Compiled from staff and wire reports

Cincinnati's violent crimes up in 2002

Cincinnati's 2002 crime statistics show police took slightly more emergency calls last year and handled almost 8 percent more violent crimes.

Calls were up to 651,994 - just over 2 percent more than the 637,398 in 2001, according to calculations by the department. Fewer calls were answered within the 20-second time frame the department targets - 92.5 percent in 2002, compared with 93.8 percent the year before.

Average response time increased, too - from three minutes in 2001 to 3.2 minutes last year.

Arrests increased by 1.5 percent, from 41,829 in 2001 to 42,478 last year.

During those arrests, officers Maced fewer people - 366, compared with 589 in 2001. But they used force more often - 144 times, compared with 55 in 2001. Much of the latter increase stems from the new rule that requires officers to report as a use of force every time they force a suspect to the ground.

Officers also responded to more burglar alarms, took more calls involving mentally ill people and seized more crack and powder cocaine.

Men appear in court, $1M bond unchanged

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Bond of $1 million apiece remained unchanged for four men who appeared Tuesday in Area III Court, accused in connection with $800,000 worth of stolen jeans found in a warehouse.

Attorneys were being appointed for the men, who are being held in the Butler County Jail to await their next scheduled court appearance Monday, a court employee said.

Raul Blanco, 28, was charged with receiving stolen property and failure to comply with a police order. Three other men - Evelio Horta, 37; Noel Facundo Gonzalez, 36; and Recaredo Hugo Gutierrez, 28 - were charged with complicity to receiving stolen property.

No address for Mr. Gonzalez was available. The other men listed addresses in Miami.

Part of I-75 closed in Grant County

Northbound Interstate 75 will be closed between exits 159 and 166 in Grant County, Ky., from 8 p.m. today to 6 a.m. Thursday because of the demolition of bridge overpasses to enable widening of the interstate.

Both the Bannister Pike and Sherman-Mount Zion Road overpasses will be demolished. Later the bridges will be replaced after the widening of I-75 in the area is completed.

A detour will route northbound traffic onto U.S. 25 starting at exit 159 and ending at exit 166, where traffic can return to northbound I-75.

Signs, barrels and other traffic control devices will help direct traffic in addition to Transportation Cabinet officials and police.

Southbound lanes of I-75 will remain open. Closure of southbound lanes will happen next week at a date to be determined, said David Thacker, a public information officer for the Transportation Cabinet.

Cancer detection equipment updated

The Health Alliance of Greater Cincinnati has updated cancer detection equipment at two of its hospitals.

The Christ Hospital has installed a new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) scanner from Philips Medical Systems. The scanner, called the Allegro, uses a new crystal and image fusion technology that improves tumor detection.

Meanwhile, Jewish Hospital has begun offering a combination of digital mammography and a computer-aided detection system called the R2 ImageChecker.

An open house to show the mammography equipment will be held at noon Thursday, at Suite 111 of the Jewish Hospital Medical Office Building, 4750 E. Galbraith Road.

Study: Antibiotic reduces infections

A commonly prescribed antibiotic can reduce the rate of deep chest infections after open-heart surgery, according to research at Jewish Hospital.

Researchers believe that some patients who spend weeks in the hospital after their breastbones become infected actually got the infections from bacteria that patients harbor in their own noses.

Bactroban, on the market as a nasal ointment since 1996, kills the bacteria while still in the nose.

The Jewish Hospital conducted its study after learning about a similar study in Pennsylvania, and has been recommending wider use of the antibiotic when conducting open-heart surgery.

Official quits again over procedures

CLEVELAND - The director of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections has resigned for the second time in a month over disagreements with board members.

Thomas Jelepis submitted his resignation Tuesday, and the board agreed to put him on administrative leave until the resignation takes effect March 31.

Mr. Jelepis had submitted a letter of resignation at the beginning of January, but he tore it up in a public meeting Jan. 7, saying he wanted to stay on for the year remaining in his appointment to make sure the process goes forward "in the most ethical manner possible."

The board said the resignation was the result of "irreconcilable management differences."

Mr. Jelepis has said he has concerns about the board's procedures for choosing consultants to help the county buy $20 million worth of electronic voting machines to replace paper ballots in Cleveland and its suburbs.