Wednesday, December 31st
The 366th day of 2008.
There are 0 days left in the year.
On Dec. 31, 1946, President Harry S. Truman officially proclaimed the end of hostilities in World War II.
On Dec. 31, 1869, Henri Matisse, one of the foremost painters of 20th century French art, was born.
On this date in:
1775 - The British repulsed an attack by Continental Army generals Richard Montgomery and Benedict Arnold at Quebec; Montgomery was killed.
1857 - Britain's Queen Victoria decided to make Ottawa the capital of Canada.
1862 - President Abraham Lincoln signed an act admitting West Virginia to the Union.
1879 - Thomas Edison first publicly demonstrated his electric incandescent light in Menlo Park, N.J.
1961 - The Marshall Plan expired after distributing more than $12 billion in foreign aid.
1974 - Private U.S. citizens were allowed to buy and own gold for the first time in more than 40 years.
1978 - Taiwanese diplomats struck their colors for the final time from the embassy flagpole in Washington, D.C., marking the end of diplomatic relations with the United States.
1985 - Rock singer Rick Nelson, 45, and six other people were killed when fire broke out aboard a DC-3 that was taking the group to a New Year's Eve performance in Dallas.
1986 - A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, killed 97 and injured 140 people.
1993 - Entertainer Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.
1997 - Michael Kennedy, 39-year-old son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, was killed in a skiing accident on Aspen Mountain in Colorado.
2004 - Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych resigned, acknowledging that he had little hope of reversing the presidential election victory of his Western-leaning rival, Viktor Yushchenko.
2006 - The death toll for Americans killed in the Iraq war reached 3,000.
Update: Philadelphia Library Closings Blocked
Judge's Ruling Spares, For Now, 11 Libraries Set To Close Today
A judge dealt a crushing blow to Mayor Nutter's plan to balance the city budget yesterday, ordering him to immediately halt plans to shutter 11 library branches at the close of business today.
Common Pleas Judge Idee Fox ruled in favor of seven library patrons and three City Council members who sued Nutter last week, citing a 20-year-old ordinance requiring Council approval to close city buildings.
Nutter's administration vowed an appeal to the state Commonwealth Court. Nutter called Fox's ruling a "complete violation of the fundamental tenets" of the city's Home Rule Charter.
Fox, speaking to a packed courtroom after a two-day hearing, said Nutter could have presented his plan for library closures to Council for consideration.
"He did not do that," she said.
Fox also dismissed an announcement from Nutter Monday that he was seeking nonprofit agencies to operate programs in the 11 branches. City attorneys argued in court that the buildings were not really being closed.
"Closed is closed," said Fox, who had noted that no plans to reopen the buildings would be in place by Friday, the first day they would stop being libraries. "The mayor used the word closed."
Nutter yesterday said his staff "will make every effort to comply with the judge's order."
Sources familiar with how Nutter's administration is now preparing for that say the 11 branches set for closure will be open on a reduced schedule, likely a few days a week, staffed by library employees being paid overtime. That reduced schedule could eventually spread to every library branch in the city.
The 11 branch closures would save the city $36 million from now until 2013. City officials have repeatedly warned that those savings would have to come from elsewhere in the budget if the 11 branches remained open.
Amy Dougherty, executive director of the Friends of The Free Library, testified Monday that her group had suggested "equitable service cuts across the system." That would solve the city's budget problem with "shared sacrifice," Dougherty added.
Nutter on Nov. 6 announced plans to close the branches, among other budget cuts. The city faces a deficit of at least $1 billion in the five-year financial plan.
Nutter is now expected to ask Council to consider legislation approving the library closures.
excerpt from article By CHRIS BRENNAN
published Wed., Dec. 31, 2008
Philadelphia Daily News
Page A3
Continued:
City Solicitor: We Will Appeal Judge's Ruling On Library Closures
City Solicitor Shelley Smith just told PhillyClout that her department will file an appeal of the order just issued by Common Pleas Court Judge Idee Fox that put an immediate stop to Mayor Nutter's plan to close 11 library branches as of 5 p.m. tomorrow. The closures were part of Nutter's plan to close a $1 billion-plus gap in the city's five-year financial plan.
"The city needs to appeal this ASAP because of the finances," Smith said. "The city needs to appeal this because of the principle."
At issue is section 16-203 of the Philadelphia Code, passed by Council over then-Mayor W. Wilson Goode Sr.'s objections, which requires the mayor to get Council approval before closing any city buildings. A Common Pleas Court judge in 1988 ruled that the new law violated the city Charter. Council appealed and a Commonwealth Court judge returned the case to the lower court, where it didn't go any further.
"Obviously we're disappointed," Smith said of Fox's ruling. "Hopefully a Commonwealth Court judge will see it differently."