"Black Widow Killer" Sentenced
17 to 35 years

PHILADELPHIA (KYW) The woman who became known as the "black widow killer" for conspiring with a boyfriend to murder her other lovers and one aquaintance, will spend 17 to 35 years in prison for the December 2001 shooting death of a man who befriended her.

Vernell Jones was so in love and intimidated by Kenny Burno that she shot and wounded one lover in Philadelphia, then killed John Davis in Whitemarsh.

She could have spent life in prison but was the critical witness in convicting Burno of first-degree murder. And so she got a break.

The victim's brother Keith wanted her behind bars for good, for taking an irreplaceable life:

"This was a guy that worked for everything he had. This was a guy that worked honestly hard. Would never get in any trouble, avoided trouble."

And he left behind six children that he worked two jobs to support.

Philadelphia Budget Update

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Mayor John Street has submitted a revised budget plan that calls for deep cuts to police, recreation and other key city services in coming years.

The new cuts, scheduled to begin in fiscal 2006, go well beyond those in Street's initial budget plan submitted in March. They include a 3.4 percent across-the-board reduction in personnel costs, which would mean eliminating 288 uniformed police officers.

City Budget Director Rob Dubow said the new cuts are necessary to offset the loss of $18 million in revenue that the city had expected to receive from Philadelphia Gas Works, but that the ailing utility is unable to pay.

The proposal comes as Street begins contract negotiations with three unions representing municipal employees. Contracts with the police and with unions representing blue- and white-collar city employees expire June 30.

City Council has until May 31 to pass the budget.

Philadelphia's New $52 Million Radio Fails

Philadelphia(Associated Press)

The city's relatively new $52 million police radio system went completely off the air for 20 to 40 minutes Tuesday night, leaving a night shift of about 600 patrol officers without their electronic lifeline to headquarters, FOP officials said today.

The failure came as waves of officers were responding to three repeated calls for help from an officer at a location in Germantown, where an officer was being attacked.

"We had a break in service within our police communication system," said a steamed FOP President Bob Eddis.

Speaking at a press conference at FOP headquarters, the normally reserved Eddis said it was good fortune that a police officer or someone else who needed help wasn't hurt during the period. He also said he was aggravated that police brass downtown did not yet know what caused Tuesday's problem or a similar instance about two months ago.

On each occasion, he said, no viable backup system was in place.

"Our worst nightmare was experienced last night," said Eddis, who previously has limited his criticism of the administration of Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson. "There was a time that the radio went completely dead."

At a press conference at headquarters this afternoon, Deputy Police Commissioner Charles Brennan, head of the department's Science and Technology section, confirmed the breakdown, which he said began around 9:05 p.m. He attributed the crash to the influx of police cars from across the city being dispatched to the Germantown case.

"In order to talk to all the officers in the entire city, police radio uses a command in the radio system which... permits us to talk to all the officers on the street at the same time," said Brennan.

But invoking that command caused a series of glitches that forced the system into backup, causing more than half the the frequencies to crashed, he said.

Thus, he said, dispatchers "couldn't get out to the people on the street and the people on the street couldn't talk to the radio consoles dispatchers," he said. "We still don't know why this happened."

Cosby to be on TV for Philadelphia schools

Bill Cosby has a new TV gig. The comedian will appear on several shows and spots on the Philadelphia School District's local-access station and will be a volunteer creative consultant.

The programming, including some student-produced segments, will include messages on homework, SAT preparation and vignettes about students and their communities.

The creator of "The Cosby Show" said Wednesday that the programming will reinforce lesson plans and give parents the opportunity to talk with their children about education.

Kerry Visits Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (KYW) Democratic Presidential Candidate John Kerry is in Philadelphia to discuss his education plan.

Kerry will participate in a roundtable discussion with Congressman Fattah and select students, teachers, and parents from Edison High School Tuesday morning before making a speech.

The Massachusetts senator is expected to outline plans aimed at getting more high school students to enter college.

Philadelphia Public Schools on the Right Track

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia School District officials, who just four years ago were predicting an annual deficit of $155 million to $300 million, expect to adopt a balanced budget for the first time in seven years.

The $1.86 billion budget, which will continue to be presented to City Council Monday, includes a $13 million deficit, but district officials believe it can be erased through fine-tuning before the budget is passed.

Officials should not have to tap into the balance of the $300 million the district borrowed in 2002 to help it stay afloat. The balance will be about $131 million at the end of this fiscal year, district officials said.

Revenues are growing by about 2 percent a year, while costs climb by about 3 to 4 percent a year.