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Good afternoon! Here’s a look at AP’s general news coverage today in Pennsylvania. For questions about the state report, contact the Philadelphia bureau at 215-561-1133. Ron Todt is on the desk. Editor Larry Rosenthal can be reached at 215-446-6631 or [email protected].
A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change. Expected stories may not develop, or late-breaking and more newsworthy events may take precedence. Advisories, digests and digest advisories will keep you up to date.
Some TV and radio stations will receive shorter APNewsNow versions of the stories below, along with updates.
The following stories are planned for Sunday AMs:
TOP STORIES:
VIEWING HARRISBURG
HARRISBURG — Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s pursuit of a major election-year tax increase has decades of precedent against it: No such tax increase has passed the Pennsylvania Legislature in an election year since at least 1970. Still, with the general election eight months away, and schools warning that they may close amid historic partisan budget gridlock, Wolf is trying to do just that, asking perhaps Pennsylvania’s most conservative Legislature in modern history to pass a $2.7 billion tax hike amounting to almost 10 percent of last year’s total operating budget spending. By Marc Levy. SENT: About 800 words.
COOKOUT AMBUSH
PITTSBURGH — A prosecutor’s spokesman says authorities believe they have identified suspects in the ambush at a cookout in western Pennsylvania that killed five adults and an unborn child, but arrests aren’t “imminent.” SENT: NewsNow, will be updated.
PENNSYLVANIA JUDGE-ASSAULT
PHILADELPHIA — Officials say Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Kevin Dougherty was treated at a hospital after an assault by a panhandler in Center City Philadelphia. SENT: NewsNow, will be updated.
GMO LABELING
MONTPELIER, Vt. — The announcement this week by General Mills that it will start labeling foods that contain genetically modified ingredients shows the industry might be giving up its fight against state efforts to require such labeling. Still, many hold out hope Congress will come up with a national solution instead of a patchwork of state laws. By Lisa Rathke. SENT: NewsNow, will be updated.
ALI CHILDHOOD HOME
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As a boxer and humanitarian, Muhammad Ali stood out. So does the bright pink home in Kentucky where he shadowboxed and played pranks on his brother. The small frame residence where the former heavyweight boxing champ grew up will soon open to fans, allowing a glimpse into Ali’s life before the world came to know him. Renovations are nearing completion on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom house in western Louisville. Entering the home is like stepping back in time when Ali — known then as Cassius Clay — lived there with his parents and brother, said the former Pennsylvania state boxing commissioner and catalyst for the project. By Bruce Schreiner. SENT: About 600 words.
EXCHANGE:
EXCHANGE-ABANDONED WELLS
PITTSBURGH — Andrew Zadnik probably walked through the same patch of woods in Toms Run Nature Reserve a dozen times while inspecting an abandoned oil well without realizing the remnants of another uncapped well were sticking out of the ground nearby. A contractor hired by the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy to plug two non-producing wells on the preserve in Kilbuck and Ohio townships found it and another one, evidence of the unmapped drilling that took place for decades before the first reporting requirements were passed in the 1950s. “They were completely hidden. Nobody knew about them,” said Zadnik, director of land stewardship for the conservancy, which obtained a $140,000 grant from shale well impact fee money to plug the first two wells and is considering what to do about others. Officials estimate as many as 200,000 abandoned gas and oil wells dating to the 1860s dot the state’s landscape, many uncataloged with no surviving record of ownership. David Conti, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
EXCHANGE-CLERGY ABUSE-HOTLINE
HARRISBURG — Scores — if not hundreds — of parents and individuals in the state’s Catholic Church communities called Pennsylvania’s ChildLine hotline throughout those years to report that they suspected a priest of molesting a child, according to former Childline staffers. Restricted by weak laws, the clerks and counselors who staffed the hotline could do little to help the callers or the possible victims. All they could do was to alert local law enforcement officials — the very people who, according to a recent state grand jury report, often ignored or colluded with church officials to hide the abuse. Some 20 years later, with any records long destroyed, the men and women who staffed the hotline can only speculate about the number of calls. They do, however, vividly remember some of those conversations. Ivey DeJesus, PennLive.com.
EXCHANGE-RIVERSIDE GEOTOURISM
PORTLAND, Pa. — A flotilla of rafts and inner tubes has been collecting dust in the former Portland Outfitter for six years. The river adventurers they were intended for start their trips in Poconos resorts upstream of this sleepy Delaware River borough. Instead, the kayakers and canoists come ashore here only long enough to dry off before heading back. It’s frustrating to see an economic opportunity float by just out of reach, said Mayor Lance Prator, the borough’s most vocal cheerleader. He’s convinced that if an investor or two sticks around long enough, they’ll come to appreciate the river town’s scenic beauty. “In 30 seconds, you can drive through the town,” he said. “You’ve got to stop and smell the roses. You’ve got to stop and smell Portland.” Tourists soon may set their sights on Portland and other riverside communities between Easton and Hancock, N.Y., under a geotourism project steered by the National Parks Conservation Association and National Geographic. Tom Shortell, The (Allentown) Morning Call.
EXCHANGE-DOWN SYNDROME-SON
BEAVER — When Judy Pamer looks at her son, she sees a typical teenager — a boy who’s popular in school with lots of friends, likes math, plays cymbals in the band, loves to cook and is fun to be around. Some people, who don’t know him well, however, see Karl differently. “The community doesn’t look at my son the way I see him,” the Beaver mom said. Karl was born with Down syndrome, a genetic birth defect that results in some degree of cognitive delay and increased risk for health problems and medical conditions. “And I can’t change that he has Down syndrome, but I can change the way the community may see him.” Thankfully, a lot has changed to help his parents in their efforts. Marsha Keefer, Beaver County Times.
EXCHANGE-GHOST SIGNS
WASHINGTON, Pa. — Walking or driving around Washington or the Mon Valley, there are pieces of – if not art, then craft – from a time long gone, fading away, day by day. These advertisements from yesteryear are easily overlooked, but someone cared about them enough to coin the term “ghost signs” because, in many cases, they continue to promote has-been businesses or products no longer made. They can be seen on the sides of older buildings in many downtown areas, fading reminders of once-bustling shopping districts. Lawrence O’Toole of New York City, an authority on the subject, began researching these graphics from days past when he was a student at Drexel University in Philadelphia. “I saw signs that were kind of peeking out from side alley walls,” he said in a phone interview late last year. “Signage I thought was interesting was on old buildings, and it gave a sense of the blocks downtown I was focusing on. I shot it on film. It’s so easy now to grab them on a cellphone. In the late 1990s, blogging had just started, and I thought, ‘I’m going to try this blogging thing and post a couple of these photos.'” Barbara Miller, (Washington) Observer-Reporter.
IN BRIEF:
TATTOO SHOP OWNER SLAIN — A man has been convicted of third-degree murder in the shooting death of a western Pennsylvania tattoo shop owner a year ago.
PUBLIC HOUSING IMPLOSION — Two public housing high-rises in north Philadelphia have been demolished as part of a plan to revitalize the area.
SPORTS:
BKC–NCAA-SAINT JOSEPH’S-OREGON
SPOKANE, Wash. — Oregon looked the part of a No. 1 seed in its NCAA opener. But there might not be a hotter team than No. 8 seed Saint Joseph’s, who has many similarities to the Ducks. By Tim Booth. UPCOMING: 600 words. By 6 p.m. PST.
BKW–NCAA-ROBERT MORRIS-UCONN
STORRS, Conn. — Top-seeded UConn goes for its 23rd straight first-round NCAA Tournament win as the Huskies face Robert Morris. A win would give the Huskies 70 straight wins. By Pat Eaton-Robb. 700 words, Developing from 11 a.m. EST start. With AP Photos.
BKW–NCAA-DUQUESNE-SETON HALL
STORRS, Conn. — Ninth-seeded Duquesne makes its first NCAA Tournament appearance against eight-seed Seton Hall, which is looking for its first NCAA Tournament win. By Pat Eaton-Robb. 600 words. Developing from approximately 2 p.m. EST tipoff. With AP Photos.
BKW–NCAA–PENN-WASHINGTON
COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Ivy League champion Penn, the 10th seed, takes on seventh-seeded Washington and high-scoring guard Kelsey Plum in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. By Howard Fendrich. UPCOMING: 650 words, photos. Game starts around 4 p.m.
BBO–PHILLIES-BLUE JAYS
DUNEDIN, Fla. — The Philadelphia Phillies face the Toronto Blue Jays in spring training action. UPCOMING: 500 words. Game starts at 1:07 p.m. ET.
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