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Search for Missing Woman Who Was Headed to Philly

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A multi-state search is underway for Vianelba Tavera, 50, who was said to be traveling to Philadelphia. Police in Virginia found her car - but not her.


Parts of Musikfest Flood; Shows Go on, Vendors Displaced

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Parts of the site of a popular Lehigh Valley music festival in the City of Bethlehem flooded Saturday morning, but Musikfest reopened in time for concerts in the afternoon and evening.

The festival runs through all next week, with ticketed acts — including Gary Clark Jr. and Grouplove — and free concerts.

Video of the flooding showed the Monocacy Creek overflowing in three of the venues where Musikfest was being held this weekend. Those sites are Handwerk Platz, Familienplatz and Volksplatz. 

The main site, at Steel Stacks, was not flooded. But at Handwerk Platz, some craft vendors said the work of months was being swept away by the water.

"That's my entire business. I run that out of my house," said Kate Brown, who owns a craft business called Rustic Wrapsody. She makes handmade jewelry, soy candles and tile strikers -- which are made from matches.


She knows the matches are ruined. "Yep, that's my life, right there," she said, guesturing to her tent, which was in rising water.

It's hard for crafters to get insurance for their work, she said -- in part because of the dangers of outdoor venues. "It's not just the product, it's the hours and hours" of work that the product represents.

"Preparing for this show alone I probably spent a month worth of product," Brown said.

The three flooded venues remained closed Saturday. Organizers said they would update the public Sunday about when they could reopen.

Officials in Freemansburg, downriver from the festival, warned residents on Facebook that debris such as "coolers, equipment and porta-johns" were floating down the river from the festival.

For more information, go to the music festival's website or its Facebook and Twitter pages.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Flooding Won't Stop Musikfest

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Parts of the popular Lehigh Valley event Musikfest flooded Saturday morning, but the waters receded quickly and organizers say the water won't wash out any events Saturday night.

A 'Pillar' of Jenkintown's Irish Community Dies at 87

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A pillar of the Jenkintown Irish community and a prominent member of the Jenkintown social club The MacSwiney Club has passed away.

Matthew T. Regan Sr. -- known as "Matt" or "Matty" -- passed away Tuesday at the Chelsea at Jenkintown. He was 87.

The son of Irish immigrants from County Mayo, Regan had lived in Jenkintown nearly all of his life, according to his obituary. There, he worked hard to rally the Irish community both in the United States and abroad.

In Jenkintown, he served as the general manager and an officer of The MacSwiney Club, an Irish club that his father helped establish. Regan tried to make the bar feel as much like home as he could for people of Irish heritage.

“It was a place where Irishmen came in and they felt like they were walking into a pub in their hometown,” his son Matt Regan Jr. said.

The club also became a second home for Regan’s children who grew up right across the street.

“I remember coming in here, playing the piano, doing things kids would do,” his stepson Mike Foy said.

For Regan Sr., the club was both a social and a political space. Meetings of the Clan Na Gael, an Irish political organization of which Regan was a member, occurred in the club, according to his sons.

Regan also raised money to send back to Ireland and held letter-writing campaigns to help Irish political prisoners. He was recognized for his work with the Ring of Honor in 2016 at the Philadelphia St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

His knack for helping others extended beyond the Irish community he cherished. Regan also served as a member of the U.S. Marine Corps during the Korean War, according to his obituary; he also worked with the Pioneer Fire Company of Jenkintown and aided striking coal miners.

“He was a union man,” Regan Jr. said. “When the coal miners were on strike he’d have food and clothing drives [at the club]. For about a year, he drove the supplies down to the miners in West Virginia.”

Regan Sr. will be missed by regulars at MacSwiney’s and the Irish community throughout the East Coast, his sons said. His sons said they expected members of the community to travel from Boston and New York for their father’s memorial service and funeral next Saturday.

“On our Facebook page people have been saying things like ‘pillar,’ ‘gentleman,’” Regan Jr. said.

“He was a driving force,” Foy added. “If an organization needed help doing something they called my father.”

Regan also leaves behind a sister, a daughter and one grandchild, as well as "scores of nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws," his obituary says. His wife, Marie Patricia “Pat” Fitzpatrick Foy, died in 1989.

His sons plan to honor Regan at MacSwiney’s after the funeral service with an Irish wake.  That did not stop them, however, from honoring his Irish heritage in the moments after he passed away.

“We were sitting there in his room [after he passed] having a couple beers and toasting, having a small Irish wake,” Foy said.



Photo Credit: Regan family

Protesters Want to Ensure Philly Ends ICE Contract

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Protesters took to city streets Saturday, marching from the Liberty Bell to City Hall, saying they wanted to make sure Philly's mayor makes good on a promise to stop cooperating with immigration officials. The groups say they also want to shut down the Berks Detention Center, abolish ICE and expand Philadelphia's sanctuary city protections for undocumented immigrants.



Photo Credit: March for a Sanctuary City

Search Continues for Missing Mom Who Was Traveling to Philly

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Authorities across several states are still searching for a woman who was supposed to be traveling to Philadelphia -- but hasn't been seen for more than a week.

And police say they believe Vianela Tavera, 50, has been harmed.

Tavera lives in New York but has family in Camden. She's the mom of five children.

Her SUV has been found in Virginia, along with a man she knew: Luis Negron Martinez.

Martinez, who is from Philadelphia, was found in the car with a gun. Police said he needed medical attention when he was found, but he's now in custody in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Police are questioning Martinez. They did not say how the two knew each other.

"We're asking for the public's help right now in figuring this all out and locating Vianela," said Lt. Eli Cory of Fairfax County police. 

NBC10 First Alert: Could Heat Wave Strike Region?

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NBC10 First Alert Weather meteorologist Krystal Klei is tracking a potential heatwave bringing isolated showers to the PA suburbs before it ends Tuesday.

Wednesday's Child: Meet Randy

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Randy is 15-years-old and dreams of being the next broadcast sensation. Now, Randy just needs a loving family to help him follow his dreams.


Alleged Street Racing Leaves One Man Dead

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One man is dead after an alleged street racing crash in Southwest Philadelphia. Witnesses from the scene say the driver of the motorcycle was not involved in the race.

Fishermen Rescue 7 from Sinking Boat Off Cape May

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Fishermen came to the rescue of seven people whose boat sank Saturday several miles off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The seven were aboard a boat called "Beach Runner," when it started "rapidly taking on water" about nine miles off shore in the area of Cape May reef, the Coast Guard said.

They had issued a distress call on radio Channel 16, which prompted an "Urgent Marine Information Broadcast" to alert boaters in the area.

The signal worked: Two other nearby fishing boats, the Miss Addison and the Porgy IV, rushed to the scene to pluck the seven fellow boaters from the ocean.

All seven were wearing life jackets, the Coast Guard said.

The Beach Runner eventually sunk.

The seven people rescued were returned safely to Cape May aboard the Miss Addison.

"This is a perfect example of boaters and the maritime community doing the right thing in an emergency situation," said David Umberger, command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay. "From everyone wearing life jackets to all boaters having radios tuned to channel 16 – this case illustrates how good communication and safety measures bring rescuers together to quickly and effectively help those who are in need."



Photo Credit: US Coast Guard

First Alert Weather: Steamy Sunday

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Sunday will bring high temperatures to our region, making some neighborhoods feel close to 100 degrees. But how long will the heat last? NBC10 First Alert meteorologist Krystal Klei has your forecast.

Gerry Lenfest, Billionaire Philanthropist, Has Died

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H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest, who made a fortune as an early pioneer in cable television and then became the pre-eminent philanthropist in Philadelphia, has died. He was 88.

Lenfest, with his wife Marguerite always at his side, touched nearly public and private institution in the city through his charitable giving. He gave $1.3 billion to more than 1,000 institutions, according to the Philly.com obituary posted Sunday.

"Today we mourn the loss of a Philadelphia giant who left an indelible mark on the City and the entire Philadelphia region," Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement. "His generous contributions transformed the lives of countless individuals and institutions. His imprint will long remain on jewels like the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Curtis Institute of Music."

While his giving was wide-ranging, he made headlines nationally throughout the last decade for his ownership of Philadelphia's two daily newspapers, the Inquirer and Daily News. In what many in journalism dubbed as revolutionary, he then turned the papers over to a non-profit formed in his name, the Lenfest Institute, which he hoped to spur on donors to support journalism through charity.

He also was instrumental in the creation and opening of the American Revolution Museum, which opened in 2016.

Keith Leaphart, chairman of the Lenfest Foundation, the family's charitable organization, said Lenfest didn't see money in the traditional sense.

"Wealth didn't define Gerry. Gerry defined what wealth should be," Leaphart said.

Gov. Tom Wolf called Lenfest "a great human being and an even better citizen."

"Long before I became governor, I met and came to know and admire Gerry Lenfest for his commitment to making communities stronger," Wolf said. "Gerry and his wife, Marguerite, took their incredible success and offered the full energy of their lives in service of their fellow citizens and the city and state that they loved. There is likely not an organization or charity in Philadelphia that didn't benefit from the Lenfest family's generosity in some way."

He died Sunday morning at Presbyterian Hospital in University City, Philly.com reported.

Comcast Corp. chairman and CEO Brian Roberts described Lenfest as "one of the greatest philanthropists the city has ever seen," according to Philly.com.

"He has changed our city and so many institutions," Roberts told the website, which was also donated to the Lenfest Institute along with the newspapers. Comcast eventually took over Lenfest's cable company, according to Philly.com.

Leaphart, the foundation chairman, said the world lost a bright light.

"He was an amazing man. My hurt is more for the city and what we lost," Leaphart said. "If we had more Gerry Lenfests, the world would be a much better place."

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.



Photo Credit: AP Photo/Matt Rourke

Fiery Motorcycle Crash During Alleged Street Race Claims 1

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A man is dead after the motorcycle he was driving collided head-on with a car apparently involved in an illegal street race early Sunday in Southwest Philadelphia, police said.

The crash happened at 1 a.m. in an office park along the 7600 block of Brewster Avenue near Philadelphia International Airport.

Witnesses told police that two cars — a 2003 Mitsubishi and a red Subaru — were racing southbound along Brewster Avenue when the motorcyclist sped north and collided with the Mitsubishi.

The 45-year-old motorcycle driver was killed on impact. His name has yet to be released by police.

Investigators believed the motorcycle driver was popping wheelies when the crash happened, but witnesses disputed that claim.

In video of the crash taken by a witness, the motorcycle does not appear to be doing tricks. The clip also shows a fire spark after the collision.

Street racing is illegal in Philadelphia. Police are searching for the driver of the second vehicle, the red Subaru, who fled the scene following the crash.

No one in the Mitsubishi was injured.



Photo Credit: NBC10

Crashing End to Police Pursuit in Philadelphia

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What started as a robbery and car theft in Delaware County came to a crashing stop in Philadelphia's Cobbs Creek section early Monday morning. 



Photo Credit: NBC10

Giant Lobster Named After Bon Jovi

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There's Bon Jovi the rock star and then there's Bon Jovi the rock lobster. 

Jon Bon Jovi stopped at a Long Island supermarket on Saturday to help promote his son's new line of rosé, surprising shoppers at the Farmingdale store. 

But perhaps most surprised was a 19-pound lobster who was named "Bon Jovi" in honor of the "Wanted Dead or Alive" singer. 

Bon Jovi and his son Jesse were also greeted by Stew Leonard, Jr., the CEO of the eponymous grocery store chain. 

They were promoting "Diving Into Hampton Water" rosé, which will be available throughout the East Coast. Stew Leonard's Wine and Spirits is launching the sale of the wine. 





Photo Credit: Stew Leonard’s Wines and Spirits

I-76 West Ramp to 30th Street Reopens, for Now

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After a temporary closure for maintenance, a major connection from Interstate 76 to Center City Philadelphia and University City is now reopen for a little over two weeks.

The westbound ramp connecting the Schuylkill Expressway to 30th Street reopened Friday morning to "accommodate SEPTA shuttle buses that will be in service for construction on the rail line between 30th Street Station and the Arsenal Interlocking, near University City Station."

The closure, which began July 21, was implemented to complete repairs and resurfacing of the ramp. This specific project is part of a $103.6 million rehabilitation effort to the Chestnut Street Bridge over the Schuylkill River and other nearby structures.

SEPTA’s shuttle buses began operating Friday through the ramp on special timetables that will be in effect through Aug. 19. This is the only portion of the Media/Elwyn line being replaced by the shuttles.

This latest change to the bus route is parts of SEPTA’s Southwest Connection Improvement Program to rebuild the infrastructure on its Media/Elwyn Regional Rail Line. While the train services are suspended due to work on the tracks, this shuttle will provide an alternative route for passengers traveling to 30th Street Station.

The ramp is scheduled to close again the morning of Aug. 20. The crews will then resume work, aiming to finish by Sept. 14.

Visit the PennDOT District 6 Traffic Bulletin for a list of road restrictions and maintenance operations.



Photo Credit: Google Street View

Philly Officer Shot in Face While Serving Warrant

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A veteran Philadelphia police SWAT officer was shot in the face while serving a warrant Monday morning.

Officer Jason Potts suffered serious facial injuries, including a broken jaw, when he was shot at least once while serving a weapons violation warrant at a home along the 4800 block of Knox Street in the city’s Germantown neighborhood around 6 a.m., Philadelphia Police Commissioner Richard Ross said.

The 20-year-veteran was rushed to Temple University Hospital where he was listed in critical condition with "some very serious injuries," Ross said.

"We do believe that he is going to survive despite the critical nature of his injuries," Ross said. "He's got a ways to go," Ross said.

Potts, despite bleeding heavily, was able to walk into the emergency room under his own power, Ross said. The 49-year-old is married with three children. His family was by his side at the hospital, Ross said.

"Our prayers are with officer Potts and his family," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said. 

SWAT officers arrived at the home to serve the warrant on a 20-year-old man and twice announced themselves before entering the home, Ross said. Potts and the other officers then came under fire almost immediately after entering the second door into the home, Ross said.

SWAT officers returned fire, striking the gunman, who is in his late 50s, Ross said. The shooter was rushed to Einstein Medical Center in critical condition.

A woman in her 60s was shot as she tried to flee from the back of the home. She was listed in critical but stable condition and is expected to survive, Ross said. It was unclear who shot her, Ross said.

The person police were looking for wasn't in the home, Ross said.

Ross said SWAT rarely needs to open fire because of the planning and training the unit goes through.

Potts was supposed to start vacation at the end of the day, Kenney said. The veteran officer is now spending his day undergoing tests at the hospital.

Stick with NBC10 for breaking developments.



Photo Credit: NBC10 - Matt DeLucia

Couple Swipes Puppy From Montgomery County Pet Store, Police Say

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Surveillance video shows a couple stealing a Husky-Aussie mix puppy from Diane's Discount Pets in Pottstown, Pennsylvania.

Body Found in Feltonville Likely Remains of Missing NY Mom

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The missing body of Vianela Tavera, a mom of five from New York, may have been found Sunday in the Feltonville section of Philadelphia, family members said.

Family members of Tavera said they are "99 percent" sure the body found over the weekend was in fact Tavera.

The body was found in a home in the 400 block of West Mentor Street after complaints of a foul odor led a search of the property.

Tavera lived in New York but has family in Camden. She's the mom of five children.

Her SUV has been found in Virginia, along with a man she knew: Luis Negron Martinez.

Martinez, who is from Philadelphia, was found in the car with a gun. Police said he needed medical attention when he was found, but he's now in custody in Fairfax County, Virginia.

Police are questioning Martinez. They did not say how the two knew each other.

The body still must be examined by a coroner before police can make an official identification.

High Cost of Being Broke: Fighting Hunger in Every Zip Code

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This article is part of the High Cost of Being Broke series, produced by Broke in Philly, a collaborative reporting project on economic justice. To see all the #HighCost stories, please visit the Broke in Philly site.

Every week, 70-year-old Delfina Martinez climbs into her daughter's minivan and the two women hunt for North Philadelphia's cheapest groceries.

Both agree that The Richmond Shops IGA on Aramingo Avenue provides the best bargain after factoring time in traffic, cost of gas and quality of food.

Wherever there is a deal, Martinez and her daughter said they'll find it. This is the high cost of being broke: The ingenuity and time required to find every possible discount that could make the difference between enjoying a meal and paying the bills.

Martinez estimates that she spends about $160 each trip to feed herself, her two granddaughters, three dogs and a cat. Her Social Security benefits barely cover her bills, so Martinez works as a seamstress on the side, she said.

“Sometimes it’s … hard to spend money,” Martinez told NBC10. “The food is a little expensive, but you have to eat. I don’t have much leftover.”

In constant fear of foreclosure, Martinez checks in regularly with utility companies when she can’t pay a bill on time and works with the city to pay off property taxes, she said. Martinez worries that she will lose her home if she doesn't keep officials informed of her precarious income.

“It’s poor people living in the neighborhood and they’re trying to bring in the rich people,” Martinez said.

Her 47-year-old daughter, Marlene Cruz, pulls up the minivan and loads the three shopping carts of food accumulated between the two women. Both Martinez and Cruz live closer to Lehigh Avenue, but they drive down to the IGA off York Street because “the deli meat is better.”

“I’ve been seeing the prices go up for quite a while," Cruz said, "but I’ve shopped everywhere from Whole Foods to Trader Joe’s to Shop Rite to this store.” 

The national monthly average cost of a "thrifty meal plan" for a family of four is $692 and $866 for a "low cost meal plan", according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Cruz spends roughly $360 every week-and-a-half for herself, her husband and their youngest daughter, she said.

As the mother and daughter team know well, food costs can vary widely depending on where you shop and when. Nowhere in Philadelphia is the disparate cost of food more evident than in this zip code, 19125, where Fishtown's trendy restaurants give way to Kensington's homeless encampments in a mere span of blocks. 

Between those extremes live thousands of residents hovering in the midst of food insecurity. They are not necessarily unemployed or starving, but some days they are hungry.

Food insecurity plagues more than 20 percent of people in Philadelphia and more than 1.6 million people across Pennsylvania, according to a 2017 report by Feeding America. The hardest-hit local neighborhoods include West Philly, Southwest Philly, North Philly and portions of the Northeast, where the food insecurity rate is more than 30 percent, according to the report.

But even in newly hip areas, such as Fishtown, food insecurity rates do not drop below 10 percent.

“A lot of people don't want to admit they are hungry or need assistance,” Stefanie Arck-Baynes from Philabundance said. “It’s a quiet hunger.”

Martinez and Cruz embark on the kind of bargain hunting that is only accessible to those who own a car. But just several blocks away from IGA, Joan Righder is limited to walking.

Righder, who turns 82 years old this week, considers herself lucky to live a few doors down from Garrison’s Market near York and Memphis streets. Like many people her age, Righder lives on a fixed income and puts away most of her monthly Social Security check to pay bills. She purchased her home 40 years ago for $20,000 at a foreclosure sale and is thankful for that security, at least.

Still, Righder relies on Garrison’s to feed her.

“They don’t charge me much because they know I don’t have a lot of money,” she said. “I’ll never starve because, whatever I need, they always got me.”

Garrison’s is the kind of place where customers on foot can sometimes hitch a ride home with Greg Garrison or his son, Brett. The corner market has been in their family since 1915 when their forebearer, Bill, bought it from the previous owner. Bill Garrison had been taken out of Horatio B. Hackett School at the age of 10 to help feed his family. By the time he was 19, he was a shop owner.

When 34-year-old Brett Garrison started pitching in at his family’s store, most meals were cooked at home and small markets dotted the largely working class Fishtown neighborhood, he said. Many shops, Garrison’s included, offered credit lines so customers could settle food tabs on payday instead of having to choose between bills and dinner.

These days, however, habits and incomes have changed, he said. Garrison estimates that around 20 percent of his customers use their monthly SNAP benefits at the store.

“It’s like anything - you really get what you pay for,” he said. “You can buy [unhealthy food] for cheap, but it comes with long-term costs, like ... getting diabetes.”

Researchers largely agree.

The 2014 Hunger in America national survey by Feeding America found that people facing food insecurity also have higher instances of chronic diseases caused by unhealthy diets.

More than 55 percent of households who use Feeding America food banks reported having at least one family member with high blood pressure while 33 percent had at least one member with diabetes, according to the report. The survey also found that of the families helped annually by Feeding America agencies, approximately 80 percent turned to “inexpensive, unhealthy food to feed their family.”

By contrast, just 23 percent of families reported growing their own vegetables to save on food cost.

“A lot of people, when they think food insecure, they think skinny,” Sara Goldfrick-Rab, a professor of higher education policy and sociology at Temple University, said. “But they miss that food insecurity is associated with obesity. Your body changes when you’re not getting what you need.”

Recent research shows that hunger can also negatively impact cognitive and biological functions, especially in young people. Hungry students report difficulty focusing at school and staying awake in class.

But food insecurity is much less obvious and should not be confused with hunger, Goldrick-Rab added.

“If you skip breakfast every day, you get used to it. When you get used to being hungry, maybe you can function on some reasonable level,” she said.

For years, Philabundance has attempted to quell some of the city's food needs. It is the largest hunger relief agency in the Delaware Valley and partners with some 350 organizations across nine counties. Their efforts include food pantries, meal deliveries and produce distribution. Roughly 90,000 people are fed each week through Philabundance agencies, according to Arck-Baynes.

Some of those people are in unexpected neighborhoods, like Ardmore.

"You have no idea what's inside those homes … especially people who fall ill, who get divorced, who have a medical emergency,” she said. “It’s in every zip code.”

One of Philabundance’s partners is just down the street from Joan Righder’s home. She gets most of her food either from Garrison’s or Fishtown Market down the block. Neither establishment is known for selling fresh produce, however.

Her diet largely consists of milk, cereal, cakes and beef, she said.

“They’re good to me,” Righder said of Garrison’s deli. “If I need something, they say ‘Here. Just take it.’”



Photo Credit: Steve Teare
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