iradiophilly | News - Contentious Safehouse Site Press Conference; Bucks County Fire; NJ Troopers Arrested Child Porn

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Contentious Safehouse Site Press Conference; Bucks County Fire; NJ Troopers Arrested Child Porn

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 02/26/20 2:10 pm | updated: 02/26/20 2:10 pm

Shortly after a federal judge issued a final order on Tuesday, 2/25, ruling that a safe injection site does not violate federal law, the non-profit Safehouse said that it would be opening the first supervised injection site in the country in South Philadelphia as soon as next week. It will be located inside the Constitution Health Plaza, near Broad and McKean Streets. Safehouse attempted to provide information and speak about the program at a news conference held on Wednesday morning, 2/26, but they were met not just by angry and confused neighbors, but displeased politicians, impassioned activists, and inquisitive journalists. The contentious press conference had many residents complaining that "we were ambushed" or "you blindsided us." City Councilman Mark Squilla spoke up, displeased with the process, saying, "The city owes the community and elected officials an explanation on how this is going to be managed and the safety issues. There so many unknowns, it's not fair to elected officials and the community." Safehouse promises there will be a community meeting to discuss all of the residents' concerns after they open, but some vocalized that that is out of order.

Safehouse says that they picked this South Philly location over Kensington to be their first because of resources. "We picked South Philly because we know the demand will be less than Kensington and with the funding we have that is manageable," said Ronda Goldfein with Safehouse. Over 1,000 people overdose and die in Philadelphia each year. About 1 person dies per week in the area around this new site. The facility provides counseling services first to try and get people into treatment. They'll provide clean supplies for the drug user and monitor them in case of overdose. The user must surrender the equipment before they leave. No drugs are provided.

WATCH the Safehouse Press Conference:

Several businesses were destroyed in a three-alarm fire at a business complex in Bucks County overnight Wednesday, 2/26. The fire broke out around 1 a.m. at Industrial Drive and South Sand Road in New Britain in the CSC Asphalt building. Firefighters had to deal with a lack of water at the start. Official say that at least 75 personnel from 12 companies were on hand to fight the fire. It took several hours to get under control. Route 202 was closed off at Bristol Road until 5 a.m. No one was injured. At least three business were affected, including an upholstery and embroidery business. New Britain Borough Fire Marshal Mike Italia has started an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Two New Jersey state troopers have been charged with child pornography after exchanging explicit text messages about children with each other. 48-year-old Jeffrey Reitz of Williamstown and 35-year-old Andrea Knox of Gloucester City have each been arrested and suspended from the force. Knox is charged with official misconduct and possession of child pornography. Reitz is charged with distribution of child pornography. He had previously been arrested and charged with possession of child pornography in another case. The two exchanged graphic text messages about sex acts that could be performed on an underage girl. They also exchanged sexually explicit photos of an underage girl. Knox failed in her duty as a state trooper to report the crime when she received the explicit photos from Reitz.

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