Briefly... CITY/REGION

Body pulled from Delaware . . .

Police yesterday recovered a body from the Delaware River believed to be that of William Wilkinson, 17, who had dived into the water Wednesday night trying to rescue an 18-year-old woman who had fallen in.

Police marine units recovered the body about 5 p.m. near Pennypack Park, northeast of where police said he jumped in.

. . . another from Schuylkill

Police pulled a man's body from the Schyulkill yesterday, and said it apparently had been in the water for a few days.

A passer-by saw the body in a portion of the river close to 51st Street and Botanic Avenue, in Southwest Philadelphia, police said. When police boats arrived just before noon, they found the man face-down and partially clothed in the river. Police were unsure of the man's race or identity.

Privatize Amtrak service here?

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, has proposed taking away Amtrak's popular Northeast Corridor train service and inviting private investors to bid for the right to develop high-speed rail.

Mica said that the densely populated corridor - which extends from Washington to Boston, including service to New York City and Philadelphia - is the most viable region in the country for high-speed trains but that Amtrak has failed to provide fast service despite tens of billions of dollars in federal aid. Mica's plan will be incorporated in a long-term transportation-spending bill that the committee is drafting.

PHA opens 'Quads' housing

The Philadelphia Housing Authority yesterday celebrated the opening of the "Quads" - 100 units of handicapped-accessible housing on 25 vacant lots across the city.

The development effort has been nicknamed the Quads because each two-story building features four efficiency units.

PHA officials said the homes are designed for people with minimal-to-moderate-care needs.

Federal stimulus funds covered almost 90 percent of the $14.4 million it cost for the development.

Construction of all the Quad units will be completed by the end of the summer.

Commonwealth Court recount

State officials yesterday ordered a ballot recount in the Democratic nomination contest for Commonwealth Court. Returns showed Doylestown lawyer Kathryn Boockvar outpolling Pittsburgh lawyer Barbara Behrend Ernsberger by 2,116 votes. That's 0.34 percent of the 621,132 votes cast in the May 17 primary.

The margin was small enough to trigger Pennsylvania's automatic-recount law.

Secretary of State Carole Aichele ordered the 67 counties to proceed with one, with completion by June 7.

- Staff and wire reports