Archive for February 18th, 2008
POLITICAL UPDATE — Ex-President Bush backs McCain
HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush endorsed John McCain today, a nod of approval from the Republican political dynasty’s patriarch that sends a strong signal to a GOP establishment wary of the Arizona senator. “No one is better prepared to lead our nation at these trying times than Sen. John McCain,” Bush said, [...]
NBA All-Star Game: East the beast this time as LeBron James named MVP
NEW ORLEANS — In a proud city still restoring its unique beauty, the Eastern Conference repaired its own image. Ray Allen scored 28 points, making three straight 3-pointers in the final 3:15, and LeBron James added 27 as the East, widely considered the NBA’s weaker half, beat the Western Conference 134-128 in Sunday night’s All-Star [...]
NBA All-Star Game: LeBron James makes it two MVP awards in three years
NEW ORLEANS — King James is All-Star royalty again. LeBron James threw down a powerful dunk for the go-ahead basket with 55 seconds left, punctuating an MVP performance and helping the Eastern Conference beat the West 134-128 on Sunday night in the All-Star game. James finished with 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in [...]
Tag-team ending: Ryan Newman wins Daytona 500 on the final lap thanks to assist from Kurt Busch
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Another thriller, another heartbreak at the Daytona 500. For the second straight year, The Great American Race came down to the last lap. This time the drama rewarded Ryan Newman, who hadn’t won in 81 races over more than two years, and team owner Roger Penske, long the king at Indianapolis [...]
Jim Litke: Making the wrong choice on final lap costs Tony Stewart the Daytona 500
AYTONA BEACH, Fla. — It was all there for the taking, set up for the storybook finish the 50th running of The Great American Race deserved. Tony Stewart, old school by temperament as much as by training, came out of the final restart with plenty of car underneath him and only a lap to go. [...]
Prep bowling: Vermilion boys, North Ridgeville girls defend sectional titles
NORTH RIDGEVILLE — Redemption. The Vermilion boys and North Ridgeville girls teams both earned it Sunday as they repeated as Lorain County Division I sectional bowling champs at Brunswick Zone. The two teams made up for shaky performances at the North Shore Bowling Conference Tournament on Feb. 10. The North Ridgeville girls were second at [...]
Cleveland Indians up in arms: Number of quality starters should be a team strength once again
WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — The depth of the Cleveland Indians’ rotation played a big role in the team’s success last season. That depth could come in handy again in 2008. The Indians hope to start the season with C.C. Sabathia, Fausto Carmona, Jake Westbrook and Paul Byrd in the first four spots. Cliff Lee, Jeremy [...]
Youngstown’s Pavlik eyes goal: Unifying middleweight boxing class
LAS VEGAS — Kelly Pavlik proved his superiority and fattened his bank account with a second victory over Jermain Taylor. Now this frugal people’s champion is finally ready to go shopping — for two really ugly belts. Moments after winning a unanimous decision in his rematch with Taylor on Saturday night, Pavlik reiterated his plan [...]
A first under Thad Matta: Ohio State loses to Michigan
ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Ohio State suffered its first loss to Michigan in the Thad Matta era as the sluggish Buckeyes were upset by the Wolverines 80-70 Sunday. Matta’s teams had been 7-0 against Michigan before Wolverines freshman Manny Harris scored a career-high 27 points to help open up a close game. Michigan (8-17, 4-9 [...]
USDA recalls tons of beef
LOS ANGELES — The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Sunday recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse, the subject of an animal-abuse investigation, that provided meat to school lunch programs. Officials said it was the largest beef recall in the United States, surpassing a 1999 ban of 35 million pounds of [...]
Presidents’ Day closings
ELYRIA — Government offices at nearly every city, county, state and federal level will be closed today in observance of Presidents’ Day. Schools will also be closed. There are a few exceptions — police in Lorain, Avon and Grafton said offices there will remain open. The city of Elyria will not collect trash and will [...]
Homeless finding shelter in Cleveland foreclosures
CLEVELAND — The nation’s foreclosure crisis has led to a painful irony for homeless people: On any given night they are outnumbered in some cities by vacant houses. Some street people are taking advantage of the opportunity by becoming squatters. Foreclosed homes often have an advantage over boarded-up and dilapidated houses abandoned because of rundown [...]
Fundraisers work to raise money for Katrina-stricken students
ELYRIA — The Katrina Leadership Project is celebrating Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s 77th birthday today while working on a drive to raise $300,000 to sponsor a trip to Washington, D.C., for young people from the New Orleans area. The group, comprised of students from Lorain County Community College and around the country, hopes to [...]
NATION’S CREATION: Kosovo declares independence
PRISTINA, Kosovo — Revelers fired guns, waved red-and-black Albanian flags and set off fireworks over Kosovo on Sunday after parliament proclaimed independence in defiance of Serbia and Russia, which condemned the declaration of the world’s newest nation. A decade after a bloody separatist war with Serbian forces that claimed 10,000 lives, lawmakers pronounced the territory [...]
CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS: Clinton backers mull tactics to beat Obama
WASHINGTON — Ask a dozen die-hard Democrats around the country what Hillary Rodham Clinton can do to beat Barack Obama and win the presidential nomination and they have plenty of ideas — some of them contradictory. The question generates strong sentiment, though, that Clinton simply can’t compete on charisma, that there are forces at play [...]
Report: HD-DVD format appears doomed
TOKYO — Toshiba may pull the plug on its high-definition DVD format but no decision has been made, the Japanese electronics maker said in a statement today. Toshiba Corp. has started a review of its HD DVD business, it said, amid reports by the Wall Street Journal and Kyodo News agency that Toshiba was considering [...]
Nancy Reagan in hospital after fall
SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Former first lady Nancy Reagan was hospitalized Sunday after falling in her home in Bel-Air but is doing well, her spokeswoman said. Reagan, 86, was taken to St. John’s Health Center, where doctors determined she did not break a hip as feared, spokeswoman Joanne Drake said. Drake said Reagan was doing [...]
Police briefs: Feb. 18, 2008
Thieves take tools during man’s sleep ELYRIA — The owner of an Illinois business will remember Elyria, but his recollections may not be fond. The man, who owns an underground utility company in Round Lake Beach, Ill., told police he checked into the Super 8 on Lorain Boulevard about 3 a.m. Sunday to rest during [...]
Woman: NIU shooter called to say goodbye
WONDER LAKE, Ill. — The girlfriend of the man who killed five people and himself at Northern Illinois University said Sunday that he called her early on Valentine’s Day, the day of the shooting, to say goodbye. Steven Kazmierczak “called me at midnight and told me not to forget about him,” Jessica Baty, 28, told [...]
Avon/Avon Lake notebook: Feb. 18, 2008
Search the Web and help Learwood Whether you’re searching online for the latest about Britney Spears or just shopping for a new book, you can be raising money for Avon Lake students. The Learwood Middle School PTA has teamed with Scholastic Books and Microsoft in the “Search and Give” program. Instead of using Google or [...]
Avon/Avon Lake police blotter: Feb. 18, 2008
Avon Lake police Saturday, Feb. 9 3:47 a.m. – 33300 block Chelsea Drive, three teenagers spotted going car to car down the street. 8:22 p.m. – 33300 block Lake Road, unwanted man removed from house. 11:22 p.m. – 33400 block Lake Road, crash involving a deer. Sunday, Feb. 10 9:28 a.m. – Walker Road, a [...]
Remembering 9/11: Avon Lake teacher, staff aim to memorialize that fateful day
When he looks out over a hidden courtyard in the heart of Avon Lake High School, teacher George Haxhiu doesn’t see brown grass and drab brick walls. He sees a sparkling monument to the American spirit — just one that hasn’t been built yet. “When 9/11 happened, the feeling that came over me was fear [...]
Dayton-area police report increase in gang activity
DAYTON — Gangs are well-entrenched in the metropolitan area, despite sometimes cautionary statements from law enforcement agencies and civic leaders that the problem is less threatening than in other parts of the state or country, the Dayton Daily News reported Sunday. In the past decade, law enforcement agencies have connected assaults, drug trafficking, shootings and [...]
House fire victim accused of passing bad checks
CINCINNATI — A mother of two sets of triplets whose home was destroyed by fire last month has pleaded not guilty to charges of theft and three counts of passing bad checks. Victoria Lasita, 40, waived her appearance at a scheduled arraignment on Friday, and her plea was taken care of through paperwork. She [...]
Bill Clinton campaigns in Toledo
TOLEDO — Former President Clinton told hundreds of Hillary Rodham Clinton’s supporters on Sunday that her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination will likely come down to contests next month in Ohio and Texas. “It’s up to you,” he told about 800 people inside the gymnasium of a Toledo high school. Clinton also said his [...]