Hoxworth seeking donors for holiday

Hoxworth Blood Center is encouraging blood donations before the July Fourth holiday to help prevent blood shortages. The three-day holiday weekend can be stressful on the blood supply. Major accidents and traumas can increase blood use at local hospitals, while blood donations drop off considerably.

Hoxworth has planned the following community blood drives: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today at the Hyatt Regency downtown; 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday at Rookwood Commons in Norwood; and 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Harley-Davidson of Eastgate. For information, call (513) 451-0910 or visit www.hoxworth.org.

Baker case lawyer fighting transfer

A former federal public defender who disobeyed a state court order to answer questions about the disappearance of a 9-year-old girl has cited an 1899 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in her effort to keep the case in federal court.

Beth Lewis has refused to answer grand jury questions about the disappearance of Erica Baker, who has been missing for more than five years. Prosecutors want to find out if a deceased client, Jan Marie Franks, had information about the girl's disappearance. Lewis continued to contend that state law allowed her to refuse to testify if it was in her client's interest.

Last month, Lewis had her case transferred from Montgomery County Common Pleas Court to U.S. District Court. Prosecutors filed a motion earlier this month asking Judge Walter Rice to return the case to state court, and Tuesday's motion by Lewis' attorneys was in support of keeping the case before Rice. No one has been charged in Erica's disappearance.

Historic items on display today

A bathroom renovation in Wyoming turned into a makeshift archaeological dig when the owner discovered her 7-foot-high marble walls were significant pieces of American Jewish history. Rabbi Abie Ingber, executive director of Hillel at the University of Cincinnati, will display the bathroom walls and discuss their significance at 11 a.m. today at Hillel.

TRAFFIC WATCH

Butler Warren Road will be closed north of Fields Ertel Road and south of Dimmick Road from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today and Friday.

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