CelebrateErie but you can still catch a number of events and entertainment in downtown Erie including a grand finale fireworks Sunday night at 9:30. Erie blogger KC has a review of some of the food you can find at the celebration.
MTR Gaming Group which owns Presque Isle Downs & Casino is experiencing a money [...]

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The Detroit News reported that Teri Rhodes withdrew from school and has returned to her Michigan home. Rhodes, the Mercyhurst College student whose baby died minutes after giving birth, still hasn’t been charged with a crime by Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook declared the death a homicide. Cook said [...]

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Presque Isle Downs and Casino opens their thoroughbred racetrack today. The 25 day meets starts with the $100,000 Inaugural Stakes for 3 year old fillies. Post time is 5:30 pm. Here’s the program for today. The average daily purse will be $432,400 a day. That will be the second highest in the country with only [...]

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Dennis Beard III was found not guilty of the 1998 murder of Amy Lawrence. There was a boat load of circumstantial evidence but no physical evidence and his former fiancee testified that he admitted the murder to her but it wasn’t enough to convince the jury.
 
Molly Brannigans announced they are opening a restaurant in Heritage [...]

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Port Erie Boat Works has gone out of business. Just recently their web site stated that “Port Erie Boat Works has been sold to an elite group of boat builders and investors.” Now it says they’re gone.
 
The Erie International Airport received a $5.1 million check from the FAA to acquire a few homes for the [...]

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When going to court to be sentenced for a crime you committed, don’t go drunk. Larry Peace had his sentencing postponed yesterday when he showed up drunk. Judge Rusty Cunningham held him in contempt of court and threw him in jail. Peace faces up to 10 years in prison and a up to a $10,000 [...]

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The Grande Mariner, a 183 ft cruise ship that carries 100 passengers, arrived in Erie yesterday. Instead of docking at the “Cruise Boat Terminal”, it tied up at West Dobbin’s Landing. Jeff at Erie Shipping News pointed out that it will probably be 2010 before one cruise ship actually docks at the “Cruise Boat [...]

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The Grande Mariner, a 183 ft ship that carries 100 passengers, will be arriving in Erie today at 1 pm. The ship is owned by American Canadian Caribbean Line (ACCL), a Rhode Island-based casual small ship cruise line. The cruise is the 15-night Great American Waterways cruise that travels east-to-west and vice versa between Illinois [...]

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The Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and 46 other local tourism promotion agencies all across Pennsylvania are looking at a 12 percent decrease in state funding in 2008. Why? So Philadelphia and Pittsburgh can get more money. Philadelphia would get 11 percent more while Pittsburgh would get 37 percent more. To make matters worse, [...]

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Erie Blogger Scott McCausland has been ordered by the United States Government to switch to Windows from Ubuntu, a free Debian derived Linux-based operating system. Scott is on probation and the monitoring system will only run on Windows. This comes awful close to cruel and unusual punishment. His related entry. There have been a number [...]

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Philadelphia Governor Rendell joined hundreds of area officials and
residents to formally dedicate the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. “I’m pleased the commonwealth was able to help make this project a reality,” Governor Rendell. “As one of the largest development projects in Erie’s history, this complex serves as a terrific example of what can be accomplished when [...]

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The Commonwealth Court upheld a ruling that Erie County can use the hotel tax to fund the building and operations of a hotel. Eighty percent of the 5 percent hotel tax goes to the Erie County Convention Center Authority for the Erie Bayfront Convention Center and the Bayfront Sheraton Hotel as well as Jerrry [...]

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A number of people who work at the Erie County Office of Children and Youth (OCY) attended last nights Erie County Council meeting. They complained that they are short workers saying that there are 41 case workers and 16 job openings for case workers. WTF? How did it get to the point where a [...]

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Pennsylvania State Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce pleaded not guilty to mail fraud and money laundering charges. Joyce was not present for his arraignment but instead his attorney entered the plea. Maybe Joyce was busy golfing. Joyce did announce he will not seek reelection. Joyce was scheduled to be on the November ballot for a [...]

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Nick Caccavo of Erie died after the 1995 Jeep Grand Cherokee he was riding into rear ended a tractor-trailer on I-80 in Clearfield County. Caccavo was majoring in Mechanical Engineering at Penn State. He graduated from Northwestern Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy.
 
Steven Sterrett of Erie, Pa died at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center multiple severe injuries he received [...]

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Celebrate Erie 2007 wraps up today. Zambelli Fireworks Internationale will host one of its world-famous fireworks displays over the Bayfront at Dobbins Landing at 9:45 pm, weather permitting.
 
There is a sale pending on the former GTE / Verizon building at 10th and Sassafras Streets. It will be very interesting to see who the new owner [...]

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The Pennsylvania Supreme Court suspended Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce of Erie, who was indicted on federal charges of defrauding two insurance companies out of $440,000. Joyce was ‘injured’ in a 2001 car accident and said he had so much pain he couldn’t hold a cup of coffee. Joyce had been seen playing golf, scuba [...]

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Thou shall not mess with Erie Insurance. ERIE didn’t become a $3.75 billion company by paying out claims and if they think they paid out a false claim – watch out. It doesn’t matter who you are. A federal grand jury indicted Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce on mail fraud and money laundering. Joyce [...]

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Rae Sherred of Edinboro University was honored with the 2006 NCAA Sportsmanship Award. Sports isn’t just about winning and losing, it’s about building character. Sometimes the worst conditions bring out the best in people. In the PSAC women’s basketball title game against California of Pennsylvania with the score tied and with 7 seconds to play, [...]

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The Community Blood Bank of NW PA is open Saturday 9-12:30. Please help alleviate the current crisis of the blood supply. A New York State Police Officer that was flown to Erie for treatment after being shot in the Bucky Phillips case has used a TREMENDOUS amount of blood. The trooper needed over 40 units [...]

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Ralph ‘Bucky’ Phillips is still on the loose. Two New York state troopers were shot and in are critical conditions at hospitals in Erie and Buffalo after someone fired on them near the home of Phillips’ girlfriend in Stockton NY. Phillips escaped from a jail in Buffalo and has shot one cop before. This piece [...]

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Developer Brad Fairfield announced that Sky Bank will finance $3.2 million of the $6.4 million to begin construction of the Koehler Brewery Square project. So it’s still $3.2 million away but Sky is trying to line up line up other banks to help with the financing. I’m still pretty optimistic that construction will begin shortly.
Brazillian [...]

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Thee are two economic development related press conferences scheduled for today. Nothing new but it’s nice to hear it officially.Brad Fairfield of Koehler Brewery Square will announce that he has received funding. Urbaniak Brothers Meat Market, Pennsylvania Wine and Spirts, and Cornerstone Healthcare Group, a long term healthcare medical care, will be moving into [...]

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Erie Seawolves starting outfielder Vincent Blue will be making a return trip to Binghamton NY after the SeaWolves season ends. He had a misdemeanor charge logged against him early Sunday morning from a complaint by a cab driver. Blue was given an appearance ticket charging him with petty larceny and released on $250 bail. Blue [...]

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Three years ago today, on August 28 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas Wells was allegedly locked into a bombing device by a stranger and ordered to rob a PNC bank branch on Peach St in Erie, Pennsylvania. When he was detained by state police following the robbery, the bomb exploded, killing him instantly.
The FBI [...]

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Erie, Pa based Executive Pulse Inc has sold a copy of its software program called “Inc link” to Carroll County, Maryland. “Inc link” is a contact management program the county will use to retain businesses and help recruit new ones. The new program automates all contact data. Partner agencies – Carroll Community College, the county [...]

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The state returned $17 million in tax dollars to the Erie area on Friday with five grants through the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.
The Erie Bayfront Convention Center received $6.5 million for a 300 space parking ramp, Gannon University received $4 million for their Erie Technology Incubator which will allow for the renovations to the [...]

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A woman has filed a protection from abuse (PFA) order against Erie City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. Jones, who is married, had a relationship with the woman who gave birth to this child. This affair was going on during his campaign for council. This is the person we’re trusting with our tax dollars and the [...]

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“Money, guns and lawyers. Once you have that, you have everything. It’s all you need in life.” That’s a quote from MTR Gaming CEO Ted Arneault in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper interviewed him about Presque Isle Downs in Erie and his other tracks and casinos. Presque Isle Downs, now under construction at a [...]

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Open up your wallet. Erie County Council wants to spend more of your money. Erie County Public Safety Director Joseph Weindorf wants to hire 4 new employees for the new $14 million public safety building. The idea of the building was to consolidate county public safety operations. In most of the know universe, consolidate and [...]

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Alcor, the Erie Zoo polar bear, died yesterday just hours after surgery to help stablize his broken wrist. The bear spend over 2 hours in recovery and was just minutes into the trip from the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center near Philadelphia to the Cleveland Zoo for rehab when his heart stopped.
A 93 ton [...]

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Alcor, the 750 lbs polar bear at the Erie Zoo, will undergo surgery today at the University of Pennsylvania New Bolton Center. Doctors will attempt to place screw and a metal plate in the bears arm which was broken in two places just above its right paw. The surgical team will be lead by Dr [...]

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Today is the final day for Celebrate Erie 2006 which ends with a massive fireworks display at 10 pm. The fireworks will be set off from Dobbins Landing.
Here’s the entertainment schedule for today:
Main stage at 4th and State:
1 pm Dance Connection
2:30 pm Litte’s Dance
3:45 pm Next of Kin
5:45 pm Train of Love
7:30 Spotlight Dance
8 pm [...]

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There was a huge crowd at Celebrate Erie 2006 on Friday. There was an estimated 40-50,000 thousand people with 20-25,000 on hand to watch the Beach Boys. The Beach Boys turned out to be a very good choice with pre-teens to people old enough to be their great grandparents enjoying their show which lasted over [...]

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Get your rear end downtown. Celebrate Erie 2006 runs through Sunday. This event was formerly known as “We Love Erie Days.”
The complete schedule of events and musical acts is too big to print here but here’s the Celebrate Erie music schedule for today:

South Stage at 11th and State: 5 pm Heather Rosso 6:30 pm Money [...]

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Celebrate Erie 2006 kicks off this evening with a Taste of Erie beginning at 5 pm. Bertrand’s Bistro, Colony Pub and Grille, Latino’s, Papermoon, Pufferbelly, Theodore’s Restaurant and the Walnut Creek Grill will all have meals available. They’ll be set up on the West side of Perry Square. The Taste of Erie hours are: Thursday [...]

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Like a crackhead that’s got to have their drugs and a welfare bum that needs a big screen TV when they can’t afford food or rent, Erie City Council will discuss hiring 5 police officers at their weekly meeting tonight even though the city is millions over budget, has millions in unpaid bills and faces [...]

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The official site for Celebrate Erie 2006 is www.CelebrateErie2006.com. Jon Whaley, the top assistant to Mayor Joe Sinnott, asked for links to point to that URL. The site is owned by the City of Erie. The web design firm that owns CelebrateErie.com has recently updated that site to include info on this years event, but [...]

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Former WJET-TV anchor Amanda Barren will start anchoring a new weekend 10 pm show in September on WSAZ. Amanda joined the WSAZ Charleston WV team in January of 2006. She passed along word that she misses Erie and the friends she made here.
The US Brig Niagara was featured on the Weather Channel over the [...]

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Scully’s Pub at 408 State Street in Erie is for sale. I don’t know the asking price – yet. About 1,000 years ago I bartended there while I was going to Gannon. They started a quarter draft night one year and then gave it up for the Summer. The next year I restarted it. Week [...]

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On December 4th, 2005, the Buckeye arrived at Erie Shipbuilding in Erie, PA under tow of the tug Olive L Moore. The tug was mated with the Buckeye becoming a new articulated tug/barge unit. The Buckeye became the first vessel in 9 years to be drydocked at the Erie shipyard when she entered. The vessle [...]

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