May 2008

Jocelyn Kirsch, half of the “Bonnie and Clyde” dubbed duo from Philadelphia accused of multiple identity theft charges, appeared in federal court today to face a new accusation:  stealing a credit card in California last week, according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Inquirer, when Kirsch entered the courthouse, she was “pale-looking … wearing a Penn sweatshirt, sweatpants, and handcuffs.” She is allowed to return to California but will be under house arrest until June 5, when she will be back in court in Philadelphia to plead guilty. While under house arrest, she must report by phone three times a day, wear a monitoring bracelet, take random drug tests, and undergo counseling.

The former Drexel University student had bail set at $50,000 and has been living with her mother in Novato, Marlin County.

The Federal prosecutor, Louis Lappen, said that Kirsch took the credit card of an acquaintance and used it, similarly to some of the earlier Philadelphia charges. U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan called Kirsch and Edward K. Anderton, the “poster children for identity theft.” Meehan is seeking five-year terms for the young couple who allegedly used the names and credit of others to finance a yearlong spending spree totalling $119,000. Authorities have identified at least 16 victims of the couple, including people who had their purses stolen or having multiple accounts under other people’s names and dressing up to withdraw from them.

Anderton was a University of Pennsylvania graduate who worked for Lubert Adler Partners, but was fired in September. Kirsch was suspended from Drexel after her arrest as well.

Photo courtesy of Wordpress.com.

The Philadelphia Parking Authority has approved a new 50-cent surcharge on all taxi trips in response to pleas from cab drivers getting crushed by rising gas prices, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

Trips now start out costing the standard $2.70 before the cab moves, but now they will cost $3.20 starting on Monday. However, a previously approved surcharge and fare increase will also go into effect on Monday. This will allow cab drivers to charge each additional passenger an extra $1.00, starting with the second passenger.

Photo courtesy of CitySearch.com.

Sony has made an agreement with six major cable companies, including Comcast, to eliminate the need for customers to lease cable boxes for their television sets, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

Sony has agreed to make their newest television sets with the features built-in so that cable subscribers can get all of the services by simply inserting a card into the set.

Comcast and five other cable companies have reached an agreement with Sony that will eliminate the need for customers to lease set top boxes. That should mean savings for customers.

Brian Dietz of the National Cable and Telecommunications Association: “Cable operators are in the business of providing services and they don’t see themselves as equipment vendors so I think operators are interested in reducing the number of set top boxes that they provide to consumers overall.”

Photo courtesy of Comcast.com.

Two Navy elite fighting boats are on display for a few days at Penn’s Landing, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

One of the boats, the Mark V, zips nearly 60 miles per hour and is 80 feet long. The boat is also equipped with a gyroscope-absorbing dual machine gun and 40mm grenade launcher.

You can see the boats by going to the Independence Seaport Museum until Wednesday through 5:00 p.m.

Photo courtesy of KYW1060.com.

With rising fuel costs, SEPTA rides are more economical than ever and the rising costs aren’t hurting the organization, who operates hundreds of diesel-burning buses, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

SEPTA’s fiscal 2009 budget contains about $15 million more for fuel than was originally proposed in March, but that there won’t be any fare increases because there are more people that are riding SEPTA, sharing the cost.

SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney: “What we’re seeing is an increase in ridership of about 13 million riders, year-to-date, and this is attributable almost exclusively to the increase in the cost of gasoline. People are leaving their cars and getting on public transportation.”

Regional Rails have seen the largest jump, and since they are run with electricity, hasn’t increased as much as fuel has. SEPTA is also going to put 400 diesel-electric hybrid buses on the road in the next 12 months.

Photo courtesy of KYW1060.com.

Wake Forest University is announcing plans to drop the Standardized Admissions Tests (SATs) as a requirement for incoming students, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

Officials at the school have determined that neither the SAT or ACT tests are the best predictors of a student’s academic performance. They plan to place more emphasis on a student’s extracurricular activities, academics, and a personal interview.

There aren’t any indication that any of the major Philadelphia universities plan such a move, and college admissions consultants seem to agree that the most selective schools in the nation won’t abandon SAT results in the near future.

Photo courtesy of Sportslogos.net.

Drexel has announced plans for a Graduate Studies Program in Sacramento, separate from the Placer County Campus proposal, which will begin this coming January. Check out the media recap below:

• Drexel to start graduate program in Sacramento (Inquirer)
• D.U. expands to California (The Triangle)
• Drexel Branches To California With Graduate School (The Bulletin)

Photo courtesy of SacramentoCityInfo.com.

After splitting impressive wins in Kentucky (for Hillary Clinton) and Oregon (for Barack Obama), Obama, who leads pledged delegates, looks to be close to the nomination, according to an article on KYW1060.com.

Hillary Clinton also has little money to do battle in the final primaries on June 3rd. There are three primaries remaining and Obama has an edge in two of them, according to polls.

The rest of this week could also help Obama as many predict that the all-important super-delegates may make their decisions soon. Half of the Clinton voters in both states also felt that Obama will get the nomination, according to exist poll numbers.

Photo courtesy of KYW1060.com.

Philadelphia International Airport has topped a national customer-satisfaction survey, according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer. The survey, put out every year, ranked PHL first in overall customer satisfaction among 18 “large” airports, with Las Vegas second and Orlando third.

The survey was conducted by J.D. Power & Associates and included 21,165 passengers who took round-trip flights between April 2007 and this past March. PHL performed well in terminal facilities and baggage claim.

Chicago Midway International ranked highest among “midsize” airports and Dallas Love Field ranked highest for “small” airports.

Passenger satisfaction with airports in general declined in 2007 as more than 1 in 5 passengers reported experiencing a delay. PHL is owned by the city and generates $14 billion in spending for the regional economy and has nearly 34,000 employees.

Photo courtesy of PHL Intl.

Hershey Park in Hershey, PA, about 2 hours away, will be opening a new roller coaster during Memorial Day Weekend, according to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer.

The coaster, called Fahrenheit, boasts to be the steepest in the entire nation. The ride will take people 121 feet up in a 90-degree ascent. Once at the top, it will plummet down a 97-degree drop. The previous steepest drop is 95-degrees.

The ride lasts 85 seconds and is scheduled to open to the public on Saturday. The coaster also has an inverted loop, inverted corkscrew roll, and a maximum speed of 58 miles per hour.

Photo courtesy of Rollercoastercentral.net.