LOCAL

LOCAL

Patrol probes accidents in Columbiana County

LISBON — The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating several Friday evening accidents, two of which involved the injured’s being taken to hospitals by helicopter.

The identities of those involved weren’t available.

A 71-year-old man was in critical condition at St. Elizabeth Health Center, Youngstown, after the scooter he was riding collided with a car driven by a 21-year-old woman. The man was transported by helicopter. The accident occurred at U.S. Route 30 and Wayne Bridge Road, Lisbon.

A man was taken to East Liverpool Hospital after a one-vehicle rollover on state Route 170 at Bye Road, East Palestine. There was no report on his condition.

Another man was taken by helicopter to St. E’s after a two-vehicle crash on state Route 172 west of Depot Road, Lisbon.

The patrol also was investigating a car-motorcycle accident on U.S. Route 62 in Damascus. No further information was available about that crash at press time.

OHIO

Superman’s birthplace receives a makeover

CLEVELAND — Like Clark Kent emerging from the phone booth as Superman, the house in Cleveland that gave birth to the Man of Steel is coming out if its own transformation.

Today, an unveiling is planned for the newly restored house where high school classmates Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster first hatched their idea for the superhero in 1933. The modest home has undergone $70,000 worth of repairs to its roof and weathered exterior, and the property now sports a fence with a stylized Superman “S” and a plaque.

Superman fans raised the money through a charity auction.

The former Siegel family home has been owned by a couple for more than 25 years. A neighborhood group hopes to buy the house and preserve it when Jefferson and Hattie Mae Gray are ready to sell.

No gun on rape suspect shot by officers, police say

COLUMBUS — Police in Ohio say a rape suspect wanted by Los Angeles authorities had no gun when he was shot by Columbus officers this week on a highway.

An autopsy found 35-year-old Abram Bynum died of multiple gunshot wounds. Columbus police spokesman Sgt. Rich Weiner told reporters Friday that Bynum was unarmed, but that officers saw gestures leading them to believe he had a gun.

The shooting happened Tuesday on Interstate 70 when a police chase ended with Bynum crashing his car head-on into a tanker truck.

An arrest warrant had been issued for Bynum in Los Angeles after prosecutors there charged him in five sexual assaults that occurred between 2004 and 2007. Authorities say he lived in California before moving to Ohio in 2007.

PENNSYLVANIA

Pittsburgh official leaving

PITTSBURGH — The city plans a nationwide search for a new director of public works because Guy Costa is leaving in October.

Costa said Friday he wasn’t asked to resign, but wants to seek new opportunities after nearly 10 years on the job. His last day will be Oct. 2, meaning he will still be around for the G-20 summit of world leaders in September.

Costa was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2006, but he says it hasn’t grown and isn’t a factor in his resignation. The 53-year-old says he plans to take some leave time between now and October to travel with his 19-year-old son.

Philly marks Bastille Day

PHILADELPHIA — France’s annual celebration of the storming of a prison during the revolution of 1789 is being marked in Philadelphia this weekend.

Saturday’s events marking Bastille Day are to take place at the National Constitution Center and at the historic Eastern State Penetentiary.

The Constitution Center is to present activities contrasting the French Revolution and the American Revolutionary War.

At the now-closed prison, the beheading of Marie Antoinette is to be re-enacted.

The anniversary of the storming of the Bastille is Tuesday.

Woman sues Vegas firm

LAS VEGAS — A Pennsylvania woman has filed a federal lawsuit against a Nevada company over fee-disclosure requirements for credit and ATM services to casinos around the country.

Theresa Jackman of Allegheny County, Pa., seeks class-action status for her lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Pennsylvania against Global Cash Access Holdings Inc.

The lawsuit claims Global Cash violated the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act by failing to properly disclose a fee it imposed on a June 30 withdrawal Jackman made at a Global Cash ATM at the Meadows Casino in Washington, Pa.

Staff/wire reports