The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

BUSINESS Dl Bad weather's good for TV news ratings and profits Tiro PiivnniivrM a Mill CINCiNNATl.COM FINAL NEWSSPORTS 50 CENTS 1 Up Front Must reads inside today's Enquirer prois Department probe finds failings in training and equipment Hill. His was the first on-duty fire death in Cincinnati in 22 years. While the report did not fix blame for Armstrong's death, it points out inadequacies that contributed and should be correc Report's criticisms Firefighters' protective equipment is not routinely inspected, cleaned or repaired, as it should be at least once every six months. Firefighters, after they graduate from drill school, don't get enough refresher training; there's no specialized training after promotions to teach new supervisors; firefighters frequently work without training in higher-level assignments. broader concerns about department operations.

Among them: Firefighters aren't consistently trained after their initial recruit training at the fire academy, even after they're promoted into new positions; firefighters' gloves are too restrictive, making it difficult for them to press buttons on their radios to call for help; and the department doesn't routinely review "close-call" incidents. Ml Without hose gauges that measure flow, the firefighter controlling the water can't be sure it's actually coming out. No procedures exist about engine company functions or how to perform ongoing size-ups at an incident scene. The department has no computer database listing who is trained and when; information is kept on handwritten log pages. Recommendations, A5 By Jane Prendergast and Gregory Korte The Cincinnati Enquirer A 200-page internal investigation into a firefighter's death last year says the Cincinnati Fire Department needs more than $6.7 million in equipment upgrades and new staff.

The report was commissioned by Fire Chief Robert Wright after the March 21, 2003, death of Oscar Armstrong III during a house fire in Bond Armstrong ted to prevent other firefighters from being injured or killed. The report examined the response to the fatal fire in detail and pointed out See FIRE, Page A5 Same-sex marriage Measure won't stop weddings this year Jl Clifton fighting Builder's plans, though vague, raise hackles Broadway series: Seven musicals will fill the bill It's all musicals next season for the Broadway series at the Aronoff Center, including Little Shop of Horrors (above), Billy Joel's Movin' Out, and Parti LuPone's pre-New York one-woman show, Matters of the Heart. TEMPO El Xavier wonders: What if, what next Xavier's team and fans lick their wounds and wonder about what might have been. Now they have to think about how to replace the winningest class in school history. SPORTS Bl Serious advice: Watch your health Americans have to take better care of themselves, Tommy Thompson, secretary of the federal Health and Human Services Department, tells a Cincinnati conference on diabetes.

LOCAL NEWS CI Asthma suffering linked to allergies Allergies are the most common cause of asthma, but many sufferers don't know that pollen or other allergens are triggering their asthma attacks. Knowing could help. NATION A3 Also Treasury Secretary John Snow tells Cincinnati audiences that outsourcing of American jobs "is part of trade (and) trade makes the economy stronger." BUSINESS Dl li 111111 in 11 ri rm ifiii nniit 'm 'mutt The Associated PressED REINKE IN KENTUCKY: Hundreds of demonstrators gather Monday on the grounds of the Capitol in Frankfort, opposing same-sex marriage. A bill banning same-sex marriage was defeated in the state House last week, but supporters were hoping to bring it back. Story, A5 Mass.

Legislature passes ban By Jennifer Peter The Associated Press OSTON The Massachu By Kristjna Goetz The Cincinnati Enquirer CLIFTON In an area that prides itself on aesthetics and neighborhood character, residents are organizing to protest the latest development proposal: two new businesses, one with a drive-through window. "I passed out 70 fliers to my neighbors and talked to them, and all but one was outraged," said Laura Retyi-Gaz-da, a 53-year-old business owner who lives on Bishop Street. "The majority of them are going to fight like hell." The development application was submitted by Jack Brand, a custom builder and former president of the Clifton Town Meeting, the neighborhood association. He has a contract to purchase the Anderson, Baiter Sahnd Funeral Home at 3412 Clifton Ave. He says unequivocally that he won't develop traditional fast-food restaurants such as Burger rung or McDonald's on the property.

"We're working right now as far as who or what will ultimately go there," Brand said. "But it will not be fast-food restaurants. I'm not looking to do things that aren't in the best interest of the community." The neighborhood is known for an epic fight it picked in the 1980s with a developer who wanted to put a Wendy's restaurant into the old Esquire Theatre on Ludlow Avenue. That case went all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, which upheld Cincinnati's right to ban new businesses from certain neighborhoods for aesthetic reasons. The recent application, submitted March 12, calls for two new buildings, one 1,800 setts Legislature gave final approval for this year to a constitutional amendment 'No problem, you can vote to define marriage as between a man and a woman, but the only way you can do it is if you create civil unions that are entirely the same as Supporters of the measure argued that it was the only way to get some type of constitutional ban to the ballot in November 2006.

"The amendment stinks, but at least it gives people a chance to vote," said Democratic state Rep. James Fagan. All 200 seats of the Legislature are up for election this fall, and lawmakers will have to defend their votes on the contentious issue. lawmakers to let the court decision stand. "I believe many of them are going to feel very ashamed of what they've just done today," said Ar-line Isaacson, co-leader of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus.

Many conservatives also opposed the solution, arguing that it requires citizens to vote on two very different questions a gay marriage ban and legalization of civil unions with one vote. "We are giving the people a false choice," said Republican state Rep. Vinny deMacedo. "We're saying, riage for the year. Under a decision in November by the state's highest court, the nation's first recognized gay marriages will take place on May 17.

The amendment would have no effect on that deadline, but Gov. Mitt Romney has said he might seek to delay any marriages if an amendment proposal were adopted this year. If voters approve the amendment, Massachusetts would join Vermont in offering same-sex couples the chance to join in civil unions. Gay rights advocates had urged that would ban gay marriage but legalize civil unions, taking the first decisive step toward stripping same-sex couples of court-mandated marriage rights. Monday's 105-92 vote, which must be affirmed again during the next two-year session and by voters in the fall of 2006, completes the Legislature's action on gay mar Exercise improves breast cancer survival rate findings Monday at a meet Study finds even moderate activity helps recovery COMING WEDNESDAY Binge drinking is linked to car crashes, suicide, violence and high-risk sex.

A new study shows how common it is in Greater Cincinnati and the nation. ing of the American Association for Cancer Research, a gathering of 13,500 researchers in Orlando. People who walk and get other kinds of exercise are less likely to develop many common health problems, including heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoporosis By Daniel Q. Haney The Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. Modest amounts of exercise, even just an easy half-hour walk a day, appear to substantially improve women's chances of surviving breast cancer.

Staying active has long been thought to lower the risk of getting cancer, but a do this is still unclear, though experts have several theories. Whatever the biological explanation, the researchers say moderate exercise is an undeniably safe recommendation that can improve cancer survivors' health in many ways. Holmes presented her "We know that physical activity has been shown to improve the quality of life for women with breast cancer," said Dr. Michelle Holmes of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. "We conclude it may also help them live longer as well as better." Just how exercise might new report says it may also be an important prescription for recovery.

The study, released Monday, found that women who exercised after breast cancer reduced their chance of dying from the disease by one-quarter to one-half, depending on how active they were. See CUFTON, Page A5 See EXERCISE, Page A5 Guilty pleas set up WEATHER High 52 Low 38 showers COMPLETE FORECAST: C8 INDEX ct-Y Erpenbeck sentences Bill's sister, Lori Erpenbeck, before a court Six sections, 163rd year, No. 356 Lotteries C5 Clashes in Iraqi streets Iraqis throw stones and bricks at British troops Monday in Basra. Clashes followed eviction of anti-coalition activists occupying a government building. Three were wounded.

A rubber bullet hit the photographer's leg. World, A4 Abby E6 Business Dl Comics E4 Editorial C6 Kids' Comet C8 Movies E5 Obituaries C4 Sports Bl TV E6 Classified fl-8 First Run Classified D2 hearing Feb. 6. The two men face a maximum punishment of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised probation on the conspiracy conviction, which was approved Monday by U.S. District Judge S.

Arthur Spiegel. But because Bill Erpenbeck had already pleaded guilty to defrauding banks and home buyers out of $33.9 million in a three-year check-kiting scheme, he will be sentenced for that and the obstruction charge Thursday. He faces up to 30 years in prison By James McNair The Cincinnati Enquirer DOWNTOWN Home builder turned bank swindler Bill Erpenbeck pleaded guilty to one count of federal witness-tampering Monday, setting the stage for a sentencing showdown Thursday that could send him to prison for up to 60 years. Erpenbeck, 43, and his father, Tony Erpenbeck, 69, accepted a plea bargain that pinned each of them with a conviction for conspiracy to obstruct justice. In exchange, federal prosecutors dropped four obstruction counts.

All of the charges stemmed from their attempt to steer the testimony of Copyngrit, 2004, Die Cincinnati Enquirer hrtuwcf wnt pntiMfl on ncjtfedwpw II ,1 The Associated Press NAB 1 1 AL-JURANI See ERPENBECKS, Page A5 40901u1 0101' 1.