Compiled from staff and wire reports

City moves to donate Elder complex parcel

Cincinnati City Council moved Wednesday to donate 7.5 acres of city-owned land to Elder High School for construction of the proposed Panther Athletic Complex.

The land, estimated by the city to be worth about $30,000, is at the northeast corner of the 45-acre complex off Quebec Avenue, near Elder's campus.

The resolution was initiated by Councilman Chris Monzel and co-sponsored by the other eight members of City Council. The donation still needs approval from the Planning Commission.

Bicycle officer hit by car in Blue Ash

BLUE ASH - A bike patrol officer was recovering from bumps and cuts after she was struck by a car Wednesday afternoon.

Sgt. Ed Charron said that Officer Deirdre DeLong was riding in a residential area on Brown Road near Cooper Road about 1 p.m. when she was hit head-on by a car turning from Cooper. The car, driven by an 18-year-old male, crossed the center line into DeLong's path, he said.

DeLong was treated at Bethesda North Hospital and released. The crash remains under investigation and no charges were filed. Alcohol did not appear to be a factor, Charron said, because the 18-year-old passed field sobriety tests at the scene.

Zoo inspection team grants accreditation

AVONDALE - The Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden has been granted accreditation by the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.

The group's accreditation commission made the announcement during its annual conference last week in Columbus.

Accreditation is granted for five years. Members must meet industry standards in collection care, veterinary programs, conservation, education, and safety, among other things.

Bank worker admits stealing $120,000

HAMILTON - A Middletown woman on Wednesday pleaded guilty to felony aggravated theft in connection with about $120,000 missing from the bank where she had worked, officials said.

Shannon Modane Shields, 35, manipulated records to conceal the thefts since July 2001, said Joe Statzer, spokesman for the Butler County Prosecutor's Office.

Shields faces one to five years in prison. No sentencing date was available.

PETA protesters charged as vandals

DOWNTOWN - Two members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals face felony charges after a noon protest Wednesday during which police said they threw a red liquid on a Procter & Gamble Co. marble sign.

Stephanie Corrigan and Joel Bartlett, both 22 and of Norfolk, Va., were charged with vandalism. Police said damage exceeded $500. Police said the sign outside the company's headquarters on Broadway Street was permanently discolored from the liquid, which was supposed to symbolize blood. The pair, dressed in black and white jumpsuits, were protesting the treatment of research animals.

Indictments made in drug case, shooting

HAMILTON - In Butler County indictments released Wednesday, an Indiana man is accused of cooking illegal drugs in a hotel room and a pair of Hamilton men face charges for exchanging gunfire that wounded an 11-year-old bystander.

Billy Joe Conn Jr., 19, of Laurel, Ind., faces charges of carrying a concealed weapon, illegal manufacture of drugs and three other drug charges. He is accused of cooking methamphetamine in a room at the Oxford Inn on College Corner Pike, said Assistant Prosecutor Craig Hedric. Conn, who was arrested May 19, is to appear in Common Pleas Court Wednesday.

In a separate case, Rashodd Anton Jordan, 23, and Rico Rodriguez Mace, 20, are charged in the July 28 shooting of Jaermel Kaiser. The boy, who survived a gunshot to the chest, was caught in the crossfire in the Riverside Homes public housing area. Each man is charged with felonious assault plus two weapons charges.

Fortune teller got $48K, victim claims

COLUMBUS - A businessman told police he was duped out of $48,000 by a fortune teller who promised to lift a curse from him.

Jose Bravo, 28, of Columbus, a restaurant owner, went to the woman last month because he was feeling ill, Columbus Police Detective Susan Jones said.

The woman, who called herself Melissa, told Bravo a mystical animal was eating him alive.

She told him to bring her the money in two installments and she could break the curse. Bravo borrowed the money from friends and took out a bank loan.

The woman assured Bravo that he would get back all but her $140 fee. Then she disappeared.