Partners can publish coupon book
Two partners can continue publishing a local coupon book as long as they change its name and appearance, according to a settlement reached yesterday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh.
Mitchell P. Zychowski and Michael Bondi settled a lawsuit with Entertainment Publications Operating Company Inc., publishers of the popular Entertainment coupon book. Entertainment Publications had sued in federal court, saying consumers might confuse the two publications.
Under the settlement, Zychowski, of South Park, and Bondi, also of the Pittsburgh area, must change the book's name from 'Enjoyment' to 'Enjoy' and alter the appearance of next year's publication.
'It is a shame a big corporation worth a billion dollars would sue two small men who are just trying to make a living,' Zychowski said.
This year's books already were printed and so still will have the name Enjoyment.
Officials of Entertainment, a national company that sells several million books annually, said they were trying to protect their product.
'We welcome competition. But in the case of the Enjoyment book, we were afraid it might confuse our longtime customers in Pittsburgh,' said Jennifer Foss, a spokeswoman for Entertainment Publications.
Entertainment Publications is based in Troy, Mich. The company's book has been in Pittsburgh for 30 years.
The coupon books are a fund-raising tool for schools and nonprofit groups. The groups buy the books and sell them at a slight markup.
Hill District
A 69-year-old Hill District woman who remained hospitalized Thursday with Legionnaires' disease is expected to recover, Allegheny County Health Department spokesman Guillermo Cole said.
The woman, who was not identified, is the 27th person to be diagnosed with the disease in the county this year. There has been an average of 40 cases of Legionnaires' disease reported in the county each year since 1997, Cole said.
The woman - a resident of K. Leroy Irvis Towers on Mercer Street - was hospitalized Monday.
Health department officials do not know where the woman contacted the pneumonialike disease, Cole said.
'We feel this is an isolated case. We feel there is minimal risk to other residents.'
As a precaution, Cole said, tests are expected to be conducted today in the woman's apartment building, which has many elderly residents.
'This is not a disease that's spread from person to person or through food. The bacteria is typically spread through inhalation of airborne water drops in a mist or spray.'
Although the disease can be fatal, it is usually treatable with antibiotics, Cole said.
The disease, which takes its name from an outbreak 25 years ago at the Pennsylvania American Legion convention in Philadelphia, usually affects the elderly, those with weakened immune systems or those with breathing problems.
Somerset County
The mayor has resigned after serving just seven months in office, bringing yet more political turmoil to the small borough of Confluence in Somerset County.
Jim Boyle, a Philadelphia businessman who retired to Confluence, would not say if his resignation is linked to the firing of the town's only police officer or the arrests of a council member.
'I resigned for personal reasons,' he said. 'There were a lot of personal reasons.'
Councilman Martin Hilliard, 60, was arrested twice this summer for public drunkenness. He also was arrested last year for exposing himself to another man at a bar.
Then police Chief Roy Conrad was abruptly fired this month after an argument with council members.
Boyle said he would consider serving again if he were to win the November election.
Cambria County
Constables will be issued handcuffs, leg shackles, cell phones and plastic dividers to transport prisoners in their private cars to Cambria County Jail after a series of inmate escapes.
District justices and constables decided to take precautions after six prisoners escaped custody. Last week, a man jumped from a constable's car and was captured a day later.
'With these procedures, I feel we're doing everything we reasonable can to prevent future escapes,' said President Judge Gerard Long.
The county will also provide constables with uniforms and issue guidelines on transporting about 4,000 prisoners a year. The changes take effect Nov. 1.
Erie
The first mosquito carrying the West Nile virus in western Pennsylvania this year has landed in an illegal tire dump in Erie.
The virus causes flu-like symptoms but can be deadly to some people, especially the elderly and those with weak immune systems.
'We're not surprised to find the virus here,' said Rick Weber, a biologist for the state Department of Environmental Protection. 'We expect to see it year in, year out, throughout North America.'
Residents have been told to take precautions. DEP officials planned to spray the dump with a natural bacteria that kills mosquito larvae.
