Layoffs

THE NEWSPAPER GUILD says it will fight job cuts announced yesterday inside the ivory tower that houses the Daily News , the Inquirer , philly.com and SportsWeek . Recently proposed cuts to the editorial staffs of the papers and the website became official when 19 employees learned that they will be laid off at the end of the month and 21 other staffers accepted a buyout offer. Three managers at the Inquirer also were laid off. At the Daily News , the job cuts included a photographer, a news reporter, a sportswriter, a desk assistant, three part-time copy editors and a part-time editorial assistant.

Philadelphia Media Network Inc. will lay off 19 unionized workers in its three newsrooms - four full-timers and 15 part-timers - and 21 additional newsroom employees have been approved for voluntary buyouts. The layoffs of reporters, copy editors, multimedia content producers, and others at The Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News, and Philly.com would occur March 31. Five nonunion employees from the three newsrooms, including three from The Inquirer, also were laid off, bringing the total number of jobs being lost to 45. In a statement, PMN said the layoffs and buyouts were a response to "the unfortunate economic conditions that continue to impact" the newspaper industry.

Are proposed delivery cutbacks and layoffs the right way to save the U.S. Postal Service?

Micheal Eric was as happy as an NBA lottery pick on draft night. For Temple's 6-foot-11 center, it had everything to do with playing in Saturday's 73-60 victory over Maryland at the Palestra. It was his first appearance since Nov. 20 against Wichita State in San Juan, Puerto Rico. "Man, this felt good," said Eric, who missed 13 games with a fractured right kneecap. "And to top it off, we had this win against a very, very good team. So that feeling was amazing. " The graduate student, who was a starter before the injury, entered the game to chants of "Micheal Eric!

Laying off 47 Philadelphia School District nurses has caused children to suffer and is endangering their health, a group of nurses said Wednesday. One diabetic student had to transfer from her school because it had no full-time nurse, they said. At another school, they added, the principal erroneously administered a medication without doctor's orders. "He was trying to help. He thought he was doing the right thing," said the nurse, who asked that her name and that of the school and principal be withheld because she didn't want to get the principal in trouble.

Laying off 47 Philadelphia School District nurses has caused children to suffer and is endangering their health, a group of nurses said Wednesday. One diabetic student had to transfer from her school because it had no full-time nurse, they said. At another school, they added, the principal erroneously administered a medication without doctor's orders. "He was trying to help. He thought he was doing the right thing," said the nurse, who asked that her name and that of the school and principal be withheld because she didn't want to get the principal in trouble.

Inspirational front-page story Finally, something on the front page that wasn't negative ("Her journey away from the streets," Jan. 1). The article about Karen Webb was really heart-rending. New Year's Day is a time when everyone starts to think of how quickly the years fly by. But Webb's years didn't fly by. They were met with much sadness and confusion. The many good people she met along her path, and her determination to go forward with her life, were inspirational. Webb's road ahead will not be without minor setbacks, but her desire to move forward and the people who have her back should make for a more positive 2012 for her. I hope she continues to walk in sunshine.

After just three months as head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput found himself wondering last month whether he should put off the massive Catholic school closings that a special commission had privately recommended to him. "So I took the question to the priests' council," Chaput said in an interview after Friday's news conference that unveiled the closings, "and I asked them if we should postpone it for a year....