Setback

The West Conshohocken Zoning Hearing Board has approved a revised plan for the Tower Bridge business complex parking structure on Front Street. At a meeting Wednesday night, the board voted 2-1 in favor of the plan, which would reduce, from 10 feet to 4 feet, the setback requirement for a 200- foot section of the lot. The plan, presented by Tower Bridge project engineer Geoff Nara, had been rejected just last week by the borough Planning Commission,...

If location is the most important aspect of real estate, then a small, half-acre lot on Route 30 in West Whiteland Township, next to Dunkin Donuts, is in trouble. For one thing, the front and rear setback requirements overlap each other, which leaves no space to build under current township zoning ordinances. For another thing, the last thing built there - a small house - was wiped out by a truck in the early 1980s, township officials recall. "I hope the builders can guarantee that that truck won't return," said Nancy Carville, chairwoman of the Planning Commission at a meeting Monday night.

The Easttown Planning Commission has recommended that the supervisors approve an application by Realty Engineering, Wayne, to relax a 150-foot setback requirement at the southern end of the Waynesboro Woods property at 801 Darby-Paoli Rd., Berwyn. The recommendation is subject to final approval by township engineer Surender Kohli. The original plan for Waynesboro Woods was approved some time ago. However, upon finding that three of 111 townhouse units at the southeastern end of the development encroached on wetlands, Realty Engineering sought to move the units rather than lose them.

Craig Darby scored an early goal, but Craig Charron's two third-period goals were too much as the Phantoms fell to Rochester last night, 3-1, in American Hockey League action. The loss is the second straight for the Phantoms, their only back-to-back losses of the season. In the nets, the Phantoms' Neil Little stopped 29 of 32 shots. Darby's goal was his 17th of the season and Peter White notched the assist. For Rochester, the top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres, the offense was led Charron's 12th and 13th goals of the season, and Matt Davidson's third.

Michael Vick had a setback yesterday in his attempt to return to the lineup this weekend. An Atlanta Falcons teammate stepped on the quarterback's right ankle in a walkthrough. Vick, out since fracturing his right leg in a preseason game Aug. 16, was unable to participate in team drills during the 2-hour afternoon practice. According to team orthopedist Andrew Bishop and trainer Ron Medlin, Vick did not sustain further damage to his right foot. They added that Vick rolled his ankle after taking a snap and trying to step to his right as his foot was caught.

The Lower Merion Zoning Hearing Board has denied a request by the Christ Haven Pentecostal Church of Ardmore, which was seeking to make a temporary parking variance permanent. The three-member board voted unanimously in a special session Monday afternoon to deny the request of the Rev. William F. Todd, pastor of the 21- member congregation, who was trying to make permanent a variance granted in March 1984. The variance allowed the church to open without providing off- street parking.

As a skillful politician, District Attorney Lynne Abraham is sure to attribute every new setback to retaliation for scuttling Judge Frederica Massiah-Jackson's nomination to the federal bench. If she runs for mayor, her mantra will sound something like this: I'm trying to fight the good fight against crime and drugs, but people are getting back at me and by getting back at me, they're getting back at you the people I am trying to serve and protect. This argument may resonate, especially among crime-beset African-Americans - even though black leaders have called the DA's opposition to Massiah-Jackson racially motivated.

Former West Catholic High star Curtis Brinkley said yesterday he is hurting, and he wasn't just referring to his broken right tibia. The Syracuse running back met the media for the first time since suffering the injury Oct. 20 in the Orange's win over Buffalo. Leaning on a pair of crutches, the junior made his way into the cafeteria where the players conduct their weekly interviews and spoke candidly about the latest setback in his star-crossed college career. "Physically and mentally, I'm in a lot of pain right now," said Brinkley, who had started every game this season and was Syracuse's second-leading rusher a year ago. "It's another setback.

The first editing of the Phillies' bullpen blueprint has occurred. Cross out Jeff Brantley's name from the setup role. Move Wayne Gomes up one slot. Add a second question mark behind the names of Scott Aldred and Carlos Reyes. The Phillies can only hope this doesn't get too messy before it's all over. Brantley, who left his appearance in Jupiter on Tuesday because of a cramp in his triceps, will be examined by club physician Craig Morgan in Clearwater today. Even the normally ebullient righthander acknowledged he no longer has his sights set on being ready by Opening Day. "I would venture to say that's probably not going to happen," he said.

A Willistown resident spent more than an hour before the Zoning Hearing Board on Tuesday night trying to change the township's notion of where his front yard lies. Kevin Galbraith of Horseshoe Lane argued that what the township is calling his front yard is actually his side yard. The argument was to support the construction of an outbuilding with a 25- foot setback from the front-lot line - a setback 50 feet short of the minimum required by a township ordinance. Galbraith submitted an application for a building permit three months ago. He said he hoped to build a two-story outbuilding with a patio and pool.

St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli recently ran into a longtime acquaintance, a businessman. The man asked, "How's everything going?" For a moment, Martelli said, he thought about giving an honest assessment, realizing this guy didn't know any details of what Martelli had been hit with lately. Instead, the Hawks coach left it at, "Everything's great. " The reality? "I feel like I've been invited by God to play cards, but he's only given me three cards," Martelli said, sitting in his office on Hawk Hill.

IN THE SAME inning that saw Cole Hamels' day end, the Phils also cut the Cleveland Indians' lead to 5-3, thanks to a two-out, two-run double from Jimmy Rollins. Despite Hamels' lackluster effort, the game was well within reach. But in the next four innings, four different relievers entered and matched Hamels in allowing five runs. A middle of the bullpen tabbed as "mediocre" by general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. less than a week ago was just plain bad. The bad news: There's a chance the relief corps could get worse in the coming days.

DEREK JETER will be sidelined until after the All-Star break because of a new fracture in his broken left ankle - a blow to a New York Yankees team already reeling from injuries and one that raises long-term questions about the 38-year-old shortstop's future. Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said Jeter should be able to resume his rehabilitation when the new crack heals, in about 4 to 8 weeks. Cashman has repeatedly maintained the 13-time All-Star should be able to return at his previous level of play.

Not only are the 76ers trying to get some wins, they hope to get one of their key players back on track. Evan Turner, the team's third-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game, has scored a total of 39 points over the last five games. His low point was a two-point effort against Portland on March 18. "He's struggling right now," coach Doug Collins said after Turner scored six points in Monday night's 107-91 setback at Utah. "So hopefully we can get him these last 12 games playing that ball that he was playing before.

After suffering two setbacks in federal court, New Jersey officials are pressing ahead with a fight to give the state's struggling gambling industry a boost by introducing betting on sporting events. U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp, in a suit brought by the NCAA and the four major pro sports leagues, on Thursday upheld a 21-year-old law barring sports gambling in all but four states where some form of wagering already existed: Delaware, Nevada, Oregon, and Montana. New Jersey had argued that the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act violated the state's rights on a variety of constitutional grounds, including state sovereignty and equal protection.

The 76ers and center Andrew Bynum are considering arthroscopic surgery on the player's right knee in order to clean out loose cartilage, a procedure that could likely end the season for the center they traded so many young assets to acquire, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Bynum suffered a setback in the form of swelling in his right knee following his participation in a five-on-five scrimmage, first reported in The Inquirer Feb. 22. While the Sixers have been unable to practice recently due to their schedule, Bynum would not have been able to participate due to the swelling in his knee, which was also first reported by The Inquirer.

TO HELP COMBAT fraud by tax preparers, the IRS created the "Registered Tax Return Preparer" program. Then, just before the tax season got under way, a federal judge told the agency that it doesn't have the authority to regulate the hundreds of thousands of tax preparers covered under the program. Although some tax-return preparers are licensed by their states or enrolled to practice before the IRS, many don't have to pass a government or professionally mandated competency test to prepare a federal return.

WHAT A difference another week made. Oops, that was last weekend's Villanova lead. But it still applies. Only this time, in reverse. The Wildcats lost to Providence Sunday afternoon at the Pavilion, 55-52. It was their second three-point loss to the undermanned Friars, who aren't making the NCAA Tournament, in 15 days. Last Saturday's win over Syracuse in South Philly, coupled with one over Louisville 5 days earlier, had elevated them from nowhere into the 68-team field, according to bracketologists everywhere.

U.S. regulators temporarily grounded Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner on Wednesday after an emergency landing by one of the planes in Japan that followed a fire and other incidents last week. The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to prove that lithium-ion batteries in the plane, which went into service in late 2011, "are safe and in compliance," according to an e-mailed statement. Though United Continental Holdings Inc. is the only U.S. carrier operating the 787s, most other countries follow the FAA's lead in aviation safety issues.