Anthony R. Wood

14 hours ago | inquirer.com | Anthony R. Wood

In what may turn out to be a $400 million question in the City of Chester’s historic bankruptcy, the state Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday over who owns the Chester Water Authority and who has the right to sell it. State law clearly gives the city control over the assets, said Chester’s attorney Matthew White. Noting that only a minority of its customers are in Chester, the water authority in effect is the province of “multiple jurisdictions,” countered water authority attorney Kevin Kent.

1 day ago | inquirer.com | Anthony R. Wood

With a head whiter than the clouds veiling the faint blue sky, a bald eagle pursued an egret in an aerial-ballet chase. Opting for prudence over valor, the white-winged heron decided to exit the stage for safer territory. It was a drama worthy of a Nature episode —save for the fact that the eagle appeared to be flying faster and higher than a jet whose belly looked like it was about to scrape the cantilevers of the Girard Point Bridge.

1 day ago | inquirer.com | Anthony R. Wood

In the bankrupt City of Chester where more than 25% of households live in poverty, residents have been overly generous to one group, according to the state-appointed receiver. That would be the members of the Stormwater Authority of Chester board, which administers the so-called “rain tax” whose rates appear to rank among the highest in the country.

4 days ago | inquirer.com | Anthony R. Wood

Two people were rescued and a third person was reported missing after a fishing boat sank in the Delaware River north of Philadelphia late Saturday moning, a U.S. Coast Guard official said. The 20-foot vessel “took some waves” over the bow and sank around 11:30 a.m. when it was “in the Bucks County area,” said Lt. Josh Ledoux. The third person had not been found as of 9 p.m. At the time of the sinking, winds were gusting to 25 mph, but it was unclear if weather had any role in the mishap.

6 days ago | inquirer.com | Beatrice Forman |Jesse Bunch |Michelle Myers |Anthony R. Wood

The plumes of white smoke that appeared from the Sistine Chapel at 1 p.m. Philadelphia time Thursday signaled the election of the first U.S.-born pope, generating a worldwide celebration. But 4,200 miles from the Vatican, what followed was a mix of exuberance, bell-ringing — and borderline disbelief — on the Villanova University campus. With his official installation sometime next week, Cardinal Robert Prevost will become Pope Leo XIV, making him the first Augustinian to become pope.