Fairmount Park

PHILADELPHIA 1 killed, 1 hurt in crash A head-on crash on a winding stretch of Lincoln Drive in Fairmount Park left one man dead and another hospitalized late Saturday night. Police said a 2002 Toyota Camry was traveling east on Lincoln Drive near Gypsy Lane through Fairmount Park when it crossed into oncoming traffic, striking a 2007 Honda Pilot SUV head-on. After the impact, the Camry burst into flames, killing the driver. Police said that man remained unidentified last night.

The Broad Street Run, the annual 10-mile race held on the first weekend in May, has become insanely popular. It began in 1980 with 1,500 runners. Online registration for last year's race was open for four days before reaching the event's capacity of 28,000. This year, it took five hours to reach the new maximum of 30,000. Hearing the groans and protests from disappointed runners who were shut out, the Department of Parks and Recreation, which organizes the race, has added 2,500 spots through a lottery.

A 32-year-old man was robbed and stabbed Saturday morning near his home in the city's Fairmount Park section, just blocks from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, authorities said. The victim, who was not identified by police, was walking in the 2700 block of Pennsylvania Avenue about 4:35 a.m. when a man came up behind him and pressed an object into his back, saying it was a gun. The robber forced the victim into woods behind a nearby playground where they struggled. The victim was repeatedly slashed with a knife, police said.

I FOUND IT almost humorous that conservative talk-show host Dom Giordano stated that most of his callers are upset that Herman Cain is being picked on so much. They claim that President Clinton was not picked on like that. First off, these Cain women were paid to keep the issue quiet. Second, I guess these people had their heads buried in the sand when their people spent millions of our tax dollars trying to have [Clinton] impeached. Clinton got [oral sex] from a consenting adult. Is that worse than sexual harassment?

FAIRMOUNT PARK is the nation's largest park system, with 9,200 acres. In 2008 it had a budget of $15 million, but by 2010 it was down to $11 million - which barely meets the park's most basic maintenance needs. And its budget situation just keeps getting worse. We need to think out of the box about how to fund the system into the future. The Fairmount Park Commission and other civic leaders have been looking for ways to generate more funding through other means, such as improved concessions.

An elderly man was assaulted Monday afternoon in Fairmount Park, police said. The attack occurred about 1:20 p.m. at Lincoln and Forbidden Drives, said Officer Jillian Russell. The victim, whose precise age was not available, was attacked by four males. The victim was taken to Chestnut Hill Hospital to be treated, Russell said. The nature of his injuries was not available. No arrests were reported.    -Robert Moran

A West Philadelphia man, DeVoughn Scott, 24, died early Sunday morning when he lost control of his Ford Crown Victoria and hit a tree on Chamounix Drive in West Fairmount Park, police said. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene. - Bob Warner

Pesticides will be sprayed in Fairmount Park around dusk Tuesday in an effort to prevent cases of mosquito-borne West Nile virus, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. Targeted will be an area bounded by Ridge Avenue, Kelly and Strawberry Mansion Drives, and Huntingdon Street and a smaller location around Smith Playground bounded by 33d Street and Reservoir, Kelly, and Fountain Green Drives, officials said. West Nile virus has been detected this year in a mosquito in Greene County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, but has not been seen in Philadelphia.

A fallen tree has brought rush hour traffic to a crawl through Fairmount Park. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive is closed in both directions between Sweetbriar and Montgomery Drive while officials work to clear the scene. The tree fell onto the road near its intersection with Montgomery Drive at about 5:40 p.m., police said. Officials encourage drivers to find alternate routes around the area if possible.