Wednesday, March 24, 2010

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The Daily Numbers - March 24

The Daily Numbers: 1 person stabbed to death in an Upper Chichester home last night. She is believed to be the 25-year-old mother of 2 young kids.
2 violent incidents in Upper Chichester this week. Earlier an 83-year-old man was tied up and brutally beaten by an intruder in his home.
120 years in jail for John Worman, convicted in a horrendous child porn ring based in Colwyn.
17 to 35 more years tacked onto his jail time by a judge in Delco yesterday for Worman’s state offenses.
3 year deal for teachers in the Rose Tree Media School District.
2.5 to 3 percent pay raises for each of the 3 years for teachers.
449,000 dollars in savings that will be reached by a switch in benefit plans for the teachers.
2,000 dollar reward posted for info on the whereabouts of a man charged in fatal shooting in Cheers bar in Upper Darby last week.
200 children that must be registered at St. Joseph’s School by March 31 in order to save the Catholic school.
450 children who have died of hypothermia in the last 12 years after being left in steaming hot vehicles. A day care operator in Bucks County was acquitted of all charges in an incident this week.
18 more teens who entered admissions of guilt in connection with “flash mob” incidents in Philadelphia.
2 homeowners behind on their mortgage who apparently took their own lives recently in South Philadelphia.
3 more suspects who turned themselves in as part of a burglary ring operating out of the Wilmington area that was allegedly made up of students from the Wilmington Job Corps.
32-12 percent lead for Sen. Arlen Specter over Rep. Joe Sestak in latest Franklin & Marshall Poll of Pennsylvania.
52 percent of those polled remain undecided in the Dem Senate race.
33-29 percent lead for GOP favorite Pat Toomey over Specter, & 27-19 lead over Sestak.
13 attorneys general, including Tom Corbett in Pa., who filed suit to block federal health care reform law from being put into effect.
29 billion dollar Pa. budget plan passed early by the House. It faces a steep challenge in the Senate.
26 shots stopped by Ottawa goalie in shutout of Flyers last night.
654 yards rushing last year for Mike Bell with the Super Bowl champion Saints. He’s now a member of the Eagles after the Saints did not match the Birds’ offer.
2 home runs yesterday for Ryan Howard as the Phils beat the Rays in a Grapefruit League contest.
90-36 win for UConn women as they buried Temple in NCAA women’s tourney game.
74 straight wins for the women Huskies.
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Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.Is that a thaw I’m sensing from Andy Reid and the Eagles brass when it comes to the possibility of entertaining offers for Donovan McNabb? Go for it, guys.
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I Don’t Get It: Two days and two straight violent incidents out in Upper Chichester. I don’t get it.
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Today’s Upper: Let’s hear it for Penn Wood, as they play tonight in the state semifinal as they attempt to win back-to-back state hoops titles.
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Quote Box: “This monster is pure evil.”
- Mother of victim at yesterday’s sentencing for child predator John Worman.

More grim news from Upper Chi

It's been a tough week out in Upper Chichester.

First, an 83-year-old man was found tied up and badly beaten in his home on Apple Street. He's in the hospital while police look for the man who broke into his home.

Last night a 25-year-old mother of two was not as lucky.

An intruder entered her home and fatally stabbed the woman, according to police.

She was the mother of two young children, ages 2 and 6. They were not home at the time of the attack.

Police have not made any arrests in either incident, which occurred a few blocks from each other.

Residents no doubt are getting a bit antsy at two incidents happening so close together in what is usually a very quiet residential community.

Here's helping cops quickly corral the people responsible for these two heinous attacks.

Help spread some 'Sunshine'

I get the opportunity almost every day to deliver some pretty grim news. Today is no exception, as a glance at the home page of our Web site will attest.

That is why I am always looking for ways to deliver a more upbeat message.

And today I have exactly that opportunity, thanks to the folks at the Delaware County Community Foundation.

Yesterday afternoon I had a visit here in the office from several Foundation execs, Peg Hendricks, Joe Lastowka Jr. and Helen Davis Picher.

There were here to thank the newspaper for our help in promoting their Delco Sunshine Fund, and also to remind the public that they still need some help.

The Sunshine Fund offers direct grants to people in need. It is a very special program, and certainly in these times the need has never been greater.

The Foundation has stepped up to a challenge offered to them by Doris Buffett, sister of Midwestern billionaire Warren Buffett. The challenge is pretty simple. If the Foundation can raise $50,000 for the Sunshine Fund, Buffett would match it with another $50,000.

That's the good news. But the March 31 deadline is looming, and the Foundation is still $10,000 short of their goal. As it is, even if they don't make their mark, that $40,000 will still go to the Sunshine Fund and people in need. But just think of how much could be done with an additional $60,000.

Buffett decided to use Delco as a test market. It's the only place in the country that got this matching funds offer. She wanted to use a community foundation as a way of testing just how much a community would rally around its neediest citizens.

That's the general idea behind the Delco Sunshine Fund. If they hit the mark, they get another $50,000 in matching funds to the fund, which is used to give grants to citizens who have exhausted all other means of support.

Since its inception two years ago, the DCCF Sunshine Fund has given a total of $140,000 in grants to residents who have hit a streak of bad luck. The one-time financial assistance has enabled 45 families to achieve a long-term solution to their struggle.

Here's how you can help. Send tax-deductible contributions DCCF, 150 Radnor Chester Road, Suite E 140, Radnor, PA 19087. Please make checks payable to DCCF Sunshine Fund.

You also can make donations through the foundation's Web site at www.delcocf.org. The donation should be clearly marked "Sunshine."

The foundation has just 7 more days to hit their goal by March 31.

Let's show Doris Buffett - and the nation - that Delco takes a back seat to no one when it comes to spreading sunshine, and helping our fellow citizens.

Those UConn women

Be careful what you wish for.

The Temple women got into the NCAA tourney. For their efforts they got a date with Goliath – No. 1 UConn.

It was not pretty. This time Goliath was all that – and more.

The powerful Huskies, who had not lost a game in their last 72 outings, and haven’t won any of those by less than 10 points, unloaded on the Owls.

This one was over in a heartbeat.

UConn was up early and cruised into halftime with a 55-12 lead. They shot nearly 78 percent in the first half. The final was 90-36.

This says nothing about the Temple women. Congratulations to them for a great year.

It says everything about just how good this UConn women’s team is.

And I again offer this question. Could they win a game in the NCAA men’s tournament?

I’m still not sure, but I’d love to see them try.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

The Daily Numbers - March 23

The Daily Numbers: 2 people injured, 1 shot, 1 stabbed in another incident at an Upper Darby bar.
2 incidents at Upper Darby taverns that have top cop Michael Chitwood vowing a crackdown on what he calls ‘nuisance bars.’
3:30 a.m., time of the most recent incident. The bar was packed, even though last call is supposed to be 1:45 a.m.
83, age of man tied up and beaten during a vicious home invasion in Upper Chichester.
1,259 signatures gather on her nominating petitions by 7th District Democrat hopeful Teresa Touey. Those signatures are being challenged by front-runner Rep. Bryan Lentz.
45,000 images of child porn found on computer of man who worked for a Nether Providence oil company. He faces charges.
3 percent pay raises due firefighters in Chester after they won a ruling in Commonwealth Court.
1 percent earned income tax under fire in Yeadon. Council is defending the move, which was accompanied by a cut in property taxes.
14 counts of corruption that brought convictions against former state Rep. Mike Veon. He was charged with 59 counts, but acquitted on the others.
8 hours of deliberations that ended in acquittal on all charges for the owner of a Bucks County day care center who left a toddler in her hot SUV, leading to his death.
10 teens found guilty of riot and other charges tied to a “flash mob”
incident in the city. Another group is due in court later today.
1 person killed in an overnight fire in a house in the Olney section of Philadelphia.
61 foot whale that washed up on the beach on Fenwick Island State Park in Delaware.
272 pills that were found in the backpack of 6-year-old riding in a car with a 60-year-old man in Delaware. Police say he hid the pills in the child’s pack.
25 home burglaries that have residents on alert in the Lower Merion section of the Main Line. Hundreds turned up for a community meeting held with police Monday night.
2 children hurt when a deer slammed into their school bus in Delaware.
500 million dollars in capital projects in the works at Peco Energy Co.
13.8 million dollars combined in federal and state funding for 32 airports in Pennsylvania.
8,200 bags of heroin found on man arrested in Wilmington.
11, age of kid charged in what is being referred to as a “Catch and Wreck” attack in Philly.
3 to 4 weeks, how long the Flyers will have to do without top scorer Jeff Carter, who broke a bone in his foot.
50 wins for Jameer Nelson and the Orlando Magic. Unfortunately it came at the hands of the Sixers, who dropped their 47th game of the season.
7 runs, 6 earned, surrendered by Phils starter Cole Hamels to the Yankees yesterday. The Phils rallied to win, 9-7.
1 year offer signed by Eagles linebacker Akeem Jordan.

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Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.How long ‘til Phillies season starts in earnest. I can’t take too many more days of the Sixers and Flyers. Wasn’t Villanova supposed to get us over this hump?
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I Don’t Get It: Flash mobs. Some fun, eh? I don’t get it.
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Today’s Upper: Upper Darby top cop Mike Chitwood is serious about taking on nuisance bars in the township. Two recent incidents underscore his argument. Good for him.
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Quote Box: “It’s another pit, another cesspool on our radar screen to shut down.”
- Michael Chitwood, after another incident at a township bar.

2 similar cases, 2 different results

When I heard the verdict yesterday in the case of the Bucks County day-care owner who had inadvertently left a young child in the car, it was like a flashback.

Rimma Shvartsman was acquitted of all the charges filed against her for leaving the 2-year-old boy in the sweltering car. She had been charged with involuntary manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child.

“We feel relief at the jury’s verdict, but other than that, our sorrow and remorse is relentless,” said Michael Mustokoff, Shvartsman’s attorney.

I think Edward Kanterman knows exactly how she feels.

Kanterman is the Delaware County grandfather who basically did precisely the same thing Shvartsman was charged with, with the same tragic results.

He had put his 14-month-old grandson – his first and only grandson – in a child seat is his car to drive him to his day care center, located in the same shopping center where he worked.

But when he arrived, Kanterman instead rushed into work, forgetting the child in the back seat. That June day the temperature soared into the high 90s. When Kanterman returned to his car at lunch, he was horrified to find the boy still inside.

Kanterman did not go to trial. He entered a “no contest” plea to a charge of involuntary manslaughter. He indicated he did not want his daughter to have to go through the ordeal of a trial. She said she forgave her father.

How his case differs from Shvartsman, aside from the fact that in the Kanterman case it was his grandson, while in the Bucks County case it was a neighbor’s child, I do not know.

Different cases, almost exactly the same kind of horrific details, and very different outcomes.

With one common theme. Unbearable sadness.