Compiled from staff and wire reports

District Court denies new trial to killer

Convicted killer Jerome Campbell of Cincinnati should not get a new trial, the Ohio First District Court of Appeals decided Friday.

The court had been asked to overturn the same decision made by Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge Charles Kubicki.

Defense attorneys argue recently gathered evidence, including a DNA test, should be seen by a jury.

Ohio Public Defender David Bodiker said Campbell, who is scheduled to be executed Friday , still has hope.

Bodiker said he would appeal the district court's decision to the Supreme Court.

The Ohio Parole Board recommended that Campbell be granted clemency, meaning his sentence would be life in prison rather than death. Gov. Bob Taft has not ruled on the clemency recommendation.

Campbell, 42, was convicted of stabbing 78-year-old Henry Turner to death in 1988.

Reading will get grant to clean up brownfield

READING - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency alerted this Hamilton County city Friday that it would receive a $200,000 grant to clean an 18-acre brownfield along Reading Road.

The grant will be used to assess petroleum contamination on a 3.5-acre parcel that fronts Reading Road and 14.8 acres behind it. The city wants to conduct lab tests and groundwater samplings to gauge the level of the carcinogen polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and petroleum in the ground.

For more than a century, the property was used for commercial and industrial purposes.

City officials will sign an agreement with the federal environmental agency in the fall and begin the work in January 2004.

Council members have said that the city needs the grant money to clean up the brownfields within city limits to attract sophisticated development.

To win the grant money, Reading competed with more than 900 communities nationwide and more than 10 communities within Ohio.

Voinovich's pacemaker implanted successfully

WASHINGTON - Sen. George Voinovich had a pacemaker successfully implanted Friday, his office announced.

The Republican senator's heart has been slowing over the last several years. He had the pacemaker implanted to ensure a normal heart rate.

Voinovich, 66, is expected to be back at work Monday for a normal schedule.

"The senator's procedure was uneventful and totally satisfactorily performed," said Dr. Helen Barold at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md. "I anticipate his recovery will be uncomplicated and that he will return to his normal routine in a few days. I applaud him for taking this proactive measure to prevent possible health issues in the future. I have every expectation that he will be able to maintain his normal schedule and exercise."

Vice President Dick Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, had a pacemaker implanted in June 2001 to monitor and regulate his heartbeat if it becomes irregular. An estimated 900,000 Americans wear pacemakers or similar devices.

Mt. Washington man indicted for fireworks

A Hamilton County grand jury indicted a Mount Washington man Friday for illegal sale and possession of fireworks.

Gary Zavisin, 41, was indicted on two charges of possession of a dangerous ordnance, which is a felony. He was also indicted on eight charges of unlawful possession and sale of fireworks and four charges of illegally transporting fireworks, which are all misdemeanors.

Zavisin was arrested June 10 after he was observed selling fireworks from his vehicle on the 6900 block of Main Street in Newtown, the fire marshal's office said.

He did not have a license or permit to sell the fireworks, and further investigation revealed he had made previous sales of the fireworks, the fire marshal's office said.

Man charged with propositioning girl, 10

A 40-year-old Walnut Hills man has been charged with two counts of importuning for allegedly making a sexual proposition to a 10-year-old girl over the phone after he saw her name and photo on a television station's "Birthday Greetings."

Police said James Madison called the girl and posed as an employee of an advertising agency looking for teenage girls to participate in a commercial.

The charges are fourth-degree felonies. Madison will be arraigned today in Hamilton County Municipal Court. The investigation was handled by the personal crimes unit of Cincinnati police and by Kentucky State Police.

Anyone with information on this crime is asked to call the personal crimes unit at 352-6474 or Crime Stoppers at 352-3040.