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Occupy Philly continues, at a cost of 112G a week

OCCUPY PHILLY shows no sign of leaving the tented encampment outside City Hall, so look for taxpayer costs to mount as the demonstration continues its second week.

OCCUPY PHILLY shows no sign of leaving the tented encampment outside City Hall, so look for taxpayer costs to mount as the demonstration continues its second week.

For the first week of protests, the city shelled out $230,000, mostly in police overtime to man the protests that sprung up next to City Hall on Oct. 6, said Budget Director Rebecca Rhynhart. The other costs include setting up a police command center, as well as public-property and sanitation expenses. Those numbers don't include the use of straight police time, redeploying officers on regularly scheduled duty.

Rhynhart said that some of those expenses were one-time deals and that the overtime costs have been dropping, so the projected weekly expense going forward is $112,000. Rhynhart said it wasn't yet clear if the costs would force the city to make further cuts to balance the budget.

U.S. DISTRICT COURT

* Today

A trial is scheduled to begin in the case of Anthony Douglas Elonis, of Bethlehem, charged with making threats on his public Facebook page in fall 2010 against his ex-wife (who had a protection from abuse order against him), former co-workers at Dorney Park and the FBI. Elonis contends the postings were communicated only to a small group of "friends" in an "attempted impression of art" and were not "true threats."

Also, a trial is scheduled to begin in the case of Basil Soloman, a Philadelphia man charged with robbing an Elmwood auto dealership in July 2010. Authorities said Soloman (and co-defendant Taukeeq Sadat, who has pleaded guilty in the case) brandished firearms and stole cash from the business and its employees.

* Tomorrow

Federal prosecutors are expected to file papers recommending a longer sentence in the resentencing of former state Sen. Vince Fumo next month.

* Thursday

Sentencing is scheduled for Vaughn Pierce, who defrauded banks of more than $202,000 by forging and depositing at least 55 bogus checks. Authorities said that after Pierce pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2009 and while he was under house arrest, he engaged in a separate fraud scheme by directing others to deposit additional bogus and forged checks into bank accounts, knowing that the checks were written on closed accounts, were stolen or lacked sufficient funds. Prosecutors, who are seeking a sentence of at least 16 years, said Pierce tried to mislead them about believing he had information on other crimes - including an unsolved murder - to win a reduction in his sentence.

PLEAS COURT

* Tomorrow

Lawyers in the Citizens Bank Park murder trial are scheduled to return to court for a motion hearing. The trial ended abruptly last month when Common Pleas Judge Shelley Robins New declared a mistrial. Attorneys for defendants Francis Kirchner, James Groves and Charles Bowers plan to argue that the double-jeopardy rule bars the state from retrying their clients. The defendants are accused in the July 2009 parking-lot beating death of David Sale, 22.

SENTENCINGS

* Wednesday

Sheakia Stubbs and John Benson are scheduled to be sentenced for robbing a Center City jewelry store and leaving behind their 4-year-old son. Benson slashed the store owner's face with a blade while fleeing.

* Thursday

The last three defendants in the Danieal Kelly starvation case are set to be sentenced. Her father, Daniel Kelly, and two social workers, Mickal Kamuvaka and Dana Poindexter, were convicted in July of contributing to the death of Danieal, 14, who was disabled and confined to a wheelchair.

PLAN TO MEET 

The Philadelphia Planning Commission has its regular monthly meeting at 1 p.m. tomorrow in the 18th-floor conference room - Room 18029 - of the One Parkway Building, 1515 Arch St. Commission meetings may be preceded by a briefing session for members of the commission. The meeting is open to the public, and brief comments and testimony from the public are accepted.

POWER-POLITICS

* Wednesday

Let go of the electoral votes, and no one gets hurt!

That essentially is the message state Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Phila., is expected to deliver Wednesday morning in Harrisburg about a proposed plan to change the way Pennsylvania awards its 20 Electoral College votes.

Boyle has formed a coalition to legally thwart the plan introduced by Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi, R-Delaware County, who wants the state to award electoral votes to presidential candidates by congressional districts. Currently, the winner of the popular vote gets all of the state's electoral votes.

Boyle would move to fight the plan if it's passed later this year, said Dan Lodise, his chief of staff.

EDUCATION

Parent Appreciation Month continues this week with three events at school-district headquarters, 440 N. Broad St.:

* Tomorrow: 10 a.m., multilingual parent and family workshop, Room 1080.

* Wednesday: 2 p.m., the School Reform Commission will proclaim Parent Appreciation Month in the auditorium.

* Thursday: 6 p.m., the district's Parent University kicks off with a movie and panel discussion of "Waiting for Superman" in the auditorium. To register for Parent University events, visit philasd.org/parentuniversity or call 215-400-4180.