Results tagged “supremecourt”

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend.

  • The Daily News examines how an alleged DUI killer's outrageous MySpace page is not exactly helping his case. (What a freaking idiot.)
  • decision to see what it says, what it doesn't say, and what it might mean for Philadelphia. We're not going to pass judgment or express an opinion on whether the Court's ruling was "right" or "wrong." We've gotten pretty tired of that whole argument in the last week.

    It's bargain day here at Phillyist, so we're bringing you a two-for-the-price of one Asshole of the Week. (Actually, we missed last week, but this week's column gives us two Assholes, so we figure it evens out.)

    Last Friday & the Weekend: Michael must have had a low-key weekend, as the Nutter newswires were fairly quiet. He probably needed the rest, though, as he had a pretty hectic week last week, and it may only now be sinking in that he's the mayor.

  • Seven state lawmakers, naming the city as the defendant, brought a lawsuit before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court yesterday asking that all construction of the proposed SugarHouse Casino be halted, "contending its license to build on submerged land beyond the river's edge is illegal."
  • As Phillyist Sarah pointed out yesterday in a comment on Philly in the News, Mark O'Donnell was arrested yesterday in the murder of Ebony Nicole Dorsey, the daughter of his girlfriend. He's been charged this morning with beating, strangling and sexually assaulting the 14-year-old. Dorsey's mother says the attack came after O'Donnell had been smoking crack all night, but O'Donnell says that's not true and that he caught the girl molesting his daughter. About 100...

    We're sure you've heard by now, but as we haven't had a chance to mention it here yet: on Monday, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court decided that "City Council's longstanding failure to vote on SugarHouse's zoning and land-use requests" constituted "deliberate inaction" and therefore "cleared the way for construction to begin on the $550 million SugarHouse casino in Fishtown and Northern Liberties." SugarHouse officials say they expect to start construction in a matter of weeks. The...

    In Los Angeles, LAist most definitely celebrated Thanksgiving like no other. After all, one has to keep up all the energy to keep on walking the line at the Writers Strike and fighting the unfortunate return of the wildfires in Malibu, which single handedly destroyed over fifty homes within the first 24 hours. National outlets may be covering the fires, but CNN also found it is easier to buy a gun than fruit and veggies in South Central. On the entertainment front, the Red Hot Chili Peppers are suing Showtime over the show titled Californication and Rami Kashou of Project Runway chatted with LAist about his Palestinian heritage and, of course, designing beauty.

    The "10,000 men: A Call to Action" campaign will get started in earnest on Saturday when they put the first 200 men on the streets. It'll be a field exercise for squad leaders, and apparently they'll also be doing a door-to-door campaign to alert neighbors of the effort. Then they'll be patrolling in South Philadelphia next Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday evening. John Lewis, the suspect in the murder of police officer Chuck Cassidy, was...

  • The search for John Lewis, the suspect in the murder of Officer Chuck Cassidy, is over. Police apprehended him at a homeless shelter in Miami at 7AM. They tracked him down after learning that a relative had bought a bus ticket to Miami for him.
  • The police now have a suspect in the death of police officer Chuck Cassidy - 21-year-old John Lewis of North Philadelphia - and have issued an arrest warrant for him. The search for him has intensified, and police and his relatives are asking him to turn himself in. Lewis is armed and dangerous; click through for a description of him. His mother is a corrections officer in the Philadelphia prison system, and it's believed that he used her 9mm semiautomatic to shoot Cassidy.
  • 63-year-old retired policeman "Osvaldo Torres walked into the emergency room at Albert Einstein Medical Center yesterday morning, sat for a few moments, then went to a nearby restrooom and shot himself to death." A suicide note was found at the scene, but its contents have not been made public.
  • Still on the subject of Philly's violence problem: Mayor Street and top law enforcement officials said yesterday that the attitude in the city needs to change before the violence will stop - meaning, more witnesses have to find the courage to step forward. Probably true, but... well, that's easy for you to say.
  • This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities.

  • Police are saying that 18-year-old Charles T. "Chuckie" Meyers was driving in South Philly on Saturday when he shot and killed a bicycle-riding 14-year-old boy when the boy wouldn't get out of his way fast enough. But friends and relatives of Meyers can't believe he would do such a thing.
  • The city's relatively new campaign finance laws are under attack on two fronts: briefs in the state Supreme Court, and consideration by the Legislature. Nutter will be doing his best to fight off both attacks and preserve the laws that (theoretically) helped him get the Democratic nomination for Mayor.
  • The best of the internet, squirted out in flavorful neon globules, just for you.

  • Yesterday an accident caused problems on 202, but starting this coming Sunday it'll be a planned construction project that will cut the road down to one lane in each direction between Route 401 and Route 30. Thankfully construction will only take place between 10PM and 5AM, Sunday through Thursday.
  • Some fool has robbed the same Wawa in the Northeast (on Torresdale Avenue at Levick Street in Tacony) three times within the past month. The police would like you to call 215-686-3153 or -3154 if you have any information.
  • Commonwealth Court upheld Philly's much discussed limits on campaign contributions on Monday, but Chaka Fattah said he would appeal the ruling, which would bring the issue to the state Supreme Court.
  • Some are trying to pass laws to ban casinos in Philly, but there could already be a law on the books that would prohibit the building of at least one of the casinos: the planned SugarHouse Casino at Frankford and Delaware Avenue. It's a zoning law originally designed to restrict nightclubs.
  • All the Brady news that's fit to print! First of all, he and his legal team are now saying he didn't forget but deliberately did not declare his city pension on his nominating papers because he thought they did not need to be included. Regardless, legal challenges to his nomination will not be cleared up quickly; it sounds like we could look forward to weeks more of this, with the case probably eventually going to the state Supreme Court. Meanwhile, there is some good news for Brady: he got the top spot on the ballot. Assuming he ends up on it, of course.
  • Yes, the rumors you've heard are true: as of yesterday, gay couples can now register to get married in that land of promise that borders us to the east, just over the bridges. Well, they can register to get a civil union anyway, which is the same thing, but just under a name that the NJ Legislature hopes will upset fewer people. This came about due to a lawsuit filed a while back by seven couples who thought it might be cool if they had the same rights as straight people. The New Jersey Supreme Court thought about it and decided it would be cool, too.

  • Sunday night a New Jersey state trooper spotted an SUV moving at a high rate of speed and swerving between lanes. The trooper finally got the guy to stop as he was crossing the Walt Whitman. The driver hopped out of the car - and flung himself off the bridge. A search has been conducted for the man, but as of this writing, it has been unsuccessful. Very strange stuff. Since when is facing a possible traffic ticket more frightening than jumping off a bridge??
  • More recent shootings means we might exceed last year's homicide count.

  • Apparently the Philadelphia Archdiocese is interested in healing, but not in dealing with any lawsuits. Maybe they feel they paid enough by witnessing the sorrow last week in Wynnewood, because now they're heading to federal court to ask a judge to dismiss a class action lawsuit filed by victims of sexual abuse at the hands of priests.
  • The original results of the Democratic primary race for the 179th District House seat in North Philadelphia have been overturned by Common Pleas Court, who have now given the Democratic nomination to a write-in candidate, Emilio Vazquez. Of course, his opponent (the one who originally won) is going to appeal and take it all the way to the Supreme Court if necessary. Sigh. Why does this happen all the time now?
  • Thankfully, Northwest Philly's John Staggs, a State House hopeful, challenged the oath and threatened to sue the state. As a result, the State Supreme Court has said officials should stop enforcing the oath, although it will technically remain on the books.

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