Philadelphia: Local News from The Enquirer

Here is the latest Local News from The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Overworked and underfunded at Pennsylvania antidiscrimination agency
HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission officials and civil rights advocates called Tuesday for increased state funding at a hearing convened after reports in the Inquirer and the Daily News about major problems at the agency.

Federal judge dismisses acquitted officers’ suit against Nutter, Ramsey, Williams
A federal judge this week dismissed a defamation lawsuit against former Mayor Michael Nutter and two top city law enforcement officials filed by narcotics officers who were acquitted in a high-profile corruption case.

Detective: Alleged killer said ‘voodoo spells’ spurred stabbing of transgender woman
Tiffany Floyd stabbed Maya Young this year for two reasons: Both were vying for the same man, and the victim was casting “voodoo spells,” a detective testified in court Tuesday.

Ex-Showboat waitress: Feels like I’m coming home
ATLANTIC CITY – Shortly after 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sylvia Hegedus, 53, walked back inside the Showboat for the first time since she closed out a 27-year cocktail waitress career on the casino’s last day, Aug. 31, 2014.

Philly officer gets break on perjury charge, agrees not to return to force
The Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office has agreed to allow a veteran narcotics officer who admitted perjuring himself in testimony to enter a pretrial diversion program for first offenders after he promised never to try to rejoin the force.

S. Philly man gets 40-80 years in gang shootout; girl, 3, died
In a prison term a judge called “a gift,” a South Philadelphia man pleaded guilty Tuesday and was sentenced to 40 to 80 years for a bloody 2014 sidewalk shootout that wounded three people and killed a 3-year-old girl, who was on a front porch getting her hair braided.

Called as a defense witness, Fattah’s ex-chief of staff remains reticent
A woman who had a front-row seat at many of the events mentioned in U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah’s federal racketeering conspiracy indictment testified for the defense at his trial Tuesday.

Delaware will treat all Medicaid patients with hepatitis C
The state of Delaware said Tuesday that it would phase in a new policy to treat all hepatitis C patients in its Medicaid program.

How latest ‘offensive’ Trump outburst has region’s Rs squirming, Ds pouncing
WASHINGTON – Gov. Christie stood by Donald Trump on Tuesday. Sen. Robert Menendez, a fellow New Jerseyan, compared the billionaire to history’s worst tyrants.

Philly real-estate tax hike instead of soda tax? Councilwoman floats the idea
At the eleventh hour, a member of City Council has floated the idea of a Philadelphia real-estate tax hike as an alternative to Mayor Kenney’s tax on sugary beverages.

Police seek man, 18, in slaying of 78-year-old handyman
Philadelphia police are searching for an 18-year-old man suspected of beating and strangling an elderly handyman at his Elmwood home last week.

276 puppies rescued in ‘worst animal hoarding case’ in N.J. county’s history
Nearly 300 puppies are safe after they were rescued from what authorities called inhumane conditions in a New Jersey home.

Layoffs, tax hikes loom, Pa.schools say
HARRISBURG – As the state prepares for what could be another tumultuous budget season, at least 60 percent of Pennsylvania school districts plan to raise property taxes and nearly a third expect to cut staff, according to a survey of districts across the commonwealth.

Hunting Park woman gets 16 years for killing teen
A 19-year-old Hunting Park woman who in April pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the deadly stabbing of a teenager during a brawl in North Philadelphia was sentenced Monday to eight to 16 years in prison.

Philly cop: Being arrested ‘saved my life’
It was the summer of 2015, and Philadelphia Police Officer Thomas Vitanovitz was ashamed – and addicted. Two shoulder surgeries from on-the-job injuries had led to a prescription for pain pills, and when it was time to stop taking them, he couldn’t.

Philly schools reach tentative pact with 32BJ blue-collar workers
The union that represents blue-collar workers in the Philadelphia School District has reached a tentative agreement with the district and expects to vote on a proposed four-year pact Saturday.

Congressman calls for probe into contaminated water near air stations
A member of the U.S. House is calling for an investigation of tainted water near former naval air stations, including those in Montgomery and Bucks Counties.

City: Luxury apartments will sit empty until developer complies with zoning deal
A top Philadelphia zoning official said Monday that tenants will not be allowed to move into a luxurious new Delaware waterfront apartment building unless the developer includes 25 affordable units as promised – or offers a suitable alternative, such as ground-floor retail, public art, or a contribution to the city’s Housing Trust Fund.

Officials: N.C. man robbed, killed Delco delivery driver
When Rodney Talbo Shelton II took a Megabus from Hampton, Va., to Philadelphia last June, he was armed with a 9mm handgun, prepared to commit a robbery, and willing, authorities say, to use the gun if necessary.

Fine legal point a hurdle as media seek Bridgegate plotters’ names
A federal appeals panel on Monday weighed First Amendment rights against the privacy interests of individuals who have not been charged with a crime, as it considered whether the names of unindicted accomplices in the George Washington Bridge lane-closing scandal should be provided to the news media.

Man sentenced againfor 2007 Camden killing
A Camden man whose guilty plea to a 2007 murder was tossed by the state Supreme Court after he faulted his defense was sentenced again for the crime, authorities said Monday.

No peace for Big Piece: Who threw beer bottle at Ryan Howard?
Police and Phillies officials were trying Monday to identify the fan who tossed a beer bottle toward Ryan Howard after the slugger grounded out to end Saturday’s game against the Milwaukee Brewers at Citizens Bank Park.

A Drexel dean shticks up for needy kids: ‘Good comedy is no different than good teaching’
The setting was serious. A Drexel University dean and a colleague were brainstorming in 2010 on how to raise money for needy undergraduates.

Poll worker knows the drill – it will be a long day
Since 1984, Celeste Laspata has showed up faithfully at her polling station, perhaps missing one election in all those years.

‘Things are picking up’ in Gloucester City with concerts, more
Jim Waters hopes to boost Gloucester City by launching a summer concert series on his beloved hometown’s waterfront. “There’s also a selfish reason,” says the longtime high school teacher and newly minted entertainment impresario.

N.J. court hears housing dispute, promises quick decision
A panel of Appellate Division judges heard arguments Monday on whether New Jersey’s municipalities must zone for the many thousands of affordable housing units that were not approved between 1999 and 2015.

Walking to school in Camden: Shootings, stabbings, drug sales, and prostitutes
Camden High School junior Janayzia Morris’ typical commute to school is just under 2.5 miles on foot through some of the city’s dangerous neighborhoods.

Eleanor Whitman, Burlco agency staffer
Eleanor Zelley did not last long in elementary school. “She only got as far as second grade,” a daughter, Anita Poinsett, said.

Mercer Museum in Doylestown now Smithsonian affiliate
Carved canoes and hand-drawn carriages climb the walls. Woven baskets and wooden cradles hang from the ceiling. In the dimly glowing concrete tower, a gorgeous mess of early-American relics seems to come alive.

Hubert ‘Bud’ DiGiacomo, Water Dept. foreman
Funeral services will be held Wednesday, June 8, for Hubert Joseph “Bud” DiGiacomo, 90, a retired Navy Reserve officer and Philadelphia Water Department foreman, who died Saturday, May 28.

Milton Street plans an independent run for Congress
T. Milton Street Sr., the Pennsylvania-state-senator-turned-federal-inmate-turned-two-time-Philadelphia-mayoral-candidate, has a new challenge in mind: Running as an independent for the House. Street on Monday said he would run for the Second Congressional District seat in the Nov. 8 general election. He would face State Rep. Dwight Evans, a Democrat, and Republican James Jones.

Slippery slope seen in new rules for hilly Philly
Philadelphians living in some of the hillier parts of town are pushing back on a City Planning Commission proposal to make it easier to build decks, driveways and homes on steep slopes.

From Puerto Rico to Cherry Hill, with a message and a musical, ‘Homeroom’
Fabiola Paonessa was at an airport in Puerto Rico this April, about to leave for New York on a spring-break trip with her family, when she learned that she, along with the other students involved in her school’s production of Homeroom, the Musical, would be coming to the Philadelphia area this month.

Colwyn Borough doing well under Act 47 revival plan
When Stephen Mullin arrived in Colwyn Borough last summer, he and a team of state-appointed consultants came ready to rescue the struggling municipality notorious for its financial woes and political turbulence.

Wizard World Comic Con draws thousands of ‘big nerds’
Maddi Levine, 15, has been attending comic-book conventions since she was 10, but Wizard World Comic Con Philadelphia was her biggest one yet. Dressed as Marvel Comics’ Black Widow and eager to get an autograph from Captain America star Chris Evans, she said her favorite part of the festivities was the sense of community.

Fierce, but brief, thunderstorms strike and the show goes on
Even bad weather steps aside for Queen Bey. A thunderstorm promising heavy rains, lightning, winds, and hail instead hustled offstage in a matter of minutes Sunday evening, leaving cloudy but dry skies for tens of thousands who gathered at Lincoln Financial Field for Beyoncé’s Formation World Tour.

Cast of thousands for ‘lip dub’ at Spring-Ford High
With the last exam handed in, with prom dresses packed away, and the final bell of the year poised to ring, more than 2,400 students, teachers, and even the school cop at Spring-Ford Senior High erupted Friday afternoon in the ultimate end-of-school fireworks.

Waverly L. Easley, 91, former Phila. Tribune president, CEO
Services will be held Monday, June 6, for former Philadelphia Tribune president and CEO Waverly L. Easley, 91, who died Saturday, May 28, of renal failure at Southeastern Veterans Center in Spring City.

Did Farnese’s legal woes grow from Singer’s downfall?
The Democrats who run Center City’s Eighth Ward have been pondering one question for four weeks: Who set in motion the federal probe that resulted in State Sen. Larry Farnese’s indictment?

Fred Catona, 70, advertising entrepreneur who helped launch priceline.com.
Frederick P. “Fred” Catona, a former high school wrestler and a bright entrepreneur who started a company that shipped hoagies overnight to locations across the country – and who once even tried to send hoagies into outer space – died on May 31. He was 70.