Safety

ATLANTIC CITY — The stabbing deaths of two Canadian tourists outside a casino hotel left tourism officials stunned and dismayed Monday, casting a shadow over the formal opening on Memorial Day weekend of the newest gambling palace and tripping up a $30 million-a-year campaign to rebrand and revive the sagging resort town. The two victims, women ages 80 and 47, were stabbed and killed during a robbery Monday morning outside Bally's Atlantic City casino hotel, just steps from where a police officer was sitting in a patrol car. Police declined to provide the names of the victims, or precisely where they were from, pending notification of family.

THE BEST Aaron Wiliams, Texas Size: 6-0, 204. 40-time: 4.55 Projected round: 1-2 Mayock: "He can play corner, but ultimately, I think his best position is going to be inside. In today's NFL of multiple-receiver sets and pass-first offenses, I think you're going to see more and more free safeties who look like corners. Williams reminds me a little bit of the kid out of Ohio State that the Saints drafted a couple of years ago, Malcolm Jenkins. He was kind of a borderline first-round corner, but when they kicked the kid inside, he had a heckuva year last year.

WHY DO the Roosevelt Boulevard pedestrians jaywalk and cross against the red light? Not everybody speeds and weaves in and out on the Boulevard. I've had to slam on the brakes many times while going the posted limit, with a green light. Some pedestrians believe they don't have to obey traffic signals, but the laws for drivers and pedestrians should be equally enforced. Howard Kieffer, Philadelphia

PGW spokesman Doug Oliver's attempt to minimize public concerns about the proposed Port Richmond LNG terminal, saying, "the knee-jerk reaction is to focus on safety, or terrorism, on the worst-case scenario" is at best a poor choice of words and at worst an indication that PGW is putting dollars before safety. Everyone's focus, especially PGW's, should be on safety, terrorism and the worst-case scenario, and doing so should not be demeaned as "knee-jerk. " Christine Knapp, Eastern Pennsylvania Outreach Coordinator Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future Philadelphia

The Eagles claimed safety Brett Johnson off waivers from the Buffalo Bills on Monday. The 6-foot-1, 194-pounder was signed as a rookie free agent from California by the Bills following the 2010 draft but was released on June 25. A two-year starter at free safety, the 23-year-old Johnson finished his collegiate career with 107 tackles and three interceptions. In 2009, Johnson recorded a career-high 52 tackles to lead all Bears defensive backs. The Henderson, Nev., native was a college teammate of Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson at Cal.

Fire Commissioner Harold Hairston points out potential fire hazards to Deborah Womack in the cellar of Womack's home in West Philadelphia. Hairston's visity was part of yesterday's kickoff of the city's residential safety program, in which firefighters will visit every home in the city, distributing literature and offering fire inspections. The firefighters will announce their arrival by sounding the sirens on their vehicles. They will be in uniform and will show identification on request, according to the city.

RE WARREN M. Hern's op-ed ("Am I a partial-birth abortion outlaw?" Oct. 28): Not only am I taken aback by the graphic description and matter-of-fact way he describes this procedure, but also by the complete lack of concern for his own safety. I have to admit that my very first thought after reading this article was that someone is going to kill this man. As a Roman Catholic, I most certainly do not agree with Dr. Hern's practices, but I also do not believe that two wrongs make a right.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman says fighting is part of hockey and believes some people have been "running off a little too fast on this topic. " "My view on fighting hasn't changed," Bettman told the Canadian Press yesterday. "We've never taken active steps or considered eliminating fighting from the game. "I've always taken the view that it's a part of the game and it rises and lowers based on what the game dictates. " While Bettman seemed OK with the game's current stand on fighting, he's concerned about the larger safety issues.

THE PERCEPTION that we will be safer from terrorists under Bush than Kerry is preposterous. We already have the world's most powerful military, yet it did not prevent the 9/11 attacks. As John Kerry said, "Help is on the way. " But I hope that enough people will accept that help. Mortgaging away the future of our children, failing to protect the environment, reducing the number of emergency workers, off-shoring jobs and reducing funding for successful education programs is a poor demonstration of family values.

Just as rules against helmet-to-helmet contact are helping to protect professional football players from head injuries, scholastic athletes in Pennsylvania deserve new safeguards to prevent concussions and assure injured players get enough time to heal. The good news is that two Harrisburg lawmakers last week renewed efforts to do just that. The not-so-good news is that the state Senate, for whatever reason, took a pass last year on enacting new public-health measures designed to shield young players from potentially life-altering brain injuries on the field.

THE LATE Jim Johnson was a sports writer's dream. If you asked him a question, he almost always gave you an honest, unvarnished answer. "I've got to do a better job," and "I need to put my players in better position to make plays" wasn't his style. Johnson wasn't above occasionally using the media to send messages to his players, whether it was tooting the horn of a rookie backup to light a fire under a veteran or suggesting, as he did once about cornerback Lito Sheppard, that the guy couldn't play unless he was completely healthy.

Nate Allen tracked Clay Harbor. The two Eagles raced across the middle of the field. As a pass flew in, Allen reached with his left hand, and swatted the ball to the ground. Fellow safety Kurt Coleman was waiting to congratulate him. Crouching, they slapped hands low four times - Allen swinging right, left, right, left - then each swung an arm overhead, connecting at the inside of their elbows. The pair of safeties, one laid back, one emotional, one a highly touted second-round pick, one a seventh-rounder, have been close since they arrived together in the 2010 draft.

Considering that it took an hour to regain feeling in many of my fingertips, it might not have been the brightest thing I've done recently. Yet, the swimming pool in my kinfolk's back yard in northern Connecticut looked so inviting that I spent a half hour in it, despite a water temperature of 65 degrees — just eight degrees warmer than the air. My taste of summer reminded me of some advice about pool safety I received recently from...

THE GENERAL consensus of folks outside the walls of One NovaCare Way in January was that the Eagles' two biggest offseason fix-it jobs were linebacker and safety. In a mild upset, the folks inside the walls of One NovaCare Way actually agreed with the folks outside the walls on one of those two things. After years of getting by at linebacker with duct tape and mid- and late-round picks, the Eagles have been very aggressive in trying to upgrade the position, trading for two-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker DeMeco Ryans in late March, and then selecting their likely season-opening starting strongside linebacker, Mychal Kendricks, in the second round of the draft last month.

AFTER GOING undrafted, Syracuse safety Phillip Thomas signed with the Eagles. Then people started asking him about signing with the Redskins. Reporters who covered the Eagles were queried by fans who were sure Thomas was signing in Washington. Eagles officials insisted they had signed him. At Eagles rookie camp this weekend, Thomas definitely was on the field, wearing a white No. 45 jersey. It didn't seem likely he also was finding time to participate in Washington workouts.

The weather is beautiful again after a stretch of late April awfulness and the streets will be swarming with bicyclists for the next six months. More bikes mean less congestion, fewer pollutants, less wear and tear on the streets, and fewer opportunities to be bisected by a ton of screeching metal. According to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, we have more bike commuters per capita than any other major city in the nation. That's great news for bike safety. Studies show that having more cyclists makes cycling safer, allowing drivers to get used to sharing the road and heightening the visibility of cycling as a commuting option.

LOS ANGELES - In response to growing concern about problems with its F-22 Raptor fighter jet, the Air Force revealed that it had imposed new safety restrictions to protect its pilots. The announcement came as Sen. Mark R. Warner (D., Va.) and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.) on Friday requested additional information from the secretary of the Air Force to further determine the scope of safety concerns raised by several pilots of the world's most expensive fighter jet, designed and built by Lockheed Martin Corp.

The Eagles seem content to give youth a chance at safety, at least for now. "We're excited about our group of safeties," Eagles general manager Howie Roseman said Monday. "I don't think we need someone with more experience. We feel very comfortable with our group. " Roseman similarly said he feels good about the team's young running backs behind starter LeSean McCoy. His comments came during a wide-ranging meeting with reporters that also touched on his thoughts on drafting quarterback Nick Foles, defensive end Brandon Graham's progress and a few nervous moments during the draft.

The student group Youth United for Change launched an initiative Wednesday aimed at making city schools safer. The group's "Safe to Count on Me" campaign promotes preventive discipline programs over zero-tolerance policies in dealing with school violence. At a rally in Norris Square Park, the group shouted chants expressing protest and urging budget reform. They called on City Council to support implementation of a method known as restorative practice, a program tried in other cities that works with students, teachers, and parents to basically get students to learn from their mistakes.

NOBODY KNOWS better than the Eagles that great players like Brian Dawkins don't come along every day. Since taking the future Hall of Famer in the second round of the 1996 draft, they've selected a total of 13 safeties in the draft. Just two of those - 1999 fourth-round pick Damon Moore and 2002 second-round pick Michael Lewis - started more than 25 games for the Eagles. Only two - Lewis and '05 fourth-rounder Sean Considine - played more than three seasons with the team. The Eagles have struggled at the safety position ever since Dawkins, who announced his retirement Monday, left for Denver after the '08 season.