New babies at Erie Zoo!!

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Agosta sets Olympic record

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No more snow?

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Murder, snow, basketball, table games, building collapse, donating blood, gas prices, cell phone ban, fund raising, Otter hockey…

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Still shopping for gifts? We have ideas.

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In case you missed it yesterday, the Peach Street Wegmans is now selling take-out beer. The west side location should follow suit in the next few days. It’s cool because sometimes you don’t want a whole case of beer, you want a few, or maybe you want to try something new. Sure, there are a [...]

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Marjorie Diehl-Armstrong has been found competent to stand trial.  Officials in Texas where Diehl is being held in prison have cleared Diehl as competent and will return her to Pennsylvania where Judge Sean McLaughlin will hold a hearing to make a final decision as to her competency to stand trial.
Edinboro University hasn’t publicly released it [...]

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And we have snow… and lot’s of it.  Be careful and plan ahead before you travel.
Police are still trying to identify the remains of a man beleived to be behind this past Tuesday’s shooting near Brown Ave and 25th Street. Although police are confident the body is that of 42-year-old Robert Daniels, a DNA [...]

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The big news yesterday was the early morning manhunt in Erie around the 26th Street and Brown Avenue area.   Police responded to a call around 4 a.m. only to be confronted with gun shots and a home set on fire.  Robert Daniels, 42, is suspected in causing the mayhem.  Daniels’ remains were found in the [...]

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The weather is pretty much the big story of the week.
The southbound lanes of Interstate 79 was closed for several hours yesterday due to an accident. How surprised were you it wasn’t I-90 this time?  Not too much we’d guess, as portions of I-90 from the Pennsylvania border well into New York were closed due [...]

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Congresswoman-elect Kathy Dahlkemper at a press conference held at her future office at the Intermodal Transportation Center Rotunda located on the East Bayfront Parkway, announced  plans to provide consitutuent services across the district.  Although the main office will be located in Erie at the Intermodal Transportation Center, a regional representative will travel and set up [...]

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Three days until Thanksgiving.  We can practically taste the stuffing.
Please be sure to follow the odd/even regulations regarding parking in the City of Erie. People not following those rules have made it difficult for city crews to get all the side streets plowed.
The owners of Molly Brannigans are due in court in South Bend, Indiana. [...]

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In an extremely unfortunate accident, 88-year-old thoroughbred trainer John Wilson was killed at Presque Isle Downs and Casino when a horse he was tending to reared up and kicked him in the head. He was taken by ambulance to Hamot Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on Saturday night.
Cara Milani, who was injured [...]

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It was bound to happen sooner or later. Thomas Brletic of the Gaming Control Board’s Bureau of Investigations and Enforcement, has testified before a grand jury proceeding yesterday that is largely being kept secret. The investigation is focusing primarily on former state House Democratic Whip Mike Veon and back room deals with casinos [...]

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MTR Gaming Group alluded that a major announcement may come during its October 31st conference call when it reports third-quarter results next month. Specifically, it was mentioned that the status of work by the board’s Succession Committee would be reported. Chief Executive Officer Ted Arneault has indicated he could step down at year’s [...]

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Today’s blog post is our 1,400th here at ErieBlogs.com. Yay! Thank you so much for reading and for blogging. You keep us motivated, informed, and entertained.
Erie Blogger Eden was featured in a BoingBoing blog post yesterday. She is suing Universal after they took down a YouTube video she posted featuring her son dancing while a [...]

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While many of us were celebrating the 4th of July with family and friends, the Pennsylvania general assembly was gathered for a final vote on the state budget. The budget was passed by both houses with all of the Erie representatives and senators voting to approve the budget. Highlights of the budget include [...]

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

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

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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 [...]

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The deal in which Teri Rhodes was expected to plead guilty on Friday hit a delay and was postponed. Everyone was in court but left without anything being accomplished. Nobody is talking. Rhodes gave birth in her Mercyhurst College apartment on August 12. The baby lived 10 minutes before the newborn girl was suffocated to [...]

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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 [...]

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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). [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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, [...]

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Paul “The Pittsburgh Kid” Spadafora was arrested AGAIN for violating a PFA order. Police found him with Nadine Russo who has a PFA against him. He was arrested last summer for violating the same order. Spadafora served 13 months in jail for shooting Russo. He has a professional boxing record of 41-0-1 and would be [...]

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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 [...]

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

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

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

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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: [...]

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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, [...]

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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 [...]

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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, [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Today is the 6th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Never forget. Hijacked planes hit the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Another plane crashed at Shanksville, PA when passengers and crew fought back.
A Freedom Walk will be held this morning at Wesleyville Memorial Park. Registration begins at 8 pm with the walk starting at [...]

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The Greater Erie Board of Realtors reported the latest monthly real estate sales figures for Erie County in which a transfer tax was paid. For the period of August 1-31, 2007 there were 553 properties sold for $67,275,094 which compares to the same period in 2006 in which 566 properties changed hands for $73,272,981. Figures [...]

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Scott Enterprises has obtained $81 million as they mortgaged 10 properties. They will use $6 million to expand Splash Lagoon Indoor Water Park. I think this will be the third expansion of the park that draws huge numbers of people. In a very smart move they will use $49 million to refi existing debt. A [...]

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Today is the final day of the season at Waldameer Amusement Park and Water World. Good weather means good crowds and Erie has had good Summer weather. Construction work continues on the Ravine Flyer II, a wooden and steel roller coaster. The coaster will traverse Peninsula Drive (State Route 832). The ride will open in [...]

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The Detroit News reported that Teri Rhodes withdrew from school and has returned to her Michigan home. Rhodes, the Mercyhurst College student whose baby died minutes after giving birth, still hasn’t been charged with a crime by Erie County District Attorney Brad Foulk. Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook declared the death a homicide. Cook said [...]

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Presque Isle Downs and Casino opens their thoroughbred racetrack today. The 25 day meets starts with the $100,000 Inaugural Stakes for 3 year old fillies. Post time is 5:30 pm. Here’s the program for today. The average daily purse will be $432,400 a day. That will be the second highest in the country with only [...]

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Port Erie Boat Works has gone out of business. Just recently their web site stated that “Port Erie Boat Works has been sold to an elite group of boat builders and investors.” Now it says they’re gone.
 
The Erie International Airport received a $5.1 million check from the FAA to acquire a few homes for the [...]

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When going to court to be sentenced for a crime you committed, don’t go drunk. Larry Peace had his sentencing postponed yesterday when he showed up drunk. Judge Rusty Cunningham held him in contempt of court and threw him in jail. Peace faces up to 10 years in prison and a up to a $10,000 [...]

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A number of people who work at the Erie County Office of Children and Youth (OCY) attended last nights Erie County Council meeting. They complained that they are short workers saying that there are 41 case workers and 16 job openings for case workers. WTF? How did it get to the point where a [...]

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Thou shall not mess with Erie Insurance. ERIE didn’t become a $3.75 billion company by paying out claims and if they think they paid out a false claim – watch out. It doesn’t matter who you are. A federal grand jury indicted Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael Joyce on mail fraud and money laundering. Joyce [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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. [...]

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

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Workers are putting the finishing touches on the Erie Bayfront Convention Center. It’s scheduled to open in two weeks. 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.
 
Elisabeth Baldanza was crowned Miss New York. Baldanza, from Oneonta NY, is [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Kim Berdis is a genius. Erie City Council voted unanimously for the idea of a skate park. The organizational skills and determination by Berdis is why a skate park will be built. And to think this in the same city that cited Tony Hawk for skateboarding. Congrats to Kim and the entire Skate Erie group. [...]

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The ponytail wearing environmentalist hippies held a misrepresentational information meeting on the Erie Renewable Energy proposed tire to energy plant. They would have you believe the plant will cause everything from cancer to autism to children not wanting to do their homework. Energy Products of Idaho, the company that will design the plant in Erie, [...]

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Jenna Walker and Maggie Kovski died tragically when they drowned in a pond. I thought it was heartless that police were investigating the babysitter. I thought they should just put the poor 19 year old babysitter on suicide watch. I was wrong. Police charged Brittany Steward with two counts each of involuntary manslaughter, endangering the [...]

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Just a rumor but there is talk of a hotel and golf course being added at Presque Isle Downs and Casino.
 
Still looking for house plants or flowers for your yard? The Dr Gertrude A Barber National Institute Greenhouse offers plants and flowers available for sale year round, including seasonal items such as an array of [...]

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The Pittsburgh Business Times put out their list of the best performing of the state’s 500 public school districts. They ranked every district in the state based on three years of PSSA (Pennsylvania System of Student Assessment) test scores. Here are the Erie County district rankings:
36 Fairview School District, 80 General McLane School District, 104 [...]

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The pedestrian bridge linking West Dobbins Landing and the Sassafras Street Pier was lifted into place yesterday. The climate controlled walkway will link the Erie Bayfront Convention Center with the parking garage. The Erie Bayfront Convention Center is now booking events for the Summer of 2007 and beyond. Rooms for weddings, banquets, meetings, exhibits and [...]

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Dan Galena filed suit in United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania against the 7 members of Erie County Council saying council violated county rules, the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and Galena’s First Amendment rights. Council thinks they are above the law and run the county like their own kingdom. Galena called them [...]

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Valerie Cantu, a former Gannon student, was arrested for making terroristic threats. Cantu called a current Gannon student and told her not to go to classes because there was going to be a massacre. Erie Police were notified of the threat. They called the FBI. The anonymous called was easily traced. Police called Cantu [...]

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After winter storms pummel the beaches and bring debris, your help is needed to get the beaches ready for summer. The 51st Annual Spring Clean Up at Presque Isle State Park is today from 9 am to 1 pm. Volunteers for the day will receive a commemorative patch, lunch, and a chance at some great [...]

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Edinboro University of Pennsylvania faculty yesterday held a protest march on campus. The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF) union contract for the 14 state schools expires on June 30. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education gave the union a 3.3 percent pay raise for the last contract.
 
Presque Isle Downs and [...]

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Bethlehem Council President J Michael Schweder put a resolution on the council agenda requiring half the casino host fee go toward providing real estate tax relief to property owners. Giving tax money back to the taxpayers – a novel approach. Las Vegas Sands is building the casino on the former Bethlehem Steel property. The casino [...]

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A downed power line caused a fire at Auto Express on Wattsburg Road. The line went down on top of a row of used vehicles. One caught on fire and high winds pushed the flames and gasoline to the others. Firefighters had to wait till Penelec turned off the juice before the could put out [...]

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For the month of March, wagers at Presque Isle Downs and Casino totaled $206,071,163.08. Payouts were $186,914,595.44. Erie County will received about $10 million a year in taxes from the racino. A public hearing was held yesterday to figure out how to spend the windfall. The money will be put into 2 accounts – one [...]

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Bishop Michael J Murphy, the former bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie passed away on Tuesday. He was 91. He became head of the Erie Diocese in 1978 succeeded retiring Bishop Alfred M Watson. Murphy served as Erie’s Catholic bishop until his retirement in July 1990.
 
Erie Cathedral Prep has a press conference scheduled [...]

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Bill Sesler, the Erie attorney and developer, announced he has given up on taking over the Parade Street grocery store project. Can’t blame him. Invest Erie Community Development Corporation filed a law suit against the city because the city wouldn’t sell them the land. The city says Invest Erie doesn’t have the financing to get [...]

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A court hearing was held yesterday concerning the Erie Golf Course. The hearing will continue in April. The city wants to sell the property while the Lake Erie Region Conservancy, the Keep Erie Golf Course Open Committee which is headed by former councilman Jim Casey, and Jim Casella, the former assistant city public works director, [...]

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

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I talked to someone at Presque Isle Downs and Casino that said 8-9 out of town buses have scheduled trips to Erie but out local bus company, the EMTA (Erie Metropolitan Transit Authority) still hasn’t made a decision on providing service. Has anyone told them the place is open and employs 700 people that might [...]

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Presque Isle Downs and Casino is crushing the projections of the handle they said they would do. On Saturday, the slots parlor took in $13.6 million in wagers and paid out $12.4 million. Presque Isle Downs is located at Exit 27 (Route 97) of Interstate 90. It’s open from 9 am to 4 am daily. [...]

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The numbers for the opening day of Presque Isle Downs and Casino were staggering. I think company officials were even a bit stunned at how well they did. Here are the unofficial, unaudited figures from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. The amount wagered was $8,881,234. The amount paid out as winnings was $8,068,267 for a [...]

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Presque Isle Downs and Casino opened yesterday to huge crowds. They estimated that 10,000 visited on opening day. I think that number is being very conservative. I think it was closer to 15,000. It seemed that about 60 percent of the cars in the lot had Pennsylvania tags. There were a ton of people from [...]

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The Erie PA casino will open today at 9 am. Presque Isle Downs and Casino will be opening, including 2,000 slot machines, following receipt of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s final approval to open the facility. Situated on a 272-acre site, approximately 58.4 acres of which are dedicated to the public as open space, Presque [...]

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

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Presque Isle Downs and Casino opened for the first time for the first of two days of mandatory state testing of the 2,000 slot machines. It was invitation only for people that had donated to the United Way of Erie County. A second day of testing will be held on Monday. Since Presque Isle Downs [...]

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There was a shooting in North East PA last evening shortly after 11 pm. A North East Police officer responding to a domestic dispute shot a man in the left side of the chest. The man is in Hamot in critical condition. Pennsylvania State Police took over the investigation because it was an officer involved [...]

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James Skindell has resigned as head of security as Presque Isle Downs. Cripe, he didn’t even make it to opening day. No reason was given and I haven’t even heard a rumor as to why he quit. Presque Isle Downs slots casino will open on February 28. Skindell retired as deputy chief of the City [...]

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Presque Isle Downs slots casino will open on February 28. The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced Friday that it will hold a board meeting at
3 pm on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. The meeting, which is open to the public, will be held in the State Museum Auditorium located at the corner of Third and North [...]

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Judge John Bozza denied a request for a temporary injunction for the county wide smoking ban that is scheduled to begin on Saturday February 17. However, Judge Bozza in his decision asked Erie County Council to postpone the ban until the hearing for a permanent injunction is held on Monday February 26. Council will discuss [...]

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Presque Isle Downs got some great news yesterday when the Pennsylvania Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit opposing licensing the facility. The decision came much sooner than expected. Now the only real hold-up is the vacancy on the PA Gaming Control Board. Gary Sojka was named to fill the seat on January 29. A required state [...]

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Pennsylvania Governor Rendell announced his proposed budget for fiscal 2007-08 which includes $1 billion in increased spending and $2 billion in borrowing which all will be paid for with a number of tax hikes. The tax and spend Democrat Rendell wants the sales tax raised from 6 percent to 7 percent, a tax increase in [...]

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

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Carpet bombing of the city wouldn’t have caused as much damage as Erie City Council manged to do yesterday.
Council passed a $59.88 million budget for the City of Erie for 2007. Council did zero work to cut any costs. The budget proposed by the mayor was just rubber stamped by council. This could be due [...]

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Erie County Council passed a second reading of the smoking ban by a vote of 6-1.What a waste of time. A lawsuit filed in Allegheny County could make the ban moot by the end of the year. Restaurant owner there filed the suit contending that the county has no right to ban smoking. A [...]

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Herbert Fiss passed away earlier this week. Fiss is the guy who tricked the city in to giving him a quarter million dollars when he said he was going to build a fruit juice plant in the Erie area. He called his sceme IFP North America. Erie was at least the third city where he [...]

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Governor Raymond P Shafer of Meadville passed away. He served as governor of Pennsylvania from 1967 to 1971. Governor Shafer served a one-year appointment as president of the Allegheny College in 1985 and was a trustee for more than forty years. Shafer graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Allegheny in 1938. He served as his class [...]

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As well intentioned as the smoking ban in Erie Councty is, County Solicitor Thomas Talarico advised the Erie County Council that it was illegal. The smoking ban passed the first reading last evening by a vote of 5-2. It is up to state legislators to pass a ban. Council is taking a broke county down [...]

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

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

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

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Presque Isle Downs received a slot machine operating license from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Let’s see if I can write about this without getting a phone call at work like I did at the end of September because of this post. It took me a week to get over the apprehension of starting my [...]

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The Erie Redevelopment Authority received a $950,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency for the Mercantile Building revitalization project. Plans call for retail space on the first floor, offices on the second and third floors and residential condos on the top 2 floors. The Erie Redevelopment Authority took over the building earlier this year [...]

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I don’t think the people of Erie realize how bad the Buffalo area got hit with snow. There are 390,000 people without power. The Erie hotels are packed with refugees from WNY and cars are streaming down I-90 for food, gas, generators and batteries.
On a realated note.. There is now a severe blood shortage in [...]

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The Erie Times-News repoted today that Dr Chuck Rosenthal and his brothers, Peter and James, have filed a lawsuit against former Mercyhurst College President William Garvey and Mercyhurst board of trustees chairwoman Marlene Mosco. Chuck Rosenthal was the first to publically accuse Gavey of sexually assualting him. A number of others, think the number is [...]

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Since a few hundred people a day come to Erie Blogs through search engines, here is some some helpful info and a bunch of smartass, sarcastic answers.
mario bagnoni is floating face-down in misery bay
Mario Bagnoni passed away on August 5, 2005. He was buried in a grave. The search term is part of a quote [...]

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Grand River Village, Ohio Mayor Chris Conley will be Columbus today to hear that a proposal to bring an international ferry terminal to the village is viable. Conley expects state and federal grants of $50 million which should attract an additional $150 million to $250 million in private investment. The village would build docks for [...]

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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board unanimously approved licenses for five locations but not Presque Isle Downs, under construction in the Erie suburbs. The decision on a license for Presque Isle Downs was delayed “for further investigation.” Board members wanted “adequate time to review testimony and personal notes taken at that applicant’s Suitability Hearing.” The [...]

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Since a few hundred people a day come to Erie Blogs through search engines, here is some some helpful info and a bunch of smartass, sarcastic answers.
bus from gannon university to penn state barren
Amanda Barren is an outstanding TV reporter and anchor but they didn’t name a Penn State campus after her. It’s Penn State [...]

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“Money, guns and lawyers. Once you have that, you have everything. It’s all you need in life.” That’s a quote from MTR Gaming CEO Ted Arneault in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer. The paper interviewed him about Presque Isle Downs in Erie and his other tracks and casinos. Presque Isle Downs, now under construction at a [...]

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Get your rear end downtown. Celebrate Erie 2006 runs through Sunday. This event was formerly known as “We Love Erie Days.”
The complete schedule of events and musical acts is too big to print here but here’s the Celebrate Erie music schedule for today:

South Stage at 11th and State: 5 pm Heather Rosso 6:30 pm Money [...]

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Officials with Presque Isle Downs held a press conference and released some construction photos and had a number of artist images of what the facilities will look like. They are finally almost done pushing dirt around and are now pouring concrete. They plan on having live racing and the slots going by Fall 2007. [...]

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A 38 foot boat, a Donzi, slammed into 2 Jet Skis on Presque Isle Bay killing both riders. Killed were Andrew Miller and his girlfriend Amber Miller (no relation) both of Washington, PA. The boat was believed to have the right of way. I’m guessing the operator of the Sea Doo was inexperienced and veered [...]

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The Mohegan Tribal Gaming Authority said they might abandon plans to opperate the
slots at Pocono Downs. Some interpretations of the tax rules could raise the effective tax rate on the Mohegan’s slot machine revenue as high as 63.4 percent., up from the state’s 2004 gaming law at a tax rate of 55 percent on gross [...]

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NanoLogix (Pink Sheets: NNLX) announced that hydrogen has been generated at its first commercial scaled-up hydrogen bioreactor facility at the Welch Food’s plant in North East, Pennsylvania. The technology behind the hydrogen bioreactor, developed and proprietary to NanoLogix, is intended to enable manufacturing facilities to convert their waste stream into hydrogen. The alternative energy source [...]

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MTR Gaming Group (Nasdaq:MNTG) announced that it is pursuing the issuance of $125,000,000 of Senior Subordinated Notes through a private placement. The Company will use the net proceeds of the proposed private placement of Senior Subordinated Notes to complete construction of its Presque Isle Downs race track and slot machine facility, to pay the $50 [...]

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The Presque Isle Downs website is now live. Not bad for a businesss that is little more than 270 acres of mud. The restaurant will be called La Bonne Vie (the good life) Steakhouse.
Presque Isle Downs is progressing with the land development work and construction of the Erie racino. The Company still expects to initiate [...]

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Orson Welles cause near paic with a radio broadcast of ‘War of the Worlds’ in 1938 when people thought it was a real alien invasion. The Northwestern Pennsylvania Emergency Response Group 2 terorism drill yesterday in Franklin was halted when a citizen called 911 in Erie to report a bombing. It resumed later when it [...]

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lecom located erie pa
Yes.
best doctors that perform well in erie pa
With or without Viagra?
dollar theatre movie times in erie pa
Today they are 12:45pm, 1pm, 1:10pm, 1:20pm, 1:40pm, 1:50pm, 3:00pm, 3:15pm, 3:20pm, 3:50pm, 4:30pm, 5:10pm, 5:15pm, 5:20pm, 5:30pm, 7:00pm, 7:15pm, 7:20pm, 7:30pm, 7:40pm, 9:20pm, 9:30pm, 9:40pm, 9:50pm and 10:10pm. But check the website for Cinemark Millcreek [...]

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The Erie Gauge War ended on this date 152 years ago, February 1, 1854. Unlike today where all trains run on a standard width of track, different railroads and different states had separate track gauges. Being a county sandwiched between New York and Ohio, Erie County profited – at least for awhile. The first railroad [...]

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The loud flushing sound heard in Erie PA on Thursday was a campaign going down the toilet. Gubernatorial candidate Bill Scranton made a campaign stop in Erie and made national news firing his campaign manager James Seif for making racial remarks about Lynn Swann. Seif appeared late Wednesday on a television call-in show about the [...]

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Erie Police Officer Aaron Wassell had his cheek bone broken when he responded to a domestic disturbance. David Wassell was charged with assault and a probation violation. Yes, they are related. David is the son of officer Wassell.
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board today released an updated preliminary list of the entities and individuals who have [...]

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A Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team took part a meth lab bust in Wesleyville. This marks the 9th lab that this team has cleaned up on 3 weeks.
There is an excellent article by Mike Bucsko in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette about the budget troubles Erie is experiencing. Pittsburgh entered a state-mandated financial recovery plan [...]

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

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The Erie Police raided a home on Erie’s lower Eastside and seized 4 pit bulls that were suspected to be involved in dog fighting. This story could get interesting.
The applications for the slot machine licenses had to be in the hands of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board on Wednesday. The applications weren’t measured in pages, [...]

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The State Democratic Appropriations Committee commissioned a study of revenue projections to see how much money the state could expect to get in tax revenue from slot machines for the 14 licenses. The Innovation Group, a New Orleans consultanting company, projected that the slot machines in Erie at Presque Isle Downs would generate just a [...]

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Since around 100 people a day are finding Erie Blogs though search engines, I’ll try and give some helpful info and a bunch of smartass, sarcastic answers with the search terms.
erie pa weather snow pictures, erie snow picture
Here is a pic:
Our snow is REALLY white.
average age of pharmacist graduate
Interesting question. I emailed the LECOM School [...]

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MTR Gaming Group received a takeover offer from two of the company’s executives, in a deal that valued at about $258.4 million. The company’s shares soared $1.84 or 23 percent to close at $9.73 on Friday. MTR Chief Executive Ted Arneault and Executive Vice President Robert Blatt propose paying $9.50 per share in cash for [...]

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Erie City Council held pre-budget talks last night trying to figue out how to cut approximately $8 million. Here are a couple of the suggestions:
The elimination of Traffic Court. Parking tickets will go back to the District Courts where they can’t be fixed or traded for votes. One clerk in Traffic Court has been accused [...]

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Erie County Executive candidate Dale McBrier held a press conference at the site of the future Presque Isle Downs saying that MTR Gaming shouldn’t be getting a taxpayer subsidy. Former used car salesman and point man for MTR, Greg Rubino, showed up and said the opening of the race track and slot’s casino could be [...]

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Work at Presque Isle Downs is moving ahead at a rapid pace. On Saturday a number of trucks delivered the steel supports for the underground storm and sanitary sewers were delivered. Expect traffice delays in the area as I sat in a traffic jam for 15 minutes while trucks were backed into the property.
MTR Gaming [...]

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MTR Gaming is now asking for $29 million from the Summit Township Development Authority, down from the previous amount of $37.5 million, from intrastructure improvements for the building of Presque Isle Downs. If it means MTR build build more buildings to add to th tax base and hire more people worth $29 million, give them [...]

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With all required permits in place the initial phase of construction of the new Presque Isle Downs, located in Summit Township, has begun. Preliminary land development and a new road to Pennbriar Drive will be the critical first steps toward construction of this exciting gaming destination. Ted Arneault, CEO of Mountaineer Gaming, called this “a [...]

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If you own property in the City of Erie, the value of your house or building just went down 5 percent. The budget for next year is about $10 million out of wack. Erie City Councilmen Jim Casey, Ian Murray and other want to raise property taxes. Casey said, well, taxes haven’t gone up in [...]

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MTR Gaming began work yesterday on building a road to their property in Summit Township. The site will be the future home of Presque Isle Downs Race Track and (slot machine only) Casino, a racino. The actual groundbreaking could be held in the next two weeks.
Erie County’s seasonal unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent in [...]

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The City of Erie laid-off six people on Tuesday and as many as sixty more could be gone by Friday. The city is running about a four million dollar deficit this year. The drop in the bucket action of laying off people should save around a half million to one million dollars. Almost 40 percent [...]

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The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board announced they are now accepting applications for slot machine licenses and could begin issuing the licenses by March of 2006. One of the applicants for a racetrack and slot machine only casino gambling license will be Presque Isle Downs in Summit Township, southeast of the City of Erie.
Two Erie residents [...]

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WJET-TV reported that MTR Gaming will most likely build Presque Isle Downs racetrack and slots only casino in Summit Township and that ground breaking will be in late September. Recently I’ve noticed quite a few people looking to buy or sell property in that area of Summit. We have a listing about 2 miles away [...]

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The Economic Research Institute of Erie held its fifth annual conference at Penn State Behrend. Most of the experts thought that the proposed racetrack and casino would be a positive for the greater Erie, PA area. On the positive side there will be over a thousand jobs, the local economy will be more diversified and [...]

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