Brakes

The running battle between the Philadelphia Parking Authority and the Parkway Corporation continues to be good news for lawyers . . . And bad news for everyone else. As spelled out in Paul Maryniak's story, the dispute over whether the garage at 15th and Arch streets is safe seems destined for still another day (week? month?) in court. So far, the Authority has spent almost $1 million in legal fees and other expenses, while Parkway's bill is almost $700,000. Almost $2 million - for lawyers?

The National Transportation Safety Board urged yesterday that tougher standards be developed to upgrade the effectiveness of brakes on jetliners and to improve safety guidelines for aborted takeoffs. The board acknowledged that its recommendations, if adopted, could have far-reaching economic effects on the airlines. Brakes might have to be replaced more often or perhaps even redesigned; planes might have to carry lighter loads of fuel in some circumstances, limiting their range, and heavily loaded aircraft might be restricted from using runways formerly open to them.

It must have seemed to Springfield resident James M. Thiel that things just couldn't get any worse early yesterday. First, the brakes of his 1984 Cadillac El Dorado failed. Next, the vehicle was barreling through the walls and into the living room of a home in the 1100 block of Providence Road, Upper Darby Township. And just when he pulled himself from the car, an occupant of the house appeared before him in boxer shorts, and shouted, "Robber!" Thiel pushed out a living room window and dove headfirst outside.

A car being driven at a private auto auction in Mansfield yesterday lurched out of control and struck 10 bystanders when its brakes failed, state police said. The incident occurred around 12:40 p.m. at the National Automobile Dealers Exchange complex on Route 206 in northern Burlington County. None of the injuries was critical. According to the state police, a Trenton man, Walter Buzinsky, 74, was driving a 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix into one section of the 12-lane auctioning complex, when the car's brakes failed.

If you've walked anywhere in Center City during the last two years, you have without a doubt witnessed a phenomenon that could mark the beginning of major social change. Witnessed it, and - almost as surely - not noticed. It is called "the fixie. " Otherwise known as the fixed-gear bicycle, a ride with one speed and no brakes. Mostly college students, couriers and assorted risk-takers ride these things, forsaking the increasingly complex alternatives featuring 27 gears, finely tuned derailleurs, and FAA-worthy brake systems.

The Brakes, a rock group rehearsing weekdays in a Bala Cynwyd basement, are not American Idol contestants, but they are featured in an H&R Block commercial that has been running during the popular TV show. The five in their 20s who first played together in the Bala Cynwyd Middle School Jazz Band also appeared recentlyon a back-cover advertisement in Rolling Stone. The TV and print ads, the concerts and CDs are steps that the Brakes hope will lead to many road tours, guitarist Matt Kass said.

On a Father's Day that was to have been the first day of the rest of Scott Wisner's life, investigators said there was no initial indication why the Greyhound bus he was driving ran off the Pennsylvania Turnpike and crashed early Saturday, killing Wisner, his wife, and a boy they'd helped raise. Federal investigators yesterday were studying a brake system, taillights and road surfaces as they tried to unravel the mystery behind the crash of the bus and a truck. Four other passengers were killed and 18 people were injured in the accident, which occurred at 4:18 a.m. when the New York-to-Pittsburgh bus veered off the turnpike and slammed into a tractor-trailer parked on the shoulder of the rain-covered road about 50 miles west of Harrisburg.

Bad brakes. Too much weight. Faulty lights. Those were the most common violations police and state inspectors found as they pulled truck after truck off Interstate 95 near the Philadelphia International Airport yesterday. Then the trucks stopped coming. Holstein Avenue grew quiet, where earlier that morning a line of idling tractor-trailers at the impromptu checkpoint had noisily competed with the roar of jets overhead. "As far back as Maryland, they know we're up here," said Pennsylvania Department of Transportation inspector Pierre Cornelius.

The morning of Jan. 23 was clear, and truck driver Valerijs Belovs cruised toward Philadelphia with a load of broccoli aboard. But as his 77,000-pound rig passed Conshohocken on the Schuylkill Expressway, his brakes failed, causing a six-vehicle pileup that killed one man and injured another. "I push brake, but no stop," Belovs, a Ukrainian immigrant, recalled later. Yesterday, Victor M. Kalinitchii, 41, part-owner of the rig and Belovs' boss, pleaded guilty in a Norristown courtroom to one count of vehicular homicide in the death of David Schreffler, 49, of Fort Washington.

Forty minutes into the 6 1/2-hour drive to Batopilas, our new amigo Manuel at the wheel, Carol turned to me in the back seat and said: "I smell something burning. " I smelled it, too. The scent was faint, but unmistakable. I hesitated to say it aloud. I didn't want to believe my nose. "That's the smell of burning brakes," I said quietly. "Our brakes. " This was not a case of leaving on the parking brake while pulling out of a garage. No, we had covered only a fraction of a dramatic route that, God willing, would deliver us 80 miles to a riverside town deep in the belly of a huge canyon.

I made a few stops on the way home the other night, which meant my car's engine had to warm up several times and my gas mileage for the trip was down a bit - 55.2 miles a gallon. Yes, I have a Prius. But normally I can do a few miles a gallon better. It was late. Orion was high overhead. And as I stood in the driveway gazing at it, I had a diabolical thought. Normally I put so much effort into increasing my mileage. I drive the speed limit and coast to every red light.

Specialty cars usually have the life expectancy of a mayfly. But with its retro, cute-as-a-button PT Cruiser, Chrysler demonstrated that you could significantly extend the life of a specialty car with a procession of variations on the same theme. First, there was the four-door wagon, followed by a PT parade of variants that included a turbocharged wagon, a convertible, and a turbo convertible. Now, Chrysler's corporate kin, Fiat, is doing the same thing with its retro cutie, the 500, a modern evocation of a diminutive Italian icon dating back to the '50s.

DRIVERS for a Montgomery County-based bus company cited for allegedly endangering the safety of passengers has been hit with a restraining order for ignoring a Department of Transportation mandate to cease operations. "Safety is our highest priority," said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, in announcing the restraining order yesterday, issued by U.S. District Court against Double Happyness Inc., headquartered in Huntingdon Valley. "We will not tolerate irresponsible bus companies that jeopardize the safety of bus passengers and other motorists.

THE SMELL of burning rubber was overwhelming in the ancient Silverliner II railcars as SEPTA's crowded Paoli/Thorndale local left Suburban Station during a recent evening rush hour. The ventilation system wasn't ventilating. The seats, which had been beaten into pancakes since their 1960s debut, slanted visibly toward the floor, encouraging riders' butts to surrender to the laws of gravity and slide off. By the time the Regional Rail train reached Overbrook, several riders had asked the conductor about the smell.

In 2006, voters dethroned House Republicans. Two years later, Democrats were on a roll as Barack Obama won the White House. In 2010, voters alarmed over the growing cost and reach of the federal government booted his party from control of the House and rehired the GOP in a landslide. Results from Tuesday's off-year elections, with setbacks for the small-government tea party movement and social conservatives, suggest that American voters are far from settled heading into 2012. In Ohio, voters repealed Republican Gov. John Kasich's law limiting collective-bargaining rights for public employees by a margin of 63 to 37 percent.

BEIJING - China plans to limit reality TV shows and other light entertainment fare shown on satellite-television stations as part of a drive to wrest back Communist Party control over cultural industries that are fueling more independent viewpoints. The order from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television refers to shows that are vulgar or "overly entertaining. " It singles out programs dealing with marital troubles and matchmaking, talent shows, game shows, talk shows, and reality programming.

Samantha Lorey, 27, would be a mere 4-foot-5 if she could stand. She weighs just 70 pounds. She can move her hands a little to maneuver her costly new wheelchair, but if her arms fall in her lap, she can't pick them up. She can't move her legs at all. Lorey's problems stem from spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that eventually will kill her. Diagnosed as an infant, she was not expected to live past 2. Instead, she has lived...

LONG POND, Pa. - Defiant and profane to the end, Pocono Raceway founder Joseph "Doc" Mattioli ended his reign over NASCAR's last family-owned track on Friday by delivering a retirement speech that was tearful, humorous, and surprising - especially for his immediate successor. Mattioli's eldest grandson, 35-year-old Brandon Igdalsky, was still shaking more than a half-hour after finding out that the title of chief executive officer was being added to the duties of track president that he assumed in 2007.

ON Saturday, I was stopped by police and told I had no brake lights. The officer informed me I had to get it taken care of right away. I immediately went to the closest service place, only to be told they were ready to close. I proceeded to a Pep Boys, where it was also close to closing. I explained my situation to the two service people, and as I began to walk away, they called me back, seeing how upset I was to be driving with no brake lights. In their kindness, they proceeded to help me. The service area was taking the last car in, but they were helpful in a way you don't find a lot of. So I want to thank the officer of the 4th District who stopped me and to Laura and Shawn of Pep Boys in South Philly for all their kindness from the bottom of my heart.

NEW YORK - After two weeks of strong earnings pumped up the markets, weak results from Pfizer Inc. and others deflated a broad earnings rally. The world's largest drugmaker posted lower-than-expected quarterly results Tuesday, slowing a parade of positive corporate reports. Clorox Corp., Molson Coors Brewing Co., and Beazer Homes USA Inc. also slipped after announcing weaker earnings. That sent broad indexes such as the Standard & Poor's 500 lower. The Russell 2000, an index of small companies, lost 1.3 percent.