A driver, traveling on Route 8 near Wattsburg, hauling 10,000 gallons of gas lost control of his truck. It rolled over and burst into flames. The smoke could be seen for miles.Holy cow was there a lot of smoke. I’d almost bet you could see it from almost anywhere in Erie County. A couple of [...]

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Dan Mulligan didn’t know what to expect when the US Army summoned him from his civilian life as instructor at the Institute for Intelligence Studies at Mercyhurst College to active duty in Iraq last January. He hadn’t fired a weapon since he retired from the military 15 years ago; what’s more, he was 48-years-old. He [...]

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The Pennsylvania House and Senate passed a smoking ban. Philadelphia Governor Ed Rendell said he would sign it. Hotels must have 75 percent of their rooms non-smoking. Casinos such as Presque Isle Downs and Casino in Erie must have 50 percent of their facility non-smoking. Exempted are bars with less than 20 percent food sales, [...]

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BetaJohn has tried and tried to get Erie Times News and GoErie to fix their problem with the employment classified links. The Help Wanted link was recently fixed to reflect their switch over to HotJobs but none of the links for the sub-categories work. Maybe one of the job listings is for help in their [...]

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The Erie area enjoyed another glorious day on Sunday – bright sunshine with a high of 88 degrees. About 80,000 people visited Presque Isle State Park over the weekend. The forecast today calls for a high near 90, the fifth day in a row with temps hitting the mid 80′s. The Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority [...]

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Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio wants a new office on the fifth floor of the courthouse. He might not have to wait for the $3 million renovation and the removal of the jail cells of the old pre-release center. An investigation by Erie County Controller Sue Weber uncovered the following alleged acts: * Erie County [...]

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Erie International Airport Executive Director Kelly Fredericks has resigned. Fredericks offered to resign for a $100,000 buyout of his contract. He signed a 5 year contract in June of 2006. He was being paid about $164,000 a year. Chris Rodgers, Director of Strategic Development at the airport, will take over as interim director. He will [...]

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Unless you have suicidal tendencies, PLEASE stay off the ice dunes at Presque Isle State Park. You could easily step through and drown in freezing cold water. The moderate blood shortage in our area turned critical for type O suddenly with extraordinarily heavy blood use by local patients over the past few days. There has [...]

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Megan and Craig Sundberg recently found out their young 3 year old son Jack has an inoperable brain tumor. Jack has Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), also known as grade 4 astrocytoma, which is the most common and aggressive type of primary brain tumor, accounting for 52 percent of all primary brain tumor cases and 20 percent [...]

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eBizITPA and the Economic Research Institute of Erie (ERIE) released a study EVERYONE in Northwest Pennsylvania needs to read and take to heart. Erie workers are behind most the nation, and even most areas in Pennsylvania, and to catch up we have to embrace technology. The press release: If a region wants to become more [...]

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It was a might bit cold yesterday in Erie. The high temp was 16 degrees and the low was 10. The area didn’t get much snow but what there was blew around like crazy with strong winds. In case you were wondering the coldest part of Winter in Erie is Jan 23 to Feb 3 [...]

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Just because the posted speed limit is 65 mph, doesn’t mean you HAVE to go 65, especially when it’s snowing and the wind is howling. I-90 was shut down for hours between Harborcreek and Wesleyville due to accidents. As soon as that was reopened around 3 pm, I-79 was closed between McKean and Edinboro. It [...]

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Family First Sports Park is now home to a co-ed boarding school called Family First Academy. Family First Academy has grades 8-12. Students attend classes at Erie First Christian Academy. The total enrollment is 245 students. The cost for boarding students is $26,000 at year while day students pay $3,300. GE (NYSE: GE) reported earnings. [...]

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GECAC, the Greater Erie Community Action Committee, is closing down their Drug and Alcohol Services division resulting in the layoffs of 23 people. In days past, GECAC was given money based on the number of people enrolled in their programs. The state, trying to hold agencies more accountable for the huge checks they receive, changed [...]

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WJET-TV ran a story in which Sheriff Bob Merski said he was looking into the possibility of putting a temporary halt to sheriff sales in Erie County. Sheriff sales are done to recoup back unpaid property taxes. Merski is asking the County Solicitor’s Office for an opinion. You know things are slow building-wise when an [...]

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GAF Materials Corporation announced it was closing their Erie roofing shingle plant. The 120 year old plant could be closed in 90 days with the company laying-off over 150 workers. There’s plenty of blame to go around. The city raised their property taxes over 12 percent. The Erie Schoold District will probably raise their portion [...]

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The Millcreek Township School District has cancelled classes for February 1, the first day teachers could strike. Teachers could go on strike twice for a total of 20 days. It appears they are getting close to agreeing to a new contract but they aren’t quite there yet. The two sides are a couple of percent [...]

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