The 8:30 Report: “Why the Hell Are You in the Office?” Edition
The streets of Killadelphia: Daily News writer Dave Davies breaks down the origins of the unfortunate (but apt) nickname and observes that even though the murder rate did in fact decrease from last year (391, down from 407 in ‘06), there’s still a disconcerting problem that nobody’s addressing: fewer cops. Whether that’s been the catalyst for the disturbing spike or not, it certainly hasn’t helped. [DN]
More waterboarding fun: Mark Bowden offers a followup to his somewhat controversial, somewhat bizarre “here’s why we need to torture some people” column that ran last week. In it, Bowden carefully explains that the technique should be used in extreme cases and that the torturer should prepared to face the consequences of his water-dumping activities. [Inquirer]
It’s New Year’s Eve — that means treacly Mummers stories: This one is about little Hannah from Doylestown. As a precocious seven-year-old, she’s prone to enjoying the simpler things in life — missing teeth, noisy toys — but right now, all she wants is a spot in the parade. Conversely, there’s 79-year-old James, whose been mummering for close to six decades and just wants to make one more march down Broad Street before he kicks it. [PhillyBurbs]
Black ex-firefighter suing over job dismissal: Emmett Ross, the Philadelphia firefighter who was fired after he was accused of putting a pillowcase with KKK written on it inside a supervisor’s locker, is lobbing his own discrimination suit against the city and the department. Ross was eventually rehired by a labor arbitrator, but contends the only reason he was fired from his job in the first place was because he’s African-American and his lieutenant is an old white coot. [Inquirer]
