Complaints

IN THE REGION Vishay sells debt to buy shares Vishay Intertechnology Inc., a Malvern producer of electronic components, said it sold $150 million in convertible debt. The proceeds will be used to buy back shares, the company said. — Harold Brubaker   Institute helps nonprofit leaders The United Way of Southeastern Pennsylvania and the Philadelphia Foundation started a Nonprofit Board Leadership Institute to provide collaborative training for nonprofit board chairs and their executive directors.

New Jersey State Sen. Diane Allen (R., Burlington) said Wednesday that she planned to introduce legislation soon that would make it easier to fire educators who bully their students. "My hope is that we can get it through very quickly," said Allen, a prime sponsor of the state's existing anti-bullying law. The legislation Allen said she was drafting was inspired by the recent case of the Cherry Hill father who captured Horace Mann Elementary School staff making hostile and inappropriate statements through a recording device he put in his autistic son's pocket.

In 1996, the Rev. Michael C. Picard was accused of disobedience and brought up on the ecclesiastical equivalent of a court-martial for besmirching the name of a fellow priest to prevent him from becoming an associate pastor at Picard's growing Bucks County parish. On Wednesday, the tables turned. Picard sat in the witness box of a Philadelphia courtroom 15 feet from Msgr. William J. Lynn, whom he accused of falsifying the disobedience charge because Picard had tried to stop the reassignment of a problematic priest.

COLUMBIA, S.C. - The first woman to command the Army's drill sergeant training took legal action Monday to reclaim her job, alleging that she was improperly suspended last year because of sexism and racism and demanding that two of her superiors be investigated for abuse of their authority. Command Sgt. Maj. Teresa King still does not know exactly what her superiors were investigating when they suspended her Nov. 29, according to her attorney, James Smith. He said the Army has declined to say specifically what it was looking into, beyond a general statement that it involved her conduct.

FORT STEWART, Ga. - President Obama reached out to a generation of young soldiers Friday as he added new protections for veterans and military families misled or bilked by career colleges and technical programs that target their federal education benefits. "They don't care about you," he declared, "they care about your cash. " Obama signed a broad order that partially addresses growing complaints about fraudulent marketing and recruiting practices aimed at military families eligible for federal education aid under the GI Bill.

A Cherry Hill father said he sent his autistic son to school with a recording device and has posted a video of what resulted on YouTube. He said school staff can be heard speaking inappropriately in class and using bullying language toward his son. Now, he said, he wants the staffers involved to publicly apologize to his son, and has posted an online petition calling for legislation that would require educators who bully students to be fired....

Question: I began dating someone about three months ago. Things are going really well (we're 30). My problem is that his ex is very intertwined in his life. They broke up about a year and a half ago, his decision, after dating three years, and have remained friends. They have close mutual friends (some of whom are also my close friends — that's how we met), and his mom, brother, aunts, uncles, and cousins are her Facebook friends, post on her wall, etc. I know there's nothing going on between them, but I also know she still has feelings for him. Needless to say, she comes up in conversations — normally his comparing me to her. It's always in my favor, but it annoys me. Plus, she's always around when we go out with the mutual friends.

Ratcheting up pressure on former Philadelphia Housing Authority executive director Carl R. Greene, the state Ethics Commission filed suit Monday to force him to report his income and expenses from 2004 to 2009. The commission's suit called for Commonwealth Court to enforce the agency's order last month that Greene properly file financial statements for the six years and pay the $1,500 fine the commission imposed. Last week, Greene, who has a mailing address in Decatur, Ga., missed the deadline for an appeal before the commission.

Ratcheting up pressure on former Philadelphia Housing Authority Executive Director Carl R. Greene, the state Ethics Commission filed suit Monday to force him to report his income and expenses from 2004 to 2009. The commission's suit called for Commonwealth Court to enforce the agency's order last month that Greene properly file financial statements for the six years and pay the $1,500 fine that the commission imposed. Last week, Greene, who has a mailing address in Decatur, Ga., missed the deadline for an appeal before the commission.

TRENTON - Gov. Christie insisted Tuesday that he expects action by July 1 on merging Rutgers-Camden into Rowan University, brushing aside objections to the plan one more time, like a weary parent deflecting familiar complaints from his children. "They're going to merge," he said, sounding almost bored, at a news conference in Hamilton Township. "That's what's best for the higher education system in New Jersey. " While Rutgers-Camden students don their red shirts and march outside the State House, and faculty line up at legislative hearings to say they'll leave if asked to merge with Rowan University in Glassboro, Christie's response never wavers.