Terrell Owens' hearing rescheduled for Monday in Philadelphia

NEW YORK (AP) - Terrell Owens' hearing to determine whether he can become a free agent has been rescheduled for Monday in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia Prepares to Cruise

When the Port of Philadelphia and Camden (PPC) - Americas Birthplace - kicks off its 2004 cruise season on April 4, 2004, regional residents will have an affordable and convenient way to see Bermuda, the Caribbean or New England and Canada, and the region will have another stimulus to its economy with more sailings and port calls than in 2003.

Why Philadelphia?
The Philadelphia and South Jersey region is strategically located in the center of a major U.S. population base. Twenty-five percent of the nations population lives within a five-hour drive of the Port, which is a convenient, easily accessible facility.

Economic Impact
The average group (2.4 people) spent approximately $226 during their stay in the Philadelphia region, with the majority of the money going towards lodging and food. With 12,000 cruise parties in 2003, the CruisePhilly program generated $2,712,000 for the regions economy and $4.2 million in employment income.

Todays Guest on the radio show is State Senator Vincent Fumo, be sure to tune in at 3PM EST......

Good News for the Pennsylvania Convention Center

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Armed with a kinder, gentler labor agreement at the Pennsylvania Convention Center, Philadelphia tourism officials booked a major trade show at the center for the first time in five years.

AIIM Expo/On Demand, a large information technology show, will move its show to Philadelphia next year after 10 years at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York.

The agreement ends a drought in the booking of large shows, which civic leaders had blamed on the center's reputation as a troubled facility with high labor costs and frequent squabbling among labor unions.

AIIM Expo/On Demand expects to draw up to 20,000 people during its four-day convention, filling up to 15,000 hotel-room nights and boosting spending in the region by $19 million.

New Museum planned in the Philadelphia Region

NORRISTOWN, Pa. (AP) — Montgomery County commissioners agreed to spend $2.5 million to help build a Revolutionary War museum at Valley Forge, hoping to boost tourism while preserving history.

The proposed $100 million American Revolution Center is planned for Valley Forge National Historic Park, much of which lies in Upper Merion Township.

The center would be the first museum in the country dedicated to the American Revolution.

"It's a little bit of shame-on-us that something hasn't been done sooner," Commissioner Chairman Jim Matthews said Thursday.

Organizers still need to raise about $76 million. Gov. Rendell pledged $20 million and the federal government has appropriated $1.2 million. A $10 million pledge will be announced soon, organizers said.

The museum is slated for a groundbreaking this year and a 2006 opening, said Tom Daly, president and chief executive officer of the National Center for the American Revolution, a nonprofit group Congress created in 1999.

Dead Milkmen, Philadelphian, Dave Blood Has Died

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The following was posted on the official Dead Milkmen website......

This morning Dave Blood is no longer with us.
David is my brother. Since the breakup of the band David has never really found his niche in life.
My brother was a smart clever and talented person. Inner peace has seemed to elude him for the last many years.
Sometime last night David chose to end his life.
He left a note that I don't know all of what it said,he was not elaborate-but he said he just could not stand to go on any longer.

Our mother passed away at the end of January and maybe David just had had enough.

There will be a memorial service in a few weeks. I will try to remember to come to this board and post it.It will be in the Delaware County area.

Please pray for the respose of my bother's soul; that he now has the peace that seemed to elude him most of his life.

I want to say that one of the shiniest parts of David's life was being a Dead Milkman and having that claim to fame.And the fans who appreciated the talent and time that went into making the band rise above the ordinary-thank you all for making my brother feel and know that he was indeed somebody.

Kathy

Our thoughts and prayers at Philadelphia Renaissance, Inc. and the Paul Kircher Show family are with Kathy and her family.

Philadelphia Recreation Programs Take a Cut

PHILADELPHIA (AP) Library patrons may start paying for DVD rentals and city job seekers an application fee under an austere budget proposed by Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street.

Street is trying to close a budget deficit for the next fiscal year that's grown to about $227 million — about $75 million more than what city officials estimated in late December.

To close the gap, the mayor also outlined other fee increases as well as sharp cuts in spending, including a $4 million cut in the Recreation Department budget and a $4 million reduction in cultural spending.

"The picture is bleaker than we thought because of pension costs and a couple of other items, and so we have a bigger hole than we thought," said Rob Dubow, the city's budget director, after giving council members the rundown at a briefing Tuesday.

Canadian porn star missing in Philadelphia Region

CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. (AP) - Authorities were looking Tuesday for an adult film actress from Canada who was last seen in suburban Philadelphia last month.

Natel King, 23, who also uses the name Taylor Sumers, was reported missing to police at the Peel regional police department in Ontario. King came to Conshohocken for a photo shoot and was last seen in the area Feb. 29, which was also the last time she called any family or friends, Montgomery County Assistant District Attorney Risa Ferman said.

"We certainly hope that the exotic film industry or anything connected to that is not going to be centred here in the region," Ferman added. "That is not our primary concern in this investigation. Our investigation is centred on finding this woman."

King's car, a 1992 red Saturn, was found parked on a Conshohocken street Friday.

Ace Ltd. decides to remain in Philadelphia

Ace Ltd., one of the nation's largest property and casualty insurance carriers, said yesterday it had agreed to buy a 325,000-square-foot office complex at 436 Walnut St. to be its U.S. headquarters.

The 1,100 Ace employees who now work in Two Liberty Place at 1601 Chestnut St. will move to the building beginning late next year, said John W. Herbkersman, senior vice president of Ace INA Holdings Inc., the U.S. unit.

Terms of the pending sale were not disclosed.

Ace plans a multimillion-dollar renovation of the complex, but Herbkersman could not estimate the cost.

It is seeking assistance from the city, under its Tax Increment Financing, or TIF, program. This would divert some taxes due on improvements to repay renovation debt.

"Our company has roots in the city going back more than 200 years. We decided it would be very beneficial to keep this relationship strong," Herbkersman said.

Ace came to Philadelphia in 1999, when it bought Cigna Corp.'s property and casualty business for $3.45 billion.

The publicly traded Ace reported a record income of $1.2 billion last year, up 142 percent from 2002.



© 2004 Philadelphia Inquirer and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved.

Production of A119 Koala Helicopters Moves To U.S. Creating New Manufacturing Jobs in Philadelphia

AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica and GKN company, announced it will expand the manufacturing facility of U.S. subsidiary Agusta Aerospace Corporation (AAC) located in Philadelphia, PA. The new facility will open by the end of summer and provide additional space for the manufacturing and final assembly of the Agusta A119 Koala helicopter, presently manufactured in Italy.

Worlds Oldest Man Dies

MADRID (Reuters) - A retired Spanish shoemaker who was officially the world's oldest man has died at his home at the age of 114, his family said on Saturday.

Riudavets was born on Dec. 15, 1889 -- the year Adolf Hitler and Charlie Chaplin were born and the year the Eiffel Tower was completed

"The airplane was something incredible, but the most important change was electricity -- without doubt, it changed everything," the Guinness Web site quoted him as saying.

He attributed his long life to doing everything in moderation, including smoking "but not too much." He used to sleep up to 14 hours a day but also enjoyed playing football and the guitar.

Philadelphia Mob Boss Acquitted of Murder

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Reputed Philadelphia mob boss Joseph "Skinny Joey" Merlino was acquitted Monday on federal conspiracy and murder charges stemming from the 1996 shooting death of an associate who prosecutors say was killed for being disloyal.

Merlino, who is imprisoned on related racketeering charges, was accused of ordering the murder of Joseph Sodano. Sodano was found dead in his minivan in Newark after being shot twice in the head.

Merlino, 42, was retried after a jury in 2001 failed to reach a consensus on murder charges. The jury did convict him on separate racketeering charges, leading to the 14-year prison term he is serving in Beaumont, Texas.

At the time of the killing, Merlino was the underboss of the Philadelphia Cosa Nostra, Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven D'Aguanno told the jury.

Prosecutors said Merlino decided to kill Sodano after Sodano refused to share the proceeds of his illicit activities as a "capo," or captain, in northern New Jersey.

Defense lawyer Edwin J. Jacobs Jr. called the verdict a "complete exoneration." The defense had suggested that Sodano was killed in a botched robbery attempt. Defense attorneys also attacked the credibility of key witnesses, focusing on inconsistencies between their testimony and prior statements.

Mob associate Philip Casale Jr. admitted pulling the trigger and secretly taped many conversations with Merlino about the killing.

"I think the testimony was there," Assistant U.S. Attorney V. Grady O'Malley said. "I think the tape recordings bore out the government's case, but apparently they weren't persuaded."

Two other mob associates involved in the killing, Philadelphia mob boss Ralph Natale and New Jersey associate, Peter "The Crumb" Caprio, pleaded guilty and have been cooperating with federal authorities.

The Latest Philadelphia Union Strike Threat

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Unionized workers are threatening to shut down train, bus and trolley lines in Philadelphia if they don't have a new contract by next weekend.

The usual suspect — health care — is the sticking point in negotiations between the Transport Workers Union Local 234 and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority(SEPTA).

The contract expires at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, March 15.

Shady Business in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A campaign consultant for Philadelphia Mayor John F. Street has landed a $715,000 contract with the school district.

Lana Felton-Ghee — who has been subpoenaed in the federal probe of alleged corruption in Street's administration — was hired to manage community outreach and minority business inclusion for the school district's capital campaign.

She will make about $140 an hour for the approximately 5,100 hours in the contract, a school district spokeswoman said.

Felton-Ghee, who managed Street's 1999 campaign, has gotten more than $800,000 in consulting work from his campaign since 2000 and more than $200,000 in city business.

"I've never gone to John Street to ask for anything," Felton-Ghee said, answering critics. "I know the community and I'm respected here."

But some say it shouldn't take $700,000 for the school district do community outreach.

"$700,000 could buy counselors, mental health services, a lot of things our kids need," said Shelly Yanoff, who directs Philadelphia Citizens for Children and Youth.

Philadelphia (AP)
The Philadelphia Stock Exchange fails to adequately enforce trading rules or displine errant members, inspectors from the Securities and Exchange Commission charged after a recent review.

The SEC found what it termed "serious deficiencies" in the exchange's regulatory programs, and said a staff member had once misled investigators.


The SEC investigators, who issued three reports, also alleged that the exchange did not enforce rules meant to make sure that investors got the best price on securities trades.

Philadelphia Hires 14 Law Firms to Defend against Sprawling Corruption Probe

The Street administration has hired 14 private law firms to represent city employees or departments in the ongoing City Hall corruption probe, city Law Department records show.

This suggests that as many as 12 city officials may be subjects of the sprawling investigation. According to people familiar with exchanges between the city and the U.S. Attorney's office, prosecutors typically recommend independent counsel for city officials who are possible subjects.

But who these city officials are and what all these hired legal guns will cost taxpayers remains to be seen.

While city officials have disclosed that they're paying these lawyers a rate as high as $200 an hour for senior partners and as low as $135 an hour for rookie lawyers, they refused yesterday to reveal how much they have committed for mounting legal expenses.

After two months of requests from the Daily News, the Law Department released a list of the 14 law firms and the five legal services contracts that have been completed so far. Lines in the contracts referring to maximum spending limits were deleted.

Asked why this information was removed, city attorney Donald Marino said in an e-mail: "Such information might infringe on the investigative process."

Pressed for details about how information about taxpayer-funded legal expenses would affect the process, Marino declined to elaborate.

Other information was also crossed out with a thick, black marker, including the names of city officials receiving representation.

The Law Department says that releasing the names of represented officials could hurt the officials' reputations and is not required under Pennsylvania's public-records law.

Of the 14 law firms, several have been publicly identified before, including the firms of two former U.S. attorneys -- Gregory T.

Magarity and Michael J. Holston -- who were hired by the city to provide general advice on dealing with the federal probe.

Also on the list were firms representing Mayor Street and his top adviser, George Burrell.

The mayor is represented by Arthur Makadon and Eric Sitarchuk, of Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll. Burrell is represented by Gregory P. Miller, of Miller, Alfano & Raspanti.

Miller, Alfano's contract with the city was dated June 18, 2003 -- four months before a listening device was found in the mayor's office -- but Burrell said last night that Miller did not represent him until after the bug's discovery on Oct. 7.

Other firms on the list, include: McElhatton & Associates; Grant & Lebowitz; Cozen O'Connor; Duane Morris; Grimes & Grimes; Christie, Pabarue, Mortensen and Young; Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads; Clark & McGill; Nasuti & Miller; and the law offices of Anna M. Durbin.

Attorneys from these firms either declined to comment or could not be reached.

One who would comment was Carmen Nasuti, of Nasuti & Miller, who confirmed that he represents PGW and Sheriff John Green. He said he hadn't heard anything from federal authorities regarding PGW in months.

"We were ready to meet with John Green and the government by mutual agreement, but the government postponed because they said they were too busy," Nasuti said. "They said, 'We have to put this on the back burner.' " The city began lining up private lawyers for the probe last October, not long after the bug was found and the feds began delivering search warrants to a half-dozen city agencies.

Magarity, a former federal prosecutor who'd been hired to advise city pension board members in an apparently unrelated California securities case, had his contract expanded to cover the current probe.

Magarity was soon joined by Holston. The pair are general counsel and do not advise individuals who may be subjects of the investigation.

Officially, subjects are people whose activities are within the scope of a grand jury investigation. Depending on what evidence the investigators discover, the probe subjects could become targets and be prosecuted for wrongdoing, or the investigators could decide the subjects did nothing wrong and take no action against them.

To a degree, the extensive involvement of private lawyers in the City Hall probe is driven by potential conflicts between different city officials.

The feds have advised the city that, generally, different subjects of their probe should obtain different lawyers, to avoid situations where the testimony of one client could impact a different client of the same lawyer.

Under instructions from the city Law Department, any subpoenaed city employee is supposed to contact the Law Department for advice. Then, typically, the worker's attorney contacts prosecutors to find out whether the employee is considered a subject of the probe, or just someone with knowledge to present to a grand jury. If the employee is a subject of the probe, then the Law Department is likely to hire a private attorney.

--By Bob Warner, Erin Einhorn and Dave Davies