Official: Snowden Wants Asylum In Russia

Edward Snowden plans to seek asylum in Russia, a Parliament member who was among those meeting with the NSA leaker said Friday.

Duma member Vyacheslav Nikonov told reporters of Snowden’s intentions after he and a dozen other prominent officials and activists met with Snowden in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, where Snowden has been marooned since June 23.

Snowden is believed to have been stuck in the airport’s transit zone since arriving from Hong Kong on June 23, as he negotiates for asylum in another country.

The activists included Sergei Nikitin, head of Amnesty International’s Russia office, and Tatiana Lokshina, deputy head of the Russian office of Human Rights Watch.  Also taken into the meeting room were Russia’s presidential human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin, prominent attorney Genri Reznik, and Nikonov.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/news/world/official-snowden-wants-asylum-in-russia-695202/#ixzz2YqiN6xd4

Gun Violence Shoots Up 21 Percent In Wilkes-Barre

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

WILKES-BARRE — State police statistics suggest it is safer to reside anywhere else in Luzerne County than in Wilkes-Barre.

The city experienced a 21-percent jump in serious crime from January through the end of June, compared to the same time in 2012, according to the state police Uniform Crime Report.

Violence involving guns is the most troubling, accounting for the deaths of six people and injuries to others in multiple shootings and assaults, statistics say.

Three people were killed by gunfire in 2012, although one of those deaths was ruled a murder/suicide.

Read more:  http://www.timesleader.com/news/local-news/668804/Gun-violence-shoots-up-21-percent-in-Wilkes-Barre

Wegmans To Change Health Benefits For Part-Timers Under Obamacare

English: President Barack Obama’s signature on the health insurance reform bill at the White House, March 23, 2010. The President signed the bill with 22 different pens. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(MCT) — Et tu, Wegmans?

The Rochester-based grocer that has been continually lauded for providing health insurance to its part-time workers will no longer offer that benefit.

Until recently, the company voluntarily offered health insurance to employees who worked 20 hours per week or more.  Companies are required by law to offer health insurance only to full-time employees who work 30 hours or more per week, as required by the Affordable Care Act.

Several Wegmans employees told The Buffalo News that part-time health benefits had been cut and said the company said the decision was related to changes brought about by the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Read more: http://www.mcall.com/news/breaking/mc-wegmans-cuts-health-benefits-part-timers-obamac-20130712,0,2099072.story#ixzz2YqbvNng8
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PhillyDeals: Is A High-End Retailer In Gallery’s Near Future?

Work crews have been hammering away, restoring the wood-and-bronze-accented central hall of the former Strawbridge & Clothier store downstairs at 801 Market St. from our Inquirer offices.

Rumors that Bloomingdale’s or another high-end department store will take the space have been current in the neighborhood.  Earlier plans and speculation had centered on a casino, a Target, or high-end restaurants.

Of course, Bloomingdale’s owner, Macy’s Inc., hasn’t announced a new Philly store.  Erin Halley, spokeswoman for Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust (PREIT), told me there’s nothing to announce.

But retail-watchers say PREIT, which didn’t upgrade the Gallery complex when it improved its malls in Cherry Hill, Plymouth Meeting, and other suburbs in the late 2000s, finally looks ready to make a Center City move – especially since it agreed to pay $60 million to buy the last section it didn’t already own from Vornado Realty Trust last fall.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20130712_Is_a_high-end_retailer_in_Gallery_s_near_future_.html#H0ISG0TbHQrRt3SG.99

Changing Skyline: Pop-Up Parks Perk Up Dull Philly Spots

Need a quick getaway? May I suggest a stroll over to South Broad Street?  Look for the opening in the crape myrtles, follow the juniper-lined path down to the grove, then take a seat in one of the vintage patio chairs, grab a beer, and settle in with a book.  You might actually mistake the whoosh of city traffic for the lapping of waves.

It seems only right that an instant vacation should be held in an instant space.

The hideaway in question is the latest addition to Philadelphia’s growing collection of pop-up parks, an increasingly popular and low-cost way for cities to carve out green retreats amid the crowded hardscape desert.  This one is brought to you by the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society and, to be honest, it’s not really hidden.  It’s right there across from the Kimmel Center, between Spruce and Pine Streets.  It just feels as if it were a world away.

You could similarly indulge your escapist fantasies at the Porch, alongside 30th Street Station; at the University City District’s new Baltimore Avenue plaza; or at Eakins Oval.  As of Thursday, the interior of that glorified traffic circle has been outfitted with Parisian-style cafe tables and christened, “The Oval.”

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/home/20130712_Changing_Skyline__Pop-up_parks_perk_up_dull_city_spots.html#ksoDsGsIAxUBwmd8.99

A Plan To Address Philadelphia’s Staggering Poverty

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

In an unusually frank document, the city has laid out stark statistical descriptions of poverty in Philadelphia, accompanied by a plan to try to deal with the problem.

The Shared Prosperity Philadelphia plan, presented Thursday at the Central Library of the Free Library of Philadelphia, states that at a “staggering 28 percent,” the poverty rate here is the highest among the nation’s 10 largest cities.  More than 430,000 of the city’s 1,547,600 residents live below the federal poverty line, the report points out.  The poverty line ranges from $11,490 for a single person to $23,550 for a family of four.

Further, black and Latino Philadelphians are twice as likely to be poor as whites.  “Most distressing,” the report continues, “39 percent of Philadelphia’s children are poor.”

Poverty is a “persistent and devastating problem” in Philadelphia, and holds back many residents, Mayor Nutter said at the event.  “We may never benefit from their knowledge and abilities because they will never have the chance to develop their talent,” he said.

Read more at http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130712_City_outlines_plan_to_deal_with_poverty.html#pqtpEKGxsieZayRO.99

Norristown Officials Tout Micro-Loans For Small Businesses

Location of Norristown in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

NORRISTOWN — Local officials are putting their noses to the grindstone to lure more businesses to Norristown, and they say they have the bucks to back up their plans.

Specifically, the municipality wants new restaurants, boutiques, delis and coffee shops along the so-called Main Street corridor, which runs along the Schuylkill River Trail from West Norriton to Plymouth Township.

Ron Story, director of the Norristown Small Business Assistance Center (NSBAC), and Gabriele Prete, Norristown’s business development coordinator, presented Norristown Planning Commission with a series of short promotional videos Wednesday targeting would-be businesses.  Prete said there are 13 countries represented on Main Street in the form of restaurants.  The videos and an interactive map are available on the municipal website, www.norristown.org.

Read more:  http://www.timesherald.com/article/20130711/NEWS01/130719906/norristown-officials-tout-micro-loans-for-small-businesses#full_story

Officials ID Guardsman Found Dead After Police Standoff

Location of Lower Pottsgrove Township in Montgomery County (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

LOWER POTTSGROVE — An autopsy was performed Thursday on the body of a township man found inside his home after a 5½-hour standoff on Wednesday.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s office finished the autopsy on Thomas A. Hripto at 4 p.m. Thursday, but a spokesman said the coroner was not prepared to release the exact cause of death.

The incident began Wednesday morning when Pennsylvania National Guard representatives went to the 1300 block of Lynn Drive to perform a well-being check on a solider they believed to be AWOL.

Township police officers who were assisting the National Guard Command staff with the check on Hripto reported hearing a gunshot from inside the house at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday.

Read more:  http://www.pottsmerc.com/article/20130712/NEWS01/130719820/officials-id-guardsman-found-dead-after-police-standoff