arrow NYPD sections off the scene of a shooting where shots were fired from a car that was driving on the Lower East Side on February 16th. A 57 year old woman who was an innocent bystander was struck in the buttocks. Steve Sanchez/Pacific Press/Shutterstock
Lawmakers in the state s Democratically-controlled chambers have introduced a bill that would allow non-profit violence interruption groups to access a federally-funded resource to help expand its programming.
The bill sponsored by Brooklyn state Senator Zellnor Myrie would allow these programs, including the Cure Violence program where reformed gang members are hired to defuse tensions between gangs before violence erupts to access a portion of the federally-allocated funds through the state Office of Victims Services. The office administers the fund that was created following the passage of the 1984 Victims of Crime Act by Congress. The funding sources made available those who ve been the victims of a crime,
Philadelphia recently continued to show gaps in public oversight. Amid calls for the police commissioner to resign, the city’s growing murder crisis is already up 46 percent from last year’s record-setting rate.
At the same time, a scandal surfaced that showed the mayor and City Council entrusted the roll out of COVID vaccines to a 22-year-old huckster with no health-care background. Furthermore, a report paid for by the City Controller’s office showed how the city failed to prepare for a constant barrage of unlawful protests following the death of George Floyd in Minnesota. When looking at these latest examples of ethical mismanagement in a city with America’s fourth-highest tax burden, citizens are left wondering why the city doesn’t have an effective watchdog.
Summer film features Granite City man
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Granite City High School graduate Shawn D. Holt, foreground, stars in “Steel City G.C.,” an independent film shot entirely in Granite City in partnership with Phoenix-Jagger Studios and Red Reflection Industrial Ink, the latter owned by southern Illinois filmmaker Elle Mercurio-Cherrier. “Steel City G.C.” is scheduled for release July 4.For The TelegraphShow MoreShow Less
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Elle Mercurio-Cherrier’s 2019 feature film “In this Gray Place” is having a delayed debut because it was in the film festival circuit. It’s now available online at https://vimeo.com. “In this Gray Place” focuses on a man barricaded in a rest stop restroom after a robbery gone wrong.For The TelegraphShow MoreShow Less
On top of Philly news ‘I don’t have all the answers’: Health commissioner ducks questions at Philly Fighting COVID hearings
In a long City Council session, lawmakers and officials traded words with little new information revealed.
Health Commissioner Tom Farley at the city s Convention Center vaccination clinic Kimberly Paynter / WHYY Feb. 05, 2021, 4:25 p.m. Love Philly? Sign up for the free Billy Penn email newsletter to get everything you need to know about Philadelphia, every day.
City Council kicked off its probe into the Philly Fighting COVID scandal on Friday with testimonies from the city’s top health official and leaders of Mayor Jim Kenney’s administration.
1:15 pm, Feb. 5, 2021
Social Security scams on the rise
Thumbs Down: Reports of fraudulent calls from people claiming to be from Social Security continue to increase. Recent reports have indicated unknown callers are using increasingly threatening language in the calls, according to the Social Security Administration. Don’t let them prey on more victims. The most effective way to defeat scammers is to know how to identify scams and to ignore suspicious calls and emails. Here are three things you can do: 1. Hang up right away or do not reply to the email. 2. Never give personal information, money, or retail gift cards. 3. Report the scam at oig.ssa.gov immediately to Social Security’s law enforcement team at the Office of the Inspector General. Remember, the Social Services Administration will never threaten you with benefit suspension, arrest, or other legal action unless you pay a fine or fee; promise a benefit increase or other assistance in exchange for payment; requ