Chester

The Palestra is sacred basketball ground, an arena revered throughout the country as one of basketball's meccas and where many hoops destinies have been achieved. Not for Chester, one of the area's most revered high school basketball programs - and a team chasing destiny this season as possibly the greatest in school history. The Clippers will face Pennsbury tonight at 7:30 in the PIAA Class AAAA state semifinals. A victory for Chester (31-1) would mean a second straight trip to the state championship at State College on Saturday against the Norristown-Moon winner.

One reason people thrill to the prospect of pro soccer coming to Chester is the promise that a new stadium complex will generate a raft of jobs, spending and tax revenue - all told an astounding $1.7 billion in economic activity. Or not. "A fantasy figure," scoffed Rick Eckstein, a Villanova University professor and coauthor of Public Dollars, Private Stadiums: The Battle Over Building Sports Stadiums . "The numbers should be treated very, very skeptically. " Despite the dozens of new stadiums built or rising in communities across the United States, and despite the huge public subsidies they command, there's nearly universal agreement among economists that arenas produce practically no benefits to taxpayers - a view hotly disputed by the businessmen who seek funds and the government leaders who back them.

Justice in Chester has a frantic rhythm never envisioned in the law books James Dolan studied back at Villanova University. That's what Dolan, the 40-year-old assistant public defender assigned to Chester's district courts, likes about his job. Justice delayed, the adage goes, is justice denied. Delays are few in Chester's courts, which Dolan likens to television's People's Court. Dolan's boss, Nicholas G. Theodore, head of the Delaware County Public Defender's Office, describes Chester court operations as "seat-of-the-pants justice.

About 45 percent of those in Chester who signed petitions circulated recently by Project V.O.T.E., a Chester group trying to change the form of city government in Chester, were not registered to vote. As a result, the petitions have been declared invalid by the Delaware County Registration Commission. Project V.O.T.E. turned in 1,415 signatures on Aug. 9. The signatures were on petitions asking the county Board of Elections for a question on the November ballot to change the form of city council elections from at-large races to district races.

Kobe Bryant might play his last game in a Lower Merion uniform tonight. Or he might have another game left: the Class AAAA state championship on Saturday. Chester might earn a shot at its second state title in three years tonight. Or the Clippers might suffer their second straight loss to Bryant and the District 1 champion Aces. Lower Merion and Chester will tangle at 7:30 p.m. at the Palestra in the PIAA state semifinals, a game that already has been sold out. The winner will face the Erie Cathedral Prep-Erie McDowell semifinal survivor in the state finals Saturday in Hershey, Pa. Bryant, the all-time leading scorer in Southeastern Pennsylvania history, scored 34 points in the Aces' 60-53 victory over Chester in the District 1 final March 1. He has earned plenty of individual honors, but he badly wants a state title.

The celebration was a little premature. Hershey kisses rained over the court last night with 7.9 seconds remaining in Chester's 61-55 victory over Coatesville in the PIAA Class AAAA Eastern boys' basketball final at Norristown High School. Reaching the state title game is almost a birthright in Chester, but it had been three years since the Clippers reached the final. So they were willing to wait a few more seconds. Chester is returning to the final for the first time since winning the crown in 2000, when current St. Joseph's standout Jameer Nelson was a senior guard for the Clippers.

The city of Chester has ordered residents in flood-prone areas to evacuate by noon Saturday, officials said Friday night. The order covers the 600 and 1300 blocks of Park Street, and the 1300 and 1400 blocks of Kerlin Street. Residents can find shelter at Showalter Middle School at 10th and Lloyd Streets. Fire and police personnel will assist residents with evacuations, officials said. Buses will transport residents to the shelter starting at 10 a.m. Electricity to the evacuated areas will be turned off at noon.

After a year of waiting and weeks of buildup, Chester and Roman Catholic played one of the most eagerly awaited boys' basketball games in Southeastern Pennsylvania last night. The result? Chester, ranked first in the area by The Inquirer, defeated second-ranked Roman Catholic for the second consecutive season. This time, the Clippers' Maurice Nelson scored 24 points to lead his team to a 61-47 victory in the Primetime Shootout at Villanova's Pavilion. Teammate Rahlir Jefferson added 19 points en route to being named his team's MVP of the game.

Playing a lineup of three guards and two small forwards may not win a lot of games for a lot of teams, but that kind of lineup gave Chester the PIAA District 1 Class AAAA title last night at Villanova's duPont Pavilion. Led by forward Keith Wood's 20 points, the Clippers defeated Coatesville, 77-62, before about 5,000 fans. All season, Chester (25-2) has played without the benefit of a big man. (Wood, a 6-foot-4 junior, comes closest to that description.) But against Coatesville, the Clippers didn't need a big man. Guards Larry Yarbray (16 points)

Chester withstood a fourth-period rally by Abington last night and won its PIAA District 1 Class AAAA semifinal game at the Palestra, 78-71. Leading by 58-48 after three periods, the Clippers allowed Abington to draw within six points, to 60-54, early in the fourth quarter. But the Clippers (24-2), ranked fourth in the Inquirer's Southeastern Pennsylvania Top 10, scored eight of the next 10 points and raised the lead to 68-56, putting the game on ice. The victory sends Chester into Friday's district title game against Coatesville, a 74-71 winner over Conestoga.