Yo, Philly in the News

• The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at how yesterday's shocking assassination of Benazir Bhutto is affecting Pakistani Americans living in the Philadelphia area.
• After a three month pause, a grand jury resumed its investigation yesterday into wealthy businessman, and owner of the Mount Airy Casino Resort, Louis A. DeNaples. DeNaples is suspected of lying to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about his connections to organized crime. DeNaples' brother Eugene, a former state gambling investigator, showed up at the proceedings yesterday.
• The Inquirer has an interesting article about the Free Library of Philadelphia and its problems with homeless people using the bathrooms as places to bathe and wash clothing. The library collaborated with Project HOME to hire formerly homeless people as bathroom attendants so they can help steer the homeless towards services. That was very successful, so now another collaboration is in the works: "a cafe at the library that will be staffed not only by formerly homeless people, but also by teens in a special business-skills program run by Project HOME." The "HOME Page Cafe" is set to open in February.
• We mentioned yesterday the fact that high school basketball superstar Tyreke Evans was at the scene of a recent murder, and today the Inquirer has more details. Evans' cousin is "charged with first-and third-degree murder in the shooting death of 19-year-old Marcus Reason, and turned himself in to Chester Township authorities Saturday." The murder was apparently gang related, and now Evans is travelling with a lot of security for fear of reprisals.
• Yesterday, during one of his last public statements while in office, Mayor Street paid tribute to the city's police with the first Police Appreciation Day during his administration. Sadly, shortly afterwards Street found it necessary to defend his decision to claim $111,000 in raises that he had forgone since 2004. He said "the city's financial condition had improved to the point where he felt comfortable taking a 2004 raise and three cost-of-living increases that he also passed up until now."
• State Sen. Connie Williams, a Democrat from Montgomery County, has announced that she won't seek reelection at the end of her term in 2008. "[Her] retirement could set the stage for a hard-fought and expensive race between Democrats and Republicans."

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