COPS RULE DEATH OF TWO NORTHEAST PHILLY KIDS SUICIDES
Authorities in Philadelphia have ruled the deaths of two children, ages 9 and 11, suicide but say their deaths are unrelated. Police say the 11-year-old girl strangled herself with a scarf on May 4 and the 9-year-old boy hanged himself with a belt on May 7. Philadelphia police Capt. John McGinnis says neither child exhibited any warning signs before they killed themselves. Investigators say the two children were from different neighborhoods in Northeast Philadelphia and went to different schools. They do not appear to be connected in any way. McGinnis says neither child left a suicide note. [via MYFOXPHILADELPHIA]
CITY COUNCIL APPROVE 10% PROPERTY TAX HIKE TO CLOSE BUDGET GAP
A divided City Council approved a temporary 9.9 percent property-tax hike Thursday, but balked at Mayor Nutter’s sugary-drinks tax and seemed ready instead to pass a budget that would deplete the already meager cash reserves Nutter had set aside for next year. Yet as far as Nutter is concerned, the $3.85 billion budget is far from done. The drinks tax could still return. It was only tabled, not rejected. And Nutter – who has lobbied hard for it – has not given up on the bill, which he considers essential to fully fund his 2010-11 budget and five-year plan. “We still have a great amount of work left to do. My primary concern at the moment is we run the very, very serious risk of not being able to pay for core services, whether it’s foster care or health-care services or the seasonal workers at recreation centers,” he said. But even without the drinks tax, Council has already managed to close the city’s roughly $135 million budget deficit, though with little margin for error. If Council sticks to its current proposal, the budget fight could be over, whatever the mayor might hope. [via INQUIRER]
BANKRUPT RACE-BASED SWIM CLUB SOLD TO SYNAGOGUE
A suburban Philadelphia swim club accused of racial discrimination is sold at bankruptcy auction to a local synagogue. The Huntingdon Valley-based Valley Club was sold for $1.46 million Thursday to Congregation Beth Solomon Synagogue & Community Center. The club filed for bankruptcy in November following discrimination lawsuits and a critical state report. Once the sale is cleared by the court, the club’s bankruptcy trustee says, the money will be parceled out to the claimants. On Nov. 15, 2009, Valley Swim Club president John Duesler sent an e-mail to club “friends and families” Friday saying the board of directors had voted 5-1 to file for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. “While many will point towards our legal situation and negative media exposure this summer as the reason, the truth is that the club has struggled to stay out of the red for at least the last decade,” Duesler’s e-mail said. The Creative Steps day camp had arranged for the youngsters to swim each Monday during last summer. But during the first visit on June 29 by 56 children — 46 black and 10 Hispanic — two youngsters reported hearing racial comments, and the day camp’s payment was later refunded, according to the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. [via MYFOXPHILADELPHIA]