Philly Building Collapse Hearing

Public hearings looking into last month's fatal building collapse in Philadelphia continue today amid conflict between City Council and the mayor's office over who's allowed to testify.

The hearings into the downtown collapse that killed six people were scheduled to continue at 10 a.m. Thursday.

The Philadelphia Daily News reports Councilman Jim Kenney says Mayor Michael Nutter's administration has refused to allow representatives of the fire department and the Department of Licenses and Inspections to testify.

Council President Darrell Clarke noted that the administration had been cooperative, told the paper, "Council always has a number of options."

"One is to have a direct conversation with the mayor or his chief of staff," Clarke said, adding, "and if need be, Council will always have subpoena power, which this particular investigative committee has been given,” according to the Daily News.

Nutter spokesman Mark McDonald says the administration will provide testimony and a written response to Council's questions. He didn't say why the administration wasn't allowing representatives from those departments to speak.

The accident happened June 5, when a building being demolished collapsed onto a neighboring Salvation Army thrift store, killing two employees and four customers. 

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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