Top Local Stories Of 2011

Gov. Tom Corbett

FILE PHOTO: Tom Corbett takes the oath of office as Pennsylvania’s 46th governor.
Antonio Rodriguez

Antonio Rodriguez was arrested after being linked by DNA to the sexual assaults and strangling deaths of three women in the Kensington section of Philadelphia. The arrest came shortly after a news conference at which Capt. James Clark said Rodriguez was being sought as a “strong” person of interest in the murders. The attacks, in what’s called the Kensington Strangler case, had left the neighborhood shaken and police feared that outraged residents might have taken matters into their own hands.
Natural Gas Explosion

January 18: A natural gas explosion killed a young PGW worker in the Tacony section of Philadelphia (Credit: Jim Melwert)
tacony gas explosion mark-keeley

Friends and family gathered Saturday to remember the life of 19-year-old Mark Keeley, the PGW first responder who was killed in a gas main explosion earlier this week.
tacony gas explosion

Mark Keeley died while responding to a leak in a high pressure gas main in the Tacony section of Philadelphia. The main ruptured, injuring four other PGW first responders and a Philadelphia firefighter.
sex-abuse-5-shot-dl

Edward Avery, Charles Engelhardt, James Brennan, Bernard Shero, and William Lynn are charged in connection with sex crimes against children in the Philadelphia Archdiocese.
ed rendell

Feb. 7: In an email sent to friends, former Pennsylvania Governor Edward G. Rendell announced that he and his wife, U.S. District Court Judge Marjorie Rendell, would be living separately now that they have left the governor’s mansion.
holy-family[1]

February 24: The embattled basketball coach at Holy Family University, John O’Connor, who came under fire after a videotaped incident at practice, announces his resignation. The coach apologized for knocking sophomore Matt Kravchuk to the floor during a January 25th practice, bloodying his nose.
royal wedding local watch party

April 29: Members of the British Officers Club of Philadelphia gathered in the ballroom of the Merion Cricket Club to watch the royal wedding.
royal wedding couple

April 29: The Delaware Valley had a few of its own royal weddings.
magee-herb-denardo[1]

April 4: Herbert Magee inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. (File photo by Mike DeNardo)
phila-orchestra1[1]
flashmob1[1]

August 5: After a series of flash mob attacks in Philadelphia, Mayor Nutter issues a city curfew for teens.
irene in philadelphia

Hurricane Irene rips through the area, damaging several properties, killing people and causing mandatory evacuations in some areas.
Mainstreet Manayunk credit TheSeanTucker

Hurricane Irene rips through the area, damaging several properties, killing people and causing mandatory evacuations in some areas.(Credit: credit TheSeanTucker)
irene

Hurricane Irene rips through the area, damaging several properties, killing people and causing mandatory evacuations in some areas. (Credit: Kathy McLean)
darby flooding irene

Hurricane Irene rips through the area, damaging several properties, killing people and causing mandatory evacuations in some areas.
Delaware Valley Rattled By Earthquake

August 23: A 5.9 magnitude centered northwest of Richmond, Va. shook most of the East Coast, including Philadelphia and New York City. (Credit: Montgomery Maxton Photography)
tacony-basement-suspects1

October 15: Linda Ann Weston, Gregory Thomas and Eddie Wright were taken into police custody after three people were discovered locked the basement of a Tacony home.
tacony basement

Police say three people we allegedly held captive in this Tacony basement.
tacony victims

October 15: Tamara Breeden, Derwin McLemire, and Herbert Knowles, were found locked inside a room in the basement of a home in the 4700 block of Longshore Avenue in the Tacony section of Northeast Philadelphia.
Joe Frazier

Nov. 14: Funeral services were held for former Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, in Mt. Airy.(Credit: Getty Images)
jerry_sandusky

(Former Penn State defensive coach Jerry Sandusky arrested amid child sex abuse allegations.)
Penn State Community Reacts As Trustees Fire Coach Joe Paterno

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 10: A news van is flipped over as students and those in the community fill the streets and react after football head coach Joe Paterno was fired during the Penn State Board of Trustees Press Conference, in downtown Penn State, in the early morning hours of November 10, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. Paterno and Spanier have lost their positions amid allegations that former former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was involved with child sex abuse. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Nebraska v Penn State

STATE COLLEGE, PA - NOVEMBER 12: Penn State fans smile and sing before taking on Nebraska at Beaver Stadium on November 12, 2011 in State College, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Occupy Philadelphia 1

Protesters rally against corporate greed in Philadelphia.
occupy-wedding-story[1]

After three weeks of occupying Dilworth Plaza, a couple with common interests gets married.
Nutter Beats Brown

Nov 8: Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter is re-elected to a second four-year term in office.
mumiacuffed[1]

Dec. 7: Philadelphia's district attorney has decided not to continue to pursue the death penalty against Abu-Jamal.
Next Gallery:
2011 Notable Deaths

Thaaer

“Very few aren’t expecting Gulf dteirsnes, with the glaring exception of Blue New England, where only Massachusetts will be taking them (2500 to Cape Cod this week through an effort led by Gov. Mitt Romney).”I see that even in the current emergency, you don’t miss the cheap shot. Why take exception with the Red mountain states, as long as you’re taking the low road?
Omy

Hi Ivan,One of the effects of my past and eodtaciun was that I realized that if I really listen to someone I learn so much not only by the words they share but about the speaker too. My friends joke that I am psychic but the reality is that I just really listen to what people say. To just not pay attention to every word is kind of rude and sad because a person will miss out on so much. Hope all is awesome![]
Chester Zmijewski

You claim to have winners of the Christmas lighting series posted on this web site but I can’t find them. I’m looking for the lights and trains on Devon Rd. Riverside, NJ. I believe the name is Mike and Sherry Hout.

Ece

What we need is publishing HOW to ppreare yourself and your family BEFORE a storm hits, we all know the Hurricane season is June 1st until Dec. 1st, although one,Agnes, hit early in the season (june) and there was one Many years ago that hit in dec. most hit in Aug. Sept. and Nov., the mostrongest are usually in Sept. and Oct. Knowing this and also knowing the paths that are mostly taken can dictate how much you ppreare and where your safe havens are if you live near shorelines, rivers and bays. The Miami Hearld,alm Beach Post/Times, Fort Myers and Tampa/St.Pete papers used to publish toward the end of May what you neede and what to do once a Hurricane watch went up. We are suppose to be responsible for ourselves, lookout for our elderly and handicapped neighbors, not depend on the gov’t. to provide. Relying on “Big Brother” is one of the things that drives up taxes and enlarges the deficit. Hurricane preparation is really not hard and if you add a thing or two to each weeks list you can get it done in a month.

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2011 Notable Deaths

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