Friday, February 1, 2013
First up, be advised that the future of the Port Authority may become clearer -- or not! -- at a board meeting which starts at 9:30 a.m. If you've been watching this space, you know that CEO Steve Bland's job is in jeopardy. We'll likely find out for sure this morning. Our very own Lauren Daley will be on hand for the events, follow her on Twitter for up-to-the-minute dispatches, and check back here for a write-up later on.
This gives me no pleasure whatsoever: Gov. Tom Corbett's son-in-law, a narcotics officer in Philadelphia, is being accused of stealing money and other property from other suspects.
After a high-profile incident on the South Side in which police opened fire on a car speeding down Carson Street near closing time, police are tightening rules on when officers can fire at moving vehicles. Police chief Nate Harper wouldn't discuss the policy change with the Post-Gazette, but there had been questions about whether it was wise to open fire on a speeding car on a crowded street.
In other urban cowboy news, Braddock Mayor John Fetterman -- whose efforts to turn the blighted community around have become nationally famous -- reportedly pulled a shotgun on a jogger. I think we've all been there, to be honest, but in this case, Fetterman suspected the jogger of being involved with what the mayor thought were a series of gunshots near his home. Happy to say no one was harmed -- Fetterman says he didn't even have a round chambered in the weapon -- but it's worth watching this story just to see Fetterman looming over WTAE's Bob Mayo, like a mountain dwarfing a tiny sapling.
Harry Nicoletti, who has been at the center of an investigation into alleged prisoner abuse at SCI-Pittsburgh, has been found guilty of 27 counts related to the allegations. But he was cleared of dozens of other more serious counts involving claims of sexual abuse. Which may not be entirely surprising: Writing for City Paper, reporter Matt Stroud broke the story of Nicoletti's involvement in the case but also raised questions about the evidence more than a year ago.