Radnor Township: Mired in Political Muck?

So Radnor, how's that bond rating treatin' ya' now with all your hungry, hungry hippos? (Note to readers, don't forget to check out all the good stuff on the Radnor Dems website - they seem to have grown some balls finally- they must have some take charge women who are active now - and whowouldathinkit - they are the fiscally responsible reformers? Republicans tout themselves as the kids who are responsible with money, yet apparently in Radnor, they have been the ones sweeping these issues under the carpet?)

David Bashore is quite possibly on his way out as per the Delco Times Reporter Timothy Logue. But isn't he still getting a free vacation as he is on suspension with pay? (Sure hope his wife has a good job, right?) So they are all hungry hippos in Radnor Township. The employees have been running a municipality for HOW long?

It's amazing. I say clean house. Just like they did a few years ago in Haverford Township after Twardy and Moran's days of beer and roses were over. And I have watched that whole YouTube:



I noticed that a commissioner missing. She who would be State Senator isn't there and if you ask any chatty cats from Radnor they say she has been MIA since she got voted out of Board of Commissioners leadership in January, 2009? Yes, MIA and why? Wow, makes ya wonder why she's gone, huh? Is it just a snit because she in essence received a vote of "no confidence" from her political peers? Or is she steering clear?

And what of the Township Solicitor? Should he go too? And who else should get das boot? There are PLENTY of people in this economy who would love a municipal job. And the commissioners? Who knew what? And Radnor Republicans? How are those GOP family values workin for ya now? Walking lockstep is what got y'all into this mess...hmmmm....

UPDATE: Bashore’s days as township manager could be numbered
By Timothy Logue

It appears David A. Bashore’s days as township manager are numbered.

Whether he will face criminal prosecution for allegedly awarding hefty bonuses to himself and about 30 other township employees without the approval of the board of commissioners remains to be seen.

“We have suspended him and we are continuing our own investigation into the matter,” said board President Thomas A. Masterson Jr. “We will now initiate removal proceedings.”

Assistant Delaware County District Attorney Michael Mattson confirmed his office was aware of the allegations.

“It was referred (Thursday) and we are reviewing it to see what, if any, action is appropriate,” he said.

Bashore, 52, allegedly approved $128,000 worth of bonuses for himself since he began serving as township manager in January 2001....In addition to the bonuses, a string of public record requests uncovered Bashore’s employment contract, signed in 2001, which included a $175,000 interest-free loan he used to purchase a home in the 200 block of Spruce Tree Road.

Like the bonus payments, Masterson said the contract was never shared with the public or voted on by the board of commissioners.

“I was not aware that there was a contract with the township manager and it was something I asked about a number of times,” said former Commissioner David Cannan, who served from 2000-2007....“Now that (it has surfaced), I’d like to know by what authority that contract was given.”

A township employee since 1987 and former assistant manager, Bashore was elevated to the manager’s job in November 2000...Just as alarming as the bonuses to some was the employment agreement....In addition to hospitalization, surgical, major medical, dental, vision and prescription coverage, life and long-term disability insurance, a company car and an SUV for personal use, and a generous retirement package and severance language, was the $175,000 loan.

The agreement said $25,000 of the loan would be immediately forgiven and the rest would be excused at a rate of $12,500 per year. The justification was to help Bashore meet the township’s residency requirement and offset the higher cost of living he would incur by moving to Radnor from East Fallowfield, Chester County....In addition to his $131,641 base salary, Bashore received longevity pay, contributions to a tax-deferred compensation plan and nonqualified retirement account, and a $15,000 bonus payment that brought his total cash compensation for 2008 to $176,956.

Pa. township official suspended over bonus payment
The Associated Press
Updated: 02/27/2009 09:48:56 AM EST

Posted on Fri, Feb. 27, 2009
Township manager suspended in Radnor
By Joelle Farrell
Inquirer Staff Writer

And if Radnor Township employees union and non union don't like it that they can't suck on they taxpayer any longer and milk this BS for time off and money, ya know what? I hope someone just shows them the door. In this economy, it won't be hard to find people who do want to work honestly and have a good work ethic, will it? Even without this extra BS that is apparently illegal according to the state, they have a real sweet deal with benefits and such...filling the township boardroom with squalling kids and employee families is the oldest trick in the book, isn't it? Grow up Radnor Employees, you might actually have to work for a living now? Too bad. And those employees who have been playing by the rules all this time? Well they would be now vindicated, right?

Best Described as SKANKY: Kimberly Williams, Clean- Out "Lady"

Ohh la la, love the "from the corner" eye makeup and hooker hair.

So this sweet thing (whose hubby or ex-hubby is a cop and what is wrong with him for his skanky taste?) steals from those she cleans for? Probably charges a fortune, gets paid mostly in cash, and tips herself to jewelry and stuff? Not unheard of in domestic circles. Why I heard another similar tale a few months ago - a widow was relieved of her possessions by another skanky blonde cleaning woman. (Note to self, don't hire skanky blonde cleaning women EVER!) Charges were filed, cops and DA types believed the poor widow, et voila! like magic the widow was dissed by the criminal justice system thanks to a judge who decided to champion the working class? So I say if they've got the goods on this skanky hanky panky, throw her skinny ass in jail and keep her there. And what about her hubby/ex-hubby? He's a cop, so why didn't he suspect his wife/ex-wife was a thief?

Cleaning lady turned thief?Thursday, February 26, 2009 | 7:52 PM By Erin O'Hearn\
ARDMORE, Pa. - February 26, 2009 (WPVI)

-- Her name is Kimberly Williams. She's been a cleaning lady for years, but the authorities in Lower Merion Township want to know if she's been a thief, first and foremost.

Susan Long trusted her cleaning lady, Kimberly Williams for the 15 years she worked for her, she trusted her so much Long asked Williams to clean her son Adam's apartment, after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Long said it was only after her son died that she found out Williams allegedly manipulated Adam when he was ill. She said Williams stole a valuable collector's baseball photo album and scrapbook worth thousands of dollars.....Long said soon after Adam's death, Williams' mother and stepfather informed her that Williams had sold the collections at an auction, and that Williams and her husband, a Marple Township police officer, had received close to $49-thousand for the items. Long then discovered several pieces of her jewelry were gone. Police won't comment on the investigation but William's husband is not named in the arrest warrant.

"It's difficult for me to believe that he wouldn't know what was going on if he was living in that house."

Earlier this month, police searched Williams' West Chester home and found tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry, coins, baseball memorabilia, silverware and assorted auction and appraisal paperwork. Williams also worked for the Shralow's who discovered they were missing $20-thousand worth of gold coins. Police found half of the coins at the Williams home...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 27, 2009
LOWER MERION POLICE ARREST MAID FOR STEALING FROM CLIENTS

R.I.P. Rocky Mountain News...

There are no words from me on this, just sadness that apparently all over this country companies that own newspapers appear to be mismanaging them and running them into the ground. I am sure that those high up the food chain at Scripps will be fine and won't give this a second thought....but all these people will be out of work and the community will lose a voice it had in a beloved newspaper. The hell with support your local gunfighter, support your local newspaper. This is why people like Brian Tierney repulse me. They don't care about journalism or newspapers, only their monograms in their ostentatious homes in particular places, and the bullshit they can bloviate wherever.

Goodbye, Colorado
The Rocky
Published February 27, 2009 at midnight

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to you today. Our time chronicling the life of Denver and Colorado, the nation and the world, is over. Thousands of men and women have worked at this newspaper since William Byers produced its first edition on the banks of Cherry Creek on April 23, 1859. We speak, we believe, for all of them, when we say that it has been an honor to serve you. To have reached this day, the final edition of the Rocky Mountain News, just 55 days shy of its 150th birthday is painful. We will scatter. And all that will be left are the stories we have told, captured on microfilm or in digital archives, devices unimaginable in those first days. But what was present in the paper then and has remained to this day is a belief in this community and the people who make it what it has become and what it will be. We part in sorrow because we know so much lies ahead that will be worth telling, and we will not be there to do so. We have celebrated life in Colorado, praising its ways, but we have warned, too, against steps we thought were mistaken. We have always been a part of this special place, striving to reflect it accurately and with compassion. We hope Coloradans will remember this newspaper fondly from generation to generation, a reminder of Denver’s history – the ambitions, foibles and virtues of its settlers and those who followed. We are confident that you will build on their dreams and find new ways to tell your story. Farewell – and thank you for so many memorable years together.

GRIEGO: This is what has called my heart
By Tina Griego, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 27, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

Ireceived an e-mail earlier this week from a woman who was a counselor at ThunderRidge when I was writing about the Highlands Ranch school. She reminded me that it had been nearly 10 years since I visited the school, and I thought wow, 10 years, just like that. I hadn't been long at the Rocky then. I was pregnant with my first child.

I thought: I should track down some of the students and staff I wrote about then. I should see what has transpired in the lives of the overachiever and the punk and the Goth and the English teacher who told his graduating seniors so nervous about their futures: What calls your heart?

I won't be able to write that column. We put the paper to bed tonight for the last time. We wait and wait and wait and then one day company executives come into the newsroom and they stand among us and one of them says: "Tomorrow will be the final edition of the Rocky."

I've never forgotten that teacher's question: What calls your heart? I'll answer it now as we prepare this last paper, as my colleagues write their final stories and our editor calls out for the afternoon staff to gather because the executives are going to repeat their earlier message. They will answer questions about severance pay and continued health insurance coverage and whether anyone seriously considered buying this paper.

Then maybe they will say again that this closure is not our fault. They'll say what a sad day it is for this staff and for this city.

JOHNSON: When a paper dies, there are no winners
By Bill Johnson, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published February 27, 2009 at 12:05 a.m.

People cried hard today.

I don't know exactly where I am headed with this, so give me a second. This is the hardest column I have ever had to write. Maybe we should just chat.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that I get to do next week what so many of my colleagues in this newsroom will not - write. Or edit. Or be part of a newsroom.

People keep telling me how lucky I am. There is no question that right now I feel extremely blessed.

So could someone tell me, please, why today feels little different from the two separate days when my parents died?

This is the second time I have experienced the suits from headquarters stiffly and unsmiling walking into the newsroom to tell us the next day's paper would be the last one.

Damn, I hate that.

A city loses so much of its soul when a newspaper dies. Newspapers are, from their very beginnings I believe, simply a conversation between it and its community of readers.

When one side goes silent, the community irreparably suffers. Three decades now into this business, I know that all I do is I kick around ideas, and no matter whether you agree with me or not, at least the ideas are batted around.

When a newspaper dies, there are no victors. It does not vindicate your position.

Radnor Might Be on The Main Line, But it Still Smells Like Delco as Usual

Oh darlings, the Radnor Republicans are undoubtedly circling the wagons! A rogue township manager? Bonuses up front? Self appointed bonuses, raises, and discretionary monies? Who is minding the store in Radnor? What the F? Well figures, and maybe this is why one commissioners has been missing in action? And who else was complicit in this? My friends are all passing this article around:

Posted on Fri, Feb. 27, 2009
Township manager suspended in Radnor
By Joelle Farrell
Inquirer Staff Writer

Commissioners in Radnor suspended the township manager yesterday amid allegations that he had paid himself unauthorized salary bonuses totaling $128,500 during the last eight years.

In 2003, David A. Bashore gave himself his biggest bonus, $18,000, which was about 16 percent of his $113,568 salary that year.

The township charter states that "the board shall fix the compensation of the manager," but Board of Commissioners President Thomas A. Masterson Jr. said Bashore had "failed to seek approval" for the extra pay.

Saying he was shocked by the episode, Masterson said Wednesday he would seek Bashore's resignation. Yesterday, the board suspended him with pay.

In an interview yesterday, Bashore, 52, said he felt betrayed by the accusations. He said the bonus amounts were included in the township budget.....Bashore began his career in Radnor Township in 1987 as finance director. His base salary for 2008 was $131,641, according to township records....As part of questions asked about Bashore's payments to himself, the board learned that he also had approved bonuses totalling $514,750 for 36 employees since 2004...."There is absolutely no authority for you as township manager to be creating policy documents, signing them, dating them, and putting them in a drawer," Masterson said.

Bashore also said the bonuses were not listed separately in the budget but were rolled in with salary information. Masterson said commissioners would be unlikely to find bonuses buried in the multimillion-dollar annual budget.

"We have been told that it was 'in the budget,' " Masterson said in an interview. "With a $25 million budget, as far as I'm concerned, it was not."

Masterson contacted Delaware County District Attorney G. Michael Green yesterday, and the office will review the matter to determine whether any crimes were committed, Assistant District Attorney Michael Mattson said.

Some Radnor residents expressed frustration that it had taken so long for the board to discover Bashore's bonuses.

"Why is this just coming to light now?" Diane Edbril, 46, a lawyer, asked yesterday. "That's a lot of money to be giving yourself as a bonus."

You can put lipstick on a pig, and it is still a pig. AMAZING...Delco is such a cesspool, even the Main Line Part!



I have to ask, if there are seven commissioners, and only one is a woman, where is the woman? Not going to say her name three times, just askin'....if someone is missing during THIS time in Radnor politics, isn't that suspect?

Let Me Call You Dumb Ass ('Cause You Certainly Aren't a Sweetheart)

Brian Tierney can't spin his way out of this one....sign me saying "I told you so"

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Brian Tierney represents the epitomy of bad behavior

There is no other way to put it. On one hand, he askes staffers to give up a $5 a week raise. On the other, he takes a $250K raise to get him to an $850K annual salary. At the same time, he seeks relief under Chapter 11. MSNBC askes the right question - how could a PR maverick like Tierney make such a blunder?

The answer is simple... Greed...

I find it amusing how he argues that point that the company saved money. He is the company. The publisher of the Inquirer and Daily News is a private company. You may argue then that what Tierney is doing is OK - because it is not a public company. The issue however is that he is seeking relief under the bankruptcy code. Therefore, he is seeking to have somebody else fund his raise. Whether it is a creditor or stockholder - the difference is semantic.

Bankruptcy Reveals 'Inquirer' Woes
‘Likely Be Forced To Cease Operations’
By John P. Connolly, The Bulletin
Published: Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The bankruptcy filing of Philadelphia Media Holdings (PMH), the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and the Philadelphia Daily News, revealed that the company has missed tax payments, employee pay cycles and third-party withholding payouts....Despite this performance, Mr. Tierney’s initial base salary of $600,000 was increased to $618,000 in May 2008 and to $850,000 in Dec. 2008. PMH’s filing claims that it actually saved money on Mr. Tierney’s salary increases, because he serves as both CEO and managing member of PMH.

“Mr. Tierney’s Dec. 2008 ‘raise’ equates to about $20,000 per month and continues to represent an annual savings of over $300,000 per year by combining two positions into one,” said the filing. “By contrast, since March 2008, the debtors have paid approximately $2.8 million in fees and expenses to professionals hired… at an average cost of more than $250,000 each month.”

However, newsroom workers are disappointed that they did not get their $35 per week raise due to them in their contract, according to Stu Bykofsky, a veteran columnist with the Daily News....Two law firms, Proskauer Rose and Dilworth Paxson, have been hired to handle the legal work for PMH’s bankruptcy proceedings. Michael Tierney, Brian Tierney’s brother, is a partner at Dilworth Paxson. Proskauer partners will charge up to $975 an hour for their services, while Dilworth Paxson will charge $675...As part of its bankruptcy filing, PMH admitted to its failure to pay out the withholdings from employee paychecks to the proper third parties. The deductions include employee’s shares of health benefits and insurance premiums, 401(k) contributions and union dues....Further, PMH has also failed to forward employer payroll taxes to the proper authorities, even though they were properly deducted from employee paychecks. PMH estimates that the total number of fees and taxes owed to the authorities does not exceed $550,000.

MSNBC: Tierney Got $250,000 in Raises as Papers Tanked
By Karen Araiza
NBCPhiladelphia.com
updated 16 minutes ago

GAWKER: Brian Tierney: Sam Zell With Hair
By Hamilton Nolan, 1:44 PM on Wed Feb 25 2009

Testimony Contradicts 'Inquirer's' Tierney
State House Budget Meeting Reveals Pension Fund Bailout Talks Took Place
By Chris Freind, The Bulletin
Published: Friday, February 20, 2009

"Let Them Eat Pizza!"

From Attytood:

"It figures -- on the night that the parent company of the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer filed for bankruptcy protection, there was pizza. I mean, we almost always have pizza for big events at the Daily News newsroom, an Eagles playoff game or a big election...so why not Chapter 11? This time, the leaning tower of white cardboard boxes arrived about 10 minutes before I was told -- I'm the night editor on Sundays at the DN -- that our reporter who was already writing a piece about bankruptcy at the Journal Register company, which owns a bunch of papers in the Philly region, was now going to be shifting gears and writing about our own Chapter 11 filing instead.

OK, OK, technically the pizza was for Oscar night -- but I still think there was some higher meaning -- the bread of life, our workaday existence as pepperoni-stained newsroom wretches, the thing that sustains us and that keeps us going even as bankers and lawyers and their inscrutable paperwork come and go."

(And in other news....someone will return to the princely sum of $618,000.00 per annum so as not to be a "sideshow"? Note to self: who knew that was so economical? Still the wrong message....)

What Sound Does Brian Make? ("Oink, oink, oink"?)

**UPDATE**: Pig Boy Brian Rolls Back Fat Raise on Fat Tuesday? His salary, pre-raise is still obscene, so how about cutting your salary in 1/2 Pig Boy?
Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2009
Philly news execs to skip raises during bankruptcy
The Associated Press

Bankruptcy lawyers say three Philadelphia newspaper executives will roll back their 2008 raises while the company tries to shed debt and stay afloat.

Chief executive Brian Tierney's 38 percent pay hike in December boosted his salary to $850,000 -- and raised eyebrows when it was disclosed in this week's bankruptcy filing.

But lawyers in court Tuesday say Tierney and two other executives will roll back their recent raises during the bankruptcy.

So that means Pig Boy's salary is now more like $527,000.00? How many jobs could have been saved if he wasn't taking that much off the top in what is in a sense still a start up business? (After all, it's not like he had any previous experience running a newspaper into the ground, did he?)
***********************************************************************
So, while the Inquirer was struggling, hard working peeps was gettin' laid off and interest payments were being missed, La Patron gave himself a big FAT, PIG BOY RAISE? Unbelievable. What a sweet deal....

FORBES: Informer Boss Got Raise As Philly Papers Tanked
William P. Barrett, 02.23.09, 03:40 PM EST
CEO Tierney got 38% increase as The Philadelphia Inquirer headed toward bankruptcy.

As the parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News slid toward the Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing it made over the weekend, one employee did well on the pay front: CEO Brian P. Tierney.

Documents filed Sunday by Philadelphia Newspapers LLC and seven affiliates said that the pay of Tierney, a public relations executive who put together the investment group that bought the paper from McClatchy ...was boosted just two months ago by 38% to $850,000.

But an affidavit by Richard R. Thayer, executive vice president, finance, said the company was still saving money because Tierney "without an increase in compensation" became publisher of both papers in the fall of 2006 after the $565,000-a-year incumbent resigned. Even though Tierney in January 2008 demanded a 10% cost concession from workers, his own pay was bumped up 3% in May 2008 to $618,000. Then came the big boost around Christmas.

Let the pity party begin, check out Bloomberg:

Philadelphia Inquirer’s Bankruptcy Costs Owners Group (Update2)
By Steven Church and Greg Bensinger

Feb. 23 (Bloomberg) -- The Philadelphia Inquirer’s bankruptcy filing will make its owners and unsecured creditors the biggest financial losers as it seeks to cut debt.

Philadelphia Newspapers LLC will wind up with new owners while $98.5 million worth of notes aren’t likely to recover anything, according to court records and an investor. The company was one of two newspaper publishers in the Philadelphia region to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection over the weekend. Both blamed an industrywide slump in advertising and rising competition from the Internet.

“The investors will lose everything,” Philadelphia Newspapers investor Bruce Toll, 65, who is also vice chairman of homebuilder Toll Brothers Inc., said in an interview. “We’re putting together a proposal for smaller debt.”....Philadelphia Newspapers’ noteholders hold debt that isn’t backed by any of the company’s assets. That means lenders owed $297 million must be paid in full before the noteholders can collect anything.

For the company owners to get back their equity, both the lenders and the noteholders must receive full payment, according to bankruptcy court rules....Toll said he hopes Philadelphia Newspapers will leave bankruptcy in about four months. He declined to say how much the company plans to ask debt holders to accept....“The banks were getting itchy,” Toll said, referring to the company’s lenders. “There’s no way the debt can ever be paid off because the debt is $400 million. The paper makes money.”

To contact the reporters on this story: Steven Church in Wilmington, Delaware, at schurch3@bloomberg.net; Greg Bensinger in New York at gbensinger1@bloomberg.net

So is this like Subprime loans? ROFL....woulda' thought a canny developer knew better, eh?

As the pity party of very rich men commences, check this out - oy vey:

Posted on Tue, Feb. 24, 2009
Chap. 11 a chancy move for Phila. newspapers
By BOB WARNER
Philadelphia Daily News
warnerb@phillynews.com 215-854-5885

The weekend bankruptcy filing by Philadelphia Newspapers LLC, parent company of the Daily News and Inquirer, signals rocky times ahead for the papers, their management and some 1,800 full-time workers...."We're profitable. We're not going out of business," Tierney said.

But experienced bankruptcy lawyers warned that going into Chapter 11 without an agreement between the company's management and its major creditors would have unpredictable consequences, allowing the creditors to question labor contracts, management pay and other basic issues, including the continued existence of the Daily News.

Stu Bykofsky, where's your Inky/Daily News Stimulus plan?

While Rome...err Radnor Burns...

....one commissioner is MIA and has been since their board reorganized in January? What's up with that? When someone is missing from an elected post for so long, people start to chatter....chatter....chatter....chatter....

So are we sulking? Plotting? Naming another park after Richard Allen ( you know, just like the projects in Philly)? Is this person running for judge, prom queen or governor ? What? Isn't there a rule for abandoning your post?

Luck O' The Irish Runs Out as Inquirer Chief Leprechaun Files for Bankruptcy

(Note to St. Patty's Day Parade : GET CASH.)

Is it time for Tierney to go? Can that PMH Board stage a palace coup, or are they part of the problem? I think that is the beginning and end of this conversation. He has reporters involved in lawsuits stemming from his dealings, he has eviscerated the newsrooms of the Inquirer and Daily News, and at this point he deserves to lose his f*ck*ng house. And note to cranky Stu Bykofsky, local anti-blogger: where's your Inquirer/Daily News stimulus plan?

Philebrity's coverage of this issue is simply outstanding:

Memos, Memos, Memos: The Pentagram Speaketh

From: Tierney, Brian P.
Sent: Sun 2/22/2009 11:38 PM
To: All BSCN Employees; All BSM Employees; All PN Employees; All Philly.com Employees; All PN, BSCN and PHILLY.COM Employees
Subject: Important Notice

To: All PN Employees

Today we took an important strategic step toward restructuring our debt
obligations. To do so we have voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11
of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code......It is important that each of you is not distracted by our Chapter 11 filing....As a company, we have been hit with a perfect storm, including a dramatic decline in total revenue, the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression and a debt structure which is out of line with current economic reality. Despite these difficult circumstances, we have been working towards an operational structure that can flourish once we get the debt restructured.

Yes little people, don't be distracted - get your line moving in the Tierney Factory, ok? And as for perfect storm, dude, you are that perfect storm, and if you haven't been paying the bills, how will that affect the future of journalism in Philadelphia?

Also see on Philebrity: The InkRapture®: God Is Angry, God Is Vengeful

And Twitter beat the Inquirer ownership on announcing their own news? Way to scoop the career publicist, eh?

Huffington Post: Philadelphia Newspapers Owner Files For Bankruptcy Protection

PHILADELPHIA — The owner of The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Daily News filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday in an effort to restructure its debt load.

Philadelphia Newspapers Inc., owned by Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, is the second newspaper company in two days, and fourth in recent months, to seek bankruptcy protection.

"This restructuring is focused solely on our debt, not our operations," chief executive officer Brian P. Tierney said in a statement. "Our operations are sound and profitable."...The Newspaper Guild of Greater Philadelphia notified its union members of the filing in an e-mail Sunday night.

The e-mail, obtained by The Associated Press, tells members to stay calm. The e-mail says "the company is still in business, the papers are still publishing" and members should report for work.

Attytood: Monday, February 23, 2009
Chapter 11 doesn't change the story line

It figures -- on the night that the parent company of the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer filed for bankruptcy protection, there was pizza. I mean, we almost always have pizza for big events at the Daily News newsroom, an Eagles playoff game or a big election...so why not Chapter 11? This time, the leaning tower of white cardboard boxes arrived about 10 minutes before I was told -- I'm the night editor on Sundays at the DN -- that our reporter who was already writing a piece about bankruptcy at the Journal Register company, which owns a bunch of papers in the Philly region, was now going to be shifting gears and writing about our own Chapter 11 filing instead.

OK, OK, technically the pizza was for Oscar night -- but I still think there was some higher meaning -- the bread of life, our workaday existence as pepperoni-stained newsroom wretches, the thing that sustains us and that keeps us going even as bankers and lawyers and their inscrutable paperwork come and go.

I woke up this morning to see that we -- the Philadelphia Newspapers LLC and its bankruptcy filing -- were the No. 3 story on CNN, right after new missiles on North Korea and President Obama's stimulus plan. So I figure people must be wondering what it was like in the middle of this news tsunami -- except really it felt more like the eye of a hurricane, weirdly calm.

Inquirer, Daily News Parent Files for Bankruptcy
Newspaper Guild President asks members to stay calm
By VINCE LATTANZIO
Updated 12:14 PM EST, Mon, Feb 23, 2009

BLOOMBERG:Philadelphia Inquirer Publisher Files for Bankruptcy (Update1)
By Dawn McCarty and Tiffany Kary

REUTERS:Philadelphia papers owner files for bankruptcy protection

Phawker:THIS JUST IN: Inquirer/Daily News Go Bankrupt

Editor&Publisher: Parent of Two Philly Dailies Files For Bankruptcy
By Mark Fitzgerald
Published: February 23, 2009 8:00 AM ET

CHICAGO The parent company of The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Philadelphia Daily News filed for bankruptcy protection Sunday to restructure a $390 million debt burden.

Philadelphia became the second newspaper company to file for bankruptcy just this weekend. On Saturday, Journal Register Co. disclosed it had filed for bankruptcy protection....Philadelphia Newspapers LLC said it has paid $13.4 million in penalty interest and fees in the past 11 months while negotiating a change in its loan agreement....Philadelphia Newspapers is asking for court approval of $25 million in debtor-in-possession financing, which it had arranged with NewSpring Capital in Radnor, Pa.

The Inquirer was mighty thin today - I think the Bulletin had more content....

Super Slezoid Agora Cyber Charter Under Investigation

How divine. These Agora sluts are finally under investigation. Maybe now these parents which Agora is reportedly suing will be vindicated? How are you going to spin this one Dorothy June Brown? Dorothy June, do you know you are one of the shames of the Main Line?

Posted on Mon, Feb. 23, 2009
Agora Cyber Charter under investigation, sources say
By Martha Woodall
Inquirer Staff Writer

A cyber charter school founded by Dorothy June Brown is part of the widening federal criminal probe of area charter schools, according to sources with knowledge of the investigation.

The Agora Cyber Charter school in Devon has received a federal grand-jury subpoena for all financial records, and federal agents have spoken to Brown twice since May, the sources said.

Agora is at least the fourth charter school caught up in the federal investigation launched after The Inquirer reported in mid-April that the Philadelphia School District's inspector general was investigating allegations of fiscal mismanagement and nepotism at the Philadelphia Academy Charter School in the Northeast.

Brown's name surfaced early in the federal inquiry....Brown owns Cynwyd Group L.L.C., an education management company that has a contract with Agora and owns its headquarters on Chestnut Street in Devon. Brown is Cynwyd's senior consultant to Agora and an ex-officio member of the charter's board.

The federal investigation of Agora began months before Brown and Cynwyd Group sued six Agora parents and the Agora Parent Association for slander, libel, and civil conspiracy. The lawsuit was filed last month.

You are a nasty bit of business Dorothy June.

Arrests Made in Coatesville Arsons.

Hopefully these are the arsonists. Hopefully they get convicted and go to jail for a LONG time. Figures they are both white. One from Downingtown vicinity, one from Westt Chester? The mother and boy named Sue sister of the first one arrested sounded stupid on the news last night.


New York Times: National Briefing | Mid-Atlantic
Pennsylvania: Charges in Arsons
By IAN URBINA
Published: February 19, 2009

Posted on Fri, Feb. 20, 2009
Two arrests in Coatesville-area arsons
By Kathleen Brady Shea, Mari A. Schaefer and Tom Infield
Inquirer Staff Writers

For week upon week, Coatesville-area residents wondered who was doing this to them.

Who was lighting the fires that made national news, left scores of people homeless, caused at least $3.5 million in damage, and left Coatesville afraid to sleep? Was it somebody they saw on the street, somebody who stood beside them in the convenience store?

Authorities said yesterday that at least nine of the 24 fires set since Jan. 1 had been the work of a 19-year-old tech student from Downingtown - nine miles away. The suspect had no reported connection to the old steel town, 35 miles west of Philadelphia, that became tarnished and on edge.

Police said Roger Leon Barlow Jr., who received a diploma from the Downingtown Area School District last year, had admitted starting the nine fires, which included the spectacular Jan. 24 blaze that spread across the roofs of 15 rowhouses on Fleetwood Street....Special Agent John Hageman of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a statement late last night that Mark Gilliam, 20, of the 1600 block of Suzanne Drive, West Chester, was charged in connection with the Jan. 25, 2009, attempted arson of the Happy Days Family Bistro, 3470 E. Lincoln Highway in Thorndale, about four miles east of Coatesville.

Gilliam who is single and lives with his mother, was arrested at his residence without incident last night, and a search warrant was executed. The West Bradford Fire Company said he had applied to be a volunteer firefighter last month, but was told on Feb. 11 that he been rejected following a review that included a background check....Lorraine Barlow, 39, spoke while parked in her car on Pennsylvania Avenue in front of the second-floor apartment she shares with her son, husband, and 14-year-old daughter. Units rent for $800 a month, the apartment house manager said.

She said her son had a slight mental handicap and had spent most of his school years in special education at the Downingtown branch of the Devereux Day School.

Nice, huh?

Action News/Affidavit against Mark Gilliam

Thank God for the ATF. They rock.

Related:
Posted on Thu, Feb. 19, 2009
Coatesville spars over old debts
By Kathleen Brady Shea
Inquirer Staff Writer

As investigators work overtime to solve the serial arsons terrorizing Coatesville, city officials are struggling to resolve a financial crisis exacerbated by financial disclosures made last night.
At a special work session attended by about 65 residents, City Manager Harry G. Walker III repeated his request that City Council release $900,000 from a city trust fund to meet expenses.

The request prompted hours of sparring between members of City Council with Walker and financial consultant Donald McKensie over unpaid debts from 2008.

Council members said they were stunned to learn that Walker spent almost $500,000 in 2008 left over from a 2005 transfer of $8.5 million from the city's trust fund, a fund of approximately $38 million set up when the city sold its water authority in 2000.

Dalton Tragedy in NYC: Why Do So Many Tennage Boys Commit Suicide?

I follow a blog on occasion called Greenwich Diva (LOVE it!). Anyway, the Diva has a sad tale to tell today of a 17 year old boy who committed suicide at a NYC prep school called Dalton. The Greenwich Diva says:

The seventeen-year-old student at the elite Dalton School, who committed suicide yesterday by jumping out of the school’s 11th floor window, has been identified as Theodore (Teddy) Graubard.

Graubard was a very popular and well-liked student at the private school, and now teachers, parents and students are having a difficult time understanding why he did it.....He plummeted on the sidewalk where fourth graders were playing.

Graubard has a younger brother at the school.

You know, no snarkiness here, when you read something like that, it stops you dead in your tracks. What makes kids do these things? What is so bad when you have a nice life and go to a nice prep school? Is prep school really more like Gossip-Girl then we think as adults?

I don't know anyone who committed suicide as a kid when I was a kid, although, I have known adults who have killed themselves. The adult suicides I find upsetting and selfish. Kid suicides I find horribly sad and awful because as bad as life gets at times, each day is a new adventure to be savored.

But maybe when kids have too much at too young an age, combined with the pressures that only a prep school can apply, maybe, just maybe there is something to be said about letting kids be kids?

Here is the New York mainstream media on this horribly sad affair:

NY Magazine: Dalton Student’s Apparent Suicide: More News
2/19/09 at 9:32

In an unlikely turn of events, the Daily News — and not the Post — is the first paper to leap at the opportunity to share more of the gruesome details surrounding the death of a student yesterday at the prestigious Dalton School on the Upper East Side.

17-year-old student plunges to death at Manhattan's elite Dalton School
BY Oren Yaniv, Elizabeth Lazarowitz and Jonathan Lemire
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

A 17-year-old plunged to his death at one of Manhattan's most elite private schools Wednesday, landing in front of horrified children playing on the sidewalk, police said.

Theodore (Teddy) Graubard, a well-liked junior at The Dalton School on E. 89th St., jumped from a partially open 11th-floor window and died instantly, investigators said.

"I'm at a loss right now," said Howard Buford, 35, one of dozens of parents who rushed to Dalton after the 11:15 a.m. tragedy...."I heard a loud bang," said Dalton security guard Michael Brown, who was on the street. "It sounded like a gunshot. ... He was just dead."

"The fourth-graders were out here [and] everybody started running away from the body," Brown said. "The teachers got them out of here pretty quickly."

The school, which has 1,300 students in kindergarten through high school, will provide counseling for those affected by the incident.

"The Dalton School community is deeply saddened by today's tragedy, which involved the death of a beloved 11th-grade student," the school said in a statement. "Our thoughts and sympathies go out to the family."

NEW YORK POST: PRIVATE SCHOOL STUDENT FALLS TO DEATH By ALIYAH SHAHID, ERIK SHILLING and LUKAS I. ALPERT

Dalton Student Falls to Death in Possible Suicide
By The Staff at wowOwow.com

Student, 17, plunges 11 stories, dies

Fantastic Photos of yes...Fishtown

So I like Philebrity, and Philebrity suggested a website - so I thought I would check it out. I am glad I did because the photographs are raw, human, and fantastic (and they have some delightfully snarky desriptions in some cases!). So I think Philebrity got this right (but they get most things right), and I encourage everyone to have a peek at A Continuous Lean and see what I saw...
here is an excerpt of the post with the photos:

A few weeks back I noticed a sly comment from Mr. Michael Williams about my neighborhood in Philadelphia. I emailed him, what do you know about Fishtown, USA? “I know that it is shitty and awesome and I love it. What do you know?,” was the gist of his reply. I told him I know that I live in Fishtown, and the idea for this photo essay was born. I’ve lived in Fishtown on and off for the last 18-months. The neighborhood straddles the fine line between vibrancy and decaying urban America. Nestled just north east of Northern Liberties on the banks of the Delaware River, Fishtown has a distinct, if not exceptional history. William Penn signed his treaty with the Native Americans just a few blocks from my home. The spot is now recognized by a memorial park, a place people spend Saturday afternoons smoking blunts by the water. Few of these revelers would know that they are steps away from where the local industrial history begins.

AllAroundNothingness

There is a restaurant in Bryn Mawr called Blush. Recently, there was an event called Be Mine on The Main Line. (or so says this online article - I wouldn't know I had not heard of it - which of course means nothing, because I don't hear about a lot of things).

Anyway, an article today forwarded to me by a friend in Villanova from this silly online zine, says this event had over 300 guests in Blush. Have you ever dined at Blush? I have and if they has 300 people in this location they had to be going against local fire codes. That place is kinda small and oddly configured.

Now I am only lukewarn at best on Blush, because the only thing they are consistent in is their inconsistency. And I have never thought they could decide if they want to be a restaurant, bordello, or lounge.

Anyway, this self-review reduced me to giggles. If they had over 300 people there would not have been a parking space for miles because this part of Bryn Mawr is parking starved. My friend and her posse had had a bite to eat at that suishi place nearby the same night as the event - she said she couldn't believe they had that many people in that part of Bryn Mawr because she actually found a parking space...anyway, read this thing, and I hope they really were fundraising for an animal shelter not merely self-promoting...

An Affair to Remember
Posted on 19 February 2009
Tags: Bryn Mawr, Fundraiser, Main Line
By Laura Klein
AML Contributing Writer

It was truly an affair to remember! Hundreds of Main Liners and city slickers ‘dressed to impress and donated to make a difference’ (as the invitation suggested) as Philadelphia’s first e-magazine, AroundMainLine.com, successfully hosted their first fundraiser and local event. Be Mine on the Main Line brought out over 300 guests to Blush Restaurant & Bar in Bryn Mawr on Friday, February 6th in an awesome display of support for the Pennsylvania SPCA.

“What can I say about Be Mine? It was a night that was most rewarding for everyone involved. And, a total team effort from top to bottom. As Philadelphia’s first e-magazine, AroundMainLine.com has worked very hard to develop great friendships with local businesses in a short period of time and, in this economy, we have figured out a way to tap into those resources, connect the dots, and bring a local community together unlike anyone else—online.

...sigh, the facebook approach to life....it's all about me and what I can do for me.....


You know, I might like to comment about things online, but I don't live in virtual reality...and AllAroundMainLine to me is a bunch of online ads, that I am sure are paid for dearly by those on the site strung together in a magazine costume...oh yes, that is so economical in a bad economy...come on, it's just paying for your ad online versus in print. Whatever, while I am at it - check out the Inquirer Facebook article. It is a hoot.

Posted on Sun, Feb. 15, 2009
It's all about me - and my entourage.
Facebook list: Narcissism or a social shift?
By John Timpane
Inquirer Staff Writer

Did Someone Slip Tracy Hottenstein a Roofie?

Police seek public’s help in Sea Isle City death
By Allison Steele
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

Police are seeking the public's help as they investigate the death of Tracy Hottenstein, a 35-year-old Conshohocken woman found in a bay in Sea Isle City on Sunday during the weekend-long Polar Bear Plunge festival....Anyone with any information is asked to call the prosecutor's office at 609-465-1135.

Ok, not to be snobby, but those bars in Sea Isle that they are showing on TV about that poor woman from Conshohocken was found dead near are sort of sleazy. Like the bar where the Polar Bear Plugers went to celebrate first? UGH! They are among the bars that when I was younger and doing the Jersey Shore circuit, I was always told to keep an eye on my drink, and if I put it down and lost track of it, to get a fresh one...and oh yes, to keep an eye out for freaks.

I don't know who this woman is, but women need to stick together on this. I sure hope if her friends or companions with her at these bars saw her talking to anyone that they come forward. Call me crazy, but does anyone just think this woman just wandered away like an Alzheimer's patient or a toddler on the beach? I don't. Nothing of course other than women's intuition on that one......this was a woman with roots in her own community if interviews given by neighbors mean anything. People with roots, even single ones, might have a bad day, but they don't just wander like that. And maybe the police are being evasive down there because they don't have a clue as to how to proceed? If so, can NJ state police investigators step in? This woman's family must be so horribly frantic and devestated.

Look, is it possible that someone dosed her dink? Slipped her a roofie because she was a single woman? And that is how she ended up outside and dead? Well Sea Isle had best figure this one out fast - touristas don't like this kind of publicity...

MSNBC/NBC Philadelphia: Mystery Surrounds Conshy Woman’s Shore Death

Tracy Hottenstein visited Sea Isle City this past weekend to take part of the Polar Bear Plunge, but never made it home.

The 35-year-old Conshohocken pharmaceutical rep’s body was found floating near the Sea Isle City Marina on 42nd Place Sunday morning, police said.

An autopsy was conducted Monday, but results and a cause of death are pending toxicology results. They will be released at a future date, authorities said Tuesday. Investigators are now trying to figure out how and why she wound up in the water.

Investigators visited two popular Sea Isle nightspots Tuesday -- LaCosta Lounge and The Ocean Drive -- to interview staff who may have seen the woman Saturday night.

Posted on Wed, Feb. 18, 2009
Friend says Conshohocken woman may have 'slipped and fell' into Sea Isle bay
By JASON NARK
Philadelphia Daily News
narkj@phillynews.com 856-779-3231

Cape May County authorities are awaiting toxicology results to determine how a Conshohocken woman died during a festive winter weekend in Sea Isle City.
Tracy Elizabeth Hottenstein, 35, a senior sales specialist with the Toyko-based drug company Daiichi Sankyo Inc., was found floating in a bay near the Sea Isle City Marina by a passer-by about 8 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

An autopsy was completed Monday by the Southern Regional Medical Examiner's Office, but the Cape May County Prosecutor's Office said in a release yesterday that the "cause and manner [of her death] are pending toxicology analysis and will be released at a future date."

Hottenstein, who had told others that she previously worked for Bristol-Myers Squibb, reportedly was in Sea Isle City for the Polar Bear Plunge, an annual event that brings thousands, many in elaborate costumes, to the resort town to charge into the chilly Atlantic Ocean and pack the city's bars.

Hottenstein was last seen Saturday night in a Sea Isle City bar, but one person who knew her said yesterday that the vibrant and athletic career woman was not one to overindulge....Cape May County authorities said the probe into Hottenstein's death is continuing and they are urging anyone with information to call 609-465-1133 or 609-263-4311.

Posted on Tue, Feb. 17, 2009
Pa. woman's body found in Sea Isle
The Conshohocken woman, 35, was at the beach for Polar Bear Plunge festivities Saturday.
By Bonnie L. Cook and Allison Steele
Inquirer Staff Writers

A Conshohocken woman in Sea Isle City for Polar Bear Plunge festivities was found dead Sunday morning in frigid water near Ludlam Bay, authorities said.

Tracy Hottenstein, 35, was discovered by a passerby about 7:50 a.m. at the Sea Isle City Marina at 42d Place....Liliane Baron, who lives in the 300 block of East 10th Avenue in Conshohocken, next to the two-story home Hottenstein shared with a roommate, described her neighbor as an "all-American girl," pretty with blue eyes and dark blonde hair.

Her smile "cheered up the whole neighborhood," Baron said of Hottenstein, who ran several local 5K charity road races in recent years.

"Everything about Tracy was positive and polite," said Baron, wiping tears from her eyes with a tissue. "She had the nicest attitude. She was an absolute gem."

Baron said Hottenstein worked for a pharmaceutical firm, but was unsure of her occupation...."She was a bright, bright spirit," said Baron. "It's heartbreaking."...The plunge took place at 2 p.m. Saturday, with swimmers wearing bathing suits and costumes. The festivities continued with a post-plunge party at the LaCosta Lounge that included a buffet and awards ceremony. The event was scheduled to run until 8 p.m.

Hottenstein's friends told Baron the group was having cocktails at an unidentified a bar in Sea Isle City on Saturday night when they noticed Hottenstein was missing. When they couldn't find her, Baron said they told her, they called police.

Oh Thank Goodness for Superman! Green Beer in Philly is Saved!

Yes! I could not rest, or sleep a wink if Super Tierney didn't sweep in with his cape to save the St. Patrick's Day Parade...ahh yesiree, when St. Pat chased the snakes out of Ireland, did he send them to Philadelphia?

Ah yes! Because all native Irishmen in Philadelphia (they are Philadelphians after all) will always defend the Iggles, Donovan McFlabb, and oh yes...preserve the patron Saint of drunken excess and green beer...heaven forbid anyone actually remember that Saint Patrick is to be remembered for other then BOOZING.Yes, soo...well then, will those missing interest payments be forthcoming? We all wouldn't want a certain someone to loose their F***ing house over this, right? Will any layoffs result at the Inquirer and Daily News because Super Tierney has saved the parade?

AND OH MY GOD, LORD LOVE A DRUNK, THIS IS NEWS? The country is teetering between recession and depression, but rest assured, there will be a St. Patrick's Day parade. Oy vey.

Fox29 News: St. Patrick's Day Parade
Will March On
Inquirer/Daily News Owner Pledges
Help

Philadelphia - The company that owns The Philadelphia Inquirer and The Daily News is stepping in to save the city's annual St. Patrick's Day Parade.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports, Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC will match donations dollar for dollar to help defray the cost of the 238-year parade. The company will match up to $20,000.

Parade organizers are trying to raise $40,000 to cover costs for police, port-a-potties, and cleanup. ....Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC Executive Officer and Publisher Brian Tierney told The Philadelphia Inquirer Sunday "We are Philadelphians, even in these tough economic times, as local owners, we want to support this community."

Posted on Mon, Feb. 16, 2009
Philly publisher steps in to help St. Pat's parade
By REGINA MEDINA
Philadelphia Daily News
medinar@phillynews.com 215-854-5985

Will we be using monopoly money to pay for these parades?

How can this man lay off people - and keep laying off people, be reported in the NATIONAL news that he ain't payin' his bills, yet fly in with his Ralph Lauren superhero cape (or whatever) and offer to pay for parades? HINT to parade planners: cash. Yes babies, ask for CASH...oh and read about the cash strapped papers saving St. Patrick's day here in The Bulletin by Chris Freind, who can be reached at cf@thebulletin.us :

"The Bulletin and other media outlets have recently disclosed ongoing discussions between Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell, D, and Philadelphia Media Holdings (PMH) Publisher and CEO Brian Tierney. A possible taxpayer bailout of the struggling media company stands at the heart of the issue.

PMH bought the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News in 2006 for $562 million, and approximately $400 million remains in debt. The company defaulting because it has not made a payment on its loan since June of last year.

There has been significant public opposition to a media entity seeking financial support from the government, including a Wall Street Journal editorial labeling it “the worst bailout idea so far.”

Despite this, the governor’s press secretary, Chuck Ardo, stated earlier this week that Mr. Rendell is still open to continuing the bailout discussions....“I don’t know the specifics of the conversations, but the governor did suggest that Mr. Tierney speak with the pension boards to see what kind of arrangements could be worked out,” Mr. Ardo was quoted as saying on KYW.

Mr. Tierney made a contradictory statement, according to the news radio website, by claiming that discussions did not involve the use of pension fund dollars to buy any of the papers’ debt.

Yet according to a Jan. 31 article in the Inquirer, “Gov. Rendell said he arranged a recent meeting between the publisher of The Inquirer and Daily News and the two largest state employee pension funds in hopes of helping the newspaper company lessen its large debt burden.”

Ummm, so who is it again paying for this parade?

Hey Kenny Glenn! Go Straight To Jail For Cat Abuse!

Kenny Glenn, you miserable little f*ck. Can I slam your head against the shower wall like you did to that poor cat? So your momma will take away your dirt bike? Well, someone needs to talk to her. Kenny Glenn needs to be locked up! And so does momma.

How is this o.k.? Why would someone do this to a defenseless animal? Pets offer humans the rarest and most valuable of gifts: unconditional love. And this is how we reward them? I am sick over this, just sick. Please be advised, this video is horrible.



Sicko Beats Cat on YouTube

ANIMAL cruelty campaigners have called for an urgent investigation into shocking footage posted on YouTube of a cat being horrifically battered.
The sick video shows a balaclava-clad teen – self-styled as "The Animal Abuser" – bashing his pet cat Dusty senseless.

The clip – which has enraged pet protection charities – starts with a youth wearing a balaclava and pyjama bottoms saying: "Today's topic is animal abuse."

He then reveals: "My name is Timmy, but some people call me The Animal Abuser."

Seconds later the thug launches a frenzied attack on his cat by thumping its side on a tiled shower wall before punching, slapping and blasting it with water.

And as he's doing it he yells at the poor animal: "I hate you and you hate me."

Kenny Glenn (‘Timmy’) horrible cat abuse video February 15, 11:29 PM
by Kristy S-Y, Seattle Parenting Examiner

My daughter asked me if I had seen the video of the boy abusing the cat. Her friend had seen it and said she only made it through the first part before it caused her to throw up. She was extremely upset and was warning her friends not to view it. Fortunately, my daughter listened and didn’t watch it

When she asked me about it, I hadn’t seen it and I wish could still say I hadn’t. If you don’t know what is shown in the video I can tell you about only part of it because I too, couldn’t finish watching it! This is such a horrific case of animal abuse and I just hope that it isn’t excused because he is only a teen. Before you look at the video, peak at Kenny Glenn’s myspace page and realize that behind that young face is a person violent enough to beat an innocent cat with his fists: over and over again!

Comanche County teen films himself abusing cat, airs on YouTube
Posted: Feb 15, 2009 08:43 PM EST

Now the Comanche County DA doesn't seem to have voicemail OR e-mail, but for those animal lovers interested in lil' Kenny getting locked up for a good long while:

Comanche County District Attorney
Comanche County Courthouse
Room 502
Lawton, Oklahoma 73501
Phone: (580) 585-4444

Google says Fred Smith is the name of an ADA there, and some dude named Robert C. Schulte is the DA

Crime & Federalism
February 15, 2009
Update on Kenny Glenn Story

Then there was this thing, which got yanked, but has this e-mail address as contact about the case: catabuse@gmail.com

Erin Go Broke?

Isn't that simply divine? While the news is full of stories of the owner of the Philadelphia Inquirer, Brian Tierney, not being able to pay the interest on the debt the paper carries for months, and while he is in the news in a very public pissing match with another mini me Main Line Republican that involves law suits that will hurt reporters just doing their jobs, while all this is going on, Mr. Ego is pledging to financially support the St. Patrick's Day Parade?

Why color me ERIN GO BROKE. What BULLSHIT. If the man can afford to do this, he should be able to afford to keep up with interest payments, right? If you can't pay other bills, how can you pay for a parade?

So that guy who runs the St. Pat's parade? He is quoted in the Inquirer as saying "I see the advantage of locally owned newspapers . . . they care about their community," he said. "What a difference over some media conglomerate."

Yes, indeed. A big conglomerate would tell him they can't afford to donate a big chunk O'Change...

OH MY GOD. I am SO SICK OF THIS. I think that Tierney has got to go and there needs to be a palace coup and topple the king. Before I give an excerpt to this article, I wonder if this was divine prophecy?

A PR magnate struggles to revive a newspaper
Is Brian Tierney the Philadelphia Inquirer's savior - or worse than Knight Ridder?
By Devin Leonard, Fortune senior writer
November 13 2006: 12:12 PM EST

(Fortune Magazine) -- It's been a rough five months for Brian Tierney, CEO of the private company that bought the Philadelphia Inquirer in June. His employees are up in arms. Ad revenues are evaporating fast. And if that wasn't bad enough, Tierney is getting grief from his family.

He recently took a call from his older brother, who jokingly told him that his employees were going to burn him in effigy in front of the Inquirer building. Would Tierney mind if he went? "Nothing like having a funny brother who's an investor," grumbles the fledgling newspaper publisher....Before buying the Inquirer, Tierney, 49, was the man Philadelphia's rich and powerful called when they were besieged by camera crews. He is funny, brash and more than willing to boast of his entrepreneurial prowess.....For years people speculated that Tierney, active in Republican circles, would one day run for office. Instead he chose to become a media mogul. ...He steers the conversation back to his favorite topic: the bright future he envisions for the Inquirer. He recently hired William Marimow, a former Inquirer reporter with several Pulitzers, to be the paper's new editor. He wants to expand the two papers' Web franchise. He has an array of targeted niche products in mind to rejuvenate ad sales. He's a seasoned-enough public relations guy to make it all sound plausible.

Posted on Sat, Feb. 14, 2009
Publisher pledges aid for parade
By Josh Goldstein
INQUIRER STAFF WRITER

The St. Patrick's Day parade will go on.

Organizers of the 238-year-old parade are confident that - with a pledge of up to $20,000 in support from the owners of The Inquirer - they will raise the money needed to pay for services such as police and sanitation that the cash-strapped city said it won't cover this year.

Philadelphia Media Holdings LLC, which owns The Inquirer and Daily News will match, dollar for dollar, donations to cover the $40,000 the city said it would charge parade organizers.

"We are Philadelphians," Brian P. Tierney, the company's executive officer and the newspapers' publisher, said today. "Even in these tough economic times, as local owners, we want to support this community."

Prompted by an article today in The Inquirer, Tierney called parade director Michael Bradley with the offer to bolster fund-raising efforts.

Simply Marvy! justsnarky Has Had OVER 10,000 Hits!

Dear Readers of justsnarky,

Thank you for reading my blog and helping me get over the 10,000 mark in such a short time!

Have a Happy Valentine's Day, and don't let any black cats cross your path today!

xoxo

Freaky Friday: Nadya IS the Creepy Angelina

I just want to know one thing: who the f*ck let this freak just spawn like this? Dr. Freaking Frankenstein? And this bitch can afford invitro, but not to raise these kids without welfare? Did she ask the public if she should spawn? Should the public pay for spawn of faux Angelina? Has anyone tied her tubes yet?

I have NO problem with single moms. I know a few women, who decided to become independent parents - a couple of them adopted, a couple of them bore their own children. But NONE of them went for spawning their own sports team in one fell swoop, AND they are all women who work and can afford children - they aren't on the dole. Nadya Suleman is an asshole who wants attention. I think she should have been pooed into the mental ward, not the maternity ward.

I have a huge issue with women who can't pay for their own kids, yet want to be "independent". This Nadya is the creepiest thing ever. She did this for the noteriety, and I believe (given her experience) because she is some fruitcale fan of Angelina Jolie....only unlike Angelina, she expects others to provide for her kids. She masks it in "God will provide" bullshit, but God has nothing to do with her passel of baster babies. I have NO respect for this woman, and I actually question whether these innocent children will be safe with her long term.

Women should not just bear children because they need love in their lives, as I believe the idea is the love is supposed to be there before you bring new life into this world.

And that doctor? What is WRONG with him, that he would impregnate single women with no real means to afford a family or in like the recent news, impreganate women without health insurance? Ummm, there is no nationalized healthcare in the US. He should have his license revoked for this - it's like these women are his human guiea pigs. He makes me think of a rather creepy Law & Order episode a few years ago where the fictional police chase after a fictional fertility doctor who it ends up was impreganting his sperm into all these women. Only this freak show is real life.

Octuplets' birth spawns outrage from public LA Times/By Jessica Garrison, Kimi Yoshino and Catherine Ho
February 7, 2009

A beaming Dr. Karen Mapes appeared on "Larry King Live" this week to discuss the epic birth of octuplets she supervised at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Bellflower, but the ticker at the bottom of the screen said it all: "OCTUPLETS OUTRAGE."

The story of Whittier mom Nadya Suleman has quickly turned from medical miracle to public fury -- so much so that Suleman herself complained in an interview that aired Friday on NBC's "Today" show that society is unfairly judging her.

"I feel as though I've been under the microscope because I chose this unconventional life," she said, suggesting there is a double standard because she's a single mother.

Instead of eliciting understanding and sympathy, her interview fueled more controversy.

Suleman is an unemployed graduate student, lives with her parents and already had six children under the age of 8. She has become a lightning rod for criticism for the nation's healthcare woes, the economic crisis and the medical ethics of in vitro fertilization.

Octuplet mom patterning self on Angelina Jolie
By Courtney Hazlett
The Scoop
msnbc.com
updated 7:59 a.m. ET, Wed., Feb. 11, 20

Two pouty brunettes, one an Oscar-winning philanthropist and the other a single mother of 14, have captured America’s attention. Now, they share a magazine cover.

Life & Style has heard your worried cries that Nadya Suleman, the Whittier, Calif., woman who recently gave birth to octuplets, is morphing into Angelina Jolie, and has researched the resemblance.

“The similarities between Nadya and Angelina are uncanny,” plastic surgeon Dr. Anthony Youn told Life & Style.

FOXNEWS: Octuplets' Mom On Welfare, Spokesman Confirms
Tuesday, February 10, 2009

LOS ANGELES — The Southern California mother of octuplets receives $490 a month in food stamps and three of her first six children are disabled and receiving federal assistance, her publicist confirmed Monday evening.

Spokesman Michael Furtney said Nadya Suleman did not want to disclose the nature of the disabilities, or the type or sum of the payments.

Furtney confirmed the public assistance payments after two sources told The Los Angeles Times that Suleman was receiving food stamps and federal supplemental security income.

LA TIMES: Medical group examining Beverly Hills fertility doctor in octuplets case
3:52 PM, February 10, 2009

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine said it is going to look into the case of the Whittier mother who gave birth to octuplets last month -- and who now has 14 children.

The mother, 33-year-old Nadya Suleman, went to a Beverly Hills doctor, whose fertility treatment led to the birth of her octuplets -- and her six previous children.

West Coast IVF Clinic is run by Dr. Michael M. Kamrava, who has declined to comment about the case. The California Medical Board previously announced an investigation, and the reproductive medicine society is now following suit.

"We are pleased that the California Medical Board has announced they will be investigating this matter, and we are prepared to assist them in any way we can," said R. Dale McClure, president of the society, in a statement.

British embryologist 'shocked' to find octuplets doctor still working
A British embryologist, who worked for the doctor who gave fertility treatment to the mother of octuplets, said she was "shocked" to find he was still working.

Shantal Rajah, 51, claimed she left Michael Kamrava's US clinic after just three weeks because of his behaviour and attitude.

She claimed Dr Kamrava, 57, was "extremely difficult" and refused to listen to her concerns about the "secretive" way the clinic operated.

She sued him for back pay and damages, and received a substantial sum in 2003.

Dr Rajah told The Times: "The level of regulation I was used to just wasn't there," Dr Rajah said. "His practice was all a very secretive issue.

Michael Moore Wants YOUR Help Covering Bailout

I got an e-mail and I am passing it along. I can't wait for Michael Moore's next movie!

From: Michael Moore
Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2009 6:00 AM
Subject: Will You Help Me With My Next Film? ...a request from Michael Moore


Will You Help Me With My Next Film? ...a request from Michael Moore

February 11, 2009

Friends,

I am in the middle of shooting my next movie and I am looking for a few brave people who work on Wall Street or in the financial industry to come forward and share with me what they know. Based on those who have already contacted me, I believe there are a number of you who know "the real deal" about the abuses that have been happening. You have information that the American people need to hear. I am humbly asking you for a moment of courage, to be a hero and help me expose the biggest swindle in American history.

All correspondence with me will be kept confidential. Your identity will be protected and you will decide to what extent you wish to participate in telling the greatest crime story ever told.

The important thing here is for you to step up as an American and do your duty of shedding some light on this financial collapse. A few good people have already come forward, which leads me to believe there are many more of you out there who know what's going on. Here's your chance to let your fellow citizens in on the truth.

If you have any info that would help, please contact me at my private email address: bailout@michaelmoore.com.

For the rest of you on my email list who don't work in the financial industry, you're probably wondering, "What the heck is this all about? I thought he said he was making a romantic comedy!"

Well, I just can't say much right now. I'm sure you can understand why. One thing I can tell you is that you're gonna like this movie when I'm done with it. Oh, yeah...

So, again, if you work for a bank, a brokerage firm or an insurance company -- or if you have seen things or heard things that you believe the American people have a right to know -- please contact me at bailout@michaelmoore.com.

Thank you in advance for your help!

Yours,
Michael Moore
bailout@michaelmoore.com
MichaelMoore.com

Dear Brian and Jen, May I say "Oy Vey" ?

Dear Brian and Jen,
I make no presumptions here. I am just another blogger, hear me roar (I think I do it rather well). However, I am roaring in laughter this morning at Philebrity's post about what one of my favorite chick lit scribes has scribbled.(Jen that would be you)

I have to ask Jennifer Weiner if she slipped on some patch of slippery snow and bumped her head? Either that or she didn't closely enough pay attention to Steve Volk in Philadelphia Magazine.One little bon mot was:

Tierney has missed on other counts, too. Bringing in Michael Smerconish, Rick Santorum and Lisa Scottoline as columnists was as crass as name-dropping at a dinner party, an attempt to co-opt the glow emanating from this city’s most well-known radio host, an abhorred Pennsylvania politician and, uh, a crime novelist, instead of growing his own stars. Tierney also promised a revamped and more ambitious website at Philly.com. But the result is unremarkable. New stories and fresh updates — the lifeblood of an Internet publication — are buried on the home page.

Brian, you are a PR cat, and your purchase of two newspapers has let Wile E Coyote into the hen house. You used to eat reporters for breakfast as a PR cat, and now? Well, too many great voices to name have been laid off or made to disappear. (And where are you hiding Inga Saffron and why, might I ask? I see her blog, but are her actual columns still in PRINT? Am I missing something? Color me confused there...)

Brian, you let writers like John Grogan fall on his sword and leave the Inquirer . BIG MISTAKE. BIG MISTAKE.

You brought on Lisa Scottoline, which I did not mind, and do not mind because Lisa is another one of my favorite local authors. But Brian you also have decided to keep Rick The Dick Santorum employed. UGH. What has he gained you? He can't right....errr WRITE (is that my Freudian slip showing?) and I abhor everything Santorum represents.

Just like I have decided this bailout of your investment, even though I love my newspapers is pure bullshit. If you want to bend over, be my guest,but stop comprimising the integrity of newspapers by doing it. This isn't Mother Russia, so the state should not control the journalistic voice, and face it, owning a piece of it does just that. And further I find fault in your corner with this whole lawsuit you are experiencing. Whatever you did or said is now the problem of reporters and an editor whom I do not believe for one New York minute would have written those stories because you said so.

But whatever you said is causing those good people sleepless days and nights until it's settled. Settled being the operative word, because people are wondering if you will settle this suit instead or fight for the First Amendment rights of those reporters and the Philadelphia Inquirer and which will it be?

Now back to you dear Jennifer. Are you NUTS? Do you seriously think any more are going to jump on this sinking ship right now? And what you said, no offense, sounds more like you want/need a new publicist, NOT to have ownership in a newspaper. Or maybe you are wanting some really BIG ads to sell more books?

But honestly, I am making a teeny mou as I write this....and then I go back to Philebrity.

Now, do I think the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News need a bailout? Bien sûr. However, I also feel that given the current ownership it would be like pissing money away. Perhaps a swap of some old ownership blood for some new ownership blood? After all, we don't want Brian to loose his f---ing house over this, do we? Or do we?

Jen honey, if you want to buy a paper, do it for the right reasons. Think like a writer and lover of newspapers, not like a publicist, ok? That mistake has already been made, n'est-ce pas?

And look where it got us....

Philebrity: Everybody Shut Up! Mindy Cohn/Jennifer Weiner Has Something To Say About The Future Of Newspapers!

You know, when this blog first started, we made fun of that lamprey on the world of modern fiction Jennifer Weiner because we thought her bougie little trifles were for Philistine cat-loving husbandeaters whom we’d never touch with a ten foot pole, socially, intellectually or, indeed, sexually. But as time has gone on, The World of Weiner has gone on to include so many more things we hate — be it spousal guilting, situation comedy, fake Amazon reviews and on and on — that each time her name pops up in our Inbox, the “HULK SMASH” switch goes off and blood spurts out of our noses. Bearing that in mind, let us consider Weiner’s recent blog entry on the proposed state bailout of Brian Tierney’s Philadelphia Media Holdings: The premise here is that Weiner should band together with other Enormously Shitty Writers Who Happen To Have Made A Shit-ton Of Money and “bail out” the Inky and DN in return for favorable coverage and the chance to play Miss Piggy to Tierney’s presumed Kermit.

A Moment of Jen: Tuesday, February 03, 2009
posted by Jen at 2/03/2009 12:37:00 PM
Dear Brian Tierney,

Dear Brian Tierney,

I never thought I’d be writing you this kind of letter. But last night, I was reading the Wall Street Journal (online – sorry!), and I was shocked to learn that, under your leadership, the region's two newspapers, the Inquirer and the Daily News, are seeking a $10 million bailout from the state government....What if a consortium of Philadelphia writers and ex-Philadelphia Inquirer staffers turned novelists and non-fiction writers banded together to sponsor the paper’s book coverage?

I can’t speak for John Grogan, Steve Lopez, Buzz Bissinger et al. But personally, I’m always looking for a pretty quote to decorate my paperbacks.....Authors need coverage.

The Inquirer needs money.....As matron of the arts....Also, I have this great idea for a column called Authors: They’re Just Like Us, where the Inquirer can challenge the myth that writers are superhuman glamazons who live on top of some literary Mount Olympus (aka, New York City/Brooklyn/Iowa), emerging only for well-attended, star-studded readings and long boozy lunches with our agents....Drop me a line at jen -at- jenniferweiner.com. Better yet, friend me on Facebook, and we’ll talk.

Buzz Bissinger, Steve Lopez, and John Grogan coming back to the fold? With the current regime? And you don't just emerge for events and kiss-kiss seen and be seen lunches with your agent? Really? You nean you put that bra on one boob at a time just like us regular gals? Whowouldathunkit?

Jen,Jen, Jen. I used to buy your books as soon as they came out. Now I will be buying them at used book sales...your purpose shined through like a chocolate binge and I am sooo sorry to point that out. I feel like I am being mean...only I know I am not....you have forgotten so much in your meteoric rise to stardom.

Pity that.