Court upholds Philadelphia parking takeover

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — The state Supreme Court has upheld a state takeover of the Philadelphia Parking Authority, saying the city's home-rule rights do not guarantee it control of the agency.

Democratic Mayor John F. Street and the city sued after House Speaker John M. Perzel, R-Philadelphia, engineered a change in state law in 2001 that seized control of the parking authority by altering the composition of its governing board. The Legislature also diverted parking authority revenues into the city school district.

The Supreme Court unanimously voted, in a decision made public , that Commonwealth Court properly dismissed Street's lawsuit in February 2003.

Philadelphia City Council gets back to work

PHILADELPHIA A push to cut Philadelphia's business-privilege tax and legislation to strengthen ethics provisions are expected to be on the agenda when City Council reconvenes this week for its fall session.

Councilman Michael Nutter, one of Mayor John Street's most outspoken critics, intends to introduce legislation on Thursday to crack down on pay-to-play contracts and create a new and tougher ethics board. Nutter says the package of bills is partly a response to the federal government's ongoing investigation of the Street administration.

Nutter also says he plans to reintroduce a bill to eliminate the business-privilege tax that the mayor had vetoed in June, straining his relations with Council.