Autopsy slated on firefighter who died on way to blaze

Transparency vowed in probe of Chester police shooting

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 lrosenthal@ap.org. A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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. TOP STORIES: SUNSHINE WEEK-STATEHOUSE SECRECY State capitols often are referred to as "the people's house." Yet when it comes to the availability of records, legislatures frequently put up a no trespassing sign: In many states, lawmakers have exempted themselves from the state public records laws. A recent Associated Press request for emails and daily schedules of the legislative leaders in all 50 states was met with as many denials as approvals. Closed records are just one of many ways state lawmakers dampen transparency for the public. By David A. Lieb. UPCOMING: About 1200 words, AP Photos. With: — BC-US--Sunshine Week-Statehouse Secrecy-States, details of legislative records restrictions in every state. POLICE-SUSPECT SHOOTING CHESTER — The mayor of Chester is vowing transparency in an investigation into an exchange of gunfire that killed one suspect and critically injured a second while also wounding a police captain, but he also praised police for restraint in dealing with a hostile crowd afterward. EXCHANGE: EXCHANGE-JOHNSTOWN 1936 FLOOD JOHNSTOWN — Tony Abraham was seven years old when a spring thaw and three days of rain ushered in Johnstown's second great flood - on March 17, 1936. He escaped the rising waters - but not the ruin, returning to his Cambria City home days later to find it filled with mud and little else. In that moment, Abraham said his eyes filled with tears. "We had this big piano ... and when I walked in, the keys were scattered all over the place," he told The Tribune-Democrat. "Almost everything else was gone. It was like we got rubbed out." Today, Abraham is 87 years old and among a dwindling generation of 1936 Flood survivors. They were all children then, who have carried vivid memories of that day with them their entire lives. Now, with such stories being washed away by 80 years of passing time, it makes preserving them a necessity - and a donation from a onetime Greater Johnstown teacher both valuable and vital, Johnstown Area Heritage Association Executive Director Richard Burkert said. David Hurst, The (Johnstown) Tribune-Democrat. IN BRIEF: STABBING DEATH — Police in Philadelphia are investigating after a 24-year old man was fatally stabbed early Sunday morning in the city's posh Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. FATAL HOUSE FIRE — Authorities in western Pennsylvania say a house fire claimed the life of an elderly man. FIREFIGHTER DEATH — An autopsy is scheduled Monday on a veteran central Pennsylvania firefighter who died while responding to a blaze over the weekend. MISS NEW JERSEY-CRASH — Hundreds of people gathered at a New Jersey church to honor a former Miss America contestant who died from injuries suffered in a car crash last month. SPORTS: BKC--NCAA TOURNAMENT-EAST REGIONAL VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament's East Regional, which will conclude in Philadelphia. By Dan Gelston. UPCOMING: 700 words. By 9 p.m. EST. AP Photos. BKC--A10-ST. JOSEPH'S-VCU NEW YOR — No. 2 seed VCU tries to repeat as Atlantic 10 Tournament champions against fourth-seed St. Joseph's in a rematch of the 2014 title game won by the Hawks. By Ralph D. Russo. Game starts at 12:30 p.m. EST. 700 words, with photos. BBO--TIGERS-PIRATES PITTSBURGH — Pirates ace Gerrit Cole will make his first start of the spring on Sunday against Detroit. The All-Star has been slowed since January by a rib cage injury. Game begins at 1:05 p.m. EST. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos. BBO--PHILLIES-YANKEES TAMPA, Fla. — The Philadelphia Phillies visit the New York Yankees in spring training action. By Mark Didtler. UPCOMING: 500 words, photos. Game starts at 1:05 p.m. EST. ___ If you have stories of regional or statewide interest, please email them to phillyap@ap.org. If you have photos of regional or statewide interest, please send them to the AP state photo center in New York, 888-273-6867. For access to AP Exchange and other technical issues, contact AP Customer Support at apcustomersupport@ap.org or 877-836-9477. MARKETPLACE: Calling your attention to the Marketplace in AP Exchange, where you can find member-contributed content from Pennsylvania and other states. The Marketplace is accessible on the left navigational pane of the AP Exchange home page, near the bottom. For both national and state, you can click "All" or search for content by topics such as education, politics and business.

AP-PA--Pennsylvania News Digest, PA