Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

The former sales manager for the Philadelphia Soul arena football team is suing club owner Jon Bon Jovi and his partners over nearly $125,000 he says he's owed. For the full story, go to philly.com .

Op-Ed by state Sen. John N. Wozniak, D-Cambria, Clearfield, Centre, Somerset, Clinton A survey by the National Conference of State Legislatures found that by last December, 41 states faced budget deficits totaling a cumulative $137 billion over the next year and a half. Compared with the enormous shortfalls in other states, even some with smaller budgets than ours, Pennsylvania’s $2-to-$4 billion financial hole leaves us better off than most. That is not much consolation to Pennsylvanians – either taxpayers or public officials -- as we wrestle here at home with the pain of the worst nationwide financial crisis since the Great Depression. It doesn’t make the laid off worker or the owner of a shuttered small business feel much better. But it does help us understand our current situation, and puts it in some perspective. Governors and lawmakers in 41 states, who had previously been balancing their budgets regularly for years, did not suddenly become irresponsible ...

Holding true to a campaign pledge to end the partisan politics that has consumed Washington for decades, President Obama met with House Republicans today to discuss the state of the economy and to solicit their ideas for an economic recovery and rescue package. Thompson issued the following statement after meeting with the President: “The President is a man of his word, and after meeting with him today I am confident that he is sincere in his request to make this a bi-partisan rescue package. It is my hope that he can now convince his fellow Democrats – Speaker Pelosi and Senator Reid – to turn the corner on the politics of yesterday and to act in the best interest of the nation. “As I have stated throughout this process, I do not believe throwing money at the problem will solve this economic crisis. Small business and middle class tax reform, along with a cut in the capital gains and dividend taxes, I believe will provide the best possible stimulus and allow the economy to begin the ...

New York Governor David Paterson says he's finished talking about Caroline Kennedy, and says he's not going to hunt down the source of personal attacks launched by an adviser last week. Hours after Kennedy dropped out of the running to replace Hillary Clinton in the U.S. Senate, a source close to Paterson telephoned a handful of reporters to drop some personal attacks on Kennedy, saying she had tax, nanny and marital problems. In the days since, the Paterson administration has come under siege from a number of critics who called them cheap shots with no facts to back them up.

In a brief meeting Tuesday night, Bradford City Council agreed to sell 166 Kennedy Street to Brad Preston, 28 South Avenue to Melvin Stolzfus, and 31 Roberts Street to Stanley Austin. All three properties had been in the McKean County Tax Claim Repository. Council also authorized the advertisement for bids on the Callahan Park water spray park project and the Elm Street Neighborhood Streetscape Improvement Project. Also, council has agreed to sell parcels of old railroad property along Chestnut Street Extension to Dan Brinsky and Pure Tech. And, council authorized the proper officers to obtain permanent easements on property where the 2.9-mile Community Park Trail will go. The trail will eventually connect three community parks and two schools. In other matters, Councilman Bob Tingley thanked Public Works Director Gary Alcock and his crew for keeping up with snow removal to the best of their ability. "This has been like an old-fashioned winter," Tingley said. "We haven...

Best-selling author John Updike has died at age 75 after battling lung cancer, his publicist said. He was 76. He passed away Tuesday morning after battling lung cancer. More from The Associated Press .

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) today made the following comments during the Senate Appropriations Committee markup on the economic stimulus bill: “I recognize fully the enormous problems which our nation’s economy faces. I am prepared to support a stimulus package, but I want to be as sure as I can that the monies which we appropriate will be directed in a meaningful way to create jobs as promptly as possible, and not in the future. “I wrote to the Chairman and Ranking urging that we follow regular order. We did not follow regular order in passage of the bailout bill. We were faced with a very serious situation as everyone will recall on September 29th when the House failed to pass the bill and the market plunged 777 points. We came back at 7:30pm on Wednesday the 1st and by a vote of 74-25 passed that measure. I voted for it with grave reservations because of our failure to follow regular order. We started with a four-page bill, ended up with 414 pages - ...

A judge has rueld in favor of the Seneca Nation to continue the injunction that prevents the state from collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian land. On Sunday, the Senecas rallied against the state's efforts to tax wholesalers who sell cigarettes to Seneca retailers. They say it would hurt their economy and violate treaties. A spokesman for Governor David Paterson says the governor wants to have negotiations with the different tribes in New York state in a manner that's mutually respectful.

McKean County has a new way of punishing criminals. The Intermediate Punishment Program falls between imprisonment and probation, and can include ankle bracelets to monitor the offenders. The McKean County Commissioners, as well as Sheriff Brad Mason and Public Defender Doug Garber, say this will cut costs for the county because fewer people will have to be housed at the jail, and the county won't have to incur costs associated with that. Mason and District Attorney John Pavlock also said this will address the problem of overcrowding at the jail. People who have a history of violent behavior – such as assault, robbery and kidnapping – as well as sexual and drug trafficking offenses – are not eligible for the program.

Warren police have charged a man with intentionally setting fire to his garage twice in less than two hours. 25-year-old Scott Cornelius of Locust Street was charged with three counts of arson, as well as attempted arson and causing or risking a catastrophe. He's accused of setting fire to his workbench sometime before 12:30 a.m. on July 23. Crews left the scene at 1:43 a.m. 19 minutes later, they were back at the scene, trying to put out another fire that police accuse Cornelius of starting.

A judge says he won't reduce the sentence of the former Mercyhurst College student who suffocated her newborn daughter in August of 2007. 20-year-old Teri Rhodes had been sentenced to nine to 18 years in prison, but her lawyer wanted the sentence reduced because he says the stress of the baby's birth provoked Rhodes to kill the infant in a fit of passion. But the judge says evidence showed that Rhodes hid her pregnancy, then killed the baby, despite multiple other options she had for dealing with the situation.

Two Elk County teenagers have been stabbed, and police are trying to figure out exactly what happened to lead up to that. They say a fight broke out between several people Monday afternoon and, during the fight, 18-year-old Joshua Dalton was stabbed twice in the arm, and an unidentified 17-year-old boy was stabbed in the lower the back. They were both treated at an area hospital and released. Neighbors say they heard the argument and saw coats, purses and shoes being thrown at the people who were arguing.

A Clearfield County woman has been sentenced to 60 days in jail for letting her unlicensed 16-year-old son drive her vehicle and causing an accident that killed a passenger. 44-year-old Dawn Probst let her son drive home from the Mosquito Creek Sportsman's Club in Frenchville in July of 2006. When he swerved to avoid hitting a deer, the truck went off the road, hit an embankment and rolled over, ejecting a passenger. The passenger later died of massive head trauma. Probst was originally charged with involuntary manslaughter but those charges were eventually withdrawn.

Bradford Regional Medical Center (BRMC) volunteer Larry Saar pours a cup of coffee for Mariann Kahle, Food & Nutrition Services Director, at the new hospitality beverage cart that's now making the rounds throughout BRMC to greet patients and visitors. Along with coffee, the cart will have tea and ice water, plus menus for the cafeteria and HeartStrings Gift Shop. ( Photo courtesy of BRMC )

If chicken wings are a big part of your party for the Big Game on Sunday – no need to worry about the chicken wing shortage. Some areas of the country are reporting a shortage of wings because Texas-based Pilgram's Pride Corporation filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. Pilgram's Pride is the country's largest poultry producer. But Michelle Gangloff, manager of Tops Market in Bradford, says local wing lovers have nothing to worry about. Tops will have plenty of wings to go around. About 4 percent of the nation’s total annual chicken wing consumption occurs on Super Bowl Sunday, according to figures provided by the national chicken council. The U.S. Department of Agriculture lists the average retail price for ready-to-cook chicken wings at $1.93 per pound, up from $1.52 a year ago.

Pennsylvania, along with Maryland, is appealing a December 2008 decision by the North Carolina Court of Appeals that allowed three major tobacco companies to cease making required payments to tobacco farmers. Attorney General Tom Corbett's office appealed to the North Carolina Supreme Court on January 20, against the decision that allowed Philip Morris USA, Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, and Lorillard Tobacco Company to cease annual payments to Pennsylvania and Maryland farmers under the National Tobacco Grower Settlement Trust agreement. "We feel it is important to pursue this case on behalf of our farmers," Corbett said. "We are asking the North Carolina Supreme Court to force tobacco companies to live up to their original agreement." Corbett said that according to the original terms of the agreement, tobacco companies still owe about $9 million to Pennsylvania farmers through 2010. Corbett said that the Trust Agreement between the tobacco companies and...

Two college students are dead after a crash early Sunday morning Route 15, about two miles south of the Tioga County line. 21-year-old John Williamson Jr. of Havertown and 22-year-old Ian Alexander of Royersford died at about 3:30 a.m. The driver, 19-year-old Andrew Cardamone of Philadelphia, suffered serious injuries and was taken to Gesinger Medical Center in Danville. Three other passengers were also seriously injured and taken to area hospitals. Route 15 was closed for several hours.

New York Governor David Paterson says the state won't stop shipments of cigarettes to Seneca retailers at least until he and Seneca leaders have a chance to negotiate. During a rally Sunday near the New York State Thruway, Seneca President Barry Snyder read a letter from Paterson that indicated his desire to begin talks with the Indian nation about the dispute over tax collection on cigarettes sold by Native American merchants to non-Indians. More than 150 people attended the rally. Earlier this month, Snyder announced the Seneca Nation’s plans to find a way to collect its own tolls from motorists driving through Seneca land along the Thruway. Paterson's letter says he wants to improve relations with sovereign Indian nations in the state, which “can only be achieved through respectful and informed dialogue.”

An electrical fire caused minimal damage to a Bradford Forest Products building at about 6:20 this morning. Bradford township Fire chief Dan Burkhouse says they got a call that flames and smoke were showing, but when they arrived, the maintenance staff had it "pretty well knocked down," but there was a lot of smoke. He says after the smoke cleared, there were small, hidden fires that they helped put out. Penelec was on the scene when firefighters left at about 8:30 a.m. The first shift was sent home. As of early afternoon, they hadn't determined whether the second shift would be working. No one was injured. Twenty-two firefighters and three engines were on the scene. Lewis Run and Bradford City assisted at the scene. Corydon Township was on standby.

Senator Richard Alloway II (R-33) introduced legislation today that would completely phase out Pennsylvania's inheritance tax by 2017. Senate Bill 80 would phase out the inheritance tax for direct descendants by 2012, for siblings by 2015, and for other heirs by 2017. Under current law, an estate is subject to a tax of 4.5 percent for direct descendants, 12 percent for siblings and 15 percent for other heirs. "If someone pays taxes on their earnings and makes sacrifices to provide for their family's future, it is unconscionable for the state to take another bite out of that hard-earned money they intended for their family when they pass away," Alloway said. "The vast majority of states do not impose an inheritance tax, and I hope that Pennsylvania will soon join these states in refusing to profit from someone's death." Under Alloway's legislation, the death tax would drop from 4.5 percent to 2.5 percent in 2010, .5 percent in 2011 and be eliminated i...