Two charged in sex assaults on teen patients
Two former technicians at a Montgomery County psychiatric hospital were accused yesterday of sexually assaulting teenage female patients while they were receiving treatment.
( By Chris Gray, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/12/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Reports from the front create favor and fear
A 24-hour news cycle and embedded journalists are shifting the way those at home deal with emotions over loved ones in the military.
Ever since her husband of two months was sent to Iraq to fight in a Marine unit that also included an embedded ABC correspondent, Saja Laum has established a tense and tender nightly communion with Nightline.
( By Benjamin Wallace-Wells, Inquirer Suburban Staff, 04/11/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Sisters keep tradition alive in their hands
When Betty Ann, Trish and Peggy Anderson were growing up in South Philadelphia, almost everyone knew how to weave palms. Every year, when Lent began, students at St. Paul's School at 10th and Christian Streets would troop over to the rectory after class to learn how to weave the palms that commemorate Jesus' triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey to celebrate Passover. Dozens of stores sold the decorations.
( By Miriam Hill INQUIRER STAFF WRITER, 04/11/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Bucks prison chief: Abuse by officers targeted He told the oversight board that he was moving toward stamping out abuse of inmates and drugs.
Once again on the defensive, the Bucks County prison chief said yesterday he was moving to address the latest problems that have only added to the county jail's growing reputation for trouble.
( By Walter F. Naedele, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/11/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Antiwar protesters report increased backlash
Never protest alone. It's the one rule that Bud Alcock has learned from his hours of holding "Stop the War" and "Who's Next?" signs on street corners and in public parks. Besides hearing catcalls and obscenities from passing motorists, Alcock has been personally threatened by onlookers who take offense at his antiwar views.
( By Chris Gray, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/10/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Property tax relief, schools take priority
Rendell's budget secretary said the governor will not economize on those plans to soften budget cutbacks.
Gov. Rendell is not willing to restore budget cuts if it means scaling back his multibillion-dollar property tax and education plan, a top administration official said yesterday.
( By Amy Worden, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau, 04/10/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Pa. keeping records of State-Store ID checks
The state liquor agency shares data with police. The policy has led to concerns about privacy.
Do you remember what you bought the last time you stopped in your local Wine and Spirits Shoppe? Depending on your age, chances are the state knows - and it might share that information with law enforcement.
( By Dan Lewerenz, Associated Press, 04/10/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Helping refugees adjust to U.S. life
A Bucks group aids families from W. Africa
Speaking before a group of social workers, Mawata Dunbar looked like any other teen, but she told of a past that few in her high school have lived through.
( By Dwayne Campbell, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/10/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Ex-officer gets 5 to 10 years
He was convicted of trying to kill a police officer who had broken off their affair. She quoted him as telling her: "I'm coming to get you."
Daniel Getter, who spent one decade enforcing the law, might now spend another in prison for breaking it. His crime was serious: attempting to kill a fellow Doylestown Township police officer who wanted to end their extramarital affair.
( By Larry King, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/09/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Doctors operate on Mexican sister
A 13-year-old Chester County girl successfully underwent a six-hour operation yesterday to remove her esophagus, six weeks after her sister had the same surgery at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
( By Maria Panaritis, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/09/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

State shifts boundaries of hunting districts
Hunters tracking deer or other animals through Pennsylvania's woods will now do so in areas separated by major roadways and rivers, not invisible county boundaries, under new rules adopted by the state Game Commission yesterday.
( By Marc Levy, Associated Press, 04/09/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

John Grogan | She's an athlete no one can forget
Some moments in life stay with you till your dying day. For Katie Samson, a gifted athlete who was never very good at sitting still, that moment came on a snowy slope in Radnor on Jan. 29, 2000.
( By John Grogan, Inquirer Columnist, 04/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Schools help extinguish teens' smoking habits
For years, high schooler David Collins has heard about the evils of smoking. Smoking kills 440,000 Americans each year. Cigarettes contain at least 43 cancer-causing chemicals. Nicotine is addictive.
( By Lini S. Kadaba, Inquirer Staff Writer, 04/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Ex-crime-fighter now an advocate for incarcerated
Former Pennsylvania Attorney General Ernie Preate built a career on being a tough-talking, law-and-order prosecutor who championed mandatory sentences and capital punishment.
( By Joann Loviglio, Associated Press, 04/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)

Court upholds fees charged non-members
Pa. teachers unions can require the payments but they must provide an audit, according to the ruling.
Pennsylvania teachers unions can charge non-members fees for certain expenses but must allow them to see an audit of how their money is spent, a federal appeals court in Philadelphia has ruled.
( Associated Press, 04/07/2003 03:01 AM EDT)