Foster parents are sorely needed in Philadelphia and the demand for LGBTQ parents to serve as role models for LGBTQ children is even greater. NBC10's Rosemary Connors explains.

Drivers who block bus stops beware. SEPTA and the Philadelphia Parking Authority may start cracking down on you soon.

SEPTA and the PPA are currently looking into the possibility of using forward-facing cameras on buses to capture vehicles parked in bus stops. Under the plan, photos from cameras installed on every SEPTA bus would be used to identify and enforce violations against vehicles that were spotted blocking bus and trolley zones.

"The program would be modeled on the concept of the city's red light camera program where a camera takes images of violations in progress," PPA spokesperson Marty O'Rourke said. "Those images are then reviewed and citations are issued based on those images."

According to O'Rourke, under the plan, each SEPTA bus would be equipped with additional cameras. Bus drivers would then have to push a button to snap photos of vehicles parked in prohibited bus zones. Those images would then be reviewed and a citation would be issued if appropriate.

SEPTA estimates that there are around 2,000 bus zone parking violations every day and that the plan could potentially generate an annual revenue of at least $37.23 million for the city. Violators would be subject to $76 fines in Center City and $51 fines everywhere else in Philadelphia under the plan.

"When the program initially starts, we believe that there will be a lot of hits," O'Rourke said. "But we believe that behaviors will start to change due to issuance of fines. We eventually expect to budget revenue of five million to fifteen million dollars per year.”

SEPTA officials say vehicles that block bus stops not only make it more difficult for passengers trying to get onto the bus but also create more traffic problems due to buses having to stop and unload people in the middle of a lane.

Final plans are not in place yet though active discussions are underway between SEPTA, the PPA and the city of Philadelphia, according to SEPTA spokesperson Andrew Busch. SEPTA currently has 1,193 buses in its system.

"The PPA believes that this will require a change in Pennsylvania State Law to enact this program," O'Rourke said. "They are currently in discussions with multiple legislators to see if there is any interest in proposing the change and how it would be issued."

Philadelphia has released the names of 27 candidates for the new Board of Education. The Educating Nominating Panel voted Monday to recommend the candidates to Mayor Jim Kenney who will make appointments to the 9-member board. The vote was held at a public meeting in City Hall.

Several hundred people were whittled down to the 27 candidates. The Panel received over 500 names and reviewed every application. They then selected about 80 candidates to interview in sub-Panels that consisted of three panelists each. The panelists then discussed the candidates during executive sessions and narrowed down the field before Monday's public meeting.

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Mayor Kenney will have until March 18 to make appointments or until March 8 to request additional names. If the mayor requests more names, the panel will have 10 days to submit a new list of names and the mayor will have another 20 days to make appointments.

New member orientation starts in April, with the new board assuming control of the Philadelphia School District in July.

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The former School Reform Commission voted in November to dissolve itself after more than 15 years of state oversight. 

"Since the imposition of this body, Philadelphians have been without direct control and accountability," Kenney said at the time. "The time is right to return the School District of Philadelphia to local control and accountability."

Here are the names of the 27 nominees:

• Sarah-Ashley Andrews
• Jenne Ayers
• Tonya Bah
• Dario Bellot
• Suzanne Biemiller
• Laura Boyce
• Julia Danzy
• Susan DeJarnatt
• Stacy Dutton
• Leticia Egea-Hinton
• Mallory Fix Lopez
• Susanna Greenberg
• Anuj Gupta
• Rotonya Carr
• Lee Huang
• Renee Hughes
• Loree Jones
• Chad Lassiter
• Maria McColgan
• Chris McGinley
• Angela McIver
• Folasade Olanipekun-Lewis
• Sharon Parker
• Akil Parker
• Roberta Trombetta
• Patricia Wellenbach
• Joyce Wilkerson

A Trump Administration plan that could lead to offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean is facing a fight from people at the Jersey Shore. On Monday, leaders from Atlantic and Cape May counties spoke out against the proposal that they believe could have catastrophic consequences. NBC10's Ted Greenberg has the story.

As the debate over gun control continues to dominate headlines, President Trump is vowing to take action. On Monday he met with many of the nation's governors to discuss his ideas.

A dream vacation turned into a nightmare for a local mother who says she was tricked into smuggling cocaine for a man she met while on a tropical getaway. Now she wants to share her story as a warning to others.

Tiwanda White of Delaware County was arrested in 2016 after she arrived at Philly International Airport with half a million dollars of cocaine in her bag. She spent nearly four months in jail.

“That was the first time I’ve ever been forcibly away from my children,” White said while in tears.

White's ordeal began when she had a fling with a man she met while vacationing in Jamaica. White said the man asked her to bring what he called a “Care Package” of cocoa and spices for his family in New Jersey. She told investigators she thought nothing of what was actually inside the package until officials stopped her at the airport and found the stash.

“I’m not saying I’m easily connived,” White said. “But I’m kind of happy-go-lucky.”

Video of White’s airport interrogation helped prove that she was duped. After seeing it last year, a jury cleared her of every drug charge she faced. Even after proving her innocence, White knows there are still people who believe she had to have known what was really inside the package.

“I don’t respond because you never know until you’re in that situation,” White said.

The man who White met in Jamaica was never arrested or charged in connection with her case. White says he stopped responding to her text messages as soon as she returned to the United States. 

Investigators say drug seizures at Philadelphia International Airport and the nearby Independence Seaport Museum occur as often as once a week. The number of drug seizures at U.S. International Ports has been rising over recent years, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

“Unfortunately a lot of times what we see here in Philadelphia is somebody who might be taken advantage of or coerced,” said Ed Moriarty, the Acting Director for the Port of Philadelphia.

Moriarty’s team has intercepted narcotics not obvious to the untrained eye including drugs inside candy, sandwiches and soda cans as well as cocaine behind the wood of a bedpost, built into the soles of shoes and sewn into a pair of underwear. Moriarty has even seen drugs hidden inside religious statues of Joseph and the Virgin Mary.

Moriarty says his team’s approach has changed as they’ve gotten better at separating the law-abiding majority from the drug-running few.

“Instead of us looking for that needle in a haystack, we try and blow away that hay, get rid of all those low risk passengers, that ‘hay’ we call it,” Moriarty said. “And then the needle will kind of present itself to us and be obvious.”

Customs and Border Patrol officials who are cracking down on smuggling normally search passenger names while planes are still in the air. Once passengers land, drug-sniffing dogs are brought in as well as uniformed and undercover officers. The officers pay attention to mannerisms, eye contact and the “practiced confidence” of someone trying too hard to look calm.

“Smugglers always adjust,” Moriarty said. “Their business is to stay one step ahead of us and our business is to keep up with them.”

A gunman shot two men as well as a woman who was an innocent bystander Monday night in Philadelphia.

A 24-year-old man and a 34-year-old man were on Sheridan and W. Clearfield streets at 6:25 p.m. when a gunman walked up to them and opened fire.

Surveillance video obtained by NBC10 shows the gunman shooting the two men before fleeing the scene. The 24-year-old man was shot twice in the left arm while the 34-year-old was shot once in the head.

A 23-year-old woman who was about a block away was also shot once in the right armpit and once in the right side of her back. Police say she was an innocent bystander.

The 34-year-old man is in critical condition while the other man and the woman are both stable. No arrests have been made and police continue to investigate.

Some students at Cherry Hill High School East are expected to walk out Tuesday in protest of the suspension of a teacher who spoke out about school safety in the aftermath of the deadly Florida high school massacre.

Timothy Locke, a popular AP History teacher at the school, was suspended Thursday after he discussed security concerns in the wake of the deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

A petition requesting that Locke be reinstated was signed by 500 students. Some students also staged a protest in support of Locke at the school auditorium Monday and planned a walkout Tuesday.

“I absolutely thought something needed to be done in support of my history teacher,” said Justin Prechodko, the student who organized the petition. “This man just meant too much to me for me to sit down and watch this injustice happen.”

The students are now claiming however that the Cherry Hill High School East principal threatened to suspend them or cancel prom and the senior trip if they went through with the planned walkout.

“I think we’re allowed to have our own opinion,” said Angela Spiegel, another student.

Angry students and their parents voiced their concerns to the superintendent of Cherry Hill Schools Monday night. Parents say they want better school security and they’ll support their kids who intend to take a stand.

“They decide to walk out tomorrow as they did today, I support them,” said Melanie Wimmer, a mother of one of the students. “They get suspended, I support them.”

The walkout is scheduled to take place at 8 a.m. Tuesday. SkyForce10 will be over the school.

Parents of students also plan to attend a Board of Education Meeting Tuesday night to show their support for Locke.

Several colleges and universities, including Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State told prospective students that peaceful protests against gun violence will not hurt their chances of being accepted.

An investigation is underway after video surfaced showing a Camden County officer appearing to repeatedly punch a man in the head. Now that man is speaking out and accusing the officers of police brutality.

“That’s what I call it, hatred,” said Edward Minguela, a 32-year-old Camden, New Jersey father. “I did nothing wrong to them. I didn’t resist. I didn’t do nothing.”

The incident occurred Thursday around 8 p.m. outside a store on Collings Road in Camden. Camden County spokesperson Dan Keashen told NBC10 officers received a tip call about a person with a gun at that location. Minguela was in the area when officers arrived and according to officials, he matched the description of the suspect and was near a car that matched the description of the vehicle.

Video obtained by NBC10 shows three officers confront Minguela. One of the officers wrestles Minguela to the ground and then appears to punch him in the back of his head more than ten times as he lies on his stomach. The officer also knocks off the hat of another officer while swinging his arm.

“The one cop grabbed my one arm and he was punching me and punching me and punching me,” Minguela said. “And I’m trying to block with this arm.”

Minguela suffered a fractured wrist during the incident and was cited for resisting arrest and obstruction. Police never found a weapon in Minguela’s possession.

The three officers who confronted Minguela were taken off the streets and remain on desk duty as the Camden County Prosecutor’s Office investigates the incident.

“Listen, the video I think it speaks for itself,” Keashen said. “It’s highly disturbing. We have serious concerns with it.”

Minguela said he wants the officer who confronted him to get help.

“He needs more social skills,” Minguela said. “Or he needs more training.”

The officer who Minguela said attacked him was wearing a body camera during the encounter.

Grab your fork and knife!

Tuesday is National Pancake Day at IHOP. Diners can enjoy a free short stack of buttermilk pancakes from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at participating locations. In exchange, customers will be asked to consider making a donation to give to local children's hospital and health organizations to help kids battling critical illnesses.

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Since 2006, IHOP has raised close to $30 million for community charities. This year's goal is to raise $5 million, according to the IHOP website.

Check here to look up the closest IHOP. Offer is only valid for dine-in customers.

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"Tonight Show" host Jimmy Fallon is joining the movement begging America's leaders to strengthen gun laws in the wake of the Florida school massacre. NBC10's Dray Clark has more on what Fallon is doing to push their agenda even more.

The inaugural Girls Rally Philly is happening Saturday, March 3 in the City Hall Courtyard. Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, the host, and Sophia Larson, founder of the National Youth Foundation, joined NBC10’s Erin Coleman to talk about the event and why and how they are celebrating and empowering young women. 

Starting the conversation about opioids early may be an aid toward preventing abuse. NBC10's Matt DeLucia talked to young men in recovery who believe a conversation about opioid addiction early in their lives could have helped.

A car crash left her with a back injury and seven years later she's still paying for it physically and financially. NBC10 Responds reporter Harry Hairston reports.

Have some very long overdue Philadelphia parking tickets?

Relief is coming.

City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell announced the city's parking amnesty program Tuesday.

Anyone with unpaid parking tickets from before 2013, can sign up to have their debt forgiven. The amnesty program also includes a 70-percent discount any vehicle owner with towing and storage fees from 2014 or earlier.

The savings from Philadelphia Parking Authority debt collection come with some caveats:

• All tickets from 2013 to 2017 must be paid in full or a 24-month payment plan with 10 percent down must be agreed to before a person can apply for amnesty for the older tickets and fines.
• Anyone without outstanding tickets from the past five years can pay a $50 fee to enroll in amnesty and will be forgiven of all violations prior to 2013.
• Anyone with outstanding towing and storage fees must pay 30 percent of the fees in full to have the remaining 70 percent forgiven.
• Any tows from the past three years aren’t covered by the program.
• The amnesty applicant must stay with the payment plan to remain in the program, otherwise he or she will be right back in debt.

Enrollment for the program begins online Thursday and last through the end of April. As of Tuesday afternoon the Parking Amnesty website wasn’t active.

Cherry Hill High School East’s principal responded Tuesday to huge student protests over the suspension of a popular teacher and demands for increased security in the wake of the Florida school massacre. He also backed off an earlier warning that a senior trip, prom or graduation could be withheld for any students who participated in Tuesday's walkout.

“Students have, in many ways, demonstrated the desire for their voices to be heard,” Dennis S. Perry wrote in a letter posted on Twitter Tuesday afternoon. “Additionally, students have expressed a desire to both acknowledge and partner with the students of Parkland. Many East students have emerged as leaders in this situation. I am very proud of our students and the manner in which they have conducted themselves.”

The controversy began Thursday when Timothy Locke, an AP History teacher at Cherry Hill East, was placed on administrative leave after discussing the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in which 17 people were killed. Locke warned that a similar event could happen at Cherry Hill East and expressed his concerns over security at the school and the fact that the two campus police officers were not armed. A student at the school told Philly.com one of his classmates was visibly upset by Locke’s comments and went to the principal’s office to discuss her concerns though NBC10 has not confirmed this. 

Many students and parents stated that they shared Locke’s concerns and a petition requesting that he be reinstated received around 500 signatures. Some students also staged a protest in support of Locke at the school auditorium Monday and planned Tuesday’s walkout.

After Monday’s protest, some students claimed Principal Perry threatened to suspend them or cancel prom and the senior trip if they went through with the walkout. Perry addressed those claims in his letter.

“On Monday morning, February 26, I was alerted to an online post that asked students to ‘…create as much disruption as possible,’” Perry wrote. “My immediate concern was for the safety of all students.”

Perry said he invited the students to raise their concerns in the school auditorium “in an effort to preempt a potentially unsafe environment.”

“Students absolutely have a right to share their thoughts and I have a desire to hear them,” Perry wrote. “Many students participated and were able to share their concerns.”

As for Tuesday’s walkout, Perry said he had preferred for the students to let their voices be heard in the auditorium and that he was concerned about their “safety in a walk out situation.”

“Many students joined me in the auditorium and had an opportunity to express their concerns, while others decided to exit the building,” Perry wrote.

During Tuesday’s walkout, which took place at 8 a.m., hundreds of students marched to Cherry Hill East’s football field and repeatedly chanted, “Free Mr. Locke.”

“I don’t want to see my classmates get shot, I get shot, my teachers. I don’t want to see that,” said Ben Shore, a senior at Cherry Hill East and organizer of Tuesday’s protest. “They just want to come home at the end of the day. They don’t want to be worried about wearing their bullet backpacks which are now sold out on Amazon.”

After the walkout, the students returned to the auditorium and spoke with Principal Perry.

“Student leaders asked me to speak to the crowd,” Perry wrote. “I was very proud of the students and the way in which they maintained their composure. The outside meeting moved into the auditorium where several students expressed their concerns for school safety. Many good ideas were shared and students were encouraged to continue their spirit of involvement.”

Some students told NBC10 they didn’t get the answers they were looking for while speaking with Principal Perry.

“We sat there for an hour and learned nothing about our safety, about our educators and what he’s going to do to protect us,” one senior said.

In his letter, Perry asked for the community to work with the school to continue to show support for the students. He also said they were working on an overall plan that includes the following:

• Open dialogue sessions between students and the school administration

• More assemblies on school safety in which they engage ‘experts in the field”

• A letter writing campaign to students at Parkland schools

• Information for students who want to contact congressional representatives

• A student “walk” on March 14

• A committee to discuss school security and continued support for students who wish to express themselves

Perry ended his letter by formally retracting his statement he made Monday in which he warned that the senior trip, senior prom or graduation could be withheld for anyone who participated in Tuesday’s walkout.

“I want to thank our students for the respectful manner in which most have conducted themselves,” Perry wrote. “We have amazing students who are passionate and involved. As a school community, I welcome this opportunity to work together for real change.”

Perry made no mention of Locke in his letter.

Cherry Hill Mayor Chuck Cahn also released a statement on security concerns at the high school and called for action to be taken.

“This is an issue that requires immediate action,” Mayor Cahn said. “We stand ready and willing to partner with the Board of Education to do whatever we can to help improve security at all of Cherry Hill’s schools.”

Both Cahn as well as members of the Cherry Hill Township Council say they’re working with the Board of Education to help increase safety in their schools.

“I call on our Board of Education to take further action regarding school safety,” Council President David Fleisher said. “I look forward to working with the Mayor and the members of Council to make sure the Board expeditiously continues to address this vital need. No issue is greater than the safety of our children.”

The Board of Education will make the final decision on a school security plan. Cherry Hill Police Chief William Monaghan recommended the Board utilize armed police officers as part of that plan.

“We are supportive of Chief Monaghan’s recommendation,” Mayor Cahn said. “While we cannot predict if and when our school’s security measures will be tested, as leaders, we must remain strong and united on this issue as we work together to develop ways to protect our children.”

Students and parents plan on raising their concerns at another school board meeting Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Several colleges and universities, including Temple University, the University of Pennsylvania and Penn State told prospective students that peaceful protests against gun violence will not hurt their chances of being accepted.

About 2,100 students attend Cherry Hill East.

Amid multiple lawsuits and escalating tension, Pennsylvania’s midterm elections kicked off Tuesday.

It was the first day candidates could circulate petitions in what has become one of the most closely watched races in the nation.

"Are you a registered Democrat?" asked a campaign volunteer wearing a blue Dwight Evans for Congress T-shirt.

The man standing outside a Shop Rite market in Roxborough carrying a clipboard was one of many campaign volunteers who fanned out collecting signatures on behalf of their favorite candidates.

Two women sheepishly signed a petition in favor of Democratic U.S. Rep. Dwight Evans. He represents the former 2nd District and is one of several candidates who has been forced to change races at the last minute after the state Supreme Court issued a new voting map.

“There has to be a blue wave in November,” retired teacher Kathy Stone told NBC10. “Especially with these gun laws, they have to change and the only way they’re going to change is if we do a complete turn around.”

The Germantown resident is part of a potential onslaught of Democratic voters who could flip Pennsylvania from red to blue. The trend is fueled by last week’s state Supreme Court ruling that removed key Republican strongholds from the state’s voting map.

But lingering lawsuits continue to sow confusion ahead of the primary election as Republicans fight a map that is likely to benefit Democrats.

Last week, GOP leaders filed two lawsuits — one in U.S. District Court and another with the U.S. Supreme Court — in hopes of blocking it from taking effect in this year’s midterm election.

In a third action, state House Speaker Mike Turzai and Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati had asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reverse its order. On Tuesday, the court declined to delay or reverse its order.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court already declined to take up the issue until the lower courts weigh in. But a three-judge panel delayed any hearing until March 9.

This is all good news for Democrats, who could gain several seats under the new map. Even newcomers were quick to take advantage of updated boundaries, including 3rd District challenger Kevin Johnson.

The former pastor, who is running against Evans as a Democrat, spent his afternoon at a separate Shop Rite in Parkside. He knows this particular store well. He, his wife, three children and several members of the church he founded — Dare to Imagine — have spent weekends here, handing out food and speaking with congregants.

"This is an opportunity for me to come back and say 'We've helped you before. Now we need your helping running,'" he said. 

Johnson's kids held signs while their parents gathered signatures. This was one of many stops throughout the day and the team already has several hundred. 

"We want 6,000," he said. "We're not playing."

Relatively unknown outside his congregation, Johnson has the look of someone new to campaigning. This is his first time. He isn't tired, cynical or prone to attacking his rival. When asked why he chose to run against Evans, Johnson demured and since it wasn't personal. 

"I live in the new 3rd (congressional district). My church is in the new third. I buy my groceries here in the new third. I go to the cleaners in the new third. So this is really home," he said. 

Like so many other candidates, Johnson changed his district after the new map come out. He launched in the 1st District at the beginning of February. 

Evans will also run in this new district, which comprises portions of West and Northwest Philly.

Since the court’s decision last week, several other candidates have switched races. Former Philadelphia Deputy Mayor Nina Ahmad on Monday dropped out of the 1st District contest and announced her bid for lieutenant governor against incumbent Mike Stack.

Ahmad replaces Democratic State Rep. Madeleine Dean on that ticket after Dean dropped out in order to run in Montgomery County’s 4th District. She would have faced Democratic State Sen. Daylin Leach in the race, but he canceled his campaign after several female staffers accused him of inappropriate behavior.

Voters wondering how the new map impacts them can click here for a rundown.

Many times, people don't think before they "ink". NBC10's Cydney Long tells us about the new technology that can erase regretful tattoos.

When NBC10 learned prescription drug costs quadrupled in just one year for a group of South Jersey workers, it raised big questions about what was going on. NBC10's Ted Greenberg has new information on how the case could impact public safety as well as the Margate firefighter who is heading to court.

A longtime restaurant in Delaware is closing its doors after 38 years. NBC10's Delaware Bureau reporter Tim Furlong tells us that nearby construction contributed to the Chesdel Restaurant's closure.