Yo, Philly in the News

• A Pennsylvania man named Michael Curtis Reynolds took the stand in his defense yesterday in a case where he is charged with "using the Internet to help al-Qaeda attempt to blow up portions of the U.S. gas and oil infrastructure." He claims that he was actually just trying to lure out al-Qaeda operators so they could be captured.
• The SugarHouse casino is trying to smooth its way into Fishtown by throwing cash around - for instance, buying new jerseys for some Little League baseball players, and donating $10,000 to a struggling Catholic school. Some people are pleased, and now support the casino; others are pissed.
• Wow! Some gun control legislation backed by Philly lawmakers actually made it through the state legislature! Of course, it probably helped that the NRA also supported the bill, and it only contained two small gun control measures, one that would require "police departments to trace all illegal firearms confiscated from those under the age of 21 and report the guns to a state-police-run registry," while the other "would expand the definition of firearm under state law to include long-guns such as rifles and shotguns." But still!
• Pennsylvania's state budget is expected to make its way through the House and Senate today, thus finally gaining approval over two weeks past the deadline.
• Yesterday, the night before the official start of the National Conference on Volunteering and Service, those who had arrived early gathered in the Pennsylvania Convention Center to help build "the skeleton of a three-bedroom ranch home for a family that had lost everything in Hurricane Katrina." Five other service projects will also be completed this week, amongst all the speeches and seminars.
• An editorial from the executive director of the Pennsylvania Land Trust Association points out that despite the fact that citizens of our fair state strongly support spending for conservation and recreation, the state Senate has just passed a bill that "would cut the Keystone Recreation, Park and Conservation Fund by nearly 50 percent." The governor seems to support the cut, but the House still has to discuss it, and a growing number of its members oppose it.

Image Credit: Flickr user dbking