Navy Yard

Building 661 at the Navy Yard was never a thing of beauty. Built in 1942, during the first months of U.S. involvement in World War II, the brick-and-concrete structure's purpose was to house an indoor swimming pool, basketball courts, and offices, a function it pragmatically performed until the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard closed in 1995. On Wednesday, the building, which has been unoccupied for nearly two decades, will begin a new life as headquarters of the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, the two-year-old federally funded innovation center operated by Pennsylvania State University.

  Traffic nightmares on and around I-95 in South Philadelphia are building as a result of a combination of factors, including a fiery tractor-trailer crash, the Broad Street Run ending and a Phillies game later this afternoon. The accident occurred about 6 a.m. on the northbound side of I-95 when a collision caused the tractor-trailer to erupt in flames around Broad Street. The highway was shut down for hours, creating difficulties for those arriving to compete in or watch the Broad Street Run. Two southbound lanes were open by 9 a.m. It wasn't until about 10 when a northbound lane reopened.

Philadelphia is a great incubator of innovation and stands at the forefront of America's new economy. It once had an international reputation as a center for manufacturing — Budd train cars, Stetson hats, textiles, and everything in between. That legacy continues in the 21st century as Philadelphia's economy is increasingly powered by new sectors of innovation. This major economic engine is being spurred by the Obama administration's investment two years ago of $129 million, which is being administered by the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Energy, and Labor.

When Nina Johnsen, wife of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard CEO Kristian Rokke, cracked a champagne bottle over a bow to christen Aker's 18th tanker last week, many of the yard's 1,100 employees cheered. The shipyard, after several lean years, is building two tankers for Exxon Mobil Corp. Times are flush again. Aker is emblematic of how far the Navy Yard has come in a decade: from shriveled military base to 130 businesses and 10,000 employees. The latest arrival, GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C., will move 1,300 workers, starting Monday into a gleaming all-glass office building near the Navy Yard's front gate.

In an election year, everything's political. And nothing's more political than the fate of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. In June 1991, a base closure commission voted to begin shutting down the yard in 1996. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Reps. Tom Foglietta, D-Pa., Curt Weldon, R-Pa., and Rob Andrews, D-N.J., filed a lawsuit against the Navy and the commission soon after. Since then, a U.S. District Court judge threw out the case and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sent the case back to the district court.

The next 90 days, says U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, will be "intense. " Weldon led a bipartisan delegation of five local congressmen to Russia last week. They returned with an agreement to explore what could be a great deal for the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. If the idea proves environmentally and economically sound, as many as 150 old Soviet warships would be dismantled at the shipyard over the next several years. The plan is to buy the warships for cash - giving the Russians hard currency they desperately need.

The 195-year-old Philadelphia Naval Shipyard was officially closed yesterday, a sobering reminder that the city's reign as a powerhouse of heavy industry is probably over forever. In a somber ceremony under gray skies outside the shipyard's historic Building 4, the American flag was lowered and the log, the daily diary of the yard's activities since 1801, was signed for the final time by the facility's 21st and last commander, Capt. John C. Bergner. About 2,500 people, some of them retired yard workers with tears in their eyes, listened as Bergner and other dignitaries reprised the glorious history of the yard, long the city's largest industrial employer.

For the past 194 years, the city of Philadelphia and the Navy have had a contract. Under this contract, the workers at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard dedicated themselves to safeguarding American security by maintaining the best fleet in the world. In return, the Navy provided good jobs at good wages to generations of workers and their families. While this contract will formally end when the USS John F. Kennedy departs the Navy Yard in September, it does not relieve the Navy of certain responsibilities.

A House Armed Services subcommittee agreed yesterday to spend $10 million in fiscal 1989 to overhaul the firefighting system at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Rep. Thomas M. Foglietta (D., Pa.) said. The money would go toward the second phase of the project to repair and upgrade nearly 18,000 feet of water mains at the Navy Yard. The authorization yesterday, which must be approved by the full committee next week, would complete spending on what last year was estimated at $14 million in necessary water-system reconstruction.

Urban Outfitters Inc., the hipster retailer headquartered at the Navy Yard, reported Monday that it had record quarterly revenue and a 39 percent increase in profit after reining in store markdowns. The revenue results nevertheless missed analysts' expectations. The company released its numbers after the stock market closed Monday, and shares fell in aftermarket trading. For the three months ended April 30, Urban said it earned $47.1 million, or 32 cents per share, on sales of $648.2 million.

A few weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, it was time for another major Northeastern city known for its history, toughness, and distinctive regional pride (not to mention accents) to hold its signature long-distance run. And Philadelphia's Broad Street Run could have been cowed, dampened, or restrained by fresh memories of the Patriots' Day violence. But it wasn't. Runners showed up at North Broad Street and West Fisher Avenue on Sunday in the same impressive numbers that prompted the popular race to introduce a lottery system for the first time this year.

Ayele Feisha's Sunday started about 4:30 a.m. in New York City. He drove to Philadelphia, lined up at Broad Street and Fisher Avenue with tens of thousands of others who participated in the Broad Street Run, and started running at 8:31 a.m. A little later, Feisha extended his arms and ran through the finish at the Navy Yard. His official time was 47 minutes, 3 seconds - 8 seconds better than the next-fastest runner in the 10-mile race. The fastest female runner was Askale Merachi, who finished in 53:46.

Along the 10-mile course of Sunday's Broad Street Run , from Olney Avenue to the Navy Yard, police with bomb-detection dogs were a frequent presence. Above the race course, police helicopters hovered, while underground, SEPTA transit police rode the subway line. It was a cooperative effort between federal agents and city police. And the result was one they all hoped and planned for: a safe event. "The planning and the preparation, all of the coordination has really led to a very successful race in terms of race operations," Mayor Nutter said nearly three hours after the starting gun fired, when the vast majority of runners had crossed the finish line.

Ayele Feisha's Sunday started about 4:30 a.m. in New York City. He drove to Philadelphia, lined up at Broad Street and Fisher Avenue with tens of thousands of others who participated in the Broad Street Run, and started running at 8:31 a.m. A little later, Feisha extended his arms and ran through the finish at the Navy Yard. His official time was 47 minutes, 3 seconds - 8 seconds better than the next-fastest runner in the 10-mile race. The fastest female runner was Askale Merachi, who finished in 53:46.

  Traffic nightmares on and around I-95 in South Philadelphia are building as a result of a combination of factors, including a fiery tractor-trailer crash, the Broad Street Run ending and a Phillies game later this afternoon. The accident occurred about 6 a.m. on the northbound side of I-95 when a collision caused the tractor-trailer to erupt in flames around Broad Street. The highway was shut down for hours, creating difficulties for those arriving to compete in or watch the Broad Street Run. Two southbound lanes were open by 9 a.m. It wasn't until about 10 when a northbound lane reopened.

IF YOU'RE planning to watch the finish of the Broad Street Run on Sunday, pack light. Mayor Nutter said yesterday that spectators will not be permitted to bring bags or backpacks into the Navy Yard at the race's end. The security precaution follows the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon. Nutter also discouraged fans from carrying bags elsewhere along the course, although they are not banned from doing so. Organizers will provide transparent plastic bags to people who need to carry their belongings.

When floods of data - linking patients to doctors, gadgets, images, and medicines - used to surge through two aging computer centers near Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals' Walnut Street headquarters, senior director Paul S. O'Connor Sr. worried his network could be "one waterpipe-break away" from paralysis. That's why, over the last two years, Jefferson contracted two off-campus computer-server operators to link its network to Verizon, Comcast, and a half-dozen specialty telecom carriers.

AN ELDERLY MAN found dead inside his burning home yesterday morning in Southwest Philadelphia had been shot to death, police said. Authorities are investigating Grover Edwards' death as a murder and arson, said Officer Christine O'Brien, a police spokeswoman. Edwards, 74, appeared to have been shot in the head, O'Brien said. Investigators had not found a motive or suspects yesterday. The blaze was reported at 7:30 a.m. in Edwards' rowhouse on Springfield Avenue near 59th Street, said Lt. Bernard Gilliam, a Fire Department spokesman.

Building 661 at the Navy Yard was never a thing of beauty. Built in 1942, during the first months of U.S. involvement in World War II, the brick-and-concrete structure's purpose was to house an indoor swimming pool, basketball courts, and offices, a function it pragmatically performed until the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard closed in 1995. On Wednesday, the building, which has been unoccupied for nearly two decades, will begin a new life as headquarters of the Energy Efficient Buildings Hub, the two-year-old federally funded innovation center operated by Pennsylvania State University.