http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/pa-news/ en-us Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:57:05 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286232/posts Workers at C.F Martin & Co. are putting finishing touches on the solid-wood 1 Series model, so named for its simplicity. It lacks inlay, as did the company's stripped-down 1930s model, and is expected to sell for less than $1,000, breaking a key price point and far less than its $100,000 limited-edition guitars made of Brazilian rosewood. More popular Martins generally sell for $2,000 to $3,000. Initial reaction is promising. The company, which had sales of $93 million last year, introduced the 1 Series in April and promptly sold out its first year's output of 8,000 guitars. "We needed something... The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286232/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 01:57:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286197/posts July 4th Independence Day Tea Party - Philadelphia - Speaker You Tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286197/posts#comment Mon, 6 Jul 2009 00:57:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts Capt. Dorothy Watkins and Spc. Joshua Watkins, both of Hazleton, Pa., are deployed to Camp Taji, a base camp north of Baghdad, with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania National Guard. Photo by Jon Soles, Multi-National Division – Baghdad. TAJI — One Pennsylvania National Guard Soldier has two ways he can address Capt. Dorothy Watkins. He can call her ma'am or he can call her mom. Spc. Joshua Watkins and his mother, Capt. Watkins, are both serving here with the 56th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 28th Infantry Division. The mother and son from Hazleton, Pa., are... Multi-National Force - Iraq http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2286128/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 21:56:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285921/posts With Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposed budget stalemated in the Pennsylvania General Assembly, 600 unhappy taxpayers rallied in Chambersburg’s center square Saturday to declare their independence from looming tax increases. Likening their protest to that of a group of Boston patriots in 1776, Franklin County, Pa., joined in the nationwide TEA (Taxed Enough Already) Party movement against taxation and government spending. Hagerstown Morning Herald http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285921/posts#comment Sun, 5 Jul 2009 14:31:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285655/posts About 300 - 400 patriots turned out for the Indiana, Pa. Tea Party in front of the Indiana County Courthouse. Not a bad turnout for a little-advertised event in a small town! There were Republicans, Democrats and Independents present. We had one disruptor carrying an "obama" sign who said his parents were going to lose their house and Obama took care of it for them. Just wait until "obamacare" throws them under the bus! He was yelling "obama! Obama!". We yelled "USA! USA!" The speaker pointed out that he had the right to free speech as well and everybody cheered!... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285655/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 22:55:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285622/posts Here are some pics from the Pittsburgh July 4th, 2009 Tea Party. A half hour before the rally at Flagstaff hill, Schenley Park My wife and a friend of mine from Ohio. I grew up with him...ummm... a log time ago, LOL! My wife and I with our Gadsden. The crowd begins to build. Opening prayer. The Star Spangled Banner. Signs and Gadsdens everywhere. More signs. And MORE! More. Last one. prisoner6 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285622/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 21:26:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285174/posts Today is the 146th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Gettysburg. A few months later, as the National Cemetery there was being organized, an invitation was extended to President Lincoln to give "a few appropriate remarks" for the dedication in November, 1863. Lincoln would not be the main speaker, that honor would go to Edward Everett, one of the foremost orators of the day. Everett spoke for almost two hours and, for the most part, his remarks are lost to the ages. Lincoln's "few appropriate remarks" however, are some of the most familiar wods in American History. To... examiner.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2285174/posts#comment Sat, 4 Jul 2009 00:20:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284994/posts A Pennsylvania pastor rejected by the state's House of Representatives will pray in the Senate instead. The pastor is Gerry Stoltzfoos of Freedom Valley Worship Center in Gettysburg. He was asked to pray before the House by his own representative and sent officials a written prayer on their request. "I wrote the prayer and sent it to them and they sent back a very short rejection notice," he recalls. "So I wrote back, 'I'm curious as to why.' And they said it had an offensive word. Can you tell me what the word was?' And they came back and said... One News Now http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284994/posts#comment Fri, 3 Jul 2009 18:56:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284482/posts Vandals toppled 115 headstones and ripped up American flags in Hazelwood's Calvary Cemetery, where some of Pittsburgh's noted political, sports, religious and arts figures are buried, causing an estimated tens of thousands of dollars damage. The vandalism discovered Wednesday morning was the worst in the history of the Catholic Cemeteries Association, which oversees 16 cemeteries for the Diocese of Pittsburgh http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284482/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 23:42:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284349/posts ALLENTOWN - Former Luzerne County judge Mark Ciavarella said he agreed to testify at a hearing regarding whether a defamation verdict he entered in favor of Thomas Joseph should be overturned because he wanted to set the record state that he did nothing wrong in the case. “I didn’t do anything wrong. I never had anyone influence me in the case, so I thought it was appropriate I do so,” a defiant Ciavarella said in a brief interview following his testimony. The disgraced judge is awaiting sentencing on charges he and former judge Michael Conahan accepted more than $2.6 million... Times Leader (Wilkes Barre, PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2284349/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:53:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283800/posts Advanta Corp. will pay up to $35 million in restitution to customers for alleged violations of federal consumer-protection and banking laws, the Spring House credit card company said today. Advanta, which froze its small-business customers' credit cards at the end of May because of mounting defaults, also agreed to pay a $150,000 civil fine under the deal between Advanta's bank subsidiary and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The company admitted no wrongdoing. (snip) The FDIC said it received numerous complaints about substantial increases in annual percentage rates from borrowers who neither exceeded their credit limit nor were late on payments.... Philadelphia Inquirer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283800/posts#comment Thu, 2 Jul 2009 02:34:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283641/posts INDEPENDENCE HALL TEA PARTY ASSOCIATION IndependenceHallTPA.com INDEPENDENCE HALL TEA PARTY/PICNIC TO BE HELD JULY 4TH Philadelphia (July 1, 2009) – Talk Show Host Dom Giordano will be a featured speaker at the Independence Hall Tea Party III to be held July 4th from 12 noon-3PM on Independence Mall, 5th and Chestnut Streets. The celebratory, family-style tea party/picnic, sponsored by the Independence Hall Tea Party Association, will include a Colonial Costume Contest, a Tea Party Sign Contest, musical entertainment, activities for children, and information tables. On April 18, 2009, over 1800 people attended Philadelphia Tea Party II on Independence Mall. “Peoplewere... Press Release http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283641/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 22:40:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283606/posts Wattsburg, Pa. — Vice President Joe Biden visited a small town on the outskirts of Erie today to talk to rural folks about federal stimulus money that can be used to expand broadband access to the Internet for rural areas that typically have poor connections. Apparently stimulus money and broadband are not all that interesting to the local folk here: Only around 100 or so people have showed up so far to hear Biden talk at noon at Seneca High School off Route 8 in Wattsburg. The room looked so sparse that about 30 or so chairs were removed by... Trib Live http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283606/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 21:52:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283398/posts A congressman from the Philadelphia suburbs will challenge U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democratic Senate primary. In an interview with The Wayne Independent Wednesday morning, U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Pa.,confirmed his intention to run against Specter, a long-time Republican who switched to the Democratic party earlier this year. “I am going to get into the race against Arlen Specter ... for senator,” said Sestak in his first media interview as part of a three-week tour through all of the Commonwealth’s 67 counties. Wayne County was his first stop where he met with local Democrats prior to his interview with... Wayne Independent http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2283398/posts#comment Wed, 1 Jul 2009 17:31:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282772/posts Indiana is one of five states -- along with Arizona, California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania -- bracing for possible shutdowns this week as time runs out for lawmakers to close billion-dollar gaps in their fiscal 2010 budgets. Of the 46 states whose fiscal year ends today, 32 did not have budgets passed and approved by their governors as of Monday afternoon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Although the majority of those are expected to pass eleventh-hour budgets, the fiscal futures of a handful remain uncertain, said Todd Haggerty, an NCSL research analyst. LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282772/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:17:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282198/posts Time is running out for the legislatures in Arizona, California, Indiana, Mississippi and Pennsylvania to solve budget gaps. The last time Indiana missed its deadline for passing a budget and had to shut down the government was during the Civil War. But on Monday... Indiana is one of five states -- along with Arizona, California, Mississippi and Pennsylvania -- bracing for possible shutdowns this week as time runs out for lawmakers to close billion-dollar gaps in their fiscal 2010 budgets. Of the 46 states whose fiscal year ends today, 32 did not have budgets passed and approved by their governors... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282198/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 04:57:16 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282125/posts PMA Client Sues Because it DidnÂ’t Get Earmark; More Evidence of Pay-to-Play? By John Carlisle Created 06/29/2009 - 17:09 Alexander Comisar reported [1] in Roll Call on June 23: The PMA Group, the lobbying titan that closed its doors in March after an FBI raid, has filed more than a dozen lawsuits against former clients for failure to pay outstanding debts. Now, one company has responded with a $3 million countersuit that alleges PMA cheated it out of an earmark it was expecting to receive. PMA’s lawyer called the complaint absurd and said the firm has filed a formal response... National Legal and Policy Center http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2282125/posts#comment Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:45:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281968/posts CAMDEN, NJ—A Pennsylvania man was sentenced to 137 months in federal prison today for committing two banks robberies in New Jersey and one bank robbery in Pennsylvania, Acting U.S. Attorney Ralph J. Marra, Jr. announced. U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle also ordered Frank George Czerwinski, Jr., 45, formerly of Easton, Pa., to pay $14,640 in restitution and to serve three years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison sentence. Czerwinski has been in federal custody since his arrest on Oct. 13, 2007, at the Foxwoods Resort & Casino in Ledyard, Conn., by Connecticut State Police. Czerwinski pleaded... Department of Justice http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281968/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 23:21:49 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281656/posts HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - More than 20,000 Pennsylvanians are expected to exhaust their jobless benefits in mid-July. The state Department of Labor and Industry expects them to be the first large wave of people who have gone through as many as 72 weeks of unemployment benefits. Labor and Industry Department Deputy Secretary Patrick Beaty says the agency sent letters to 21,000 people last week notifying them. He says there is still no letup in applications for benefits, and the agency does not expect the rising unemployment rate to ease in the coming months. Morning Call http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281656/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 14:23:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281602/posts HARRISBURG - A state law viewed as a major advancement for workplace safety and patient safety goes into effect Wednesday. Act 102 of 2008 bans mandatory overtime for health-care workers except in specific situations such as a natural disaster, public health emergency or where unexpected absences could affect patient safety. Nurses, nurses' assistants and direct caregivers in health care facilities covered by the law can volunteer for overtime, but those who refuse overtime can't be disciplined or discharged. The law doesn't apply to physicians, physician assistants, dentists and offices of private and group practices. The law was enacted last fall... Citizens Voice (Wilkes Barre PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2281602/posts#comment Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:01:46 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280704/posts Bucknell University, a well-regarded liberal arts institution set in a picturesque location in the rolling Pennsylvania countryside, looks entirely benign. Its campus is safe, its students intelligent. It counts among its alumni the famed author Philip Roth and Leslie Moonves, the president of CBS. It’s a college to which most parents would be proud to send their kids. But if your son or daughter is the type who might join the Bucknell University Conservatives Club (BUCC), you would be well-advised to send him or her somewhere else. Because Bucknell really, really does not want to hear what the students of... Pajamas Media http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280704/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 16:36:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280814/posts When Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter switched parties two months ago, he said he would issue contribution refunds "upon request." Now the Club for Growth, the conservative political group that is a longtime Specter foe, wants to help any disgruntled Republican donors take now-Democrat Specter up on his offer. The Club is asking the Federal Election Commission (FEC) if it can send a letter or make a telephone call to Specter's donors informing them that they can ask his campaign for a contribution refund. The Club would use the donor lists that Specter's campaign has filed with the FEC. Those documents... CQ Politics http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280814/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:56:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280813/posts Sen. Arlen Specter continues to pick up support from Democratic party leaders across Pennsylvania. However, a new poll indicates that the five-term incumbent has not convinced a majority of Pennsylvania voters that he should be re-elected. According to a new Franklin & Marshall poll released Thursday, only 28 percent of registered voters in Pennsylvania think Specter should be re-elected. That number is down from 40 percent in March, a month before Specter's "conversion" to the Democratic Party. Back then, roughly half the voters in each party said that Specter was doing an excellent or good job in the Senate. The... The Patriot-News, Harrisburg, Pa. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280813/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:52:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280802/posts A city police officer found himself in the spotlight this week for solving a 1992 missing person case and identifying those responsible for the 22-year-old woman's death. Full details of the investigation, including the victim's name, have yet to be made public, but the officer responsible for clearing the case has been identified as Patrolman Kenneth Lee Mains, a city officer since 2003. Mains' unusual investigation, done largely on his own time, was made public Thursday night when he was named the Williamsport Bureau of Police "officer of the year" during a ceremony at the start of the City Council... Williamsport Sun-Gazette (Williamsport, Pennsylvania) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280802/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 19:23:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280560/posts The anti-war crusader said she'll continue to speak against U.S. policies despite the new administration. Cindy Sheehan's methods have evolved since she first took her anti-war message to the streets. The California-based activist said this week she doesn't put much stock in peace marches and petitions anymore. She encourages people instead to shift the country's balance of power by supporting independent media sources, growing food at home and discouraging people from enlisting in the military. That was some of the advice she gave a crowd gathered Monday at the BuxMont Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Warrington, Sheehan's latest stop to promote... The Doylestown Intelligencer http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2280560/posts#comment Sat, 27 Jun 2009 08:16:42 GMT