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$5M

A Tioga County man was recently paid a $5 million reward for helping federal authorities apprehend the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui.

Clarence "Clancy" Prevost was honored last week at the State Department. He was a Minnesota flight instructor who, in 2001, was Moussaoui's instructor at the Pan Am International Flight Academy near Minneapolis. Prevost was among those who alerted the FBI to Moussaoui's suspicious desire to pilot jumbo jets.

Prevost, 69, was born in West Pittston. His family moved to Wellsboro when he was 10. Prevost is a former Navy pilot who later flew for Northwest Airlines.

Moussaoui confessed to being the "20th hijacker" and was sentenced to life in prison. He told jurors he was to have piloted a fifth plane on Sept. 11 and fly it into the White House.

100

Carol Zintz of Emporium saw a surprising sight in her yard in the middle of January: a flock of about 100 robins!

"They just kept coming," Carol said. "It was a very unusual sight. They were obviously looking for food. Does this mean an early spring, or are they just very confused robins?"

About a week earlier, Zintz spotted two eastern bluebirds (males) in her yard.

"I wanted to yell to them, 'Go back, because there is more cold weather coming!' I just love all these crazy, mixed up birds."

117M

Extension Educator Robin Kuleck has passed along some advice when it comes to the rebates that the federal government may send to about 117 Americans.

Those earning as little as $3,000 would receive rebates of $300 and each child would also be worth $300 (there are no details on the age limit to qualify as a child for rebate purposes). As income rises, the maximum rebate would be $600 per individual or $1,200 for those married filing jointly, plus $300 per child. Phase out limits are single earning over $75,000 or married filing jointly of $150,000.

"Don't spend your check yet," Robin advises. "The proposal has not passed and even if it does, it will take the Department of Revenue at least 10 weeks to begin processing the checks. They will also be processing tax returns for the next few months."

She suggests that rebates be used to pay down debt, invested in a retirement fund or saved for a child's college education.

83

The United States will still rely on oil, natural gas and coal for its main energy supplies through 2030. Petroleum, coal and natural gas will still meet 83 percent of total U.S. primary energy supply requirements in 2030, down only slightly from 85 percent in 2006.

Ethanol and other renewable energy sources, such as wind, biomass and solar, will double during the period, but will still make a tiny dent in the reliance on fossil fuels.

Ethanol consumption is forecasted to grow from 5.6 billion gallons last year to 13.5 billion gallons by 2012.

U.S. demand for petroleum, the main source for transportation fuels, is forecast to rise 0.8 percent a year, from 21 million barrels per day in 2008 to almost 25 million in 2030.

Congress has raised fuel efficiency standards for American cars and trucks by 40 percent by 2020. If that remains in effect, it will cut U.S. oil demand to 23 million barrels per day, rather than 25 million, by 2030.

130

The Court of Cameron County held its first major trial 130 years ago.

Two men were charged with murder in 1878 for killing a stage driver who had a regular route between Sinnemahoning and Costello. He was robbed and slain near the site of the First Fork Dam.

218.3M

The New York Yankees couldn't buy a World Series championship. They spent $218.3 million trying.

Champion Boston was second in player payroll last year, spending $155.4 million. The Los Angeles Dodgers were third, at $125.6 million, followed by the Mets ($120.9) and Cubs ($115.9).

The Pittsburgh Pirates were 27th of the 30 major league teams with a payroll of $50 million.