Police ID 2 Philly homicide victims

Police release names of two homicide victims

Philadelphia police on Monday identified two men slain in shootings last week in Philadelphia.

The first shooting was early Thursday morning, when a man was shot several times while on the 100 block of East Indiana Avenue in Kensington. The victim, Luiz D. Padilla, 38, was pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital at 1:59 a.m.

On Saturday, Edward Jefferson, 42, died after he was shot in the chest in a vacant lot in North Philadelphia on the 1500 block of North 19th Street. Jefferson was pronounced dead at 2:54 a.m. at Hahnemann University Hospital.

The motives for both killings remain under investigation. No arrests have been made and no descriptions of suspects were available. - Emily Babay

Passyunk Ave. bridge work begins Tuesday

The Passyunk Avenue bridge is getting an overhaul, a $33.5 million project that will reduce the number of lanes and create space for bikes by 2018. Work is to begin Tuesday.

The bridge, built in 1983, is being reduced from three lanes in each direction to two, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. The change is being done to make the bridge conform to the number of lanes on the rest of the road, said spokesman Charles Metzger. Widening the shoulders to 13 feet in each direction also will make space for new bicycle lanes, he said.

Work will include upgrades to the to the drawbridge's motors, brakes, locks, and gears, along with other mechanical and structural repairs.

The 2,240-foot-long bridge carries about 20,800 vehicles a day. Work in the coming weeks will be conducted from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., and some lanes on the bridge are expected to stay open throughout the process. - Staff report

Heidi Cruz cancels South Jersey visit

Heidi Cruz, wife of GOP presidential hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz, has canceled a campaign appearance set for Tuesday in Haddon Heights.

Scot DeCristofaro, a spokesman for the Cruz campaign in New Jersey, said the senator and his wife had decided to campaign together in Wisconsin, which will hold its primary next week.

The Haddon Heights event, billed as fund-raiser and rally, was to be held Tuesday afternoon at The Cabin in Hoffs Park.

DeCristofaro said the rally would be rescheduled after the April 5 Wisconsin primary. - Staff report

SEPTA will express two trains from Del.

SEPTA is turning two weekday afternoon trains from the Newark Station in Delaware on the Newark/Wilmington Line into expresses to University City starting April 11.

Impacted are Train 2760, which departs Newark at 4:46 p.m., and Train 9294, which leaves at 5:46 p.m. The trains will stop at all stations except Highland Avenue before becoming expresses between the Chester Transportation Center and University City. - Staff report