DIAZ CAMPAIGN COURTS ACTOR AS SPONSOR

The Daily News and The Next Mayor 2015 reported Friday that mayoral candidate and Temple trustee Nelson Diaz is seeking a Hollywood presence to boost the publicity of his campaign, which is trailing most other candidates in fundraising.

According to the report, workers for Diaz’s campaign were trying to connect with the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, run by actor Jimmy Smits, known for playing Nero on the TV show “Sons of Anarchy” and Senator Bail Organa in the “Star Wars” prequel films.

The campaign considered involving Hispanic celebrities like the half-Puerto Rican Smits, who grew up in Brooklyn and Puerto Rico, to bring in more Latino votes.

But Carol Marshall, Smits’ publicist, told the outlets that she was unaware of any connection between Smits and the Diaz campaign.

“I don’t know anything about it, and I’m pretty much up to speed on everything Jimmy does,” Marshall told the Daily News.

-Joe Brandt

UNION PROCESS CONTINUES AFTER HEARING WITH ADJUNCTS

A hearing in Harrisburg was held on March 19 to determine the next steps in the university’s adjunct professors’ potential merger with the Temple Association of University Professionals, the university’s full-time faculty union that represents about 1,400 employees, not including those in the health professional buildings.

The hearing, which will eventually determine whether or not an election for a merger will be held, was only step one in the process. Another hearing will be held in the coming months, though a date is yet to be determined by the Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board.

Michael Sitler, deputy provost, sent out a statement to the faculty after the hearing that said adjuncts joining TAUP “is not in the best interest of our students.”

“By attempting to merge the adjunct faculty into the full-time faculty union, TAUP places its interests over those of both the adjunct faculty and full-time faculty and does not give careful consideration to the best interests of either,” the statement said.

Art Hochner, president of TAUP, said six adjuncts testified at the hearing and discussed their workload.

“The Temple lawyers didn’t seem particularly interested in that stuff,” Hochner said. “They wanted to know technical things.”

The process started in mid-December when adjunct professors filed authorization cards with the PLRB to merge with TAUP, which they hope could better job and wage security.

Hochner said he looks forward to the next step in the process.

-Patricia Madej

HOUSE OF REPS’ BUDGET CUTS STUDENT FINANCIAL AID

The U.S. House of Representatives revealed last week that spending toward student aid would be cut more than was initially expected in a spending blueprint on March 17, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported.

In the House’s initial spending plan, the maximum Pell Grant would freeze for the next 10 years. On Wednesday, Republican leaders added that the blueprint would also terminate public-sector loan forgiveness, reverse a recent expansion of income-based repayment and end the in-school interest subsidy on Stafford loans, the Chronicle reported.

The cuts would save taxpayers about $61 billion during the next 10 years, according to budget estimates. The Chronicle reported last April that House Republicans proposed freezing the Pell Grant and failed – but that was before Republicans controlled both chambers in Congress.

At a Senate Budget Committee hearing last Wednesday, student protesters interrupted the meeting holding signs reading “Dreams not Debt” and “Student Aid Crisis,” while chanting “No cuts, no fees, education should be free.”

The Senate’s budget blueprint, which was released last Wednesday, proposed not to freeze Pell Grants – but like the House bill, it would end mandatory money for the program, which makes some of its supporters worried that it would face further budget cuts, according to the Chronicle’s report.

-Steve Bohnel

LOCAL POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN 22ND DISTRICT

Robert Wilson III was shot and killed in a GameStop on Lehigh Avenue while picking up a birthday gift for his son on Thursday night, the Inquirer reported.

Wilson, a police officer in the police department’s 22nd district, was performing a security check and was at the store counter when two brothers entered and declared that they were robbing the establishment.

When the 30-year-old officer drew his gun, shots were soon fired by Ramone Williams and Carlton Hipps, the two individuals police identified as the perpetrators on Thursday.

In the ensuing gunfight that lasted 30 seconds, more than 50 shots were fired. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey said in a press conference on Friday that Wilson “redefined what being a hero is all about.”

“He stepped away from the counter, there were civilians there … he stepped away so that the shots weren’t going directly at them,” Ramsey said at the press conference. “He was actually being hit during the exchange of gunfire but he continued to fight, continued to shoot.”

Williams and Hipps were both charged with first-degree murder, along with attempted murder for attacking Wilson’s partner, Officer Damien Stevenson.

Captain Robert Glenn, who was Wilson’s commanding officer, said the eight-year veteran always volunteered for various tasks in order to make his community safer.

“If there was a crime pattern, he would be the first to say, ‘Let me and my partner be part of the solution,’” Glenn said.

Wilson left behind two sons and a grandmother. The older son – who Wilson was buying a gift for – turned 10 on Monday.

-Steve Bohnel

STUDENT ROBBED ON 15TH AND DIAMOND STREETS

Temple Police apprehended a male in connection with an armed robbery of two students on 15th and Diamond streets Wednesday night.

The suspect was found on 17th and Diamond streets, carrying a pellet gun, Charlie Leone, executive director of campus safety services said in an email.

Around 8 p.m., two students reported that they had been robbed at gunpoint, Leone said.

A male approached the students and asked them both for their belongings, Leone said. One student refused and the suspect displayed a handgun. The students said they believe that the gun was a pellet gun.

A wallet and a cellphone were taken before the suspect fled on foot southbound on 15th Street from the location, Leone said.

No injuries were reported.

The suspect was described as thin, approximately 6 feet tall, with a mustache. He was wearing a baggy blue and gray hooded windbreaker and dark baggy clothing.

-Lian Parsons

TEMPLE TO HOST DEMOCRATIC MAYORAL DEBATE

A Democratic mayoral debate will be held on May 4 on Main Campus at Temple’s Performing Arts Center prior to the primary elections on May 14, philly.com reported.

The debate is part of “The Next Mayor,” a collaborative project created to inform voters about the mayoral race, which concludes with the general election on Nov. 3.

Partners in the project include Temple’s Center for Public Interest Journalism, the Inquirer, Daily News, WHYY/Newsworks, The Committee of Seventy and WURD Radio.

Daily News Editorial Page Editor Sandra Shea and WHYY Senior Reporter Dave Davies will co-moderate the debate, which will cover several issues tied to the race, including education, taxes, economic development and several others.

“Philadelphia Media Network is delighted to host this important debate just two weeks before the primary,” said Stan Wischnowski, the company’s vice president of news operations in the press release. “The format will provide voters a final chance to hear directly from the candidates on the issues most critical to the city’s future.”

-Steve Bohnel

KITCH NAMED CHAIR OF JOURNALISM DEPARTMENT

The journalism department now has a new permanent chair after the departure of Dr. Andrew Mendelson for the City University of New York.

Carolyn Kitch, a professor of Journalism, was named department chair last week after serving as interim chair during this semester. 

-Joe Brandt