Up Yours, ‘Travel & Leisure’

Plus: Camden cops reject concessions, empty seats in city schools, tax reform, and more of what Philly’s talking about this morning

Grand Jury Indicts Kermit Gosnell. In a vivid, gruesome, and morbidly disturbing 261-page (!) indictment, a grand jury charged the 69-year-old West Philly abortion doc with all kinds of unspeakable crimes, including using assistants who had no idea what they were doing (and ended up killing a woman with an overdose of anesthesia) and literally stabbing the necks of newborn babies with scissors to kill them. [Daily News] State regulators, the indictment continues, had the info they needed to go after Gosnell for two decades, but failed: “The grand jury concluded that, for more than two decades, ‘government health and licensing officials had received repeated reports about Gosnell’s dangerous practices. No action was taken, even after the agencies learned that women had died during routine abortions under Gosnell’s care.’” [Inquirer] Read the indictment for yourself, if you have the stomach for it. [DA’s Office]

Camden Cops Reject Concessions to Save 100 Jobs. By a vote of 300 to 1—gotta wonder who that one dude was—Camden’s police union rejected a city proposal to restore 100 of the 167 cops laid off yesterday in exchange for an 18-month furlough program and other cost-saving measures. [Daily News]

There Are 70,000 Empty Seats in Philadelphia Schools. Not 45,000, as administrators told the School Reform Commission a couple months ago. That, combined with the District’s possible $430 million deficit, might mean school closures, though school officials say that’s one of several options. [Inquirer]

Hey, Screw You, Too. Travel & Leisure magazine has ranked Philly the nation’s third-rudest city, behind only New York and Los Angeles. [Travel & Leisure via Newsworks]

Tax Reform Coming This Spring? A joint task force of Council and Nutter administration officials plans to unveil a more business-friendly tax proposal as early as March. [Technically Philly] Get details and calculate your own business tax rate under the new proposals here. [Forward Philadelphia]

The Big 600. Philadelphia University women’s basketball coach Tom Shirley netted his 600th win last night with a win over Chestnut Hill. Congratulations, coach. [Daily News]