Yo, Philly in the News

• Remember the gull-killer? This is the dude who ran over 189 seagulls in a lot at the Packer Marine Terminal and went to trial for it. Well, the judge decided it was an accident, but also decided that according to the law the prosecution doesn't have to prove intent, so she has to convict the guy anyway. The best she could do was fine him the minimum amount of money per bird - which amounts to a total of $14,175. He also has to pay $5,000 restitution for the truck he wrecked in the accident. His lawyer says they'll appeal.
• Everybody's favorite nanny-beating Villanova heiress, Susan Tabas Tepper, completed her 30 days of court-ordered psychiatric treatment and so yesterday was able to get a sentence of 15 months probation and a $600 fine for the latest incident in which she attacked an employee.
• There'll be an anti-violence rally at the Convention Center today at 2PM, "followed by a march to City Hall, where the city's homicide victims will be remembered.
• After fighting all summer to keep his friend Richard A. Sprague from being disqualified from his defense in his fraud trial, Senator Fumo has decided there could be potential conflicts after all and has asked Sprague to withdraw.
• Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman is credited with the invention of the "smiley face" emoticon and will be celebrating the 25th anniversary (!!) of its creation tomorrow with the start of "an annual student contest for innovation in technology-assisted, person-to-person communication." It's called the Smiley Award, of course, and it's sponsored by Yahoo Inc. and comes with a $500 cash prize.
• City Councilmen Frank DiCicco and Jim Kenney, chairman of the City Council's new environment committee, will introduce a bill on Thursday that would ban regular plastic bags at supermarkets and pharmacies in favor of recyclable paper bags or new compostable plastic bags. Kenney also plans to introduce a companion bill that will ban Styrofoam. We think it's a great idea, as plastic bags and Styrofoam create an enormous amount of waste that's very bad for the environment.

This lovely photo of a building at Carnegie Mellon University is by Flickr user brunkfordbraun