Closings

A PERSON FAMILIAR with the situation tells the Associated Press that Eddie Jordan is nearing a deal with Rutgers to replace Mike Rice as coach. Jordan and Rutgers interim athletic director Carl Kirschner were meeting again Sunday to finalize the language in the contract before an announcement can be made. Jordan, an assistant coach with the Lakers, flew to New Jersey on Saturday to begin the process. A deal could be in place by Monday, with a press conference later in the week.

Faced with an enrollment smaller than most parochial schools' and little prospect of improvement, Sacred Heart High School in Vineland, N.J., will close in June. Founded in 1927, Sacred Heart enrolls about 168 students in grades nine through 12, well below the threshold of 220 that the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden considers viable even for grammar schools. With 52 seniors graduating this spring and just 21 freshmen starting in the fall, the prospect of a turnaround seemed slight, according to diocesan officials.

PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Zoo plans to close the African painted dog exhibit where a boy was mauled to death last fall and move the 10 wild canines once kept there to other zoos, the zoo's president announced Wednesday, and a prosecutor suggested the investigation into the death was all but over. Barbara Baker, president of the Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium, said the zoo staff and surrounding community still "need time to heal" from the death of 2-year-old Maddox Derkosh, who was killed Nov. 4 when he fell from the railing of an observation platform and was attacked by several dogs.

WASHINGTON - After a day that found him at the center of the contentious national debate over new gun laws, Sen. Pat Toomey said a deal on background checks was near. The Pennsylvania Republican said Tuesday night that he was close to reaching an agreement with Democrats that would give a critical GOP endorsement to the plan. A deal could represent a breakthrough for new gun legislation that has been stymied until now. A final agreement, brokered by Toomey and Sen. Joe Manchin (D., W.Va.)

NEW YORK - Stocks closed a bit higher Monday, shrugging off an early decline, as investors waited to see whether big U.S. companies would deliver on expectations of strong earnings in 2013. Late Monday, Alcoa became the first major U.S. company to report first-quarter earnings, and the results were mostly good. The aluminum maker's income was higher than analysts were expecting, but its revenue fell slightly short of expectations. Later this week, the pace picks up with reports from Bed Bath & Beyond, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan Chase.

Speaking softly but in a high, clear voice, sixth grader Maia Muchison made her case to the School Reform Commission: Don't close my school. "I don't want to go to a big school with big students," said Maia, who attends Beeber Middle School in West Philadelphia. "I might get hurt. " Students, parents, teachers, and community members made a last-ditch effort Monday night to save two Philadelphia School District buildings that could be closed in June - Beeber and M.H. Stanton in North Philadelphia.

I AM WRITING this column Thursday night, just minutes after Cliff Lee brilliantly averted the potential mass suicide of literally thousands of Phillies fans, which was certain to have occurred if the Braves had swept the season-opening series. I watched the game on the Braves' TV network from a hotel room in Palmetto Bluffs, S.C. Earlier that day, I had spoken to several friends back home who told me the city was awash with pessimism. The Fightins' 0-2 start had thrown a blanket of gloom and doom over the city so thick that you couldn't see Billy Penn atop City Hall.

LAKEWOOD, N.J. - Residents of a homeless encampment in the woods near the Jersey Shore have agreed with government officials on the details of a plan to close down the camp after its 80 or so residents have found homes. Both sides in the seven-year dispute have signed a consent order and submitted it to a judge, who is expected to approve it soon. The parties reached an agreement in principle last month. The consent order spells out how Lakewood's Tent City will close down and was sent to Superior Court Judge Joseph Foster on Thursday.