Yo, Philly in the News

• The president and board chairman of the city-funded nonprofit Philadelphia Safe and Sound testified yesterday that they were forced by Mayor Street and his senior aides to spend an extra $21 million that they knew did not exist in the city budget. It's those expenditures that have forced Safe and Sound to cancel dozens of programs in recent weeks. You can find copies of Safe and Sound's testimony online here and here.
• Insiders say Barack Obama is the favorite to win the endorsement of the Philadelphia Building Trades Council, which would represent a striking break with Governor Rendell and Mayor Nutter, who are supporting Hillary Clinton. The trades council, which includes 37 locals of building and construction trade unions, was scheduled to meet this morning in Northeast Philadelphia to decide the issue.
• Even though Democratic candidate for state Senate Larry Farnese identified ethics as one of his top concerns, he's now in legal hot water about his own ethical practices. Hundreds of the signatures on Farnese's voter petitions appear to be in the same handwriting, and looked fishy even to his own campaign manager, and those petitions are now being challenged by a lawsuit sponsored by fellow candidate John Dougherty.
• At a City Hall news conference yesterday, where he was joined by Senator Arlen Specter, Mayor Nutter named Ronald L. Cuie to lead his administration's efforts to help Philadelphia ex-offenders readapt to society. Cuie was released from prison four years ago after being convicted on aggravated assault and other charges.
• "Amtrak service was halted for an hour yesterday after a train heading from Boston to Washington struck and killed a man in the Crescentville section of Philadelphia." Police don't know the man's identity, or why he was on the tracks, but they are investigating the case as an apparent suicide.
• Jose Serrano, 19, of the 2800 block of North Fairhill Street, allegedly ran a red light at Eighth and Butler Streets Tuesday night and fled when police attempted to pull him over. He then collided with a second police cruiser at the intersection of Sixth and Cambria Streets in the city's Fairhill section. He got out of the car and continued his attempt to flee on foot, but was caught and arrested and is now charged with driving under the influence and related offenses. The two officers in the second cruiser were treated for head, neck and back injuries at Temple University Hospital, and then released.
• A small fire started late Tuesday on the second floor of John Street's home on the 1400 block of North 13th Street. The fire was extinguished in a matter of minutes, and the cause was apparently faulty electrical wiring.

Image Credit: Flickr user cpt.spock