NEWS
May 23, 2013 | Associated Press
Democratic voters in financially troubled Harrisburg denied Mayor Linda Thompson a second term Tuesday, choosing bookstore owner Eric Papenfuse to try to help the financially strapped capital. Harrisburg is the only Pennsylvania municipality under a state takeover - the result of a multimillion-dollar debt on its trash incinerator that pushed it to the edge of bankruptcy. Harrisburg officials hope to negotiate a bailout that includes the sale of the incinerator. Papenfuse defeated Thompson in the primary, along with other challengers City Controller Dan Miller and former state employee Lewis Butts Jr. No Republican is running this year.
NEWS
May 22, 2013
All on the road must obey rules Driving alongside bicyclists has become a dangerous activity in Philadelphia. Cyclists ignore stop signs and red lights while weaving in and out of car lanes, making left turns across lanes of cars and straying far from bike lanes where they exist. Many cities, like Chicago, are heavily fining cyclists for breaking any and all rules of the road. Chicago also fines drivers for "dooring" an oncoming cyclist, which can cause the cyclist serious injury.
NEWS
May 22, 2013
THE MAYOR and City Council agree that the school district needs more money. After that, they part ways - once again. Mayor Nutter has proposed three solutions to the district's request for $60 million: increase delinquent tax collections to raise $28 million; up the across-the-bar drink tax from 10 percent to 15 percent to raise about $22 million; impose a $2-a-pack local tax on cigarettes sold in Philadelphia to raise $45 million this year....
NEWS
May 22, 2013 | ASSOCIATED PRESS
HARRISBURG - Allegheny County Judge Jack McVay defeated Philadelphia Municipal Judge Joseph Waters Jr. yesterday for the Democratic nomination for a vacant seat on the state Superior Court. The McVay, 56, a former pharmacist who's serving his sixth year in the county's Family Court division, beat Waters, 60, a retired Philadelphia police captain who is in his fourth year on the bench, in the only statewide race on primary day. McVay will face Harrisburg lawyer Vic Stabile, who's unopposed for the Republican nomination, in the November general election.
NEWS
May 18, 2013 | By Kristen A. Graham, Inquirer Staff Writer
William R. Hite Jr. knows it's a tough ask: $120 million from a state that historically views Philadelphia and its public schools "as a cesspool. " So, the superintendent figures, the only way the nearly-broke Philadelphia School District is getting the cash it needs from state coffers is to end teacher seniority. "If we stand any chance to get money from Harrisburg, it's going to have to support something that is different from what we have now," Hite told the Inquirer Editorial Board on Thursday, adding that legislators are unlikely to support a system where "individuals get another increase just because they're remaining on the job another year.
BUSINESS
May 16, 2013 | By Joseph N. DiStefano, Inquirer Staff Writer
How do you blame a city for lying to taxpayers and bond buyers about its sad financial shape - without also blaming its mayor, or its finance officers, or any of the paid lawyers, bankers, and advisers who helped tell the lies? That's what the Securities and Exchange Commission did last week when it busted Pennsylvania's capital city, Harrisburg, for lying about its financial condition from 2008 to 2012, after it borrowed too much and started going broke. The SEC settled the case.
NEWS
May 13, 2013
HARRISBURG - Traffic delays on Interstate 81 near Harrisburg resulting from a tanker crash and fire Thursday will continue for a couple more days, PennDot said Sunday. The crash, on the ramp from northbound I-81 to westbound Route 22/322, forced the closure of a bridge and the area of I-81 beneath it. The first section of the bridge was removed Saturday morning, with full demolition expected by Tuesday, PennDot said. - Diane Mastrull
NEWS
May 9, 2013 | By Amy Worden, Inquirer Harrisburg Bureau
HARRISBURG - Perennial fixtures on the legislative calendar, bills to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation have gone nowhere in the last decade. This time, the tables may be turning. Companion bills in the House and Senate have attracted a record number of cosponsors, among them the General Assembly's first two openly gay lawmakers, while a new poll shows solid majority support across the state for such a ban. The bills, introduced Tuesday with 102 cosponsors including both Republicans and Democrats, would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity or expression in employment, housing, credit, and public accommodations.
NEWS
May 6, 2013
DIOCESE OF HARRISBURG officials say Bishop Joseph McFadden died of a heart attack last week after suddenly falling ill while attending a meeting of the Catholic Bishops of Pennsylvania. McFadden, 65, died Thursday morning at Holy Redeemer Hospital in Huntingdon Valley. Officials say McFadden awoke feeling ill and was taken to a hospital. McFadden was an Overbrook native and well-known locally as a longtime coach and teacher in Philadelphia's Catholic school system. Church officials say McFadden's funeral is scheduled for Wednesday following several days of services.