Project talk on hold

Project talk on hold
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Details of a downtown infrastructure project being done in conjunction with a private development will not be discussed at tonight's city planning commission meeting. City Solicitor James Manolis said there are several legal issues that need to be ironed out before the plans will be brought to the commission for its approval. A special meeting will likely be held next week to discuss the plans, he said. City officials say they will outline plans at that meeting for hundreds of new parking spaces, improvements to streets, sewers and utilities, and new riverwalk parks.
These plans are part of a public-private partnership with Cascade Development, which is developing a Warner Bros.-inspired themed mall downtown.
Con men in area
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Pennsylvania State Police are warning elderly residents to be wary of strangers coming to their doors. Two elderly Union Township residents were lured from their homes Monday by three men driving a blue Dodge minivan, who claimed to be checking property lines, police said. Once the residents were outside, one of the men went into the house to look for things to steal. Nothing was taken, police said. The suspects are Hispanic. One is about 5 feet, 6 inches tall with a stocky build and a round face; another is about 6 feet tall with very dark skin and a silver earring in his left ear; the third is bald, police said. Police in Ellwood City and two Beaver County communities suspect the same men approached elderly residents there earlier this week claiming to be electric company employees.
Burger King burglary
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Burger King on West Washington Street has been burglarized for the second time in less than a month.
Police said someone took about $2,100 from the store safe sometime overnight from Saturday to Sunday. Nothing else was disturbed and it did not appear that anyone broke into the building, police said.
A similar burglary occurred Feb. 5 when about $1,800 was taken from the safe. A Burger King regional manager was charged in that burglary. Police said he no longer works at the restaurant.
Ballroom loss
YOUNGSTOWN -- The loss is estimated at $500,000 in Monday's fire that destroyed the Idora Park Ballroom, the fire department said.
The department continued to list the cause of the blaze as undetermined. Vagrants may have been occupying the building, the department said in a Tuesday afternoon news release.
The department's estimate of the 91-year-old landmark's value was higher than that of the Mahoning County Auditor's Office, which placed its market value at $119,000.
Police chase men
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- Police say two men led them on a chase through the city in a stolen car and later on foot. Andrae Jackson, 18, of North Ray Street is accused of theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, driving while under suspension and driving without a license. Samuel Lowry Jr., 19, of West Reynolds Street is charged with two counts of criminal attempt at theft, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and criminal conspiracy.
Police said the men took the Pontiac Grand Prix Coupe from a Waldo Street home around 11:45 a.m. Sunday. Police said they spotted the men driving the car about a half hour later and chased them to Neshannock Village, a public housing complex on the city's East Side. The men jumped out of the car and ran.
Police said they were later found hiding under shrubs on Rhodes Street near New Castle High School.
Rape charge filed
LISBON -- A Salineville man faces a rape charge after being secretly indicted by a Columbiana County grand jury. David Coulter, 19, of Water Street, is accused of having sexual conduct in November with a 12-year-old girl. Coulter was being held today in the county jail on a $25,000 cash or surety bond.
Law association officers
NEW CASTLE, Pa. -- The Lawrence County Law Enforcement Officers Association recently elected officers for the 2001 year. William Hall, warden of Lawrence County Jail, is president; Chief Deputy Marcy Imhoff of the sheriff's department is first vice president; Dick Presnar, investigator for the county district attorney's office, is second vice president; and Mike Young, county jail corrections officer, is secretary treasurer.
The organization was formed last year and is intended to promote cooperation among area law enforcement agencies.