Briefly... CITY/REGION

A man who was hit by a car and killed on the Schuylkill Expressway in Montgomery County yesterday afternoon was identified by state police as Joseph McHenrey, of Drexel Hill. Police said McHenrey climbed over a concrete median in Upper Merion Township about 1:45 p.m. holding a gas can. He was trying to cross the eastbound expressway to get to the right shoulder of the road.

Meanwhile, Robert Clark, of Downingtown, was driving his white Toyota Tundra pickup truck about 50 mph, pulling a single-axle trailer and heading toward McHenrey, police said.

The truck hit McHenrey, who flipped onto the hood and into the air and landed in the right eastbound lane, police said. Clark stopped the truck and called 9-1-1. McHenrey was pronounced dead at Bryn Mawr Hospital.

A Lansdale woman who had recently adopted a black Labrador retriever from the SPCA was bitten several times on the arm by the animal Friday in her home, authorities said.

Lansdale police said that when officers arrived, the dog charged at them and had to be restrained with a dog noose to get it into a police car. It was taken to the SPCA, which agreed to take it back. The woman was treated at Lansdale Hospital for bites on her right arm.

An investors group called the Bridge Street Foundation has purchased the Bucks County Playhouse, in New Hope, hoping to have it ready for the summer season.

The 450-seat theater has been closed since 2010, when it went into foreclosure. Over the years, its stage has been graced by stars including Grace Kelly, Robert Redford and Bernadette Peters.

Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, founder of the House of Umoja and mother of U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah, was to be honored today in the Mayor's Reception Room at City Hall on the occasion of her 80th birthday.

The celebration will be hosted by City Councilman Curtis Jones Jr. Mayor Nutter and other city notables will participate. Chaka Fattah will moderate a "Legacy Speakout" in which audience members will be encouraged to talk about the impact on the city of the House of Umoja, which ministers to needy young people.

SEPTA has partnered with Pepsi MAX to provide free rides on the Broad Street subway line for the NHL Winter Classic, to be played Monday at Citizens Bank Park.

The rides will be available from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. This includes no charges for regular fares or transfers. The seven-hour free-ride window provides plenty of time for travel to and from the ballpark, where the Flyers and Rangers will face off at 1 p.m.

NJ Transit train service between Philadelphia and Atlantic City was temporarily suspended yesterday after a man who stepped onto the tracks was killed by a westbound train in Pennsauken.

NJ Transit spokesman John Durso said that it was unclear why the man was on the tracks at the Church Road crossing. None of the 30 passengers on the train was injured when the man was hit, about 4:50 p.m.

New Jersey winemakers are hoping their long crusade to be able to ship to out-of-state consumers will be approved by lawmakers in January. The industry has pushed for approval for years but has been met by opposition from liquor-store owners.

The objections: If wine is allowed to be shipped to customers elsewhere, it would have to be allowed to be shipped from vineyards in California and elsewhere to New Jersey.

The New Jersey Liquor Store Alliance's Paul Santelle told the Asbury Park Press that the measure would damage New Jersey's liquor stores. A wine-consumer's group says that of the 12 states that do not allow wine to be shipped, New Jersey is the highest-volume wine producer.

The Coast Guard is anxious to hear from mariners, maritime industries, commercial fisherman, recreational boaters and other port and waterway users operating off the Atlantic Coast. The purpose is to evaluate improvements and modifications.

The public may submit comments and related materials by the end of January at http://www.regulations.gov, docket number USCG-2011-035.

For more information, visit http://www.uscg.mil/lantarea/ACPARS/default.asp.

- Staff and wire reports