Marcus Hook

He was a guest at President's State of the Union address just a year ago. Now, he is under investigation for allegedly shooting a gun in his house and giving alcohol to a 20-year-old whom he threatened to hold hostage. Potential charges against James D. Schiliro, 38, include endangering another person and furnishing alcohol to a minor, according to court records. He has not yet been charged. Calls to Schiliro and Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan were not returned, and the lead investigator, Detective Robert T. Lythgoe, had no comment.

Officers with the Pennsylvania SPCA removed at least 23 dogs late Friday from the property of a woman in Marcus Hook who runs what she calls an animal rescue agency. Terry Silva, operator of Sixth Angel Shepherd Rescue Inc., faces animal-cruelty charges after officers executing a search warrant found sick and underweight animals in a filthy house, according to PSPCA spokeswoman Wendy Marano. She said officers were continuing to search the property Friday night for more dogs. Silva, a lawyer, was cited by the Bureau of Dog Law Enforcement in 2010 for transferring dogs in a public place and other violations.

Gov. Corbett announced $125 million in Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program awards for 54 projects, including 14 in Southeastern Pennsylvania that received $38.8 million. The Philadelphia region received three of seven $5 million awards, the largest possible. Those awards went to Braskem America Inc. in Marcus Hook, Philadelphia Energy Solutions in Philadelphia, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Corbett said in a news release that the awards, which he called Economic Growth Initiative Awards, would create or retain 56,000 jobs in 28 counties.

A European petrochemical producer has entered into a 15-year agreement to ship Marcellus Shale ethane to Norway from a Sunoco Logistics terminal in Marcus Hook. INEOS Europe, which is based in Switzerland, announced that it has signed a deal with Evergas, a Danish shipping company, to build and operate vessels to transport super-cooled ethane to chemical plants called "crackers" in Europe. Ethane, a derivative of natural gas, is used to manufacture plastics. Sunoco Logistics is modifying a pipeline to deliver ethane and other shale-gas products from western Pennsylvania to the former Sunoco refinery site in Marcus Hook.

An unidentified person was struck and killed by an Amtrak train Saturday evening at the Marcus Hook station, officials said. Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said an Acela train traveling north with 93 passengers hit the individual at 5:36 p.m. Kulm said he had no information about the victim. A police officer in Marcus Hook declined to provide any information. No one on the train was injured, Kulm said. One of four tracks through the Delaware County borough reopened at 6:30. The remaining three reopened at 7:58.

If there is a boating accident, oil spill, or potential terrorist threat, a 14-mile stretch of the Delaware River just south of Philadelphia now has heightened surveillance. A sophisticated system of cameras, radar, and video monitors designed by Boeing Co. has been set up at three undisclosed locations between the Commodore Barry Bridge, Marcus Hook, and Hog Island in Tinicum, aimed at providing increased riverfront security and the capacity to prevent, or react to, adverse events.

Sunoco Inc. announced Wednesday that its shuttered Marcus Hook refinery would be reborn as a facility to process Marcellus Shale natural-gas products, fueling new construction and traffic through the Delaware River port. Sunoco's pipeline subsidiary, Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., is moving forward with a plan to transport high-value propane and ethane by pipeline from Western Pennsylvania to Marcus Hook, where the materials will be processed in a new plant and shipped by sea to domestic and export markets.

Sunoco announced Wednesday that its shuttered Marcus Hook refinery will be reborn as a facility to process Marcellus Shale natural-gas products, fueling new construction and new traffic through the Delaware River port. Sunoco's pipeline subsidiary, Sunoco Logistics Partners L.P., is moving forward with a plan to transport high-value propane and ethane by pipeline from western Pennsylvania to Marcus Hook, where the materials will be processed in a new plant and shipped by sea to domestic and export markets.

By Carrie Lukas The deal that saved a Philadelphia oil refinery was recently touted as an example of the Obama administration's success at saving jobs. But rather than bolstering the president's credentials as a steward of the economy, the story of the Sunoco refinery exemplifies the overregulation and politicization that are crippling U.S. businesses. Last year, Sunoco, having ceased production at its refinery in nearby Marcus Hook, warned that it would have to close the Philadelphia plant due to decreased demand and increased operating costs.