eye on the news
Under the Gun in Philly As murders mount and public pressure grows, city officials continue to look for answers in the wrong places.
Public safety
In Philadelphia, a 25-year-old Temple University grad was shot and killed last month while walking his dog in the evening. The next day, police apprehended his assailant during an attempted carjacking in another part of the city.
The victim, Milan Loncar, was a resident of Brewerytown, a formerly drug- and crime-ridden neighborhood transformed into another “go-to” spot by real estate investors over the last two decades. Loncar’s assailant, Josephus Davis, 20, also a Brewerytown resident, had a long criminal record and had gotten out of jail two weeks prior on reduced bail.
2 months ago
Fired DAs, cops, and critics chip in against Krasner
At least 21 former city prosecutors donated more than $500 to Vega’s campaign, including several who were fired by Krasner and later sued over their dismissal, as well as some who migrated to Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s office.
Vega, 64, was also among the early layoffs in 2017, following Krasner’s election. He later filed an age discrimination lawsuit against the DA, 59, over his firing. The case remains ongoing.
Vega has gotten support from local attorneys, including Jimmy Binns and Michael Diamondstein, as well as defense lawyers Brian McMonagle and Fortunato Perri. The latter two represented former Philly Police Inspector Joseph Bologna in a police brutality case Krasner filed during the George Floyd protests last summer.
Doroshin said Farley should be replaced by Deputy Health Commissioner Dr. Caroline Johnson, offering praise for her collaboration in building a mass vaccine model. His company claimed earlier this month that it could administer 50 times the number of daily vaccines delivered during the H1N1 crisis.
The city s vaccine supply remains greatly limited, with efforts focused on health care employees, high-risk groups and essential workers. Officials expect it will take months before the vaccine becomes widely available to all Philadelphia residents who seek it.
Reached Friday afternoon, the health department declined to respond directly to Doroshin s remarks, though spokesperson James Garrow added that the continued allegations against Philly Fighting COVID reinforce that we made the right decision.
Farley is taking full responsibility for the now-failed partnership between the city and Philly Fighting COVID. Ultimate, the responsibility for that goes to me. The report will outline more about the process, but ultimately I take responsibility for that, said Dr. Farley.
The report he is referring to was specifically requested by Mayor Jim Kenney on Friday, who has directed the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to take a number of corrective steps following the fallout with Philly Fighting COVID s vaccine distribution.
On Friday morning, Kenney sent a letter to Farley directing the department to host its own clinics and produce a public report within 30 days detailing how the organization came to work with city.
The new political season is getting off to a quick start as six candidates have already entered the race for a seat on the Bucks County Court of Common Pleas.
Four Democrats and two Republicans have announced their candidacies for the Pennsylvania Primary Electionon May 18, in which judicial candidates can run on both tickets as a sign of impartiality. They will be able to cross file for both parties tickets after Feb. 12.
The official list of seats open in the judicial race won t be announced by the Pennsylvania Department of State until mid February.
The attorneys who are candidates include: