It was a little later then expected, but the lake-effect snow came on strong yesterday and overnight into this morning. Some areas may have received up to 15″ overnight. How much did you get in your area?
Check out some blog reaction here and here. Some people even reported some thunder snow. Thunder snow is cool.
There [...]

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A local political story (GoErie) is making the national rounds (MSNBC, FOXNews). Sam Glenzer walked into the Clinton campaign office in Erie. Campaign workers were suspicious of him trying to gleam info on their operations. They game him a campaign sign and he left. They Googled his name and saw that he was an Obama [...]

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Got the word last night that Erie PA native Maria Sansone is leaving ‘The 9′ on Yahoo! and will be doing a new show on YouTube. Her new yet to be named show will launch in a few weeks.
The US Census Bureau released their yearly metropolitan and micropolitan statistical area population estimates. They guessed that [...]

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Truck Company, 4th Marine Division, the USMC Reserve Unit based in Erie will be coming home on Monday March 31. Welcome Home Marines!
Funeral services for Erie PA native the Rev Dr James R Bailey, Jr will be held on Friday in Erie. Rev Bailey was murdered in Dayton, Ohio on Saturday March 22. He was [...]

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Candidate for Congress Kathy Dahlkemper was to speak today at Gannon University. The engagement was canceled. An official with the school said that they didn’t want an individual candidate to speak as it might appear that they were supporting one candidate over another. Sounded reasonable. You still have to wonder if it had anything to [...]

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The Warren Times Observer reported that a fire in a vacuum tower occurred at the United Refining Company refinery in Warren. The crude oil unit will be down for a few days, although production at the refinery will continue, but at a reduced rate. The refinery processes a max of 70,000 barrels of oil per [...]

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The John Kanzius Cancer Research Foundation now has a web site. I hope it helps with fund raising and creates more awareness of the project. The leaders of the foundation need more of a sense of urgency in their efforts or Erie will be left out of the human trials. At least $8 million needs [...]

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There is an excellent must-read story in the Charleston (WV) Gazette on the story of Bob Wiesen who grew up in the St Joseph’s Home for Children in Erie. St Joseph’s was the orphanage in Erie. Wiesen lived at the orphanage from the time he was an infant until he finished high school. The story [...]

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The Erie Zoo reopens today after being closed for the Winter. Hours are 10 am everyday until 5pm. During the summer months, the zoo is open until 6 pm on Sundays. The Zoo is closed December, January and February. Admission prices are $7 for adults, $6 for senior citizens, $4 for children 2-11, children [...]

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Lindsay Graygo was beaten and then strangled to death in her Ypsilanti Township apartment. Graygo had moved to Michigan about a year ago. She graduated from McDowell in 1997, Penn State University Park in 2001 with a degree in advertising / public relations, and went on to get her MBA from Penn State Behrend in [...]

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James H Mullen Jr has been named the 21st president of Allegheny College. He will take office Aug 1, 2008. Mullen was elected unanimously by the Allegheny Board of Trustees on the unanimous recommendation of the Presidential Search Committee, which conducted a national search for a successor to Richard J Cook, who is retiring after [...]

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At the US Bankruptcy Court in Erie PA, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, Judge Thomas P Agresti is hearing the case of Countrywide Financial Corp v Sharon Diane Hill of Pittsburgh in a mortgage case being followed by many. Hill sued Countrywide after they had tried to foreclose even [...]

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It’s taken 10 years but the first floor of the Boston Store Place, on State and Peach between 7th and 8th Streets, is finally filling up. John Leonard (Leonardos), who ran the Waterfront Restaurant, announced a new restaurant will be locating to the first floor. Leonard will be GM of the Under the Clock Bar [...]

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The Greater Erie Board of Realtors released the January 2008 property transfer figures for Erie County PA. The reports shows that 243 properties were sold for $41,202,807. This compares to January 2007 when 280 properties sold for $44,849,368 and January 2006 when 254 changed hands for $26,951,813. The figures include residential, commercial, investment properties as [...]

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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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At the start of the new fiscal year in July, there will be enough money from slot machine taxes in the Property Tax Relief Fund which could see property owners getting an average of $300 of tax relief. Homeowners will receive tax relief once gaming generates $570 million – $400 million to distribute statewide, $100 [...]

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Darren Amy and Joseph Dille, both 19 year old Saegertown volunteer firefighters, were arrested and charged with arson for setting 9 fires in the Saegertown area. The duo set fires to vacant houses and then helped put the fires out.
 
There will be a citizenship ceremony at the Erie Federal Courthouse today at 10 am. All [...]

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The study report on the proposed community college to be called Northwest Pennsylvania Community College is dated October 1, 2007. The figures for costs seem to be based on 1977 figures. The estimated expenses for utilities, salaries and supplies aren’t even close to realistic. The one figure that seems high is the $5,700 that [...]

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Erie has been granted a franchise in the National Premier Soccer League. The league has not yet confirmed this. I doubt there is an ownership group in place. The NPSL is a minor league that’s equivalent to the fourth level of pro soccer in the United States. Major League Soccer is the top level, followed [...]

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Chrysler has named former Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli as the new chairman and CEO of the automaker. Nardelli has pretty strong ties to Erie. Chrysler might not build a plant here but a number of Erie companies supply Detroit automakers. Nardelli got Tom Ridge of Erie appointed to the board of directors of Home [...]

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Three fires claimed three lives in less than 24 hours. Richard Hunt of Corry died in his East Main Street home in a fire that broke out around 1 pm. A fire at 457 West Front St broke out around 2:45 and claimed the life of a women. I’m selling the home next door at [...]

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The Presque Isle Downs and Casino Roarin’ 20’s Players Club is the casino’s player club. As a member, you’ll receive special discounts and comps, special invitations to player only events, promotional mailings and the opportunity to win big prizes that are exclusive to the Roarin’ 20’s Players Club members. When I think Roaring 20’s I [...]

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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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Brad Fairfield, developer of the Koehler Brewery Square Project, has a press conference scheduled for 10:30 am this morning. He was still looking for over $3 million in financing last I heard and if he got it you would think he’d let the world know immediately.
The Seattle Post Intelligencer ran a good story that mentions [...]

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There is an article in todays Wall Street Journal (registration required to read the entire article) about how manufacturing companies are having trouble finding skilled workers to hire. They quoted Dave Tullio, president of Custom Engineering Company in Erie, saying they have job openings but can’t find the workers. I’m sure there are dzens of [...]

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Well no wonder the Erie newspaper didn’t run a story about the the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority ferry from Erie to Port Dover, Ontario. See yesterdays post where I pointed out that the story didn’t run locally. The only bit of new info was that Willard Marine would be building the boat. The authority received [...]

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Erie native Eric Michael Hopper, now living in Buford GA, will make his TV debut this morning on CBS’s “The Early Show.” Hopper won “The Early Show’s Living Room Live” talent competition. He will perform “I Want to Be.” His songs recently hit the 1 millionth play on MySpace.
US Rep Phil English of Erie has [...]

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Steris officials have to be kicking themselves for how they handled the closing of manufacturing in Erie. First, they gave the workers months of advance warning that they would be laid-off so they could look for other jobs or get retrained in another field. They only had to give a 90 day notice. Now the [...]

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Erie City Council and Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott announced they have reached an agreement to cut spending and reduce taxes.
Yes, you guessed it. April Fools!
Congrats go out to Erie Blogger Bobbo for breaking the story about the theft of the student newspaper, The Gannon Knight.
Last weekend Miles D Rish of North East, PA, a freshman [...]

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Judge Ernie DiSantis dismissed the bribery charges against former Erie Mayor Rick Filippi and his business partners Rolf Patberg and Eric Purchase. The group who still has a bundle of charges facing them including conspiracy, conflict of interest and using inside information. Filippi, Patberg and Purchase formed a partnership called Aiko Acquisitions which bought properties [...]

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I’m not sure if the taxpayers of Pennsylvania have to be blindfolded or must gouge out their eyes but were not allowed to look while the state goes into our pockets to settle a lawsuit. Yesterday, I mentioned that Representative Linda Bebko-Jones has settled with TE Kalkhof Realty on her breaking the lease for her [...]

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Representative Linda Bebko-Jones (1st Legislative District Erie County) has settled with the company that owns the office building in which she caused a fire. In May of 2004, Bebko-Jones left a cigarette burning in her office at 460 East 26th Street. It fell into a trash can and caused over $175,000 in damages. TE [...]

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The contract for steel for construction at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center came in $900,000 over budget. The amount of steel needed is 122 tons more than expected. That’s about the weight of a small planet. With the Universal Law of Gravity in effect on this planet, steel and not thin air is needed to [...]

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Dr Gulam Moonda of Hermitage PA was shot and killed along the Ohio Turnpike near Cleveland last May. Damian Bradford of Erie PA is a ‘person of interest’ in the case. A search warrant recovered a number of items from his home. Bradford still hasn’t been charged in that crime but he is behind [...]

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When Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio speaks you don’t know if he’ll telling a joke or announcing one of his off the wall plans. DiVecchio want to build a courthouse for county offices in SW Erie County in what is being described as a branch campus. He didn’t explain where the money will come [...]

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Saturday was the 2006 MECA United Cerebral Palsy Barstool Open. The event packed downtown Erie bars with 1,200 participants and raised $30,000 for a great cause.
Good job by the Erie Times-News on the story about the taxpayer rip-off by Bac Consulting doing computer work for the Erie County Office of Children and Youth. After spending [...]

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Thomas J Gamble, PhD, president-elect of Mercyhurst College, released changes within his new administration that will take effect March 1 when he assumes the presidency. Nothing big expect someone of the pay raises. They are still seem to be puppets of Garvey and Mosco.
A restructure of the Office of the President has resulted in three [...]

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This could be the first tax I have ever agreed with. State Representative John Pallone (D-New Kensington) introduced House Bill 2454 which will levy a $100 fee on every resident in communities with 9,000 or more people that require state police because they are too cheap to have their own police force. My state taxes [...]

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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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Trina Orlando will be the new morning anchor for WJET-TV beginning on Monday. She will also appear on WFXP. Orlando is a 2002 graduate of Mt Pleasant Junior/Senior High School which is about 40 miles Southeast of Pittsburgh. She attended the University of Southern California doble majoring in broadcast journalism and political science.
The exotic dance [...]

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There was a house fire at 25th and State Streets. The family of 6 got out safe but they lost everything. Keep your ears open to see which local bank will set up an account for the family and donate a buck or two. Every fire around town brings out the tears from our firemen. [...]

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It wasn’t the tears from Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts fans because the Steelers won that streamed down Henderson Road and Route 8, it was a water main break.
Does Mike O’Brien know that he has a bit of a hit with his song “In Erie PA?” The song is making the rounds by email. The [...]

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He doesn’t want to race the truck but he does want to get into a race. Pat Harkins announced he will run against Linda Bebko Jones for the Democratic nomination for the 1st District seat in the state House of Representatives. Harkins is a driver for UPS. During his announcement he cited that Jones voted [...]

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David Gonzalez, director of Latino services for the Hispanic American Council of Erie, was elected to fill the position on Erie City Council when Joe Sinnott resigned to become mayor. The voting done by council members took ten ballots.
Saint Andrew Elementary School, 606 Raspberry Street, could be closing next year as enrollment continues to decline. [...]

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Old-fashioned type post card by the talented Ron Richardson. Click on the image for a full size view. His Flick.com photos can be seen here and his photography site can be found here.
The City of Erie sent out two week notices to 26 city employees. Many were politcal appointees that will be replaced when Mayor-elect [...]

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Current Erie City Councilman and Mayor-elect Joe Sinnott met with union represenative asking that their members pay 10 to 15 percent of their health care costs. After the laughter died down, they agreed to ask their members to vote on the measure. There might have been a chance of the unions agreeing to it if [...]

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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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Erie City Council will work on the 2006 City of Erie budget this week. There are reports that the mayor’s proposed budget call for over 60 more layoffs. Interesting how it calls cuts to the Streets Department, Parks Department, Bureau of Police and the Fire Department but few at city hall.
A week ago, Mike Machuga [...]

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The official count for last Tuesdays election will be held today. We might know who won the race for Erie County Executive before the day is over. Republican Dale McBrier was leading Democratic Mark DiVecchio by six votes in the unofficial count.
Mike Machuga of Erie won his first career PBA Tour title by defeating Bill [...]

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Gregory (Greg) P Zuba of Erie PA was killed in a hit and run near Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Zuba pulled over to a truck stop to talk to a mechanic to help him repair his semi when he was struck by another semi.
A one year old Amish boy was killed when a horse became [...]

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The Mercyhurst College Board of Trustees has selected Dr Thomas Gamble to be the college’s next president. He will take over as president March 1. Gamble has a BA in philosophy from Gannon University along with a master’s degree and two doctoral degrees from Syracuse University. With the problems at Mercyhurst, its disappointing to see [...]

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