Paragon Promotions of Erie is suspected running a fundraising scam. Greenville-West Salem (PA) Township police are investigating the company for running a bogus fundraising campaign for the Greenville Fire Department and its union. Numerous phone calls were made to Greenville area residents asking for donations so the fire department could purchase fire safety books for [...]

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Union employees at the Erie County Office of Children and Youth voted to approve a new contract. The 4 year agreement gives them 5.2 to 7.2 annual pay raises. The union has continually said the office is short up to 18 caseworkers. Haven’t heard anyone from the county say anything about new hires and there [...]

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Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio’s 2008 preliminary budget calls for a .25 mill tax increase. The enormous amount of property taxes is a big reason why Erie can’t attract new businesses. DiVecchio must want people and existing businesses to move away. According to The Tax Foundation in their 2006 report on Property Taxes on Owner [...]

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  The 10th annual Run Around Erie takes place today at Presque Isle State Park. The run spawned one of my favorite “Only in Erie” stories. It use to go through the streets of the city. The run went down Ash St and then west. A few years ago during the race, the corner convenience [...]

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  Lerhonda Anne Starnes of North East, PA stabbed her boyfriend Tony Orlando Frazzini of Erie when he told her he was a Megan’s Law registered sex offender. Frazzini was convicted in NY in 1993. Starnes was charged with attempted homicide in the incident which took place in Butler, PA. If you are going to [...]

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Andrew Keel was arrested and arraigned for a Wednesday home invasion of 90 year old man’s apartment at the Sarah A Reed Retirement Center. Keel broke in through a screen window, stole items and assaulted the man. For some reason Keel wasn’t charged with attempted murder even though he twice tried to kill the victim [...]

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  Erie Shipbuilding held a christening ceremony yesterday for the first ships built in Erie in 34 years. The ships are the 245 ft dump scow WITTE 4003 and the 166 ft deck barge SUE B. Jeff at Erie Shipping News was there and has an excellent post on the event.   The Erie County [...]

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The Erie County Office of Children and Youth employees today take a vote on a new contract. It’s expected to be rejected. The contract call for wage increases of 3 percent for the first 3 years and 3.5 percent in the fourth year. The union has said the wages are too low adn they are [...]

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  After the closing bell on Wall Street on Monday, Erie Insurance announced that the company plans to write business in Minnesota beginning in the fourth quarter of 2009. If this sounds familiar they announced this once before but then put a halt to expansion plans. Erie Insurance currently writes in Indiana, Maryland, New York, [...]

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Keep Erie’s Environment Protected (KEEP) will hold a meeting today at 7 pm in Erie City Council chambers at 7th and State Streets to discuss the proposed tires-to-energy plant. Four speakers are scheduled – 3 are from outside of the area. The group has been vocal, but a recent poll on YourErie.com shows the community [...]

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  GE has been in Erie for 100 years. There’s a nice story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review by Rick Stouffer called GE: 100 years and still chuggin’.   Ron Androla of Erie has had a number of poetry books published. Ron sometimes posts poems on his online message board at The Pressure Press. Bill Phillips [...]

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An Erie Police officer shot and killed two pit bulls and they attacked and mauled an animal control officer. Patrolman Tom Dunmire shot the animals at the were biting Rob Culbertson. They were called to remove 4 animals from an apartment at the the request of the landlord who owns the property in the 900 [...]

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Verizon most likely has a wire attached to your home for a thing called a “telephone line” for a “home phone.” Verizon is now using those useless wires to compete against cable and satellite. The company announced that they will begin construction on a video hub facility and expects to start offering FiOS TV service [...]

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  Erie International Airport Executive Director Kelly Fredericks asked Erie County Council for $18 million for the $60-80 million runway extension project. It would be $3 million for 6 years and would come from the county’s share of gaming revenue from Presque Isle Downs and Casino. The airport is currently not in compliance with FAA [...]

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The monster Teri Rhodes was finally charged with homicide and related charges including abuse of a corpse. Rhodes gave birth on August 12. The baby only survived 10 minutes before it suffocated to death. Police found the dead baby in a plastic bag. Her baby. She cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors [...]

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The Erie area made International news again yesterday as the area is becoming know World-wide for breakthroughs in alternative energy research. Recently, John Kanzius found a way to extract hydrogen from salt water with the same radio wave machine he is using in research to kill cancer cells. Yesterday, NanoLogix (OTC: NNLX) , a nano-biotechnology [...]

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A couple of juvenile delinquents smashed the windows of the state Wine and Spirits store in Perry Plaza between 1 and 2 am. Employees at the the Dunn Tire store next door, working late, heard the noise. They ran out of their store, caught the kids and held them until police arrived. They even video [...]

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Teri Rhodes, the Mercyhurst College student whose baby died minutes after giving birth, still hasn’t been charged with a crime. It’s now been 5 weeks — 35 days. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook declared the death a homicide. Cook said the baby was born alive and suffocated to death. Police found the baby in a [...]

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Steris Corporation announced they have reached a tentative non-binding agreement to sell their property in Erie to IRG (Industrial Realty Group). That’s great news for the Erie area as IRG has an excellent rack record of turning industrial properties into mixed use complexes. Steris only put the property up for sale a couple of months [...]

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Last month the Commonwealth Court rejected a 2005 lawsuit by Erie area hotel operators against the Erie Convention Center Authority that is building a Sheraton Hotel with money coming from a hotel room tax. It’s being appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. The operators were crying unfair. You would think they would have to go [...]

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The 298th Trensportation Company from Franklin PA, which had about 160 soldiers in Forward Operating Base Q-West Iraq (Quyarrah AB) aka ‘Key West’, will be arriving home this weekend. Welcome home. Richard Valentine allegedly killed his wife Anna, threw a blanket over her, changed his clothes, left a note for his landlord not to enter [...]

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One man died and two people are in serious condition after an accident on I-90 in Harborcreek. It happened at 4 pm. Traffic was backed up to near the New York and Ohio state lines. With the thruway closed, traffic was funneled into the city on to Route 20. Total clusterf___. Detour signs are difficult [...]

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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, [...]

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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 County Council, the elected group who spend money less responsibly than a crack whore with a welfare check, approved four new positions for the new $14 million 911 dispatch center and public safety suburban campus. The center and operations are paid out of your pocket with a monthly $1.25 tax added on to your [...]

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Ralph “Bucky” Phillips is still on the loose. Phillips was convicted of burglary and drug charges. He broke out of jail in April and has had the help of the fine, outstanding citizens of Western NY in staying one step ahead of law enforecement since then. Phillips is the main suspect in the shootings of [...]

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NY State Police Trooper Joseph Longobardo, who was shot sniper-style during a stakeout seraching for Ralph “Bucky” Phillips onThursday night in Chautauqua County, has died. Trooper Donald Baker Jr, who is recoverying in an Erie hospital, was upgraded from critical to serious after a third surgery. Phillips is the main suspect in the shootings and [...]

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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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