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Labor Day Weekend Forecast

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We'll see a mostly cloudy and humid start to your holiday weekend. Will the clouds stick around?

Smoke Coming From Spring Garden Tunnel

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A car fire shuts down the Spring Garden Tunnel near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The tunnel was blocked off around 4:45 p.m., after smoke was spotted coming from the tunnel.

Fire crews had the situation under control by 5:00 p.m.

The Spring Garden Street tunnel is one of the roads that will be closed to traffic due to the Made in America Festival.

Starting at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow, Spring Garden Street between 20th and 31st Streets, including the tunnel, will close until late Monday or early Tuesday morning.

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Photo Credit: Skyforce10

Penn Police Officer Killed in Motorcycle Crash

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A University of Pennsylvania police officer has been killed in a motorcycle crash in Virginia.

James "Jimmy" Morrison was riding his Harley Davidson motorcycle along Madison Road in  Culpeper, Va. Thursday afternoon when a Ford pickup truck pulled out in front of him around 12:30 p.m. Thursday, Culpeper Police said.

The 47-year-old swerved to avoid the pickup truck and lost control of the motorcycle, rolling several times before being thrown from the bike, police said. He was rushed to Culpeper Regional Hospital and later died.

The Philadelphia resident was riding along with seven other members of the Blue Knights of Pennsylvania, an organization of law enforcement motorcycle enthusiasts, when he crash occurred. The group was in Culpeper for the annual Blue Knights rally. Officials said Morrison was the president of the local chapter.

Morrison was a six-year veteran of the Penn police force and previously spent 13 years as an Philadelphia Housing Authority police officer. He also served in the United States Air Force, according to Penn officials.

"Officer Jimmy Morrison was a model father, husband, Patriot, University of Pennsylvania Police Officer. He will be deeply missed by his family and friends," said Penn Vice President of Public Safety Maureen Rush.

No charges were filed against the 84-year-old driver of the pickup truck, but Culpeper Police said the accident is still under investigation.

Police will escort Morrison's body back to Philadelphia Friday. He is survived by his wife Wendy and a teenage son.

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced.


Contact Vince Lattanzio at 610.668.5532, vince.lattanzio@nbcuni.com or follow @VinceLattanzio on Twitter.



Photo Credit: University of Pennsylvania Police

Hymie's Reopens with Tougher Than the Truck Humor

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A popular Main Line deli reopens one day after a truck smashed through the front of the restaurant. And they opened the doors again with a little humor.

Syrian-Americans React to Attack Threat

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One of the country's largest communities of Syrian-Americans is in our area. We went to Allentown today to get reaction to the threat of an attack on Syria by the U.S.

Philly Schools May Cash in on $2M Art Collection

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Before Marilyn Krupnick was a science teacher at Northeast Philadelphia's Wilson Middle School, she was a student there. When she stepped through the building's doors for the first time in 1956 with her mother, she was shocked by what she saw.

"I said, 'Mom, this school is an art museum.'"

About 70 pieces of art lined the walls, including works by the famous African-American painter Henry Ossawa Tanner and Philadelphian Dox Thrash.

Many years later, as the head of Wilson Middle School's mentally gifted program, Krupnick taught students about the 19th- and 20th-century paintings.

"And you know what's amazing?" she said. "Not one student damaged any painting in the building. And we had some wild kids."

The School District of Philadelphia has approximately 1,125 paintings, photos, sculptures and other pieces that are scattered throughout city schools and an undisclosed storage facility.

Most of the artwork was donated to the schools or purchased for low prices over several decades. The collection even includes portraits by Thomas Eakins, one of the country's most beloved painters.

DISTRICT SEEKS BIDS TO APPRAISE, AUCTION COLLECTION

In the midst of an unprecedented budget crisis, school district officials are now thinking about selling the pieces. They asked companies this summer to bid on a contract to appraise and auction the art, a move that has largely flown under the radar.

Spokesman Fernando Gallard said the district issued a request for quotation, or RFQ, for a simple reason.

"We are considering selling the art collection because we must look at every revenue source possible to assist us with putting more resources the classroom," he said.

Facing a $304 million budget deficit, the district sent pink slips this summer to nearly 3,900 employees, including teachers, guidance counselors and safety staff. The district received emergency funding from the city and state after the layoffs, but only enough to hire back 1,600 workers.

It is unclear how much money the district could raise by selling the collection. In 2003, an art consultant said it was worth $30 million. Gallard said it is now valued at $2 million, but couldn't explain the change.

The fact that the district is eyeing a sale drew a range of responses from education advocates, school employees and city officials.

Krupnick, who is now retired, said the artwork shouldn't be sold to the highest bidder because it could end up in private hands, never to be seen by Philadelphia school kids.

For her, that would be a tragic ending to an even more tragic story, which began in 2003.

ARTWORK TAKEN FROM SCHOOLS, CONSIGNED TO STORAGE

Then-district CEO Paul Vallas decided to conduct a survey of the art at schools throughout the city. Afterward, district officials said about 200 pieces at Wilson Middle and other schools were in danger of being stolen or damaged, so they quickly moved them to a top-secret storage facility.
Gallard said former officials did not notify school employees before boxing up the art because they believed that could have put it at risk.

"One day, an unmarked truck pulled up," said Krupnick. "The paintings were all hung on wires, with beautiful frames and lighting. They just started snipping wires. We were all crying hysterically."

The Philadelphia Inquirer, Los Angeles Times, National Public Radio and several other media outlets reported on the district's discovery of its valuable collection.

Teachers and principals called for it to be returned to schools. Some education advocates said it should be sold to help shore up the district's budget. But for almost 10 years, neither one of those things happened, and the paintings languished in storage.

Krupnick is afraid that Wilson's paintings could be stolen now if they were returned to the school. The next best thing, she said, is for them to be available for children to view at a museum, ideally for free.

Arlene Holtz, a former principal at Wilson Middle School, agrees. She said the district's proposal goes against the wishes of teachers and administrators who collected the art decades ago with the explicit goal of educating children.

"You never know whose life you touch with a painting or a choir rehearsal or a show performance," she said. "Putting up paintings in a school — that first generation ... those teachers, those parents — that was an act of faith. We've broken that faith. I really feel, deeply, we've broken faith with that generation."

Helen Gym, co-founder of the advocacy group Parents United for Public Education, urged the district to be cautious while considering an auction.

"What you don't want is a fire sale and a frantic desperation to dump things," she said, "for what's essentially not going to be that much money."

Gym also worries that the proceeds would be used to pay off the district's massive debt service, instead of funding school programs. Gallard said the money "would definitely be going to back to schools."

VALUE OF ART VS. VALUE OF ARTS PROGRAMS

Donna Cooper, executive director of the nonprofit Public Citizens for Children and Youth, supports selling at least some of the paintings to raise money for the district's art and music programs.

She noted that many of Philly's schools do not currently have choruses or annual plays.

"At this point," she said, "if we can get another year of art and music out of it, it's probably a better use of the picture than having it be on the wall and reminiscing about when we had art and music for children."

City Controller Alan Butkovitz, who has audited the art collection, said selling it would be an improvement over storing it indefinitely.

But he warned that may not be as easy as it sounds. He said some pieces are damaged or missing.

For instance, he said, murals at the former Thomas Middle School were painted over during a renovation. (It is now the Mastery Charter Schools' Thomas Campus.) He said the pieces were valued at $210,000.

To further complicate matters, Butkovitz said, the district may have a hard time determining who owns the artwork.

"There were claims that teachers owned them, or they belonged to associations, so that has to be sorted out," he said. "But nine years is way too long to grapple with these decisions."

Gallard said the district unquestionably owns the entire collection. He declined to confirm or deny Butkovitz's claim that Thomas' murals had been destroyed.

The district's proposal to auction off the collection faces another barrier. The School Reform Commission needs to approve a sale of the work.

In the midst of a doomsday budget, though, it's hard to imagine the SRC won't.


This story is reported through a news coverage parternship between NBC10.com and NewsWorks.org.



Photo Credit: Office of the Philadelphia Controller

Hours Away From Made in America

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Less than a full day away from the 2013 Made in America concert, NBC10's Deanna Durante looks at last-minute preps and where you can get a look at the action, without a ticket.

Historic Cemetery's Demise Leaves Families in Limbo

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Michael Simpson described an hour spent at Mount Moriah Cemetery as an "Easter egg hunt" and a "wild goose chase."

The Southwest Philadelphia cemetery has been in disarray for decades, with mounds of overgrown Earth, natural sink holes and weeds covering sections of the historic cemetery. About 85,000 people are buried there, most notably Betsy Ross and thousands of veterans. The oldest plots date back to the 1850s. A group of volunteers from the Friends of Mount Moriah Cemetery has been working in recent years to improve the cemetery’s conditions, after years of neglect.

“It’s a jungle out there,” said Simpson.

Simpson was looking for his mother’s grave site and the nearby resting place that had long been reserved for his Great Aunt Dot, 94. He envisioned an upright rose-colored headstone in section K. After an hour of searching and with the aid of a volunteer, the stone could not be found.

Simpson gave up.

Then as he began walking away with a look of disappointment on his face, Simpson stopped at the last row before the curb. He looked down and said, “Bingo!” Simpson had found the headstone. It was gray and flat, a far cry from what he had remembered.

Locating his mother’s headstone brought a measure of peace. But, it didn’t change the family's unfortunate predicament following Aunt Dot's death just a week prior. Simpson couldn’t bury her at the cemetery which she'd paid for and designated as her final resting place.

"This whole thing is mind-blowing. It’s just bizarre, right out of the Twilight zone," said Simpson.

No one has been buried at the historic cemetery since it closed in 2011. The problems were two-fold. The cemetery had been neglected for so long that conditions were deplorable. And legally, there was no one responsible for ownership or upkeep. Mt. Moriah had been operated by the Mount Moriah Cemetery Association, but the last living member, Horatio Jones Jr., passed away in 2004. To complicate matters, the cemetery straddles the City of Philadelphia and the Borough of Yeadon. Now, the two towns have formed a new organization called the Mount Moriah Cemetery Preservation Corporation reorganizing and ultimately, taking over ownership and management of the cemetery. But until legal ownership is established, families with plots are unable to use them.

Five church friends showed up when Michael and Christine Simpson held Aunt Dot’s viewing at the Burns Funeral home. They empathized about the unfortunate position the Simpsons found themselves in when they couldn't fulfill Aunt Dot's wishes.

“You’d think with a deed and plot one’s final resting place was secure,” said friend George Herrmann.

Sitting in a semi-circle at the viewing, the friends reminisced about Aunt Dot and the long life she lived.

“It’s depressing they can do this,” said Barbara Hannon. “I can’t imagine how this could possibly happen.”

When it was time to say goodbye to Aunt Dot, Simpson and his wife Christine covered her with her favorite bed spread, a yellow scarf she always wore and a stuffed bunny.

“I want to make things right, the way she willed it. Not being able to fulfill her wishes – that’s bothersome,” Simpson said.

There may be other families with plots who won't know until the death of a loved one that they face the same predicament.

Kathy Felip of Western New York State had to make alternate plans when her aunt died recently at a Wallingford nursing home. According to Felip, the funeral was pre-arranged and paid for in 2009. She will now be buried at Alfred Rural Cemetery in New York. The family must bear the additional cost of $400.

Carol Jackson of Philadelphia is afraid to go out to the cemetery. She has two plots near her dad's, which she hasn't seen in at least three years.

"I'm very disappointed. I thought it would be rectified," said Jackson. "I wish I hadn't bought the plots."

Jackson plans to use the land as the final resting place for other family members when cemetery operations resume. Due to all the confusion, she doesn't want to be buried there now.

“The joint board will figure out the next steps because the city has no cemetery resources or expertise. Mayor Nutter has made it clear we have to figure out a long-term solution so something like this doesn’t happen again,” said Abernathy. "The situation is now too big to ignore. Our goal is to turn Mount Moriah around."

Simpson was praying for a miracle after Great Aunt Dot died. He waited a week before making the tough decision to cremate her remains. He hopes one day to bury her remains at Mount Moriah. For the time being, she’ll rest in an urn next to another deceased relative at his home. 


Contact Sarah Glover at 610-668-5580, sarah.glover@nbcuni.com or follow @skyphoto on Twitter.



Photo Credit: Sarah Glover

High School Blitz: Kennett Vs. Avon Grove

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Are you ready for the High School Blitz? After receiving more than 55,000 votes, NBC10 will be featuring Avon Grove at Kennett High School to be our featured game of the week. NBC10's Jillian Mele has more on the matchup.

Bank Robber Speeds Off in BMW

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The FBI and the Whitpain Township Police are looking for the man who robbed a Montgomery County bank earlier this afternoon.

Authorities have released a surveillance picture in the hopes that someone will recognize the man in the light brown sports coat and tan pants, who entered the Wells Fargo Bank on Skippack Pike in Ambler around 12:25 p.m.

Police say the man showed a gun and demanded money.

After he got his hands on the cash, investigators say the man took off. He left the scene in a light blue-colored BMW.

The man is considered armed and dangerous and anyone with information is asked to call 610-279-9033.

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Photo Credit: FBI

Church Burglars Steal $11K Worth of Stuff

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Calvin Presbyterian Church in West Philadelphia is hoping police will be able to track down the burglars who targeted their church.

"These guys know what they were doing. These are no amateurs," Elder Ron Ricks of Calvin Presbyterian told NBC10 Philadelphia's Nefertiti Jaquez.

The thieves pried open a door to the church during the overnight hours when no one was around. "It's very odd. It's almost like they've been here and they knew what they wanted and came back to get it," said Ricks.

The burglars allegedly swiped about $11,000 worth of antique chandeliers and chairs from the pulpit.

"They would have to be heartless, ruthless, and have no sense of respect for God or a church building," said Ricks.

This church has been a fixture in the community for 112 years.

Calvin Presbyterian is one of six churches in the city hit by burglars just this week.
 
Police aren't able to confirm if all these cases are linked.



Photo Credit: NBC10 Philadelphia

3 Shot Outside W. Philly Bar

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Three people were shot outside a bar on Walnut Street in West Philadelphia early Saturday morning.

Police say that a man and two women were shot when a fight that began inside the Watutsi on 46th and Walnut bar spilled out on to the street.

The women, 21 and 27, were both grazed by bullets. The man, 24, was shot in the abdomen.

He is in critical condition at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

So far, police have no suspects.

More News:
Homeless Woman Pleads Guilty to AC Stabbings
Church Burglars Steal $11K Worsth of Antique Chandeliers, Chairs from Pulpit
Boyhood Friend Shoots Teen 10 Times Over $60 Playstation: Police



Photo Credit: NBC10

Man Dies After Being Punched in the Head

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A man is dead after being punched in the head during a fight early Saturday morning in North Philadelphia.

The 40-year-old victim, police say, was punched just once in the head during a fist-fight on 17th and Cecil B. Moore around 1:15 a.m.

He was transported to St. Joseph's Hospital where he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Police were able to catch the suspect after he fled on foot.

No word on identity of the victim.

We'll keep you updated with details as they become available.

More News: 

3 Shot Outside W. Philly Bar
10 to 12 Boys Rape 2 Women in Park
Teen Pleads Guilty in Deadly Phone Robbery

High School Blitz: Week One Highlights

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NBC10's John Clark takes a look at week one of the High School Blitz, featuring our game of the week, Avon Grove vs. Kennett.

Woman Jumps Out Window Onto Couch During Fire

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Firefighters, police and rescue crews are on the scene of a fire in Center City where neighbors say a woman jumped from a window to save herself.

Neighbors told NBC10 that the 35-year-old woman was on the top floor of a building at 1704 S. 22nd Street when they heard her screaming.

They quickly jumped into rescue mode, grabbed a couch and moved it under the window.

The woman then leapt from the 2nd story window onto the couch.

She has been transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

No word on her condition.

The fire, which has been placed under control, broke out around noon Saturday.

It's unknown at this time what started the fire.

More News:

 



Photo Credit: Associated Press

High School Blitz: Games of the Week

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Take a look as NBC10 shines the spotlight on great high school football games this week.

Photo Credit: NBC10.com

High School Blitz: Big Time Rivals Become One

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Two Philadelphia high school football teams, once fierce rivals, have now joined forces. NBC10's John Clark has the story.

Photo Credit: NBC10.com

High School Blitz: Play of the Week

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We head to South Philadelphia for tonight's Play of the Week.

Decomposing Body Found in Delaware River

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Police say a decomposing body found in the Delaware River Saturday may be a man who went missing while tubing three weeks ago.

Lower Makefield Township Police were called to the area of Richard Road, one mile north of the Calhoun Street Bridge, around 4:30 p.m. for a report of a body found in the water.

Investigators say a white man, approximately 25 to 35 years old was found hanging on a low tree branch and wearing shorts. Police say it appeared that the body had been in the water for an extended period of time.

Police say there were no signs of foul play.

Thirty-year-old Anthony Del Prete of Herndon, Va. was reported missing after tubing with a group of friends near 2 Walters Lane in Point Pleasant, Bucks County on August 10.

Investigators say he was about 15 feet from the shoreline when he fell off his tube and went missing. Six rescue crews conducted the search a two-day search but were not able to find him.

The body was taken to the Bucks County coroner’s office for identification.
 

More stories on NBC10.com:

Man Dies After Being Punched in the Head

Man High During Crash That Killed Mom, Daughter: Police

Woman Jumps Out of Window Onto Couch During Fire 



Photo Credit: NBC10.com

Car Slams Into Liquor Store

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