Officials say that an inspector who checked a Philadelphia building prior to its collapse last week has committed suicide. The Department of Licenses and Inspections employee was found shot in a pickup truck. He had inspected the building about a month before it crumbled—during a controlled demolition—but then the building fell on a Salvation Army next door, killing six people. A crane operator is charged with involuntary manslaughter.
"The building was being demolished when it collapsed onto a neighboring Salvation Army Thrift Store on June 5, killing two employees and four customers. Police allege a heavy equipment operator was high on marijuana when it happened.
The city's top prosecutor is convening a grand jury to look into the collapse."
The inspector, Ronald Wagenhoffer, was the last city official to check on construction at the doomed building and found no violations during his inspection on May 14.
UPDATE:Six deaths have been confirmed, and a 61-year-old woman was recovered alive late last night.
A building collapsed in downtown Philadelphia, and authorities say as many as 10 people may be buried in the rubble. At least a dozen people have been rescued so far, eyewitnesses tell NBC, with at least two being taken away in stretchers. Rescue teams are frantically searching through debris. The neighboring four-story building was under demolition, according to fire officials. Market Street is closed from 20th to 23rd while paramedics and fire crews search the area.
A building in downtown Philadelphia has collapsed and authorities have rescued twelve people and believe at least two remain trapped beneath the rubble and a frantic search continues to locate them.
“I was parked on 21st just heading to Market Street, next thing you know it felt like an earthquake," said Bernie Ditomo, a truck driver with Belfi Brothers. "I said, 'What the hell is going on?' My truck is totaled. I am a little dusty and dirty, but I’m alright. I am one of the lucky ones.”
The collapse at 2140 Market Street happened around 10:40 a.m., and early reports from Philadelphia Police indicate that it may be the results of an industrial accident as construction crews were working on nearby structures.
A neighborhood message board reports that one of the victims was a young woman who got engaged last week. It was her first day of work at the Salvation Army.
A Reddit reader reported that he'd made a complaint to the city's 311 call center on Tuesday to report unsafe conditions at the demo site, but the city didn't check into it because he didn't know the property's exact address. He contacted the center again after the collapse, saying they didn't stop that tragedy but that similar conditions existed at another nearby demolition site.
The intake worker's response? They needed the exact address.
The video below shows demolition work on the building Sunday afternoon:
"President Obama's victory over Mitt Romney in last Tuesday's presidential election was driven, in part, by the president's strength in urban areas, where robust support cushioned the incumbent against electoral deficits in rural America. But almost a week after the election, it is now becoming clear just how lopsided President Obama's victory was in some cities: in dozens of urban precincts, Mitt Romney earned literally zero votes."
Angry Republicans on Twitter with the hashtag #electionfraud and #voterfraud:
"There's demonstrable evidence of #VoterFraud and #ElectionFraud and nary a word. It's impossible Mitt Romney got NO votes in Philly district"
"There's something wrong, just wrong, about Romney not getting 1 single vote in several Ohio precincts. It's beyond the realm!"
"Im SURE that the Pres vote was stolen. As the truth comes out, it will awaken a sleeping giant. #ElectionFraud #WeThePeople"
"#VoterFraud...Soooo how many Repub polls had 100% votes only for Mitt..nothing to see here move along as Dems steal election .#VoterJustice"
"There should be a national outrage about how the Obama campaign hijacked this election."
"It is statistically impossible for Romney to not have received a single vote in 59 Philly voting divisions."
Do you think it will ever sink in that they lost the election to a black man? That their candidate was a lying flimflam man? Or, will they cry for the next four years?
Anonymous is bringing an alleged injustice to light in the Philadephia area:
Hello Citizens of the world, We are Anonymous. Dear brothers and sisters: Now is the time to open your eyes and expose the truth!
Recently it has come to the attention of Anonymous that Ori Feibush, a business developer, in the Philadelphia neighborhood of Point Breeze, is facing legal action after voluntarily cleaning up more than forty tons of trash from a vacant lot neighboring his local business. Mr. Feibush spent more than twenty thousand dollars of his own money to not only remove the trash but also to level the soil; add cherry trees, fencing and park benches; and repave the sidewalk.
As a result of this man's benevolent contribution, the city agencies demanding that Mr. Feibush return the vacant lot to its previous condition have said they are considering legal action against him. City officials are currently calling him a "trespasser."
Ori Feibush tried to purchase the lot and even visited the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority to present his plan. But the city told him to stop, warning he was "endangering the public."
If the city did the same project it would have cost about one million five hundred thousand dollars. Another intensive might have been to dive down property value then develop it for a profit.
Advocates for child victims of sexual abuse are calling on Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to grant clemency to Terrance "Terry" Williams, who is scheduled to be executed on October 3. In 1986, Williams was convicted of killing Amos Norwood. What the jury in that case did not know is that Norwood had sexually abused Williams and had allegedly violently raped him the night before. Furthermore, Williams had suffered years of physical and sexual abuse by older males. Most recently, evidence has emerged that prosecutors tried to make robbery seem like the motive for the murder, even though Williams’ co-defendant knew about the sexual abuse. A hearing on this part of the case was set to take place Friday in Philadelphia. Now, as Williams’ execution is set to take place in less than a month, five of the jurors in his case have since come forward to say they believe life without parole would have been the appropriate sentence because they did not know all the facts.
In the era of Occupy-evicted, the movement has emphasized national reunions to stay connected, such as the anti-NATO protests in Chicago, for which Occupiers were bused in from around the country. This nationalization process culminated in the Occupy National Gathering, held from June 30 to July 4 in Philadelphia. Three Occupy Caravans traveled across the country in the three weeks leading up to "NatGat," bearing activists from San Diego, Tuscon, Wichita, Atlanta, Boston and many other cities. Roughly 1,000 Occupiers attended the gathering's marches, workshops (with speakers like Chris Hedges and organizer Lisa Fithian), and theatrical protest (a 99 Percent vs. Tax Dodgers baseball game). The event concluded with the daylong production of a Vision for a Democratic Future, listing the attributes of a society that those at NatGat wanted to see.
This mini-documentary, "Occupy National Gathering: Perspectives on Police," portrays the internal conflict over police confrontation at the Occupy National Gathering, particularly as it relates to the future of the movement. Interviews include former Philadelphia Police Captain Ray Lewis, Un-Occupy Albuquerque activist Amalia Montoya and InterOccupy organizer Tamara Shapiro.
On Thursday morning, July 5, 2012, the Guitarmy set off on a 99 mile march from Independence Mall in Philadelphia, with Zuccotti Park in New York City as their destination. This video was taken as they gathered together to prepare for the march.
This is OccupyFreedomLA's livestream covering the National Gathering in Philadelphia this July 4th evening, and it seemed like a great march, but as of 9:50pm EST they are surrounded by police and not being permitted to move. Oy.
No exact count on number of police present now, but best estimate is hundreds of them. They have blockaded the marchers in a plaza, and are armed with batons and flexi-cuffs and for whatever reason they look prepared to start arresting people again. It was clearly a peaceful march.
Several livestreams have gone blank in the past minute or so, it's 10:06pm EST, so here is an alternative stream that is still running, in case OccupyFreedomLA gets cut off as well:
.
It's 10:12pm EST and according to Twitter #NATGAT, the first arrest of the night. Many tweets say marchers are not being allowed in Love Park do to a shooting earlier today. I don't know if this is accurate, or any details of any shooting at this time.
Twenty-eight arrests have been confirmed Sunday night during the ongoing Occupy National Gathering in Philadelphia, after a small, impromptu march followed the closing of Franklin Square where most of the gathering's activities have been centered. Two of the people arrested were livestreamers, Jesse Hadden of Occupy Portland and “Cowboy Mike” of Occupy Philly. Two of the people arrested were also medics.
Many tweets claim Philly police on bicycle patrol kettled those participating in the march, and then violently began to arrest them, possibly looking to target as many livestreamers as possible. Many also noted that the police far outnumbered the Occupiers. Journalist and livestreamer Tim Pool noted that the Homeland Security Department tactical vehicle was following close behind. Several tweets stated that there was a similar tactical unit at the last “mass arrest” in Philadelphia.
Pool reported, according to a Philadelphia police captain, arrests were for “obstructing a highway.” All would be issued summary citations and then would be released in about 2 hours. All were held at police headquarters -- known as "The Roundhouse" -- where other Occupy members gathered to wait in support for their release.
This second video is marked Part Two of the arrests:
