ANDREA CONSTAND FILED LAWSUIT AGAINST FORMER MONTCO DA LAST WEEK
Last Monday, former Temple employee Andrea Constand filed a defamation suit against Bruce L. Castor Jr. for his alleged remarks against her earlier this year, the Washington Post reported.
Castor, Montgomery County’s District Attorney when the case involving Billy Cosby and Constand was filed in 2004, declined to prosecute Cosby for sexual assault when Constand first brought accusations forward. Castor told The Washington Post if Constand had given the same story to him that she gave to the public this year, he would have prosecuted.
The ex-district attorney’s comments started after he announced he was again running for Montgomery County District Attorney against Kevin Steele in the election Tuesday, Nov. 3.
Constand told The Washington Post she has been “collateral damage for his political ambitions.” Both parties have been accused of using the Constand/Cosby case to their political advantage.
Constand has until January 2016 to charge Cosby with sexual assault, and then the statute of limitations will expire.
-Lila Gordon
PHILADELPHIA RECIEVES MONEY FOR INFRASTRUCTURE
The U.S. Department of Transportation granted $10.2 million to help with infrastructure improvements, the Philly Voice reported. The financial award will help offset part of the city’s $35 million endeavor.
According to the report, two miles of unused railroad track will be removed and repurposed with landscaping from Girard to Lehigh avenues. A footbridge on Westmoreland Street will be replaced with a multipurpose bridge and a railroad bridge in West Philadelphia will be restored to reconnect The Circuit, a regional bicycle and pedestrian trail network.
The improvements will focus on places in North and West Philadelphia, and some were designed with the purpose of increasing “mobility and access, recreational opportunities and neighborhood quality of life,” Deputy Commissioner of the Streets Department Michael Carroll told Philly Voice.
Philadelphia has received similar awards in the past that included projects involving Dilworth Park, the Schuylkill Banks Boardwalk, Wayne Junction Substation and Roosevelt Boulevard. Mayor Michael Nutter announced the financial grant Oct. 30.
-Julie Christie
