The Daily Numbers - Feb. 12

The Daily Numbers: 1743, when the Darby Free Library was first established, making it likely the oldest public library in the nation. It’s now hurting financially, and the public is coming forward with donations to keep it open.
11 public libraries in Philadelphia that also appear as if they will remain open after first being targeted for closure in budget cuts by Mayor Michael Nutter.
68 degrees yesterday afternoon, a record high. We might be hit with wind gusts of the same number today. Grab your hat, it’s going to be a windy one.
1 freshman member of the Chester High basketball team injured when he was shot in the back in the city yesterday.
3 people being busted in a series of cell-phone thefts from stores in the region. They’re believed to have ripped off $4,000 in phones.
19,000 dollars police say was ripped off from a children’s playground fund by the treasurer of a school PTA group in Claymont.
0 tips the Upper Darby police have received so far in the brazen daylight attack on a nun in the parking lot of St. Alice’s Church. If you have information, call them at 610-734-7677.
100 workers, what the union says Sunoco is looking to eliminate in new contract talks. The union is talking strike as the March 1 deadline approaches.
15 arson fires reported in Coatesville last year. City officials now say they may have underreported that number.
500,000 dollars in state aid going to the city in its fight against a wave of arson fires that has put the city under siege.
7 of 10 Pa. voters who disapprove of Gov. Ed Rendell’s proposal to allow counties to raise the sales tax by 1 percent. But 67 percent are OK with hiking the tax on a pack of cigarettes by a dime, and 62 percent approve of his call to legalize video poker.
3, age of boy who fell down a well in Williamstown, N.J. He was rescued and rushed to the hospital.
1 person killed when flames roared through a house in Cinnaminson, N.J., overnight.
15 people charged in a house-stealing scheme in Philadelphia in which they raked in $400,000.
200 birthdays being celebrated at the University of Pennsylvania to honor Charles Darwin.
1 lawyer shot and killed execution-style as he walked into his office in a shopping center in Bucks County yesterday morning.
750 dollar bonus offered to some GE workers to quit smoking. Fifteen percent were still tobacco-free a year later.
47,000 people without power in the Pittsburgh are because of high winds. Those winds are now headed here, with gusts expected around 50-60 mph.
78.6 million dollar contract for Lockheed Martin Corp. for upgrades to the Aegis naval defense system.
51 percent decline in revenue reported by local home builder Toll Brothers Inc.
20 miles, how far a man was dragged in New York City after he was run over by an SUV, then stuck underneath a van. He was dragged 20 miles over 50 minutes. He did not survive.
1 cent increase in price of gas, now going for an average of $1.97 in the Philly region.
18 points for Andre Iguodala as the Sixers rolled to another win last night, beating the Memphis Grizzlies, 91-87.
4 straight wins heading into the All-Star break for the Sixers.
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Call me a Phanatic: A look at the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.A sight to warm the hearts of Phillies fans: Chase Utley taking ground balls yesterday in the Florida sunshine. He says he’s on track to be in the lineup on opening day as he continues to rehab from off-season hip surgery.
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I Don’t Get It: A group of bankers yesterday appeared before a House panel in D.C. to testify about what they did with all that taxpayer bailout money. “We understand the taxpayers are angry,” said Kenneth Lewis of Bank of America. Somehow I doubt he has any clue just how angry people are.
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Today’s Upper: Thumb’s up to all those coming forward to make donations to save the Darby Public Library, the oldest library in the United States.
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Quote Box: “Hopefully, there’s not a lot of other crazy people who would want to do this, although there is someone in Coatesville.”
-- April Hemsher, whose house was set on fire during spree of seven arsons in Drexel Hill.

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