The Philadelphia City Council voted down a plan to ban plastic bags. This means stores can continued to offer shoppers the choice of plastic or paper bags. Heard in the Hall reports that one of the plan’s sponsors was so mad at Shoprite’s lobbying effort that helped kill the bill that he will urge a [...]

If you call a politician corrupt, can you be sued for defamation? Calling all attorneys out there. We need your pro bono advice.
On Monday, Philadelphia City Councilman Frank DiCicco’s lawyer/son warned in a letter to anti casino activist Jethro Heiko that he could be sued for defamation of character for comments he made on the [...]

Judge Albert W. Sheppard of the Court of Common Pleas has ordered the City of Philadelphia to pay the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team $5 million for lost revenues from a canceled 2001 preseason game.
This follows a separate ruling that orders the Eagles to pay the city $8 million costs related with the now demolished Veterans [...]

A judge yesterday denied fomer state Senator Vince Fumo’s request for a delay in sentencing. Prosecutors say the 66 year old  he could face anywhere from 21-27 years in prison.  Fumo’s attorneys will argue for less time and say they needed more time to prepare their arguments.
Fumo was one the most powerful politicians in Pennsylvania [...]

SEPTA has removed some very funny signs that pranksters placed in subway cars. The signs were designed to look like a message to riders from SEPTA management. Philebrity has a photo of the sign and the whole message which is pretty lengthy.  Go over there to see the full message. But here’s a quick excerpt.
The [...]

When I applied for a job at a Pizza Hut, It was never put in writing that I might have to stand on my feet for hours, pick up pizza crust under the tables, or carry sizzling hot food. All this was just a given.
But for Foxwoods casino, the human resources department wants to make [...]

Heard in the Hall reports that Severino Verna passed away over the weekend at the age of 78. He had suffered from a stroke three years ago. This thursday is City Council’s last meeting before the summer break.  Majority Leader Marian Tasco will fill in for the Council president for this session.  Here’s an excerpt [...]

Update: 7/16/09 - I called over to the Mayor’s Office to see if this was ever passed. Sure, enough, Mayor Nutter signed the bill into law on June 24.
fyi: 6/16/09 - 5:01 p.m. Police say a woman riding her bicycle (with her dog in a backpack) was hit by a taxicab early this morning [...]

Next month, the State of Indiana will outlaw “sham retirements” in which a public employee will retire for a short period and then return to work. This practice allows the workers to begin collecting their monthly pension and get their full salary. Here’s an excerpt from The Times newspaper in Munster, Indiana.
A new state law, [...]

The merits and pitfalls of electing judges is a constant source of debate among Pennsylvanians, especially at this time of the year. In this week’s Center Square, WHYY’s Chris Satullo remarks that there is plenty of room for a more equitable approach to the workings of our judicial system.
Listen:
[Audio clip: view full post to [...]