Monday, March 27, 2000
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2 charged in Westwood gas station robbery
Two men from Mount Airy and College Hill were charged with the armed robbery of a Westwood gas station, Cincinnati police said Sunday.
Officers said Thomas Gardner, 40, went into the BP station in the 2100 block of Montana Aveenue at 9:25 p.m. Saturday and pulled a knife.
He went behind the counter, stole an undisclosed amount of money, and fled in an Oldsmobile with codefendant Derrick Simpson, 43, police added.
Police were given a description of the Oldsmobile and temporary Ohio license plate, and located it driving northbound on Colerain Avenue. A chase ensued. The suspects were arrested 16 minutes later, in front of Mr. Gardner's residence in the 2600 block of Hill Vista Avenue, Mount Airy.
Mr. Gardner, who police said was carrying a knife and stolen money when he was arrested, is charged with aggravated robbery, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest.
Mr. Simpson, of the 1500 block of West North Bend Road, is charged with complicity to aggravated robbery and resisting arrest.
Boy accused of using knife in Pokemon theft
A juvenile was charged with stealing a 14-year-old's Pokemon cards at knifepoint in Winton Place, Cincinnati police said Sunday.
The theft occurred at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in the 600 block of Strand Lane. The suspect's identity was not released because of his age but police are regarding the confrontation as an aggravated robbery.
Taft employees' work for Bush criticized
COLUMBUS — Six of Gov. Bob Taft's top staff members remained on the state payroll while campaigning for Texas Gov. George W. Bush before the March 7 Ohio Republican primary, the Columbus Dispatch reported Sunday.
The aides took compensatory time off — accrued when employees work extra hours — to temporarily leave their state jobs to help Mr. Bush, who easily beat Sen. John McCain of Arizona in the primary.
While there is no law against this, some political experts find it improper because there are no records documenting whether state employees are on their time or Ohio's time when they work on partisan political campaigns.
No other state officeholders allow employees to use comp time for political campaigns. Instead, they require workers to use vacation or take a leave of absence, the newspaper said.
Dual slaying puts focus on Puerto Viejo
DAYTON, Ohio — The killings of an Antioch College student and a former student have focused international attention on the Costa Rican seaside resort of Puerto Viejo and led to stronger travel warnings about visiting that area of the Central American country, the Dayton Daily News reported.
The slayings of Antioch College student Emily Howell and her friend Emily Eagen, a former student from the college in Yellow Springs near Dayton, remain unsolved. A total of four tourists and foreigners have been killed in the past month in the sparsely populated area around Puerto Viejo.
After the most recent killings, the U.S. State Department updated its information sheet for Americans, acknowledging that “crime is increasing and tourists ... are frequent victims,” the newspaper reported Sunday.
The women's bodies were found March 13 a few miles from Puerto Viejo. They had been shot.
No racist hate group found at police dept.
CLEVELAND — An investigation into allegations of police racism found no evidence of racist hate groups operating in the police department, Mayor Michael R. White said Sunday.
He said the probe found some evidence of graffiti and “active racists” in the past but that such racism has decreased in recent years.
The mayor last summer asked for an investigation after racist or Nazi graffiti and other symbols allegedly had been seen in some police district offices. Mr. White would not identify the sources of the allegations.
Robert Beck, president of the Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association, said the investigation did not substantiate the accusations of racism.
He said the city released the internal affairs report to the union on Thursday, after the union demanded all information about the allegations.
Mr. Beck said the mayor has had the report from the internal affairs investigation since September.
“Rather than being honest and forthcoming to the public concerning the findings of this report, he chose to keep it a secret,” Mr. Beck said Sunday.
Mr. White said he would ask the Greater Cleveland Roundtable group and the city's community relations board to review the findings and suggest steps to take next.
The mayor said he has worked to create a police department that respects civil rights and fights crime aggressively. “I have never felt in the past, nor do I today, that these goals are mutually exclusive,” he said.
Hoosiers urged to cut back on electricity use
INDIANAPOLIS — During the hottest stretches of the past two summers, Indiana utilities warned Hoosiers to cut back on electricity usage or face intermittent blackouts.
That threat of blackouts still looms, especially with forecasts of a dry, warm season ahead.
Studies by the North American Reliability Council and other agencies, including the Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, say power-plant construction isn't keeping pace with demand.
Cell phone fee faces Senate battle
Bike trails have cities pedaling to tie in
Tristate lands role in major motion picture
Madisonville pride intact, despite insult
Census workers count homeless
NKU's comeback kids bring home title
Public can add to WVXU's audio history of Cincinnati radio
Speaker: Parents should control local education
St. X's first fan dies after win
Agencies to share location?
Cleanup volunteers to spruce up Reading
Consultant drops Lebanon as client
Deerfield asks input on police
Golub thrills CCO crowd
Intervention starts in 4th grade
Middletown schools look ahead
Newport revives bid for low-income housing grant
Project would link art, city
Theologian differs with Commandments as posted
Queen City's moments to shine reflected in book
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