Crane

One week after the Center City crane crash that killed the operator and injured several pedestrians, notice of the first lawsuit has been filed in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court. A summons announcing intent to sue was filed yesterday on behalf of Dorothy Ramos, 76, against Masonry Preservation Group Inc., of Merchantville, the crane operator, and First Presbyterian Church at 21st and Walnut Streets. A woman who answered the phone said MPG president Brent Schopfel was not available to discuss the suit.

In terms of sheer numbers, construction is the second-most dangerous occupation in the nation, and James Wilson's fatal fall Monday from 125 feet as his aerial lift toppled is another sad example. Even though Wilson, 41, was by all accounts a highly trained union journeyman with an expertise in high work, the type of equipment he was using in Center City can pose problems on construction sites, experts say. That's because it carries the risks of any large piece of machinery, yet is used by all sorts of tradesmen - painters, bricklayers, and electricians who often receive only general training in its operation.

Ben Crane made four birdie putts longer than 20 feet, including a 30-footer on the first hole of the day, and finished with a 7-under-par 65 and a one-shot lead in The Players Championship at Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Crane survived a wild opening round yesterday on the TPC Sawgrass and wound up atop a leaderboard devoid of the biggest stars. Tiger Woods couldn't make a putt outside 4 feet. He opened his round with four straight birdie chances inside 12 feet and missed them all. He wound up with a 71. Phil Mickelson ran off three straight birdies early in his round, then couldn't keep the ball in play.

Following dramatic crane failures elsewhere that have resulted in 11 deaths, Mayor Nutter yesterday signed one of the toughest crane-safety laws in the country. The signing ceremony was conducted on the roof of 10 Rittenhouse yesterday morning, 34 floors above the street, while two cranes helped put finishing touches on the exterior of the new luxury condo on Rittenhouse Square. "I am proud that Philadelphia is leading the way in construction-site safety," Nutter said. The bill, drafted by Councilman James F. Kenney, establishes stiff certification requirements for crane operators, riggers, and inspectors as well as codifying standards for equipment and bonding for crane companies.

A Philadelphia rebar-manufacturing company was cited for 54 safety violations yesterday, including the failure to properly maintain cranes. "When we got in there, we found the cranes were in deplorable condition," said Al D'Imperio, director of the Philadelphia area office of the U.S. Labor Department's Occupational Safety and Health Administration. "It was bad," D'Imperio said. The company, MJ Associates Inc., a Philadelphia subsidiary of Re-Steel Supply Co. Inc., of Eddystone, faces potential fines of $159,000.

Sadako Sasaki was 2 years old when the United States bombed Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Sadako survived the bombing, but developed leukemia at 11. A friend told her of the legend that anyone who folds 1,000 origami cranes will be granted a wish, and Sadako went to work, hoping to extend her life. Sadako died in 1955, at age 12. Her story is well-known, captured by author Eleanor Coerr in the children's book Sadako and the Thousand Paper Cranes. This month, a Baptist church in Wayne is organizing a crane-making effort across the region with a different wish in mind: peace.

It wasn't an everyday sight. A 4,000-pound, 10-foot-square shed, being raised off a barge by a 110-foot crane and, ever so gently, being set onto a historic ship at Penn's Landing. Ever so gently, because it was swaying in a mild breeze. Yesterday morning, the operation was another step in the piece-by-piece restoration of the 1892 cruiser Olympia. That was the U.S. flagship during the 1898 Battle of Manila Bay, the first major engagement of the Spanish-American War. The shed was a $75,000 replica of the original pilothouse, the small shelter from which the ship was controlled.

A longtime dockworker died in a Camden port accident early yesterday. Crane operator Krzystof A. Zarotynski, 57, was standing on a dock at the Beckett Street Terminal about 6 a.m. when the accident occurred, Joseph Balzano, executive director of the South Jersey Port Corp., said in a statement. Zarotynski was standing below the crane, said Jay Jones, deputy executive director of the Port Corp. It was a routine day, and crews were readying the crane with a container spreader, a device that allows them to unload 20- and 40-foot containers from ships.

The sunny room at Pebble Hill Interfaith Church that alternately serves as a sanctuary, a concert venue, and a place to toast the bride and groom becomes an art gallery dedicated to peace during September. The walls hold photos and paintings that illuminate efforts to keep the peace and the tragedy that occurs when peace is not upheld. This month, those walls are the backdrop for photos that recall the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. They are pictures of impromptu memorials, rescue workers, and a survivor from the 83d floor of Tower One of the World Trade Center.