Ghost Town

At Trainer Borough's "psychic night" of entertainment two months ago, several residents who had their fortunes read left the community center sobbing. Organizer Marilyn Maher has a hunch why. "Two refineries are closing. My husband is losing his job. Our taxes are going up," she said. " Hel-lo? " Strung along the river in southern Delaware County, blue-collar towns like Chester, Marcus Hook, and Trainer once formed the racing heart of the region's shipbuilding industry, which employed tens of thousands at its height during World War II. In the decades afterward, those communities got to know too well the pain of prosperity gone by. That doesn't make it any easier now. The projected March closings of the Sunoco-Marcus Hook and ConocoPhillips refineries, with the direct loss of about 1,500 jobs; the insolvency of the Chester Upland School District; the shuttering in June of a beloved 95-year-old Catholic parochial school - all are ratcheting up the already ingrained stress in these faded industrial towns.

This town ain't big enough ... The Occupy Wall Street movement has some deep roots in American culture. Dozens of movies - primarily Westerns - have been about ruthless cattle barons/railroad tycoons/mine owners oppressing and terrorizing the hardworking farmers and townfolk in their community. The bad guy seems to be motivated solely by greed and a desire for power. The bad guy is a job creator, of course, but the people he hires are gun-toting thugs there to enforce his will.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - New Mexico, home to several of the nation's premier scientific, nuclear, and military institutions, is planning to take part in an unprecedented science project - a petri dish, of sorts, the size of a small U.S. city. A Washington, D.C.-based technology company announced plans Tuesday to build the state's newest ghost town, a 20-square-mile model metropolis that will be used to test everything from renewable-energy innovations to intelligent traffic systems, next-generation wireless networks, and smart-grid cyber-security systems.

KROTZ SPRINGS, La. - Deputies warned people yesterday to get out as Mississippi River water gushing from a floodgate for the first time in four decades crept ever closer to communities in Louisiana Cajun country, slowly filling a river basin like a giant bathtub. Most residents heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground, even in places where there hasn't been so much as a trickle, hopeful that the flooding engineered to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge would be merciful to their way of life.

KROTZ SPRINGS, La. - Deputies warned people Sunday to get out as Mississippi River water gushing through a floodgate for the first time in nearly four decades crept closer to communities in Louisiana Cajun country, slowly filling a river basin like a giant bathtub. Most residents heeded the warnings and headed for higher ground, even in places where there had not been so much as a trickle, hopeful that the flooding engineered to protect New Orleans and Baton Rouge would be merciful to their way of life.

LORCA, Spain - Thousands fled this small Spanish agricultural city Thursday, fearing aftershocks might level it after the country's deadliest earthquakes in 55 years killed nine people and caused extensive damage. Lorca was transformed into a ghost town, with a steady stream of cars carrying many of its 90,000 residents to nearby cities and towns to stay with relatives. Stores, restaurants, and schools were closed; the sirens of police vehicles and ambulances filled the air, and helicopters hovered overhead.

CAIRO, Ill. - A legal fight over whether the Army Corps of Engineers should blast open a levee to relieve the rain-swollen Mississippi River went to the nation's highest court Sunday as the Illinois town the breach is meant to help during record flooding was cleared out. As Missouri asked the U.S. Supreme Court to block the corps' plan, Cairo, near the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, resembled a ghost town as Illinois National Guard troops...

The lockout definitely is thawing, if that isn't too much of a mixed metaphor. Longtime Eagles safety Quintin Mikell, currently a free agent, visited Nova-Care yesterday, Mikell said (and tweeted). He said he spoke briefly with general manager Howie Roseman, at more length with new defensive coordinator Juan Castillo, and even bumped into Andy Reid in the parking lot as Mikell was leaving. "It was cool. It was a little weird, like a ghost town. I don't remember it ever being that quiet," said Mikell, who explained he wanted to fetch some items from his locker.

By Paul R. Levy Before the Center City District started up 20 years ago today, the downtown area was perceived as dirty and dangerous. While major crimes were not very common, a sense of disorder undermined the confidence of property owners, would-be investors, workers, visitors, and residents. Whirlwinds of litter blew around, broken glass glittered in gutters, and graffiti marred buildings and benches. Thirty-foot-high "cobra head" streetlights created pools of light separated by long stretches of darkness.

GIMME FIVE "The Last Song" wasn't a blockbuster, but it was Greg Kinnear's highest-grossing movie in a while. His last five outings: 1. "The Last Song. " (2010) $62 million. 2. "Green Zone. " (2010) $35 million. Plays a Pentagon Special Intelligence officer in Baghdad. 3. "Flash of Genius. " (2008) $4 million. Kinnear takes on Detroit over the invention of intermittent windshield wipers. 4. "Ghost Town. " (2008) $13 million. He's a ghost, meddling in his widow's affairs.