Yo, Philly in the News

• Yesterday a Delaware County trade-school instructor mistakenly left his 14-month-old grandson in the backseat of his sweltering car in the Lawrence Park Shopping Center while he went to work for several hours in Broomall. Apparently he typically picks the child up in the morning and takes him to day care, but yesterday he forgot the boy was with him, and only realized his mistake when he came back in the afternoon to get something out of the car. The child was breathing but unconscious when police arrived; he's now at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and his identity and condition are not being disclosed at his family's request. Hopefully the boy will recover, but sadly two people have already died because of the heat.
• Yesterday the City Council's Law and Government Committee approved legislation that would ask voters if they want to fold the Fairmount Park Commission into the city's Department of Recreation.
• The thunderstorms that came through the area last night helped break the oppressive humidity, but unfortunately also caused power outages for 70,000 PECO customers in Southeastern Pennsylvania, and some of them could remain without power until tomorrow or Friday.
• The presumptive nominees for both the Democratic and Republican parties will both be visiting Pennsylvania this week. Senator John McCain has a town-hall meeting scheduled for this morning at the National Constitution Center, and Obama is scheduled to hold a fund-raiser Friday evening at Sheraton Philadelphia City Center Hotel.
• At some city schools, it's already possible for students to get condoms free for the asking. Activist group ACTUP Philadelphia (the same group that successfully pushed for condom distribution in some city schools 17 years ago) protested in front of the Philadelphia School District building and City Hall yesterday to demand the prophylactics be given out in all public high schools as a way of preventing teen pregnancy and controlling the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.
• Don't worry, everybody: tomatoes from New Jersey and Pennsylvania have been ruled safe. Eat your MLTs without fear!
• To offset rising costs, many airlines have added fees for curbside bag check-ins. This means skycaps are getting fewer tips, and they're now suing for the loss of income.

Image Credit: Flickr user dreid0612