Yo, Philly in the News

• MummersFest will run from 2-6 p.m. today and tickets are $3 available at the Convention Center (12th and Arch Streets). Admission includes make-and-take crafts, a costume exhibit, rehearsals, and a 30-minute behind-the-scenes tour. The Mummers Parade will kick off at 10 a.m. tomorrow with the Comic division near Broad and Washington Streets, at 10:30 a.m. at Broad and Snyder for the Fancy division, and at 10:20 a.m. at Broad and Oregon for the String Bands and Fancy Brigades. For more information call the Philadelphia Department of Recreation at (215) 683-3691 or (215) 683-3595. Septa will be rerouting busses that intersect with the parade (Routes 2, 7,17, 23, 27, 29, 31, 33, 37, 38, 44, 48, 57, 64, 68, 79, 124/125, C and G). The SEPTA Customer Service line, 215-580-7800, will be on 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. during the parade.
• Yesterday, a judge dealt a crushing blow to Mayor Nutter's plan to balance the city budget, ordering him to immediately halt plans to close 11 library branches at the close of business today. Common Pleas Judge Idee Fox ruled in favor of seven library patrons and three City Council members who sued Nutter last week, citing a 20-year-old ordinance requiring Council to approval to close city buildings. Nutter's administration vowed an appeal to the state Commonwealth Court. Nutter called Fox's ruling a "complete violation of the fundamental tenets" of the city's Home Rule Charter.
• Despite falling short of lofty goals set last January, Mayor Nutter and Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey declared their initiatives a success. While the mayor and commissioner had hoped to reduce killings by 25 percent and violent crime by 20 percent, both fell off by 15 percent and three percent respectively. "This is the sharpest decline in homicides in a decade here in the city of Philadelphia," Nutter said at a news conference held in the 18th District in Southwest Philadelphia, a district that saw a 72 percent drop in killings. So far, 332 people have been killed in the city this year compared with 392 for the same period last year. The goal, Ramsey said, is to get the number below 300 for 2009 and to reduce homicide by 30 to 50 percent within three to five years.
• On January 1, New Jersey workers may notice slightly smaller paychecks. Payroll deductions for the state's new paid family-leave law will begin, although workers won't be able to begin taking leaves until July 1. New Jersey's family-leave law will allow most workers to take up to six weeks of paid leave to care for sick family members, newborns or newly adopted children. Federal law requires employers with 50 or more employees to give workers who meet certain criteria up to 12 weeks of unpaid leave. New Jersey was only the third state in the nation to adopt the paid family leave, although the benefit is almost universal among industrialized nations worldwide.
• The Philadelphia Phillies' perfect closer, Brad Lidge, has been voted the first Daily News Sportsperson of the Year by the paper's sports staff and other experts. He received 13 of 35 first-place votes and 133 points in a list that, not surprisingly, was dominated by the Phillies. Manager Charlie Manuel (12 first-place votes, 100 points), lefthander Cole Hamels (7, 93) and first baseman Ryan Howard (26 points) rounded out the Top 4. The only other candidates to receive first-place votes were Jamie Moyer and Pat Burrell. "It really is a big deal and very cool for me," Lidge said. "I mean, our team is full of MVP-caliber players. And to be considered in terms of this vote to be at the top of that, it's quite an honor, for sure."

Image Credit: Flickr user kevindooley