Au contraire. I beg to differ. This was not just any town. This was Punxsutawney, Pa., home of the world's foremost prognosticating groundhog.
I've never been there, but I'm told it's helluva party.
On this end of the state, a bunch of not nearly as nattily attired folks - and a lot of women who were barely attired at all - came together to drink beer and watch a bunch of fat guys eat chicken wings.
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People who have tell me it's not something you forget.
It's a good thing so many people are making merry this morning.
After all, our local weather forecasters were doing the same most of the day yesterday.
I will never again make fun of the hoopla surrounding Punxsutawney Phil. By the way, Phil did not see his shadow, predicting an early spring.
Maybe our cadre of local weather folks should try that.
They can't do much worse than their performance of the last 24 hours.
In case you're wondering what I'm talking about, glance out the window if you have not had a chance to do so this morning.
That storm that was supposed to give us our first real taste of winter weather? Never mind.
It's about all we heard yesterday. Andy Reid must be thanking Mother Nature. It's the only thing that could keep the travails involving his two sons from being the lead story.
We got all the formal warnings, including predictions of 1 to 3 inches of snow and a messy morning commute. We got the essential PennDOT planning stories, the shots of folks hitting the local Home Depot for salt, shovels and snow blowers, and of course the absolute must-do story, the people converging on the supermarkets and video stores to stock up.
The only thing we did not get was snow. Oh, I actually drove through a few flakes. On the way in, I actually heard one travel report saying visibility could be a problem because of the flurries. I almost put my fist through the dashboard.
What happened? Well, it appears the storm did a Scott Norwood on us. Veered right. Went out to sea. Didn't really do much of anything in these parts. That's why we were inundated with shots of the chaos the storm casued down South yesterday, with some great video of cars sliding off roads.
But none of that occurred here. A few things did occur here, however.
I doubt the officials in the Upper Darby School District are seeing much mirth in this situation this morning. Last night, I suppose based on the forecast, they instituted a two-hour delay for classes this morning. They weren't the only ones.
This is not a decision they take lightly. It throws transportation schedules completely out of whack. And it cases serious headaches for parents who work.
It sort of gives new meaning to the concept of a snow day. Maybe it just a "snow daze."
Fear not, this will not keep our loyal weather folks from getting back on their soap box today. The new warning: A brutal cold front that will arrive over the weekend. Highs Monday and Tuesday are expected in the teens.
No, it's not snow. But it's weather. These days, that's enough to lead the news.
It's enough to make you drink beer and eat wings. Oh? They're already doing that?
*
The Daily Numbers: 32 homicides, the total for January in the city of Philadelphia. It's the wild, wild west in the city.
2, number of guns found during searches of Andy Reid's home and vehicles in connection with an investigation of two of his sons.
56 of those electronic devices that brought Boston to a standstill in a terror scare that turned up in Philadelphia. They're not dangerous. They're a publicity stunt for a new adult cartoon. Ha-Ha.
3 years, the extension the Phillies offered pitcher Brett Myers. Over that time he will earn $25.75 million. Now it's time for the troubled hurler to deliver, to become the ace of the staff that he can be.
12, straight home losses for the Flyers. Broad Street Bullies? How about Broad Street Bores.
15 years and going strong for Wing Bowl. It's right up there with the Mummers with defining Philadelphia. Not sure if that's a good thing or not.
182, number of wings wolfed down by Wing Bowl champion Joey Chestnut, who defends his crown and remains the reigning champion. No word on how many beers were downed by the crowd.
5 million bucks targeted by Mayor John Street to increase video surveillance in the city of Philadelphia.
10 billion dollars, what Gov. Ed Rendell hopes his energy initiatives will save consumers on their energy bills.
3,000 jobs being cut by drug giant Astra-Zeneca. The company employs 6,000 in Wilmington.
390 million dollars, revenue reported in fourth quarter by cable giant Comcast. But don't look for your bill to go down anytime soon.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): Here's a novel concept. How about you just stick your head out the window, then give me the weather. I've said it before, I'll say it again. Tell me what it is going to be like today, high and low, overnight, and tomorrow. If you must, give me your guess at the five-day. But admit you don't really know. And save me 10 minutes of radar. One more time: I don't get it.
*
Today's Upper: Let's hope Punxsutawney is more accurate than the TV weather folks Phil. Heck, he can't be much worse. An early spring sounds just fine to me.
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Quote Box: "We've got some basic issues of equity and fairness. I can't support this ordinance as it stands. -- Radnor Commissioner Dave Canaan, on controversial law that allows the township to slap fees on out-of-towners who need emergency services in the township.
Thursday, Feb. 1
Welcome to February. Unfortunately, there's no thaw in the brutal stretch of horrific stories that have been playing out in the pages of the newspaper.
This can be a depressing business. There are days when you wonder about our capability for depravity.
You wonder about the people walking around out there among us. And you assure yourself after the latest horrific episode that, if nothing else, it can't get much worse.
Then you meet someone like Lamar Haymes.
You should remember him, big hulking guy. Been on the front page of the newspaper several times in the last few weeks.
Haymes was convicted of first-degree murder in the brutal rape and killing of Deanna Wright-McIntosh, a Yeadon teenager who had left her home after having a tiff with her mom.
Wright-McIntosh hit the streets of Yeadon looking for a sympathetic ear. Instead, she found pure evil.
Wright-McIntosh wound up at the Lansdowne home of Anwaar Gettys. What happened to her there defies belief.
When you read the charges against Haymes and Gettys, first-degree murder, rape, kidnapping, you don't get a full understanding of what happened to a confused kid who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time.
To find out what really happened, you listen to Haymes himself on the stand.
He took the opportunity to lay out, in grisly detail, the horror that was rained down on Wright-McIntosh. Of course, in the process he pointed the finger at Gettys, who he said stomped on the girl, kicking and beating her. He told the jury that Gettys had raped the teen and could not allow her to leave the home.
Gettys had been convicted earlier, but not before pointing the finger at Haymes as the real killer.
Wright-McIntosh in fact would eventually leave the house, which would later be dubbed a "House of Horrors." She just wouldn't leave it alive.
Haymes, who stands 6 feet tall and weighs more than 300 pounds, admitted to the jury that he never tried to step in and help the girl as Gettys administered the fatal beating. He did, however, cop to helping his pal store the body in a freezer, then go about the process of cleaning up the house. He also admitted putting her remains in a barrel and setting them on fire, then dumping it in a lot in West Philadelphia.
I'm not much of a fan of the death penalty. But if ever there was a case for our justice system imposing the maximum penalty, this would certainly seem to fit the criteria.
Apparently not.
A Delaware County jury was deadlocked on the question of imposing lethal injection on Haymes. That in itself is a surprise. I figured maybe one or two jurors were holding out. Not exactly. The jury was split 6-6.
They were there; I was not. But I'm still left shaking my head.
Judge Chad Kenney had no choice but to impose a sentence of life in jail for Haymes. He tacked on 32 to 46 additional years on some of the other charges. It's likely Haymes has spent his last day outside prison. Good.
What happened to Deanna Wright-McIntosh shouldn't happen to any living thing, let alone a confused kid.
In sentencing Haymes, Judge Kenney referred to him as "evil on the prowl."
The only prowling Haymes will do now will be behind bars. He might find his new neighbors put up a little more resistance than a crying, scared, teenage girl.
He'd better pray they show more mercy than he and Gettys showed Deanna Wright-McIntosh.
*
The Daily Numbers: 2.04, that's the average price for a gallon of gas in New Jersey. There are actually some stations selling petrol for less than $2 a gallon in the Garden State.
57.98, price for barrel of crude yesterday. Look out below! Actually the experts are saying they expect oil prices to stabilize. Yeah, and then head back up right around Memorial Day.
123 million bucks, earnings for local oil giant Sunoco Inc this quarter. And that's actually down 50 percent for the same quarter last year.
39.5 billion dollars, that's the profit recorded by oil giant Exxon Mobil Corp., an all-time U.S. record. Yeah, but their earnings actually declined 4 percent. Think of that as your're standing there with your teeth chattering while filling the tank.
1.2 million dollars worth of bonuses handed out by Pennsylvania legislative leaders the past two years.
20,000 dollars that went to the chief counsel of Sen. Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester.
429,000 dollars raised at a single event by newly minted Philadelphia Democratic mayoral hopeful Bob Brady. It's a record for a single event.
2 million bucks spent on TV ads by Philly Democratic hopeful Tom Knox. Never say money doesn't talk. The unknown Knox is now a contender, in second place in the most recent poll behind only U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah.
32.50, what it will cost you to take in the new King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute. That's for an adult. Kids get a break. It'll only set them - or their parents - back $17.50.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): A promotion for a Cartoon Network TV show caused a terror alert when suspicious boxes turned up all over Boston yesterday. Two people were arrested in connection with the stunt, which also popped up in other cities, including Philadelphia. Something tells me the company is not exactly unhappy about all the publicity surrounding the case. Someone once said there is no such thing as bad publicity. I don't get it.
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Today's Upper: The dawn of February can mean only one thing: My old pal Punxsutawney is right around the corner. Think early spring, Phil.
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Quote Box: "That is a very healthy figure in the gaming industry." -- Joseph Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group, a New Jersey-based consulting firm, on news that Harrah's Chester casino took in $66 million in its first week of slots operations.
Wednesday, Jan. 31
Andy Reid knows all about the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Today I am guessing he is dealing with the agony of being a parent.
It is the phone call no parent wants.
Reid's son was involved in an auto accident Tuesday. Fortunately, he was not seriously injured. The woman who was driving the car he collided with was not as lucky. She had to be cut out of her car and is hospitalized in serious condition.
Most of us get to deal with these kinds of incidents in relative privacy. Not when you are the head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles.
Kids and cars. In particular boys and cars. It is a volatile mix. It is why my stomach starts to churn every time my 16-year-old son bounds out of the house with the keys in his hand. It is why his mother has an edict for him when he is driving. He must call and check in when he reaches his destination. And it is why you hold your breath just a bit until that phone call arrives.
This morning I can feel for Andy Reid. Not as a die-hard Eagles fan. Not as someone who routinely finds himself cursing the TV at some of the coach's decisions.
But as a father.
There are those who believe that there comes a time when parents are no longer responsible for their children's actions.
It's a situation I deal with often in this business. At what point should a father no longer be lumped into a story when an incident involves one of his sons. In general I'm not a big fan of parents being dragged through the mud for some act committed by their adult children.
But Andy Reid is not exactly a private citizen. He is a public figure. Some would say he is one of the region's most public figures.
Garrett Reid is Andy Reid's oldest son. He is 23 years old. After the accident yesterday afternoon, Garrett Reid was questioned by police for several hours. No charges were filed.
It was not a good day for the Reid family. It was not the only incident involving one of Reid's sons.
Police are investigating reports that another son, Brett, 21, was involved in a road-rage incident earlier in the day. Brett arrived at the scene of Garrett's accident, at which time he was detained in connection with the incident that apparently happened earlier in the day.
Andy Reid apparently is not in town. He's in California.
He is quite used to dealing with a prying media. But those interrogations are usually confined to issues involving the team.
Today he faces a whole new area of questions, this time involving his family.
They play the Super Bowl in four days. The Eagles are not there. There are a lot of people unhappy about that, and unhappy about the way the Eagles bizarre "rising from the ashes" Phoenix of a season ended. Specifically, Reid's decision to punt on fourth down in New Orleans.
Today I'm thinking that's the farthest thing from Andy Reid's mind.
*
The Daily Numbers: 6 jurors who were in favor of the death penalty for convicted killer Lamar Haymes. They were blunted by six jurors who voted against. The deadlock meant Haymes gets life in jail. Plus a few more years for good reason. Makes you wonder what exactly you have to do to get the death penalty in this county.
300 million dollars, amount spent by taxpayers on Iraq. A government report yesterday indicates much of that money was squandered, including a swimming pool for an Iraqi official.
12 million bucks, earned by US Airways in the last quarter, as the airline posted a profit.
20 million dollars worth of improvements that US Airways has sunk into its facilities at Philly International. They also say they're losing a lot fewer bags.
25 thousand dollars going to Darby Borough for a grant to fix their sewer lines.
5, number of girls in a suspected girl gang charged with an attack on a woman and a boy in a store in Upper Darby last weekend.
15 people who showed up for a public hearing on a huge school renovation project in Wallingford-Swarthmore. Price tag for the project? A cool $52 million.
58 million dollars, the amount of the preliminary budget prepared in the Marple Newtown School District. That's less than what was originally proposed and eliminates an expected tax hike.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): Delaware Sen. Joe Biden today will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for president. And he'll do it on the Comedy Channel. Is he going to be reading the passages some say he "borrowed" from others?
*
Today's Upper: Rest easy, Eagles fans. Donovan McNabb will speak today. His mom spoke yesterday. Why she feels the need to do so is still unanswered. Donovan will speak at a media event tied into his work as spokesman for Campbell's Chunky soup. No regurgitating jokes, please.
*
Quote Box: "Evil, that's what she was faced with. Evil that showed no mercy or compassion." -- Delco Judge George Koudelis, in sentencing killer Lamar Haymes to life in jail, talking about what happened to the Yeadon teen who crossed his path.
Tuesday, Jan. 30
It took Barbaro a little more than two minutes to capture our hearts. And only seconds to shatter them. But it took eight months to stop the heart of the champion who captivated the region, and the nation, with his heroic struggle to survive.
We spend much of our lives looking for heroes. Often we turn to the world of sports. And all too often we are let down, stabbed in those very same hearts by so-called heroes with feet of clay. They make millions. They too often appear as if they could care less. And all too often they fail, and then they simply move on, leaving fans to deal with the emotional rubble of one more disappointment.
Our problem is our hunt for winners, for a champion, too often focuses on two-legged athletes.
Who knew we would be redeemed by a four-legged one?
Carrying on the Delaware Valley racing tradition trod by Smarty Jones and Afleet Alex before him, Barbaro blew away the field in last year's Kentucky Derby by more than six lengths. It was the largest margin of victory since 1946. We were winners.
Edgar Prado was in the irons, but a little bit of all of us rode on Barbaro.
And that's why what happened two weeks later in the Preakness was so devastating.
The fact is we were greedy. As so many of us who tread this earth on two legs are.
We weren't satisfied with the mantle of Kentucky Derby champion. We thirsted for more. A Triple Crown.
Just a few steps into that mission at Pimlico, those hopes were dashed. Prado pulled Barbaro up. The "super horse" had suffered a devastating injury.
It was in those moments, and the days and weeks that followed, that Barbaro proved he indeed had the heart of a champion.
In this business, we deal all too often with people involved in the very worst circumstances. It can be harrowing, depressing stuff.
All too often those grim stories are met with a shrug of the shoulders, a roll of the eyes, as if they have heard it all before.
But let one of those stories involve an animal, and the phone lines light up like the Fourth of July.
A family cat is put down by mistake. A beloved dog saves his owner's life when they are struck by a hit-run driver. A majestic, seemingly indestructible racehorse is struck down at the apex of his career.
It is the nature of animals. They contain an abundance of something all too rare in this world: Unconditional love. They want, they desire only one thing: to make us happy. Barbaro did not sign a multi-million dollar contract. He never held out for more money. He never did sit-ups on the lawn. He never asked his mother to speak for him. He never spit out a derisive "no-comment" while blowing past a horde of media. He never short-changed his fans who had waited hours, or traveled a great distance, for a glimpse of their hero.
He was, in short, our champion, with a heart to match. There are those who may question the efforts, over the span of eight months, to keep Barbaro alive, to save his life.
His owners, the Jacksons, natives of Delaware County, and his lead vet, Dr. Dean Richardson of the New Bolton Center in Chester County, made it clear from the start that his prognosis was 50-50 at best.
As it turned out, it was the longest race of Barbaro's life. That journey ended yesterday, when the decision was made by those involved to put Barbaro down.
Let's be clear, it was not Barbaro's heart that failed him, but rather his badly damaged leg, and hoof.
Our own hearts likely will ache for quite awhile.
Rest well, Barbaro.
You reminded us once again of why we root, why we are fans, why we care.
Sure, everyone likes a winner. But we love to love, and be loved. Thanks for reminding us of that.
*
The Daily Numbers: 27 screws inserted in Barbaro's injured ankle during first surgery at the New Bolton Center.
96 percent, the amount that red-light violations declined after video cameras were installed at several dangerous intersections in Philadelphia.
2.6 million dollars, what it will set back advertisers for 30 seconds on the Super Bowl. All the spots are sold.
25 bucks, cost of a discounted ticket being offered by the Flyers to college students as they try to revive interest in the flagging club. Face value for the ducats is anywhere from $42 to $58. Maybe they should let people in free and then charge them to get out.
100 bucks, for the basic edition of Vista, Microsoft's new operating system that goes on sale today. It is the latest "must-have" techie gizmo.
15,000 workers being hired by Home Depot as it gears up for its busy spring season.
2.3, million customers added by Verizon to its cell phone business. Can you hear me now?
75 percent, amount of any budget surplus the state Senate will use toward tax decreases. The other 25 percent will go to the Rainy Day Fund.
41 points, that's how far the Sixers were behind at one point in last night's game against the Rockets. When do pitchers and catchers report again?
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): A lot of people today are snickering about the amount of coverage afforded to a horse. Clearly, they don't get it.
*
Today's Upper: It's media day at the Super Bowl. How many boring interviews will it produce? But wait, Campbell's Soup has an interview session tomorrow. And the star of the show? That would be that Donovan McNabb. Buckle your seat belt.
*
Quote Box: "There would never have been any arrest if it wasn't for the police to begin with." -- Collingdale resident Kenneth Christian, on the controversy surrounding child-porn case investigation.
Monday, Jan. 29
Welcome to 'I'm an idiot, Chapter 93.' You may remember that in this space on Friday, I was opining on the merits of the Internet.
The newspaper industry is changing. One of the things we are doing more and more is embracing the Internet, using the technology to provide even more information to our readers than we do now.
Some things about the Internet I abhor, such as the penchant for throwing out "news" that has yet to verified. It's almost as if it doesn't count, because it's not printed.
In fact, that is the biggest difference between the two mediums, as I am always reminding my staff. That is not always a bad thing. A mistake in something that we publish on the Internet can be rectified with a few simple keystrokes. Within seconds, there is no trace of the inaccurate information, unless of course someone managed to print it out in the time it was first posted and when we went back into it to correct it.
When we print something in the newspaper, once it leaves the building, it is forever. Let me repeat that. It is FOREVER.
It is something, unfortunately, I was reminded of again on Saturday.
When I get a call from the office first thing in the morning on the weekend, I know one of things has happened. There is either a big story we need to track down, or there's something wrong in the paper.
Guess which happened on Saturday?
Each Saturday on our editorial page, I compile something we call Darts & Laurels. It's sort of a week in review, with a dart to those who deserve to be taken to task, and a laurel for those who merit kudos.
One of the biggest stories we covered last week was the horrific child-porn case in Colwyn and Collingdale.
I wanted to note that by bestowing a dart and laurel to the suspect in the case, as well as the county detective who was instrumental in breaking the case.
When I compile that column, I usually take the old version from the week before and simply overstrike it on the computer. It's a shortcut, basically, that allows me to avoid retyping some facets of the column that appear each week. It also allows me to avoid having to retype the "Dart" and "Laurel" intro for each item.
It is simply put, lazy, a shortcut fraught with danger. And it blew up in my face on Saturday.
It is always helpful in the newspaper to be careful to put things in the proper positions. I did not do that on Saturday. The "Laurel," incredulously, appeared in the paper as going to the suspect, John Worman. The "Dart" was hung on the investigator, county Detective Sgt. John Kelly. I hope that most people realize this was a simple typo, that our intent clearly was not as it appeared in print. In fact, it was just the opposite.
As it happens, when I first got the call from the office, I was literally working on our Web site from home, another facet of the Internet I am learning to love. Yeah, just what I needed, a way to work from home.
With a few keystrokes, I was able to flip the offending material, at least online. I also found one other misplaced "Dart." But as I've said many times, our print edition is forever.
I'd like to apologize to Sgt. Kelly and hope he understands we were not looking to take a shot at him, nor the valuable work he did in this case.
In fact, just the opposite was true. If you saw that item in Saturday's paper, please know that was not our mission. The error was mine. It's one I hope never to make again.
Our goal here is to create a perfect newspaper every day. The truth is we fail miserable most days.
As mistakes go, the one Saturday is probably not the worst thing that could happen. It was a simple mistake, yes, but one that should have been caught before it hit print.
But it wasn't the worst one in the Saturday paper. We also managed to publish an obituary for man that ran with a photo for a woman.
Luckily, we don't publish obituaries online.
We ran the obit again, with the correct photo, on Sunday. Because print is forever, and it's important to get things right.
*
The Daily Numbers: 333 dollars, amount billed to a Haverford man by Radnor Township for services rendered after he was involved in an accident. He's fighting the fees.
1 percent, the amount most school districts are using for either a personal income tax or earned income tax to be be put on the May primary ballot as part of Act 1.
102 thousand dollars, amount of jackpot paid to a Bucks County man by Philly Park Casino, after initially saying they would not because the computer message on the slots machine was an error.
70 percent, expected reduction in patients served by the last remaining state hospital in the next few years.
160 union members until who are on strike against the Red Cross in southwest Pennsylvania.
5, number of announced Democrats seeking party's nomination for mayor of Philadelphia.
406, number of homicides in Philadelphia last year, the biggest issue in the mayoral race.
36.8 million dollar deficit facing SEPTA. They have extended GM Faye Moore's contract for another year to try to figure it out.
10 locations where you can buy Microsoft's new operating system, Vista, tonight, before it goes on sale generally tomorrow. One of them is the Circuit City in Talleyville, De.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): We were in the presence of royalty this weekend. Britain's Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla, toured Philadelphia. They tell me it was big deal. I don't get it.
*
Today's Upper: It's Super Bowl week. Aren't you glad we will not be hearing someone scream 'E-A-G-L-E-S' at the top of his lungs every 15 seconds?
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Quote Box: "This is a very personal issue and people are going to look at the effect on their wallets before they pull the lever." -- David Dave, director of research for the Pennsylvania School Boards Association, on tax proposals that will be on May primary ballots across the state.
Friday, Jan. 26,
There are weeks when you wonder why you ever got into this business.
This week was one of them.
My wife is always stunned that after dealing with the "news" all day, I can come home, plop my tired bones into a chair, and begin reading the newspapers again, all while waiting for the 10 o'clock news.
Then you get weeks like this one, and all you want to do is get as far away from it as you can. Unfortunately, you can't. Instead you run toward it. Because that's what we do. You look for the details as to what kind of desperation could lead someone to stuff a baby in a tote bag, then put it in the back of a VW Beetle.
That was the first thunderbolt this week. Of course, with the gruesome discovery taking place in Upper Darby, you knew this was going to be big news. Top cop Mike Chitwood would see to that. He held a press conference to announce the discovery, and also to let everyone involved know that the family believed to be involved did not exactly seem to be forthcoming in dealing with police.
Instead, the family's first call was to lawyers. I'm not sure I can blame them. It's not especially pretty, but after dealing with these kinds of cases for years, I can tell you that it is sound legal advice.
None of which changes the desperation, the sadness that envelopes this story.
It turns out the family involved is well-known, which, according to the calls and e-mails I have received, means they are getting a different type of coverage, a different kind of justice, than someone not of the same means.v There may be some truth to that. Chitwood is peeved at what he perceives as the family getting "lawyered up," and not immediately talking to his investigators.
Apparently they are just now ready to answer some questions. And there are lots of them. Was the baby stillborn or alive when it was placed in the trunk of that VW Beetle. How long had it been in there? Who placed it there? What was the manner and cause of death? Will charges be filed?
This one is not going away. And it's not going to get any prettier, either. It remains just unbelievably sad.
*
There's sad, and then there's just horrific.
That's about the only word that comes to mind when reviewing the details of the child-porn case revealed by prosecutors yesterday.
A Colwyn man, along with two women, is in custody, charged with making explicit sexual videos involving children, some as young as 3 years old.
This one is just stomach-turning. It makes you wonder exactly what people are capable of doing.
And I can tell you is it makes you wonder about the society we live in, and the kinds of stories we have to write every day.
John Worman and his two female accomplices could face spending the rest of their lives in prison if convicted. And that seems too good for them.
*
Then you turn the page and are greeted by the testimony of suspected killer Lamar Haymes. When you begin to fathom the horror that was inflicted on a young Yeadon teenager who found herself in the wrong place at the wrong time, you simply shake your head and wonder if these people are even human.
Then there are the stories that we don't write.
The industry I work in is changing all the time.
Just the fact that I write this blog is a sign of how we are evolving. I am starting to embrace the Internet. It offers an immediacy that our print product simply can't match.
Yesterday afternoon I was able to post the initial details of the child-porn case on our Web site just an hour after they were unveiled at an afternoon press conference. Our print product, with all the details of the case, would not hit the streets for almost 12 hours. That's an eternity in the Web-driven world.
Of course, all this immediacy has its pitfalls. I wonder who stands as the gatekeeper for this blizzard of information. Who raises a hand and says, "Are we sure about this?"
One thing I have learned - sometimes painfully so - is that our print product is forever. Once it leaves this building it is in the public realm until that newsprint decays.
No so on the Internet. That's not always a bad thing. If I make a typo in a headline on a story on our Web site, a correction is just a few keystrokes away. It's like it never happened.
If there's a fact wrong, I can fix that as well.
What is more troubling is deciding what should be put out there for public consumption in the first place. We use the same general guidelines on the Internet as we do in print. But not everyone plays by these rules. Sometimes I think it's the wild, wild West out there.
Take, for instance, what happened yesterday.
A fairly well known Internet blog picked up an item on what apparently was word of a fatal accident involving a very well-known sports media personality.
As a person rooted in print journalism, I know there is absolutely one recurring nightmare I have had for years. It involves the fear of reporting someone's death who is in fact very much alive.
Apparently life is cheaper to some folks.
The blog site picked up the item, and instead of checking it out and verifying it with authorities, simply threw it out there on the Internet with a question mark, as if that covered them for implying a person had died.
It was a rumor, nothing more. And it was quickly shot down. But it was out there in the public realm.
Like I said, it's been that kind of week.
Sad stories.
And at least one sad excuse for journalism.
*
The Daily Numbers: 11, that's the actual temperature this morning. With the wind chill it feels like minus 5. Tomorrow we're having a heat wave. It's supposed to be close to 40.
300 pounds, the weight of murder suspect Lamar Haymes, charged in the brutal rape and murder of Yeadon teenager Deanna Wright-McIntosh.
1,000,000 images of child porn authorities say they found on a computer of a Colwyn man.
12.7 billion dollars. That's how much money Ford Fotor Co. says it lost last year? I hope that's not what they mean by "a better idea."
900,000 incorrect tax forms sent out by the state of Pennsylvania. They don't want people to use them. They're sending out new ones. I thought the headaches weren't supposed to start until after you started doing your taxes.
12 percent decline in the numbers of union membership among U.S. workers last year.
33 million dollar fine to be paid by Wal-Mart in back wages to employees that got shorted on overtime benefits.
5.6 percent jump in profits reported by Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment in Delaware. It will be interesting to see how their bottom line is affected by the arrival of Harrah's casino in Chester.
26 people killed in a suicide car bombing yesterday in Baghdad.
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I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): You hear a report of someone's death. This person is very well known. You don't check it out. You don't verify it. It's the latest buzz, a rumor, the latest droplet of titilation on the so-called "information superhighway." So, of course, you "publish" it, or at least post it on your Web site. You soften it with a question mark, and an indication that you are "hearing rumors" about it. It turns out not to be true. I wonder how many people saw that item, maybe family or friends of the person involved, and were sent reeling, for no real good reason. I don't get it.
*
Today's Upper: It's Friday. What can I say, it's been that kind of week.
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Quote Box: "The level of depravity of this case is so devastating to those children who were victimized that they will deal with this the rest of their lives." -- Delco District Attorney Mike Green, in announcing yesterday's arrest of a man and two women in a child-porn ring.
Thursday, Jan. 25
Back to work, all you Powerball dreamers! Hate to burst your bubble first thing in the morning, but there was exactly one winning ticket sold last night for the $254 million jackpot.
And unless you were recently in Missouri, you didn't win. That's where the winning ticket with the numbers 9-19-29-42-53, Powerball 17, Powerplay 3 was sold.
Isn't the winning ticket always sold somewhere in the Midwest?
Hey, we'll always have Harrah's. Business is still booming at the Chester casino, the newest addition to the region's burgeoning gambling business.
But with our luck, we'd wind up in a situation like the guy who was playing recently at the slots casino at Philly Park. The woman next to him started squealing that he was a big winner. Sure enough, a message displayed on the slots terminal informed him he was $102,000 richer.
Not exactly. Casino officials huddled and eventually informed the man the message was a computer malfunction. He hadn't won. And just to show there were no hard feelings, they offered him two comp tickets to the buffet. Think he can eat $102,000 worth of food?
See if you can guess where this is going. He's not happy. He's filed a complaint with the state Gaming Control Board. Better alert the lawyers.
*
One person who is not going back to work today, or anytime soon, is former Folcroft power broker Anthony Truscello.
Truscello was the longtime district justice in the town that many believe he ran with an iron fist. Eventually he became a senior district judge. And also the borough manager. But his old post didn't exactly leave the family.
His daughter donned the district justice robe.
You could say that in Folcroft, for decades Anthony Truscello was the law.
Right up until the time that he broke it.
Today Truscello is a convicted felon. And soon he could join those many people he sent behind bars, as a prison inmate. Unless his lawyers can win an appeal to keep him out of the slammer.
Truscello Wednesday was sentenced to three to 23 months in jail for tampering with records in connection with the borough's infamous wiretapping case.
Truscello and his co-defendant, former borough Councilman Joseph Zito, were acquitted of the charges tied to the actual wiretapping. But they were convicted on felony counts involving phonying up borough records to cover their tracks.
Truscello has insisted he installed the surveillance equipment in the borough police station to check on complaints he was getting of officers sleeping on the job.
Prosecutors had another theory. They saw Truscello as simply trying to protect his family's power base. The police chief, Ed Christie, was going to challenge Truscello's daughter in the GOP primary for the district judge post. They believe Truscello was hoping to get incriminating evidence that could be used to keep the chief out of the race. Didn't work.
Visiting Judge Albert Stallone, who was brought in from Berks County to hear the case against the Delco jurist, called the case a "slam dunk."
Prosecutors, in calling for jail time, said both men showed a "callous indifference" to the citizens of Folcroft.
The judge agreed.
Stallone pointed out that as a member of the bench, Truscello should have known better.
"He overstepped and violated the law, which is a felony," the judge said. "He knew the law. His responsibility is to carry out the law."
I think that's what you would refer to as a "slam dunk."
*
The Daily Numbers: 1, number of winning tickets sold in last night's Powerball jackpot. It was sold in Missouri and is worth a cool $254 million
102 thousand dollars, the amount a slots player believed he won at Philly Park Casino recently. That's what the machine told him. Casino officials told him something else. It was a computer malfunction. Easy come, easy go.
1-3, inches, lamount of snow we could receive this afternoon as a series of squalls blows through the area. Squalls, now there's a great word. Should be an interesting evening commute.
5 thousand dollars believed raised yesterday during a fund-raiser at a Bucks County pizzeria for the teen victim of the freak school bus accident.
98,000 Chevy Cobalts being recalled. That'll do wonders for the confidence of the car-buying public in American-made vehicles.
2.26 average price for gallon of gas in Pennsylvania. It's $2.16 in Delaware, $2.09 in New Jersey. But hey, we have a sparkling new casino.
3 to 23 months in jail, which is what former Folcroft District Justice and Manager Anthony Truscello is looking at. Ditto for his co-defendant, former Councilman Joe Zito.
30 thousand dollars, amount of the fines the judge slapped on the Folcroft duo.
21, number of goals scored in last night's NHL All-Star Game. Not, it's not the number of people who watched the game on the Versus Network as well.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): More and more fingers are being pointed in the Eagles locker room. Yo, guys, can't we all just get along.
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Today's Upper: A salute to Joe Kelly, who will exit as top dog of the Delaware County Police Chiefs Association Friday night. And a similar salute to Walter Senkow, who will take over the top spot.
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Quote Box: "I'm happy on behalf of the citizens of Folcroft. I'm also happy the message will get out to others, that you can't flaunt the law. -- Deputy Attorney General John Flannery, after the sentencing of former borough manager Anthony Truscello.
Wednesday, Jan. 24
If you build it, they will come.
And come. And come.
Maybe now we know why Harrah's was, shall we say, a bit coy on the details of the opening of their new gambling mecca on the Chester waterfront.
They were first expected to open the doors last week, but that date was quickly delayed. Then a couple of practice runs, for the benefit of local charity as well as the inquisitive eyes of state gaming regulators, were held over the weekend.
Harrah's then indicated the doors would open 10 a.m. Tuesday. But they actually got the green light from the state Monday morning. So what did they do? They opened the doors, of course.
Something tells me this was more calculated than a roll of the dice.
Remember when Philadelphia Park held their opening in November. It was tied to a specific time. They had hundreds of people waiting in line for the doors to open.
For some reason, Monday morning, a full 24 hours before the Chester facility was slated to open to the public, a crowd of about 100 people milled about, no doubt laden with coins they longingly hoped to feed into the one-armed bandits.
Something tells me Harrah's wanted to get a good feel how their operations would hold up before the so-called "soft" opening on Tuesday.
It was about the only thing about the opening that was "soft." Don't believe us? Talk to the people who sat in their cars trying to get into the lot Tuesday.
A lot of people wondered whether people would venture to Chester for the chance to gamble. I think that question has been answered.
Thousands descended on the site Tuesday morning. Which gives rise to a potential problem. Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack is wedged in against the Delaware River.
Access to the site is via Route 291, after exiting I-95.
They will come all right. And they also will overrun the access routes to the facility.
Yesterday's biggest problems was not people losing their shirts at the slots. It was losing their temper in traffic while trying to determine whether or not they were going to be able to get into the place at all.
By 10:30 a.m. most of the first four floors of the parking garage were jammed. An hour later, cars were lined up along Route 291. One caller to the newspaper yesterday said traffic was backed up to the Ramada in Esssington. That's about two miles.
Is it going to be like that every day? Probably not. Part of yesterday's crush no doubt was linked to the idea that Harrah's Chester is something new, a novelty. And any gambler will tell you they're always looking for something new to tempt their wallets.
But one other thing became clear yesterday as well. The word has gone out loud and clear to those other gambling meccas in Atlantic City, as well as slots operations in Dover and Harrington, Del.
You've got company.
One thing resounded among the throngs who arrived in Chester yesterday. Harrah's is a viable option, one that likely will mean they will no longer travel longer distances for their slots fix. It's Chester's gain. And Pennsylania's. And New Jersey's and Delaware's pain.
Imagine that, Chester having a competitive advantage.
Were there glitches to the Harrah's opening? Sure. Will the novelty wear off? Eventually, no doubt.
But make no mistake. Chester is now a player. In more ways than one.
*
Some days this job involves unbelievably sad stories. OK, make that most days.
In today's paper we detail the story of a baby found dead, stuffed in the trunk of a VW Beetle in Drexel Hill.
There is a lot about this story that is still to be determined. One thing is not.
It is unbelievably sad. And nothing that happens from this point will change that at all.
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The Daily Numbers: 28 percent, the approval rate of President Bush in a recent national poll. Much of that is fueled by his Iraq policies. No wonder he wanted to talk about domestic issues in the State of the Union.
8 Academy Award nominations for "Dream Girls." But not one for Best Picture. Not sure how that works. It's good, but not good enough, I guess.
0, number of movies nominated for Best Picture I've seen. You mean 'Invincible' didn't make the list? Hard to believe.
237 million dollars in bonuses being handed out by Bank of America workers as a reward for the bank's 2006 financial performance. The bank also announced layoffs of some Delaware workers last week.
60 child porn images found on the computer of a former Delaware County sheriff's deputy. He was sentenced yesterday to six to 23 months in jail.
5.9, percent increase in profits for PNC Bank.
8 days in which no one was murdered in Philadelphia. That streak was snapped Monday night.
40 mayors from across the country who were in Washington, D.C., this week seeking an answer to the problem of urban violence.
46.7 million viewers who watched the Indianapolis-New England AFC Championship game on TV, topped last week only by the post-game show. Numbers 3 and 4? You guessed it, "American Idol."
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): Andy Reid almost never says anything that's off the prepared script. He did yesterday, and lit a powderkeg. Reid basically said some reporters were making stuff up when it comes to the area of Donovan McNabb. For a guy who never says anything, that says a lot.
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Today's Upper: Ryan Howard is giving no indication that he is upset with what he stands to make this year, or what other members of the Phillies will be paid. He just wants to play baseball. No wonder the guy is so popular.
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Quote Box: "This is a tragic, sad event that impacts our community. We have two questions. Who is responsible? And what is the manner and cause of death?" -- Upper Darby police Superintendent Mike Chitwood, after a baby was discovered in the trunk of a car in Drexel Hill.
Tuesday, Jan. 23
Roll this one around on your tongue for awhile. As of today, and at least for the immediate future, the No. 1 tourist destination in the Philadelphia region is located in .... ?
Drumroll, please.
Chester, Pa.
That's not a misprint. You read it correctly. Chester is back on the map.
And what is drawing folks back to this urban icon in Delco? Here's a hint? It's not to see the historic old Chester Courthouse downtown. And it's not even to review the impressive renaissance taking place at the Wharf at Rivertown on the city's waterfront.
No, Chester has been put back on the map by one of the most powerful lures known to man. Money. Big money. And dreams of getting your mitts on some of it.
Harrah's yesterday threw open the doors to its $430 million gambling mecca at the site of the old Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. yards. So confident were they that throngs would make their way to Chester that they jumped the gun on even their unofficial "soft" opening set for this morning.
Harrah's got the green light from the state Gaming Control Board after a couple of practice sessions over the weekend, and so decided to open the doors early.
There is a line from the baseball movie "Field of Dreams" that comes to mind right about now: "If You Build It, They Will Come."
Harrah's built it, and the public is about to descend on Chester, a destination that has not exactly been at the top of their travel itinerary in recent years.
Consider this. The Philadelphia region is home to some fairly impressive - and important - historical sites.
Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, Valley Forge, Brandywine Battlefield. Betsy Ross' house.
Independence Hall, home of that cracked icon of our independence, can make a strong argument as the most important historical site in the nation, let alone here in the Philadelphia region. And yet people stay away in droves.
In January 2006, a little more than 71,000 people visited the Libery Bell. That was up from 58,000 in 2006.
Compare it to this: Every day between 10,000 and 16,000 people are expected to walk through the doors to Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack.
There they will be confronted by more than 2,700 slot machines, where they can wager anything from a penny to $100. The site is expected to see $250 million in revenue its first year of operation.
Make no mistake about it. Chester has arrived.
The key question now is how much will trickle down to other areas of the city. Harrah's is creating 800 jobs, many of which will be held by city residents who direly need the opportunities.
Some local businesses have already tied into the casino, offering their wares.
One question seemingly already has been answered. Will people visit Chester, even with its reputation as a dangerous place? It's pretty clear now that at a minimum, people are willing to get in their cars or buses, head down I-95, get off at exit 8, cruise down Route 291 and then pull into the Harrah's parking lot. Will they venture anywhere else in the city remains to be seen.
It's a new era in Chester, which once again finds itself on top of the heap.
Move over Ben Franklin, Chester is back in town.
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The Daily Numbers: 24, hours early as Harrah's jumped the gun on its own soft opening to throw open the doors to their glittering new casino in Chester.
16,000 people expected to walk through the doors of Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack every day.
250 million dollars expected to be taken in at Harrah's in its first year.
10,000 jobs being cut by drug giant Pfizer in the latest corporate restructuring to take it out on the back of its workers.
4, years Bill Parcells spent as coach of the Dallas Cowboys. He stepped down yesterday. His record in that span? 34-32.
75 percent of the California fruit crop believed wiped out by the recent freeze, which we likely will end up paying for.
150 years old, that would be the grand dame of Broad Street, the Academy of Music.
2,000 dollars, the value of a Yorkshire Terrier that was dognapped in Montgomery County.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): Donovan McNabb apparently is upset with the way he's been treated and the way the fans have taken to his replacement Jeff Garcia. What Donovan doesn't know about the Philly fan could fill volumes.
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Today's Upper: The entire region today is beating a path to Chester's door. It feels good just writing that.
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Quote Box: "It's great for the county, it's great for the city of Chester ... Even if you compare what they have here to some of the casino places down in Atlantic City, it's a lot nicer. -- Eric Sevoli, of Aston, as he checked out Harrah's new Chester casino on its first day of operation Monday.
Monday, Jan. 22
Once again this morning, a light dusting of snow is causing mayhem on the region's roads.
But that is a column for another day, maybe later this week when "flurries" again are predicted for late Thursday. It is appropriate, however, that there be snow on the ground this morning.
Today my mind is on another snowy morning exactly 20 years ago today.
On Jan. 22, 1987, the region was digging out of a real snowstorm. Lots of schools and businesses were closed. I was actually home that day, digging out my driveway and making a promise to myself that I have been breaking every year for as long as I can remember, that being to spend my winters somewhere where it does not snow, and where your teeth don't chatter for months on end. After clearing the cars and driveway, I headed back inside and flipped on the TV for the noon news.
In Harrisburg that day, the sitting state treasurer, R. Budd Dwyer, had called a press conference.
Dwyer had been convicted of taking a kickback in connection with a $4.6 million state contract. Dwyer had always maintained his innocence.
The press conference was scheduled the day before he was to be sentenced. As it happened, that also was the day state law would mandate that he would have to give up his treasurer post.
Most expected Dwyer to come to grips with his conviction and possibly step down.
What happened next no one who witnessed it would ever forget.
Dwyer read a statement again professing his innocence of the charges. He said he would not step down. He then handed envelopes to three members of his staff.
On the table in front of Dwyer was a large yellow Manila envelope.
Dwyer reached into it and pulled out one of the biggest guns I had ever seen.
At the time, we had a reporter who covered Harrisburg for us. I remember in the aftermath talking to Hal Ellis. He was shaken by what happened. Ellis believed Dwyer was going to open fire on the gathered media.
He did not. Instead he put the barrel of the gun in his mouth and pulled the trigger.
It remains to this day one of those images you simply cannot erase from your conscience.
Several TV stations ran the footage on their noon news programs. I specifically remember watching the Channel 6 news, watching in disbelief as a man ended right there in front of my eyes on television. The TV station was besieged from angry viewers, including many parents whose children were home and in front of the TV because of the snow storm.
The next day this newspaper took tremendous criticism because of the graphic nature of the photos surrounding Dwyer's death.
Today, as the editor, I probably would not make the decision that was made that day.
It is maybe the ultimate kind of decision that in smaller ways we make here every day.
But I will always remember that day. I wonder what would drive a man to reach the decision Dwyer did that day. And I think about the fallout from the way the media, including this newspaper covered it.
Every time it snows in January a little piece of me thinks about a similar day 20 years ago.
And I wince at the painful memories.
*
The Daily Numbers: 7, number of women who have now been accosted in Philadelphia by a man who insists on licking their toes.
4,000 people from this region expected to head to Washington, D.C., today for the annual March for Life to protest the Roe v. Wade decision on abortion.
2,700 slot machines that will go online when they open the doors to Harrah's Chester Casino and Racetrack 10 a.m. tomorrow.
3 people fatally shot by police in Philadelphia in the last three weeks.
85 million dollars, amount of contract extension signed by Phillies Chase Utley. He got married this weekend. Nice wedding present.
4, turnovers by the Saints in their loss to the Bears. So much for the feel-good New Orleans story. Where were all those turnovers a week ago?
330 yards passing for Colts quarterback Peyton Manning to lead Indy to win over Patriots. So much for that choker label that has been unfairly placed on Manning.
*
I Don't Get It (with apologies to Jack McCaffery): A lot of schools announced two-hour later openings this morning. For what, exactly?
*
Today's Upper: You have to be feel good this morning for Peyton Manning. And for seeing the mighty Patriots and the smug Bill Belichick humbled just a bit.
*
Quote Box: "I think it's great for Chester. I can't believe it's right here in Chester." -- Brookhaven resident attending one of the practice sessions this weekend for Harrah's new casino.
