iradiophilly | News - Italian Market Frank Rizzo Mural to be Replaced; Deadly Storms Hit Area; Man Arrested ATM Explosives

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Italian Market Frank Rizzo Mural to be Replaced; Deadly Storms Hit Area; Man Arrested ATM Explosives

by: iradioal - Philadelphia, PA
started: 06/03/20 9:15 pm | updated: 06/03/20 9:17 pm

Officials announced Wednesday, 6/3, that the Frank Rizzo mural on 9th Street in South Philadelphia at the Italian Market will be replaced with a new mural. The current one was defaced with paint sometime Wednesday morning. The former mayor and police commissioner's statue was removed from Center City early Wednesday morning.

Murals Arts said today that it would no longer support, maintain, or repair the mural as is, but could not do anything about it because it was on private property. "We do not believe the mural can play a role in healing and supporting dialogue, but rather it has become a painful reminder for many of the former Mayor's legacy, and only adds to the pain and anger... We do not believe the maintenance and repair of the Rizzo mural is consistent with our mission. We think it is time for the mural to be decommissioned, and would support a unifying piece of public art in its place... At this time, Mural Arts will no longer be involved in the repair or restoration of the mural."

Later this afternoon, the South 9th Street Italian Market released a statement in part saying, "Together, The S. 9th Street Shopping District, the property owners, and the Mural Arts program are working together to create a new mural, that better represents the fabric of S. 9th Street to replace the current Frank Rizzo mural. Due to the forecast of inclement weather, as soon as possible, in the interim, the Rizzo mural will become a blank canvas. We agree it is time to replace the long-standing piece of art to begin to heal the Black community, the LGBTQ community and many other."

For several years, Mural Arts Philadelphia has engaged the community in a discussion about the fate of the mural. After careful consideration, Mural Arts has decided to cease all involvement with the mural, effective immediately.
— Mural Arts (@muralarts) June 3, 2020

A double dose of heavy thunderstorms caused widespread damage, power outages, and were responsible for multiple deaths throughout the area on Wednesday, 6/3. The first storm blew through just after noon. The solid line of storms was classified as a derecho by the National Weather Service for the bowing line of storms with straight-line winds that had gusts from 60-80 mph. Trees and limbs were toppled across the region taking out power lines as well as falling on structures and vehicles. A few hundred thousand customers lost power. One man was killed when a large tree fell on the club house of Philmont Country Club in Huntingdon Valley, PA. He was an employee inside the golf cart garage. Two people were killed in Lower Merion when trees fell onto their cars. One incident happened on Belmont Avenue, the other happened on Medford Road. A second line of storms came through just after 7 p.m. This line prompted several Tornado Warnings in the Philadelphia and South Jersey areas. No word if there were any sightings or touchdowns at this time.

Omg this storm is so crazy . Be safe pic.twitter.com/oNN0tHlYAF
— PhillyChitChat (@HughE_Dillon) June 3, 2020

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro announced charges against one man in connection with the rash of ATM explosions in the Philadelphia area. Talib Crump of Philadelphia was arrested for selling homemade dynamite. Undercover police officers contacted Crump on social media and arranged the transaction. Crump told the agents that the explosives were "better than bullets" for robbing ATMs. He was arrested selling the explosives to the agents. "At a time that millions in our country are calling for justice, these violent crimes of distraction are intolerable," Attorney General Josh Shapiro said. "They are a threat to our safety, but also to our freedom to assemble to protest and we will not tolerate it."

"Approximately, 50 ATM machines have been damaged or opened via the use of explosives. As best as we we can determine, at the moment, the vast majority of these machines were damaged or opened by the use of M250 to M100 illegal explosive devices," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw.

"Mr. Crump, who bragged on social medial that using dynamite was better than bullets for robbing an ATM, offered up explicit instructions on how to best set dynamite up to blow up an ATM," said Shapiro.