Emily Babay

Omaha World-Herald

By Emily Babay

When Lyons, Neb., celebrates its 125th year this Independence Day, the recession isn’t going to get in the way.

The town of about 1,000 in Burt County is spending twice as much as usual on its fireworks display, said Denise Johnson, chairwoman of the Fourth of July committee.

About four years of fundraising efforts have gone into the fireworks show and a weekend-long bluegrass festival.

The town supported suppers, barbecues and dances to raise the funds, Johnson said. And this weekend, the streets will be filled with games, music and fireworks.

It’s a sharp contrast to cities large and small throughout the country, including Miami and Ridgefield Park, N.J., that have canceled Independence Day events because of the economy.

In Lyons, scaling back wasn’t an option.

“It’s our 125th. We really didn’t want to do that,” Johnson said.

In the Midlands, even communities not celebrating milestones aren’t cutting back on festivities. Fundraising has been a bit tougher, celebration planners say, but a less-severe economic downturn here and communities willing to support long-standing traditions are keeping celebrations alive.
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Omaha World-Herald

By Emily Babay

Drummer and vibraphonist Luigi Waites has played before live audiences thousands of times in his decades-long career.

In 2005, the Omaha arts community celebrated his 1,500th jazz performance at Mr. Toad’s in the Old Market with a party at the bar. Waites, then in his late 70s, was lauded for his energy and longevity.

“For an old man, he’s got a lot of spunk,” Doyle Tipler, a trumpeter in his band, said at the time.

Now, the spunk of Waites’ live shows — heard by generations of Omahans — will make its way to a CD. He has performed weekly at Mr. Toad’s since the mid-1970s.

The album will be the first recorded live for Waites, now 81, and his band, Luigi Inc.

And Waites expects it to be his last recording.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

As police continue their investigation of Engineering sophomore Ryan Smith’s fall from the Quadrangle this weekend, Smith’s family and friends say they do not believe the incident was a suicide attempt.

University spokeswoman Lori Doyle confirmed yesterday that the student is Ryan Smith, an Engineering sophomore from Rose Valley, Pa.

Smith, a Digital Media Design major, fell from the fifth floor of the south side of Fisher Hassenfeld College House about 10:30 a.m. on Saturday.

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Erie Times-News

By Emily Babay

For couples like Kirsten Rispin and her girlfriend, the path to marriage is filled with legal and logistical obstacles.

The Erie women might take advantage of the California Supreme Court ruling in May that made same-sex marriage legal.

Some couples in the Erie region are contemplating cross-country trips. Others question the value of doing so.

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Erie Times-News

By Emily Babay

Erie Hotline is going out of business at the end of this month.

The crisis and support help line will end operations on July 31 at 8 a.m., according to a letter sent in June to hot-line volunteers by Kathy Pistorio, Erie Hotline president, and Dick DeLuca, the director of operations. The Erie Times-News reviewed a copy of the letter this week.

The hot line cut its hours July 1. The 37-year-old hot line now operates weekdays from 4 p.m. to 8 a.m. and round-the-clock on weekends. It had been available round-the-clock seven days a week.

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Erie Times-News

By Emily Babay

CORRY — Walls with dents and pink stains from tear gas need to be restored and painted. Shattered windows will be replaced. All the carpeting will eventually be removed.

And Justin Smith is doing it all.

Smith, 19, faces the task of cleaning up his family’s home, at 156 Wright St. in Corry, after his sister’s estranged husband committed suicide there during a police standoff on May 7.

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Erie Times-News

By Emily Babay

Even as summer — and mosquito season — approaches, the threat of humans catching West Nile virus has largely disappeared in Erie County.

Local health officials are beginning their annual campaign to fight the virus, a mosquito-borne disease that can cause potentially fatal swelling in the brain. Officials say the decline in West Nile cases that has occurred over the past several years is a trend that extends across Pennsylvania and is primarily due to measures aimed at lowering the mosquito population.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

Last December, Economics professor Rafael Robb “lost it” during a fight with his wife, Ellen, about whether their daughter would return from an upcoming vacation in time to attend school.

That day, Dec. 22, 2006, Ellen Robb was found bludgeoned to death in the couple’s Upper Merion home – a crime for which Rafael Robb admitted guilt yesterday.

Robb, 57, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas, saying he used a chin-up bar to beat to death his wife of 16 years. Robb’s trial on first- and third-degree murder charges was scheduled to begin yesterday.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

WILMINGTON, Del. – Jurors debating the fate of accused murderer and Wharton undergraduate Irina Malinovskaya communicated for the first time in 10 days yesterday, when they released a note seeking clarification on case evidence.

The note stated that the jury spent the first seven days of deliberations reviewing the evidence and has spent the bulk of this week discussing the case, which Delaware attorneys have called one of the longest jury deliberations for a murder case in state history.

The jury also asked for clarification on differences between direct and circumstantial evidence. Judge James Vaughn will address these questions this morning.

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The Daily Pennsylvanian

By Emily Babay

The Board of Trustees is the University’s highest governing body, but some trustees are still in the dark about the reasons behind the departure of former Dean of Admissions Lee Stetson.

About half of the trustees who spoke to The Daily Pennsylvanian said they had not been told why Stetson abruptly resigned in late August. Other trustees declined to comment and would not reveal if they knew why Stetson left.

University officials have refused to reveal the circumstances behind Stetson’s resignation, and Penn President Amy Gutmann has only said that his departure was in the “best interests” of Stetson and the University.

Gutmann may be pressed to elaborate on that statement when the Board of Trustees meets for its annual fall meeting at the Inn at Penn today.

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