Robert Williams

With nobody yet named as the new president of the Convention Center, one of the building's longtime former executives, Robert Williams, will step in to help manage daily operations for about six weeks. "Until we have a day-to-day replacement, Bob Williams is going to help me," the center's president, Robert Butera, said yesterday. "Everyone respects him, and he knows the business. " In January, Butera, 67, announced he would resign this year to focus on his battle with cancer.

Just what the Haddonfield boys' basketball team needs - yet another offensive threat. In shooting a blistering 29 for 46, Haddonfield rolled to a 69-54 win over host Sterling last night to clinch its second straight Colonial Valley Conference title. The Bulldogs (21-1 overall, 18-0 conference) got contributions from the usual cast of characters. Brian Zoubek had 23 points (shooting 10 for 14), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks. Blake Wilson had 14 points, and Derek Heckendorn and Vinnie Ciecka combined for 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Meek Mill, the 25-year-old North Philadelphia rapper swaggering along the cusp of fame and fortune, has been grounded for a month. No tours. No traveling. No performing, except for charity. Less than two months after the release of his first CD, Dreams and Nightmares, a scheduled trip to Africa has been cancelled, and other appearances in St. Thomas and across the United States have also been nixed. And it's all the fault of Meek's alter ego, Robert Williams, convicted in 2008 on a criminal cornucopia of charges including selling drugs to an undercover police officer, possessing illegal guns and hiding wads of tainted cash in his dresser drawers.

The up-and-coming rapper Meek Mill says he would like nothing more than to be on the road touring all the time. "My best thing is to stay traveling," the 25-year-old North Philadelphia street rapper said Friday. "Every time I come back to Philadelphia, someone tries to shoot me or get me back in trouble. " But ties to the past are hard to cut - especially the one with your probation officer. So the troubled relationship between Meek Mill, né Robert Williams, and Philadelphia probation officer Treas Underwood was the subject of another long, contentious hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley.

The up-and-coming rapper Meek Mill says he would like nothing more than to be on the road touring all the time. "My best thing is to stay traveling," the 25-year-old North Philadelphia street rapper said Friday. "Every time I come back to Philadelphia, someone tries to shoot me or get me back in trouble. " But ties to the past are hard to cut - especially the one with your probation officer. So the troubled relationship between Meek Mill, né Robert Williams, and Philadelphia probation officer Treas Underwood was the subject of another long, contentious hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley.

For hip-hop star Meek Mill, a 2008 police finding that Officer Andre Boyer repeatedly falsified official documents will bolster his case that Philadelphia does not properly train street cops, his lawyer said. The North Philadelphia rapper, whose real name is Robert Williams, is suing the city, Boyer, and Officer Michael Vargas, alleging that the policemen illegally detained him on Halloween and made him miss an Atlanta concert. He contends he lost the deposit on a private jet in addition to his lost earnings from the concert.

THE UP-AND-COMING North Philadelphia rapper known as Meek Mill and his entourage got a rap session Monday from a judge who refused to allow him to travel outside the city over the next 30 days for paying gigs. The ruling by Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley means that Mill - who was born Robert Williams - will miss a concert in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He previously had to cancel a tour of Africa, costing him $215,000, defense attorney Gary Silver said during a nearly two-hour motion hearing at the city's Criminal Justice Center.

In the world of rap, he's known as Meek Mill, a 25-year-old North Philly street rapper with a growing reputation as the "next big thing. " Big enough that, according to Meek Mill's tentative calendar, he's supposed to be in Los Angeles on Wednesday to appear on the Conan O'Brien show, his last U.S. stop before ending 2012 in Africa with shows in Lagos, Nigeria, and Libreville, Gabon. But to Philadelphia's criminal justice system, he's just Robert Williams, on probation for a 2008 gun-and-drug conviction for which he needs to periodically appear in Philadelphia courts.

A radio station employee who police said fatally wounded a North Philadelphia teenager after the youth repeatedly stabbed him during a robbery in Center City on Monday night remained hospitalized yesterday in guarded but stable condition. David Smith, 25, who was confronted and robbed by a group of about 10 youths on Chestnut Street near 17th Street, was in Hahnemann University Hospital with wounds of the ear, back of the head and lower back. A spokeswoman for the District Attorney's Office said no decision had been reached on whether to lodge charges against Smith, of the 4900 block of Monument Road, in the stabbing death of Robert Williams, 15, of the 1600 block of North Bouvier Street.

For hip-hop star Meek Mill, a 2008 police finding that Officer Andre Boyer repeatedly falsified official documents will bolster his case that Philadelphia does not properly train street cops, his lawyer said. The North Philadelphia rapper, whose real name is Robert Williams, is suing the city, Boyer, and Officer Michael Vargas, alleging that the policemen illegally detained him on Halloween and made him miss an Atlanta concert. He contends he lost the deposit on a private jet in addition to his lost earnings from the concert.

The up-and-coming rapper Meek Mill says he would like nothing more than to be on the road touring all the time. "My best thing is to stay traveling," the 25-year-old North Philadelphia street rapper said Friday. "Every time I come back to Philadelphia, someone tries to shoot me or get me back in trouble. " But ties to the past are hard to cut - especially the one with your probation officer. So the troubled relationship between Meek Mill, né Robert Williams, and Philadelphia probation officer Treas Underwood was the subject of another long, contentious hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley.

The up-and-coming rapper Meek Mill says he would like nothing more than to be on the road touring all the time. "My best thing is to stay traveling," the 25-year-old North Philadelphia street rapper said Friday. "Every time I come back to Philadelphia, someone tries to shoot me or get me back in trouble. " But ties to the past are hard to cut - especially the one with your probation officer. So the troubled relationship between Meek Mill, né Robert Williams, and Philadelphia probation officer Treas Underwood was the subject of another long, contentious hearing before Common Pleas Court Judge Genece E. Brinkley.

THE UP-AND-COMING North Philadelphia rapper known as Meek Mill and his entourage got a rap session Monday from a judge who refused to allow him to travel outside the city over the next 30 days for paying gigs. The ruling by Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley means that Mill - who was born Robert Williams - will miss a concert in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. He previously had to cancel a tour of Africa, costing him $215,000, defense attorney Gary Silver said during a nearly two-hour motion hearing at the city's Criminal Justice Center.

Meek Mill, the 25-year-old North Philadelphia rapper swaggering along the cusp of fame and fortune, has been grounded for a month. No tours. No traveling. No performing, except for charity. Less than two months after the release of his first CD, Dreams and Nightmares, a scheduled trip to Africa has been cancelled, and other appearances in St. Thomas and across the United States have also been nixed. And it's all the fault of Meek's alter ego, Robert Williams, convicted in 2008 on a criminal cornucopia of charges including selling drugs to an undercover police officer, possessing illegal guns and hiding wads of tainted cash in his dresser drawers.

Meek Mill, the 25-year-old North Philadelphia rapper swaggering along the crest of fame and fortune, has been grounded. No tours. No traveling. No performing, except for charity. For a month. Seven weeks after his first CD, Dreams & Nightmares , debuted at No. 2 on a Billboard chart, a scheduled trip to Africa has been canceled, and other appearances in the Virgin Islands and across the United States have also been nixed. Blame Meek's alter ego, Robert Williams, convicted in 2008 on gun and drug charges.

In the world of rap, he's known as Meek Mill, a 25-year-old North Philly street rapper with a growing reputation as the "next big thing. " Big enough that, according to Meek Mill's tentative calendar, he's supposed to be in Los Angeles on Wednesday to appear on the Conan O'Brien show, his last U.S. stop before ending 2012 in Africa with shows in Lagos, Nigeria, and Libreville, Gabon. But to Philadelphia's criminal justice system, he's just Robert Williams, on probation for a 2008 gun-and-drug conviction for which he needs to periodically appear in Philadelphia courts.

Police have identified five people killed in separate attacks in Philadelphia over the weekend. No arrests have been reported in any of the slayings. Paris Talbert , 17, of Elkins Park, was shot in the abdomen late Friday in a playground at Hortter Street and Lowber Avenue in East Mount Airy, police said. Talbert was taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead 12:15 a.m. Saturday. No word yet on a possible motive. Ulysses Robert Wideman was stabbed in the chest about 1:40 a.m. Saturday at G Street and Allegheny Avenue in Kensington, police said.

Jesse Harris, Robert Williams, and James Gillard didn't become North Philly corner-store operators for name recognition. They already had it. Especially Harris and Gillard, who have gone from notorious to much-needed in the 30-plus years since they put their thuggish ways behind them. Once members of the ruthless 21st and Norris Street gang, Harris and Gillard, along with Williams, now feed senior citizens during Thanksgiving, host block parties, and offer financial assistance for neighbors in need through their 14-year-old nonprofit, the Norris Street Community Committee.