NEWS
May 17, 2013 | BY JAN RANSOM, Daily News Staff Writer ransomj@phillynews.com, 215-854-5218
THE NUTTER administration switched gears and has now set aside $31 million to pay for a portion of the firefighters' arbitration award that it is appealing - again. Despite concerns raised by City Council, the city controller and the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority, the city's fiscal watchdog, Nutter's budget proposal had not included the costs of the award if the appeal was unsuccessful. The issue has been a major sticking point during this year's budget debate in addition to the longstanding contract disputes with the city's blue- and white-collar unions.
NEWS
May 8, 2013 | By Jane M. Von Bergen, Inquirer Staff Writer
A Camden County jury awarded $596,000 to two Hispanic firefighters who said they were passed over for promotions because of discrimination and their persistent and public complaints about discrimination against minorities within the Camden Fire Department. Andres Nieves, 48, of Medford Lakes, and Samuel Munoz, 34, of Camden, said they were unfairly turned aside for promotion to captain in 2009. On Thursday the jury found the men also faced a hostile work environment and retaliation.
NEWS
April 26, 2013 | BY DANA DiFILIPPO, Daily News Staff Writer difilid@phillynews.com, 215-854-5934
AN ELDERLY MAN found dead inside his burning home yesterday morning in Southwest Philadelphia had been shot to death, police said. Authorities are investigating Grover Edwards' death as a murder and arson, said Officer Christine O'Brien, a police spokeswoman. Edwards, 74, appeared to have been shot in the head, O'Brien said. Investigators had not found a motive or suspects yesterday. The blaze was reported at 7:30 a.m. in Edwards' rowhouse on Springfield Avenue near 59th Street, said Lt. Bernard Gilliam, a Fire Department spokesman.
NEWS
April 22, 2013 | By Paul J. Weber and Christopher Sherman, Associated Press
WEST, Texas - First Baptist Church in the tiny Texas town where a fertilizer plant exploded is still off-limits, so the Rev. John Crowder put folding chairs in a hay pasture and improvised a pulpit on a truck flatbed. At the elementary school, an official carted extra desks and chairs into the only public school campus that's left. This was Sunday in West. Four days after the blast that killed 14 people and injured 200 others, residents prayed for comfort and got ready for the week ahead, some of them still waiting to find out when - or if - they will be able to go back home.
NEWS
April 20, 2013 | By Nomaan Merchant and John L. Mone, Associated Press
WEST, Texas - Rescuers searched the smoking remnants of a Texas farm town Thursday for survivors of a thunderous fertilizer plant explosion, gingerly checking smashed houses and apartments for anyone trapped in debris while the community awaited word on the number of dead. Initial reports put the fatalities as high as 15, but later in the day, authorities backed away from any estimate and refused to elaborate. More than 160 people were hurt. A breathtaking band of destruction extended for blocks around the West Fertilizer Co. in the small community of West.
NEWS
April 12, 2013 | BY DAVID GAMBACORTA, Daily News Staff Writer gambacd@phillynews.com, 215-854-5994
IT WAS QUIET, except for the breeze that ruffled the honor guard's flags, as Elizabeth Goodwin sat in a wheelchair outside St. Michael's Lutheran Church, waiting for her son. After a few moments, red-eyed mourners began pouring out of the Kensington church in droves. The quiet was finally interrupted by the mournful sounds of bagpipes as Philadelphia fire Capt. Michael Goodwin's flag-draped casket was moved carefully down the sidewalk. Elizabeth Goodwin lowered her head and sobbed as her son's coffin slowly passed by. Her tears were but a few that were shed Thursday as hundreds of firefighters, family members and friends came together to remember Goodwin, 53, the commander of South Philly's Ladder 27 who died battling a blaze Saturday in Queen Village.
NEWS
April 11, 2013
SO, PHILLY loses another firefighter, after which Mayor Nutter states, "We must never forget the grave risks that these heroic public servants take every day at a moment's notice on behalf of us all. " Now living in Nashville, I read the Daily News every day on my Kindle and I find Mayor Nutter's statement somewhat ironic. As someone who used to live one block from where Capt. Michael Goodwin died protecting my old neighborhood, I urge Michael Nutter to never forget the words of his statement above when he tries to fight the salary arbitration case against the firefighters, or refers to the noble police force of my hometown.
NEWS
April 11, 2013 | By Mari A. Schaefer, Inquirer Staff Writer
The three members of the Black Flag Family gang - including a former volunteer firefighter - knew exactly what they were doing when they allegedly tried to burn down a 237-year-old piece of Bucks County history, police said Tuesday. Fortunately, they didn't succeed. While the interior of the unique Croydon Lodge - once home to a Revolutionary War-era British officer - is damaged, the outside of the structure is still sound, said Bob Pritz, president of Holland Enterprises, a developer.
NEWS
April 11, 2013 | By Melissa Dribben, Inquirer Staff Writer
In a brief, searing, and politically charged ceremony outside City Hall on Tuesday afternoon, grieving families, heartsick friends, city officials, and union leaders gathered to mourn the deaths of three firefighters. Under the heat and glare of an intense sun, the crowd gathered for half an hour, sharing sorrow and indignation. Initially, the event was organized to mark the first anniversary of a warehouse fire in Kensington that killed Lt. Robert Neary and firefighter Daniel Sweeney.
NEWS
April 11, 2013 | BY JAD SLEIMAN, Daily News Staff Writer sleimaj@phillynews.com, 215-854-5938
TEARS OF sorrow and anger flowed Tuesday, as the families, friends and comrades of three fallen firefighters gathered outside City Hall to mark their passing and press the city for support. Capt. Michael Goodwin was killed Saturday while fighting flames at Jack B. Fabrics at 4th and Fitzwater streets. His death came nearly a year to the day after Lt. Robert Neary and Firefighter Daniel Sweeney lost their lives battling a blaze at the site of the former Buck Hosiery factory in Kensington.