Maybe you’ve set out this year to exercise more, lose weight, save money, quit smoking, lead a less stressful life or do something else. While resolutions typically are a personal thing, what should Philadelphia’s resolutions be? Mayor Michael Nutter and City Council probably have their own ideas for Philly in 2009. But what do you [...]

By Ben Bradlow
Amid the hum of skateboard wheels against the concrete of Love Park, about 30 gay activists gathered in the frigid cold on Saturday evening. As one opposite-sex couple tentatively made their way through “We Shall Overcome” and “If I Had a Hammer,” others joined in, quickly becoming confident in the spirit of the [...]

President-elect Barack Obama is already under the spotlight as he tries to cope with the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. But walk by any curbside clothing stand in Philadelphia and you are likely to see one positive economic from an Obama presidency that hasn’t even begun yet. The Obama image is [...]

The cold did not keep away 200 library protesters this afternoon for a rally at the Free Library’s Central Branch. Philadelphia City Council members, elected state officials from the city, activists and residents bundled up and pledged to reverse Mayor Michael Nutter’s decision to shut down 11 neighborhood branches at the end of this month. Many protesters expressed anger towards Nutter, including Philadelphia Student Union [...]

It looks like the brief and undistinguished judicial career of Willie Singletary may soon be over.
The state group that oversees judicial conduct recently chastised Judge Singletary for his pitch to bikers in 2007, urging them to pony up $20 for his campaign for Philadelphia Traffic Court.  In so many words, Singletary said: You help me [...]

President-elect Barack Obama summoned the nation’s governors to Independence Hall today to talk about how to pull our nation out of a recession. With 48 governors in attendance, he asked for their input to help shape his economic recovery plan, which he hopes to enact soon after being sworn in on January 20th.  Some of [...]

 By Tom Ferrick
 After a few weeks of getting beat up over city budget cuts that target libraries, fire stations and pools, the Nutter administration has finally gotten its mantra down.
What people must realize, Mayor Nutter has said, is that many of these facilities and services were created for a city of 2 million.  Today, we [...]

The Mayor’s office has announced the passing of Carol Ann Campbell, who was a major power broker in Philadelphia politics. She wielded tremendous influence as a ward leader and secretary of Philadelphia’s Democratic Party.
She was appointed to the fourth district city council seat in 2006 but lost her primary election battle in 2007 to Curtis [...]

By Tom Ferrick
The weirdest thing about the debate over the budget cuts proposed by Mayor Nutter is not what is being talked about, but what is not.
The public debate is all about closing libraries and reducing the number of fire trucks.
There is no talk - zero, zilch, nada - about what may turn out to [...]

It’s been awhile since former Philadelphia Mayor John Street has done any public events. He left office in January and was doing some teaching at Temple University.  But apart from that, and possibly a sighting at an AT&T store, he really hasn’t been seen much. So I was surprised when Brett Mandel from Philadelphia Forward [...]