Inqlings: Suing Fox29, IBEW says report got wires crossed

The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' shorts are in a twist.

The union says it was defamed last summer in a Fox29 report about alleged racial intimidation by an electrician at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. The station identified the worker, a white man accused of hanging a noose near the locker of an African American colleague, as an IBEW member.

Not true, Local 98 says in a suit in Common Pleas Court.

Lawyer George Bochetto of Bochetto & Lentz says Fox29 wanted "to sensationalize the recent media coverage concerning minority membership . . . in Philadelphia's labor unions." The complaint spells out IBEW efforts to train minority workers.

Children's Hospital fired the worker, William Gould of Northeast Philadelphia, who according to records faces a court date March 2. Gould told the Philadelphia Daily News in September that it was a "dumb practical joke." The alleged victim was not identified.

The suit against Fox29, seeking more than $50,000, says IBEW received "a flood" of criticism. IBEW says that it contacted Fox29, which retracted the story "many days later" - but that statements continued to appear on the station's Web site.

Fox29 attorney Michael Twersky of Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads would not comment on the suit.

Eyewitness News at 10 on the CW Philly

- long title for a half-hour show - will premiere tomorrow night. Anchor

Dave Huddleston

is downplaying the obvious - that he'll be competing against his old station, Fox29. "It's going to take a while before we're truly competitive," Huddleston says. Expect rapidity: "We'll cover the big stories of the day; do a bus-stop forecast off the top; say what's coming up tomorrow; rip through the headlines, health, consumer, sports; and get out."

Doug Kammerer

on weather,

Beasley Reece

on sports. Huddleston will work Sundays through Fridays at the outset;

Mary Stoker Smith

anchors Saturdays. Adding to his workload, Huddleston will play a reporter doing a stand-up from prison in

Law Abiding Citizen

, the

Jamie Foxx

-

Gerard Butler

flick filming here. (

LAC

will finish two weeks at City Hall tomorrow, head to private homes, and emerge later in the week at the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Thornton.)

Diamond sparkles from CBS3 weekend anchor Anne-Marie Green's third finger, left hand. Intended is Algernong Allen. She declined to discuss.

These four locals are among the 147 contestants who have made

American Idol

's trip to Hollywood for season eight, which will begin at 8 p.m. Tuesday on Fox29:

Joanna Pacitti, 24, of Mayfair, who set Internet chat rooms ablaze because she has an extensive showbiz background, including two record deals. At age 11, she won the title role in a revival of Annie but developed bronchitis. When producers dismissed her two weeks before her Broadway opening, her parents sued.

Kenny Hoffpauer, 17, of Havertown, a student at Haverford High who is in a group named Forever Nameless.

Markese Morris, 18, of Burlington City, a standout basketball guard at Burlington High.

Brianna Horne, 21, of Magnolia, who played the title character in Evita as a senior at Camden Catholic High.

After months of construction and general futzing, two significant Philly restaurants are preparing to open.

A day apart.

And next door to each other.

Union Trust, a gigantic steakhouse at 717 Chestnut St., will throw its private opener Saturday and go public Feb. 9. Chifa, the Jose Garces-run fusion of Peruvian and Chinese cuisine at 707 Chestnut St., is to open on the 10th.

Ben Roethlisberger

, playing quarterback for the Steelers in the Super Bowl today, has given $8,300 to the Philadelphia Police Foundation to buy two police dogs. (The nonprofit foundation funds police projects that are not included in the department's budget.) Roethlisberger agreed to give money to police and fire departments in opposing cities this season.

Keep reminding yourself that the Phillies and not the Mets are sporting World Series rings, because Mr. Met nudged out the Phillie Phanatic atop Forbes.com's annual list of sports mascots, released last week. The Phanatic won last year. Voting was close, says

Chris Anderson

of the Marketing Arm, which polled 1,000 respondents from its base in, hmm, Dallas. Anderson says 68 percent rated Mr. Met as "one of my favorites" or "very likable," while the Phanatic drew 62 percent.

After eating 203 wings Friday to win WIP's 17th annual Wing Bowl,

Jonathan Squibb

, 23, of Winslow Township, told me he's otherwise a healthful eater; he ate six pounds of cottage cheese in three minutes to qualify. Among the winnings for Squibb - a Rutgers grad starting a job as an auditor - is a Mini Cooper, supplanting his 1993 Grand Am, with 170,000 miles. His current ride's color? "White. Or gray," he said. "I haven't washed it in about three months."