University Hospital nurses OK contract

        The Registered Nurses Association at University Hospital ratified a three-year contract Tuesday, with 79.24 percent of those voting in favor and 20.76 percent against.

        A strike that could have started Monday was averted when the nurses' union and hospital officials announced a tentative agreement Friday night.

        Among the key issues, hospital officials promised to end mandatory overtime by January, 2004 and agreed to collaborate with nurses on ways to improve staffing levels.

        “This is probably the best contract we have ever had,” Mike Haas, RNA co-chair, told members on the union's Web site.

        He noted the contract made history. “We will end mandatory overtime without a strike.”

        The RNA represents 884 nurses at the 430-bed hospital, which provides the most sophisticated trauma care in town, most of the organ transplants and most care to the poor and uninsured.
       

$10K reward offered after mail stolen

        The U.S. Postal Service is offering up to $10,000 for information about the theft of mail Monday in Mount Auburn.

COLERAIN APARTMENT FIRE: A Colerain Township firefighter works at the end of an aerial ladder while battling a fire at the Ashley Woods apartments Monday night. The fire caused about $150,000 in damage to several apartments. Hamilton County Sheriff's Deputy Sean Hughes injured a hand while trying to summon residents. (Glenn Hartong photo) | ZOOM |

        Thieves smashed a window of a locked postal truck about 3:45 p.m. in the 100 block of Mulberry Street, and stole a tub of mail. Postal officials say that's several hundred pieces of mail that were headed for the 100, 200 and 300 blocks of Mulberry Street.

        Postal inspector Michael Egner said he wants residents to know the mail was stolen so they can check on any important pieces they don't receive. Because it happened on the first of the month, he said federal subsidy checks might be among the envelopes.

        Two men suspected of involvement were seen driving an older burgundy Chevrolet Lumina. Anyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.
       

Jury: Give killer life without parole

        A Hamilton County jury has recommended two life sentences without parole for a 23-year-old Silverton man who shot two men to death in Pleasant Ridge last summer.

        Jurors returned their decision Monday night, choosing life imprisonment instead of the death penalty for Montez Taylor, officials said Tuesday.

        Last week, Mr. Taylor was convicted of two counts of aggravated murder for the July 2001 killings of Clem Turner III, 20, of Mount Auburn, and Lornie P. Starkey, 22, of Kennedy Heights.

        Mr. Starkey and Mr. Turner were killed on Dryden Avenue in Pleasant Ridge after a car chase.

        Mr. Taylor fired shots at the car in which Mr. Starkey and Mr. Turner were riding. The car crashed, and Mr. Taylor walked over to the overturned vehicle and fired several shots inside, killing the two men.

        Sentencing is July 16 before Common Pleas Judge Fred Cartolano.
       

Man sought after drug raid in Hamilton

        HAMILTON — Butler County sheriff's deputies are looking for a man who lived in an East Avenue home where they say they found more than 7 pounds of “high-grade” marijuana concealed in air ducts.

        Detectives concluded a two-month investigation Friday, searching the residence of Scott D. Taylor, 31. About 4 ounces of cocaine also was discovered, police said. The drugs had a street value of about $19,000, Sheriff's Detective Jeff Riegert said Tuesday.

        Mr. Taylor was not at home at the time of the search, when deputies also seized a 1993 Chevrolet pickup truck and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that police say was reported stolen in Fairfield in October.

        Mr. Taylor was being sought on two counts of trafficking and two counts of possession of marijuana and cocaine, Detective Riegert said.

        Anyone with information is asked to call police at 887-3023.
       

Girl, 14, escapes new penalty in knife attack

        HAMILTON — Butler County's first case under the new “serious youthful offender” law ended without an adult sentence for a 14-year-old girl convicted in a knife attack on another teen.

        Assistant Prosecutor Greg Stephens said Juvenile Court Judge David Niehaus relied on a psychologist's report indicating that the girl could be rehabilitated through the juvenile court system. She had no previous record.

        The judge sentenced her to the county's Juvenile Detention Center rehabilitation program. She could be released in six to nine months, Mr. Stephens said.

        Effective Jan. 1, the law says youths at least 10 years old charged with certain felony-level offenses can be subject to a “blended sentence” — a juvenile term and an adult term.
       

Fire damages house in Oakley

        Fire did damage estimated at $75,000 Tuesday morning to an Oakley house.

        Cincinnati firefighters arrived at the house in the 3200 block of Berwyn Place just after midnight to find the second story of the three-floor structure engulfed in flames. The four men living there got out safely, and no firefighters were injured.

LOADS AND LOUDS OF LUCK: Spectators hold their ears as the last of 300,000 firecrackers explode to celebrate the opening of Raymond's Hong Kong Cafe in Richwood. Firecrackers are a Chinese tradition symbolizing success, said the cafe's owner, Raymond Luk. Wednesday's explosions took about five minutes. (Michael Snyder photo) | ZOOM |

        The cause remained under investigation Tuesday. Witnesses said the fire might have been caused by a defective air conditioner.
       

Planning board OKs rezoning in Loveland

        LOVELAND — Planning commissioners unanimously agreed Monday to support a zoning code amendment that would allow two companies to build a 16-acre commercial development on the 85-acre historic White Pillars property.

        Council will discuss the matter at an 8 p.m. Tuesday session at City Hall, 120 W. Loveland Ave. A public hearing is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 p.m. July 23.

        The current zoning code says no residential property can be rezoned nonresidential unless surrounding land already has the same zoning. The proposed amendment would allow the rezoning if the property in question is 5 acres or more.

        A change would permit Hines- Griffin Joint Venture and Parrott & Strawser, who are negotiating to buy the White Pillars property from the city, to build the commercial development along with 85 single-family houses and 70 townhouses along Ohio 48.
       

Warren Co. project faces court challenge

        LEBANON — A Lincoln Heights company is due in court today to try to block Warren County commissioners from awarding a $2.9 million contract for a sewer project.

        Langdon Inc. has sued commissioners and Adams-Robinson Enterprises of Dayton, Ohio, claiming that commissioners accepted that company's bid for the Foster Sewage Lift Station project even though it was higher than combined contracts that included Langdon's.

        Langdon has asked Judge Neal Bronson to stop commissioners from entering into a contract with Adams-Robinson until the lawsuit is decided in court.
       

Fourth of July closings

Postal service ....... No delivery.
Library ....... Closed.
Banks ....... *Closed.
Trash collection
   • Cincinnati: One-day delay.
   • Rumpke: Regular collection.
    • CSI: Regular collection.
Metro ....... Holiday schedule and fares.
Parking meters ....... No coins required (Cincinnati).
Courts ....... Closed.
Government offices
• Federal ....... Closed. • City and county ....... Closed.
• State ....... Closed.
Stock markets ....... Closed.
Ohio E-Check   Closed.
    *In-store branches of U.S. Bank (formerly Firstar) will be open. The Fifth Third Banking Center at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport will be open.

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