Wow, a real surprise given Specter's statements that he intended to run in and win the GOP PA state senate primary. I guess Sen Specter finally realized he needed to jump off the bus before it headed over the cliff.

Specter to switch parties.

Sen Specter's statement

Federal prosecutors yesterday tried to debunk disgraced former state Sen. Vince Fumo's argument that he should not have to forfeit $4 million to the government.

The feds' court filing said that the defense was dead-wrong in its assertion that the feds' $4 million claim for forfeiture should be dismissed or at least limited to the $2 million amount originally sought in the indictment.

Fumo was found guilty on March 16 of 137 counts of conspiracy, fraud and obstruction of justice after a five-month trial. (Prosecutors contended at trial that Fumo defrauded the state Senate and two nonprofits of more than $4 million by, among other offenses, using Senate staffers and nonprofit resources for personal or political gain.)

To some, it's apocalyptic.

It's Plan B - the backup, the safety net, the just-in-case proposal that Mayor Nutter is pushing in the likelihood that his Plan A for fixing Philadelphia's fiscal troubles gets shot down.

But Plan B calls for cuts so deep - 480 uniformed officer jobs would disappear - and a proposal so disdained - a permanent 6.1 percent hike in the city property tax atop larger temporary increases - that City Council so far hasn't even considered it.

Five weeks before Council's May 31 deadline for passing next year's budget, it is too difficult to forecast what tax increases and service cuts are in store for Philadelphians to close the five-year $1.4 billion gap.

Yet the worst-case scenario - $405 million worth of additional cuts in Plan B - cannot be dismissed entirely because of the considerable hurdles that Nutter faces in gaining support for his preferred strategy.

For one thing, there is deep Council resistance to Nutter's proposed temporary property-tax increase; the levy would rise 19 percent next year and 14.5 percent the year after.

Grasping at straws...

Vince Fumo's lawyers are asking a federal judge to acquit the disgraced former state senator or give him a new trial.

Fumo was convicted by a federal jury on March 16 of 137 counts of conspiracy, fraud, obstruction of justice and related tax offenses.

Jurors found that Fumo had used Senate aides to do personal and political tasks for him on the taxpayers' dime. They also found that Fumo had tapped a nonprofit organization he founded, Citizens Alliance for Better Neighborhoods, for personal and political use and that he had taken free cruises on yachts owned by the Independence Seaport Museum.

But in a court filing yesterday, Fumo attorney Peter Goldberger said evidence presented during the five-month trial was "insufficient for any reasonable jury" to convict Fumo or co-defendant Ruth Arnao. (She was convicted on 45 similar counts.)

The reviled but rampant ritual of gabbing on handheld cell phones while driving, skating, or cycling is about to become illegal in Philadelphia, as Mayor Nutter is expected to sign a bill in the next few days that will make the city's ban perhaps the most far-reaching in any large urban area. But will it make life safer and saner for everyone on Philadelphia's streets?

"This is a realistic, enforceable bill that will save lives," City Councilman William K. Greenlee said before the 17-0 Council vote yesterday. Handheld use, including texting, is also outlawed for skateboarders, bicyclists, in-line skaters and scooter riders - making this likely the most inclusive law in the country. Greenlee and Councilmen Bill Green and Frank Rizzo were behind the measure. Enforcement would begin immediately.

The new ordinance fines first-time offenders $150; a second offense draws a $300 fine.

The Philadelphia law includes exceptions for calling 911 or reporting a traffic accident or an unsafe driver. Police and other workers can talk into a handheld device in connection with work, and anyone can use a handheld if parked off the street.

Critics say handheld cell phones are not the problem - it's drivers distracted by cell-phone conversations who cause many accidents.

Philadelphia's Public Defender today petitioned the courts to dismiss charges or grant new trial to another 26 persons convicted on drug charges - all allegedly arrested based on false information by veteran narcotics Officer Jeffrey Cujdik and his paid confidential informant.

Together with 24 petitions filed on April 3 and three last Wednesday, today's filings will bring to 53 the number of people whose convictions could ultimately be dismissed.

As with the earlier petitions, the filings in Common Pleas Court today bring contend that the cases - most of which resulted in guilty pleas - are tainted by allegations by Cujdik's former paid informant, Ventura "Benny" Martinez. Martinez, in a Feb. 9 interview with the Daily News, said he and Cujdik often falsified information to convince judges to sign search and arrest warrants for drug suspects.

The future shape of gaming in Philadelphia will get a public review today as the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) hears status reports from the city's two casino license-holders.

Meeting this morning in Harrisburg, the seven-member board will ask the casinos how they plan to move forward. Both projects have missed deadlines to be operational by now.

A busload of anti-casino residents plans to attend the board meeting.

"This is a critical issue facing all Philadelphians," Ellen Somekawa, executive director of Asian Americans United, said in a statement. "We're going to Harrisburg to make sure the PGCB and casino operators know that they are not in charge of our city. We won't let this issue go."

At a City Hall press conference Monday, the developers of SugarHouse unveiled plans for a scaled-down project on a 22-acre site on the Delaware River between Fishtown and Northern Liberties.

After opposing casinos on the waterfront, Mayor Nutter now gives SugarHouse his full support, arguing the city needs the jobs and revenue from casinos.

Former Mayor John F. Street said yesterday that he had struck no agreement with the Eagles to substantially reduce the team's $8 million debt to the city during private negotiations years ago that led to the building of Lincoln Financial Field.

"I didn't cut a secret deal. There was no deal. We didn't make a deal. . . . And if I had agreed to a deal, I would have put it in writing," Street said last night during a rare City Hall appearance.

"The one thing I did commit to," he continued, "is we would absolutely make a reasonable effort to come to a fair settlement and hopefully without litigation. It didn't happen."

Leaders of the Philadelphia Newspaper Guild say that they're outraged that top executives of the Inquirer and Daily News received significant year-end bonuses, three months after convincing hundreds of union members to give up a $25-a-week raise.

"At the time that we voted to postpone our raise, we thought it was the right thing to do," the Guild's administrative officer, Bill Ross, said yesterday. "Looking back, we have egg on our face."

Other union leaders said they had no problem with the bonuses.

Philadelphia magazine's Web site reported over the weekend that chief executive Brian P. Tierney received a $350,000 bonus, while Daily News publisher Mark Frisby and vice president of finance Richard Thayer received $150,000 each. Smaller amounts went to other managers.

Jay Devine, a spokesman for the newspaper company, declined yesterday to discuss compensation for any employees. But some details are likely to emerge next week, when the company is due to file a compensation report as part of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in federal court.