Briefs: Stepson charged with homicide

Terrance Allen, 25, was arrested Oct. 15 and charged with aggravated assault and attempted homicide. He was accused of shooting Terrance Williams, 55, five days earlier on the front porch of Williams' Mt. Oliver home. Williams was taken to Mercy Hospital, Uptown, where he died Nov. 11.

Police said Williams had been released from prison and returned home when he was shot. Williams stabbed Allen during a domestic dispute in 2001, police said.

Pittsburgh police detectives conferred with the Allegheny County District Attorney's Office and filed a homicide charge Wednesday against Allen.

Pittsburgh
Fatal blood clot risk higher for black patients

Black patients have a 30 percent higher chance of dying from blood clots in their lungs than white patients, according to a study by a VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System doctor that was published in the December issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

Using data from more than 15,000 patients statewide, Dr. Said Ibrahim found the elevated rate, which confirmed a disparity implied by previous studies.

The reason for the increased death rate is unclear, Ibrahim said. He said it might be because of variations in treatment or an unknown physiological difference among ethnic groups.

More than 600,000 people in the United States, mostly hospital patients confined to bed, suffer from blood clots in their lungs each year, Ibrahim said.

"This is one health disparity that could be potentially remedied within the health-care system," he said.

East Liberty
Masked gunmen rob couple inside home

Two masked men forced themselves into an East Liberty home late Wednesday and demanded money from a couple inside, Pittsburgh police said.

The robbers -- who wore bandanas on their faces -- knocked on the door of the home in the 5700 block of East Liberty Boulevard about 10:15 p.m. and then burst through the door when a 24-year-old man inside answered it. They held the man at gunpoint until he handed over $75 in his pocket, police said. No one was injured.

McKeesport
Rap group settles concert injury lawsuit

Rap group Three 6 Mafia has settled a lawsuit by a young McKeesport man who said he was severely beaten at a concert when fans followed lyrics of the song "Let's Start a Riot."

Ramone Williams got the financial settlement last month, but details were sealed.

Williams, who was 19 at the time, said he got into a now-defunct club in August 2003 and became uneasy when the song began. Williams said he was thrown to the floor, hit with a chair, stomped on and kicked in the face. His injuries included a fractured jaw.

Williams previously won a default judgment against the club.

Three 6 Mafia, of Memphis, won an Oscar this year for the song "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."

Allegheny County
Smoking ban waiver applications available

The Allegheny County Health Department is accepting applications for smoking ban waivers, department officials announced Thursday.

Fundraisers staffed by volunteers and taverns with fewer than 10 employees that get 10 percent or less of their revenue from nonalcoholic sales can apply for waivers if they do not allow minors on the premises. The smoking ban is scheduled to take effect Jan. 2.

Waiver applications may be obtained by calling the health department at 412-687-2243 or by downloading the forms from its Web site by clicking here.

Erie County
College starts program to assist sophomores

Mercyhurst College in Erie has a new program to ensure sophomores don't get lost in the shuffle after their freshman year.

The program is designed to boost student retention rates by helping students deal with issues they typically face in the second year of study. Issues include career planning and the transition from dorm to apartment living with responsibilities such as cooking and budgeting.

The school already had a program, Fresh Start, to make sure that freshmen are prepared for the rigors of college life. The program for sophomores includes help on writing a resume and an apartment-warming kit that includes recipes for students who are doing more of their cooking.

Pittsburgh
Firefighter applicants lose court battle

Sixteen Pittsburgh firefighter applicants who said their rights were violated when they were passed over for jobs after taking polygraph tests lost another court battle Thursday.

The State Commonwealth Court upheld an Allegheny County Common Pleas Court ruling that the fire department can use lie-detector tests as part of its hiring process.

City officials disqualified several firefighter applicants in the summer of 2005 based on results of a 12-question polygraph test in which answers to some questions differed from what candidates put on their job applications.

The applicants had challenged the disqualifications.

Erie County
Officials appeal ruling on dispatchers

Erie officials have appealed an arbitrator's ruling that ordered six-laid off fire dispatchers back to work.

The dispatchers were laid off amid plans to merge police and fire dispatch services to save money. The firefighters' union said the city violated its contract by not negotiating the layoffs.

"Given its impact on the city's budget, we felt at least the court should take a look at it," said Gerald Villella, a city attorney. The appeal was filed last week.

To win a reversal, city officials must prove the arbitrator made a legal error or exceeded his authority.

For now, the dispatchers are back to work, and city officials say they are owed $280,000 in back pay. Their return also will add $342,000 to next year's budget.

Erie County
Bishop bans use of 'Urinetown' name

A Catholic high school in Erie must try to sell tickets to its upcoming school musical without referring to its title -- "Urinetown: The Musical" -- because the local bishop objects to it.

Erie Bishop Donald W. Trautman does not object to the show itself and received no complaints about it. Instead, the bishop was worried about the title being linked with Cathedral Preparatory School, said Monsignor Tom McSweeney, diocesan spokesman.

But altering the show's name would violate its copyright. So the play's producer and director, the Rev. Michael DeMartinis, said he must try to sell tickets to the show -- which runs Dec. 7 to 10 -- without using the play's title on tickets, posters and programs.

The Tony Award-winning musical is about a place where private toilets are outlawed because of a drought, and people must use pay toilets.

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