Dozens of families were displaced Sunday after a fire sparked by a cigarette destroyed a Florence apartment building.

        No one was injured in the blaze that started at about 6 a.m. in a third-floor apartment at 6741 Parkland Place at Parkland Apartments off Dixie Highway, dispatchers said.

        A man smoking in a back bedroom started the fire, according to fire reports.

        Several people screaming for help hung from windows and were rescued by firefighters on ladders, according to firefighters. At least one pet, a cat, also was rescued.

        Red Cross workers scrambled to find shelter for some five dozen families displaced in the blaze

        1 charged in shooting related to marijuana

        An Avondale man was arrested and charged Saturday with shooting another man in the left shoulder after an argument over marijuana.

        Lee C. Richardson, 20, of 225 Sturgis Ave. is in the Hamilton County jail, facing a felonious assault charge.

        The shooting occurred about 8:30 p.m. after Mr. Richardson and two other men gave Jared Droppelman, 19, of Colerain Township, a ride to Forest Park, an arrest report says.

        Police said the two men got into an argument with Mr. Droppelman over marijuana, then Mr. Richardson pulled a handgun from his coat pocket and shot Mr. Droppelman.

        The men were arrested near Xavier University, near the intersection of Dana Avenue and Victory Parkway, an arrest report shows.

        The two men with Mr. Richardson were charged with complicity. Mr. Droppelman was taken to University Hospital, where he was treated and released.

        City's St. Patrick's Day stunt a little streaky

        SOUTH BEND, Ind. — The city fire department's effort to turn the St. Joseph River green for St. Patrick's Day was not an overwhelming success. But cut them some slack; it was their first try.

        Members of the South Bend Fire Department river rescue team took to the water Saturday morning in the city's inaugural effort at turning the river green.

        But the swift current of the St. Joseph River caused the dye to form long, dark-green swatches rather than spreading evenly across the width of the river.

        “This may be the trial year where we work out the kinks and do it correctly next year, but we've got to start somewhere,” said Carol Meehan, a member of the Celtic Heritage Society at St. Patrick Catholic Church. The fire department team used two rescue boats to trail six bags stuffed with 35 pounds of Kosher green food dye.

        Drivers protest village they call a speed trap

        NEW ROME, Ohio — More than 100 demonstrators marched through this central Ohio village Saturday to protest a community they said fills its coffers with traffic fines.

        Police officers and residents kept their distance during the protest. The only confrontation occurred when a 70-year-old man was briefly detained by officers when he asked why their cruiser was blocking the sidewalk.

        New Rome has a population of only 60, and the few hundred feet of Broad Street within its borders has a reputation of being a speed trap.

        Its police department takes in nearly $400,000 in traffic fines each year — more than 90 percent of the village budget.

        Police seek group that invaded home, shot teen

        Police searched Sunday for six men accused of shooting a teen in the foot and pistol-whipping another after breaking into a Bond Hill apartment Saturday.

        The suspects are described as young black men, possibly teen-agers, who wore ski masks and entered the apartment in the 5700 block of Rhode Island Avenue through an unlocked door, according to an incident report. The men demanded money and drugs from Sidney Bryant, 17, who had neither.

        One of the men then shot Mr. Bryant in the foot and hit another occupant in the head with a small-caliber pistol.

        The apartment was ransacked but nothing was taken, Cincinnati police said.

        Mr. Bryant was taken to University Hospital, where he was treated and released. The second victim's name was not released Sunday.

        Children's hospital to get $1 million gift

        Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center is expected to receive a $1 million donation Tuesday from the Boomer Esiason Foundation and Cincinnati Bell.

        The donation is expected to underwrite the hiring of a research expert to study pulmonary disease.

        Mr. Esiason, former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, has a son, Gunnar, who suffers from cystic fibrosis. For the past three years, Cincinnati Bell has been supporting research fund-raising efforts through the Esiason Foundation.

        A cystic fibrosis treatment center at Children's Hospital already has been named in honor of Gunnar and Mr. Esiason's previous donations.

        Small-business seminars focus on legal issues

        WEST CHESTER TWP — New seminars to help small business operators understand legal issues kick off Tuesday from 7:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the Todd Room at the Southeastern Butler County Chamber of Commerce.

        Four topics will be presented by Chris Worrell and John Colbert of Graydon, Head & Ritchey LLP, and by Dan Warncke and Cindy-Ann Thomas of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

        Mr. Warncke and Ms. Thomas will discuss how to respond to lawsuits and human resource issues. Mr. Worrell and Mr. Colbert will address intellectual property issues and formation of a business entity.

        The session is the first in a series of “Breakfast Briefings” on critical small business concerns from the SEBC Chamber Small Business Action Committee. Cost is $15 for chamber members, $20 for non-members and includes continental breakfast. Reservations: 777-3600.

        City annexation high in '90s, analysis finds

        CLEVELAND — America's big cities swallowed nearly 1,000 square miles of land in the 1990s — an area roughly the size of Rhode Island, according to an analysis by The Plain Dealer.

        By annexing neighbors, big cities have boosted their tax base by adding middle-class families and industry.

        But residents in newly acquired communities often worry about receiving first-rate services from a city hall so far away. Many also don't like their tax dollars being shifted to poorer, inner-city neighborhoods or to the latest expansion project.

        “It's like having more children when you didn't have enough money to take care of the ones you have,” said Nancy Englebert, who lives in Heritage, a long-established community of 15,000 that was annexed by San Antonio in 1996.

        “Your budget's being stretched because you have all these mouths to feed.”

        San Antonio added 75 square miles to its borders in the 1990s, more than any other city with at least 250,000 residents, according to the newspaper analysis. The city has more than doubled its size since 1970.

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