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☆ Top Democrats in Philadelphia Mayoral Race Call for More Policing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Scott Calvert | Photographs Rachel Wisniewski For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHILADELPHIA—The five Democrats best positioned to win their party’s nomination for Philadelphia mayor have each landed on a central pitch to voters: The city needs a bigger role for police. In response to historically high crime, the top Democratic candidates have called for measures such as more patrol officers, bolstered detective ranks and faster 911 response, and they are debating the merits of police investigative stops—often called “stop-and-frisk”—as a tool for getting illicit guns off the streets. They have also called for expanded violence-prevention efforts, increased youth employment and other steps that don’t involve law enforcement, but the role of police has dominated the debate.

☆ Baltimore Archdiocese Long Failed to Protect Children Abused by Catholic Priests, State Report Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Scott Calvert | Jon Kamp | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

An investigation of the Archdiocese of Baltimore is the latest effort to document clerical sexual abuse in the U.S.BALTIMORE—Scores of priests and other people affiliated with the Archdiocese of Baltimore sexually abused hundreds of children over more than 60 years, and church officials often protected the perpetrators while keeping their crimes a secret, Maryland’s attorney general said in a new report. Wednesday’s report from Attorney General Anthony Brown alleges that 156 people—including priests and archdiocese personnel—abused more than 600 youths, causing lasting psychological trauma for survivors.

☆ New York Poised to Ban Gas Stoves in New Buildings as Part of All-Electric Mandate
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A measure including an end to gas stoves in new homes is on track to be added to the state’s coming budget. New York is poised to become the first state in the U.S. to pass a law banning natural-gas and other fossil-fuel hookups in new buildings, a step Democrats are pushing to help the state meet targets for greenhouse-gas reduction. The measure is on track to be added to the state’s coming budget, which is due to be completed this week. Kathy Hochul in January pitched an all-electric building mandate in her spending plan, and both chambers of the Democratic-controlled State Legislature included similar proposals in their respective budget outlines. One of the legislation’s most noticeable effects would be an end to gas stoves in new homes, along with other gas-powered appliances such as water heaters, furnaces and clothes dryers.

☆ Irvo Otieno’s Family Calls for Justice as Video Shows Death in Custody
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-22 | by ( Scott Calvert | Joshua Jamerson | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Caroline Ouko, mother of Irvo Otieno, recalling her son, said ’he was special, he was caring, he was loving.’An attorney for the family of Irvo Otieno, a 28-year-old man who died at a Virginia psychiatric hospital earlier this month, renewed calls for justice Tuesday evening after the public release of a video that showed sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers piled on top of him before his death. Video of the hospital intake process obtained by the Associated Press, and earlier reported by the Washington Post, showed a large group of sheriff’s deputies and hospital workers on top of Mr. Otieno on March 6.

☆ ‘It’s Draining Men’: When Citizens Name Municipal Fixtures, the Puns Flow Freely
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Joe Granieri has plowed roads in the village of New Paltz, N.Y., for nearly two decades. Recently his truck got a name, plastered in vinyl lettering on the door: “Fuhgeddaplowdit.”He chose it from a flurry of ideas pitched by residents vying to help name nine village-owned plows, and says it suits him. “After doing it for 18 years, it’s like second nature,” he said of snow removal. “Fuhgedaboudit, I’ll just plow it, it is what it is.”

☆ Amazon HQ2 Delay Isn’t a Concern, Northern Virginia Officials Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The site of Amazon’s project in Arlington, Va., on Friday. Officials in Northern Virginia largely played down Amazon.com Inc.’s decision to pause plans for a second phase of its corporate campus in Arlington, Va., describing it as an understandable speed bump on a project already benefiting the local economy. “It really doesn’t concern me. In fact, I’m quite understanding,” said Christian Dorsey , chair of the Arlington County Board, in a call with reporters. “I think that we are still going to see all of the benefits that we envisioned…It’s just going to take a little longer to realize.”

Cassie Gibson was teaching a unit on slavery last spring to her sixth-grade U.S. history class in Polk County, Fla., when she noticed a paragraph in a textbook that gave her pause. The passage struck her as potentially violating a 2022 law signed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis —which he dubbed “Stop the Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees (W.O.K.E.) Act”—that prohibits, among other things, teaching that people should feel guilt over past actions by members of their racial group. She said she worried what her students might say about the passage at home and how their parents might react.

☆ North Carolina Town Spends Nearly a Decade Fighting Over a Traffic Circle
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-24 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PINEHURST, N. C.—Local road projects are often contentious affairs that drag on. But perhaps no town has gone round and round—and round and round—with as much verve as this community has over a traffic circle. Some 50,000 cars a day motor around the big roundabout on the edge of Pinehurst, a pleasant village shaded by tall pines and best known for hosting the U.S. Open golf championship.

☆ D.C. Pushes Housing Makeover of Its Office-Heavy Downtown
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-02 | by ( Scott Calvert | Photographs Michael A. Mccoy For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

WASHINGTON—District of Columbia officials want to give their downtown a makeover by converting many of its stodgy low-rise office buildings into residential space, though the effort might be complicated by uncertainty around the federal government’s plans for its workers. Cities across the U.S. have struggled to rebound from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, when a shift to working from home hollowed out many downtown cores.

Police in California are searching for a motive after a man killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in a mass shooting east of Los Angeles late Saturday. The incident sparked an hourslong manhunt that ended with the suspect taking his own life. Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna identified the man as Huu Can Tran, 72 years old. Tran took his own life early Sunday morning after law-enforcement surrounded his vehicle in a shopping-plaza parking lot about 30 miles from where the shooting took place in Monterey Park, Calif.

MONTEREY PARK, Calif.—The man police said killed 10 people and wounded 10 others in a mass shooting east of Los Angeles late Saturday fatally shot himself Sunday following an hourslong manhunt, according to the Los Angeles County sheriff. Sheriff Robert Luna identified the man as Huu Can Tran, 72 years old. Tran took his own life in a van in Torrance, Calif., about 30 miles from Monterey Park on Sunday morning after law-enforcement vehicles surrounded the van within a shopping-plaza parking lot.

☆ Police Hunt for Monterey Park, California, Dance-Club Shooter
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-23 | by ( Scott Calvert | Alicia A. Caldwell | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

MONTEREY PARK, CALIF.—Police on Sunday were searching for a gunman after at least 10 people were killed in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., east of Los Angeles, late Saturday. At least 10 others were taken to hospitals with injuries, some in critical condition, Capt. Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said at a news briefing on Sunday morning.

☆ Police Hunt Gunman After 10 Killed in Shooting in Monterey Park
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-22 | by ( Scott Calvert | Michael Wright | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Police were searching for a gunman after at least 10 people were killed in a mass shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., east of Los Angeles, late Saturday. At least 10 others were taken to hospitals with injuries, some in critical condition, Capt. Andrew Meyer of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau said at a news briefing.

☆ Maryland Gov. Wes Moore Gives Democrats Full Control Over State’s Government
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-19 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore will preside over a new Democratic trifecta—control of the state’s House of Delegates, Senate and governor’s office. BALTIMORE— Wes Moore , the new governor of Maryland, said he wants to fast-track a minimum-wage increase, replenish the ranks of short-handed state agencies and boost education funding in the heavily Democratic state, which for the past eight years was led by a highly popular Republican. Mr. Moore, a 44-year-old Democrat, has been a Rhodes scholar, an Army officer deployed to Afghanistan, a Wall Street banker, a bestselling author and the chief executive of an antipoverty foundation. Mr. Hogan left office with a 77% approval rating and the backing of 81% of Democratic voters, which Maryland pollster Patrick Gonzales, a Democrat, attributed at least in part to Mr. Hogan’s relatively moderate political profile and personal connection with voters.

☆ Impeachment Trial of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner Is Delayed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner has framed the impeachment move as an effort to nullify the will of voters. The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday indefinitely postponed the impeachment trial of Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner , adding new uncertainty to an effort by Republicans in the state legislature to remove the city prosecutor. The House in November voted 107-85 to impeach Mr. Krasner, a twice-elected Democrat whose liberal policies Republicans blame for fueling record levels of violent crime in Philadelphia since the start of the pandemic. The Senate trial had been set to start Jan. 18.

☆ Washington, D.C. to Overhaul Criminal Code Despite Mayor’s Objections, Council Member Says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-05 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser objects to a proposed overhaul of the city’s criminal code, saying it wouldn’t make the city safer. A Washington, D.C. council member says officials plan to push through an overhaul of the district’s criminal code despite a veto issued Wednesday by Mayor Muriel Bowser, who said the proposed changes would weaken public safety at a time of heightened concern about crime. Council member Charles Allen, who led the public-safety committee when the district council passed the overhaul bill in November, indicated that the council would vote to override the veto. The body’s next legislative meeting is scheduled for Feb. 7, but a representative for Mr. Allen said it is possible a meeting could happen sooner.

☆ High Rates of Chronic Absenteeism Persist at U.S. Schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

A problem with chronic absenteeism comes as schools see sharp declines in math and reading scores. Schools nationwide continue to grapple with a soaring number of students who are chronically absent, state and national data show, prompting efforts to lure kids back to help reverse plummeting test scores. The problem, which came to light earlier in the pandemic, is hitting districts regardless of size and income levels more than a year after the full return to in-person learning. In many poorer communities that for years have fought high absenteeism often related to poverty, rates rose even higher during the pandemic.

☆ Glenn Youngkin, Floated as Potential 2024 Contender, First Faces Tests in 2023
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-27 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com. https://www.wsj.com/articles/glenn-youngkin-floated-as-potential-2024-contender-first-faces-tests-in-2023-11672149621

☆ Baltimore Wants to Ban the Solicitors Who Offer to Squeegee Windshields
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-23 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The city will prohibit squeegee work in six zones beginning Jan. 10 and push incentives such as job training. BALTIMORE—Ty Walker strode up to a Toyota 4Runner idling at a red light on a busy downtown street. Within seconds, he spritzed some window cleaner on the windshield, glided a squeegee tool over the glass and pocketed a $5 tip from the driver. The 23-year-old high school dropout, wearing a hoodie and a puffy coat in the December cold, said he had amassed about $60 in two hours on a recent day. That is fairly typical for a gig he said can yield $400 on good days—and far more than the $13.50 an hour he earns as a cashier at a carryout restaurant.

☆ Philadelphia’s ‘Boy in the Box’ Has a Name 65 Years After His Death
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The identity of a boy found dead in a cardboard box in Philadelphia has gone undetermined since his body was found in the winter of 1957. For the past 65 years, he was known variously as “the Boy in the Box” and “America’s Unknown Child,” a homicide victim whose identity remained a mystery despite the efforts of investigators over the decades to figure out who he was. On Thursday, police in Philadelphia revealed his name, Joseph Augustus Zarelli, and said he was 4 years old.

☆ Philadelphia’s Center City Sees Resurgence in Housing, Economic Activity
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

PHILADELPHIA—This city’s downtown is showing fresh signs of renewed economic vitality, buoyed by strong housing demand, hospitality-sector growth and a return-to-work push led by employers such as Comcast Corp., despite ongoing concerns about crime. Cities across the country have struggled to rebound from the affects of the Covid-19 pandemic, when a shift to working from home hollowed out many downtown cores. Residents, business owners, workers and local commerce officials say they see clear improvement in Philadelphia’s Center City as the pandemic begins to turn a corner into its fourth year.

☆ Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner Asks Court to Halt Impeachment
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner, re-elected last year to a second four-year term, is one of several liberal prosecutors who have taken office around the U.S. in recent years. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner asked a state court to halt the impeachment proceedings that could result in his removal from office, as the Republican-led Pennsylvania Senate prepares to put the twice-elected prosecutor on trial next month. Mr. Krasner, a Democrat, claimed in a lawsuit filed Friday that none of the seven impeachment articles approved by the House last month allege “misbehavior in office” within the meaning of the state Constitution, and that the legislature lacks authority to impeach him. The suit also said the Nov. 16 House vote is void because it came during a two-year session that ended Nov. 30.

☆ Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner Faces Impeachment Vote in Pennsylvania House
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pennsylvania House is poised to impeach Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner , as Republican legislators push to remove the twice-elected prosecutor whose progressive policies they blame for fueling record levels of violent crime in the city. The Republican-led House, using a simple majority, could impeach Mr. Krasner, a Democrat, as early as Wednesday morning. If it does, the next step would be a trial in the GOP-led state Senate. Conviction and removal from office would require a two-thirds majority. It is unclear when a trial might be held.

☆ Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner Impeached by Pennsylvania House
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-16 | by ( Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

The Pennsylvania House impeached Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner , as Republican legislators push to remove the twice-elected prosecutor whose progressive policies they blame for fueling record levels of violent crime in the city. The Republican-led House impeached Mr. Krasner, a Democrat, Wednesday by a vote of 107 to 85. The next step will be a trial in the GOP-led state Senate. Conviction and removal from office would require a two-thirds majority. It is unclear when a trial might be held.

☆ University of Virginia Student in Custody After Fatal Shooting of Three Football Players
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Alyssa Lukpat | Scott Calvert | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Virginia State Police investigated the crime scene on Monday at the University of Virginia, where classes were canceled for the day. CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—A University of Virginia student suspected of fatally shooting three football players and injuring two others on campus was in custody on Monday after a nearly 13-hour manhunt, officials said. The suspected gunman, Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., allegedly shot his classmates, killing three and injuring two, onboard a charter bus Sunday night in a university parking garage, UVA officials said at a news briefing Monday morning.

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