Rumsfeld cancels Philadelphia visit

PHILADELPHIA (Philadelphia Inquirer)- Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, scheduled to address the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia on Tuesday, sent word Thursday that he would not be coming.

Group president Buntzie Churchill said the Pentagon had given no reason for the cancellation but had said Rumsfeld might appear at a later date.

"We were told we could say it is a postponement," she said.

Rumsfeld, a frequent public speaker, has cut back on appearances in recent weeks as the level of combat in Iraq has increased.

"I think it's really important that people hear from the administration directly," Churchill said. "It's sort of from the horse's mouth."

Several hundred tickets for the luncheon program in the ballroom of the Park Hyatt at the Bellevue had been sold at $125 each.

Churchill said ticket buyers would be asked to let the council hold their uncashed checks until June 1 in hope Rumsfeld might reschedule by that time.

Rumsfeld's office at the Pentagon did not respond to a request for comment.


Photos courtsey Rodney Anonymous

Kerry rallies Democrats in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA -- In a speech intended to reach Americans hungry for change, Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry marked ''the beginning of the end of the Bush administration'' at a rally Friday in the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

''We're going to take back our democracy, take back the White House and restore this country,'' Kerry told 2,500 cheering supporters. ''I want you to join me in an effort to reach for our dreams again.''

The rally roared its approval as Kerry, with Gov. Ed Rendell at his side, shouted, ''We are going to send George Bush back to Texas.''

Kerry's appearance at the convention center, which brought out the city's top Democratic leaders, came after an appearance before 10,000 at the University of Pittsburgh earlier in the day.

Although rocker Jon Bon Jovi performed at the Pittsburgh rally, Kerry attributed the turnout there to the popularity of his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry.

Manufacturing surges in Philadelphia; New York

NEW YORK,(Xinhuanet) -- Federal Reserve banks said Thursday that manufacturing surged more than expected in the New York and Philadelphia regions this month, with more companies creating jobs.

The Fed Banks of New York said that April general economic index rose to 36.1 from 25.3 in the region, and the Fed Bank of Philadelphia reported its similar gauge climbed to 32.5, the highest since January, from 24.2 in March.

The Fed's surveys showed stronger hiring in the New York region,with its employment index more than doubling to 19.8 from 9.7, while the Philadelphia employment index showed little change.

"Manufacturers are feeling better about the economy and there are signs that we may finally get some job gains in manufacturing," said Ethan Harris, chief US economist at Lehman Brothers Inc.

In a separate report, the Labor Department had showed March payrolls rose by 308,000 workers, the most in four years. But manufacturing employment was unchanged after consecutive net losses every month since July 20.

Manufacturing readings in the New York and Philadelphia regionswere closely watched because these regions were the homes to many manufacturing companies.

Please Touch Museum moving to Memorial Hall

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A downtown children's museum in Philadelphia could soon have a new home in Fairmount Park.

The Fairmount Park Commission agreed Wednesday to let the cramped Please Touch Museum move into Memorial Hall in West Fairmount Park.

The agreement, which grew out of lengthy negotiation, now goes to City Council, where it is expected to be approved.

Nancy Kolb, the museum's president and chief executive officer, said the ambitious, $62 million project would take time to complete.

She plans to renovate Memorial Hall, a national and local historic landmark, before the new museum debuts in the spring of 2007, about a year later than originally planned.


Memorial Hall in Fairmount Park, was built for the Centennial Exposition of 1876 at a cost of $1,500,000.

Preston Lit Sentenced To Mental Health Facility
Lit Still Faces Charges Of Trashing Hotel Rooms

PHILADELPHIA(NBC 10) -- Preston Lit was back in court Tuesday.

Lit was sentenced to eight months in a mental health facility. He will also spend 16 months in a group home to monitor his medication.

Lit violated his probation from an earlier conviction. In February, he left a mysterious package at NBC 10 News anchorman Steve Levy. Lit had previously been convicted of stalking Levy. Lit left a second package at the Philadelphia International Airport.

Authorities searched for Lit for several days before catching up with him in Feasterville, Pa.

Lit still faces charges in New Jersey and central Pennsylvania where he allegedly trashed hotel rooms while on the run.


Preston loves Steve

O'Jays lose bid in Philadelphia to suppress new album

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Three decades after they sang that money was "the root of all evil," The O'Jays lost a bid to block their former record label from cashing in on songs they recorded but didn't think were good enough to release.

A federal judge lifted an injunction that had briefly stopped Philadelphia International Records from distributing "Together We Are One," an album of unreleased tracks recorded by The O'Jays in the early 1980s.

O'Jays founding members Eddie Levert and Walter Williams had argued in a lawsuit filed in Philadelphia on April 2 that the songs were "stale and artistically inferior," and that releasing them would hurt their legacy and ability to tour.

U.S. District Judge R. Barclay Surrick said in an opinion signed on April 9 that a contract signed by the group in 1979 appeared to give the record company unlimited rights to release the songs.

He also expressed some doubt that the album would hurt The O'Jays, whose hits include "For the Love of Money," now being used as the theme song for Donald Trump's "The Apprentice" television show.

"It appears to us that the dispute between these parties has more to do with the financial aspects of their relationships than their professional standing," Surrick wrote.

Lawyers for Levert and Williams declined to discuss the case Tuesday, other than to say they would continue to pursue the lawsuit.


The O'Jays

Who hired this guy?

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia consultant who took $130,000 in city money but failed to do the teen counseling work was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay full restitution.

Joseph L. Lewis Jr., 63, was told to pay the first $20,000 within 60 days.

Lewis was hired to counsel teens questioning their sexual identity from 1997 to 2001, but not a single teen was served.

He and two associates, Janis L. Moore and Tyrone Smith, falsified their credentials to get the contract, Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Zack said.