The Cincinnati Enquirer from Cincinnati, Ohio • Page 1

LOCAL El $2 million fire at Jewish Hospital forces evacuation CINCINNAT1.COM 75 CENTS CINCINNATI ENOl RER This year, Santa has a budget, too By Lori Kurtzman lkurtzmanenquirer.com Amid economic downturn, families cutting back on gift-giving Cincinnati.com Get tips on Black Friday deals and on making your money go further. Search: Saving Central With job losses skyrocket-ing, the stock market in a free fall and the economy swirling toward unknown depths, it came time for a serious talk in the Giess house. Mom Shelli sat down her two boys and explained how all this economic strife would affect the The oldest seemed puzzled. "What do you mean, Santa has a budget, too?" 5-year-old Kyle asked. On the eve of Black Friday, the reeling economy of 2008 is having an impact on families across Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

In many cases, Santa's strained budget will mean smaller piles under the tree and less expensive, more practical gifts. For some, it will mean no presents at all. Forty percent of holiday shoppers are expected to spend less this year than they did in 2007, according to a No vember survey from New York-based consulting company Accenture mostly because of increased gasoline, food and heating costs. Another survey, from the National Retail Federation, showed that consumers plan to spend an average of $832.36 on holiday-related shopping, up just 1.9 percent from last year the lowest increase since the survey began in 2002. "We've just really kind of scaled back," said Giess, a Fairfield Township stay-at-home mom whose husband took a lesser-paying job last year to spend more time with the family.

The couple will spend about $100 less than they did last year on the boys. See GIFTS, Page A6 2 TITLES ON THE LINE tan 'V I 1 1 1 Mi 1 'ys Si 'CS HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES From "The Radio City Christmas Spectacular," with its 24 high-stepping Rockettes, to the electric dazzle of Cincinnati Zoo's 26th annual Festival of Lights, find the top 10 must-not-miss holiday events. Weekend Life Iraqi lawmakers approve troop withdrawal plan Iraq's parliament approved a pact that requires all troops to be out in three years, marking the first clear timetable for a U.S. exit since the invasion. NATION A2 Diabetics learning healthier lifestyles Diabetes cases are increasing rapidly across the U.S., but a Cincinnati Health Department initiative is helping low-income patients curb the trend.

LOCAL Bl A Pitt win today gives title to UC If Pitt beats West Virginia today, the Bearcats will clinch the Big East championship. But even if the Mountaineers win, UC can capture the title Saturday by beating Syracuse. SPORTS CI Brace for a new mortgage crisis Even as the holiday shopping season gets into full swing, a second wave in the housing crisis could turn out the lights on malls, storefronts and hotels nationwide. NATION WORLD A8 New Bengal doing a bang-up job Since safety Chris Crocker signed with the Bengals as a free agent on Oct 30, the sixth-year pro has lit up the secondary. SPORTS CI U.S.

military engineers are designing flying robots disguised as insects that obuld one day spy on enemies and conduct missions without risking lives. NATION A5 i Indian commandoes try to root out terrorists By Ramola Talwar Badam The Associated Press MUMBAI, India Indian commandoes fought early today to wrest control of two luxury hotels and a Jewish center from suspected Muslim militants, more than a day after a chain of attacks across Mum-bai left at least 119 people dead and the world's fifth-largest city shellshocked. Black-clad commandoes )Sid6 dropped from a helicopter just after dawn as sharpshooters opened fire Terrorists ap-on the five-story headquarters of Pear "home-the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach grown." A2 group Chabad Lubavitch in an at- Locals fear tempt to subdue the militants who for family. A6 held hostages there. Gunfire and explosions were heard throughout the day Thursday and into the night from the Jewish center and the Taj Mahal and Oberoi hotels, two of the top gathering spots for the Mumbai elite.

Throughout the day, commandoes brought hostag-. es, trapped guests and corpses out of the hotels in small groups while fires erupted periodically and firefighters battled the flames. State officials said 119 people had died and 288 were injured. The well-planned attacks began Wednesday night, and officials said the gunmen were prepared, even carrying large bags of almonds to keep up their energy during the fight. Their main targets appeared to be Americans, Britons and Jews, though most of the dead seemed to be Indians and foreign tourists caught in the random gunfire.

Some gunmen strode casually through their targets in khakis and T-shirts. The Maharashtra state home ministry said dozens of hostages had bee freed from the Oberoi and dozens more were still trapped inside. More than 400 people were brought out of the Taj Mahal. i TOP: Head LLP Lit coach Doug Ramsey offers his final thoughts to the team after Thursday morning's practice in preparation for Saturday's game. ABOVE: Wide receiver Josh Jones reaches for a high pass in practice.

Anderson photo by Ernest ColemanThe Enquirer; Elder photos by Bruce Crippen for The Enquirer rinrpQAij Head coach Jeff Giesting and his team give a cheer at the end of a 1 CilwUll send-off for the team this week. They play for the title at 7 tonight. Area teams hope to bring back championships this weekend Get latest news at Cincinnati.Com Go online for video, photo galleries and live blog updates of tonight's matchup for Anderson and Saturday's Elder game. Search: high school sports Brown Tiger Stadium. Anderson beat Louisville 31-25 to win the title in 2007.

Elder (13-1), making its first state final appearance since winning back-to-back titles in 2002 and '03, plays Cleveland St Ignatius (13-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Canton's Fawcett Stadium. The Enquirer It all comes down to one final weekend for the area's top two high school football teams. For the second straight year, two teams will make the trek north with hopes and dreams of realizing a state title. And yes, snow is in the forecast as Elder and Anderson get ready for their Division I and II Tonight, Anderson (12-2) plays Sylvania Southview (14-0) in an attempt to repeat as the Division II champion.

Kick-off is 7 p.m. at Massillon's Paul state championship games, respectively. "Maybe itU be a blizzard to help us," Anderson coach Jeff Giesting said. See STATE, Page A6 Yes, it's true: WKRP on the air in Cincinnati, this time for real WEATHER pu nch 46 Low 28s Partly cloudy Online See the "WKRP In Cincinnati" intra then and now at http:tinyurl.com 4fjmmv. jbOMPLETE FORECAST: B8 INDEX 168th year, No.

233 Movies E34-40 Advice E17 Obituaries B4 Sports CI TV E18-19 Dl-10 fcomlcs Editorial B6 Lotteries B8 Classified to switch to digital next year, Block made the investment so viewers here with digital TV converter boxes could continue to see his stations next year. "Now we're in the mix with everyone else," he says. On digital tuners, WKRP-TV is Channel 25.2. WOTH-TV is digital Channel 25.1. WKRP-TV viewers will see "Matlock," "Cops," "Punk'd," "Lincoln Ware Live" (10 am.

Sunday) and Bill Boshears' "Sdzone" (11 p.m. Saturday). But not the station's namesake show. "We've checked, but WKRP in Cincinnati' is not available for broadcast It's only available for cable," Block says. "WKRP" reruns air 73 p.m.

Sundays on WGN America (Time Warner Channel 74; Insight Channel 24) and 10 p.m. Mondays on Americanlife (Tune Warner Channel 141; Insight Channel 182). By John Kiesewetter jkiesewetterenquirer.com WKRP is on the air in Cincinnati. Really. Low-power Channel 38 known as WBQC-TV since 1995 has changed its call letters to WKRP-TV to promote its new digital TV signal.

This is the first time a station here has been known as WKRP since the CBS premiere 30 years ago of "WKRP in Cincinnati," a TV sitcom about a wacky rock radio station fictionally set in Cincinnati. "When I call someone out-of-town and say we're a TV station in Cincinnati, the response usually is, WKRP in This gives us recognition," says Elliott Block, general manager and chief engineer for WKRP and sister low-power WOTH-TV (Channel 25). mi i 'TTOMiniaiinrni NjiwritMmJBk The EnquirerCara Owsley First Run Classified All il Otyyilght, 2008, The Cincinnati Enquirer His Block Broadcasting started the low-power station in 1990 as W25AI-TV. He changed to WBQC-TV when it became the local WB network affiliate. The WB ceased operation last year.

Block has registered trademarks for "WKRP" and "WKRP Cincinnati," he says. The station's new Web site is www.wkrp.tv. Block began plotting the change two years ago, tied to TV stations' transition nationwide from analog to digital broadcasting scheduled for Feb. 17. Although low-power stations aren't required by law Thanksgiving dressing MlpMri Brandon Dobbs (left), of downtown Cincinnati; Marci Wea-ble, of Loveland; and Marci's brother Thomas Weable, of Mariemont, stretch before the start of the 99th annual Thanksgiving Day Run and Walk on Thursday, downtown.

Story, CI Photo gallery at Cincinnati.Com. Search: photos P'o9orioior thr i it LK Jvleckeir and FRIDAY 7AM-6PM, SATURDAY 9AM-6PM SUNDAY 11 AM-5PM CD 1 i ZEIS? QiTTD gESHEliS kJMHm 11! Si (, ill.