Source: Machine Operator In Collapse To Be Charged

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The 42-year-old man who was operating the excavator in Wednesday’s building collapse in Center City will be charged with risking and causing a catastrophe and six counts of involuntary manslaughter, a senior law enforcement official told The Inquirer on Friday.

Blood tests revealed marijuana in Sean Benschop’s system at levels that “he was unfit to perform safety-sensitive, job-related duties,” according to a toxicology report.

Benschop, who has also used the name Kary Roberts, according to court records, will additionally be charged with reckless endangerment and will face other charges from the injuries to 14 victims of the collapse.

The charges of causing a catastrophe and risking a catastrophe are felonies.  The involuntary-manslaughter charges are first-degree misdemeanors.

Read more at 
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130608_Source__Machine_operator_in_collapse_to_be_charged.html#6r84qROfFDJVp5xO.99

Grand Jury To Probe Bathtub Death

A grand jury will investigate the death of Julia Papazian Law, the 26-year-old paralegal found dead in a bathtub in her boss’ Center City apartment last month.

Word of the inquiry came as toxicology tests revealed that at the time of her death, Law had a blood-alcohol level higher than 0.40 percent – five times the threshold for legal intoxication, according to court sources. Medical experts say a blood-alcohol content of 0.35 percent or greater may be fatal.

The District Attorney’s Office confirmed Friday that it had asked for the grand jury probe, but declined to elaborate.

Law, who worked for high-profile defense lawyer A. Charles Peruto Jr., was found facedown in his tub on May 25.

Peruto, 58, who described Law as his girlfriend, told police he was in Avalon, N.J., on the night she died. He said he learned of her death from a maintenance worker who found her body in Peruto’s Rittenhouse Square apartment.

Read more at 
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/local/20130608_Grand_jury_to_probe_bathtub_death.html#fu7x6vMTOwwOYFpw.99

Woman Found Alive | 6 Dead | 14 Hurt Cleanup Underway

English: Center City viewed from West Philadelphia (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Though the rubble is being cleared, the collapse of two buildings in Center City that left five women and one man dead, in addition to the dramatic late night rescue of a survivor, will surely go down as one of the biggest tragedies in Philadelphia’s history.

City officials were still grappling with the events of yesterday early this morning.  They have yet to make an announcement as to what may have gone wrong at a demolition site that led to the destruction.

A search and rescue operation that was expected to continue today has apparently been suspended.  Early this morning, firefighters were standing by, not actively combing the site.  The ambulances that lined Market Street for much of yesterday are gone.

Read more at 
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/6_dead_in_Philadelphia_building_collapse.html#18GCkOqYMexevE2F.99

Building Collapses In Philadelphia; 2 People Trapped

English: Map of Philadelphia County highlighting Center City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHILADELPHIA — A four-story building being demolished collapsed today on the edge of downtown Philadelphia, injuring 12 people and trapping two others, the fire commissioner said.

Rescue crews were trying to extricate the two people who were trapped, city Fire Commissioner Lloyd Ayers said. The dozen people who were injured were taken to hospitals with minor injuries, he said.

The collapse involved a building that once housed a first-floor sandwich shop and apartments above.  It collapsed, sending debris onto a Salvation Army corner thrift store next door.  The two are adjacent to an adult bookstore and theater that had been taken down earlier.

Rescuers were using buckets and their bare hands to move bricks and rubble to search for survivors.

Read more:  
http://readingeagle.com/article.aspx?id=482938

Bathtub Death Likely Accidental, Officials Say

Julia Papazian Law probably drowned in a bathtub, perhaps after a seizure, according to two law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation.

The tentative finding may sweep aside some of the speculation surrounding the death of the 26-year-old paralegal, found facedown Saturday morning in the Center City apartment belonging to her boss, defense attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr.

No drugs or alcohol were found at the scene, the room was undisturbed, and the liquor closet was closed, the officials said.  Nothing, they said, seemed out of place.

Investigators cannot be certain of the cause of death until they review toxicology reports, which are pending.  But they said Law had been frothing at the mouth, which they said seemed to indicate a seizure.

Read more at 
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130530_Woman_in_bathtub_death_was_loving__vibrant__emotionally_vulnerable__family_says.html#1CTE0zlIUp0FjfHt.99

Dead Woman Was His Girlfriend, Peruto Says

English: Map of Philadelphia County highlighting Center City (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

High-profile criminal defense attorney A. Charles Peruto Jr. confirmed Sunday that a 26-year-old woman found dead Saturday in the bathroom of a Center City home he owns was his girlfriend.

Peruto, who answered the door at the three-story brick building at South 20th Street and Delancey Place, declined to comment beyond stating that the woman “was my girlfriend.”

The woman’s identity had not been released by police as of Sunday morning, but a police source identified her as Julia Law.

Read more at 
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130527_Dead_woman_was_his_girlfriend__Peruto_says.html#MHtkQtdPDIX068yz.99

PhillyInc: Philadelphia Has Gained Much, But Not Jobs

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Several macrotrends have broken Philadelphia’s way:  The city’s population is growing again.  Residential building is up, and the city has seen an influx of college-educated young adults over the last decade.

But one trend remains stubbornly negative, as three recent research reports make clear: The city continues to lose jobs. The latest such evidence was included in the Center City District’s “State of Center City, 2013″ report, released Monday.

The special-services district can rightly brag about the increased vibrancy in the area wedged between the rivers and Vine and Pine Streets.  The city is cleaner since 1990, serious crime is down, and the churn in retail stores and restaurants is source of small-business strength.

Employment, though, remains a weakness, and if the long-term trend of job destruction does not change, it’s hard to imagine that the city could continue to maintain momentum in other areas.

Read more:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/business/columnists/20130423_PhillyInc__Philadelphia_has_gained_much__but_not_jobs.html

The 10 Richest Zip Codes In Philadelphia

English: Sam Austin House in Chestnut Hill Historic District on the NRHP, in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. At 5 East Chestnut Hill Ave. (equivalent to 8801 Germantown Avenue – the cross street) Coords40.078285,-75.210675 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We’re continuing to go through Pew Charitable Trust‘s 2013 state of the city report for Philadelphia (see our previous lists of the 8 most diverse neighborhoods and 15 largest private employers).  Today, we’re looking at the richest areas.

According to Pew, these are the 10 zip codes with highest median household incomes:

1. 19106 (Center City-Society Hill): $93,222
2. 19118 (Chestnut Hill): $80,950

To see the rest, click here:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/phillylists/The-10-richest-zip-codes-in-Philadelphia.html

DeMedici II Will Buy Former GlaxoSmithKline Building For New String Theory School

Map of Pennsylvania highlighting Philadelphia County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A new performing arts charter high school says it has sealed a deal to open in the fall at GlaxoSmithKline‘s former North American headquarters at 16th and Vine Streets.

Under terms that will be announced Thursday, a nonprofit associated with the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School has agreed to buy the curving, eight-story building for $29 million for the String Theory High School for the Arts and Sciences.  It will be the first charter high school in the city focused on the performing arts.

The nonprofit, DeMedici Corporation II, expects to finance the property with tax-exempt bonds from the Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development (PAID), according to Mary D’Anella, spokeswoman for String Theory Schools, which manages the charter.

“It’s the most exciting high school this city has opened in a generation,” said Angela Corosanite, chief executive officer of the nonprofit String Theory, and founder of it and the Philadelphia Performing Arts Charter School.

Read more:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20130328_DeMedici_II_will_buy_former_GlaxoSmithKline_building_for_new_String_Theory_School.html

Changing Skyline: New Cheesecake Factory At 15th And Walnut: A Creamy-Rich Glass Box

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What kind of building do you get when you cross the über-cool, urban minimalism of the Apple stores with the indulgent, diet-busting excess of the Cheesecake Factory restaurants?

Would you believe an architectural confection that is as visually sublime as it is intellectually rich?

I’ll admit that when I first heard that the popular suburban temple of caloric overload was touching down at 15th and Walnut Streets, the news didn’t exactly stoke my appetite for good design.  I imagined a generic box, done up in flat, lifeless stucco the color of American cheese, elbowing its way onto a corner that has been occupied for the better part of a century by three ordinary, but charming, commercial buildings.

But the architecture gods have smiled on Philadelphia.

Read more:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20130308_Changing_Skyline__New_Cheesecake_Factory_at_15th_and_Walnut__A_creamy-rich_glass_box.html

Crime Has Some Thinking Twice About Philly Life

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BORN-AND-RAISED Philadelphian Danielle Harvey never really saw herself moving away from her hometown.

Then, last spring, she witnessed a shooting at the same bus stop where she had been robbed about a month before.

Harvey, 24, who worked at a law office in Center City, said that she was able to shake off the robbery, in which her phone was stolen and pockets rifled through at a bus stop outside Frankford’s Margaret-Orthodox El station.

“You live in the city, this stuff happens,” she said.  ”That made me think this city is getting a little tiring to live in, but I never really imagined myself being somebody who could move.”

Then, about a month later, as she waited at the same bus stop, a man across the street from where she stood was shot in the neck.

“[The shooting] was pretty much the thing that more or less sealed it for me thinking I should get out of here,” she said.

Read more:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130225_Crime_has_some_thinking_twice_about_Philly_life.html

The Guys Behind West Philly’s New High Rise

English: This is my own work, Public Domain Photograph, not copyrighted Ed Yakovich http://www.flickr.com/photos/10396190@N04 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The $158 million, 33-story Grove high-rise, planned for 850 Penn and Drexel students, adjoining the two campuses on a Penn-owned property at 2930 Chestnut St. in Brandywine Realty Trust‘s Cira South development, will stand out among East Coast college housing projects.

For one thing, it’s taller. Boston University boasts a landmark 26-story dorm with spectacular views.  New York University cancelled plans for a 38-story tower after Greenwich Village neighbors and architect I.M. Pei protested.  Penn’s three 25-story undergrad dorms have anchored ”Superblock” (“an architectual conceptual disaster,” according to this 1999 Pa. Gazette review) on the west end of campus since the 1970s.  Temple’s new Morgan Hall dominates the view to Center City from 21 stories above North Philly.

Also, like other Penn student housing projects in recent years, Grove is a private effort, though on a bigger scale: It will boast its own health club and pool, Internet and cable, and rents starting above $1,300/month for a single (there’ll also be suites with up to three bedrooms.)

The project’s backers hope it will reverse the long flow of graduate students into West Philly‘s mixed residential neighborhoods and booming Center City and slowing growth to the student ghetto locally dominated by outfits like Michael Karp’s University City Housing Corp. and David Adelman’s more upscale Campus Apartments (home of the Beige Blocks).

Read more: 
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/inq-phillydeals/The-guys-behind-West-Phillys-new-high-rise.html

CHOP Doctor Murder Suspect Described As Helpful Family Man ‘Just Snapped’

If there is something in the makeup of Jason Smith that might have presaged the slaying to which police say he has confessed, nothing was immediately apparent Thursday.

Neighbors in the Crescent Lane section of Levittown, Bucks County – where the 36-year-old exterminator lived with his girlfriend, their young daughter, his girlfriend’s mother, and other relatives – described him as helpful, a family man who took his boxer, Tyson, out for frequent walks.

They said he showed no signs of a violent temper.

Yet Philadelphia police officials, at a news conference Thursday, said an explosive argument between Smith and Melissa Ketunuti apparently triggered a murderous rage.

Read more:  
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/20130124_Suspect_in_doctors_death_described_as_helpful_family_man.html

Philadelphia’s Market East Set For Extreme Makeover

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Market East, the shopping district stretching from City Hall to Independence Mall, is best known for its hodgepodge of discount clothing emporiums, “we buy gold” shops and vacant buildings, all set to the soundtrack of the music blaring from storefront speakers. Over the years, there have been many attempts to gentrify this neighborhood — and so far, all have failed. But now, a makeover seems imminent.

After years of false starts, change is now coming fast. Last month, The Inquirer and Daily News announced they will relocate to the vacant Strawbridge & Clothier department store at Eighth and Market (with $2.9 million in city financing). This summer, Nutter signed a bill (introduced by outgoing City Councilman and billboard enthusiast Frank DiCicco) to create an outdoor advertising district in Market East to replace the grit with Times Square-style glitter. Philadelphia Real Estate Investment Trust is planning to renovate and upgrade the Gallery Mall, and a 2009 city plan — now finally coming to fruition — calls for the redevelopment of the south side of the street’s 1100 block. The rumor is it will be anchored by a Target.

Read more:
http://www.citypaper.net/news/2011-12-08-market-east-development-project-philadelphia.html

Philadelphia Looks To Turn Reading Viaduct Into Urban Park

Much like the High Line was in Manhattan, the Reading Viaduct in Philadelphia is an abandoned elevated railroad line that runs through parts of Philadelphia.  The idea of taking in urban views from an elevated garden style park is catching on in Philly.

This concept was a huge success in Manhattan and even got celebrities like Diane von Fürstenberg and Edward Norton involved in the project.

After eight years, two Philadelphians succeeded in lobbying city council to take control of the viaduct from the Reading International Company.  The city is presently in contact with Reading International to take control of the larger section of the viaduct.  The Center City District is working with SEPTA to create a park on the shorter section of the viaduct, which is owned by SEPTA.

The Reading Viaduct is much wider than the High Line in Manhattan and will make the space more versatile.  People are envisioning a renaissance in the area that will bring in food, entertainment, outdoor activities of all sorts, artists and housing.  The park would stimulate growth for Chinatown, eliminate blight and attract new residents.  The High Line has had a tremendous economic impact on the area of Manhattan it is located in.  Philadelphia could expect similar results.

We applaud Philadelphia’s leadership for getting on the “rails to trails” bandwagon and doing something innovative that will enhance the quality of life for city residents!

SEPTA Ridership Hits 22-Year High

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For the fiscal year that ended June 30, SEPTA‘s buses, subways, trolleys, and trains had about 334 million passengers, up 4 percent from the previous year and the most since 345 million in fiscal 1989.

SEPTA officials credited service improvements, higher gasoline prices, Center City population growth, and a growing use of transit by young adults.

To read the entire article from Philly.com, click here:

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20110728_SEPTA_ridership_hits_22-year_high.html?ref=twitter.com

Another Iconic Company Leaves Philly

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The economy is the culprit behind Robbins Diamonds leaving Pennsylvania.  We all remember those silly commercials with Jerry Robbins having a diamond in his beard, I’m sure.

Robbins Diamonds had three locations.  They closed their 8th and Walnut Street store in Center City, Philadelphia along with their store in Allentown.  Robbins blames the horrible economy.  Interestingly, they are keeping their large Newark, Delaware store open.  It has tons of free parking, access to Interstate 95 and Delaware has no sales tax.  (aha!)

Robbins stated he is glad to still be in business considering big names like Jack Kellmer, Bailey, Banks & Biddle and Caldwell’s have closed.  There are still 37 stores left on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia.

Another one bites the dust!