And here’s your daily reminder to vote for Erie area projects.

ErieAlert.com and ErieAlerts Twitter at Markham Mark of Distinction

Flagship Niagara League at Kohl’s Cares (Facebook)

Conneaut Lake Park Blue Streak Restoration at Pepsi Refresh Everything

As of this writing (the wee hours of this morning), the Conneaut Lake Blue Streak Restoration project was in FIRST PLACE and the ErieAlert.com and ErieAlerts Twitter project was in SECOND PLACE.

Please keep voting.  You can vote every day.  And if you happen to have more than one e-mail address, please put them all to good use.

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Judge Sean McLaughlin is in the process of deciding from where to get the jurors for the Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong trial that’s set to begin on October 12th.  Diehl-Armstrong’s attorney, Douglas Sughrue, is asking for a jury from Pittsburgh because of pre-trial publicity.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Marshall Piccinini claims that Diehl-Armstrong brought much of the  attention on herself by calling the media outlets from prison.

Diehl-Armstrong has also again asked for another new attorney and has threatened to boycott her own trial if she doesn’t get one.

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Dozens of Pennsylvania schools will share in $101 million in grants to implement bold reforms designed to raise student achievement, acting Education Secretary Thomas E. Gluck announced today.

The department will distribute $85 million in School Improvement Grants, or SIG, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, in combination with $16 million in regularly-allocated federal Title I SIG, to 57 schools. The grants are to implement specific, aggressive reforms designed to substantially improve student performance in schools that have a high percentage of students performing below grade level, and where insufficient progress has been made over the past 5 years.

Had Pennsylvania been among the states selected to receive federal Race to the Top funding, these same reforms would have been more widely distributed across commonwealth schools.

Grant awards were based on a competitive process according to federally-established guidelines. Grantees will have three years to use the funds.

“The School Improvement Grants will give a real boost to aggressive academic reforms in schools that need the additional support and resources the most,” Gluck said. “I applaud the schools’ willingness to take on this ambitious work and for their commitment to making real changes in schools where too many students are not achieving the progress needed for success.”

The federal guidance established four bold school reform models. Eligible schools had to commit to one of the four school intervention models: Turnaround, Restart, School Closure or Transformation.

The Turnaround model goal is to “turn around” schools through the implementation of nine broad strategies, including replacement of the principals, high-quality professional development, adoption of new governance, and replacement of at least 50 percent of staff.

The Transformation model includes the use of rigorous, transparent, and equitable evaluation systems for teachers and principals, high-quality professional development and design and development of curriculum with teacher and principal involvement.

The Restart model enables a district to re-open a school as a charter school or elect to have an education management organization run the school.

School Closure enables districts to transfer students to other, higher-achieving schools within the district’s boundaries, within a reasonable proximity.

These School Improvement Grants were awarded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the No Child Left Behind Act to provide support for major school improvement and reform efforts.

Schools eligible for SIG included the lowest performing Title I schools whose Adequate Yearly Progress status is School Improvement or Corrective Action, and Title I-eligible schools that are the lowest achieving and have not made satisfactory progress on state assessments. Title I-eligible schools are those that have a high percentage of economically-disadvantaged students.

The awards were competitive, and Pennsylvania’s criteria for selecting schools required federal approval.  Applications were scored by outside peer reviewers, and funding priority was given to schools that met the criteria to be identified as Persistently Lowest Achieving, a federal category of schools.

For more information, visit the Department of Education online at http://www.education.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/federal_programs/7374/school_improvement/619986.

Media contact:

Steve Weitzman, Department of Education; 717-783-9802

Editor’s note: Below is the list of awardees, the reform model that will be implemented and the award amount to be expended over three years.
Allentown City SD
Central Elementary, Transformation, $1,950,000
Raub MS, Transformation, $1,500,000
William Allen HS, Transformation, $1,050,000
Trexler MS, Transformation, $750,000
Harrison Morton MS, Transformation, $1,050,000
Central Dauphin SD
CD East SHS, Transformation, $2,099,888
Duquesne City SD
Duquesne Consolidated School, Transformation, $1,391,872
Harrisburg SD
Career & Tech Academy, Closure, $300,000
Lancaster SD
McCaskey HS, Transformation, $1,854,809
Hand, Turnaround, $1,675,099
Reynolds MS, Transformation, $1,622,148
McKeesport Area SD
McKeesport Area HS, Transformation, $3,360,000
Mount Union Area SD
Mount Union Area HS, Transformation, $2,546,600
Penn Hills SD
Penn Hills SHS, Transformation, $2,745,862
Perseus House CS of Excellence (Erie)
Perseus House CS of Excellence, Transformation, $1,305,500
Philadelphia SD
Vaux, Turnaround, $1,399,996
Sayre, Transformation, $2,376,000
Olney West, Transformation, $900,000
West Philadelphia HS, Transformation, $2,221,238
Roxborough HS, Transformation, $2,123,044
University City HS, Turnaround, $2,772,000
King HS, Transformation, $2,376,000
Frankford HS, Transformation, $2,376,000
Fels HS, Transformation, $2,974,129
Germantown HS, Transformation, $2,608,517
South Philadelphia HS, Transformation, $1,800,000
Gratz HS, Transformation, $1,620,000
Edison HS, Transformation, $2,999,996
Lincoln HS, Transformation, $4,199,996
Alcorn, Transformation, $1,071,271
Stetson, Restart, $2,637,708
Daroff, Restart, $1,980,000
Smedley, Restart, $948,590
Bluford, Restart, $1,980,000
Allen ES, Turnaround, $772,526
Harrity, Restart, $2,538,785
Douglas ES, Restart, $913,805
Clemente, Turnaround, $999,988
Clymer, Transformation, $1,275,000
Locke, Transformation, $1,261,442
Feltonville Intermediate, Transformation, $776,063
Mann, Restart, $2,026,099
Philadelphia Montessori CS
Philadelphia Montessori CS, Transformation, $852,647
Pittsburgh SD<
Westinghouse, Transformation, $2,523,374
Oliver HS, Transformation, $2,485,136
Rooney, Closure, $208,773
King, Transformation, $2,374,705

Perry HS, Transformation, $2,381,702

Langley HS, Transformation, $2,340,199
Brashear HS, Transformation, $2,444,195
Southeast Delco SD
Academy Park HS, Transformation, $2,634,625
Steelton-Highspire SD
Steelton Highspire HS, Turnaround, $787,050
Turkeyfoot Valley Area SD
Turkeyfoot Valley Area JSHS, Transformation, $898,000
West Phila. Achievement CES
West Phila. Achievement CES, Transformation, $892,648
William Penn SD
Penn Wood HS, Transformation, $1,751,400
Park Lane Elem, Transformation, $679,200
Penn Wood MS, Transformation, $855,000

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Forty Pennsylvania elementary schools have been selected to receive an Active Schools grant for the 2010-11 school year, Secretary of Health Everette James announced today.

“All children need 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity every day to build strong bones and healthy hearts,” said James. “By implementing evidence-based programs that get every child active for 30 minutes a day, participating schools are making the health of children a top priority. The schools are also working with parents and communities to give kids more opportunities to be active after school and on weekends.”

The Active Schools Grant Program is designed to increase physical activity during the school day and allows schools to implement evidence-based physical activity programs. The program helped more than 16,500 middle school students in 26 counties in its first year. In its second year, it will serve more than 17,000 elementary students.

Body Mass Index, or BMI, data submitted by the schools to the Department of Health indicates 15.22 percent of students in grades K-6 are overweight and another 16.6 percent are obese, which means just under 32 percent of those students are either overweight or obese. This rate declined slightly from the previous year, marking the first decline in BMI in many years.

“While any improvement in BMI is welcome, there remains much more that parents, schools, health providers, and local communities can do to encourage children to adopt active lifestyles,” said James. “This is an important team effort that will pay lifelong dividends for children.”

Funding for Active Schools is made available through a public-private partnership between the departments of Health and Education and six foundations and health insurers. Schools receive a $5,000 grant from the Department of Health’s federal Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grant and an additional $10,000 from a match-funding organization in their region.

Participating partners include Independence Blue Cross, Highmark Foundation’s Healthy High 5 initiative, Capital Blue Cross, Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s Blue Ribbon Foundation, the UPMC Health Plan and United Healthcare.

The Active Schools Grant program implements evidence-based physical activity programs that meet the federal guidelines of moderate to vigorous daily physical activity. Some activities include brisk walking, playing tag, jumping rope, playing soccer or swimming.

Research by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, shows physically active children perform better in school and have higher attendance rates.

For more information on the Active Schools Grant Program, visit the Department of Health online at www.health.state.pa.us.

Media contact: Holli Senior, 717-787-1783

Editor’s Note: The following is a list of 40 Pennsylvania elementary schools that will receive Active School grants for the 2010-11 school year:

Allegheny County
Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School
Armstrong County
West Hills Primary School
Beaver County
Riverside Primary Center
Berks County
Conrad Weiser West Elementary School
Cambria County
Cambria Heights Elementary School
Carbon County
Weatherly Area Elementary School
Centre County
Bellefonte Elementary School
Chester County
Rainbow Elementary School
Clearfield County
Harmony Elementary School
Clinton County
Dickey Elementary School
Robb Elementary School
Woodward Elementary School
Crawford County
Hydetown Elementary School
Dauphin County
Enders-Fishersville Elementary School
Delaware County
Darby Township Elementary School
Delcroft Elementary School
Harris Elementary School
Kindergarten Center
Sharon Hill Elementary School
Woodlyn Elementary School
Erie County
Iroquios Elementary School
Fayette County
Central Elementary School
Fulton County
Southern Fulton Elementary School
Lancaster County
Buchanan Elementary School
Carter & McRae Elementary School
Hamilton Elementary School
King Elementary School
Washington Elementary School
Wharton Elementary School
Lawrence County
Neshannock Memorial Elementary
Luzerene County
Memorial Elementary School
Lycoming County
Loyalsock Valley Elementary School
Lyter Elementary School
Monroe County
Pleasant Valley Elementary School
Montgomery County
Myers/Elkins Park Elementary Schools
Philadelphia County
Alliance for Progress Charter Elementary School
Somerset County
Turkeyfoot Valley Elementary School
Westmoreland County
Allegheny-Hyde Park Elementary School
Bell-Avon Elementary School
York County
Dallastown Area Intermediate School

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Here’s a question for you… how do you dispose of your personal papers and mail?  Do you shred anything that contains your name, address, phone number, account number, or other identifying information?  If not, a  story about a South Union couple might make you rethink your garbage-related habits.  Although there’s nothing in the news report to indicate how the personal information was obtained by the thieves, the motto “better safe than sorry” certainly couldn’t hurt.

The South Union  couple received a telephone call from their credit card company regarding some irregular charges.  Shortly thereafter, the couple went to the Pennsylvania State Police.

State police discovered that someone had called Bank of America on Aug. 10 to request a new card and phone number change on the victim’s account. The suspect knew the male victim’s name, birth date, Social Security number and address. He also requested that a password be placed on the account.

According to the bank’s records, a new card was mailed to the victims’ address.

On August 12th, the credit card was used at an Exxon station in Uniontown. That same day, it was also used for cash advances totaling $9,222 at the Meadows Casino in North Strabane, Washington County.

Later that night, the card was again used for a cash advance of $9,280 at Presque Isle Downs Casino in Erie.

On August 14th, there was a $9,360 cash advance at Dover Downs Hotel/Casino in Dover, Delaware, and there was a charge of $145 at a WaWa gas station.

According to surveillance footage State Police obtained from the Meadows, the couple using the card are described as a thin black man with glasses and a large white woman. Exxon station surveillance tapes show show the couple in a black minivan.

Anyone with information is asked to call Trooper James Pierce at the Uniontown barracks — 724-415-1012.

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Erie and Buffalo have a lot of similarities, in addition to both being in an Erie County.  Among those similarities are abandoned and blighted properties.  Is the solution to Erie’s vacant lots and abandoned houses to embrace the 20-something squatters, urban gardeners, and people with a “live simply, do it yourself” attitude?  Sell the properties for next to nothing (or give them away) to people who want to fix them up and take care of them… thus getting them back on the tax rolls and improving the neighborhoods.

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Cleveland Browns fans are outraged that tailgating at city parking lots will have to start at 7 a.m. instead of 4 a.m. Insert joke about why Browns fans need to start drinking nine hours before kickoff.

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The Erie Seawolves will play their next eight games at home beginning tonight for the last Buck Night of the season versus the Richmond Rabid Squirrels. Family Buck Night is Tuesday. The last Seawolves game for 2010 is Monday, September 6th at 1:05 p.m. Not sure if that’s Buck Day or just another manic Monday. Don’t sue us, Prince.

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A number of NFL teams have new stadium names as a result of naming rights deals:

Chicago: Blago Field* Subject to change

New Orleans: British Petroleum Really Cares About You Dome

Seattle: Starbucks Field at Starbucks Stadium

New York Jets: Facebook Field (one person liked this)

Cleveland Browns: We Hate LeBron James Field

Tampa Bay: Tarballs Occur Naturally Stadium

Atlanta: Waffle House Stadium

San Francisco: iField