AP-,ADVISORY

Underground fires, toxins in unfunded cleanup of old mines

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 A reminder this information is not for publication or broadcast, and these coverage plans are subject to change.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: WOLF-PENNSYLVANIA LEGISLATURE Open Menu HARRISBURG — The largest Republican majority in the Pennsylvania state Senate in nearly 70 years is wasting no time in flexing its newfound muscle, advancing hard-line bills that would kill Philadelphia's sick-leave law and withhold grant dollars from cities that do not honor federal requests to detain undocumented immigrants. More is coming. By Marc Levy. SENT: About 720 words. POLICE DRESS CODES NEW YORK — Police departments are relaxing traditional grooming standards and getting away from rules that used to require a uniformly clean-shaven, 1950s look. That's because there's a national hiring crisis and departments are seeking a more diverse applicant pool. By Colleen Long. SENT: About 610 words. ABANDONED MINES PRESTON COUNTY, W.Va. —An underground coal mine fire still smolders in northern West Virginia, releasing smoke from gashes in a hillside only a stone's throw from some houses. State officials say the fire, which may have started by arson, lightning or a forest fire, had burned low for several years before bursting into flames last July in rural Preston County. By Michael Virtanen. SENT: NewsNow, will be updated. AP photos. EXCHANGE: EXCHANGE-CONTINUING CURSIVE WILKES-BARRE — Perhaps the most famous signature in history adorns the Declaration of Independence. Iohn Hancock's signature on the Declaration of Independence may be the most famous inscription in American history. But one need not be the president of the Continental Congress to take pride in a signature. Take Alexander Gryziec. All of 8 years old and still grappling with the notion of history — much less his place in it — the second-grader at Lee Park Elementary in Hanover Township eagerly demonstrated he could write his name, in cursive, legibly: "Alex." He beamed with unabashed pride. Hanover Area School District incorporates the commercially available Zaner-Bloser handwriting curriculum from kindergarten through third grade. "A lot of people were saying we need to take handwriting out of the curriculum. Our district never jumped on that bandwagon," Principal Ann Marie Mantione said with a hint of pride. Mark Guydish, The (Wilkes-Barre) Times Leader. EXCHANGE-ADDICTION OBITUARY PITTSBURGH — A short while before Casey Schwartzmier died, she had a frank conversation with her mother. She'd been on Facebook and saw an obituary that had gone viral. It was for a man whose family, rather than writing that he died "suddenly," told everyone about his battles with addiction. Casey, who had struggled with her own drug addiction for years, told her mom that if she ever died of an overdose, she wanted the same thing. "Tell them. Tell them my story. Maybe it would help somebody who's struggling," Casey said. And then, in what her mom said was typical Casey fashion, she cracked a joke and began talking about her upcoming trip to California, where she was excited to check into a rehab facility and get help for her addiction. "She didn't plan on dying," her mother, Michelle Schwartzmier said this week. "She didn't want to die. She just said, 'That is what I would want.' " Liz Navratil, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. EXCHANGE-LEHIGH VALLEY AMUSEMENT PARKS ALLENTOWN — The recent reopening of the roller skating rink at Bushkill Park in Fork Township — and hope for more of the 12-acre amusement park to re-emerge — might have people thinking about the future. But it also stirs memories of the past, when several small amusement parks dotted the Lehigh Valley. Among them were Central Park in the Rittersville area at the Allentown/Bethlehem border, Willow Park in Bethlehem Township, Island Park outside Easton and Indian Trail Park in Lehigh Township. All are long gone. Old photos show hundreds of families, dressed as if going to church, strolling Central Park grounds. Some stand next to an impressive roller coaster. Some of the parks, opened between 1893 and 1931, brought in major entertainers. The famous American band conductor John Philip Sousa performed at two of them. John J. Moser, The (Allentown) Morning Call. EXCHANGE-OUTSIDERS-PENNSYLVANIA PITTSBURGH — If you thought the first season of "Outsiders" brought lots of clashes and confrontations, wait until you see season two, says Tina Alexis Allen. "I'd say there's double the conflict -- it's coming at us from all sides," said Allen, who plays the fiery Shurn on WGN America's highest-rated original series. Set in Appalachian Kentucky, "Outsiders" shoots in western Pennsylvania, including Monroeville, Millvale, West Newton and the 31st Street Studios in Pittsburgh's Strip District. The story centers on a power struggle between the Farrell clan, an insular group of mountain folk living off the grid, and the townspeople in the valley below who believe in the promises of a big coal company that wants to evict the Farrells to reap financial gains. Scott Tady, Beaver County Times. EXCHANGE-MAKING VIOLINS YORK — As the halls of William Penn Senior High emptied, a quiet began to fall over the building. Chris Kurz stood in one of his old classrooms on a recent afternoon, returning to his music home after a decade away. He handed one newly crafted violin, then another, to his former teacher. Violins he made in Italy. Soon, mundane tuning and scales transformed into melodies as longtime mentor Don Carn warmed up. Mozart's "Eine kleine Nachtmusik" flowed into Bach's "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring," the sounds reverberating deeper as he played, horsehair flying faster across the strings. Kurz, 27, described it as a full-circle moment. The former high school valedictorian is changing direction from preparing to play violins for a living to making them. Frank Bodani, York Daily Record. IN BRIEF: DUQUESNE HOMICIDES — Trial has begun in western Pennsylvania for a man charged in a 2013 double homicide in suburban Pittsburgh. SHOTGUN SHOOTING — Two men have been sentenced to a century or longer in prison in a shotgun shooting that injured seven people in north Philadelphia, including three children. FATAL MINIVAN HIT-RUN — Authorities say a woman crossing a west Philadelphia street with a group of children was struck and killed by a minivan that fled the scene. A toddler was also injured. SPORTS: BKC--CLEMSON-PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh tries to bounce back from the second-worst loss in school history on Saturday when the Panthers host Clemson. PItt (12-8, 1-6) has lost six of seven. The Tigers (11-8, 1-6) have dropped six straight. Game begins at 12 p.m. EST. By Will Graves. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos. ___ 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