Yo, Philly in the News

• There's good news and bad news for local victims of sex crimes by the clergy. A judge threw out a lawsuit against the Philadelphia Archdiocese because he said the conduct alleged did not qualify as racketeering. But new protections for victims of sex abuse should soon be signed into law by Governor Rendell.
• Cartoonist for the Daily News Signe Wilkinson will appear in the Library of Congress' 2007 "Women Who Dare" desk calendar. Wilkinson was the first woman to win a Pulitzer prize for cartooning.
• Ralph Berarducci, owner of the Portofino Restaurant on Walnut near 12th, is opening the doors of the restaurant to the poor and homeless today, from 1PM to 6PM, for a free Thanksgiving dinner.
• Philly-based Urban Outfitters is offering a sadly locally appropriate Christmas ornament in their stores this year: a glittering black handgun.
• Philly's 87th annual Thanksgiving Day parade should be beginning right about now at 20th and Market. You can watch it live from 8:30AM to noon on 6 ABC.
• The city showed its appreciation on Tuesday for the National League's Most Valuable Player, our own Ryan Howard, in a ceremony wherein he was presented with a Liberty Bell statue and a mayoral proclamation. Unfortunately, the Mayor had a bit of a hard time getting the poor man's name right.

Photo of Ryan, not Ron, Howard by Flickr user kodakjack3