BY SANDY BAUER INQUIRER STAFF WRITER PHILADELPHIA – She paced in front of the mesh, flopped to her back and writhed seductively. She was the experienced one. He hid behind a tree, staring at her, then drew closer. He was middle-aged and still a virgin. For about an hour Tuesday morning, Kira and Dmitri, two Amur tigers, sniffed and growled as they got aquainted across the divide of two separate exhibits at the Philadelphia Zoo. The plan – a dangerous one – was to get them to mate. But it was worth the risk. Both carry valuable genes that can […]
FOURTH AMENDMENT: THE DECIDER Decides To Pull Plug On NSA Eavesdropping On American Citizens
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department, easing a Bush administration policy, said Wednesday it has decided to give an independent body authority to monitor the government’s controversial domestic spying program. In a letter to the leaders of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said this authority has been given to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court and that it already has approved one request for monitoring the communications of a person believed to be linked to al-Qaida or an associated terror group. The court orders approving collection of international communications _ whether it originates in the United States or […]
STRANGER THAN FICTION: Suicide-By-Cop & City Hall Break-Ins Part Of Same Tragically Bizarre Narrative
Before his deadly confrontation, Kelley scaled four floors of scaffolding outside City Hall and smashed a window leading to a well-appointed room where the state’s Supreme Court justices meet. Inside, he scribbled religious messages on legal pads, and rifled through desks and cabinets, police said. Kelley didn’t stop there. He circled around that floor to the offices of City Council President Anna Verna, where he broke another window, this one on a door. Again he searched desks and cabinets. He found two items that struck his fancy: a Bible and a large serrated knife. Kelley had both, police said, when […]
RENDELL SWORN IN BY PUNXSUTAWNEY PHIL
“I believe that we have put Pennsylvania firmly on the road to enduring progress. But today is not the time to rest on our laurels. There is much yet to be done,” said Rendell, bracing against a stiff January wind and wearing only a navy-blue suit.[…] Rendell said he would try to build on the achievements of his first term, highlighting his efforts to reduce government spending while investing in education and economic-development programs. His 10-minute speech was interrupted by applause about a dozen times by a smaller-than-expected crowd of about 1,500 people, including federal and state lawmakers and well-wishers.The […]
GUNCRAZY: Cops Bag Third Trophy Kill Of The Year
By Joseph A. Gambardello INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A robbery suspect was fatally wounded after a running gun battle with police this morning in Port Richmond. Police were investigating the possibility that the man shot himself in the head about the same time as a police officer fired one round into the man’s shoulder area. During the gunbattle, the man fired about 10 shots at police, including three bullets into the side of a patrol car. […] “He was determined not to get caught,” said Capt. Ben Naish, a police department spokesman. Police said they recovered a bag with money next […]
GUILD: Layoffs Disproportionately Targeted Minorites, Leaving Behind A Newsroom Of Dead, White Men To Cover A City Where Minorities ARE The Majority
Dear Guild Member, Today several of our members, with the support of National Association of Black Journalists, met with top executives of the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News. Attached is a summary of their talking points, passed on with their permission: THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER DIVERSITY OBSERVATIONS January 16, 2007 African American (11.3 percent), Asian American (4.7 percent) and Hispanic American (2.1 percent) journalists are the minorities represented on The Inquirer?s newsroom staff, according to the latest survey of the American Society of Newspaper editors. African American (16) and Asian American (5) journalists represent a disproportionate share (28 percent) of the […]
SAME AS IT EVER WAS: Neil Stein Spotted Walking Towards Rittenhouse Square & Looking FABULOUS!
Stein, 65, said that he wanted to create a high-end, boutique hotel called Wow with computers and flat-screen televisions in every room, with a bistro, rooftop club, limo service, Philadelphia’s best spa, and – in place of a check-in desk – a concierge service to escort guests to their rooms. Or he’d try franchising Rouge, the bistro he created on Rittenhouse Square, perhaps opening versions in Miami Beach or the Georgetown section of Washington. Or develop a rehab center for alcohol and drug addicts in Center City; he’s a recovering addict. He said he had even given some thought to […]
HALLWATCH Launches Letter Campaign To Spur City Council To Sue Pants & Underpants Off Gaming Board
The Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board chose the two worst sites for Casinos in Philadelphia. Councilman DiCicco has offered to file a law suit to challenge the Gaming Board’s decisions, but law suits are expensive, very expensive. In order to proceed, he needs to convince City Council to fund the lawsuit. They will be voting on this budget before the end of January. Please write in to City Council ASAP. They need to hear from us that we need this funding. Sample Letter: Dear Council Member, Please fund Councilman DiCicco?s effort to file a lawsuit with the PGCB. Thank you, YOUR […]
NOW HIRING: High-Profile Local Defense Attorney Needs High-Profile Local Defense Attorney
A well-known Philadelphia lawyer has been arrested and charged with numerous offenses. Police say he was discovered naked, in a private lounge area of the Criminal Justice Center, with a 14-year-old girl. Defense attorney Larry Charles has been charged with sexual assault, corrupting the morals of a minor, and several other crimes. Police say Charles and the girl went into the CJC on Monday. Courts were not in session because of the Martin Luther King holiday, but Charles said the girl wanted to post bail for someone. After the pair was not seen for a while, and CJC guards could […]
2nd City Hall Break-In, Intruders Rifle Thru Supreme Court Files, Leave Behind Inspirational Messages, Smiley Faces, “i”s Dotted With Little Hearts, Etc.
For the second time in less than a week, an apparent break-in has been discovered at Philadelphia City Hall. On Sunday, the glass pane of an office door leading to the fourth-floor office of the City Council president was found smashed (see related story). Then, on Tuesday morning, workers found that an exterior window in the offices of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in City Hall had been smashed and the offices left in disarray. There is scaffolding outside the south side of City Hall reaching up to the fourth floor, and officials think someone got access to that scaffolding by […]
GUNCRAZY: Suicide By Cop Done ‘By The Book,’ Say Experts
Police say officers twice tried to tame the man in Center City with shots from a Taser electronic stun gun before he lunged at them with the knife, yelling, “Kill me! Kill me!” The five officers shot him down in a fusillade. He was the second man killed by police gunfire this year. Police yesterday disclosed few new details about the 2 a.m. confrontation, which was captured by surveillance cameras outside the Robert N.C. Nix Federal Building on Market Street near Ninth. The assailant, said to be in his 30s, has not been identified. Experts say police, in their account […]
EMERGENCY: When 911 Is A Joke That Writes Itself
A 68-year-old man fell from an ambulance onto the busy Interstate 295 in Mount Laurel early yesterday morning while he was being transported to a hospital. Lawrence Byrne, whose address was not known, was in critical condition at Cooper University Hospital in Camden after the incident, which happened around 6:30 a.m., said State Police Sgt. Jeanne Hengemuhle. It was not immediately clear why Byrne was being transported by ambulance, Hengemuhle said. The incident occurred in the northbound lane at milepost 36.2. An investigation was continuing. DAILY NEWS: Where’s Flava Flav When You REALLY Need Him?
Why Are The War Pigs STILL Making Mad Bacon?
Noticing our nation is stuck in an unwinnable war (or two), we wondered if America hasn’t stumbled off the meritocratic path. More specifically, since political pundits like David Brooks play such a central role in our national decision-making process, maybe something is amiss in the world of punditry. Are the incentives well-aligned? Surely those who warned us not to invade Iraq have been recognized and rewarded, and those who pushed for this disaster face tattered credibility and waning career prospects. Could it be any other way in America? So we selected the four pundits who were in our judgment the […]