Yo, Philly in the News

• The son-in-law of the late Frank Rizzo pleaded guilty Wednesday, along with his brother, to bookmaking and conspiracy in Montgomery County Court. The brothers had a sports-gambling operation that took bets through a web site. What led the police to discover the operation? An increase in beatings (you know, the "where's my f'ing money?!" kind of beatings)!
• The state House of Representatives is holding a special session on violence today, and local anti-violence activists will be rallying in support of tougher gun laws, but experts say the chance of us getting new gun control legislation is slim. That's because it's mostly only city residents who care about such stuff at all - the rest of the state isn't interested. Not to mention the fact that many state legislators come from rural, pro-hunting communities where it's not even an issue. D'oh.
• The Daily News is highlighting another cool new high school in Philly: the Science Leadership Academy at 22nd and Arch. The uniforms (which haven't arrived yet) will be white lab coats. Every student gets an Apple iBook G4 lap top computer. Every Wednesday they take a trip to the Franklin Institute to work with the faculty there for a few hours. The students even get a lot of input into what they get to do - they come up with their own lines of inquiry, their own projects. Neat!
• We don't know about you, but we take the PATCO High-Speed Line into and out of Philly pretty darn often. So we were pretty tickled by this article, which explains that PATCO is considering providing a concierge at the Lindenwold station, and are gauging interest in such a service now. If you're puzzled as to what a concierge would do, exactly (we sure were), they would apparently run errands for commuters who are pressed for time - making appointments, sending out dry cleaning, ordering food, etc. Most of the commuters interviewed by the Inquirer weren't too thrilled by the idea, and pointed out that more basic services - like a bathroom, a soda machine, or a coffee shop - would be a lot more welcome. Word!

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