CinePhillyist Reviews... The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Playlist Rewind: Shonen Knife at Johnny Brenda's
Where Have All Our T-Shirts Gone?
Phillyist Playlist: 311 at the Borgata Event Center
I Have a Baby and Ten Dollars...Now What?
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The NAACP has called out District Attorney Lynne Abraham for leading the grand jury that last week declined to indict a dozen police officers for police brutality in connection with the videotaped beating of three men suspected of firing shots into a crowd in Feltonville.
The Pennsylvania House has approved Philadelphia's proposal to raise the city's sales tax from 7% to 8%. The proposal will now move to the state Senate, where lawmakers say they will not approve the increase until a final state budget is in place.
A private eye testified yesterday that Fumo hired him to snoop on Ed Rendell, a long string of political enemies, his own son, an ex-girlfriend, a former wife, and two topless dancers.
"The defense attorney for State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo subjected Fumo's estranged son-in-law to a lively and grueling cross-examination yesterday, repeatedly challenging his testimony as a prosecution witness." Meanwhile, there was more testimony from the informant in the Fort Dix case, and a former employee of an affiliate of ACORN testified in another case that the community group knew that most new voter registration forms it had gathered were fraudulent.
Voter-rights advocates and election officials argued yesterday in federal court over how to keep lines moving if Pennsylvania voting machines break down on Election Day. The Inquirer takes a look at how the Obama and McCain campaigns faired in the bad weather; Obama went ahead with an outdoor rally in Chester, despite the rain and wind. The latest Franklin & Marshall/Daily News poll shows Obama winning in Pennsylvania by 13 points. Meanwhile, traditionally Republican Chester County could go blue.
John McCain, Barack Obama, and Sarah Palin will all be campaigning in Pennsylvania today. It's all part of a last push for votes. Meanwhile, the Inquirer has coverage of local races.
Police were investigating two homicides and at least two shootings in the city over the weekend.
Yesterday City Councilman Darrell Clarke moved to lift a little known, almost four-decades-old city law that bans men massaging women and women massaging men.
Lots of local trial news this morning: federal prosecutors opened their case against Vince Fumo yesterday by painting a harsh portrait of the man as someone driven by "greed, power, and a profound sense of entitlement." Jurors at the Fort Dix terrorism trial are watching some pretty disturbing videos. The local funeral directors found guilty in that body parts scam were each sentenced to 8 to 20 years in prison yesterday. 20-year-old Malik Collins was convicted of murder yesterday, for the second time in as many months. A 28-year-old North Philadelphia man convicted of murder gave up his right to an appeal yesterday as part of a deal to avoid the death penalty and get life in prison instead. Christian Squillaciotti, the South Philadelphia man accused in that road rage shooting on the Schuylkill Expressway, has been deemed mentally competent to face a preliminary hearing. And finally, two former charter school administrators pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of conspiracy and altering documents in 2006 to cover up their use of more than $14,000 in taxpayer money for personal expenses, including restaurants, gasoline, travel and alcohol.
The Fumo trial is already getting a little nasty, with the defense essentially accusing the prosecution of racism in its jury selection. (We also enjoy the headline of that article, because we misread it as "Fumo-in-law.")
On November 4th, voters will be asked to abolish the Fairmount Park Commission and merge it with the city Recreation Department, placing the whole under the mayor as a standard city department. The Inquirer looks at some of the arguments for and against.
Oh boy, the Fumo corruption trial is finally going to start this week! The Daily News lists some of the key players so you can follow along at home, while the DA praises the defendant for his work on gun laws. That's not the only big trial getting started this week, either; there's also the Fort Dix terrorism trial, and a civil trial that could cost the financially struggling Diocese of Pennsylvania millions of dollars.
Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Pennsylvania by almost 1.2 million. Meanwhile, the Obama campaign has received threats at several of its Pennsylvania offices and is asking labor unions to help provide volunteer security at 27 of the offices between now and Election Day, including six in Philadelphia.
A debate between congressional candidates filmed Friday in Allentown by a local TV station was censored when it aired Monday to avoid causing financial harm. Democratic congressional candidate Sam Bennett stated that two major banks had failed when in fact they hadn't. WFMZ-TV muted the sound and blurred Bennett's lips as she made the erroneous remarks.
This weekend a number of political superstars will be coming to the region, including Sarah Palin, who'll be dropping the first puck at the Flyers' regular-season opener at the Wachovia Center.
Police are seeking a rapist who assaulted a woman in a party bus parked at Lincoln Financial Field during Sunday's Eagles game.
At a defendant's sentencing hearing yesterday in a robbery and attempted rape case, the woman who had been the victim of the attack began hyperventilating in court and then collapsed in an anteroom. She was taken to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital and later released. The defendant was given the maximum sentence of 20 to 40 years in state prison.
Coverage of Patrick McDonald's funeral.
A second-grade student at Harrington Avery D School in West Philly brought a bag of marijuana to school yesterday and showed it off to his friends. A classmate notified the teacher, who notified police, and the cops then searched the home of the child's father, where they found more marijuana and crack cocaine. He was arrested and charged with endangering the welfare of a child and narcotics offenses.
The judge for the Fumo corruption trial is still ill, a fact that may delay the trial for at least a month.
Philadelphia School District counselor Veno Leigertwood, 31, was shot once in the neck shortly after 6:30 a.m. on Saturday in front of his Yeadon, Delaware County home. He died of the injury. His wife, Raven, and 7-month-old daughter, Nichole, were sleeping inside at the time. He was about to get his M.B.A. and had just received a promotion at his job. Leigertwood had no known enemies, and only his cell phone was taken.
In January, former President Bill Clinton will replace former President George H.W. Bush as chairman of the National Constitution Center. Bush suggested Clinton as his replacement and helped recruit him. The center's 43-member board meets twice annually to set policy for the center, so maybe we'll see old Slick Willy around town more often.
Some kids got sick at Council Rock High School North in Newtown, Bucks County yesterday after taking a drug called Snurf. We'd make fun of the Daily News for doing their research on Snurf at the Urban Dictionary, but really, that's where we'd probably end up, too.
Apparently one of the key witnesses against Vincent Fumo in his corruption trial will be his own son-in-law. In the hopes of keeping the trial from running overlong, the judge in the case has ordered prosecutors and defense attorneys to pare down their witness lists.
Leonard P. Luchko, a top computer technician for State Sen. Vincent J. Fumo pleaded guilty yesterday and told a federal judge that he followed Fumo's orders to erase e-mails being sought by federal agents investigating the powerful Philadelphia Democrat. Apparently he failed to erase incriminating e-mails from his own devices, however.
Leonard Luchko, a computer technician and former aide of Senator Vincent Fumo, is accused of illegally destroying years' worth of state Senate computer records, apparently in an attempt to hide the data from the FBI during its investigation into Fumo. Luchko will plead guilty on Monday, marking the first plea in the corruption case against Fumo. The terms of the plea agreement have not yet been specified. In other corruption case news, "City Councilman Jack Kelly's top aide, his campaign treasurer, and his two top political contributors pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and conspiracy charges yesterday and were released on $10,000 bail."
Results tagged “corruption”
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We at Phillyist have just a little bit of a thing for animals, especially doggies and kitties (as if you haven't noticed). On the flip side, we're not too big on sleazy politicians. Especially ones under indictment for corruption. We know there's that whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing, so you'll have to forgive us if we're not giving Vince Fumo the benefit of the doubt in his federal corruption trial. So combine our love of our four-legged friends with our distaste for corrupt power-abusers, and you get a no-brainer for this week's Asshole of the Week.
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What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.
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We know it's hard, keeping up with all the political corruption our city has to offer. Toss in worrying about the presidential election, and it's no wonder few of us have the energy to keep abreast of local scandals. Never fear! In the case of Papa Vince, City Paper has you covered. Tom Namako is blogging and twittering the Fumo Trial over at Fumogation. With cross-linking galore, you'll stay in the loop, and be able to speak with confidence about the Sprague factor over the water cooler.
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