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Attorney: Pennsylvania Police Officers With Ben Roethlisberger at …

MBCremodeling — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 23:21:41 +0000

Attorney: Pennsylvania Police Officers With Ben Roethlisberger at Club PITTSBURGH — Two off-duty Pennsylvania police officers were with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at the Georgia nightclub where a woman accused him of sexual assault, and the two men didn’t see anything inappropriate, an attorney for one of the officers said Wednesday. Anthony Barravecchio , an officer on the force in the Pittsburgh suburb of Coraopolis, and Pennsylvania state trooper Ed Joyner were among about eight people with Roethlisberger celebrating his birthday at the club, attorney Michael Santicola said. Santicola said the men were there because they are friends of the two-time Super Bowl winner. “They were not there in their official capacity,” said Santicola, who represents Barravecchio. Police are investigating the 20-year-old college student’s claim that Roethlisberger sexually assaulted her early last Friday at the club in Milledgeville, Ga. Roethlisberger has not been charged, and his attorney disputes the woman’s claim. Santicola said both of the law enforcement officers who were with Roethlisberger are cooperating fully with the investigation, but say they saw nothing inappropriate. “They saw nothing inappropriate, no criminal activity and no inappropriate contact or behavior,” Santicola said. Santicola also said the two do not remember meeting the woman who has accused Roethlisberger of assault. “If they did meet the woman, they have no memory of it,” Santicola said. “This was a crowded bar with people everywhere.” Ed Garland , an attorney for Roethlisberger, has said the quarterback is innocent of any crime and that no sexual assault occurred. Milledgeville police have said they expect to interview Roethlisberger this week and are planning to take a DNA sample from him. Roethlisberger, who owns a home about 30 miles north of Milledgeville on Lake Oconee, is also being sued by a woman who claims he raped her in 2008 at a hotel-casino in Lake Tahoe hotel and casino, an allegation he strongly denies. SHARE: Facebook | Twitter | Email | Digg | del.icio.us | FarkIt | Google Buzz .

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Attorney: Pennsylvania Police Officers With Ben Roethlisberger at …

Fergie's Tech Blog: Pennsylvania Fires CISO Over RSA Talk

brent043 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:48:00 +0000

Pennsylvania Fires CISO Over RSA Talk Jaikumar Vijayan writes on ComputerWorld : Pennsylvania’s chief information security officer, Robert Maley, has been fired, apparently for talking publicly at the RSA security conference last week about a recent incident involving the Commonwealth’s online driving exam scheduling system. A source close to the matter said Maley was terminated for not getting the required approvals from the Commonwealth’s authorities to talk publicly about the incident. Commonwealth rules explicitly require all employees to get approval from the appropriate authorities before they publicly disclose official matters, the source said. A spokesman for the state’s governor, Edward Rendell, today confirmed that Maley is no longer working for the Commonwealth. But he refused to say if Maley had been terminated, citing privacy rules. More here . posted by Fergie @ 3/11/2010 11:48:00 AM .

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Fergie's Tech Blog: Pennsylvania Fires CISO Over RSA Talk

Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President Bill George Announces His …

Bernie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:36:00 +0000

PR Newswire HARRISBURG, Pa., March 11 HARRISBURG, Pa., March 11 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania AFL-CIO President William George today officially announced his plans to retire as President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO at the conclusion of his term in May of 2010 after serving for 20 years as the top union leader in Pennsylvania. “It wasn’t an easy decision but it’s the right decision and at the right time,” George said. “I want to thank all of the Vice Presidents of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Executive Council, both past and present, which I have had the honor and privilege to serve. Without their support, their leadership and their friendship we would not have been able to accomplish so much on behalf of the working men and women of Pennsylvania. In my opinion the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO is one of the most effective and respected State Labor Federations in the Nation thanks to the energy, activism, and leadership of labor leaders and union members at every level of the labor movement throughout the keystone state. I also want to extend my special thanks to Secretary-Treasurer Rick Bloomingdale who has been my partner since 1994 and has played an instrumental role in our political and legislative victories over the past 16 years. Rick is by far one of the top political strategists in the nation and is the reason we have been so successful in electing pro-worker candidates. I also want to thank the staff and employees of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO for helping to make our organization one of the most efficient and productive Labor Organizations in the state. We have a skilled and dedicated staff who believes in what they are doing for the betterment of our unions and for all working families. I also want to thank my family, my wife, my children and grandchildren for their love and their support. This is not the end of my activism and advocacy on behalf of the labor movement and the working people of Pennsylvania. I plan to continue helping to lead the fight for good jobs, justice and dignity for all workers. I plan to remain very active both in politics, legislation, organizing, community services, and education programs for working families. It’s been a very rewarding experience both personally and professionally to serve as the President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO. Our accomplishments are many but still there is much work to be done,” George concluded. Last December Bill reached a significant milestone in his life – 50 years of membership and leadership in organized labor. Bill’s career started in the mills of J & L Steel as a member of the United Steelworkers Union Local 1211 in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania, his hometown. From there he rose through the ranks to become the President of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in 1990. This year marks the 50 th Anniversary of the formation of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO in 1960. The 50 th Anniversary of the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO will be celebrated at the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO’s 39 th Convention to be held in Pittsburgh from April 12 th through 15 th at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. SOURCE Pennsylvania AFL-CIO Contact Bill George, President, +1-717-231-2840, or James Deegan, +1-717-580-1615, both of Pennsylvania AFL-CIO .

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More On 2nd Raid Of Pennsylvania Distributor | Brookston Beer Bulletin

Leslie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:22:18 +0000

Yesterday on Don Russell’s Beer Radar , he had the basic information on a second raid by the PLCB and Pennsylvania State Troopers. As promised, a fuller account was published today, with additional reporting by Bob Warner, in the Philadelphia Daily News . Here’s the account, entitled In Another Raid, State Police Hit Beer Distributor, Origlio’s, in Far Northeast . The state continues to confiscate Duvel , Monk’s Café Flemish Sour Red Ale and even Hacker-Pschorr , despite all three brands having been registered and sold for many years. Russian River Brewing’ Supplication was also one of the beers confiscated, but in that case Vinnie Cilurzo admitted he’d simply forgotten the paperwork for the very small number of cases shipped to Pennsylvania. As reported by Russell, Cilurzo stated. “We are a small mom-and-pop brewery and every once in a while something slips through the cracks.” What continues to be troubling is that this is essentially just paperwork errors and miscommunication and it’s being treated like the crime of the century. Did they really need to go in armed, like storm troopers? Were they expecting trouble or that gunfire might be necessary? It’s not like they were raiding a bootlegger’s den and could expect Tommy guns to be carried by everyone inside the distributorship. It seems absurd to think there might be some justification for that level of power display. As another remarked. “‘It’s just a clerical problem, but they’re treating this stuff like contraband,’ said one distributor who asked not to be identified.” See what we’ve created? Here’s a legitimate businessman who’s afraid to be identified while criticizing the PLCB and the state police for fear of retaliation, despite the fact that as a citizen he has every right to do so. When we aren’t comfortable exercising basic rights like that because we believe we’ll be targeted by the people we’re criticizing (who, let’s not forget, are there to serve the people), that, to me, is a very scary development indeed. Now that’s a chilling effect. This is just going from bad to worse. UPDATE: Thanks to James Costa for pointing this out. Today, the Philadelphia Inquirer’s food writer, Rick Nichols, gives us his take on the PLCB raids in Beer Raid Backfires on Liquor Agents . Tagged as: Government , Pennsylvania .

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More On 2nd Raid Of Pennsylvania Distributor | Brookston Beer Bulletin

Co-firing biomass with coal can help Pennsylvania reach energy …

Bernie — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 17:12:52 +0000

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Blending biomass into the coal stream that feeds electricity-generation plants offers the opportunity to reduce harmful emissions and create a market for renewable fuel, according to a biomass-energy expert in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences . And Pennsylvania power-plant operators have a big incentive for co-firing coal with biomass they buy from farmers, noted Daniel Ciolkosz , senior extension associate in agricultural and biological engineering. State mandate. “The state’s Alternative Fuels Portfolio Standard is a state mandate that requires, among other things, that 18 percent of Pennsylvania’s electricity be generated from renewable or alternative energy sources by 2021,” he said. “Biomass co-firing is one of the most promising ways to meet that standard.” Pennsylvania farmers and foresters interested in growing biomass such as switchgrass and small-diameter trees as energy crops soon are likely to have eager buyers for their products, Ciolkosz suggested. Tests under way “Several experiments have shown the feasibility of co-firing biomass with coal, including tests at the Shawville power plant in Clearfield County and the Seward power plant in Westmoreland County,” he said. The most common type of facilities for co-firing are large, coal-fired power plants, Ciolkosz said. “However, other coal-burning facilities, such as cement kilns, industrial boilers and coal-fired heating plants, are good candidates for co-firing as well.” One of the reasons biomass is well suited for co-firing with coal is that both biomass and coal are solid fuels, Ciolkosz pointed out. Therefore, equipment designed to burn coal can burn biomass as well. Higher moisture However, several differences between biomass and coal — such as biomass’s typically higher moisture content and its propensity to clog equipment when burned — have scientists scrambling for solutions to allow co-firing. “The chemical composition of coal is different from that of biomass,” he said. “Most notably, biomass has a higher hydrogen and oxygen content, and less carbon than coal. “As a result, biomass tends to generate less energy than coal — about two-thirds as much.” Biomass also tends to be less dense than coal, he added. And pulverized coal is nearly seven times denser than baled straw. “This means that fuel-feed systems will need to handle and deliver much higher volumes of fuel if co-firing is used.” Charcoal conversion Ciolkosz said one of the possible methods for reducing these problems is to convert the biomass to charcoal, which has a consistency similar to that of coal, or to densify biomass fuel into hard pellets or briquettes that may be more compatible with a combustor’s fuel-handling system. Potential market Farmers and foresters should be aware that co-firing may create a massive market for biomass. Currently, Pennsylvania uses approximately 57 million tons of coal per year. If 5 percent of the fuel were replaced with biomass, it would amount to 4.4 million tons of biomass per year. “That would nearly triple the current rate of biomass use for energy,” Ciolkosz said. “Consider a 1,000-megawatt power plant, which is a typical large plant by today’s standards. Co-firing at a 5 percent rate would require approximately 245,000 tons of biomass per year, which would require about 50,000 acres of high-yield production.” Think contracts Ciolkosz suggests that farmers and landowners consider securing long-term supply contracts from power producers, which could reduce the risk associated with growing biomass crops — especially perennial crops such as grasses or short-rotation woody crops, which require several years before they are ready for harvest. “When we consider the buyer’s perspective, the main benefit of co-firing is that it reduces pollution from the power plant,” he said. “Biomass is virtually free of sulfur and mercury, which leads to reductions in emissions that are proportional to the amount of biomass being used.” Carbon neutral Because biomass is also essentially carbon neutral, Ciolkosz expects power plant operators will soon want to burn it for energy. “When you consider the growing levels of concern and regulation surrounding the release of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels, even a 5 percent reduction in emissions can make the difference between meeting or missing an emissions target set by the government.” Get the details – Single copies of the Renewable and Alternative Energy Fact Sheet: Co-firing Biomass with Coal , is available free to Pennsylvania residents through county Penn State Cooperative Extension offices, or by contacting the College of Agricultural Sciences Publications Distribution Center at 814-865-6713 or by e-mail at AgPubsDist@psu.edu . – For cost information on out-of-state or bulk orders, contact the Publications Distribution Center. – The publication also is available online at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/FreePubs/PDFs/ub044.pdf . .

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Co-firing biomass with coal can help Pennsylvania reach energy …

IEEE Spectrum: Loose Lips Sinks Pennsylvania's Chief Information …

Brian.Cooper — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:56:22 +0000

According to today’s ComputerWorld , Pennsylvania’s Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) Robert Maley was fired after discussing a previously undisclosed security “anomaly” at the US RSA 2010 conference last week. Mr. Maley, the ComputerWorld story says, apparently disclosed that: “a Philadelphia-area driving school … was trying to get early driving tests for its students. The source said someone at the school exploited a configuration ‘anomaly’ in the Department of Transportation’s online driver’s test scheduling system.” As a result, the driving school could jump the queue in scheduling tests for its students. According to ComputerWorld, Mr. Maley, who was the state’s CISO for four years and its first one , hadn’t been authorized to speak about the incident, which a Pennsylvania government spokesperson says is being investigated by the Pennsylvania State Police . The spokesperson also said that the incident was not a security issue, although she would not describe what the anomaly was or how it was supposedly exploited. The ComputerWorld story also noted that Pennsylvania’s IT security staff and budget have been reduced by approximately 40% each over the past 18 months (the state is looking at a $475 million deficit for this fiscal year, which ends June 30th) and according to unnamed sources, the remaining security staff has been told to shut up about cyber security problems. I guess you don’t want to advertise that the state is vulnerable to cyber attacks, do you? Ironically, also at the RSA conference was a panel on the need for companies to tell law enforcement about security breaches . Companies are often hesitant to do so because of the perceived bad publicity that sometimes comes with a call. Privately run companies can more easily keep such calls to law enforcement quiet – public companies can for a short time but not forever. Pennsylvania government officials did call law enforcement, but it also did not inform the public of the matter either. If it was trying to hide the incident because of the bad “political” publicity that it might create, firing the CISO probably wasn’t a smart move. A quiet reprimand would have been better, and no one would have much noted the “anomaly.” Now it is a big deal. And if the State was trying to make a point to other state government employees by quickly firing the CISO over talking without permission, I expect that to backfire as well since it not only looks petty, but the message, rightly or wrongly, is that the current Pennsylvania government has lots of dirty cyber security linen to hide. Expect the state’s press to start digging for it. Now try hiring an experienced CISO into that environment. Unless, of course, Pennsylvania doesn’t really want one. .

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IEEE Spectrum: Loose Lips Sinks Pennsylvania's Chief Information …

Pennsylvania's CISO Discharged from Duties | TopNews United States

AKfour seven — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 14:22:44 +0000

The State government has admitted to the media over the termination of Pennsylvania‘s Chief Information Security Officer, Robert Maley, ending the wide range of speculations within the public. Last week at the RSA Cyber security conference, Maley talked publicly over the recent issue of Commonwealth’s online driving exam scheduling system. RSA, The Security Division of EMC has carved certain guidelines which have to be followed by its employees. One of the norms restrict the employees to not to disclose any information without a prior approval from the stated authorities. Maley disclosed to the public about a glitch which was found by someone at a Philadelphia-area driving school which facilitated the school to get an enormous number of online drivers’ license exams arranged for its students in a short span of time. Danielle Klinger, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation responded favorably by saying that the issue has been reported to the state police for them to run a full investigation on the whole matter. She confirmed that the reports regarding the probability of the event turning out to be a hacking attack is false and so far the State department has not come across any breach of the information systems. A source reports that Maley discharge is confirmed while the government is cutting budget and staff at Pennsylvania’s IT security organization. The source claimed to put restrictions on the talks related to the cyber security. .

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Pennsylvania's CISO Discharged from Duties | TopNews United States

The Pennsylvania Senate Race: Will Specter Survive (Again …

Advanced II Carpet Care — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:30:33 +0000

At the time, Specter’s switch was hailed as a heady affirmation that Barack Obama had ushered the nation into a new, post-partisan era. With the defection of one of its last Senate moderates, what was left of the GOP appeared to be careering rightward, to a hard-core base that was beginning to resemble a cult as much as a political party. But a year later, those calculations have been tossed upside down. Obama’s poll numbers have come back to earth. And the filibuster-proof Senate majority that Specter’s defection delivered to the Democrats vanished when Massachusetts voters handed Teddy Kennedy’s old seat to Scott Brown. Democratic control of the House is in jeopardy, and the party stands to lose at least a half-dozen seats in the Senate. “Unless something significant changes,” political handicapper Charlie Cook wrote last month, Democrats “are headed toward the losses of the magnitude we saw in the midterm elections of 1958, 1966, 1974, 1994 and 2006.” Nowhere is the political shift more evident than in Pennsylvania, a quintessential swing state, where Specter now finds himself in the political fight of his life. Last year’s party switch has left him exposed on both his left and his right in a 2010 political environment that has turned decidedly toxic for incumbents. This is despite the fact that the Democratic establishment has locked arms around its 80-year-old convert. .

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The Pennsylvania Senate Race: Will Specter Survive (Again …

Computerworld > Pennsylvania fires security head over RSA talk

sandos43 — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:05:05 +0000

Pennsylvania’s chief information security officer, Robert Maley, has been fired, apparently for talking publicly at the RSA security conference last week about a recent incident involving the Commonwealth’s online driving exam scheduling system. A source close to the matter said Maley was terminated for not getting the required approvals from the Commonwealth’s authorities to talk publicly about the incident. Commonwealth rules explicitly require all employees to get approval from the appropriate authorities before they publicly disclose official matters, the source said. A spokesman for the state’s governor, Edward Rendell, today confirmed that Maley is no longer working for the Commonwealth. But he refused to say if Maley had been terminated, citing privacy rules. Maley, who was Pennsylvania’s CISO for more than four years, was part of a RSA conference panel discussing state cybersecurity issues last Thursday. During the discussion, Maley talked about a recent incident involving a Philadelphia-area driving school that was trying to get early driving tests for its students. The source said someone at the school exploited a configuration “anomaly” in the Department of Transportation’s online driver’s test scheduling system. The vulnerability allowed the school to essentially cut the line and schedule “a whole bunch of driver’s licence exams” for its students, the source said. The incident was reported to the state police, and the matter is currently under investigation, the source said. Danielle Klinger, a spokeswoman for Pennsylvania’s Department of Transportation, confirmed today that a problem had been uncovered in the driver test scheduling system, and that the matter has been turned over to state police. However, she contested several media reports that have described the incident as a hacking attack, and said that as far as the the department was aware, there had been no hack or breach of the system. Maley’s dismissal comes amid ongoing budget and staff cuts at Pennsylvania’s IT security organisation, the source said. Over the past 18 months to two years, the administration has cut information security budgets by close to 38 percent, and staff by 40 percent. They also put a “lockdown” on talking about cybersecurity, the source claimed. .

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Voltaix to Construct Manufacturing Facility in Pennsylvania …

MBCremodeling — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 +0000

PR Newswire BRANCHBURG, N.J., March 10 BRANCHBURG, N.J., March 10 /PRNewswire/ — Voltaix, LLC, a leading provider of materials that enhance the performance of semiconductor chips and solar cells, plans to open a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Northampton County, Pennsylvania. Voltaix, LLC will construct the plant at the Portland Industrial Park in Upper Mt. Bethel Township. Plant construction is scheduled to begin in the second quarter of this year with operations beginning in 2011. “This purpose-built facility in the Portland Industrial Park represents a major milestone for Voltaix. It positions us well to execute on technical and strategic initiatives in several high growth markets, and to provide our customers with higher capacity and improved redundancy,” said Mark Wilkinson, Executive Vice President of Voltaix, LLC. “We look forward to working closely with the local communities as we establish and grow our manufacturing capabilities in Pennsylvania. We truly appreciate the assistance of the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Governor’s Action Team, Northampton County, the Bangor Area School District Economic Development Authority, and other local officials in siting, permitting, and financing this facility.” “Voltaix’s decision to move to Pennsylvania shows that our economic development programs continue to work,” said Governor Rendell. “The jobs created over the next three years will offer great salaries. The township, county and state will also benefit from the company’s presence here.” The Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation worked with Voltaix and the Governor’s Action Team to secure a $2,764,000 funding offer from the Department of Community and Economic Development for the project. The offer includes a $250,000 opportunity grant, a $1,855,000 loan from the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority, a $500,000 loan from the Machinery and Equipment Loan Fund, $106,000 in job training assistance and $53,000 in job creation tax credits. “This company is an incredibly valuable addition to the Lehigh Valley region, and specifically for Portland Borough in Northampton County,” said Phil Mitman, president and CEO of the LVEDC. “Voltaix is bringing high-quality, family sustaining jobs in a key manufacturing industry to our region. LVEDC was proud to collaborate on this project with the Governor’s Action Team, Northampton County, the Bangor Area School District Economic Development Authority, and our other local partners.” About Voltaix Voltaix manufactures specialty materials that enhance the performance and manufacturability of semiconductors and photovoltaics. Utilizing exceptional expertise in silicon, germanium and boron chemistry, our products are custom designed for the most demanding applications, including: Advanced DRAM computer memory Silicon-Germanium (SiGe) transistors for wireless communications chips Strained silicon for high speed logic computer chips (CPUs) Copper-enabling low-K dielectrics for computer chips High efficiency thin film silicon solar cells Voltaix materials enable logic chips to compute more quickly and solar cells to absorb a broader portion of the solar spectrum, and they improve manufacturability by minimizing defect formation and increasing machine throughput. Voltaix is the world leader in the manufacture of a number of electronics products, including germane, diborane, trisilane, and trimethyl boron. We use proprietary synthesis, purification, and packaging technology developed in-house. We also design and build our own equipment for use in our manufacturing operations. The company, founded in 1986, employs approximately 100 people at its sites in North Branch, NJ and High Springs, FL. Intel Capital, Novus Energy Partners, and Mission Point Capital Partners are investors in Voltaix. SOURCE Voltaix, LLC Contact Justine Falk, Voltaix, +1-908-231-9060 Ext. 311, jfalk@voltaix.com .

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Voltaix to Construct Manufacturing Facility in Pennsylvania …