PGW liens target landlords, $1.5m foundation grant for school reform, SEPTA protests House Transportation bill, Kenny Gamble’s urban mansion, PPD’s Real-Time Crime watch

Who should be on the hook for unpaid gas bills – the tenant or landlord? PGW goes after landlords with liens to cover for deadbeat tenants, and the Daily News reports that property owners are torched over the practice.

The William Penn Foundation is granting $1.5 million to pay for the School Reform Commission’s turnaround consultants, reports the Inquirer. Boston Consulting Group will assist the Philadelphia School District with restructuring its management and finances.

SEPTA hates the House Transportation Bill too, reports the Inquirer. SEPTA executives joined other big-city transit agencies in opposition to the bill because it eliminates dedicated transit funding in favor of highways and roads. The uncertain transit funding takes away agencies’ ability to do any long-range, large-scale planning or improvements. “It would be devastating to Philadelphia,” SEPTA’s general manager Joseph Casey said.

Kenny Gamble’s Universal Companies is building an urban mansion on the 800 block of South 15th Street. Naked Philly reports that after demolishing five rowhouses in the fall, Universal came before SOSNA last week to present plans for a triple-wide house set back and fenced off from 15th street. Mr. Fox thinks it’s for Gamble himself, since he owns three of the five lots. Wild.

Philly’s new Real-Time Crime Center is now a 24-hour operation geared at speeding up police investigation work by putting critical information in one place. The Inquirer reports that Cops at the Crime Center are able to call up video surveillance footage instantly as 911 calls come in, and check crime databases, which can help officers on the ground. I’m wondering just how many surveillance cameras are out there?

The Buzz is Eyes on the Street’s morning news digest. Have a tip? Send it along.