Yo, Philly in the News

• As if the School District of Philadelphia wasn't having enough money troubles, the former principal and chief administrative officer of a small Center City charter school has been found guilty of defrauding them of over $200,000. He's been ordered to pay the money back, and to serve 33 months in federal prison.
• US Department of Justice lawyers had requested that federal observers be stationed in polling places in Philly's Latino neighborhoods on Tuesday, but a three-judge panel has rejected the idea. The City Solicitor had argued that their presence might be intimidating and decrease participation; he also says plenty of translation services will be available. Hmm... Well, we'll see.
• Speaking of tomorrow's vote, PA candidates of both parties pulled out all the stops this weekend, importing stars like John Edwards, Tom Ridge, Rudy Giuliani, Al Gore, John McCain, and Barack Obama to stump for them. Meanwhile, the Daily News helpfully peals away the layers of lies from campaign ads and tells us the true facts in a feature called Reality Check, and the Inquirer gives us some handy voting tips and info.
• A Pakistani man tried to withdraw two large sums of money within only a few hours from an account at a Drexel Hill Commerce Bank on Wednesday, and the second time the employees realized he was using fake ID and called the cops. He doesn't appear to have terrorist connections, but the Philly FBI is still investigating.
• Crime numbers from West Chester and Drexel have increased quite a bit from 2004 to 2005, but it's not clear whether that's because there were really more crimes committed, or because the reporting just became more accurate.

Embedded video of cops vandalizing another cop's car is by U of Arts student Elyse Wilson, and was taken on Federal St near 7th in late September. Thanks to the Daily News for making us aware of it; see the longer, more boring original version here.