Green Light

TO THOSE IN THE CITY who oppose the red lit logo that Unisys wants to erect on Liberty Place as a condition of moving 225 of its executive jobs to Center City, we have just one word: Kvaerner. A decade ago, the European shipbuilder got $430 million in public subsidies and tax breaks based on a promise of creating 1,000 jobs -over 15 years. Not long after pocketing the dough, Kvaerner decided to get out of the shipbuilding business. The point is, using the same tortured math that state officials used on Kvaerner, Unisys would be eligble for $100 million in public subsidies; in fact, some might argue that since the Unisys jobs would be highly compensated executive positions, that might equal 500 shipbuilding jobs and double that to $200 million.

The New Garden Township supervisors have favorably reviewed plans for three houses at Penn Green and Laurel Heights Roads. The preliminary plans call for a three-lot subdivision for the houses, which would be built, rented and managed by Anne Fields of Landenberg. Gregory Fields, representing his wife at a meeting of the supervisors on Monday, said final plans for the 4.4-acre project would be submitted at the next supervisors' meeting, on Sept. 13. In other business: Developers of the proposed 19.9-acre Pusey-Brosius Business Center at Baltimore Pike and Scarlett Road presented a new traffic plan, eliminating an entrance on Scarlett while keeping two exits and entrances on eastbound Baltimore Pike.

When green-haired Dennis Rodman roared up to the Alamodome in his white jeep, a few dozen waiting fans cheered him on. When he stepped onto the basketball court, a few thousand admirers did the same. The controversial forward stole the show last night as the host San Antonio Spurs defeated the Washington Bullets, 122-101. Rodman played in his first regular-season game after two suspensions and a leave of absence. "I add spice, so people like to see somebody different," Rodman said before the game.

If he can withstand the pain, he can play in the Olympics. That was the verdict on the Flyers' Jiri Dopita, a center from the Czech Republic who missed his fifth consecutive game last night because of a strained neck. "Our doctors said he can play if he can withstand the soreness," Flyers general manager Bob Clarke said. "You know he's tough. He'd play if he could. . . . Our doctors won't stop him from playing. " Clarke said he asked his medical staff to notify Czech officials that Dopita's pain had kept him sidelined.

How many bureaucrats does it take to put up a traffic light? Too many, if you ask Gloucester Township Mayor Ann Mullen. "The red tape is enough to make you scream and want to clutch someone's throat," said the mayor. Fourteen years after the township first dreamed of stringing traffic signals across the intersection of Hickstown and Erial Roads, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) last month gave the project a green light. The roads cross at the southeast corner of the 60-acre GEMS landfill, and each is a major artery through nearby housing developments.

The comment that haunted Tyler Green was deceptive, like a changeup. It started out looking like a compliment and then, whoops, it wasn't quite what it seemed. "There's never been any question that Tyler Green has the stuff to be a winning big-league pitcher," Phillies manager Jim Fregosi would say. "There's never been any question that he has the arm. " But, of course, the Phillies' No. 1 draft choice in the June 1991 draft had never been a winning big-league pitcher. Had never, in fact, won a big-league game.

Catholic League athletes fearing that their fall seasons would be lost may be able to put their worries to rest. With the Philadelphia Archdiocese reaching a tentative agreement with its lay teachers yesterday, practices are allowed to resume today and games could begin again as soon as the agreement is ratified. Conwell-Egan athletic director Chuck Knowles, the Catholic League football chairman, said that league athletic directors likely will meet on Monday to discuss how to handle games that had been called off because of the strike, how to rearrange schedules and to determine whether teams have had enough practice time to begin playing.

The township gave up its fight against a proposed Route 1 car wash after the first round in court, agreeing Tuesday not to appeal a judge's order to grant the developer a conditional use permit. The decision, handed down in Bucks County Court by Judge Susan Devlin Scott on March 14, gives Francis T. Theuer the go-ahead to build a car wash on an old used-car lot just east of Woodbourne Road. The supervisors cited traffic and safety concerns in denying Theuer's conditional use application after a public hearing in 1993.

IT'S THAT time of year again. Time for green-shirted, green-socked, green-capped, green-beaded, green-tatted, green-haired and even green-bearded gaggles to ride yellow school buses and drink yellow beer in celebration of an ancient Irish saint who, it's safe to say, never chugged a Miller Lite. This particular traveling troupe of Philadelphia-based St. Patrick's Day partyers, who favor getting smashed well before the actual holy day March 17, are participants in the city's biggest bar crawls.

THE DETROIT Tigers say reliever Brayan Villarreal is not expected to leave spring training after his family escaped unharmed from a kidnapping attempt in Venezuela on Friday night. Villarreal has remained with the team. Manager Jim Leyland did not want to comment further about the matter, saying Sunday: "The less said, the better. " Villarreal, 25, went 3-5 with a 2.63 ERA last year in 50 appearances, with 66 strikeouts in 54 2/3 innings. Security back home has been a concern in recent years for Venezuelan players and their families because of a rising wave of kidnappings.

For what Imhotep Charter coach Andre Noble called "some bad practice efforts," Abraham Massaley recently lost his starting position. "I'm not used to coming off the bench," the senior guard said. "But at this point of the season, you have to put your ego aside and just play hard. " On Sunday at Temple's Liacouras Center, Massaley's late basket lifted the Panthers to a 67-66 triumph over Rysheed Jordan and never-say-die Vaux in a thrilling Public League final. His deciding field goal, on a left-side drive, came with 12 seconds to play.

MY DUMBEST investment was to buy shares of Rambus at its all-time high on margin, due to an early-morning phone call to my house from a high-pressure "financial adviser" from my full-service brokerage. He told me that a court decision was ready to be announced and that this baby was set to pop! I was so clueless that I gave him the green light, only to see the stock plummet that very same day. I became pretty mad and woke up to the fact that I needed to take the reins of my financial future.

DEREK JETER ran Monday for the first time since breaking his left ankle in October, another step toward being in the New York Yankees' lineup on Opening Day. The 38-year-old shortstop jogged on a treadmill at the Yankees' minor league complex in Tampa a day before pitchers and catcher report to spring training. "I've gotten the OK to do everything," Jeter said. "It's a progression. I haven't used my legs, so I've got to get back to using them. " When asked how the running workout felt, Jeter replied "great.

Camden's plan to lay off all its uniformed police officers and replace them with a new, county-run force has received approval from the New Jersey Civil Service Commission, according to Mayor Dana L. Redd's office. The mayor also announced this afternoon that the layoff of more than 250 officers is now set for April 30. "We cannot sit back and allow our children and families to experience another 2012. We have an opportunity to improve public safety by bringing back community policing and adding more law enforcement officers to patrol our neighborhoods and business corridors," she said in a statement.

ASHBURN, Va. - Robert Griffin III had a full practice and looked pretty good. Kirk Cousins had a full haircut that looked so bad he had to apologize for it. The Washington Redskins quarterbacks were back to their regular pecking order Wednesday. Griffin went through a regular full practice with first-team receivers for the first time since spraining his right knee, while backup Cousins was an affable undercard, his mop reduced to a buzz cut by a "communication breakdown" with the barber.

A Philadelphia man died Sunday evening after his car was struck by another vehicle that had run a red light on Broad Street in North Philadelphia. Philadelphia police say a car was traveling east on Allegheny and going through a green light about 8:40 p.m. when it was hit. The car that was hit then struck a light pole. The male driver of that car was pronounced dead at the scene. A 24-year-old male passenger was transported to Temple University Hospital in critical condition.

A Philadelphia man died Sunday evening after his car was struck by another vehicle that had run a red light on Broad Street in North Philadelphia. Philadelphia police say a car was traveling east on Allegheny and going through a green light about 8:40 p.m. when it was hit. The car that was hit then struck a light pole. The male driver of that car was pronounced dead at the scene. A 24-year-old male passenger was transported to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. The driver of the striking vehicle remained at the scene and suffered minor scratches.

Vacationers looking to dip their toes in the water at state parks in Pennsylvania should welcome a pilot project that bans smoking at park beaches.   The state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources says the move is primarily aimed at reducing cigarette litter and the expense required to have park employees pick up after smokers day after day. But limits on smoking also will create a healthier climate for nonsmoking park patrons, while giving smokers one more nudge to kick the habit.