The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) articles from July 2011

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) archives from July 2011

The Philadelphia Inquirer Kevin Riordan column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Kevin Riordan July 31--Formidably prepared and tastefully polished, George E. Norcross III holds forth about how best to reform public education and public safety in Camden. He sounds like a liberal and a conservative, a realist...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Al Heavens column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Al Heavens July 31--Inquirer real estate writer Alan J. Heavens' home improvement column appears Fridays in Home & Design. See instructional videos at Al's Place. Go to philly.com/yourplace To see more of The Philadelphia...

Skater, coach could roll with the best of them.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Sally A. Downey July 31--Judy Sowinski, 71, of South Philadelphia, a roller derby coach who won the title of "Queen of Mean" as a player, died of lung cancer Wednesday, July 27, at Vitas Hospice at Methodist Hospital. A native of...

EDITORIAL: Distract and attack.(Editorial)
July 31, 2011... July 31--While the public's attention has been focused on the irresponsible showdown over raising the nation's debt limit, the Republican House has been conducting a full-scale assault on the nation's environmental laws. It spent last week...

In Phila. courts, reforms take hold.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nancy Phillips and Craig R. McCoy July 31--A Philadelphia criminal justice system once in crisis has begun to transform itself. Judges are deciding more cases on their merits. Formerly unmanageable caseloads are in a steep...

Six years later, district attorney's disappearance is still a mystery.
July 31, 2011... Byline: John P. Martin July 31--On Monday, a judge reached a conclusion about Ray Gricar, the longtime Centre County district attorney who vanished in 2005. He's dead. Hours later, word spread that a nameless vagrant locked up in...

Manuel comfortable with Phillies roster.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Matt Gelb PHILADELPHIA _ The non-waiver trade deadline passed Sunday, but not without an opportunity for Ruben Amaro Jr. to philosophize. "I don't believe in close," Amaro said Sunday. That was the Phillies general manager's way...

Time will tell if Phillies or Astros won this trade.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Bob Brookover PHILADELPHIA _ It started with a memorandum to all contending teams from Houston general manager Ed Wade. In essence, Wade told his fellow general managers the same thing he told the media: All Astros players were...

Asomugha knew he wanted to be in Philadelphia.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jonathan Tamari BETHLEHEM, Pa. _ When it became clear he was going to be a free agent, Nnamdi Asomugha had his pick of NFL landing spots. There was the glamour of New York or playing for "America's Team" in Dallas. There were the...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Karen Heller column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Karen Heller July 31--OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- This is a long island, eight miles of superb beaches, but a very small place. City is a whopper of a misnomer for this town of almost 12,000 year-round residents. Everyone knows everyone. ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Trudy Rubin column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Trudy Rubin July 31--It's time to start thinking about what will happen to Israel -- and U.S. policy in the Middle East -- when the peace process ends. Politicians don't openly discuss the deep threat to Israel's existence that...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Bob Ford column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Bob Ford July 31--Through the haze of firework plumes that gradually were dissipating above Citizens Bank Park on Friday night, general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. appeared on the scoreboard video screen like an apparition from Oz,...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Steven Rea column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Steven Rea July 31--Like many of us, Brit Marling has had the experience of being in a strange city, on another continent, perhaps, and spotting someone who looks exactly like a person -- friend, lover, parent, sibling -- she knows....

Andrew M. Bauer, 34; lacrosse player and coach.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Sally A. Downey July 31--Andrew M. Bauer, 34, of West Chester, a lacrosse player and coach, died in a boating accident Monday, July 25, on the Sassafras River in Kent County, Md. Since he was a teenager, Mr. Bauer had coached...

John F. Hoehn III, 73, pastor.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Walter F. Naedele July 31--John F. Hoehn III, 73, of Elkins Park, a Philadelphia pastor and drug counselor, died of complications from lung cancer Sunday, July 24, at the Sacred Heart Home in North Philadelphia. Mr. Hoehn became...

Howard gets 1,000th hit, goes 4 for 4 in Phillies' 7-4 win over Pirates.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Marc Narducci July 31--With all the hoopla surrounding the arrival of Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros, the Phillies' offensive fortunes still rest largely with Ryan Howard. For somebody who entered Saturday second in the...

Reading Terminal Market set to undergo makeover.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Suzette Parmley July 31--Reading Terminal Market has fed generations of Philadelphians, wowed countless tourists and conventioneers, and set the gold standard for public markets across the country. But the market's growing profile...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Jeff Gelles column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jeff Gelles July 31--NEW YORK -- Prices on back-to-school items from socks to notebooks are increasing 10 percent on average, but there are lots of great deals -- and new ways to find them. Stores and manufacturers are redesigning...

The Philadelphia Inquirer PhillyDeals column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Joseph N. DiStefano July 31--The City of Philadelphia, with more retired ex-employees than active workers, struggles to fund their future pensions. The need to ease a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall threatens higher taxes, and...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Reid Kanaley column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Reid Kanaley July 31--Jeff Gelles' column, "Consumer 11.0," and Reid Kanaley's column, "Web Wealth," do not appear this week. To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to...

Inside the Phillies: Despite perceptions, Phils' Brown still an untouchable, Amaro says.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Bob Brookover July 31--Domonic Brown is once again the Phillies' top minor-league prospect, but you can rest assured he's in no mood to celebrate that distinction. Nine weeks after the Phillies promoted Brown to be their starting...

Eagles' Samuel doesn't want to be traded.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jeff McLane July 31--BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Whether Asante Samuel wants to be traded or not -- and he does not, according to his agent -- the Eagles have already fielded calls from teams looking to acquire the Pro Bowl cornerback, NFL...

BRIEF: Six families displaced in Chesco fire.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Howard Shapiro July 31--Twenty-two people in six families were displaced Saturday when a fire broke out in a townhouse inside the Bradford Square development in East Bradford Township. The Southeastern Pennsylvania chapter of the...

How the Eagles were able to get Asomugha.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jonathan Tamari July 31--When Joe Banner reflected on signing Nnamdi Asomugha, he thought back to another big deal he made a decade ago. In 2000, back in old Veterans Stadium, Banner waited for Jon Runyan. The tackle had...

Eagles' Vince Young ready to work his way back.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Tim Rohan July 31--In strode a tall, confident-looking man. He wore black Reeboks, black shorts, and a green and white Eagles visor, and he glanced out over the practice field where his friend was directing the Eagles' first-team...

Team may not be done making moves.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Tim Rohan July 31--Howie Roseman, general manager of one of the most active teams in the NFL this offseason, appeared excited Saturday when he sat down to announce that the Eagles had acquired their fifth impact player in about two...

Eagles Notes: Eagles obtain Jenkins, trade Bunkley.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jeff McLane July 31--BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- The Eagles' new-look defense added another piece and said goodbye to a former No. 1 pick Saturday. In came free agent Cullen Jenkins and out went Brodrick Bunkley. The defensive tackles...

Three Phillies prospects adjust to life at triple-A.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Bob Brookover July 31--It's the last step on the ladder for some guys and a trip back down off the roof for others. Triple-A baseball is the one place where those two worlds collide. Obviously, it's difficult to return to the...

Already a fan favorite, Phillies' Pence happy to be with a contender.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Matt Gelb July 31--All of the Phillies players and coaches were on the field preparing for batting practice Saturday when Ryan Howard's 10-year-old son dashed through the dugout at 4:39 p.m. "He's coming!" Darian Howard yelled. "He's...

Phils look at Brown as leftfielder of future.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Marc Narducci July 31--Domonic Brown is moving again. From Philadelphia to Lehigh Valley. From right to left (field). Brown sensed on Friday night when the Phillies acquired rightfielder Hunter Pence from the Houston Astros...

Phillies Notes: Polanco: It feels great to be back.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Marc Narducci July 31--Phillies third baseman Placido Polanco was glad to be back in Philadelphia and in the starting lineup for Saturday night's game at Citizens Bank Park against the Pittsburgh Pirates. "It feels great to be...

The two sides of Brooklawn baseball legend, 89.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Phil Anastasia July 31--Time softens the hard edges of men and monuments, and 60 summers in the sun have smoothed the rough spots of the old man of Brooklawn American Legion baseball. Why, it was a good two innings the other day...

Philadelphia side resurrects 19th century 'base ball'.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick July 31--As Scott Alberts tore through the clutter in the trunk of his compact car, he began to unearth a 19th-century baseball museum. The round, white metal plates he extracted served as pitching mound and...

Temple tight end brings new dedication to his game.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Keith Pompey July 31--OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- Evan Rodriguez openly admits that he wasn't anywhere near the tight end he should have been. He used words such as lazy and immature to describe his first three years at Temple. "It...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Keith Pompey column.(Column)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Keith Pompey July 31--The days of being recognized primarily as Malcolm Gilbert's younger brother are over. That's because, as Malcolm did before him, Marcus Gilbert has blossomed into one of the area's top college basketball...

Easing shift from paper to computer.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen July 31--The physician was full of bluster, threatening to sue the software vendor that had landed his practice in a quagmire as it tried to convert from paper medical files to an electronic database. "I'm feeling...

With Universal, Comcast hopes to make a big splash in movies.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Bob Fernandez July 31--NEW YORK -- As big banner ads in Times Square last week hyped Universal's hoped-for blockbuster Cowboys & Aliens, the movie studio's parent company, NBCUniversal, held a screening of the western sci-fi...

Stingray stinging at Shore brings warning to use common sense.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jacqueline L. Urgo July 31--When a stingray took a swipe at a swimmer off Island Beach State Park last week, a park official likened it to the ocean's version of a dog bite. "The ocean is filled with sea life. I think a lot of...

Taming fickle beach plums.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Jacqueline L. Urgo July 31--DENNIS TOWNSHIP, N.J. -- As a third-generation farmer who can trace his genealogical roots to the 1600s, Dave Van Vorst has had an almost innate sense of the loamy soil and salt-tinged air that make the...

EDITORIAL: No room for prejudice.(Editorial)
July 31, 2011... July 31--Gov. Christie should be applauded for loudly voicing his frustration and saying he is "tired of dealing with the crazies" who criticized his appointment of an Indian American Muslim to a judgeship. As an attorney, Judge Sohail...

OPINION: Back Channels: How ATF delivered assault weapons to drug cartels.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Kevin Ferris July 31--Back in February 2009, Attorney General Eric Holder outlined the new administration's intent on an assault-weapons ban: "As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes...

Residents of Delaware County town feeling snowed by flood-insurance mandate.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Anthony R. Wood July 31--With the National Flood Insurance Program struggling to contain an $18 billion dam burst of debt, Robert J. Wiley is convinced that homeowners in the borough of Eddystone are being forced, unfairly, to stick...

City recalculating results of police sergeants' tests.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Howard Shapiro July 31--Philadelphia personnel officials are recalculating the results of a recent test taken by city police sergeants who want to be promoted to lieutenants after several sergeants notified the Fraternal Order of...

Battle against street violence never ceases.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Joelle Farrell July 31--Rallies against violence are nothing new to State Rep. W. Curtis Thomas. For 22 years, he has represented a North Philadelphia district that shoulders much of the city's burden of gun violence. Last year...

City, business leaders decry Center City rampage.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nancy Phillips July 31--A day after a crowd of violent youths roamed through Center City and randomly attacked two men, the city's top enforcement officials decried the assaults and business leaders called for a stepped-up police...

Fire hits Camden warehouse.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Joelle Farrell July 31--A three-alarm fire burned an abandoned warehouse in Camden early Saturday, following a string of similar fires this summer. The fire started about 6 a.m. at a building on Sixth and Liberty Streets, and it...

Divorce blog's rancor erupts in free-speech dispute.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Larry King July 31--He launched the website in 2007, Anthony Morelli says, as a space for him to vent. And its URL left no doubt about the subject: ThePsychoExWife.com -- a place of no names, only acronyms, but plenty of...

Monsignor who led clergy office to stand trial for abuse conspiracy.
July 31, 2011... Byline: David O'Reilly July 31--Clearing the way for what will be a landmark sex-abuse case, a judge ruled Friday that Msgr. William J. Lynn, former head of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's clergy office, must stand trial on a charge of...

Charter school program reverses summer reading 'slide'.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Drew Singer July 31--It's summer. It's school. But it's definitely not summer school. Just ask the students. "This is not summer school!" About 20 children, all from kindergarten through third grade, chanted in unison. ...

Man who blew off his own face found guilty of third-degree murder.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Joseph A. Slobodzian July 31--EDWARD WILSON -- the West Philadelphia man who killed his younger ex-girlfriend in 2009 and then blew off his face with a shotgun in a failed suicide -- was found guilty of third-degree murder Friday by a...

Drexel student's killer acted in self-defense, police say.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Allison Steele July 31--Philadelphia police said they did not expect to file charges against a man who fatally stabbed a 22-year-old Drexel University student who broke into his apartment early Friday. Hours after getting into an...

Pennsylvania gives mining firm approval for deeper dig.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Tom Avril July 31--Pennsylvania officials gave approval Friday for a mining company to excavate 50 feet deeper in a Bucks County quarry that residents have blamed for causing sinkholes and lowering the water table near Primrose Creek....

Inquirer copy of Bevilacqua testimony only one now public.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nancy Phillips and Craig R. McCoy July 31--The Inquirer on Friday posted on the website Philly.com the full testimony of Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua before a grand jury investigating sexual abuse in the local Catholic church. ...

A bearer of bad news helps soften the blow to grieving families.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Carolyn Davis July 31--One in an occasional series detailing the impact of war on military families. In the back of Lt. Col. Jeffrey Voice's pickup truck are six plastic bins that have traveled more than 6,000 miles from an Army...

Reading Terminal Market's makeover.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Suzette Parmley July 31--Reading Terminal Market has fed generations of Philadelphians, wowed countless tourists and conventioneers, and set the gold standard for public markets across the country. But the market's growing profile...

In Phila. courts, reforms take hold.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Nancy Phillips and Craig R. McCoy July 31--A Philadelphia criminal justice system once in crisis has begun to transform itself. Judges are deciding more cases on their merits. Formerly unmanageable caseloads are in a steep...

Philadelphia's jazz elders riff on the golden times.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Gregory Thomas July 31--The walls of Conference Room 310 at WRTI are lined with a gray cushion that dulls sound. To the roomful of elderly jazz musicians who came of age in smoky, boisterous clubs, the acoustics can be challenging. ...

Happy diminishing returns.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Michael Vitez July 31--Matt Sullivan never sat in a booth at a restaurant, ever. When you weigh 390 pounds, a booth is a tight, humiliating squeeze. But now he loves booths. Now he weighs 185. "You've got a table open? No,...

Philanthropist Ruth Perelman dies.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Sally A. Downey July 31--Ruth Caplan Perelman, 90, of Rittenhouse Square, died of pneumonia Sunday, July 31, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Mrs. Perelman and her philanthropist husband, Raymond G. Perelman...

Fugitive in two homicides arrested.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Walter F. Naedele July 31--Camden city police and New Jersey state police at about 2:30 a.m. Sunday arrested murder suspect Laurie Wint, 23, hiding in a basement closet in the 200 block of Rand Street, Camden, authorities announced....

Six-year-old left in car at Parx.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Sandy Bauers July 31--A 29-year-old area man was arrested and jailed Saturday after security officers at Parx Casino in Bensalem discovered a six-year-old child unattended in a locked car in the parking lot. Bensalem Police said...

Ibanez wins it for Phillies.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Matt Gelb PHILADELPHIA _ They were not dancing on Raul Ibanez's grave, and that was enough of a reason to celebrate Sunday when the 39-year-old outfielder willed a 6-5 Phillies victory in 10 innings to sweep a three-game series with...

Improved Phillies point toward fall.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ Ruben Amaro Jr. won the winter by signing Cliff Lee. He won the spring as the pitching staff he assembled got the Phillies off to a strong start. Now Amaro has won the summer, making arguably the best...

Ibanez goes wild as Phillies win in 10.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Matt Gelb July 31--They were not dancing on Raul Ibanez's grave, and that was enough of a reason to celebrate Sunday when the 39-year-old outfielder willed a 6-5 Phillies victory in 10 innings to sweep a three-game series with...

Christie coy amid the buzz in Iowa.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Matt Katz July 31--DES MOINES, Iowa -- The star of the show, Gov. Christie, spoke without a hint he was following a script. The supporting cast, including a prospective first lady, a deep-pocketed brother, and two teenage children,...

Joan Helms Hunter Orr, 91, magazine editor.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Walter F. Naedele July 31--Joan Helms Hunter Orr, 91, a staff editor at the Saturday Evening Post and Holiday magazine in Philadelphia in the 1940s, died of congestive heart failure Sunday, July 24, at Cathedral Village, the...

Merck to cut 13,000 more jobs - despite profit jump.(Financial report)
July 31, 2011... Byline: Mike Armstrong and David Sell July 31--Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday that it would cut an additional 13,000 jobs by 2015, despite also reporting higher quarterly sales and profit. The global pharmaceutical giant, which is based...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Don McKee column.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Don McKee July 31--The reaction to umpire Jerry Meals' call at home on Tuesday night in Atlanta was predictable -- a scream that baseball needs replay. You probably didn't see the play live because Meals' call of safe on Braves...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Monica Yant Kinney column.
July 31, 2011... Byline: Monica Yant Kinney July 31--When you write about people who have received a death sentence, eventually you must write that they have died. Even those who outdance their grim fate, as Frank Bender did so splendidly. If a city is a...

Joan Helms Hunter Orr, 91, magazine editor.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Walter F. Naedele July 30--Joan Helms Hunter Orr, 91, a staff editor at the Saturday Evening Post and Holiday magazine in Philadelphia in the 1940s, died of congestive heart failure Sunday, July 24, at Cathedral Village, the...

Merck to cut 13,000 more jobs -- despite profit jump.(Financial report)
July 30, 2011... Byline: Mike Armstrong and David Sell July 30--Merck & Co. Inc. said Friday that it would cut an additional 13,000 jobs by 2015, despite also reporting higher quarterly sales and profit. The global pharmaceutical giant, which is based...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Don McKee column.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Don McKee July 30--Having already severely wounded the once-proud Los Angeles Dodgers, the Frank and Jamie McCourt divorce is now inflicting collateral damage elsewhere, specifically in the direction of commissioner Bud Selig. At a...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Tirdad Derakhshani column.(Column)
July 30, 2011... Byline: Tirdad Derakhshani July 30--Casey Anthony, recently acquitted of killing her child, Caylee, already has become a pop-cult star. What better proof than this: Larry Flynt tells CNN he's offered Anthony $500,000 to display her...

City, business leaders decry Center City rampage.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Nancy Phillips July 30--A day after a crowd of violent youths roamed through Center City and randomly attacked two men, the city's top enforcement officials decried the assaults and business leaders called for a stepped-up police...

Battle against street violence never ceases.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Joelle Farrell July 30--Rallies against violence are nothing new to state Rep. W. Curtis Thomas. For 22 years, he has represented a North Philadelphia district that shoulders much of the city's burden of gun violence. Last year...

Eagles' Samuel doesn't want to be traded.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Jeff McLane July 30--BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- Whether Asante Samuel wants to be traded or not -- and he does not, according to his agent -- the Eagles have already fielded calls from teams looking to acquire the Pro Bowl cornerback, NFL...

Despite perceptions, Phils' Brown still an untouchable, Amaro says.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Bob Brookover July 30--Domonic Brown is once again the Phillies' top minor-league prospect, but you can rest assured he's in no mood to celebrate that distinction. Nine weeks after the Phillies promoted Brown to be their starting...

Eagles' Vince Young ready to work his way back.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Tim Rohan July 30--In strode a tall, confident-looking man. He wore black Reeboks, black shorts and a green and white Eagles visor, under which his eyes glanced out over the practice field where his friend was directing the Eagles...

Already a fan favorite, Phillies' Pence happy to be with a contender.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Matt Gelb July 30--All of the Phillies players and coaches were on the field preparing for batting practice Saturday when Ryan Howard's 10-year-old son dashed through the dugout at 4:39 p.m. "He's coming!" Darian Howard yelled. "He's...

Temple tight end brings new dedication to his game.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Keith Pompey July 30--OCEAN CITY, N.J. -- Evan Rodriguez openly admits that he wasn't anywhere near the tight end he should have been. He used words such as lazy and immature to describe his first three years at Temple. "It...

Another abandoned building burns in Camden.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Joelle Farrell July 30--A three-alarm fire burned an abandoned warehouse in Camden early Saturday, following a string of similar fires this summer. The fire started about 6 a.m. at a building on Sixth and Liberty Streets, and it...

Man who blew off his own face found guilty of third-degree murder.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Joseph A. Slobodzian July 30--EDWARD WILSON -- the West Philadelphia man who killed his younger ex-girlfriend in 2009 and then blew off his face with a shotgun in a failed suicide -- was found guilty of third-degree murder Friday by a...

Drexel student's killer acted in self-defense, police say.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Allison Steele July 30--Philadelphia police said they did not expect to file charges against a man who fatally stabbed a 22-year-old Drexel University student who broke into his apartment early Friday. Hours after getting into an...

Pennsylvania gives mining firm approval for deeper dig.
July 30, 2011... Byline: Tom Avril July 30--Pennsylvania officials gave approval Friday for a mining company to excavate 50 feet deeper in a Bucks County quarry that residents have blamed for causing sinkholes and lowering the water table near Primrose Creek....