The Lower Merion School District filed an appeal Wednesday to a judge's ruling earlier this week that the district's tax increase is unlawful and must be rescinded as soon as possible.
The appeal seemed a foregone conclusion after the Monday ruling by Common Pleas Judge Joseph Smyth when the schools superintendent and the school board president issued a joint statement declaring the district "will vigorously defend its right - and the right of elected school boards across Pennsylvania - to approve budgets specific to the unique educational needs of local communities."
The tax increase rejected by Smyth was a 4.4 percent increase, which the judge ruled was larger than a state-mandated cap of 2.4 percent. The district, however, argued that the state Department of Education granted Lower Merion a waiver allowing for the higher increase.
Attorney and longtime resident Arthur Wolk, who argued the case, called the rejection of the increase "a gigantic win" for taxpayers across the state.
"It was much to my surprise," he said in an interview Wednesday.
But after a hearing this summer in which the school district business administrator admitted that the district has "between $50 and $60 million" in bank accounts, Wolk said the onus has swung completely back onto the district.
"He just spilled the beans, basically," Wolk said of administrator Victor Orlando's testimony. A surplus of more than $50 million would be double what the state DOE allows in reserves for a school district of Lower Merion's budget size -- $260 million. State regulations allow for 8 percent.
"Everything he says [while he was on the stand] is an admission and that's what really in my estimation changed the whole complexion of this case," Wolk said. "They're going to have a very rough time on appeal."
No date has been set for the appeal.
In his ruling, the judge ordered the school board to reject its tax increase for the 2016-2017 fiscal year, which began July 1, and revisit its budget. The district did not address that order in its statement Tuesday or in issuing its appeal Wednesday.
Superintendent Robert Copeland and Board President Robin Vann Lynch did say lowering the tax increase would mean $4 million less in its coffers this year.
The 2017 NFL Draft will be held in Philadelphia, NBC10 confirmed Wednesday.
Now, for the official announcement. City officials are making the announcement 12 p.m. at City Hall.
But before all you Eagles fans get too excited, remember that the hometown team won't have much at stake in the early part of the draft next summer.
The Eagles traded their first-round pick in 2017 to the Cleveland Browns for the right to draft Carson Wentz earlier this summer.
That means Philly fans will have to wait until the second round to boo or cheer their team's draft choice.
The date and location have not yet been officially announced by the league.
For the last four months, NBC10's longtime senior investigative reporter Harry Hairston has been dogged in his pursuit of justice for those in the Philadelphia region who feel they've been wronged financially.
Since the last day of April, Hairston has led NBC10's new beat called NBC10 Responds. With the help of NBC10 producer Katie Suiters, Hairston has responded to four consumer complaints each week. No amount has been too small or too large.
And after dozens of segments, Responds reached a milestone this week, passing $100,000 in recovered funds for aggrieved consumers. The total is $102,007 after today's segment.
Hairston and Suiters said this week that their success has translated into more and more calls from consumers seeking their help.
"I feel a lot of gratitude to be able to directly help someone out, to be able to do something that translate into immediate results," Hairston said.
The pair's reputation has spread to all corners of the Philadelphia region, and Suiters has even picked up a nickname: Colleagues and consumers have come to know her as "The Hammer."
The segments, which run Monday through Friday, have proven so popular that more than 3,000 consumers have reached out to the Responds team. If that number sounds overwhelming for two journalists, NBC10 has provided a support staff of 20 to take and give initial vetting to those who call or submit in their information through NBC10.com. Here is a link to the Responds site, and a link to the consumer submission page.
Hairston said one of the highlights of the last four months have been a segment that involved a Delaware woman with a problem awning at her home. Responds was able to recoup $3,000 for the woman to make necessary repairs.
Suiters said "the awning story" was also noteworthy for starting the now-popular "Harry's Hug."
"The woman gave Harry a big hug and it all sort of started the Harry's Hug piece that now often comes after he helps someone," Suiters said.
Hairston remembers the moment when
"Out of the blue, she said, 'I just want to thank you.' Then she reached out and grabbed me," he said.
The success of Responds has led to the creation of Responde for Telemundo62. Reporter Ines Ferre is leading the effort.
Hermine will impact much of our area this holiday weekend with the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches bearing the brunt its effects, NBC10 First Alert Weather Chief Meteorologist Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz says.
Rain will move into Delaware and the most southern points of New Jersey by Saturday afternoon. It'll then spread north as the storm nears.
The Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches will see heavy rain, wind gusts over 40 mph and coastal flooding. Beach erosion is also expected.
"Seas will be huge off-shore," Hurricane said. "It'll be dangerous to go boating."
A Tropical Storm Watch was issued Thursday afternoon for the Jersey Shore and Delaware beaches. It is expected to last through Sunday.
Ahead of Hermine's arrival, rip currents will be a risk for swimmers. The storm could create wave heights of 6 feet or higher Saturday into Sunday.
Get tips for dealing with rip currents
Inland, rain will move from south to north later in the day Saturday and last throughout Sunday. The Lehigh Valley, Poconos and Berks county will see the least amount of rain and lightest winds.
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Hermine strengthened into a category 1 hurricane Thursday in the Gulf of Mexico before making landfall. It was downgraded back to a tropical storm while over Georgia Friday morning.
Hermine will nearly stall offshore early next week, and could strengthen again, causing further problems at the shore.
Stick with the NBC10 First Alert Weather Team leading up to the weekend as the storm’s track could change. [[287977901, C]]
BAD TIMING
Of all weekends for a Tropical Storm or Hurricane to threaten, Labor Day weekend may be the worst. It’s the last chance for many folks to enjoy the beaches. The ocean is way warmer than Memorial Day or the 4th of July. And September can mean nice, comfortable weather compared to the extreme heat of the heart of summer. And now a tricky tropical system will have an impact. But how much of an impact will it have?
WHAT WE’RE MOST SURE ABOUT
1. Hermine will not be a major hurricane. It will not be another Sandy. A storm tracking from the Gulf of Mexico toward our area must go over land for a long time, which will surely weaken it. On the other hand, Irene, Floyd, Gloria, Sandy, and other names we remember were OCEAN tracks that hit or came close to us.
2. It’s a good thing we haven’t had much rain recently. Anytime a tropical system is predicted to move very slowly (as Hermine will), we look at the potential flood threat. Previous storms that led to serious flooding have come after very rainy periods.
3. The farther you are from the ocean, the less rain and wind you will have by the time it’s over. You also have the best chance of having dry weather at least through Saturday night, and the best chance of clearing Monday.
WHAT’S YET TO BE DETERMINED
1. As usual, the track will largely determine how much rain, wind, and coastal flooding will occur. Major updates of computer models come every 6 hours, and their forecasts have changed each time.
2. Hermine is likely to stall (or move very slowly) off the coast of New Jersey starting Sunday. Exactly where it stalls is unpredictable this far in advance. Even a 50 mile difference in the stall point can lead to big differences in impacts for us.
3. The moon phase will add to any coastal flooding caused by Hermine. Coastal flooding will be higher the farther south the storm stalls.
4. Ocean temperatures are unusually high off the coast of NJ/DE. A slow-moving Hermine could strengthen as it lingers. If it does, places that start off dry Saturday night and Sunday could get rain later.
WHY WOULD IT SLOW-DOWN SO MUCH OR STALL?
Take a look at the predicted upper-air map for Sunday morning:
Blue areas have below normal pressures, while reddish areas are the opposite. That unusually high pressure in Southeast Canada will act as a “block”, preventing Hermine from racing out to sea like so many previous storms have.
Below is the result of that block: the Monday map that shows Hermine still offshore (the L), being blocked by a big area of HIGH pressure in the upper right of the screen. So the storm will be spinning around for multiple days, keeping the ocean churned up, causing each high tide to be a problem-perhaps until Wednesday!
With the addition of higher water levels from the “new moon” (tides are higher with full and new moon phases), the potential for significant coastal flooding increases. The exact wind direction and strength of Hermine will determine just how much of a problem it is.
A TROPICAL STORM WATCH
The National Hurricane Center has issued a Tropical Storm Watch for the entire coastlines of Delaware and New Jersey. The Watch technically only goes until Sunday afternoon, but could be extended well beyond that. The Watch means that Tropical Storm conditions (39+ mph winds) are possible. If it becomes likely, then a Tropical Storm Warning would be issued.
There is a chance that Hermine will lose tropical characteristics as it drifts in the Atlantic. That’s what happened to Sandy, and it led to tremendous confusion about the storm. Many thought Sandy was weakening, just because it wasn’t technically a hurricane anymore. In this case, Hermine could actually become MORE tropical if it spins around enough for long enough. In any event, an already complicated setup could become even more complicated early next week.
If you have any interests at or near the shore, please keep up-to-date on developments this weekend. The NBC10 App is a great way to do that-no matter where you are in the area.
Wednesday, Aug. 31, marked International Overdose Awareness Day. As part of our continuing coverage after Generation Addicted, our special report exploring the heroin and opioid epidemic, we're checking in with people first introduced in the program.
At 25, Bo Garfield hasn't just beat cancer. He's conquered his heroin addiction, too.
NBC10 first met Bo in January at Brotherly Love House, a recovery house in Philadelphia's East Germantown neighborhood where he lived at the time. He had just gotten out of jail and shared his story of learning he had thyroid lymphoma and would need surgery in February.
In the weeks leading up to the surgery, Bo said on Thursday, he faltered.
"Right before my surgery, I kind of went crazy," said Bo, a mild-mannered young man with a deep voice. "I didn't know what was gonna happen."
Bo survived the nine-hour surgery and the weeks of radiation that followed. He decided in that time that he'd kick his heroin habit for good, too, and went straight into treatment, he said.
"I said, 'I'm done,'" Bo, who grew up in Delaware County, said. "Last time I did heroin was mid-February."
Bo, who described smoking crack cocaine in Kensington stash houses at the height of his addiction, swears off all substances now, including alcohol.
He still has pain in his neck from the surgery, but takes non-narcotic medications to help ease it.
"Everybody's in pain," Bo said. "You just gotta deal with it."
Bo is working now at an Old City restaurant where he just landed a promotion to a manager position. He's staying with a friend in Center City while he continues to get back on his feet, and plans to move to a different recovery house in the city, where he'll have a support system of other people who know the same daily struggles that come with leaving behind heroin addiction.
Like most people addicted to heroin, Bo has been in and out of treatment. This time, he said, he's determined. "I've had that ambition and that motivation," he said.
He's getting ready to start school in two weeks to obtain his certified recovery specialist license so he can help others escape heroin's grips like he did. He's lost nearly a dozen friends to overdoses over the past few years and watched too many close friends, along with his own brother, grapple with addiction.
But Bo gets what they're going through. He knows it's not easy to walk away from the needle.
"I'm not gonna say some bull---- like 'There is hope,'" he said.
"I had to have a spiritual moment. The s--- just clicked. Your family doesn't have to lie at your funeral ... there is another way."
A 4-year-old girl is being treated at a Philadelphia children's hospital after being hit by a car along a Juniata street, police said.
The girl was hit by a beige sedan around 7 p.m. along the 4200 block of L Street, police said.
Investigators said the girl darted out from behind a double parked car and into the path of the moving vehicle.
She was unconscious when family rushed her from the scene for St. Christopher's Hospital for Children. She was last listed in critical condition.
The driver stayed at the scene and is cooperating with police.
A reunion of sorts between a man and his 5-year-old self took place Thursday evening in South Philadelphia.
In June 1963, Danny Krane's mom dressed him in a suit and took him to a Harrisburg recording studio to have a record made of him singing.
Afterward, she stored away the record for safe keeping, but after she died, it was accidentally thrown out -- never to be heard again by Krane.
Or so he thought.
The album somehow ended up in the collection of Robert Pellicano, who's been picking up records at flea markets and yard sales for decades.
"This was just another home recording I thought it would be interesting to listen to," he said of picking up the record originally.
Recently, Pellicano started thinning out his collection and seeing Krane's name on the label, decided to try and track down the singer. He Googled Krane and Pennsylvania and the first person he emailed happened to be the singer.
Thrilled to learn the record was still around, Krane met up with Pellicano Thursday outside the iconic Geno's Steaks to get back the 53-year-old acetate disc.
"It's almost an obligation because this is a family thing, it's personal, it's sentimental," Pellicano said.
There are three songs on the record including "On Top of Spaghetti."
Krane, an attorney, said he hadn't listened to the record since he was 6 years old and doesn't know why his mom made the recording.
"I think this is the one and only, and if you heard me singing, that's probably why," Krane said with a laugh.
A New Jersey oral surgeon linked to 15 cases of a bacterial infection of the heart over the last two years, including one case that lead to death due to surgery complications, has had his license suspended by New Jersey's board of dentistry, NBC 4 New York has learned.
The suspension comes after NBC 4 New York reported a state Health Department investigation into the rash of infections linked to Dr. John Vecchione's outpatient surgery clinics in Mt. Olive and Parsippany last month.
The two-year investigation by the state Health Department and Dentistry Board into sanitation at Vecchione's practice began after Jefferson Township's Ryan Del Grosso was diagnosed with the heart infection endocarditis about five weeks after having two wisdom teeth pulled.
A doctor treating Del Grosso, now 25, at Morristown Medical Center remembered a similar case of the rare disease and notified state officials.
Health investigators identified three cases, all following surgery from the same practice, and later searched records of other patients from 2013 and 2014. The records revealed that 15 patients had been infected, likely caused during the use of IVs to sedate patients before surgery.
Investigators also went to Vecchione's practices, finding several examples of non-sterile products, storage issues and poor hand hygiene.
After the investigation, Dr. Vecchione agreed to a consent decree in which he said he would follow best practices in keeping a sanitary outpatient clinic.
However, the Dentistry Board in an order posted online said a return inspection two weeks ago found continuing deficiencies that present a "clear and imminent danger to the public," warranting a temporary suspension of his license.
In the order, Dr. Vecchione is quoted as denying the allegations and says he will fight them.
His attorney was not available for comment.
Detox or jail.
Those were the two choices 40 people arrested on heroin possession charges in New Jersey's Bergen County were given in a drug sweep conducted by authorities over the last five days as part of a unique approach created by authorities and public health officials.
"If we can get one person out of the cycle, then it is worth it," said acting Bergen County Prosecutor Gurbir Grewal.
Alleged offenders weren't offered deals or dropped charges for entering detox, but authorities still said 22 chose to go to Bergen Regional Medical Center over county jails.
Authorities said the program is aimed at giving people a start to kicking addiction in a county hard hit by heroin and opioid abuse.
So far this year, 48 people have died from drug overdoses in the county. Last year, there were 71 fatalities.
Mayor Jim Kenney joined a growing number of people disturbed by an image on social media of a Philadelphia bike cop with a possible Nazi symbol tattooed on his left arm.
The image of the officer, who is identified by his uniform name tag as Lichtermann, began circulating on social media after a Philadelphia woman posted it to her Twitter account.
According to city payroll records, the police department employs an officer named Ian Lichterman. It is unclear why his name is spelled differently on the name tag. A message left for Lichterman on his cell phone was not immediately returned.
The police department said in a statement Thursday afternoon that its Internal Affairs Unit would review Lichterman's tattoos. The department did, however, say there is no policy regulating tattoos.
"Currently, the department does not have a specific policy regarding the wearing /displaying of tattoos; however, the department will quickly move to assess and determine the appropriate policy moving forward."
Here is Kenney's full statement:
“The imagery on display in the tweet is disturbing. I find it incredibly offensive, and I know many others do as well. This image is particularly offensive to our WWII veterans who fought valiantly to free Europe from Nazi Germany, as well as all victims of Nazi atrocities. I understand that the PPD will launch an internal investigation, and that should run its course. In this environment -- in which open, honest dialogue between citizens and police is paramount – we need to be building trust, not offering messages or displaying images that destroy trust.”
The driver of a silver- or champagne-colored car sped off after veering off a Northeast Philadelphia road overnight before mowing down a man riding his bike.
The force of the wreck along Frankford Avenue near Comly Street in the Mayfair neighborhood around 12:45 a.m. Friday tore the 43-year-old cyclist’s mountain bike in half and launched him about 50 feet up the road.
"He was unconscious, laying on the side of the road," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small. "He was suffering from severe trauma from his head and his upper body. Medics pronounced him dead on the scene."
After striking the biker, the driver kept going north on Frankford Avenue, said Small.
The driver ignored safety measures the biker was taking.
"(The bike) had a least three lights that are still blinking even after the auto accident," said Small. "So we believe the victim was riding his bike on the marked bike lane… when the striking vehicle crossed over into the bike lane, not only striking this victim on his bicycle, but then the striking vehicle actually jumped onto the curb and hit a (SEPTA) sign."
The force tore that metal sign out of the cement. Investigators believed at least one headlight and a rear view mirror was damaged on striking vehicle -- possibly a Buick, said police.
Police asked anyone with information to contact them. In the meantime, they hope the driver surrenders without further incident.
"There's still time, turn yourself in, do the right thing, don't wait for the police to identify you and come and get you, it's only going to make things a lot worse for you," said Small.
The world Tyrone Jones walked into Thursday morning when he walked out of a northeastern Pennsylvania prison is barely recognizable from the last time he saw it.
Jones' last time outside prison walls was in the early 1970s. Televisions still had dials. Most people still used rotary phones.
Jones, who turns 60 next month, spent the last 43 years behind bars after he was convicted in 1973 of a gang-related murder in Philadelphia. He was 16 at the time and sentenced to life. But, after a 2012 Supreme Court decision that ruled juvenile life without parole unconstitutional, Jones is among more than 500 people in the state of Pennsylvania whose sentences will be re-examined.
"This is the best feeling anybody could have, you know, coming out of prison for all these years and having my family," Jones said joyfully as he reunited with his tearful sisters after leaving prison. "This is it right here."
With the historic ruling that calls some 2,500 juvenile life cases across the country into question, the spotlight rests on the Keystone State, and on Philadelphia in particular. Pennsylvania has the highest number of juvenile lifers in the country, with 506 people sentenced as kids serving life sentences. Of those, the lion's share, about 300, were convicted in Philadelphia. Jones is one of the first from Philadelphia to regain his freedom.
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"I came to prison when I was 16 years old, so I missed growing up," Jones told NBC10's Tracy Davidson. "The average 16-year-old will go to school, get an education, go to college, meet a nice girl, get married, settle down, go to work. That's what I missed. I just wanna go to the zoo, go to the park, go to museums. All the things I missed."
In Pennsylvania, 323 juvenile lifers who could now be set free have served more than two decades, State Secretary of Corrections John Wetzel said.
"We've got a lot of work to do if these folks are coming back to our community," Wetzel told NBC10 earlier this year. He said state officials began preparing for the potential releases as soon as the Supreme Court ruling came down in 2012 -- even before the court said that its ruling would apply retroactively to past sentences.
Jones plans to go live with his sister in North Carolina. Wetzel said other juvenile lifers released in Pennsylvania will first go to halfway houses to transition slowly back to life. At the houses, counselors and social workers will help them with everything from picking out clothes to learning to pay bills and develop job skills.
"The people that are most successful in this world are people who gradually transition into adulthood through either college or the military, so if we think in that context, we need to create a gradual transition," Wetzel said. "Our halfway houses give us the opportunity to do that."
Wetzel stressed that although people serving life sentences they received as juveniles walking out of prison is a historical moment, state officials have also been working hard on the other side: making sure victims are aware of the decision and have support they need.
"These are folks who thought the case was over, thought they wouldn't have to deal with this again, at least in this way, and now they have to relive it," Wetzel said. "So I think it's important any time we have this discussion, we keep that in mind."
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In prison, Jones said, he hasn't made many decisions on his own. Wetzel said re-entering the world after so long in the sterile, stringent prison environment, coupled with how much the world has changed while the juvenile lifers have been on the inside, is an anxiety-inducing combination.
"They're going back to to a world they know nothing about. In cartoon parlance, they came in in the 'Flintstones' era and they're getting out in the 'Jetsons' era," Wetzel said.
"Before, my life was controlled. If I had to use the bathroom, gotta get permission. If I wanted to go to school, gotta get permission," Jones said.
His first decision after prison? What to order for breakfast while out to eat with his sisters.
He went with bacon and eggs.
Don't expect to be driving anywhere near the Philadelphia Museum of Art Labor Day Weekend as the 2016 Budweiser Made in America Festival takes over the Benjamin Franklin Parkway leading to plenty of road closures and detours.
Friday, Sept. 2:
The following streets will be closed starting at 10 a.m.:
- Outer lanes of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway between 20th Street and Eakins Oval
- 23rd Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- 22nd Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Park Towne Place
- 21st Street between Pennsylvania Avenue and Winter Street
- Kelly Drive outbound from Benjamin Franklin Parkway to Fairmount Avenue
Starting 10 a.m., traffic headed inbound to Center City from Spring Garden Street Bridge or Martin Luther King Drive must exit Eakins Oval on the 24th Street ramp. Traffic headed inbound on Kelly Drive mist exit Kelly Drive at Fairmount Avenue.
Saturday, Sept. 3:
All road closures around the festival site will begin at 10 a.m. and remain through the duration of the ticketed event featuring Rihanna and Coldplay. The complete list of closures and no parking restrictions is outlined below:
- The entire width of Benjamin Franklin Parkway, beginning at 20th Street extending through Eakins Oval and behind the Philadelphia Museum of Art
- 21st Street between Winter and Spring Garden Streets
- 22nd Street between Race Street and Fairmount Avenue [[238904721, C]]
- 23rd Street between Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Fairmount Avenue
- 24th Street between Fairmount and Pennsylvania Avenues
- Spring Garden Street between 20th Street and Benjamin Franklin Parkway, including the Spring Garden Street Tunnel
- Kelly Drive between 23rd Street and Fairmount Avenue
- Martin Luther King Drive between Falls Bridge and Benjamin Franklin Parkway
- Pennsylvania Avenue between Hamilton and Fairmount Avenues
- 2000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue between the Whole Foods store and 21st Street
- Park Towne Place between 22nd and 24th Streets
- I-676 westbound off-ramp at 22nd Street [[369313031, C]]
No Parking:
- South side of Pennsylvania Avenue between 22nd Street and Fairmount Avenue
- Both sides of Winter Street between 20th and 22nd Streets
- East side of 20th Street between Vine and Callowhill Streets
- Both sides of 21st Street between Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Race Street
- Both sides of 22nd Street between Winter and Spring Garden Streets
- Both sides of the street at Park Towne Place between 22nd and 24th Streets
The City of Philadelphia Mayor's Office reminds folks that delays can be expected during the course of the event build and on the dates of the event. Motorists are advised to avoid the area by using alternate routes and adding extra driving time in the areas near the concert.
All roadways will be open prior to morning rush hour on Tuesday with traffic patterns returning to normal. Some low-impact parking and travel lane restrictions will remain in place until late Tuesday night.
Not headed to the festival and just looking to avoid the whole scene but still want to hear some great music? The festival will stream LIVE on Tidal with proceeds going to area United Ways.
