfully installed two Inline L250 engines on Cross Sound Ferry’s M.V. JOHN H., making the vessel EPA Tier II compliant while increasing power and, simultaneously, reducing fuel consumption by up to 15 percent. The M.V. JOHN H. operates on a vehicle and passenger ferry route between Orient Point, Long Island, New York and New London, CT. A multimillion-dollar investment, GE’s L250 engine has been tested at GE Transportation’s headquarters facility in Erie.

Sports

The Aeros split their two games today with the Erie SeaWolves, taking the suspended game one 4-3 before dropping what was supposed to be a seven-inning second game in eleven innings by the final count of 6-5 in front of 2,872 fans at Jerry Uht Park.

Gannon head football coach Jim Kiernan has completed the program’s 2009 coaching staff with the addition of Mike Smith, Matt Ward, and Chris Hoderny.

Events

The Economic Research Institute of Erie (E.R.I.E) will tackle everything economic at its 2009 conference, with special focus on the financial markets, auto industry and housing markets—each presented by women at the top of their fields. The institute’s seventh conference will be held on August 7, beginning at 8 a.m., in the Samuel P. “Pat” Black III Conference Center, located on the first floor of the Research and Economic Development Center at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. E.R.I.E. is an applied research unit of the college’s Sam and Irene Black School of Business. The daylong event is open to the public and historically has drawn support from the region’s top government officials and senior level executives. Parking will be available in the REDC deck on Technology Drive and in the Junker Center parking lots.