Philadelphia poised to OK soda taxPHILADELPHIA — Philadelphia is set to become the first major American city with a soda tax despite a multimillion-dollar campaign by the beverage industry to block it.The City Council is expected to give final approval today to a 1.5 cent-per-ounce tax on sugary and diet beverages.Berkeley, Calif., is the only other city with such a tax. Other proposals have been defeated in more than 30 cities and states.Two previous efforts to pass a soda tax in Philadelphia also failed.Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney sold the council on the idea with a plan to spend most of the estimated $90 million in new tax revenues next year to pay for pre-kindergarten, community schools and recreation centers.

Blind woman denied service at salonPITTSBURGH — A woman says she plans to file a civil rights complaint after she was denied service at a Pittsburgh nail salon because of her blindness.Arzella Stewart-McCauley said the owner of the nail salon “Le Nails” sent her away Friday morning saying she was too busy and it would take too long to help Stewart-McCauley through the process.Stewart-McCauley says the owner told her it was because she can’t see.Salon owner, Hanh Thi Pham, said Wednesday she denied the woman service due to her disability. Pham says providing additional help to customers places a burden on her business.

Hospital tests water for LegionellaPITTSBURGH — Bacteria that cause Legionnaire’s disease have been found in two water tanks at a Pittsburgh hospital.The Legionella bacteria were found in two tests earlier this month at Allegheny General Hospital.The hospital tested its water after a cancer patient treated for a respiratory ailment last month was found to have the disease and was readmitted with breathing problems later in the month.The hospital cancer center’s water was tested twice last week and found to be free of the bacteria. Tests on another water supply are pending.Legionnaire’s is a type of pneumonia that can be fatal to people with weakened immune systems.

Wal-Mart cuts jobs at 500 locationsNEW YORK — Wal-Mart Stores said Wednesday it is cutting jobs in accounting and other back-office positions at about 500 locations in the Western U.S.The move will affect two or three people per store, totaling as many as 1,500 workers, Wal-Mart spokesman Kory Lundberg said. But those employees are expected to be offered positions that will involve direct contact with shoppers, such as working in the online pickup department or as pharmacy technicians.The goal is to get workers out of the backrooms and onto the selling floor where they can interact more closely with customers, Lundberg said.