But Who Did He Call First?

A man said he was so upset to find a hangman’s noose at his job he felt he had to contact not only local authorities.

He also had to call Harry Hairston and the NBC 10 Investigators.

It’s okay, PECO says, because the man who showed the noose was just practicing tying knots. Oh, and they’ve hired a “diversity consultant.”

Man Reports Finding Hangman’s Noose At PECO Facility [NBC 10]

Your Evening Commute To Get A Lot Worse

An underground explosion has shut down pretty much all of Center City. A 36-block radius — 13th to 18th, Walnut to Vine — is closed. (The explosion also took out power to PW. Oh, the horror.)

Thousands of people have been evacuated after an underground explosion and then fire at S. 15 Street. KYW 1060 is reporting that a cable had a fault in it at 15th Street, and then someone tried to switch the load to another cable — but instead switched it to the faulty cable. (Got all that?)

Now there are fires at 15th and Ranstead and 13th and Chestnut. Of course, if this really affects you, you’re probably out in front of your building and not reading this, are you?

Update, 3:10 p.m.: Fire commish says one person is injured; also has hilarious “has to turn down his radio” moment during the presser, as if he were on sports talk radio.

Underground Electrical Explosion Rocks Penn Center Area [KYW 1060]