York

AIKEN, S.C. - For three decades, Debra Taylor thought nothing would be done to find and prosecute members of a white street gang who gunned down her mother in July 1969 as the streets of York, Pa., throbbed with racial hatred and violence. Even after York County investigators announced last year that they had received new information, reopened the case and were convening a grand jury to subpoena witnesses' testimony, Taylor was skeptical that anyone would be brought to justice in the death of Lillie Belle Allen.

YORK, Pa. - For nine days, Charlie Robertson sat silently through his murder trial as witnesses told jurors that he had offered bullets and encouragement in July 1969 to young, white gang members now accused in the race-riot killing of a black minister's daughter. He watched as his attorneys called fellow police officers to refute those accusations. And, as he sat wordlessly, a parade of local politicians, businessmen and longtime York residents streamed into court to attest to his reputation as a law-abiding citizen.

NEW YORK -- Throwing out the first pitch before Game 1 of the World Series last night was just the latest in a series of memorable events that took place for Sammy Sosa during a weekend of tributes that began Friday night with a special Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.City streets were blocked off yesterday afternoon for a parade in Sosa's honor, and the Chicago Cubs outfielder was given the Roberto Clemente humanitarian award after arriving at Yankee Stadium."Everywhere I go, people in America show their appreciation.

YORK, Pa. -- It takes a powerful imagination to see baseball fans streaming into this weedy, mostly vacant industrial lot on the edge of downtown York.Eight big blue grain silos stand where left-center field ought to be. The Keystone Color Works, an aging pigment plant, sits along the first-base line.But if everything falls into place in the next several weeks, city officials and local business leaders hope to lure a minor-league ballclub to York -- and spark a renaissance in this faded factory town -- by building an 8,000-seat stadium.

The voice from way in the back comes across louder, more direct this year. Any one-on-one situations, even in the drills against teammates, are handled in the same aggressive manner. And whether a score is tied or there's a six-goal lead, every save is just as big. Severna Park goalkeeper Kerry York is a senior now. This is her time, and she's well aware it's her last chance. York is competitive. She will tell you she has to win the friendly game of checkers. After two close calls the past two seasons, how does she feel about leading the No. 3-ranked Falcons to the Class 4A state championship this fall?

Kerry York is 21 years old and she said doctors have told her she will never run again. "Never, ever," the sidelined senior goalkeeper at Florida State said Monday from Tallahassee, Fla. York developed a stress fracture in her left leg after her sophomore season with the Seminoles, and she said she suffered severe cartilage damage to her left ankle by attempting to play in six games last season. A doctor said last spring the joint was unstable and that she needed ankle reconstruction and fusion, a surgery that holds joints together with fasteners such as screws until the bones heal.

YORK, Pa. - Thirty-three years after a black minister's daughter was shot to death during race riots in this blue-collar town, lawyers began choosing a jury yesterday to hear the murder case against three white men, including a former York mayor. After more than five hours of questioning, defense attorneys and prosecutors had settled on one juror - a corrections officer at the York County Prison who had been incarcerated as a juvenile. Court officials estimate that it could take nine more days to choose the remaining 11 jurors and six alternates who will decide the fate of two-term mayor and retired police officer Charlie Robertson and his co-defendants, Robert N. Messersmith and Gregory H. Neff.

YORK, Pa. -- Take a stroll down Memory Lane, for such a place does exist, and there lies a gray slab of American industry about to fade away: A parts plant owned by Caterpillar Inc., the world's largest maker of earth-moving machinery.Just beyond, on the same block, rises the foundation of what's to come: The I-beams of a mini-mart gas station.And dividing the two stands an American flag, symbol of progress, power and -- here in this blue-collar town -- upheavals in the way of business.This is the logic on one block of Memory Lane -- the aptly named boulevard undergoing tectonic change: Even as a service station prepares to open with the promise of 40 jobs and a starting wage of $6.20 an hour, a plant nearly 500 times larger is about to shut down next door.

YORK, PA. - Ruling that the prosecution of nine white men for the ambush killing of a black minister's daughter in 1969 has been delayed long enough, a Pennsylvania judge ordered yesterday that the murder trial of Mayor Charlie Robertson and his co-defendants go forward. Defense attorneys had argued that charges should be dropped because the 32-year delay in prosecution had violated the defendants' due-process rights and because fading memories, lost evidence and the deaths of potential witnesses made it impossible for them to get a fair trial.

NEW YORK - One pitcher was hit by a line drive and stayed in the game. The other starter took a shot to the head and left the premises. It wasn't enough for the Orioles to be good yesterday. They also had to be lucky. How often does that combination play out at Yankee Stadium? Taking full advantage of his latest opportunity in the rotation, Rodrigo Lopez plowed through New York's lineup for eight innings, and Brian Roberts continued his unlikely home run binge in a 7-2 victory over the Yankees before 46,797.