Jack Sundberg passed away on Sunday morning. Jack had an inoperable brain tumor. As they say on his web site Jack’s Battle, he won his battle and now is in a better place. The Sundberg Family – Craig, Megan and Robin – would appreciate your thoughts and prayers. Hopefully, they can get some peace in [...]

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After Tiger comes back from 6 down to win The Masters, 60 Minutes will feature the John Kanzius story of his radio wave cancer treatment machine. The Kanzius Machine: A Cancer Cure? previews the story. 60 Minutes will air after coverage of “The Masters”, some time after 7 pm ET. At least $8 million is [...]

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60 Minutes will feature the John Kanzius story of his radio wave cancer treatment machine on Sunday, April 13. The Kanzius Machine: A Cancer Cure? previews the story. 60 Minutes will air after coverage of “The Masters”, some time after 7 pm ET. Trials on animals have shown that the idea works. It has been [...]

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The Washtenaw County (Michigan) Sheriff’s Department announced a $10,000 reward for information that leads to an arrest and conviction in the case of the murder if Erie, PA native Lindsay Graygo. The money is from the Ypsilanti Township government. Graygo had relocated to Ypsilanti, MI about a year ago. The Ann Arbor News reported that [...]

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Funeral plans for fallen firefighter Mike Crotty are as follows: calling hours will be held at the Iroquois High School Auditorium, 4301 Main Street in Lawrence Park, Thursday 4-6 pm and Friday 4-6 pm and 7-9 pm. The funeral services will be held at Our Lady of Mercy Church, 837 Bartlett Rd in Harborcreek, on [...]

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Mike Crotty was killed in the line of duty while fighting a fire at Port Erie Plastics. Crotty was serving with the Lawrence Park Township Volunteer Fire Department where he was Deputy Chief. Crotty served as a volunteer with the department for six years. Crotty was also a paid firefighter with the Erie Fire Department. [...]

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Erie received a $1.88 million state for the “Union Square” Midtown project. Funds will go toward: The continued development of the Mercantile Building; a once vacant, blighted building that is being renovated into a five-floor, mixed-use facility; Property and site acquisition, as well as the renovation and expansion of Griswold Park, the heart of the [...]

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Malcolm Kysor who escaped from the State Correctional Institution at Albion by hiding in a garbage can was found 2,462 miles away in Bakersfield, California. Kysor was described as looking like a bum. He bragged to someone he was on America’s Most Wanted, they told a firefighter and police picked him up. Kysor was serving [...]

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Excellent story by Ed Palattella on District Magistrate Judge Gerard Alonge of North East, PA who doesn’t seem to have to have a clue when it comes to women. It appears he’s coming close to stalking some women he has come in contact with. More than a bit disturbing.
The Ann Arbor News reported that the [...]

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Kevin R Molloy has been named as the new executive director of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority. Molloy was the general manager of the new Erie Bayfront Convention Center. He had been on the job since 2002 and saw though it’s construction to it’s opening.
Jason Phasey and Justin Fuller were arrested for spray painting [...]

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I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.
In a sad day in American history, Dr Martin Luther King, Jr was assassinated 40 years ago today. The great civil [...]

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Real estate sales for Erie County dropped precipitously in March compared to a year earlier and even two years ago. There were 275 properties sold for $25,694,369 in March 2008 vs the 459 sales in March 2007 for $58,622,788 and March 2006 when 444 properties changed hands worth $44,430,774. The figures include all real estate [...]

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US Senator Hillary Clinton spoke yesterday in Erie at Mercyhurt College. The Mercyhurst Athletic Center was packed for her one hour speech. The pro-life group People for Life picketed outside the main gates of the campus. Clinton discussed economic and health care issues.
A day earlier, Erie Roman Catholic Bishop Trautman said he was canceling his [...]

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You have to wonder about the wisdom of having a Hillary Clinton campaign rally at Mercyhurst College.
Erie Roman Catholic Bishop Trautman was so miffed about a pro-choice candidate speaking at the Catholic school he canceled his appearance at the Mercyhurst graduation. The pro-life group People for Life is holding a protest just outside the gates [...]

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US Senator Hillary Clinton will make a campaign stop in Erie on Tuesday, April 1. She will appear at Mercyhurst College, 501 East 38th St in Erie (map) at the Mercyhurst Athletic Center (campus map). You do not need a ticket as it’s on a first come, first in basis. Security will be tight [...]

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US Senator Hillary Clinton will make a campaign stop in Erie, PA on Tuesday, April 1. Although the name of the venue has not been released, doors will open at 5:30 pm with the appearance scheduled for 7:30 pm. In opinion polls on the Pennsylvania election, Clinton is up about 15-20 percent over challenger US [...]

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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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The Willow’s Tavern in Erie and Corner Tavern and Grille in Corry have filed a lawsuit against Erie County to halt the smoking ban that is scheduled to take effect February 17. They are also seeking an injunction as the case winds it’s way through the court system. It seems that the ban is indeed [...]

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Here’s a warning to area politicians and economic development officials so they don’t look like deer in the headlights and can’t say “We had no idea” on the news. Erie is in danger of losing the International Institute of Erie. Refugees from Bosnia to Sudan have settled in Erie and have become part of [...]

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It’s 3 degrees. The high today is expected to be 8 degrees. We’ve had about a foot of snow in the past 24 hours and the wind has been howling. A large number of churches cancelled Sunday services. Another 10-16 inches of snow is expected with wind chills reaching 20 below zero.
A powder outage in [...]

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A train derailment in Westfield NY, about 30 miles east of Erie, caused train traffic delays from Chicago to NYC. The CSX freight train had only a half dozen of the cars jump the track. There were no injuries. Traffic was diverted to the Norfolk-Southern line.
Erie is experiencing it’s coldest temperatures in nearly 4 decades. [...]

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The city is taking away a $300,000 state for the proposed grocery store at 19th and Parade Streets. The grant must be used by June. The city wants to use the money to demolish the Warren Radio building at 14th and French Streets. The Erie Redevelopment Authority wants to have townhouse built at that location.
Invest [...]

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Hall of Famer and Super Bowl XI MVP Fred Biletnikoff announced he has retired as the Oakland Raiders’ wide receivers coach after spending more than three decades as a player and coach for the franchise. Biletnikoff spent the last 18 seasons on the Raiders’ coaching staff, including 10 as receivers coach. As a rookie, he [...]

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A tentative agreement has been reached between Millcreek Township School District and the teachers union, the Millcreek Education Association. Details were not announced so that the teachers could get the details first.
 
 
Bliley Technologies, an international provider of crystal-based frequency control solutions based in Erie PA, and Allan Space-Time Solutions, lead by renowned atomic clock physicist, [...]

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The Millcreek Township School District sent a letter to parents about the possible teacher strike. Unless things change and progress is made at our next negotiation session, there will be no school for students beginning Thursday, February 1. The new Pennsylvania Strike Law will have teachers back to work after 11 days, so that students [...]

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It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Erie received an inch or two of snow overnight and we’re due for another inch or so today. The roads aren’t too bad but everyone has forgotten how to drive in the snow so drive slow.
The Edinboro men’s basketball team beat West Chester 75-57 while the Edinboro [...]

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Erie City Council held a Saturday budget session and rubber stamped the budget submitted by Mayor Joe Sinnott making only one minor change of $24,000 to the $59.9 million budget. The formal vote on the budget will be held at the regular council meeting on December 20. Council made no cuts to the budget only [...]

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The National Weather Service reported Erie received 13 inches of snow. Erie Kansas, not Erie PA. It rained here. A ton of rain. Many places received more than 2 inches. Riviera Estates Mobile Home Park at 14th and Marshall Dr in Millcreek flooded, as usual. The quicker the Erie International Airport runway expansion happens the [...]

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Auditor General Jack Wagner released an audit of the City of Erie Aggregate Pension Fund, which found that a new retirement provision enacted by the city in 2004 resulted in the city’s receipt of $893,745 of excess state pension aid from the commonwealth. Wagner said the $893,745 of excess state aid identified in the audit [...]

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Presque Isle Downs will be opening on February 16, 2007. The thoroughbred racetrack with pari-mutuel wagering and a slots-only casino is located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 97 (Exit 27).
Job applicants may apply online by clicking here. They will be hiring soon and should employ 600-900 people. They need all sorts of people [...]

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Mohammed Abdelhady, who owned Moe’s One Stop convenience stores in Erie, pleaded guilty to operating a check-cashing business without a license. Well, that’s what they got him on. What he was doing was running a fencing operation and laundering money for drug dealers. That’s why the guilty plea. He forfeited $252,000 and could be sentenced [...]

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Temperatures of over 60 degrees made for better golfing than deer hunting. The bucks hunters harvested had good size racks but the numbers were low. There was one hunter death in the area. Kirk Miller had a heart attack and passed away. He was hunting in the woods near the EMSCO Group plant in Girard.
 
The [...]

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Over 900,000 Pennsylvania hunters will head into the woods today for the first day of rifle season for deer. The season officially opens 30 minutes before sunrise. In 2005, 45 percent of antlered bucks were taken on the first day. Schools and many businesses are closed. This year’s season ends December 9.
 
Cody Hodgson scored his [...]

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The law allowing Internet-based competitive bidding by Pennsylvania municipalities went into effect on September 5. The law also authorized reverse auctions. In reverse auctions, vendors see a ranking of bids without knowing the actual bids and can lower their offers to win the auction. eDynaQuote is a reverse auction company based in Erie. The City [...]

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Erie Firefighters will be getting a sweet Christmas bonus thanks to Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott, Fire Chief Tony Pol and Erie taxpayers. The city will allow firefighters to purchase circa 1890 Gamewell Fire Alarm Call Boxes for $100 each and pedestal mounted Gamewell’s for $200, a fraction of their worth. Unless the glut of boexes [...]

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Erie area residents can recycle their old telephone books and also help the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest Pennsylvania, thanks to Idearc Media, the official publisher of Verizon Print Directories and Erie Energy Products. A $5,000 grant from Idearc Media to the Second Harvest Food Bank will enable Second Harvest to continue to coordinate [...]

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Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott yesterday submitted his budget to Erie City Council. It calls for a 12.14 percent increase in property taxes of 1.24 mills, the elimination of 16 firefighters and the sale of the Erie Golf Course. Although departments were asked to cut expenses, no job cuts will be made in the 5 story [...]

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Mayor Joe Sinnott will present his 2007 budget to the Erie Chapter of the Flat Earth Society, aka Erie City Council, this morning at 9 am. Without a shadow of a doubt, it will call for an increase of property taxes. Property owners will have the double whammy of lower property values along with the [...]

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Nathan Rosier and Crystal Peace, the parents, and Larry Peace, the grandfather, of Nathan Wayne Rosier Jr were arrested for his death. The three adults shared a home in Waterford. The 7 month old baby died of neglect and malnutrition. The twin brother was taken from the home, spent time in the hospital recoving from [...]

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The Pennsylvania State Police are urging motorists to buckle up and drive safely during the Thanksgiving holiday driving period. State Police Commissioner Jeffrey B Miller said he has directed troopers to adopt a “zero-tolerance policy” toward violations of the state’s seatbelt and child passenger restraint laws. “If a driver is stopped for a traffic violation [...]

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A car had it’s window shot out on upper Peach St. A pretty good write-up of the events by the sister of one of the victims can be found here.
There is a nice article in todays Indianapolis Star on Presque Isle State Park and the Tom Ridge Environmental Center. The reporter, Abe Aamidor, wasn’t [...]

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Presque Isle Downs will open on February 15, 2007. At lest that’s the tenative date they announced. They’re still at the mercy of construction workers and the weather. The slots-only casino is located at the intersection of I-90 and Route 97 (Exit 27).
 
The Inner-City Neighborhood Art House in Erie was the subject of a feature [...]

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When the bridge going over the Wintergreen Gorge for Bayfront Connector was being built, a crane was torched, spikes were placed in trees and equipment was vandalized. It is believed that a group affiliated with ELF (Earth Liberation Front), an environmental group made up of radical liberal Democrats, caused the damage. Now the anti-icing system [...]

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Douglas A Spadey, a Edinboro freshman from Philly, was arrested for sending racial and threatening emails to fellow black Edinboro students. Hours before he was led away in handcuffs, he was saying he was one of the victims of the emails. About 20 students received emails with the N-bomb and threats that some would be [...]

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Burhenn’s Pharmacy, 861 East 38th St, was robbed yesterday evening. In an unusual twist, the robbers held up the drive-thru. The two suspects then entered the back of the store and tied up an employee. OxyContin (Oxycodone), and not money is what they were after. OxyContin is a time-release painkiller which can provide pain relief [...]

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Millcreek School District teachers voted in favor of authorizing a strike. Negotiations have been going on for nearly a year with most issues cleared except for salary, health care and retirement. If they want more money, lets hear how the teachers have improved since the last contract. Have the test scores improved? Has the graduation [...]

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Monsignor Charles Kavanagh, a NY Archdiocese Catholic priest accused of sexual assault, will be tried by a church tribunal with the trial held in Erie, PA beginning today. The trial will be conducted behind closed doors by a tribunal of three canon law judges.
The Arts Council of Erie is partnering with some of the finest [...]

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The Villages is a retirement community in Florida. Population about 8,500. Because there are so many former residents of the northwestern Pennsylvania area they formed a social club called the Erie Club. In the club’s second month in existence, Madge Koscelnik, the group’s leader said 75 people attended a meeting earlier this week.
We’re still a [...]

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If you can read, thank your parents. If you can read this in English, thank a Veteran.
The Erie Bayfront Convention Center is now booking events for the Summer of 2007 and beyond. Rooms for weddings, banquets, meeetings, exhibits and classes range from space for 52 to 1920 people with theater style seating for up to [...]

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Jacobs Entertainment disclosed a 13 percent stake (3.6 million shares) in MTR Gaming Group. Jacobs Entertainment is the owner and operator of casinos and race tracks. MTR is building Presque Isle Downs, a thoroughbred racetrack with pari-mutuel wagering and slot machine gaming in Erie, Pennsylvania which will open in February 2007. Image is courtesy MTR [...]

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Erie City Council, oblivious as to their actual role, voted 5-2 to support a smoking ban in Erie County. This is a matter for Erie County Council and all it did was waste time they could have spent dealing with problems facing the city. Councilman Curtis Jones, Jr correctly pointed out they were voting to [...]

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Here’s the 2006 election results for the major area races:
Ed Rendell defeated Lynn Swann for Pennsylvania Governor.
Bob Casey, Jr defeated Rick Santorum for US Senate.
Phil English defeated Steven Porter for US House of Representatives.
Patrick Harkins defeated Christine Pontoriero for State House, 1st District.
Flo Fabrizio was unopposed for State House, 2nd District.
John Hornaman defeated Matthew Good, [...]

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The Eloise Woodsbey lawsuit again A and M Homes, Regal Financial and other reached court yesterday. It’s being handled in US Bankruptcy Court since it’s part of her bankruptcy filings. Judge Warren W Bentz urged both sides to reach a settlement which is what apparea will happen. Woodsbey will most likely keep her home [...]

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Jack Young of Warren PA might soon be getting a check for over $400,000 – the reward money for the capture of Ralph “Bucky” Phillips. He’s the story Dan Wells of WJET-TV reported yesterday. Young and his wife were of the balcony of the apartment around midnight Thursday night/ Friday morning when they noticed someone [...]

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After being on the run for more than five months from when he escaped from a Buffalo area jail, career criminal Ralph “Bucky” Phillips was captured near Akeley PA in Warren County, just south of the New York-Pennsylvania border. Phillips is the main suspect in the shooting of three police officers. On June 10, NY [...]

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation in conjunction with the United States Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York; United States Marshal’s Service; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; and the New York State Police announced that Ralph Buckey Phillips has been placed on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted Fugitives” list. The reward [...]

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The US Marshals have added Ralph “Bucky” Phillips, the main suspect in the sniper-style shooting of two NY troopers, to their top 15 list. Police are searching from him in Chautauqua County and Cattaraugus County in NY and Warren County in Pennsylvania. The case will be featured on America’s Most Wanted this Saturday night at [...]

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Erie based Spectrum Control (Nasdaq: SPEC), a leading designer and manufacturer of electronic control products and systems, announced that it has acquired all of the outstanding common stock of Advanced Thermal Products. ATP, based in St Marys, Pennsylvania, designs and manufactures custom temperature sensors. The total purchase price of the acquisition was $9.3 million. This [...]

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The Lansdowne, the barge that has been sitting and rusting on the Sassafras Street pier since 1999,has been towed away to Buffalo. Specialty Restaurants Corp of Anaheim CA wanted to convert the barge to a floating restaurant before the company ran into financial problems.
Flickr photo by mattcr2006.
The official high temperature on Sunday which is measured [...]

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Erie native Maria Sansone is now working for Yahoo hosting a daily called The 9. The 9 is a short video show with “the 9 best, weirdest and funniest photos, sites, stories and videos on the ‘net.” At 25 she has now spent over half her life in front of a camera having worked for [...]

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A man was killed after being struck by a truck on I-90 near the Route 97 interchange (Exit 27). More questions than answers on this one.
Thomas McNutt of Erie lost control of his truck Thursday morning, crashing into a concrete barrier wall on the median just west of the Lordstown, Ohio interchange. He was flown [...]

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The Gannon University Small Business Development Center will honor a number of local and regional businesses at its annual Small Business Awards Program. The businesses will be honored today at a luncheon at the Ambassador Banquet and Conference Center, 7794 Peach Street. Doors will open at 11 am. Steven S Little, an author and senior [...]

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Former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi, his former campaign manager, Eric Purchase; and law partner, Rolf Patberg were found not guilty of all charges in their public corruption case. The case did what it intended to do. It got Filippi out of office. The charges were filed two months before the primary in which Filippi finished [...]

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No verdict has been reached in the trial of former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi and his friends and business partners Rolf Patberg and Eric Purhcase. The jury worked the case for about 7 hours on Friday. Deliberations will resume this morning.
Four punks aged 20 and 21 were arrested for firing hundreds of paint balls at [...]

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Closing arguments finish up today in the trial of former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi. It should go to the jury sometime this afternoon. One thing that will be stuck in the minds of the jurors is the line by Lenny Ambrose, Filippi’s attorney. “You know what MTR stands for? Money to Rubino.”
Randy Brewer won’t be [...]

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The Academic Sports League regional competition held in Erie was more exciting than anyone could have ever imagined. Near the end of the competition a bomb threat was phoned in and the Northwest Collegiate Academy school building was cleared out. It was reported that it was thought that the call came from a member of [...]

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Get your cameras ready. The old smokestack at Koehler Brewery will be imploded on Thursday February 9, 2006 to make way for constuction of a new building at Koehler Brewery Square. Cornerstone Healthcare, Urbaniak Brothers and a Pennsylvania Wine and Spirts store have signed leases to move into the new complex.
Randy Brewer announced he [...]

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Oops. A group of local hotel owners is suing the Erie County Convention Center Authority because the authority is building a 200 room hotel with funds coming from the county hotel room tax. The trial began Monday and continues today. The authority tried to find a local company to build and operate the hotel but [...]

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There will a CelebrateErie this year. Celebrate Erie will be held the third weekend in August, 2006. Years ago this event was known as We Love Erie Days. Many people faulted the Fillipi administration for the way they ran things, but his event was a major success in every aspect. Tina Mengine and Tammy Roche [...]

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Erie County detectives working undercover in a chat room found David Sean Lukes, a Baltimore County Public School employee from Stewartstown PA, trying to solicit sex from a child. The incident happened in October. Lukes is/was the supervisor of magnet programs for the Baltimore County Public Schools. Lukes was charged by York County detectives with [...]

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The City of Erie budget talks continue to headline the area news. The budget is still millions from being balanced. Instead of looking for cuts, the majority of council (Jim Thompson, Jim Casey, Ian Murray, Joseph Sinnott) seem to have taken the cowards way out and are calling for a property tax increase to make [...]

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Amanda Barren announced that today will be her last day at WJET-TV. That sucks. The smart, talented, attractive young lady will be moving to West Virginia. I get the feeling that won’t be the last time you see her on TV in Erie. It’s just a matter of time until we see her on a [...]

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Someone jammed the Coinstar machine at the West 26th Street Tops Market with a number of old coins. The Coinstar can take a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, half dollar and a Sacagawea dollar coin. It’s not designed to take a 1890’s Morgan Silver Dollar worth about $500. Outside the grocery store police recoved a backpack [...]

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The Millcreek School District appealed dozens of property assessments along the lakefront. Frank and Janet Mlakar, one of those whose property was reassessed at a much higher value, spoke last night at the school board meeting. He was upset that his property assessment went from $220,900 to $400,000. The land is valued at $302,000 and [...]

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The Erie Bayfront Convention Center received $15 million in funding to support it’s the development and construction. The Erie County Convention Center Authority received the 20-year, $750,000 annual grant to assist in the pay-back of a tax-exempt bond to be issued by the ECCCA for construction of the Convention Center. The funding will support the [...]

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David A Santia was arrested for attempting to steal a car at the Millcreek Mall. The near carjacking occurred when he grabbed the keys out of the hand of a 84 year old woman and pushed her out of the way. Here’s hoping for a little jailhouse justice.
You know you no longer have a career [...]

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