The Morning Call from Allentown, Pennsylvania • 1

Brew pub a step closer for downtown Allentown. B1 ALLENTOWN AND REGION EDITION CA j. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2003 www.mcall.com morn NG 1 ref mm RotcMI backs off i i 4 41 ByJohnM-HBull Of The Morning Call HARR1SBURG Clearing a path for a budget deal now in the works, Gov. Ed Rendell said Tuesday he is willing to delay the bulk of his education reforms until next July. But Democrat Rendell stressed that he wants an IOU from the Republican-con mands that at least $250 million be spent on his education reforms this fiscal year and backpedaled from bis vow to veto anything less.

Doing so clears the way for a Senate-brokered budget deal that is slowly coming together. "Rendell blinked," said Sea John Wozniak, D-Cambria. "He'll come back next year and try again, now that he trolled Legislature in writing that promises he'll get much of his education reform in the next fiscal year, which begins July 1. "It must be binding language in this budget," he said in a brief interview after a Christmas tree-lighting ceremony in the Capitol. In a major shift, Rendell backed off his longtime de- State leaders inch closer to budget deal as governor agrees to postpone new education funding.

He wants written promise he'll get it next time. if 'oik Toomey only in Senator has edge statewide four months before primary. By Jeff Miller Call Washington Bureau WASHINGTON If Lehigh Valley Republicans had their way, Rep. Pat Toomey would be one step closer to a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Toomey, trying to knock off Sen. Arlen Specter in the April 27 Republican primary, is leading 57 percent to 29 percent among registered Republican voters in Lehigh and Northampton counties, a new poll shows. The same survey, however, shows Toomey trailing Specter Rain possible 46 40 Forecast, Bl2 BRIEFING GOV. ED RENDEU backed off his demand for $250 million for school reform, making a budget deal in the near term more likely. Al MORNING CALLMUHLENBERG COLLEGE POLLS show President Bush leading his unnamed opponent and Arlen Specter well ahead of Pat Toomey except in the Lehigh Valley.

Al OWNERS OF A RHODE ISLAND NIGHTCLUB and a band manager were charged with manslaughter in 100 deaths caused by a fire last year. Al THE "FRIDAY NIGHT BANK ROB BER," active for 30 years with a score of 50 banks, is sentenced to ITh years in prison. Al AL GORE SAYS GRASSROOTS SUPPORT led to his surprise early endorsement of Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination. A4 FORMER SEN. PAUL SIMON a Democrat who ran for president in 1988, died in his home state of Illinois of complications after heart surgery.

He was 75. A5 BOSTON AND NEW HAMPSHIRE will buy prescription drugs from Canada, ignoring legality to cut costs. All A SUICIDE BOMBER blew up a car outside a U.S. Army base in northern Iraq, wounding 58 U.S. soldiers and at least three Iraqis.

Three Americans died in an accident involving armored personnel carriers. Al4 PRESIDENT BUSH warned Taiwan not to take any action toward independence that could cause new tensions with Beijing. Al9 PENNSYLVANIA ATTORNEY GENERAL MIKE FISHER was confirmed as an appointee to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. A22 THE FEDERAL RESERVE held the federal funds rate at percent, a 45-year low, in an attempt to keep the economic recovery on track.

Dl TODAY in am MAGAZINE Cheesesteaks there vs. cheesesteaks here The Morning Call went on a hunt for the best cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, the center for that particular edible, and compared them to some from the Lehigh Valley. El INDEX Special to The Morning Call CARL GUGASIAN heads for the exits after robbing this bank in a Halloween mask. The image is from a surveillance photo. Authorities say Gugasian robbed 50 banks during a 30-year career.

Thief Who rivals Dillinger SPECTER VS. TOOMEY Pennsylvania Republicans favor incumbent U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter over challenger U.S. Rep.

Pat Toomey in their 2004 primary race for the U.S. Senate. However, Lehigh Valley Republicans support Toomey 2-to-l. knows how things work here. Now, a lot of guys are hopeful the lengthy impasse can be broken.

This is serious." The state has beerj without a finished budget since July 1. Senate leaders are crafting a budget compromise that would provide $25 million to $35 million for new education BUDGET PAGE A3 Valley a more crucial forum statewide. Specter has a 52 percent to 25 percent advantage among state Republicans. The Morning CallMuh-lenberg College Institute of Public Opinion poll is the first to INSIDE Joe Hoeffel officially kicks off Senate run. PAGE A3 gauge Republican opinion on the race in the Lehigh Valley, where both candidates are well known.

Lehigh and Northampton make up the bulk of the 15th POLL PAGE A3 nr a Arlen Specter Pat Toomey LEHIGH VALLEY Toomey 1 57 Specter i. 1 29 Not sure 13 Neither i2 determined Democratic opponent. The spread is a slimmer 42 percent to 41 percent in the Lehigh Valley. Both margins are within the poll's error range. "Pennsylvania and the Lehigh Valley will really be the epicenter of the campaign game in 2004," said Christopher P.

Borick, director of Muhlenberg's Institute of Public Opinion, which conducted the poll. "Those numbers bode well for a really competitive race here." Although tepid, statewide support for Bush exceeds that PRESIDENT PAGE A3 Jirlv Christkindlmarkt 2003, Bethlehpm Open Nov zfcl? Call 610-821-8300, enter 7666 banlc heists Robber." All told, authorities said, Gugasian robbed 50 banks more than Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger or Willie Sutton Gugasian including banks in Monroe, Montgomery and Carbon counties. He made off with hundreds of thousands of dollars, and, in a Penn Forest Township, Carbon County, robbery in 1991, he shot a bank manager, authorities said. THE MORNING CALL MUHLENBERG COLLEGE If the primary was held today and the race was between Arlen Specter and Pat Toomey, whom would you vote for? STATEWIDE Specter 52 Toomey 25 Not sure Neither 1 2 '''id is jailed But an accidental find, by teenagers playing in the woods outside Philadelphia led to the discovery of multiple underground bunkers that Gugasian built, many of them in the state game lands in Nesquehoning. It also led to the arrest of Gugasian, 56, of Radnor Township, in February 2002.

On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Anita Brody sentenced Gugasian to 17lh years in federal prison for five robberies from 1996 to 1999. The plea bargain spared Gugasian the life prison ROBBER PAGE A2 X. Toys for Tots Train Display! 16 layouts-Adm. new unwrapped toy Call 610-821-8300, enter 8724 Note: Not all percentages add up to 100 because of rounding.

Source: The Morning CallMuhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion telephone poll. Statewide findings come from telephone interviews with 193 Republican voters; margin of error Is plus or minus 7. Valley findings come from telephone interviews with 144 Republican voters; margin of error is plus or minus 8.1. Calls were made between Nov. 23 and Monday.

Uny Prirrh The Morning Call in fatal nightclub fire for most He out-plundered the most infamous, hit vaults in the region. ByBobLaylo Of The Morning Call PHILADELPHIA Authorities say Carl Gugasian of suburban Philadelphia might have robbed more banks than anyone in history scouting targets from North Carolina to Connecticut over 30 years. He struck mostly on Friday nights and under the cover of darkness, earning the nickname the "Friday Night Bank 3 charged Owners, band manager indicted in Rhode Island blaze that killed 100. By Pam Belluck Of The New York Times WARWICK, Hi The owners of a Rhode Island nightclub and the tour manager of a heavy-metal band were indicted Tuesday on charges of involuntary manslaughter in a fire at the nightclub that killed 100 people and injured nearly 200 last February. Jeffrey Derderian and Michael Derderian, brothers who owned the Station nightclub in West Warwick, and Daniel Biechele, tour manager for the band, Great White, were charged with 200 counts of involuntary manslaughter each, two for each death.

Each count carries a possible penalty of up to 30 years in prison. Selllng your Living Room Set? Try Classified 610-820-6565 In Print Online On Demand VU3I I I IUIU3 dill I fl ICCti in state and locally it) ml Astrology E8 Market Report Bridge E7 Movies E4 Business Dl Opinion A20.21 Classified Fl Puzzles E7 Comics Scoreboard C6 Contact Us A21 Sports CI DearAbby E8 State A22.2J Deaths B10.H Television E5 Lotteries BH Weather B11 Survey finds terrorism, economy top issues; Dean leads Dems. Byjohn AMicek Call Harrisburg Bureau HARRISBURG Eleven months before the 2004 presidential election, George W. Bush holds a narrow lead in Pennsylvania, a state he lost to Democrat Al Gore four years ago, a new Morning CallMuhlenberg College poll shows. The first-term president has a slender 44 percent to 40 percent edge over his yet-to-be 1' i Stcvtn Sennt Associated Press NIGHTCLUB OWNERS Michael Derderian (left) and Jeff Derderian leave the Kent County Courthouse in Warwick, HI.

The indictments were the est nightclub fire in 25 years first criminal charges to and the fourth deadliest in the emerge from a 10-month grand nation's history. jury investigation into the Feb. 20 fire, which was the deadli- CHARGES PAGEA7 NO. 40,610 2003 The Morning Call All Rights Reserved For home dellvwy, Ull 610-820-6601 or 800-666-5492 THE MORNING CALL SSN 0884-5557) It puMMwd dally by Th Morning cm 1U1 it. bin ii Aiwmmyn, K.

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