Yo, Philly in the News

• Philadelphia politicians corrupt? A lot of potential jurors at the Mariano trial sure think so.
• Looks like the region's flu season for this year is going to be a mild one, but the CDC warns it's not over yet.
• Fifteen inmates and three guards at the House of Correction in the Northeast (the city's oldest prison) were hurt last Friday when the ceiling of one of the facility's 14 shower rooms collapsed. To make matters worse, three other shower rooms with similar wear and tear to their ceilings also had to be closed, so now about 460 inmates will have to shower in the remaining 10 shower rooms, which, besides being kind of nasty, will create a security problem for the officers there.
• Former U.S. Rep. Joseph Hoeffel is planning on running for lieutenant governor, despite the fact that Governor Rendell has repeatedly promised to endorse a different candidate (incumbent Catherine Baker Knoll). Other Democratic candidates for the office include Valerie McDonald Roberts, who would be "the first African American woman elected to statewide office in Pennsylvania," and Harrisburg activist Gene Stilp. Whoever gets the post will help Rendell go up against America's latest popular, politically-inexperienced celebrity candidate - Republican and former Pittsburgh Steeler Lynn Swann (pictured above) - in the next race for Governor. Oh boy.
• For you commuters out there, remember, next Tuesday and for the next eight months they'll be resurfacing the Blue Route! The work will be going on on "I-476 from just south of Route 3 to the Schuylkill Expressway, and on a half-mile segment of I-76 in Montgomery County," and luckily it will mostly be happening on nights and weekends. However, from March 16th until around April 6th, a section of the road south of Route 30 will be reduced, 24/7, to two lanes in both directions. PennDot assistant traffic engineer Manny Anastasiadis cautions you to allow an extra 30 minutes. Ouch. Good luck with that.
• As part of an attempt to decrease gun violence in Philly, state Rep. Dwight Evans is planning to introduce legislation that would allow the city to create its own gun laws. It's unclear what kind of support the bill would get, but it is clear that if it's passed, Evans would immediately introduce tough local gun-control laws.
• And finally: ah, how quickly we forget.

Image Credit: CBS News