Archive for the ‘12:30 Report’ Category

THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

rec center auditWrecked rec centers: The City Controller’s Office has released a report on 75 of the city’s 170 recreation facilities, detailing a number of safety hazards and upkeep issues stemming mostly from underfunding and poor management. Mayor Nutter has allotted $1 million to remedy conditions such as a pool of water complete with electrical cords reaching across it (not fun) and a hole in a wall big enough for kids to climb through (could be fun). [Inquirer]

Possible terroristic teacher goes to trial: Susan Romanyszyn, the fourth-grade teacher accused of terroristic threats against her own school, will go to trial today. Romanyszyn, who worked at Longstreth Elementary School for ten years, was accused of retaliating against the school after being reassigned to teach fourth grade. Over nine days, officials found various threatening notes sprawled throughout the school along with nails in the parking lot and a bomb-like contraption in a fifth-grader’s desk. Romanyszyn maintains her innocence, claiming she is a scapegoat brought on by backlash from outraged parents. [Inquirer]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

missing infantMissing infant found: Police found an infant who had been missing for more than two days in North Philly last night. The child was not reported missing by her mother until 27 hours after she left two-month-old Shaniyah Granby with Clarissa Hanton, a female acquaintance she knew as “Crystal” or “Claire.” Hanton is now in custody and facing charges. Authorities are now questioning the mental health of the mother. [Inquirer]

New Jersey first to make you choose?: The New Jersey legislature is waiting on Governor Corzine to approve a law requiring all motorists applying for or renewing their license or identification card to declare if they want to be an organ donor. The proposed law would also mandate classes on organ donation in high schools. According to the United Network for Organ Sharing there are currently 4,200 people on the transplant list in New Jersey alone, and 105,000 in the U.S. [6 ABC]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Beau ZabelAspiring teacher killed: A 23-year-old Minnesota native who came to Philadelphia in hopes of teaching math in the city’s school system was fatally wounded while leaving the midnight shift of his temporary Starbucks job. Beau Zabel had lived in South Philly for a short six weeks before he was shot in the neck. Zabel chose Philadelphia over Chicago for the Philadelphia Teaching Fellows program, which would have enabled him to teach while getting certified through Drexel. No arrests have been made. [Inquirer]

The City of (Big) Brotherly Love: Ever feel like you’re being watched? Soon you might be right. In a scary mix of surveillance and marketing, Moto Media is set to install a camera inside a Suburban Station billboard promoting the Philadelphia Soul. The camera does not record images or video, but will trace points on your face to determine your approximate age, sex and the amount of time spent looking at the ad. [KYW]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Virtual speedbumpsSlow your roll, Philly: In a sneaky attempt to slow down Philly drivers, high-tech 3-D images of speed bumps will soon be projected at about 100 intersections throughout the city. Great, now drivers will think actual speed bumps are fake too and fly over them without braking. [KYW]

A (not so) happy ending: And now, from the Department of Stating the Obvious, those “massage parlors” you see advertised in newspapers aren’t really massage parlors! Who knew? Four alleged prostitutes were arrested in Chinatown yesterday in the first of many police raids to come. Some say prostitution is a victimless crime, but Chief Inspector William Colarulo disagrees, stating that drug addiction and gang ties often go hand in hand with women involved in acts of prostitution. [Inquirer]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Septa Bus Crash20 hospitalized in school bus and SEPTA crash: A school bus collided with a SEPTA bus this morning in Philly’s Lawncrest section, sending 20 people to the hospital. Although the severity of the injuries is currently unknown, 17 students headed to Maritime Charter School are being treated at St. Christopher’s Hospital, while both drivers and another passenger were taken to Einstein Medical Center. [6 ABC]

Gas-guzzling government employees: While the rest of us are struggling at the pump, a dozen New Jersey government employees have been filling up all willy-nilly at taxpayer expense. Six employees of the City of Camden and six current or previous workers for the Department of Children and Families have been indicted for stealing hundreds of gallons of gas. One of the deceptive dozen is Patrick L. Freeman, superintendent of Camden’s Bureau of Recreation, who has worked for the city for 30 years and makes around $72,000 a year. [Inquirer]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Rosalind Lavin houseCare-home owner fined and barred from biz: As part of a civil settlement, Rosalind Lavin, the owner of four personal-care facilities in Philadelphia and Media, has been fined $700,000 and prohibited from ever again operating a patient- or personal-care facility. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Lavin used residents’ Social Security and disability checks to fund a multimillion-dollar lifestyle, complete with several luxurious homes (the gates of one of them, pictured) and an aircraft, while her elderly and disabled occupants suffered deplorable conditions, including insufficient food, skipped medications, filthy bedding and clothing, and structurally unsafe housing. [Daily News]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Philly cops on disabilityWhere have all the police officers gone?: In a crime-filled city like Philadelphia, the more police manpower, the better. But since state legislators made it easier for police officers to earn 100 percent of their usual salary while on disability — while also making it easier to resist returning to work —10 times as many officers are off duty with on-the-job injuries, reports the Daily News’s Dave Davies. [Daily News]

Derrie-Air: We’ll fly your butt for more: In an attempt to gauge their advertising power, the Inquirer, the Daily News and Philly.com ran fake ads yesterday for an environmentally friendly airline dubbed Derrie-Air — get it!? — claiming to base fares on a passenger’s weight. According to Jay Devine, spokesman for the owner of the newspapers and website, registered a click-through rate of 1.25 percent, compared to the national average of 0.05 percent. [Inquirer]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Oh, to be young: All Philadelphia schools are dismissing at noon and 1 p.m. today to keep kids from sweating it out in class. All after-school programs and activities are also cancelled. Kids, don’t forget to thank the weatherman. [6ABC]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

10 Most WantedIsn’t that Uncle Charlie?: Apparently on an 1930s G-man kick, the Pennsylvania State Police has published a 10 most-wanted fugitives poster for the first time in years. Police are trying to draw attention to the poster — which includes two Philly murder suspects, Lance W. Crawford and Hanh Duc Nguyen — by encouraging people to check it out on their website and call their tip line with any information. [Inquirer]

Murder-suicide in elementary school parking lot: An apparent murder-suicide in the parking lot of Holy Innocents School of the Juniata section has left two people dead. The 19-year-old female victim was staying with a friend to avoid her 27-year-old abusive boyfriend when he found the pair in a van on the 4200 block of L Street. He opened fire, killing the victim, and turned the gun on himself. [MSNBC]

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THE 12:30 REPORT: Your News Update

Atheist billboardAtheists need love too: A Huntingdon Valley businessman trying bring together local religious skeptics for a big group hug has sponsored a new billboard on I-95 with this provocative message: “Don’t believe in God? You are not alone.” Steve Rade says he’s not out to persuade believers to abandon their religion, but simply to give atheists, agnostics and everyone in between a way to connect. [Inquirer]

Dorsey killer found guilty: Mark O’Donnell has been found guilty of first-degree murder for killing Ebony Dorsey, his former girlfriend’s daughter. Dorsey, a 14-year-old honor student, was strangled and sexually assaulted by O’Donnell while she was babysitting his daughter. O’Donnell is facing the possibility of the death penalty for the crime. [KYW]

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