Photo of the Day

This cardinal has taken to my tree in search of love and home.

US Pizza Team wins "Best in the World"

World's No. 1 Pizza Team Announced in Salsomaggiore, Italy04/14/2011 Salsomaggiore, Italy (April 13, 2011) – The U.S. Pizza Team walked away victorious from the 20th World Championship of Pizza and 2nd Olimpizza in Salsomaggiore, Italy, today as they were presented with the coveted trophy for Team Freestyle Acrobatics, making the U.S. Pizza Team the No. 1 Pizza Team in the world. Team members are listed below along with all of the events they entered: Dave Smith, II, Smith’s Pizza Palace Plus, Emporium, PA - Pizza Teglia (pan pizza) - Pizza a Due (pizza for two) - Pizza Celiachia (gluten-free pizza) - Heinz Beck Trophy - Fastest Pizza - Largest Pizza - Team Freestyle Acrobatics Additional team members who participated in the team acrobatics performance included Chris Green, Caroline Felker and Missy Green from Oxford, MS U.S. Pizza Team coach Dave Smith, II; team coordinator Holly Henning; PMQ publisher Steve Green; co-publisher Linda Green and PMQ editor-in-chief Liz Barrett were all in attendance to cheer on the team and motivate them toward a victory. The team’s travel to Italy for competition was made possible with the help of U.S. Pizza Team sponsors: Pizzaware, Gordon Food Service, California Milk Advisory Board, Paradise Tomato Kitchens, Pizza.com, La Nova, Tom Sawyer Gluten Free Products, Pizza Packet, Cheney Brothers, Liguria, Burn Cream MD, Fontanini Italian Meats and Sausages, Univex, Vin DiVino, Bag Solutions, Marsal & Sons, DeIorio’s and Ruxter. For more information, photos and/or video footage of individual team members and/or the entire U.S. Pizza Team, visit USPizzaTeam.com and PizzaTV.com, or contact Holly Henning at holly@uspizzateam.com or (662) 234-5481, ext. 129.

GE Transportation reports increase in production demand

Recently, the company 'exhausted its recall list and hired more than 100 additional production workers.' GE Transportation has announced that due to increasing production demands, it will hire around 100 extra workers at its manufacturing plant in Erie, Pennsylvania. The announcement comes a few months after the company recalled 800 staff who had been affected by the ‘layoffs’ in early 2009. Recently, the company ‘exhausted its recall list and hired more than 100 additional production workers.’ Production workers help GE Transportation address increased demand for locomotives, drive systems for mining trucks, drill motors and other transportation-related products. “We are growing our business in Erie to help our customers succeed in North America and around the world,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, President and CEO of GE Transportation. “Competition is fierce. We need to bring our A-game every day to maintain our position as the freight locomotive builder of choice for railroads worldwide.” GE Transportation recently announced plans to expand its manufacturing footprint in the United States to complement its operations in Erie. Currently, the company is evaluating competitive GE and non-GE U.S. sites to manufacture transportation equipment in the future. By the end of this year, GE Transportation will have invested more than $600 million in its technology leadership and product innovation worldwide since 2010.

Fugitive Caught

Salamanca Jacob M. Kamats, 22, of 152 Kent Blvd., Salamanca, was charged with being a fugitive from justice Friday at 4 p.m. He was wanted on a bench warrant out of Cameron County, Pa. He was processed, arraigned and sent to the Cattaraugus County Jail with no bail and is scheduled to appear in Cattaraugus County Court today. LINK

All too cozy

Remember the Marcellus Shale? It's still out there - or, rather, under there - with "there" being a good portion of the state. And moves continue to make Pennsylvania's government a near-wholly-owned subsidiary of the industry that is working to remove natural gas from that shale at significant profit. We know about the political contributions made by the industry to Gov. Tom Corbett. We know industry insiders are populating the supposed "oversight" boards. We know there is resistance to any form of state-levied gas-extraction tax. All should be already enough to make all Pennsylvanians, and particularly those living in the extraction zone and downsteam, nervous. A rush to profit with tame politicians bought and paid for. Now it gets worse. Leaked email from the state Department of Environmental Protection has directed inspectors policing Marcellus Shale activities now must receive prior approval from high-level superiors (read that political employees beholden to the industry the inspectors need to police) before taking any kind of enforcement action. read MORE

Kent State Baseball's Lyon Named MAC Male Scholar Athlete of the Week

http://www.kentstatesports.com/sports/bsb/2010-11/releases/20110402vq34z4 CLEVELAND -- Kent State junior catcher David Lyon (Emporium, Pa.) has been named the Mid-American Conference Male Scholar Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Friday (April 1). Lyon, a sports administration major carrying a 3.73 grade point average, finished a spectacular three-game stretch in grand fashion in Kent State's Mid-American Conference and home opening series against Toledo last weekend (March 25-27) at Olga A. Mural Field at Schoonover Stadium. The junior catcher went 2-for-3 with four RBIs and a run scored – including a three-run home run over the right field wall in the bottom of the second in Kent State's 8-2 victory over the Rockets last Sunday (March 27). Lyon finished the series batting a whopping .778 with seven hits – including two doubles and a homer – with six RBIs and a run scored. He posted a slugging percentage of 1.333 and an on-base percentage of .818 as the Golden Flashes took two of three games in the set. Lyon is the second Kent State student-athlete to earn MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week for the 2010-11 academic year. Junior track & field student-athlete Diana Dumitrescu (Campulung Arges, Romania) earned the distinction on March 4. The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week's competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.

2011 CC Canoe and Kayak Classic a success!

Over 200 boats entered the frigid water to compete in this year's event. Lots of photos at www.camconative.com