A section of Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine was closed briefly by police Monday night after some members of a crowd that had gathered to watch a fight threw rocks and bottles at cars.

        Vine Street from McMicken Avenue to Liberty Street was closed for “no more than a half hour,” until the crowd dispersed, by 9:30 p.m.,said Sgt. David Johnston. He said he was not aware of any injuries.

        The only people arrested were individuals involved in the initial fight. The people fighting were “mainly kids,” Sgt. Johnston said.

        The fight drew a large crowd, in part, because there were a lot of people out on the streets due to the warm weather.

        The Hamilton County Sheriff's Office helicopter, which was on routine patrol, responded when the pilot heard the radio traffic, Sgt. Johnston said.Ù By 9:30 p.m., Vine Street was reopened to traffic.

Sentencing is today in morgue-photo case

        After months of delays, Thomas Condon and Dr. Jonathan Tobias are scheduled to be sentenced today in a case involving unauthorized photos of bodies at the Hamilton County morgue.

        In October, the men were convicted by a county jury after a weeklong trial.

        Mr. Condon, 29, a commercial photographer, was found guilty of eight counts stemming from photos he took of autopsied bodies at the morgue in 2000.

        Dr. Tobias, 31, a former morgue pathology resident, was accused of helping him gain access to the bodies. He was found guilty of two counts of gross abuse of a corpse and could lose his medical license.

        Each count carries a maximum penalty of one year in prison.

        The two men were charged last year after police found hundreds of negatives inside Mr. Condon's photography studio.

        Both men remain free on bond.

Killer hopes Taft will spare his life

        COLUMBUS — Alton Coleman, accused of at least seven murders during a 1984 crime spree, was born with a dysfunctional brain and could not develop into a normal adult because of a childhood filled with abuse, a psychologist said Monday.

        Lawyers for Mr. Coleman, 46, will plead with Gov. Bob Taft to spare his life during a hearing today before the Ohio Parole Board. Mr. Coleman, 46, is not allowed to testify at his hearing under board policy. His attorneys want Mr. Taft to reduce Mr. Coleman's death sentence to life without parole.

        Also on Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal on a technical procedure and refused to postpone the April 26 execution date.

        Mr. Coleman, of Waukegan, Ill., faces a death sentence for the murder of Marlene Walters, 44, of Norwood, who was strangled on July 13, 1984, after being attacked along with her husband, Harry, in their home.

        The slaying was one of seven attributed to Mr. Coleman and accomplice Debra Brown, whose death sentence was commuted to life without parole by outgoing Gov. Richard Celeste in 1991.

Jury seated in trial of anti-abortion activist

        A jury of six men and six women was seated Monday in the federal trial of anti-abortion activist Clayton Lee Waagner, and opening statements begin this morning.

        Mr. Waagner, 45 — who for months was one of the most wanted fugitives in America — is charged with five counts of firearms possession and one count of interstate vehicle theft.

        Authorities say he possessed stolen guns and a stolen car when he was arrested in Springdale Dec. 5 , about 10 months after he escaped from a jail in Illinois while awaiting sentencing on federal charges.

        Mr. Waagner also is suspected of mailing at least 550 fake anthrax letters to abortion clinics.

        He took brief notes and asked no questions.

        Mr. Waagner already has been sentenced to 30 years in Illinois on firearms, stolen vehicle and the escape charge.

Agency plans forum on health projects

        United Way of Greater Cincinnati will hold a community forum April 30 to seek comments about its new projects to improve behavioral and oral health in the region.

        The United Way considers both projects key parts of a revised strategic plan to improve community health.

        The forum will begin at 5:45 p.m. at the United Way office, 2400 Reading Road. The session will begin with oral health discussions. Discussion of behavioral health initiative will begin at about 6:50 p.m.

        For information, call 762-7173.

Fisherman missing after boat capsizes

        PERRYSBURG — A 71-year-old Cincinnati man fishing for walleye on the Maumee River was missing Monday after his boat capsized.

        Three men from the Cincinnati area were in a 15-foot aluminum boat near the shore when it overturned in the fast-moving river, authorities said. The missing man was identified as Alex Tyler of Cincinnati.

        One of the anglers was able to swim to shore while the other one was pulled to safety by another fisherman. They were not injured.

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