Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Washington, D.C. – Representative Glenn ‘GT’ Thompson (PA-5) today joined the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee for a field hearing to review the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the health care reform law passed in March of 2010, and its impact on the Commonwealth. Thompson is a former therapist and licensed nursing home administrator, and has spent 28 years in the health care industry. He participated in the hearing, “PPACA in Pennsylvania: One Year of Broken Promises,” at the request of Representative Joe Pitts (PA-16), Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee. As governors and state legislatures across the country deal with implementing PPACA’s requirements, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett offered introductory remarks before the Subcommittee. Department of Public Welfare Acting Secretary Gary Alexander and Acting Insurance Commissioner Michael Consedine were among others who delivered testimony at the hearing. Statement from Congr...

Assault charges against a Pittsburgh man accused of getting into a fight at The Corner Bar & Restaurant in November, and seriously injuring a Bradford man, have been bound to court. 29-year-old Peter Smith allegedly hit Josh Holleran with a beer bottle after Holleran told him to stop talking rudely to a woman at the bar, according to papers filed in District Judge Dominic Cercone’s office. Holleran ended up with a 4-inch gash with blood squirting out of it and needed emergency surgery at BRMC. Smith told police he thought Holleran fell on some glass while they were fighting, but witnesses backed up Holleran’s account of the incident.

The Department of Environmental Protection has ordered Chesapeake Energy to cease work on a natural gas drilling well pad for failing to comply with regulations and impacting one of Galeton Borough Water Authority’s water sources. The well pad was in the site-preparation phase, which occurs before any well construction or drilling activities take place. In conducting site-preparation activities at the Beech Flats well pad in West Branch Township, Potter County, Chesapeake failed to implement the required erosion and sediment controls. As a result, a significant amount of sediment and silt discharged from the site into a stream that is a tributary to a water source serving Galeton’s system. The Galeton Water Authority has been forced to use another permitted water source to serve its customers. “In order to protect human health and the environment, we ordered Chesapeake to stop all construction activity,” DEP North-central Regional Director Nels Taber said. “They must begin corrective a...

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Elizabeth Taylor, the legendary actress famed for her beauty, her jet-set lifestyle, her charitable endeavors and her many marriages, has died, her publicist told CNN Wednesday. She was 79. For more, go to CNN.com .

From Weather.com : "Cinderella no more, Bradford, Pa. is a full-blown juggernaut! After knocking out Philly in the first round, then Cleveland in the second round, Bradford steamrolled over Nantucket, Mass. in the Sweet 16 round to reach the regional final. Equally hot, or should I say cold, is their regional final opponent, Caribou, Maine. The self-proclaimed "Most Northeastern City in the U.S.A." cast aside its third straight tough opponent, this time, Buffalo, N.Y." In the last round Bradford got 6,414 votes to Nantucket's 1,940 votes. Caribou got 4,052 votes. So, we have a very good chance of beating Caribou and moving on to the Final Four. Voting starts at noon today. Go here to cast your vote. Let's do it, Bradford!

for winning a Pennsylvania Association of Broadcasters Award for Outstanding Radio Commercial! Listen here . ( cameo by Anne )

A Jamestown man is accused of raping a 4-year-old Warren County girl earlier this month. State police say 18-year-old Jeffrey Abbey Jr. sexually assaulted the girl in Pleasant Township between Wednesday and Saturday. He is charged with rape of a child, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse with a child and statutory sexual assault. Police say when they interviewed him earlier today he admitted to assaulting the girl. Abbey is in Warren County Jail on $100,000 bond.

The Senate Appropriations Committee, including Sen. Mary Jo White (R-Venango, Butler, part of Warren), continue public hearings on the proposed 2011-12 state budget. This afternoon, White asked acting DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn if there are any plans to close state parks because of the budget situation. She and John Norbeck of the Bureau of State Parks said all parks that were open last year will be open this year, with the same services they had last year. Parks that were closed last year, will remain closed. Photo provided by Senate Republican Communications

Senator Larry Farnese announced that he will introduce legislation that would ban substances commonly known as ‘bath salts.’ The legislation would add the following chemical compounds to Schedule I of the Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act: 3, 4—Methy-lenedioxymethcathinone (Methylone), 3, 4—Methylenedioxypyrovalerone (MDPV), 4—Methylmethcathinone (Mephedrone), 3—Methoxymethcathinone, 3-Flouromethcathinone, and 4-Fluoromethcathinone. “I am very concerned about the use of bath salts,” said Senator Farnese. “These substances are used as an alternative to cocaine and cause dangerous side effects such as extreme paranoia, hallucinations and disorientation, all of which can lead to extreme violent behavior.” Bath salt is a white, powdery substance made up of derivatives of the aforementioned chemicals. The form of speed that is produced by mixing the chemicals induces pharmacological effects similar to those obtained through cocaine use. Bath salt has been known to cause da...

By SANDRA RHODES Bradford can have a great fish tale to boast, but it needs your help to win. Bradford has been nominated as the Ultimate Fishing Town USA by Linda Devlin, executive director of the Allegheny National Forest Visitors Bureau, the tourist promotion agency in McKean County. The winning town will receive a $25,000 community donation. Devlin said she nominated Bradford because of the outdoor recreation possibilities that are prevalent in this area. “Bradford is a place where you can wear fishing waders into a bar and not call attention to yourself,” she wrote in her nomination. “Bradford embraces its link to the outdoors.” Devlin cited the “Kinzua Fly Fishing School” that is held each May at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford, a group of fishermen that meet once a week at the Historic Crook Farm to tie flies and The Lodge at Glendorn, an ORVIS-endorsed fly-fishing lodge. “It seems only natural that Bradford be recognized for its tie with fishing,” she said. “It’s part ...

By SANDRA RHODES Hold onto your hat – and take it with you to the Derby Chapeau Tea. The Derby Chapeau Tea is one facet of a Triple Crown of events that benefit the Bradford Area Public Library Endowment Fund. The tea will take place from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 27, at the Bradford Area Public Library. Those interested are invited to take part in an elegant afternoon of delicious cuisine, beautiful piano music plus much more. Co-chairwoman Fran Runyan explained the tea, which will include tea sandwiches and desserts, will be catered by Metz Catering from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Her fellow co-chairwoman, Lee Ann Doynow, will provide homemade petit fours. Pianists for the afternoon will be Shelley Wright and Jean Gross. “It’s fun to get in the spirit of things,” Runyan said. “The elegance of a tea party … it’s really a wonderful way to spend an afternoon.” Selected ladies will pour the tea at two separate stations. Runyan said, “In days of old, it was really an honor ...

By Tom Donahue The men’s basketball team at St. Bonaventure University lost its first-round game in the College Basketball Invitational tournament last week, but not before winning the heart of 91-year-old Olean resident Nora Chambers. Not that any courting was necessary. “Nora’s been faithfully attending games since the 1930s and has been a season ticket holder for as long as anyone can remember,” said her niece, Jean Abdo. “She’s missed only four or five games during that time and one absence was when her mother passed away.” Abdo and her husband, Paul, regularly attend Bonnies home games with their aunt, and as this season drew to a close they thought it would be nice if she could meet some of the players she cheers on from the red seats in the Reilly Center Arena. “Thanks to the kindness of Coach Mark Schmidt and his wife, Anita, Nora was invited to meet the team she so passionately follows,” said Abdo. So on Monday, March 14, as the Bonnies were preparing for their first postseaso...

Bart Barton (left) of the McKean County Historical Society talked about "Murders in Our Valley" Saturday at the Bradford Area Public Library, while Dr. Tony Gaskew talked about modern sleuthing techniques. The talks were a One Book Bradford event attended by nearly 80 people. The next One Book Bradford event is the "Three Pines Mystery Tea" scheduled for April 10 at the First Presbyterian Church. Tickets are available at Gramdma's House Tea & Gifts and the library. This year's One Book Bradford book is "Still Life" by Louise Penny. She'll be speaking at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford on May 3 about "Three Pines and Beyond." For more information about Penny and her books, go to LouisePenny.com . And, remember, to check out the Bradford Area Public Library . Photos courtesy of Sandra Rhodes

Writer Dianne Aprile, author of four books of nonfiction, will read from her work at noon Thursday, March 24, in the Mukaiyama University Room of the Frame-Westerberg Commons at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Prior to Aprile’s reading, a luncheon will be served at 11:30 a.m. in the University Room. The event is free and open to the public and is being presented as part of the university’s Spectrum Series. A former newspaper reporter and columnist, Aprile now teaches in the Master of Fine Arts writing program at Spalding University in Kentucky. Her books include “The Abbey of Gethsemani: Place of Peace and Paradox” about the first Trappist monastery in the United States, which was started by Thomas Merton in Kentucky; “Making a Heart for God: A Week Inside a Catholic Monastery”; and “The Things We Don’t Forget: Views from Real Life,” a collection of her newspaper columns. “She’s done a range of nonfiction writing – from news and feature to very literary creative nonfiction,” ...

Two weeks ago, 22-year-old Christopher Roper pleaded not guilty to robbing a Yorkshire restaurant in January. But he changed his mind, and today he pleaded guilty today in Cattaraugus County Court. On the night of January 6, Roper, his twin brother Cory and 24-year-old Paul Andolina went to The Shop restaurant with a shotgun and demanded money, according to court records. Andolina and Cory Roper have pleaded not guilty. Christopher Roper will be sentenced on May 31.

One of the men who broke into a New Albion home and stole more than $1,000 worth of property has been sentenced to 1 ½ to 3 years in prison. 26-year-old Justin Cusimano of Gerry, New York, broke into the house in August of last year. Scott Kewalski and Angelo Pollino were charged in connection to the same incident.

A Buffalo man who asked a plain clothes detective for directions to the house he was planning to rob has pleaded guilty in Cattaraugus County Court. 21-year-old Brett Giambelluca and two other people were picked up on the morning of September 13. Sheriff’s deputies say they had been doing surveillance in the area because it had been targeted by burglars. Shorlty after Giambelluca and the others asked for directions at 12:45 a.m., detectives learned a burglary had taken place near the building the three were going. Police found more than $3,000 worth of stolen property in Giambelluca’s vehicle. He is scheduled for sentencing on July 5. 24-year-old Adam Ford of Buffalo, who is charged in connection with the same incident, pleaded not guilty.

Investigators are still searching for the cause of a fire in a Ridgway building that led to the death of a man who fell from a third-story window while waiting to be rescued. Elk County Coroner Lou Radkowski says 45-year-old Timothy Keyser died of blunt force trauma to his abdomen and chest when he fell from the window of his apartment, where he had been trapped by the fire at about 2:15 Saturday morning, according to a news release. Another resident 62-year-old Everett Fowler was taken to a Pittsburgh hospital for treatment. Police say 13 other people had either minor injuries or were not hurt at all. The building also housed the Ling Ling Chinese Restaurant, which was heavily damaged by water, and a development company. Damage is estimated at $750,000.

When you think of race relations and the tumultuous civil rights era, you probably think of cities in the South. But New York City had its own problems in the early 1960s. Author T.J. English takes a look at those problems through the eyes of three very different men in his book "The Savage City: Race, Murder, and a Generation on the Edge." Listen here . For more information, go to TJ-English.com . And remember, the staff at the Bradford Area Public Library is always willing to help you find the right book.

Saturday's full moon will be a super "perigee moon" -- the biggest in almost 20 years. ... "The last full moon so big and close to Earth occurred in March of 1993," said Geoff Chester with the U.S. Naval Observatory in Washington. "I'd say it's worth a look." For the full story, go to CNN.com .