Friday news

The big story of the day is follow-ups to Vallas' announcement that he's leaving this summer. A flurry there, and then the usual smattering...

• Schools et al.
  
  
  
  • Inky notes that Vallas' 2nd in command will probably act as interim until the replacement is found. Meanwhile, the Reform Commission is mapping out their search strategy.
    
    
  • The Daily News offers more general speculations about the effect of Vallas' departure on the district and names that might already be in the hat.
    
    
  • Elmer Smith says that this new development demands comment from all of the mayoral contenders, esp. in terms of their visions for the district.
    
    
  • The DN opinion page speculates a bit about which mayoral candidate would put education first.
    
    
  • The DN opinion page also offers a farewell salute to the departing leader.
  
  
• Politicians
  
  
  
  • New Jersey Governor Corzine hospitalized after a car crash (a hit and run). Serious, but apparently not life-threatening.
    
    
  • Mayoral:
    
    
    
    1. The first mayoral TV debate is tomorrow (replayed a couple times on Sunday), with questions from a moderator and time for rebuttal. Hopefully this will be a more real sort of exposure than the ads to date...
       
       
    2. Tom Fitzgerald takes a look at Fattah's first TV ad.
       
       
    3. What they're promising: Knox on education.
       
       
    4. The DN looks at all the candidates' ads and get some expert input on what each is trying to achieve.
       
       
    5. Nutter had a summit on women's issues with groups from around the city at his campaign offices yesterday.
       
       
    6. Nutter has also released an internal poll showing that his recent ads have moved him up in the rankings. Still, all a bit close to call.
    
    
  • Carol Campbell is running for her first full term as 4th District Councilwoman, and her opponent Matt McClure is bringing the feist. Specifically he's accusing her of financial shenanigans, such as not accounting for some past funds and misusing current PAC monies (we noted some similar issues, e.g, here). More on the official Board of Ethics complaint here.
    
    
  • Speaking of ethics, the Philadelphia burbs appear to be in a bit of disarray: the GOP is pressuring Delaware County's head commissioner to quit over the Haverford scandal (discussed here earlier this week), and Montogomery County is considering its own campaign finance laws since Philly's were held to be legit, and Bucks County has seen a passle of convictions of elected officials.
    
    
  • Lynn Swann in the news again, as he considers a run for Congress. Oh no, return of the headline puns!
    
    
  • The Metro has an interview with Derek Green, one of the many candidates for City Council At-Large seats. More fluff than substance here.
    
    
  • Ray Murphy announces Liberty City's endorsements for the spring elections, and speculates that issue-oriented groups may have an easier time making choices than do more broadly based progressive organizations.
  
  
• Other news
  
  
  
  • The Daily News reports that guns have gone missing from the Police Department's cache of confiscated weapons, raising worries about possible lost convictions.
    
    
  • In related news, building inspectors just uncovered a huge Police ammunition storage room (also mostly confiscated) in City Hall that violates the fire code. Fire sprinklers are on the way.
    
    
  • In other risk news, there's apparently a new antibiotic-resistant Gonorrhea strain in Philadelphia and around the nation, accounting for a quarter of the cases here.
    (via Philadelphia Will Do)
    
    
  • Pennsylvania is apparently the third biggest contributor to carbon dioxide emissions among all US states. Mmmmm, coal plants.