City Council Begins Probe Into Salvation Army Collapse

CBS 3 reports that City Council will begin its probe today into the deadly Salvation Army building collapse that killed six people and injured 13 others: And as lawsuits stemming from the collapse are filed by victims, an official says the city is immune from financial liability. Even if city regulations on demolitions were lax, it is considered unlikely that City Hall could be held liable in any of the lawsuits that result from the building collapse, because of the principle of sovereign immunity. “The city is immune from suit for tort liability except in eight specifically enumerated circumstances,” notes the mayor’s top...

Mayor Nutter: No Food Stamps to Buy Sugary Drinks

AP reports that Michael Nutter was one of 18 big-city mayors to sign a letter asking the feds to keep food-stamp recipients from buying soft drinks and other sugary drinks: In a letter sent to congressional leaders on Tuesday, the mayors say it's "time to test and evaluate approaches limiting" the use of the subsidies for sugar-laden beverages, in the interest of fighting obesity and related diseases. "We need to find ways to strengthen the program and promote good nutrition while limiting the use of these resources for items with no nutritional value, like sugary drinks, that are actually harming the health...

Gotcha Video: Is It OK to Sell Your “ObamaPhone” for Heroin?

So here's the deal: One way conservatives have decided that President Obama is a secret Marxist who wants to give all your money to poor people is the existence of something they call the "ObamaPhone." It's a Federal Communications Commission program — actually started under that noted Communist, Ronald Reagan — to provide cheap phone service to low-income Americans. In the hands of James O'Keefe — you'll remember him as the "pimp" who brought down Acorn — the whole system becomes something far more pernicious. The Daily Mail explains what O'Keefe did in Philly: When James O'Keefe, whose Project Veritas is a...

Philly Schools in Mad Dash for Cash From State, Feds

By hook or by crook, Philadelphia schools are searching for the money that will help them avoid the "doomsday" scenario of starting the fall school year without assistant principals, secretaries, and classroom aides. But it's going to be a slog. NewsWorks reports that City Council plans to pass a cigarette tax — then wash its hands of the mess: The Council plans to pass a tax of $2-per-pack of cigarettes, proposed by Mayor Michael Nutter, combined with enhanced revenue collection of about $28 million in back taxes. Council President Darrell Clarke says that will add up to $74.4 million for the schools. City...

Paraplegic Man Castrated During Argument

MyFoxPhilly has the awful details: A 41-year-old man is being held on $5 million bail after police say he castrated a paraplegic during a dispute at an assisted living facility in Philadelphia. Authorities say Edgar Bonilla is charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault and other counts in Monday night's attack inside the Inglis Apartments at Elmwood. Lt. John Walker says Bonilla was visiting a female friend at the facility and that she apparently had some sort of dispute with the victim. The name of the victim hasn't been released. In other Philadelphia crime news: My bike got stolen overnight, but I suddenly don't...

Can Christianity and Gay Marriage Coexist in America?

My conservative, Christian friends don’t think so. They’re wrong: We can all live in freedom.

In the world I’d love to see five years from now, two — seemingly oxymoronic — things will be true: • My gay and lesbian friends will be perfectly free to marry the person they love, have kids, and grow old together. • My conservative Christian friends will be secure enough in their First Amendment freedoms to gripe about that.

Pennsauken Doctor, Husband Dead in Domestic Attack

NBC 10 reports:

 

A South Jersey doctor was killed by her husband after filing for divorce, according to Pennsauken police.

 

Dr. Michelle Liggio's staffers told police that the doctor's husband, Christopher, came to the office during the lunch hour and the couple started arguing.

 

The husband confronted the doctor, employees told police, because Dr. Liggio had recently filed for divorce and the husband did not want to split up.

 

Five gunshots were heard; a SWAT team was called. Further details about how the couple died weren't immediately available.

Former Penn State Players Back Paterno Lawsuit

CBS Sports reports: Around 325 former Penn State players released a statement on Monday in support of a lawsuit filed against the NCAA by the family of former Penn State coach Joe Paterno. On May 30, the Paterno family filed the lawsuit in an attempt to overturn the NCAA sanctionsagainst Penn State in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal. The group of Penn State players is led by Brian Masella, who graduated from Penn State in 1975 after playing both tight end and punter for the Nittany Lions. Of the names on the statement, the most recognizable would be current Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Paul...

Will School Budget Cuts Lead to Gang War in Philly?

Jeff Deeney is a social worker who, in his other gig as a writer, might be Philadelphia's foremost chronicler of poverty. He writes for The Atlantic today about the dangers posed by school closings and the stuff cuts because of the district's so-called "doomsday budget." One fear: Those with knowledge of the system are anticipating a double whammy to the chances of maintaining good order next year in many city schools. Twenty-three schools are closing, meaning that thousands of children will be uprooted and forced to make long commutes through unfamiliar neighborhoods to unfamiliar schools. There is a two-fold potential for violence...