Here comes the sun…maaybe?

Read the full post

New babies at Erie Zoo!!

Read the full post

Dreaming of a White Christmas?

Read the full post

News, Sports, and Events for Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Read the full post

We’re feeling sorry for all those poor folks who live in the Pittsburgh area as the G-20 Conference opens today.  It looks and sounds like everyone in the country with something to protest or an agenda to push has descended on the City.  Several groups couldn’t wait for the official opening, and started their shenanigans [...]

Read the full post

Gannon University’s master’s degree program in Community Counseling has been designated as a fully accredited graduate program. The Master of Science (M.S.) in Community Counseling is a 60-credit hour program accredited by the Council for the Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP). CACREP is the professional accrediting body in the field of counselor [...]

Read the full post

The big news out of Harrisburg is the proposed budget by Governor Rendell for 2009-2010.  The proposed budget is $29 billion dollars –  $26.6 billion plus another expected $2.4 billion in yet to be seen federal funds.  In total, it is a 2.5% increase over last years budget. In his speech before legislators yesterday, Rendell [...]

Read the full post

Pennlive.com has compiled a list of 329 establishments (either restaurants, bars or businesses) in the commonweath who have had violations of the state’s smoking ban reported to the Department of Health. Here the ones from Erie:
Coney Island Lunch, 3015 Buffalo Road
Erie Wastewater Treatment, 68 Port Access Road
General Electric Transportation Systems, 2901 E. Lake Road
Hibachi Japanese [...]

Read the full post

Congresswoman-elect Kathy Dahlkemper has announced her office locations. She will be in Rep. English’s former location at 208 East Bayfront in the Intermodal Transportation Center. In Washington, her office will be in the Cannon Office Building, room 516.
A 52-year-old man died while in Erie police custody. The man, who remains unidentified by police until [...]

Read the full post

We got a pretty decent snowstorm over the weekend, and a few people emailed us to say they heard and saw thunder and lightning while it was snowing.

Police have released a new image of the bank robber who moved on to Amherst and Sheffield Village, Ohio after hitting it up in PA. No arrests have [...]

Read the full post

It was a busy day yesterday in the court system. Teri Rhodes was sentenced 9 to 18 years in a state correctional facility for the murder of her newborn child.  Rhodes’ lawyer, Philip Friedman, does not agree with the length sentence and plans to appeal.  Judge William Cunningham made a just and sound decision under [...]

Read the full post

If you would like your event considered for posting here on ErieBlogs.com, please send us your information using our online contact form. Make sure you check our daily News & Events for new event listings and events happening that day.
Events for this Week
Catro Jazz will perform at the University of Pittsburgh at Titusville on Tuesday, November [...]

Read the full post

The publication Keystone Edge has an interesting article on craft breweries and the future of beer distribution in PA.  Pennsylvania boasts a $7 billion brewing industry.  Missing from the article is any mention of Erie Brewing Company which recently won the 2008 Bronze Medal in the Scottish Style Ale category finishing third out of 24 other Scottish [...]

Read the full post

If you would like your event considered for posting here on ErieBlogs.com, please send us your information using our online contact form. Make sure you check our daily News & Events for new event listings and events happening that day.
Events for this Week
Tour the Chautauqua-Lake Erie Wine Trail November 1-2 and 8-9. The Holiday Wine Weekend is a [...]

Read the full post

The official high temperature in Erie was 92 degrees on Friday. Temps on Saturday and Sunday might be near 90. There was a great crowd along the bayfront and at Presque Isle State Park. I’m a bit jealous of how Ella, daughter of Holli and Jason, kept cool.
Get out of the heat for a few [...]

Read the full post

Scores of people in the Erie area have called off work with symptoms of the flu and other illnesses. Most will head to Presque Isle State Park for ‘treatment.’ The forcast for today is sunny with a high temperature approaching the record of 95 degrees.
The Community Blood Bank is air conditioned and can take some [...]

Read the full post

Measuring Up was founded by Tony and Tammy Craig, a husband and wife team with a combined 30 plus years in the rent to own industry. Measuring Up does customer satisfaction surveys, analysis and employee training. The company recently produced a report for the US Congress, documenting the fact that rent-to-own has the highest level [...]

Read the full post

All around great guy Jack Tirak passed away last night. Jack was a partner at Erie ad firm Engel and Tirak and many of us knew him through his blog, Erie Media Go Round. We’ll fill you in on the funeral details when they become available. Condolences to his family.
Casting call for you actor types. [...]

Read the full post

WICU reported that the Erie County Employee Picnic has been canceled due “to too much scrutiny.” The food was going to come from DiVecchio’s Catering, the business owned by Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio. This is one the numerous reasons Erie County Controller Sue Weber is planning an Ethics Workshop on July 1.
The blood shortage [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine will hold commencement ceremonies for its largest medical and pharmacy classes, along with the school’s second class of master’s degree candidates. Today at 2 pm at the Louis J Tullio Arena, 218 medical students, 123 pharmacy students and six Master of Science in Medical Education students will receive degrees. [...]

Read the full post

Lisa Maas was murdered in her Pittsburgh apartment. Maas was a 2006 graduate of Harbor Creek High School near Erie. She was attending school at the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute. Terrence Andrews, who occupied an apartment in the same building as Maas, stabbed her with a pair of scissors. Andrews admitted to police he did it. [...]

Read the full post

Erie County middle and high school students are reporting a higher incidence of alcohol use than their national peers, but much lower levels of participation in antisocial behaviors such as “being arrested” or “bringing a weapon to school,” according to the newly released 2007 Pennsylvania Youth Survey (PAYS), conducted locally by the Mercyhurst College Civic [...]

Read the full post

In November 2007 just before her new son was born, Tia Peterson, soon to be a new single mother, made the decision that she would stay home to raise her son. She began freelancing as a virtual assistant and has never looked back. Instead, she has moved on to form a virtual assistance firm called [...]

Read the full post

An arrest warrant was issued by University of Iowa campus police for Abe Satterfield of Erie and another man for charges involving sexual abuse. The incident allegedly occurred on October 14 at Satterfield’s on campus apartment. Satterfield and other person, Cedric Everson, were both members of the Iowa football team. They were both suspended from [...]

Read the full post

Railpower Technologies announced that it will build an assembly plant in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, creating some 125 new jobs, mainly in manufacturing and development. I thought Erie had a good shot at landing the plant. The company is headquartered in Quebec while their US operations are located in Erie. Railpower produces rail yard switching locomotives and [...]

Read the full post

Please take a moment today to remember and honor those Americans who died while defending our Nation and its values. They are responsible for the freedoms you enjoy today.
To help re-educate and remind Americans of the true meaning of Memorial Day, the “National Moment of Remembrance” resolution was passed in December, 2000 which asks that [...]

Read the full post

One person died in their home last night of an apparent natural gas leak or by carbon monoxide poisoning. The home is on Page Street in SE Erie. An official from the Erie County Coroners Office was called to scene as crews from National Fuel worked to repair the leak. Natural gas does not have [...]

Read the full post

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong spent another day at a mental competency hearing. It could be months for a judge to decide if she’s competent to stand trial. Of course she’s nut but she’s well enough to know what’s going on. Normal people don’t kill their boyfriend and stick them in a freezer nor are involved in some [...]

Read the full post

Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong spent 9 hours in court in the first day of two in a mental competency hearing. What a wast of time. Expert witnesses differed in their opinion according to who was paying them, the prosecution or the defense. I think everyone agrees she nuts, ie a wacked out bi__. The question is, does [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Graffiti Task Force continues to mount a crack down on vandalism. District Magistrate Judge Tom Carney, head of the group, is jumping in front of every TV camera and telling every reporter around town about the problem. Yesterday, the case of Daniel Montano of Pittsburgh was spotlighted. Montano faces life in prison and [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Times-News / GoErie.com reported that Teri Rhodes will enter a guilty plea on Friday. Everyone involved is being tight lipped about the deal. The plea deal takes the death penalty off the table. If the deal does not include a VERY long prison sentence, I think there will be community outrage.
Rhodes murdered her [...]

Read the full post

The official ground breaking of the newest branch of the Erie County Public Library, the West County Library Branch (WCLB), will be held today at 10:30 at the corner of Manchester and West Lake Road in Fairview. To add to the jubilation, Michael Batchelor, president of The Erie Community Foundation, will make a major [...]

Read the full post

The Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer Amusement Park and Water World opened yesterday to a large crowd. Seats on the very first ride were auctioned off with all proceeds benefiting the Northwestern Pennsylvania Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. About $7,500 was raised. And all weeekend long, $3.50 of the $4.50 ride cost will [...]

Read the full post

Looks like there won’t be any baby Bald Eagles at Presque Isle State Park. Linda posted pictures of the nest and a write-up on her blog. She said a park volunteer told her there was an attack on the nest by a rogue eagle (or another predator).
International Paper closed it’s plant in Erie on the [...]

Read the full post

A jubilant celebration will take place on Monday, May 19 beginning at 10:30 am at the corner of Manchester and West Lake Road, where only a pile of dirt presently exists. The celebration will mark the official ground breaking of the newest branch of the Erie County Public Library, the West County Library Branch (WCLB). [...]

Read the full post

The City of Erie School District preliminary budget calls for a spending increase of about $6 million to $129.3 million. All members of the school board are tax and spend Democrats. The figures don’t include money to rehab or rebuild Roosevelt Middle School which might not be funded until next year.
WSEE TV posted two video [...]

Read the full post

WSEE TV will air their exclusive interview with John Kanzius in a 30 minute special on Wednesday, May 21 at 7 pm. For the station to preempt the uber popular “Wheel of Fortune”, you know it’s important. Along with word on the breakthrough with the success of Kanzius discusses how big it could be [...]

Read the full post

In a WSEE TV interview with John Kanzius of Erie (not yet posted on their site), Kanzius said that researchers led by Dr Steven Curley at the University of Texas M D Anderson Cancer Center have found a protein enzyme that will carry metallic nanoparticles exclusively to cancer cells. WSEE will run more of the [...]

Read the full post

A traffic accident Sunday night on West Townhill Road, between Peach St and Perry Highway, claimed the life of one person when the car burst into flames. The single vehicle accident happened around midnight. The victim was burned so badly authorities couldn’t determine the gender let alone the identity of the victim.
The horrible accident on [...]

Read the full post

One of those worst nightmare accidents happened yesterday afternoon on I-90 near West Springfield, Exit 3, when six people died in a horrible head-on accident. A van traveling east lost control, crossed the grass median, and slammed into a car traveling west. Five people in the van and one person in the car died. One [...]

Read the full post

Along with Mothers Day, three area colleges have their commencements this weekend. Hotels are packed and there are waits at restaurants. The Edinboro University of Pennsylvania commencement will be held today at 1 pm at McComb Fieldhouse with 831 students receiving degrees. The Gannon University commencement will be held today at 2 pm at the [...]

Read the full post

Live thoroughbred racing returns to the Erie, PA, today Friday, May 9, when Presque Isle Downs and Casino commences its 2008 meeting. Presque Isle’s 100-day season will extend through September 27, with a daily post time of 5:30 pm. Admission and general parking throughout the meet will be FREE.
Last year, Presque Isle’s inaugural meet was [...]

Read the full post

Erie City Council voted unanimously to go after the money the city loaned for the dead Koehler Square Brewery project. The city probably won’t see a dime as National City Bank and the state get any money first but maybe it will teach future would-be developers that government funds aren’t just free money.
The Greater Erie [...]

Read the full post

Erie Renewable Energy yesterday held a press conference at the Erie Labor Temple to announce a $1.5 million diversity program to recruit and train minority workers to build the proposed tire to energy plant which will be called Port Erie Power. Agreements were signed with the Booker T Washington Center, Great Lakes Building and Construction [...]

Read the full post

Narcotics agents from the Attorney General’s office charged an Erie County woman accused of diverting prescription pain medication, which was intended for the patients in her care, from the hospital where she worked. She allegedly took the drugs for her own personal use. Attorney General Tom Corbett said that Janet Palmer, 42, of Waterford, [...]

Read the full post

A woman died in a house fire at 412 Lowry Road in Harborcreek. The fire broke out shortly at 10 pm Sunday night. Her husband escaped but she could not get out. Lowry Road is the first street east of Lawrence Park Golf Club.
Todd Ptacek of Erie, Pa won the Flying Pig Half Marathon in [...]

Read the full post

Northwest Pennsylvania Collegiate Academy US Academic Decathlon team, the 2008 Pennsylvania state champion, took third place at the National Academic Decathlon competition at Garden Grove, California. The team competed in Division III, the small schools category. Members of the team are: Amy Babay, Stephanie Engel, and Sumner Nichols (Honors); Amal Abukar, Alexa Johnson, and Rebekah [...]

Read the full post

Handicapping guru Andy Beyer has picked Pyro to win today’s Kentucky Derby. Andy Beyer, a Harvard University graduate from Erie PA, created the Beyer Speed Figures used by bettors that measures how fast a horse runs on any given track. “Synthetic” racing surfaces have replaced the old dirt tracks and made the Beyer Speed Figures [...]

Read the full post

Erie Management Group has a new video on their site called ‘Erie: A Great Place to Live and Work.’ The link to the popup in on the right side of the site. Unless you have a lot of time on your hands, wait till someone posts it on YouTube.
Gannon University has placed a job opening [...]

Read the full post

Erie Indemnity Company (Erie Insurance) (Nasdaq: ERIE) announced financial results for the first quarter 2008. Net income per share-diluted decreased to $0.51 per share, compared to $0.88 per share in the comparable quarter in 2007 influenced by net realized losses on investments of $0.27 per share, after tax. Although they sold more policies and their [...]

Read the full post

The Huntington Bank at Peach and Kuntz Rd was robbed yesterday of $3,000. The robber got away on a bicycle and went into the Grenada Apartment complex. Maybe he’ll use the money to buy a car.
US Air Force Second Lieutenant Matthew E Emmons, a native of Corry PA, died recently in a training accident at [...]

Read the full post

The former Hotel Evergreen in Edinboro last night burned down to the ground. The hotel had been vacant, but the 4 story wooden structure still housed a bar and pizza shop. It was better known for hosting bands than a hotel. Steve Marshall took a few pictures and passed them along to WUSA-TV: pic 1, [...]

Read the full post

The March for Babies takes place today in Crawford County. Grady, Evan, Jenny and Mike are the Crawford County ambassador family for March for Babies. Mike is at $1,335 with donations with a goal of $1,500. The family was featured in a story in the Meadville Tribune – March of Dimes family share their ‘happy [...]

Read the full post

The Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority announced that they’ve been contacted by the US Coast Guard about possibly locating a training facility in Erie. Erie is one of a number of locations considered. The facility would be a designated Center of Excellence (COE) for ship inspections. It would mean about 50 personnel stationed in Erie year [...]

Read the full post

Just after 2:30 pm yesterday, a body of a woman was discovered in Presque Isle Bay near Dobbins Landing. She was identified as Anna Lisichenko of Erie. Lisichenko was a native of the Ukraine who had immigrated to the US less than 5 years ago.
Mayor Joe Sinnott on Thursday announced an Adopt-A-Park program for [...]

Read the full post

GE held their annual shareholder meeting yesterday in Erie at the Bayfront Convention Center. It was pretty clear that Erie appreciates having GE in Erie. CNN reflected that with their story headline GE Executives Take Some Solace From Erie Hospitality. Officials with GE had very nice things to say about Erie. GE has taken some [...]

Read the full post

The GE (NYSE: GE) 2008 Annual Meeting of Shareholders will be held today in Erie, PA at the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. The meeting is closed to the public however, GE will have a exhibit on display that shows what they do in Erie that you can stop down and see. That information session is [...]

Read the full post

It’s election day. Vote.
Kevin Flowers reported on GoErie.com that the Pennsylvania Ethics Commission is investigating Erie County Maintenance Supervisor Mike Krause for misuse of county assets. Back when this mess first surfaced, someone at the commission that that they were aware of the situation in Erie County BUT that someone had to file an official [...]

Read the full post

Chelsea Clinton will appear at noon today at the Perry Square in downtown Erie. This will be the sixth appearance by a member of the Clinton family in the Erie area.
The (Southwest Florida) News-Press did a story on how haggling at retail stores is sweeping the country. The story quotes Dan Borgia, associate professor of [...]

Read the full post

Hectors Restaurant at 802 W 18th Street is for sale. The listed price is $375,000.
The former Wesleyville Elementary School has been placed on the market. The listed price is $225,000.
Have you seen Sara Camille Martinez? 15 year old Sara is 5′4″ and 115 lbs. Sara’s chin is pierced. She may go by the alias name [...]

Read the full post

Garrett Kensy is a winner. Garrett Kensy was a three sport athlete in high school. He was Salutatorian at Maryvale High School and went on to Mercyhurst College in Erie. Garrett won the starting quarterback job as a freshman before an injury in the second game ended his season. Then last year doctors told him [...]

Read the full post

Only about 500-1000 people were on hand at Behrend to hear former President Bill Clinton speak at a venue that holds 1800. By the time he got to Warren, he was about an hour and a half late for an 11:30 am appearance. At least the school children got to eat lunch before they started [...]

Read the full post

In his first campaign visit to northwest Pennsylvania, Sen. Barack Obama will hold a Town Hall-style meeting at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, on Friday, April 18, at 10:30 am, in the Junker Center. Doors open at 8:30 am. Young Democrats of America, a Penn State Behrend student organization, is hosting the event. Admission [...]

Read the full post

Robert Waters passed away of a stoke. Waters was a recently the victim of a home invasion. So recently that you have to question the findings by Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook and comments by Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk. In the story by Kara Rhodes Cook said that his death was unrelated to [...]

Read the full post

GE has 84 job openings posted for their plant in Erie, PA. You can search their employment listings at GE Careers. Just since April 1, they have posted 53 jobs: Program Manager International Loco/Mods, Instructor – Mechanical Systems, Locomotive Compressed Air Systems Engineer, Erie Plant Materials Leader, Instructor – Electrical Systems, Lean Six Sigma Black [...]

Read the full post

The story on John Kanzius and his radio wave cancer treatment machine by Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes” was excellent. The transcript of the story can be found at The Kanzius Machine: A Cancer Cure? I just hope enough people were moved to whip out their credit cards and contribute to the John Kanzius Cancer [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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. [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

The Supreme Court on Monday let stand a federal policy that allows employers to reduce their health insurance expenses for retired workers once they turn 65 and qualify for Medicare. In which may have been the last time Erie County did anything to try and save taxpayers money, the county offered non-Medicare eligible retirees the [...]

Read the full post

It’s no wonder people have so much disdain for lawyers and unions. Just read the story by Kara Rhodes in todays paper. Mary Wolski was fired as a City of Erie Firefighter in 2007 for setting her father’s house on fire in 2006. Wolski is suing to get her job back. A job with Zippo [...]

Read the full post

Happy Easter!
The new Erie visitor guides are in. The perfect resource for Erie tourism information from lodging to restaurants to attractions to shops, maps, background information, handy tips and more, this 80 page full color guide is a must-have! Order your free copy today. Simply send us an email with your complete mailing [...]

Read the full post

The ice might be melting from the lake but not fast enough. Great story by Jeff on Erie Shipping News. The 647 feet long, 70 feet wide Cason J Callaway left the Port of Erie on Friday to begin her shipping season. It got two miles into Lake Erie before it got stuck in [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

There are reports of an explosion at the United Refining Company in Warren, PA. The company operates an oil refinery in Warren that can process 70,000 barrels of oil into gasoline, diesel fuel and other petroleum distillates per day. Any problems at the refinery could mean a spike in gas prices in Northwestern PA.
This is [...]

Read the full post

Erie, Pennsylvania has been awarded an NBA Development League franchise, it was announced yesterday at a press conference at the Bayfront Convention Center in Erie. The team will join Reno, NV – which was awarded a D-League franchise on Feb. 29 – for their inaugural seasons in 2008-09. “When we decided to pursue the opportunity [...]

Read the full post

A private meeting is planned for members of Erie’s business community at 2 pm with a press conference at 3:15 pm today announcing that Erie will have a team in the NBA Developmental League for the 2008-09 season. The NBA Development League, or D-League, is the National Basketball Association’s officially sponsored and operated minor league. [...]

Read the full post

Bars in Erie, especially the Irish bars, will be packed today with people celebrating St Patrick’s Day while they attempt to fill out their brackets for the NCAA basketball tournament.
The Center for eBusiness and Advanced IT (eBizITPA) reached a major benchmark in February by awarding its 300th IT implementation grant to The Hite Company in [...]

Read the full post

There is an excellent must read article by Mackenzie Carpenter in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette today entitled “Erie voters fret about theirs and their children’s futures.” Maybe it’s that Pittsburgh is two hours from Erie but the story was fair and pointed out many of the positives that Erie has and not just the few negative [...]

Read the full post

Good job by the Erie Times-News breaking the story that Ron Sertz will be part of the National Basketball Development League franchise in Erie. Sertz will be President. With his involvement with the basketball team and being one of the owners of the Erie Otters, scheduling at the Tullio Arena where both teams will play [...]

Read the full post

It’s now been 3 weeks since Lindsay Graygo was beaten and then strangled to death in her Ypsilanti Township, Michigan apartment. Word is investigators are still waiting for the DNA kit to come back. Graygo of Erie, PA graduated from McDowell in 1997, earned a BA in advertising /public relations from Penn State University Park [...]

Read the full post

Former President Bill Clinton yesterday yesterday spoke to a crowd at Erie East High School. The gym was filled with the crowd estimated at 1,200 to 2,000 people. More than half were students happy for any reason to get out of classes. Clinton is a very good speaker and the length of the talk at [...]

Read the full post

Former President Bill Clinton will make a campaign appearance for his wife in Erie today, Wednesday March 12 at 11:30 am. His public appearance will be held at Erie East High School, 1001 Atkins Street. Doors open at 10 am. There are no tickets, just show up. Use the gym entrance at the rear of [...]

Read the full post

Over the weekend the Erie area received about 2 feet of snow. An estimated 25 percent of city side streets have yet to see a plow. City of Erie Bureau of Streets Chief Pete Petrianni has bungled the job. Petrianni has repeated over and over and over that the city has 40 plows and 350 [...]

Read the full post

A City of Erie Street Department plow got stuck Sunday afternoon on East 31st Street about 40 feet west of East Avenue. Hilarious site. The street has just enough of an incline that along with the heavy snow the vehicle was plowing it just couldn’t get enough traction and slid into a snow bank. A [...]

Read the full post

Erie received a little bit of snow the past two days. The city seemed to be hardest hit as about 21-26 inches fell. Most church services are cancelled. Call ahead before you leave for anything. Shovel out and make sure to check your clocks we lost an hour of sleep with Daylight Savings Time.
The Erie [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Tilting at windmills, Erie City Council passed a resolution calling for the City Solicitor Greg Karle to write up an ordinance calling for continuous monitoring at the proposed tires to energy plant. Karle has already told council that any effort to make emissions laws tougher than the current state or federal laws wouldn’t survive a [...]

Read the full post

John Kanzius and Dr Steven Curley announced yesterday to a packed house at South Fort Myers High School Auditorium that Lee Memorial Health System in Southwest Florida will most likely be one of the six sites for human trials of the Kanzius radio wave cancer treatment. About $8 million is needed to raised for the [...]

Read the full post

Erie Plastics laid off about 190 workers citing the end of a couple of big contracts. Erie Plastics makes plastic closures from coffee lids to beverage caps. The company had around 350 employees at their huge 180,000 sq ft plant in Corry, PA.
Tired of the cold, nasty weather? Want to get away? All donors [...]

Read the full post

On the 3d of March, 1792, the Erie Triangle, of which is most of Erie County, was purchased from the United States by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. A patent was issued, signed by George Washington as President, and Thomas Jefferson as Secretary of State. The consideration was $151,640.25, 75 cents an acre.
Map created January 2005 [...]

Read the full post

Two car washes are for sale. One is a bit of a surprise. Splash’s Auto Bath House at 2968 West 12th St is for sale. The listed price for the property is $599,000. Business and equipment is $90,000 extra. Splash’s has been operating for about a dozen years. If I remember right a doctor owns [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Karma. Former state representative Linda Bebko-Jones and her then chief of staff, Mary Fiolek, were formally charged with forging nominating petitions and submitting the fraudulent forms to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Bebko-Jones and Fiolek are scheduled to surrender next week and appear before Harrisburg Magisterial District Judge Joseph Solomon for preliminary arraignment. According to [...]

Read the full post

Erie Indemnity Company (Erie Insurance) (Nasdaq: ERIE) announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year end 2007. Net operating income per share (excluding net realized gains or losses on investments and related taxes) was $0.69 in each of the fourth quarters of 2007 and 2006. Net income was $32.6 million for the fourth quarter [...]

Read the full post

All real estate is local. What’s happening in California or Florida doesn’t effect the market in Erie. Last year you heard news about home prices falling all over the country. In Erie they rose. In an 88 page report released by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, home prices in Erie were up 4.58 [...]

Read the full post

Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort revealed their planned $6 million, 22,000 sq ft expansion. It will be a wave pool on the SE section of the property attached to the main building. It will still be open every day during construction. They are holding a contest to name the pool and pick a new [...]

Read the full post

Scott Enterprises has a news conference scheduled for this morning to announce a 20,000 square foot, $6 million expansion to Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park Resort. Back in September, Scott Enterprises obtained $81 million as they mortgaged 10 properties. They used $49 million to refi existing debt, built two new hotels, and will use the [...]

Read the full post

Nearly 350 teams participated in the 10th annual MECA Erie Bar Stool Open. The teams paid $100 to play miniature golf and drink on a cold Saturday in February.
Case Management Support Services, which did mental-health and mental-disability services for Erie County, completed their change over. They lost their contract with the county in July. They [...]

Read the full post

Erie, PA based American Resort Management has been brought in to manage and rescue the Fort Rapids Water Park in Columbus, Ohio. Platinum Ridge Properties owns the water park and an adjoining 337 room Holiday Inn and Suites. They are attempting to sell the properties. The occupancy rate at the hotel at 45 percent was [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

After the 1936 Johnstown Flood, Pennsylvania placed a “temporary” 10 percent tax on liquor to help pay for the costs. Harrisburg loves a tax so it’s still there. In fact it’s grown to 18 percent. The tax now takes in about a quarter of a billion dollars a year which goes into the general fund.
House [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Otters of the Ontario Hockey League announced at a press conference that Ron Sertz has decided to step down as the club’s Director of Operations. “I’ve enjoyed 12 great years with the Otters in my position as Director of Operations,” Sertz said. “I’m very proud of the organization that we have built and [...]

Read the full post

The US Coast Guard station in Erie had more excitement Sunday than they wanted. They were called out at least twice for people having trouble on the water/slush/ice. Didn’t hear of any rescues but I’d bet a couple of people got wet. With temps in the upper 40’s and hard rain, the ice covered bay [...]

Read the full post

Remedial Offshore, headquartered in Limassol, Cyprus, announced the purchase of V228 medium speed diesel engines from GE Marine in Erie, Pa. The engines will be used to power the new Remedial Offshore Elevating Support Vessels (ESVs). As the world’s first self propelled, 325 foot/100 meter nominal water depth rated jack up well intervention vessel, Remedial [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

An American Black Bear has been spotted on Presque Isle State Park. This isn’t Winnie the Pooh or Yogi Bear so don’t feed it. It’s believed to be a young male weighing about 200 lbs. Adult black bears usually are between 250 and 600 lbs. There are an estimated 15,000 black bears in Pennsylvania and [...]

Read the full post

There is a nice sheet of ice over everything. Give yourself a few extra minutes to get where you’re going. There is a huge list on YourErie.com of schools with 2 hour delays as well as some closed organizations.
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is warning local taxing districts in Pennsylvania about misleading materials being [...]

Read the full post

City of Erie police lieutenant Robert Liebel was arrested for stealing cocaine from a police evidence locker. There must have been items missing from the evidence locker recently because it was under surveillance. They caught him with 12 grams of cocaine in his hand. Liebel had over 22 years of service with the bureau. He [...]

Read the full post

Paragon Promotions of Erie is suspected running a fundraising scam. WJET-TV had the story by Dan Wells that Paragon Promotions is soliciting money in the Erie area. The money they are asking for is for an Erie Fire Safety Guide. It has nothing to do with the Erie Fire Department nor Erie Firefighters Local 293. [...]

Read the full post

The flap caused by Peter Marsh in a Financial Times article calling Erie “unfashionable” was picked up by the Albany Times-Union, with Don’t disparage Erie and Unfashionable unpardonable. They must have picked up on Peter Panepento’s Erie’s Best Spokespeople. Before this I think the only people that had ever heard of Peter Marsh were his [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio got away with it. GoErie.com reported that DiVecchio paid $285 in reimbursements for snowplowing and parking fines. DuhVecchio still doesn’t comprehend that what he did was wrong. The article by Kevin Flowers quoted him as saying “I just want this over with.” If you get caught, all you have to [...]

Read the full post

Governor Rendell was in Erie yesterday to his economic stimulus plan, unveiled as part of his 2008-09 budget proposal. What Fast Eddie didn’t say was that Pennsylvania taxpayers and businesses will continue to be overly burdened with taxes much higher than the national average.
The Pennsylvania budget includes an increase in the Capital Stock and Franchise [...]

Read the full post

Oops, Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio did it again. Another report of DiVecchio breaking the law and costing the over burdened taxpayers of Erie County more money. Erie County got a bill for a parking ticket DiVecchio received. He received a $30 parking ticket for illegal parking in Washington, DC. DiVecchio, possibly thinking he has [...]

Read the full post

Paul Mutton in an article on Netcraft reported that The Bank of Lancaster County is currently being targeted by a phishing attack that asks to call a number in Erie, PA. With phone numbers being portable, it could be someone half way around the world but Lancaster and Erie are only separated by 350 miles [...]

Read the full post

It wasn’t that long ago that downtown Erie had less activity than a cemetery. Now it’s becoming the place to work and live.
Yesterday, Jim Berlin, CEO of Logistics Plus, wrote in his blog Berlin’s Wall that two businesses are moving into Union Station. Great news. Berlin also said that Logistics Plus has added 20 employees [...]

Read the full post

WRTS-FM “Star 104″ edged out WXBB “Bob FM” in the latest quarterly radio ratings. The complete ratings for Erie area commercial stations can be found here on Radio and Records. For those you you too young to remember, ‘radio stations’ transmit audio and were popular before computers, iPods, MP3 players and satellite receivers.
It was extremely [...]

Read the full post

The School District of the City of Erie has of budget of over $122,000,000 and has about 12,500 students. You have to wonder about the intelligence of the people running the school district and therefor the quality of education the children are receiving if you read the article Hidden Swap Fees by JPMorgan, Morgan Stanley [...]

Read the full post

A crudely made pipe bomb was found on the steps of the Erie County Courthouse. The Erie Police Bomb Squad blew up the device. The Erie County Sheriff’s Office and the Erie Police did a bang up job with the dangerous situation. Authorities were checking tapes of courthouse and Gannon University surveillance cameras in hopes [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio still hasn’t resigned or been arrested. DiVecchio has been accused of a laundry list of improprieties of misuse of government employees and assets.
Workers began moving into the $14 million Erie County Public Safety Building campus. The county will house 911 call center operations, county communications and emergency service operations at [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio still hasn’t resigned or been arrested. DiVecchio has been accused of a laundry list of improprieties of misuse of government employees and assets. He will sit down on Friday with Erie County Controller Sue Weber to try and explain away the charges.
Erie County Council members have no plans to conduct [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio still hasn’t resigned or been arrested. Improprieties about the misuse by DiVecchio of county employees, equipment and materials continue to mount. Clueless, arrogant DiVecchio still doesn’t realize what he did was wrong.
DiVecchio used county employees on county time with county equipment to plow his home driveway. Other instances of impropriety [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio using county employees on county time as his own personal labor force was the topic all weekend. DiVecchio, one more than one occasion, used a county employee on county time with a county vehicle to have his home driveway plowed. He also used county employees on county time for his [...]

Read the full post

The State Ethics Commission is aware of Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio having an Erie County employee using Erie County equipment being told to plow his driveway. They are also aware of DiVecchio using county employees to help his sister move and also using county employees to help set up a booth at Celebrate Erie [...]

Read the full post

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 Executive Mark [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 been [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 competitive, [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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. Fourth quarter [...]

Read the full post

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 to [...]

Read the full post

Eriez Magnetics of Erie, PA has built a second 55 ton electromagnet, matching the one that is recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s largest. The original magnet was christened “Big Moe”, and the new one is known affectionately as “Big Moe II”. Big Moe II, known officially as the SER700, measures [...]

Read the full post

Teri Rhodes waived her right to a preliminary hearing on charges she murdered her newborn baby by suffocating the baby girl 10 minutes after birth. Charges include abusing a corpse, concealing the death of a child and a general charge of criminal homicide. The homicide charge could range from involuntary manslaughter to first degree [...]

Read the full post

Please keep the Bolte Family in your thoughts and prayers. They are having a sonogram taken on Tuesday of their unborn baby they are calling Happy. Baby boy Happy is showing signs of serious congenital abnormalities. They are looking for head/brain growth as well as a detailed look at his heart to see if the [...]

Read the full post

Lieutenant Colonel Richard J Berrettini died due to injuries received from an improvised explosive device attack in Khowst Province, Afghanistan. LTC Berrettini died Jan 11, nine days after the HMMWV he was a passenger in was attacked. Berrettini, a nurse practitioner, was assigned to the Pennsylvania Army National Guard Medical Detachment, Erie Clinic. He volunteered [...]

Read the full post

Erie’s public indecency ordinance prohibits nude dancing. Maybe you remember City of Erie v Pap’s A M (“Kandyland”) a few years ago that went all the way to the US Supreme Court on a First Amendment appeal. Perhaps they should have had the girls do the Fan Dance. Faith Bacon of Erie, PA was the [...]

Read the full post

Anne Ryan, a Sophomore at Penn, died in September of meningococcal meningitis. Ryan was a graduate of Erie Mercyhurst Prep. The family filed suit yesterday accusing the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania of ignoring signs when it failed to admit her after an ER visit on Sept 6. The suit also claims that an [...]

Read the full post

The dumbest criminal on the face of the Earth is Ronald N Shubert. Shubert robbed the Country Fair at 12th and Parade on Monday. He was arrested when he returned to the store as a customer and a clerk recognized him. Shubert will spend years in jail possibly working on his own “Unfinished Symphony” [...]

Read the full post

A group of 10 port authority and municipal government officials met in Mentor, Ohio to discuss ferry service across Lake Erie. Nobody from the Erie-Western Pennsylvania Port Authority in Erie, PA attended. Ferry service between Fairport Harbor, Ohio to Port Burwell, Ontario and Cleveland, Ohio to Port Stanley, Ontario is in the planning stages. Ferry [...]

Read the full post

Erie broke a record high yesterday when it reached 67 degrees. Then the cold front went through. Winds gusts reaching 65 mph have knocked down branches and trees everywhere. Penelec crews are working at restoring power. The Fort LeBoeuf School District is closed today and others such as General McLane are on delays because of [...]

Read the full post

Indianapolis Colts safety Bob Sanders of Erie, PA was named the Associated Press 2007 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Voting wasn’t even close as Sanders received 31 first place votes. Two other tied with 4 each. Sanders was a two time all-state performer for Erie Cathedral Prep and went on to star at Iowa. [...]

Read the full post

Mike Francesa, host of the Mike and the Mad Dog Radio Show, blogged that the John Kanzius developed non-invasive cancer treatment was his choice as the biggest story of 2007, yet most of the main stream media have failed to adequately cover the story.
He’s got a point. It certainly doesn’t help that people associated with [...]

Read the full post

Why is it the temperature is in the 50’s in Erie, PA in the middle of Winter? Global warming? No. El Nino? No. Hot air from city council? No. It’s the Latimer Effect. That’s the weather phenomenon named in honor of Craig Latimer of Erie. Simply all that occurs is that Craig Latimer schedules the [...]

Read the full post

Hackers from China broke into Pennsylvania government web site prompting the decision to take down nearly the entire system. It was back up later in the day after being down for several hours.
Steris Corporation announced they closed on the sale of their 525,000 sq ft manufacturing complex on 25 acres in Erie, PA. Industrial Realty [...]

Read the full post

Presque Isle State Park attendance for 2007 was 4,073,053. To put that in perspective, that is more people in a year than visit Yosemite National Park (around 3.2 million), more people than visit Yellowstone National Park (around 2.8 million), more people than visit the Empire State Building (around 3.7 million), and just slightly fewer people [...]

Read the full post

VisitErie (formerly the Erie Area Convention and Visitors Bureau) released the latest Erie County hotel tax figures. In November 2007, they received $44,885 vs the 2006 November amount of $31,878, an increase of about 41 percent. The Buffalo NY area saw a decline for November 2007 vs November 2006. The fiscal year to date figures [...]

Read the full post

Starting today Single Stream Recycling begins in the City of Erie. Everything can be places together in blue or clear plastic bags every week. Aerosol cans, styrofoam, pizza boxes and waxed cardboard such as milk cartons and laundry detergent boxes aren’t accepted but all other glass, plastic, paper and cardboard items can be included.
Maybe someday [...]

Read the full post

Good story in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review about the story of Joe Cavarretta of Erie, PA. His brother Thomas Cavarretta passed away from cancer at the early age of 45. Joe wanted to do something to honor the memory of his brother. He heard about the Center for Organ Recovery and Education (CORE) from a friend [...]

Read the full post

Residents of Boston might want to consider moving to Erie for the weather. Boston will end December with 8 more inches of snow than Erie. However, we’re due for lake effect snow on Wednesday and Thursday before temps rebound and the snow melts.
It’s going to be a couple days before the final figures are in [...]

Read the full post

Big oops at GE. WJET-TV reported that the weekly paychecks at GE were misplaced and employees there won’t be getting their Thursday pay until tonight and Monday. It’s hard to imagine in this day and age why someone would still want to get a paper check rather than getting direct deposit. I’d bet a whole [...]

Read the full post

Erie PA native Rear Admiral (Retired) Charles August Curtze passed away at age 96. He attended public schools in Erie then went to the Naval Academy Preparatory School. He then received an appointment to the US Naval Academy and was part of the Class of 1933. After assignments on the USS New Mexico and USS [...]

Read the full post

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ruled (press release) that employers may take Medicare benefits into account on voluntary health care to their retired workers. This was a response to a 2000 court decision in the case of Erie County Retirees Association v County of Erie. Erie County was spending more on workers under age 65 [...]

Read the full post

Five year old Michael Misko of Erie PA has Adams-Oliver syndrome, a rare genetic defect that caused his scalp and skull to not form properly. Michael has had surgery 38 times in his young life. He received a Christmas vacation in Florida from Give Kids The World (GKTW), a non-profit that creates magical memories for [...]

Read the full post

The Erie area will have a white Christmas. There’s snow on the grass and we’re due for another inch or so today. Enough to make it look seasonal, but nothing major.
Erie Blogger Kim Fabrizio was featured in today’s paper in the article Shining moments by David Bruce.
VisitErie is busily getting the next issue of the [...]

Read the full post

At the last Erie City Council meeting, council agreed to a resolution authorizing and directing officials to execute the Consent Assessment of Civil Penalty between the City of Erie, Erie Sewer Authority and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection with an agreement to pay $20,300 in fines for violations under Section 8 of the Air [...]

Read the full post

 
My favorite Christmas story this year has got to be what happened to the Erie Brewing Company. Erie Brewing makes seasonal beers. Their winter seasonal was to be called Red Ryder Big Beer. In either a great marketing ploy or because of a couple of trial lawyers, they changed the name. It’s called ‘Ol Red [...]

Read the full post

Parsimony is a ‘less is better’ concept of frugality, economy or caution in arriving at a course of action. Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio can’t grasp this concept. Somehow DiVecchio has taken the excellent idea of a community college and bastardized it into an incredibly expensive, complicated mess only a government bureaucrat can embrace.
DiVecchio’s idea [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Housing Authority held a public meeting yesterday on the proposed spending of $1,045,000 to install central air conditioning in over 1,300 public housing units. The authority will vote on their $3.7 million 2008 spending plan at their December 26 meeting. You can view their entire draft plan here.
Their excuse for spending $1,045,000 [...]

Read the full post

 
Toni and Guy HairDressing Academy had a bomb threat yesterday which shut down the school and a good chunk of downtown Erie. Of course police didn’t find anything. Triangle Tech had bomb threats on Nov 20 and again on Nov 21.
 
Advance America, the cash advance company, is closing all their Pennsylvania locations. In September, they [...]

Read the full post

The Department of Environmental Protection has ordered First Alliance Church in Millcreek Township, Erie County, to plug a recently drilled gas well on its property that is believed to be the source of migrating gas that has kept five area families out of their homes since Nov 20. The natural gas levels in and around [...]

Read the full post

The end of the World did not happen on Sunday. It simply snowed a bit. Areas of the City of Erie received less than an inch of snow. Strong winds were the main problem around town. Those winds did push the snow inland. Corry and Meadville received saw nearly a foot of snow. The roads [...]

Read the full post

State Correctional Institution at Albion superintendent Marilyn S Brooks was finally relieved of her duties Friday. Raymond Sobina, former superintendent at SCI-Forest, has been named acting superintendent of the medium security prison that houses 2,331 inmates. The announcement came from SCI-Albion spokesman Bob McCarthy. Past announcements has come from prison PIO (Public Information Officer) Melinda [...]

Read the full post

 
Rumors are flying that employees at Ameridrives in Erie on Pittsburgh Ave will receive layoff notices next week. The number rumored by company workers is a job cut of 18. The company has made no official announcement. Even workers at the New Braunfels, TX have heard the rumor there will be layoffs in Erie and [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Chytoria Graham was sentenced by Judge Rusty Cunningham to 5-10 years in prison for swinging her 4 week old baby like a baseball bat at her boyfriend, the father of 2 of her 5 children. The baby suffered a fractured skull and other injuries in the Oct 8 incident after Graham came home from a [...]

Read the full post

A huge water main break has shut down 12th Street at Downing Ave. If you’re going to GE, use East Lake Road or Buffalo Road.
 
The First Presbyterian Church in Benton, Arkansas recently installed an 1884 Jardine pipe organ. It took workers nearly a month to install. The organ has nearly 600 pipes with the tallest [...]

Read the full post

Federal Aviation Administration officials were satisfied that local matching funds of $25.7 million were available for the Erie International Airport Runway Extension Project. It appears that the FAA will be funding $47.7 million of the two phase project. The first phase would be an 920 foot runway extension to meet FAA safety standards. A second [...]

Read the full post

 
The Federal Aviation Administration today will meet with local government officials to discuss the Erie International Airport Runway Extension Project. U S Rep Phil English secured the meeting at the request of local officials. The FAA meeting will take place at 9 am in the Conference Room on the 2nd floor of the Erie Intermodal [...]

Read the full post

Erie City Council unanimously passed Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott’s proposed 2008 $57.1 million budget. A second reading is still required. All members of Erie City Council as well as Mayor Joe Sinnott are tax-and-spend liberal Democrats. Council ignored $335,500 in budget cuts recommended by their own accountant, Sean T Sullivan, CPA. Here are the recommended [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

The committee of the state Supreme Court Disciplinary Board recommended two years of probation for Erie attorney John Mizner. Mizner stole nearly $70,000 from his former law firm by jacking up his travel expenses. When he was questioned about it, he repaid the money and left the firm. His excuse was that he suffers from [...]

Read the full post

On August 12, Terri Rhodes, a member of the volleyball team at Mercyhurst College, gave birth to a baby girl. Rhodes gave birth in her apartment. The baby survived 10 minutes before Rhodes allegedly killed the baby. Her own baby. The baby died by suffocation – either by having something placed over her face or [...]

Read the full post

Under Pennsylvania State Senate Bill 1051, introduced by Earll, the board of the Erie Airport Authority would be made up of 11 members – 2 appointed by the Pennsylvania governor, 7 by the Erie County executive and only 2 by the City of Erie. The bill passed the senate by a voice vote. It must [...]

Read the full post

 
Artur Santos, a 3 year old boy, has Maple Syrup Urine Disease, a genetic disease most common in the Amish community. On Tuesday December 4, Artur will have leg surgery at the Shriner’s Hospital of Erie. He won’t be able to be on his feet again for the next 6 weeks.
The Santos family was a [...]

Read the full post

Out of 360 metropolitan areas that the US Census Bureau tracks, only 62 metropolitan areas increased housing construction in 2007. Erie PA was 20th highest in the nation ranked by the percentage change in the January through October total units permitted, with an increase of 40.1 percent. The increase in Erie is attributed to developers [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Regional Chamber and Growth Partnership published the Interim Report on Activity, Findings, and Recommendations prepared by the Mayoral Advisory Group. A group of 40 business and community leaders volunteered their busy lives to give advise to the city to improve finances and avoid Act 47, distressed city status. The ink wasn’t even dry [...]

Read the full post

 
The Best Places to Work in PA winners were announced and 3 Erie companies made the 2007 list for large size companies. Saint Vincent Health System was 5th, Stairways Behavioral Health was 16th and Hamot Medical Center was 48th. No area companies made the list in the medium size category. Registration for the 2008 nominations [...]

Read the full post

Questions are now being raised as to why Malcolm Kysor, who escaped from prison on Sunday and is still on the loose, was transferred from maximum security prisons to the State Correctional Institution at Albion, a medium security prison. Kysor was sentenced to life without parole for a 1981 murder in Erie County.
Wonder if they’re [...]

Read the full post

The management and public relations fiasco at the State Correctional Institution at Albion about the escape of Malcolm Kysor continues to get worse. Kysor, serving a life sentence for murder, is still on the loose. Charles Robertson called everyone (except me) about the, as he called it and I agree, incompetence at the prison. Robertson [...]

Read the full post

Malcolm Kysor of Erie, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence, remains on the loose after he escaped from State Correctional Institution at Albion around 2:30 pm on Sunday afternoon. The prison finally issued a press release just after 6 pm on Monday – a full day after the escape. The Pennsylvania State Police and [...]

Read the full post

Malcolm Kysor of Erie escaped from the State Correctional Institution at Albion. Kysor was serving a life sentence for murder. The morons at the prison found him missing at 4:30. Along with searching for an escaped murderer prison officials should also be searching for other jobs. The first mention that I saw was a news [...]

Read the full post

 
A few toys that were made in the Erie area sold recently on eBay. I know you’re thinking Marx toys from Louis Marx and Co but these pre-date that company. These were manufactured by Carter Toys. Carter Toys was located in Erie, Pa and operated from 1900-1920. They manufactured mostly tin toys, and were well [...]

Read the full post

 
Waitressing in an Erie diner was a necessity for Kathleen Valentine while she attended college at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College. Now, nearly forty years later, that experience is the background for her first novel The Old Mermaid’s Tale, released by Parlez-Moi Press. Set in the fictional town of Port Presque Isle, Pennsylvania in [...]

Read the full post

Black Friday in Erie, the beginning of the traditional Christmas shopping season. The day stores live for all year to finally make a profit. Pennsylvania has tax-free shopping on clothes and people flock to the area. Canadians by the bus load are here to take advantage of a favorable exchange rate as $1 Canadian gets [...]

Read the full post

Craig Sundberg and his wife Megan of Erie have just 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 [...]

Read the full post

Terry Sherlock was arrested on a murder charge in the shooting death of Kenneth Himrod. Himrod was under investigation for allegedly molesting Sherlock’s son. Before the shooting, Sherlock told both the Corry City Police and the state police in Corry that if they didn’t do something, he would. He did everything but rent a billboard [...]

Read the full post

Erie businessman Robert Dodsworth pleaded guilty to felony money laundering and conspiracy charges in a mortgage fraud scam. Sentencing is scheduled for March which could include up to a million dollars in fines and 25 years in prison. Companies that Dodsworth was associated with purchased low price homes, did minimal cosmetic repairs and fudged figures [...]

Read the full post

A couple of people in Harrisburg, perhaps trying to justify high salaried political patronage jobs, are cracking down on eBay consignment stores. If a business sell things for other people on eBay on consignment for a fee, they must have a Pennsylvania auctioneer license. The State Board of Auctioneer Examiners has begun notifying offenders of [...]

Read the full post

Irene and John “Jack” Bryant went hiking on October 20 planning to spend the weekend in Pisgah National Forest in Western North Carolina. A 911 call was attempted from their cell phone October 21. The two had been married for over 55 years. Irene Bryant, 84, was found dead on November 9. Jack Bryant is [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Judge John Trucilla might soon be looking up at the bench. A criminal complaint was filed against him for an incident that took place on Halloween. It’ll be interesting to see what happens but it sure sounds like he took the law into his own hands. He was looking for a kid that [...]

Read the full post

Michael of Buffalo blogged that he was on his way to work in Erie driving along on I-90 when he saw that someone had an accident with a deer and was hitting the deer in the head with a hammer. Hope that was to quickly end the suffering.
Today is Women in Engineering Day at Penn [...]

Read the full post

The City of Erie had a budget deficit of $1.3 million in 2006. That’s according to the draft of the audit done by the regional CPA firm of McGill, Power, Bell and Associates. One of the requirements to have Erie declared a distressed city under Act 47, the Distressed Municipalities Financial Recovery Act, is five [...]

Read the full post

 
According to The Tax Foundation in their 2006 report on Property Taxes on Owner Occupied Housing by County, Erie County Pennsylvania has the 55th highest property taxes in the nation out of 783 counties (or parishes). That will change next year as the following four member of Erie County Council voted to raise your taxes: [...]

Read the full post

The 5th floor of Erie City Hall should love hearing this one. An elected member of Erie City Council emailed me and pointed out with the low voter turnout in last Tuesday’s election, the number of signatures needed to hold a hearing to determine if Erie should be declared a distressed city under Act 47, [...]

Read the full post

Someone call Meadow Brook Dairy and have justice placed on the side of milk cartons.
The preliminary hearing for Teri Rhodes was scheduled for Nov 7 in front of District Judge Joseph LeFaiver at the Erie County Courthouse. Why didn’t it take place?
Teri Rhodes gave birth on August 12. The baby only survived 10 minutes before [...]

Read the full post

Today is Veteran’s Day. The fighting in World War I ended in 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Thank a Vet for the freedoms you enjoy.
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns game today at 1 pm will not be televised locally. Unless you have the NFL Sunday Ticket, [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

The Greater Erie Board of Realtors reported the Erie County real
estate sales for October 2007. Sales were in line with the previous
year. The data includes all sales in which a property transfer tax was paid including residential, investment and commercial properties as well as land. In October 2007, there were 437 sales for $50,540,472 vs [...]

Read the full post

Erie City Council held their biweekly meeting last evening. They might have well just stayed home because they got nothing accomplished. They are expected to make decisions. They can’t grasp the concept. Organized activity to accomplish an objective: Action. Learn it. Live it. They afraid about making decisions? Cripe, they re-elected anyway.
Item 1: The Erie [...]

Read the full post

Traffic note: Peninsula Dr is now closed between 12th and 26th due to a fire at 18th and Hilborn Ave. Peninsula Dr is not expected to reopen before this afternoon.
Heavy, wet snow shut down I-90, I-79, I-86 and parts of Route 20. Trees and limbs fell. Penelec crews had around 250 power outages to repair. [...]

Read the full post

Get out and vote today. Poll are open 7 am to 8 pm. Here is the Erie County 2007 Municipal Candidate List. Turnout is expected to be around 25 percent of eligible voters. Internet voting, voting by mail and changing the day of the week would dramatically increase the turnout. It also doesn’t help that [...]

Read the full post

On this date, November 5 1857, journalist Ida M Tarbell was born in Hatch Hollow, near Wattsburg, in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Tarbell graduated with honors from Titusville High School and went on to graduate from Allegheny College in Meadville with a degree in biology. She is best-known for her 1904 book, The History of the [...]

Read the full post

A state grand jury is investigating former state Representative Linda Bebko-Jones and her staff for fraudulent nominating petition signatures. This is more than likely going to lead to criminal charges. Bebko-Jones quit her re-election campaign for an 8th term when she said she would not defend a petition challenge. A Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article by Dennis [...]

Read the full post

Allegheny College issued a press release Thursday that will most likely insure that the college will never, ever, ever, ever, host any major political candidates. On Monday, Allegheny College President Richard Cook, Professor of Political Science Daniel Shea, and Center for Political Participation student fellows will host a news conference to announce ‘a national democracy-strengthening [...]

Read the full post

Contract ratification votes were held for two unions representing Erie County workers. The AFSCME union for clerical and technical employees accepted their contract. The AFSCME union for ‘professional’ employees reject their offer and authorized a strike. Both contract offers offered 3 percent raises for the first 3 years plus a $1 and 3.2 percent raise [...]

Read the full post

Unless you want to pay $25 to read “Carbon nanotube-enhanced thermal destruction of cancer cells in a noninvasive radiofrequency field” that was published online on Oct 24, wait till the December issue of Cancer in sitting on a table in a doctors waiting room. Here’s the basic info from the article. This is the first [...]

Read the full post

Way to go Phil! Ensuring public dollars support American families not an addiction is the goal of legislation recently introduced by U S Rep Phil English (R-Pa). HR 3656 would require states to administer drug tests for welfare recipients if the state has substantial evidence that an individual welfare beneficiary is abusing controlled substances. “My [...]

Read the full post

Erie Central Tech High School has been declared a “dropout factory” by researchers at Johns Hopkins University as less than 60 percent of their incoming freshmen make it to graduation. That’s less than 6 in 10 for those of you that are dropouts.
Erie School District Superintendent James Barker had his contract extended for 5 years [...]

Read the full post

 
Ethan Fuhrman’s Cider Mill and Bakery on East Gore Rd in Belle Valley burned down to the ground. The 111 year old company is (was?) best known for their apple cider. They also produced Concord grape juice, apple-grape, cherry flavored cider, and hot mulled-cider. Their “from scratch” bakery had soft German pretzels, cookies and trays, [...]

Read the full post

 
Vote For Hal! 
Zabaware’s Ultra Hal software won the “most human” computer of the year in the 17th annual Loebner Prize Competition for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Loebner Prize is an annual competition where software programs attempt to convince human judges that they are actually people. The format of the competition is called a Turing Test. [...]

Read the full post

A teenage coed athlete at a Catholic college has a baby in her dorm room and kills the baby soon after it’s born and places it a plastic bag. I’m not talking about the case of 18 year old Teri Rhodes, the Mercyhurst College volleyball player that suffocated her baby, Jane Doe Rhodes, back on [...]

Read the full post

 
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 [...]

Read the full post

 
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 [...]

Read the full post

 
Great news for a local company and area high tech job growth. Zabaware’s Ultra Hal software won the “most human” computer of the year in the 17th annual Loebner Prize Competition for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The contest was held in New York City hosted by philanthropist Hugh Loebner. The Loebner Prize is an annual competition [...]

Read the full post

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) is a contagious infection that is resistant to many antibiotics. Pennsylvania doesn’t even require health care centers to disclose the number of patients that have MRSA. About 30 percent of Americans have staph bacteria living on them, including about 1 percent with MRSA, but they have no infection symptoms. MRSA [...]

Read the full post

 
Two poor dogs abandoned in a mobile home in Wesleyville were rescued by police and officials with Because You Care. Neighbors said they left there alone for a week.The ‘person’ living there was either facing eviction or foreclosure and had moved away. Nice job by WJET-TV for shedding some light on the story and throwing [...]

Read the full post

Someone needs to fill the Sheriff Andy Taylor role if Erie County Executive Mark DiVecchio is going to play Barney Fife and shoot himself in the foot or rear every week. Take the bullets out his gun already and just let him keep one in his pocket. Just a few days ago, after a public [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

Oops. Erie City Council and Erie County Council agreed on a swap of $2 million and the Millcreek Golf and Learning Center property for the Erie Golf Course so Erie Airport can move ahead on a runway expansion project. They forgot one little detail – Millcreek Township. No Millcreek Township officials were at the meeting [...]

Read the full post

I don’t really agree with it, but I have to give then credit for being creative. Seems like the Erie County Council and Erie City Council have reached a deal to fund the Erie Airport runway expansion project. The county will contribute at least $18 million toward the project in exchange for appointing 4 of [...]

Read the full post

Rev Theodore Jurewicz is assistant pastor at The Church of the Nativity of Christ is a Russian Orthodox (Old Rite). That’s the beautiful golden topped church on the bayfront. Rev Jurewicz is also a master iconographer, doing paintings of biblical scenes. He is currently working on the St Stephen Serbian Orthodox Church at 177 Weber [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Times-News published their endorsements for Erie County Council and Erie City Council. I know we don’t have much of a choice in whom we elect given the people running. (It’s like having to choose how to die. Would you rather be shot or poisoned?) I loved the ringing endorsement they gave to Pat [...]

Read the full post

Emmanuel was not born in Erie. He was born in a small village in Cameroon, in West Africa. His parents were poor, hardworking and uneducated, in the school sense. For that reason they wanted to be sure their children were educated and educated well. They wanted more for their kids than working on a farm [...]

Read the full post

Erie International Airport officials asked Erie County Council for $18 million for the runway expansion project. The airport is owned by the City of Erie. County council wants the Erie Municipal Airport Authority board expanded to 9 members with 4 appointed by the county. Erie City Council hinted around that they might agree to 3 [...]

Read the full post

 
GoErie.com has apparently dropped their registration requirement. Smart move. Along with not having to give them personal information, you will be able to email links and search engines will be able to index the entire site. I expect the site to see a dramatic increase in visitors – maybe 50 percent more. Advertisers will get [...]

Read the full post

The trial of Chytoria Graham started yesterday. You could say it’s in full swing. Graham was arrested on October 8 for using her 4 week old baby as a weapon like a baseball bat to hit her boyfriend. She has previously entered a guilty plea on aggravated assault and endangering the welfare charges but was [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Office of Children and Youth union members will be back on the job today. They agreed to return to work for the next two weeks while contract talks continue. Not getting paid and losing health care benefits helped. The county had filed an injunction to force them back to their desks and Judge [...]

Read the full post

Members of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, volunteer searchers, rescue teams and others in the hikers responded to two lost hikers in the trails of Mount Lafayette in Franconia, NH. Four members of the Schwegman family of Erie, Pa, were hiking the trails on Saturday afternoon. Mother and daughter returned but the guys, [...]

Read the full post

The Erie Community Foundation has received an anonymous donation of $100 million. Yes, $100,000,000. It is believed to be the largest anonymous charitable donation EVER. Much of the money, $85 million, will go 46 nonprofits in the Erie area. A big reason why Erie nonprofits are so successful is the Erie Community Foundation. The foundation [...]

Read the full post

Erie County Office of Children and Youth employees went on strike yesterday. They had been offered a 4 year contract that called for raises of 3 percent for the first 3 years and 3.2 percent in the final year. The county filed an injunction to make the employees at the Edmund L Thomas Detention Center [...]

Read the full post

Wesley Urch was charged with involuntary manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and 9 other charges for intentionally running down Terri Peoples and Stephan Caldwell on Sunday. Caldwell died and Peoples is in serious condition at Hamot. All three were drinking at a club on Sunday. Peoples and Caldwell were close to Urch’s truck, too close for Urch. [...]

Read the full post

Teri Rhodes gave birth in her Mercyhurst College apartment on Sunday. The baby was born alive. Rhodes murdered her baby minutes later by suffocating the unfortunate child. Police found the baby in a plastic bag. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook declared the death a homicide. Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk has not yet filed [...]

Read the full post

Mercyhurst sophomore Teri Rhodes gave birth in her campus apartment. Police found the baby dead and in a plastic bag. An autopsy was performed to see if the baby was alive at birth or if she had a miscarriage. There are many more questions than answers at this point.
Pennsylvania Housing and Redevelopment Assistance funding grants [...]

Read the full post

US Rep Betty McCollum (D-Minn) has introduced a bill which would “reduce and prevent the sale and use of fraudulent degrees in order to protect the integrity of valid higher education degrees that are used for federal purposes,” ie putting a halt to diploma mills. The University of Berkley, a diploma mill operating in Erie, [...]

Read the full post

Windy M DeLeon of Erie was charged with stealing $22,000 from the Kwik Fill gas station and convenience store where she worked and gambling the money away at Presque Isle Downs and Casino. DeLeon was to have made 16 bank deposits with the money.
 
Congratulations to Tammy and Matt who were married yesterday.
Pic by Rachel. She [...]

Read the full post

 
Roar on the Shore kicked off yesterday in spectacular fashion with over 2,000 motorcycles parading through the city. The event continues today beginning at 9 am at Liberty Park. Bands will be performing all day at the Pepsi Amphitheatre. Entry fee is $5. All proceeds from Roar on the Shore support the John Kanzius Cancer [...]

Read the full post

 
“Roar on the Shore” kicks off today with registration for the Bringing in the Roar bike parade at 3 pm at Presque Isle Downs and Casino, located off Interstate 90 Exit 27 in Summit Township. The cost to ride is $5. All proceeds from Roar on the Shore support the John Kanzius Cancer Research Fund. [...]

Read the full post

 
Shares of Erie Indemnity Company (ERIE), Erie Insurance, yesterday skyrocketed $2.82 to 59.40, a jump of 5 percent. On Friday July 27 the stock closed at 50.96. The company now is worth $3.75 billion.
 
The Northwest Regional Planning and Development Commission is sponsoring meetings with18 overseas trade representatives September 12-13 in Erie. One-on-one appointments on September [...]

Read the full post

 
Port Erie Boat Works has been sold as their web site says to “an elite group of boat builders and investors.” The company manufactures catamarans and is located at 2567 W 20th St. The company had been one of the fastest growing companies around. I hope they stay in Erie and keep adding to their [...]

Read the full post

In Erie County last year there was just under 650 foreclosures. The latest figure I heard for Erie County and Northwest PA in 2007 is over 1,400 foreclosures. Yipes. Get help before it happens. Call your lender. Refinance through another lender. Take action. Do something. The National Association of REALTORS has a brochure in pfd [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

A 21 year old inmate at the Erie County Prison hanged himself with a bed sheet. He was being held on two indecent assault charges.
 
Presque Isle Downs and Casino is sure making a splash with their first thoroughbred racing meet. The average daily purse will be $432,400 a day. That will be the second highest [...]

Read the full post

Gene ‘Tom’ Robarts tonight will be celebrating the class reunion of Erie Strong Vincent High School Class of 1962. He won’t be there in person. Robarts has ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He’ll be joining his friends from over 1,000 miles away near Tampa Florida via a web cam.
The Great Erie County Board of Realtors [...]

Read the full post

Alcoa is the World’s largest aluminum company. The company’s first major success was an order from a company in Erie, PA. The shape and weight-related benefits of a teakettle was one of the first products made with Alcoa aluminum in 1895, when Arthur Vining Davis created the piece of cookware to display a new [...]

Read the full post

Erie Insurance announced strong financial results for the second quarter 2007. The Company also announced that Jeffrey A Ludrof, president and chief executive officer, will be leaving the Company and the board of directors for personal reasons (he has Hodgkin’s disease. Ed. note: Ludrof is quoted as saying he is in good health) and that [...]

Read the full post

 
The Erie Bayfront Convention Center opens today. Rooms for conventions, weddings, banquets, meetings, exhibits and classes range from space for 52 to 1920 people with theater style seating for up to 4114. It will be open for public tours 12-6 pm August 17 – 19.
 
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine has purchased the Erie [...]

Read the full post

The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Erie County for June fell to 4.4 percent. It stood at 4.6 percent in May. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for June 2006 was 5.3 percent.
To ensure Interstate 80 remains a free highway, U.S. Reps. Phil English (R-Erie) and John Peterson (R-Pleasantville) touted the Free Highway Protection Act, legislation [...]

Read the full post

A truck overturned around 2 am on I-90 east-bound near Girard. The driver was not seriously hurt. Traffic, which is backed up, is being detoured onto Route 20.
Discover Presque Isle raised nearly $117,000, up about 8 percent from last year. Attendance at the 3 day festival was an estimated 140,000 people. The Presque Isle Partnership [...]

Read the full post

Ken Brundage has been named the new director of Gannon University’s Nash Library. Brundage will officially join the Gannon Community on Aug. 6. He will be responsible for managing the library’s day-to-day operations, as well as enhancing its future resources and technology. He has had extensive experience as the director of libraries at Mercyhurst College, [...]

Read the full post

Six month old Devlin Peters died in a fire in Columbus, just outside of Corry, PA. Your heart just has to ache for the family. As soon as the 911 call was made neighbors and construction workers doing a project at nearby Columbus Elementary School tried to save the child by using garden hoses and [...]

Read the full post

Three stupid teenage boys are luck to be alive after playing in the waters of Mill Creek at the entrance of the Mill Creek Tube. The Mill Creek Tube is a nearly 3 mile concrete pipe that carries the waters of the creek under the city streets to Presque Isle Bay. One boy was rescued [...]

Read the full post

Former McDowell Intermediate High School Principal Thomas J Maciulewicz Jr was sentenced to 2 to 23 months in prison for stealing district owned synthesizers, two Apple Macintosh G4 laptop computers, an elliptical exercise machine, a LCD projector, a 17 inch computer monitor, and several used musical instruments. He also used a district credit card to [...]

Read the full post

The family of Greg Jacobs is claiming that his organs were harvested before he died. Jacobs had a snowboarding accident at Peek ‘N Peak on March 13 and had severe head trauma. It sounds like a clerical error, but the time of death was written down nearly a half hour after his organs were removed. [...]

Read the full post

The last time I wrote about Keeping Erie’s Environment Protected (KEEP). I received harassing phone calls and home and work, and a harassing email. The group is opposed to the Erie Renewable Energy proposed tire to energy plant. They held a meeting at the library which was attended by around 100 people. They would have [...]

Read the full post

Today is the start of Erie Blogs Week at the Community Blood Bank. Please donate if you can. One random donor who goes to the Community Blood Bank this week and uses the Erie Blogs Week sign up sheet will be entered to win a prize basket full of awesome stuff, including wine, Campbell pottery, [...]

Read the full post

Here are the bands that are eligible to play Celebrate Erie for the RockErie Music Awards based on voting as of Friday. Voting for the awards continues until August 19th at midnight. Bands will play from 3-10 pm on Friday, 8/17 and Saturday 8/18 and 2-9 pm on Sunday 8/19, 20 minute sets with a [...]

Read the full post

 
Elizabeth Hirt Vorsheck has been named as a new individual trustee of the H O Hirt Trusts. In her role as trustee of the H O Hirt Trusts, Mrs Vorsheck replaces her father, F William Hirt, who died Friday, July 13. According to the Trust Agreement the remaining trustees, Susan Hirt Hagen and Sentinel Trust [...]

Read the full post

Attorney John Mizner yesterday had a meeting with the committee of the state Supreme Court Disciplinary Board. Mizner stole nearly $70,000 from his former law firm. He jacked up his travel expenses. When he was questioned about it, he repaid the money and left the firm. His excuse was that he suffers from obsessive-compulsive [...]

Read the full post

No wonder Brian Wells was named an unindicted co-conspirator in the bank robbery that led to his death. Court documents unsealed on Wednesday said that Wells had his neck measured for the collar bomb placed around his neck. Excellent job by reporters at the ETN including Ed Palattella that must had had to dig through [...]

Read the full post

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 [...]

Read the full post

The Pennsylvania House and Senate approved a $27.2 billion budget, a 4.4 percent increase from last year. The Pennsylvania Senate stuck to their guns and defeated 7 tax increases proposed by Governor Rendell while the state had a $650 million surplus.
 
The 1933 Barbara Stanwyck film “Baby Face,” whose racy content inspired the Hays Production Code [...]

Read the full post

 
Erie Mayor Joe Sinnott announced he has hired Laura Schaaf to be his top assistant. Schaaf has spent her career working in the education field. She has bachelor’s and master’s from St Bonaventure University, certification from Ohio State University and a principal certification from Gannon University.
Smart, educated and a leader but with no background working [...]

Read the full post

 
William “Bill” Hirt, board chairman of the Erie Indemnity Company and retired president and chief executive officer of Erie Insurance, passed away on July 13, 2007, at the age of 82. During his tenure as CEO (1976-1990), Erie Insurance grew 15 times in assets and nine times in premiums, making it larger than 99 percent [...]

Read the full post

Delta Air Lines is leaving Erie in September, after just one year in the Erie market with their Atlanta route. They dropped the Erie to Cincinnati route in November and only had the Erie to Atlanta route left. Around 15 employees will be transferred or laid-off. Erie International Airport will lose about $60,000 in annual [...]

Read the full post

Sex and drugs and murder. Stephen King couldn’t come up with anything this bizarre and twisted.
U S Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan held a riveting press conference yesterday afternoon announcing the federal indictment was handed down. Brian Wells, the pizza deliveryman killed in the collar bomb explosion, was named as a co-conspirator along with Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong [...]

Read the full post

A 1:30 pm press conference is scheduled so that U S Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan can announce indictments of Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong and Ken Barnes in the kidnapping of pizza deliveryman Brian Wells. Expect to hear something about Wells himself being involved somehow. This could be very interesting.
On August 28 2003, pizza delivery man Brian Douglas [...]

Read the full post

Governor Rendell played chicken and lost. Rendell and the Pennsylvania Senate reached a budget agreement last evening. The main sticking point was Governor Rendell’s energy plan which called for a tax increase on electricity use. Pennsylvania taxpayers are fed up and Rendell needs to be reigned in. Senate Republicans opposed the tax increase. Furloughs were [...]

Read the full post

 
Presque Isle State Park is closed today – on a day where temperatures are expected to approach 90 degrees. And forget about visiting the Erie Maritime Museum and US Brig Niagara. Governor Ed Rendell furloughed around 24,000 “non-essential” state employees at 12:01 am when he failed to get a budget passed. The casinos around the [...]

Read the full post

Presque Isle State Park, the Erie Maritime Museum and US Brig. Niagara, and Presque Isle Downs and Casino could be closed indefinitely beginning on Monday because the state budget is not in place. Around 1,000 people in Erie County and nearly 25,000 ‘non-essential’ workers throughout the state could be laid off. State Police, liquor store, [...]

Read the full post

James J Jackson, who slashed the face of a 15 month baby girl when he tried to stab Marcus Gray, turned himself in to Erie Police on Friday. Jackson must have been in a hurry to go to jail because he didn’t bother to put a shirt on. Marcus Gray was in the backseat of [...]

Read the full post

Erie Police are searching for James J Jackson of Erie for stabbing a 16 month old in the face with a knife. Marcus Gray was in the backseat of Amanda Wiseman’s car when he saw Jackson who Grey said robbed his apartment. Words were exchanged and Jackson attempted to stab Grey but missed and sliced [...]

Read the full post

 
“Boom Over the Bay” has a huge success if the number of people watching was any indication. Presque Isle State Park was packed, Liberty Park was a great crowd, there were a ton on boats on Presque Isle Bay and a ton of people watched from the bluffs. This was the first time in many [...]

Read the full post

The remains of Technical Sergeant Richard R Sargent of North Girard PA (present day Lake City, PA) were returned home after 63 years. Sargent had been missing in action since his B-24 Liberator named “Here T’is” went down in New Guinea on April 16, 1944. Sargent will be buried Saturday with full military honors in [...]

Read the full post

If you go to Edinboro, go to class. Faculty will not be striking. The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties announced a tentative agreement has been reached on a new 4 year contract. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education posted the news on their site last last night.
 

I know some strange facts [...]

Read the full post

 
AT&T, the largest US telephone company, has agreed to buy Dobson Communications for about $2.8 billion in cash, acquiring the Cellular One brand. Your Cellular One bill should say AT&T by the end of the year. This should be good news if you plan on getting an iPhone.
 
Developers Diversified (NYSE: DDR) announced they are selling [...]

Read the full post

Little Italy, Liberty and Sassafras Streets from West 16 to West 19, is the target area for a revitalization effort. Housing and Neighborhood Development Service (HANDS), the Erie Redevelopment Authority, the Sisters of St. Joseph Neighborhood Network and the City of Erie are working on plans for the area. Poggemeyer Design Group was hired to [...]

Read the full post