News in brief: 2.23 Issue

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UPDATE ON SATURDAY MORNING CAR CRASH 

A vehicle veered off the northbound lanes of Broad Street around 1:40 a.m. Saturday, crashing through a light pole and then a tree before landing upside down on the sidewalk in front of Johnson and Hardwick Residence halls at 2029 N. Broad St. The preliminary investigation will take a few days, Temple Police said.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said they do not believe any alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash, and just that the driver “took a sharp turn.”

Becky Cole, a sophomore adult and organizational development major and resident assistant in Johnson and Hardwick said she called 911 after hearing a “big crashing sound” and saw the car overturned on the sidewalk from her dorm room window.

“When I initially got on the phone they transferred me … and the woman said they were just receiving another call about it and that someone was on the way,” Cole said. She added she saw a man standing by the car and shouting, but she did not believe it was the driver.

Temple Police said the driver went to the McDonald’s at 2109 N. Broad St. to get help, where he was met by fire rescue and taken to Temple University Hospital and treated for minor injuries.

-Julie Christie

STUDENT SAVES MAN AFTER HE FELL ON SUBWAY TRACKS 

A Temple student pulled another SEPTA rider off the subway tracks of the Broad Street Line Friday, CBS3 reported.

Rich Montgomery, a 21-year-old marketing major, jumped onto the tracks to help the man in the City Hall station, passing him to other riders on the platform.

A subway train was making its way to the platform but slowed down when Montgomery waved at it to warn there was a person on the tracks, CBS3 reported.

Montgomery told CBS he didn’t think to do anything else other than to help the man, although SEPTA has advised against going onto the tracks to help someone.

Both Montgomery and the man were uninjured, and the man declined medical attention.

-Julie Christie

STEAM TRIGGERS FIRE ALARM IN TEMPLE TOWERS 

Steam from a pipe on the first floor of Temple Towers triggered a fire alarm and resulted in an evacuation of the building Friday afternoon, said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services.

He added there was no sign of danger and students and staff were allowed back into the building at 12:40 p.m. after the fire department deemed it safe.

“Whenever there’s an alarm we have to evacuate,” Leone said. “Then we go in and investigate to see what the cause was. In this case it wasn’t a big deal.”

-Julie Christie

SEPTA TO EXPAND ROUTE IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA 

A populated SEPTA bus line in North Philadelphia began adding stops on Sunday.

Route 53, which starts at Wayne Avenue and Carpenter Lane in West Mount Airy and ends at Broad Street and Hunting Park Avenue, now continues to G Street and Hunting Park Avenue in Juniata Park.

SEPTA officials said not all trips will add the new destinations, which will include several north-south SEPTA routes.

-Steve Bohnel

SIX DEAD AFTER SHOOTING IN SOUTHWEST MICHIGAN

A 45-year-old Uber driver fatally shot six people and critically injured two in Kalamazoo, Michigan Saturday evening.

MLive.com reported that Jason B. Dalton told police he knew he was “taking people’s lives.”

Police said Mary Lou Nye, 62, of Baroda; Mary Jo Nye, 60, Dorothy Brown, 74, and Barbara Hawthorne, 68, all of Battle Creek, were all fatally shot by Dalton at a Cracker Barrel in Texas Township after 10 p.m., MLive.com reported. The other two killed were 17-year-old Tyler Smith and his father, who were shot at Seelye Automotive on Stadium Drive.

MLive.com reported Dalton was arrested early Sunday and charged with six counts of murder among other offenses.

-Steve Bohnel

“Freak” accident in front of J&H this morning, no injuries reported

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A tow truck arrives to grab a vehicle that was overturned in front of Johnson and Hardwick halls early Saturday morning. | Julie Christie TTN

A tow truck arrives to grab a vehicle that was overturned in front of Johnson and Hardwick halls early Saturday morning. | Julie Christie TTN

A major accident involving a northbound car on Broad Street early Saturday morning resulted in no injuries, Temple Police said. The vehicle hit a light pole and a tree on the sidewalk outside Johnson and Hardwick Residence Halls located at 2029 N. Broad St. around 1:40 a.m.

The driver was able to leave the scene and walk to the McDonald’s at 2109 N. Broad St. to get help, said Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services. He added the driver was taken to Temple University Hospital by fire rescue and was later released with only minor injuries.

“This looks like it was a freak accident,” Leone said. “It seems as though he tried to change lanes and then cut back, then he lost control of the car and hit the pole, then the tree, then flipped and landed on the sidewalk.” The vehicle knocked a light pole out of the sidewalk and went through a small tree, leaving just the stump in its place. A huge dent in the hood was about the same size of the pole, which rested under the tree after the accident.

He added there is no suspicion of alcohol or any other substance use, but the accident investigation is not yet complete. Temple Police and Philadelphia Police are working together to review footage from cameras that may have recorded the accident to further understand what happened.

“We’re very fortunate nobody got hurt,” Leone said.  “Broad Street is a busy place, but it happened when there wasn’t very much foot traffic.”

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

News in brief: 2.16 Issue

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TEEN ARRESTED OUTSIDE PEARL THEATRE SATURDAY 

Philadelphia Police removed several rowdy teenagers from the Pearl Theatre on West Oxford Street Saturday evening.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said between six and eight juveniles had been causing a disturbance in the theater, and when the manager could not remove them, a Philadelphia Police officer stepped in.

Once the teens, all younger than 17 years old, were outside the building, they continued the disorderly behavior. Leone added several went to Wendy’s and one threw a milkshake.

Leone said only one teen was arrested because he was “the only one who was not compliant at all.”

He added the teen was later released to his parents.

-Julie Christie

TRIAL DATE SCHEDULED FOR BRANDON MEADE 

Brandon Meade will go to trial for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Agatha Hall. Hall was a Temple student found dead in her apartment Aug. 31, 2015.

Her death was initially ruled a suicide, but further investigation resulted in the arrest and charging of Meade for her murder.

The trial is scheduled for Sept. 19, with a trial readiness conference Feb. 29.

Meade is charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime with intent to use it, tampering with evidence, false reporting and falsely incriminating another. If Meade is found guilty, he will face either the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

-Julie Christie

COSBY ATTORNEYS APPEAL TO END CONSTAND CASE 

On Friday, Bill Cosby’s attorneys attempted to have his sexual assault case dismissed. Cosby’s attorneys argued that Bruce L. Castor Jr.’s 2005 deal with Cosby to never criminally prosecute him for the 2004 Andrea Constand case was binding.

Brian McMonagle, one of Cosby’s attorneys, filed the appeal notice to the state Superior Court, the Inquirer reported. He also appealed Judge Steven T. O’Neill’s decision not to disqualify District Attorney Kevin Steele.

Steele said his office opposes any further delay in the case, the Inquirer reported. He added he believes the defense should not appeal before the preliminary hearing.

A Massachusetts judge ruled on Thursday that Cosby’s wife, Camille Cosby, must sit for a deposition. The judge also declined her request for a formal protective order limiting the extent of questioning.

Cosby’s preliminary evidentiary hearing is scheduled for March 8.

-Lian Parsons

STUDENTS DISPLACED AFTER PIPE BURST IN 1940 

Pipes burst on the fifth floor of 1940 Residence Hall, displacing students about 9 a.m. Sunday. The students were moved from the dorm to Tomlinson Theater and then to the atrium in Annenberg Hall.

Maintenance spent the day vacuuming water out of the dorm, said Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services.

Students were allowed to return after an email was sent out just after 5:15 p.m.

Leah Hetzell, the resident director of 1940 Residence Hall said in an email to residents the burst pipe was caused by “a campus-wide heating issue.”

That same morning, students in 1300 Residence Hall were woken by fire alarms that went off seven times between 1 a.m. and 8 a.m. There was no damage to the building and residents were allowed in once the alarms were over, Leone said.

-Julie Christie

LOCAL CAFE RECEIVES SEVERAL HEALTH VIOLATIONS 

Saige Cafe received 17 health code violations during a Feb. 4 inspection.

The cafe, located on 1802 N. Warnock St. near the Temple University SEPTA station, will remain open, said cafe co-owner Ram Hegde.

“If [the inspector] didn’t think we weren’t going to be compliant, we wouldn’t be open right now,” Hegde said. He added most of the violations, which included food that was less than six inches above the ground and uncovered trash cans, were “fixed in a moment.”

The most serious violation was the absence of a certified food safety handler during the inspection, Hegde said. Several employees have already registered to receive the certification, and go in for the test next week, he added.

“It doesn’t mean that the place is going to shut down,” said Oliver Oyakhire, inspector from the Philadelphia Department of Health/Office of Food Protections. “It just means that the standards are going to improve.”

Oyakhire said he will return in two weeks to reinspect the cafe. If Saige Cafe fails to comply with the violations, it will be submitted for a $315 fine. Failing compliance after the fine may result in court summons.

“It is essential that [the cafe] address these violations,” Oyakhire said, citing inaccessible handwashing stations for employees and lack of proper temperature measuring devices for food. The solutions for many of these violations are easily corrected, he added.

If all goes well in Oyakhire’s next checkup, Saige Cafe will not require further investigation until next year’s annual inspection.

-Lian Parsons & Julie Christie

URSINUS CANCELS CLASSES AFTER VIRUS SPREADS

Classes were cancelled Thursday and Friday for students at Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pa. after about 200 students got sick from a gastrointestinal illness.

6ABC reported that a norovirus—often know as food poisoning or stomach virus—caused the sickness. Students first began experiencing symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain on Tuesday night.

A Montgomery County Health Department report conducted on Wednesday found the campus dining hall to have 12 violations including dead bugs, improper hand washing practices and pesticides near food, the Inquirer reported. All of the violations had been fixed the following day. The illness that students and some faculty suffered lasted between 12 and eight hours.

Twenty-two students were treated at hospitals but none were admitted. Classes resumed Monday for the 1,681 students at Ursinus.

-Gillian McGoldrick

SUPREME COURT JUSTICE FOUND DEAD IN WEST TEXAS

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, 79, died of a heart attack on Saturday, according to multiple media reports.

Scalia was the leading conservative voice on the nation’s highest court and was on the bench for 29 years, the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court.

Scalia was nominated by President Ronald Reagan in 1986 and was best known for the landmark decision District of Columbia v. Heller that firearms in one’s home are protected under the Second Amendment. Scalia was also known for dissenting on the Roe v. Wade decision and the same-sex marriage decisions.

President Obama has announced he intends to nominate someone for the vacant seat, which is now split 4-4 between conservative and liberal views.

-Gillian McGoldrick

Seventh-floor window at The View struck by gunshot

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Temple and Philadelphia Police are investigating shots fired near The View early Tuesday morning. A TU Alert was sent out to students at about 1:30 a.m.

The alert said a window in the apartment building, located at 1100 W. Montgomery Ave., had been struck by a bullet and shattered. Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said in an email “it appears to be a stray bullet” that struck the seventh floor of the building. He added there were no injuries.

Leone said the location of a discharge has not yet been found. He added, however, that police believe it could have been from 11th Street near Oxford.

The investigation is ongoing, Leone said.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

Philly Style Pizza undamaged after smoke fills restaurant

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Bryan Levash, manager of Philly Style Pizza, points to the crack where he could see an ember that could have caused the smoke to start Sunday morning. | Julie Christie TTN

Bryan Levash, manager of Philly Style Pizza, points to the crack where he could see an ember that could have caused the smoke to start Sunday morning. | Julie Christie TTN

Patrons and workers in Philly Style Pizza evacuated the store early Sunday after smoke appeared to be coming out of the building’s basement.

The incident started just after 2 a.m. when smoke filled the restaurant, located at 2010 N. Broad St.

There was no damage to the building, and the restaurant will run normally, said Bryan Levash, manager of Philly Style.

“You could seen an ember,” Levash said, pointing to a small crack between the doorway and the stairs leading to the restaurant. “A cigarette must have rolled down there and started it.”

Firefighters sprayed water down the crack, which led to the basement of the building. There was no fire in the basement, Levash said, but there was smoke, which firefighters cleared out with a fan.

Liam Baron, a freshman sports management major, was inside Philly Style when the smoke started coming out of the basement.

“It was really smoky in there,” he said. “There was smoke going all over the place and they told me to get out. They gave me my pizza before I left….The cops came in and were like, ‘You guys gotta get out.”

Levash said the event was “not a huge thing” and added he appreciated the fire department’s quick response. After police and firefighter presence was gone, the restaurant offered free pizza to people passing by.

“They just evacuated everybody tonight, and when I asked [police and firefighters] they were like, ‘It’s two o’clock, you’re going to be open for another half an hour, it’d just be safer to get everybody out,” he said.

Police and fire trucks left the restaurant at 2:30 a.m., opening up the southbound lane of Broad Street.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

Armed robbery reported near Geasey Field

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Temple Police are investigating an armed robbery that occurred west of Main Campus earlier tonight.

Two men with a gun robbed a student on Fontain Street near 16th around 8:15 p.m., said Charlie Leone, executive director of Campus Safety Services. They took his laptop, cell phone and wallet before fleeing north on 16th Street in a black SUV. The make and model of the vehicle is unknown, he added.

The student was uninjured, and his age is unknown, Leone said. A TU Alert was sent out about the incident at around 8:20 p.m.

Police have directed patrols around the area and are looking through camera footage to further investigate the crime, Leone added.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

News in brief: 2.9 Issue

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POLICE INVESTIGATING RACIAL SLUR DRAWN ON CAR

Temple Police are continuing an investigation after tweeting photos of three men suspected to be involved in drawing and writing offensive language on a car near Main Campus.

A student found a swastika and racial slur written in a thin layer of snow on a car behind White Hall on Carlisle Street about 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Police said they learned about it an hour later.

After reviewing cameras in the area, Temple Police released the pictures of the three men. One wore an Eagles jersey, the next wore a striped blue shirt with tan pants and the third wore a Phillies jersey.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said police are following leads from tips to identify them.

Temple released an official statement condemning the “language in the strongest terms” and said those responsible would be held accountable.

Tipsters can contact Temple Police’s tipline at 215-204-6493.

    -Julie Christie

UNIVERSITY EMPLOYEE INJURED IN HIT-AND-RUN

A Temple security officer was released from Temple University Hospital after a hit-and-run outside the Campus Police headquarters at 1801 N. 11th St. Friday night.

A vehicle heading north on 11th Street hit the officer’s vehicle in the rear and fled, but was later stopped by Philadelphia Police at 11th and Diamond streets. The driver was arrested, however his name and the charges he will face are not yet known.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said the officer had neck and back pain, but no serious injuries, which was “very lucky.”     -Julie Christie

ALUMNI win naacp awards

Three alumni and one faculty member were nominated for awards at the 47th NAACP Image Awards which aired last Friday.

According to the website, the NAACP Image Awards “celebrate the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color in the arts, as well as those individuals or groups who promote social justice through their creative endeavors.”

Jill Scott, a 1996 alumna, won awards in the three music categories she was nominated. She received the award for “Back Together” in the Traditional category for Outstanding Song, for her album “Woman” in the Outstanding Album category and the award for Outstanding Female Artist.

Terrell Stafford, director of Jazz Studies and chair of Instrumental Studies in the Boyer College of Music and Dance, was also nominated for his album “BrotherLEE Love: Celebrating Lee Morgan,” in the Outstanding Jazz Album category.

-Lian Parsons

COSBY ATTORNEYS MAY APPEAL 

A Montgomery County judge ruled last Wednesday the charges of sexual assault will not be dropped against alumnus Bill Cosby.

Cosby’s defense argued charges should be dropped because a former district attorney had promised to not prosecute Cosby. There is no binding record of the promise, said current District Attorney Kevin Steele, the Inquirer reported.

Cosby’s lawyers have 30 days to appeal the decision, which may halt court proceedings for several months.

Both sides argue whether the decision is one that can be appealed as well as the credibility of testimonies from former District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. and former Temple basketball manager Andrea Constand.

A decade-old deposition with Cosby’s testimony included that he had sexual relations with Constand and had purchased a sedative he intended to use during sex with women, the Inquirer reported.

–Julie Christie

CITY LAWYER JOINS ‘PORNGATE’ CASE AS MEDIATOR 

Prominent Philadelphia lawyer Richard A. Sprague has been added as a mediator to negotiate a deal for Justice J. Michael Eakin so he may avoid public trial. Eakin was suspended from his position in December 2015 as a justice for the Pa. Supreme Court after ethics charges for exchanging obscene, misogynistic and racially offensive emails.

The “Porngate” scandal arose and reached the Supreme Court in 2014 after Justice Seamus P. McCaffery resigned after accusations of his exchange of hundreds of obscene emails and photos on state computers. After Attorney General Kathleen Kane released emails that Eakin had sent or received.

-Gillian McGoldrick

Video released of vandalism suspects from last month

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Philadelphia Police released a video with images of the five boys who broke into and vandalized property inside Pearson-McGonigle Hall four weeks ago.

The video showed five juveniles break into the building and walk along a stairway in Pearson-McGonigle.

Temple Police may have identified two of the suspects, said Charlie Leone, the executive director of Campus Safety Services. He added Temple Police and Philadelphia Police are working together on the investigation.

The videos were released after detectives led a local search for the suspects, and are now released to the public to aid identification, Philadelphia Police Officer Christine O’Brien said.

She added said media advisories have been a “tremendous” help with identifying suspects.

“Everybody watches TV, so they see someone and realize, ‘Hey, that person lives down the street from me,’ or it’s a family member and they call in,” O’Brien said.

The five juveniles broke into Pearson-McGonigle Saturday Jan. 9 where they broke mirrors in the men’s gymnastics practice room and spray-painted on floors and computers inside the building, causing over $5,000 of damage.

“People don’t realize the camera is right there, so it seems like they’re looking right at it in the video,” O’Brien said. “Not everything is a clear video, so we seek other visuals, which could take a while. But I think these are really good images.”

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.

News in brief: 2.2 Issue

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UNIVERSITY ENDOWMENT INCREASES 

The university’s endowment rate increased by 3.06 percent from 2014-15, according to data from the National Association of College and University Business Officers and the Commonfund Institute.These numbers are higher than the national endowment return average of 2.4 percent, a decline from 2014’s endowment return rate of 15.5 percent.

The lowest endowment return rate in the past 15 years was reported to be in 2009, with an endowment return rate of -18.7 percent.

Temple’s full endowment for the 2015 fiscal year was $386,230,000. Harvard University had the largest endowment of $3.4 billion.

-Gillian McGoldrick

COSBY SCHEDULED TO APPEAR IN COURT 

Bill Cosby’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for today in Norristown.

Former university employee Andrea Constand has accused Cosby of sexually molesting her in his Cheltenham home in 2004. The Temple News reported in December that Cosby was charged with felony indecent assault charges, the first criminal charges pressed against him since dozens of women have accused him of drugging and/or sexually assaulting them.

Former Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce L. Castor Jr. is expected to be a key witness at the hearing today, the Inquirer reported.

It’s unclear how long the hearing will last, and neither prosecutors or Cosby’s lawyers have given a witness list, the Inquirer reported.

Constand had initially filed a civil suit against Cosby in March 2005. Parts of it were unsealed last summer before criminal charges were filed in December.

-Steve Bohnel

CITY TO INVESTIGATE WATER TESTING Philadelphia City Council is going to launch an investigation into the city’s water testing methods done by the Philadelphia Water Department.

The water sampling methods used by the Philadelphia Water Department don’t properly illustrate the level of lead in drinking water and could mask the sort of problems suffered in Flint, Michigan, medical ethnographer, Dr. Yanna Lambrinidou told The Guardian.

The Water Department gave faulty instructions to residents to find out about lead poisoning involving removing the faucet’s filter from the nozzle in a term known as “pre-flushing.” The Environmental Protection Agency advised against this testing method because it does not find the highest lead levels.

“It’s irresponsible, it’s immoral and it’s putting people’s lives at risk,” Lambrindiou said to The Guardian. “It misleads the public into thinking they will be OK with corrosion control treatment.”

-Jonathan Gilbert

STUDY: CITY COUNCIL SALARY HIGHER 

A new Pew Charitable Trust study found tenure for Philadelphia councilmen has decreased while their average salary has increased.

The study compared the average time served, salary and gender ratio of the City Council in 2010 to the same categories in 2016 for 15 different cities across the country, the Inquirer reported.

For 2016, Philadelphia ranked third in the longest tenure for city councilmen at 8.2 years, beaten only by Chicago and Baltimore. The city also ranks third in average salary at $132,789, trailing behind Washington and Los Angeles.

Women make up 35 percent of  City Council, placing Philadelphia behind Detroit, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Washington.

The 2010 study showed Philadelphia had an average 15.5 year tenure, an average $121,107 salary and women made up 41 percent of the council.

-Julie Christie

University employee found dead on Main Campus

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UPDATE: A university spokesman released a statement earlier this evening concerning the employee, who was identified as Steven Shedrick.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Steven Shedrick, a Temple University employee of 31 years based at the Wachman Hall Digital Print Center and a longtime and well-respected delegate of District 1199C, representing clerical employees at Temple. Mr. Shedrick, of Philadelphia, died Thursday, Jan. 28. He was 58 years old. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends and colleagues.”

A Temple employee was found dead in his car early this morning, according to Temple Police.

Executive Director of Campus Safety Services Charlie Leone said someone reported a person sleeping in a car around 7:45 a.m. on Montgomery Avenue near Broad Street.

“When we arrived on the scene, we banged on the window and he was unresponsive, so we had to break it,” Leone said. He added the medical examiner pronounced him dead on the scene.

Leone said the employee was in his late 50s, and that police think the man died of natural causes.

“We didn’t find anything suspicious,” Leone said.

The name of the employee will not be released until after his family have been notified, he added.

Julie Christie can be reached at julie.christie@temple.edu or on Twitter @ChristieJules.