Yo, Philly in the News

Much to our surprise, the world actually continued turning this week, and things kept happening! Here's some of the latest stuff that's been going down in Philly and the surrounding area.

• A small group of men entered a home in Kingsessing by pretending to be utility workers. They proceeded to tie up the two women they found there and ransack the house. However, they were unable to find any cash, and ran away. The descriptions are pretty vague and useless - two black men, one in his 20s, the other in his 30s, and a third man in blue overalls - but if you know anything, call 215-686-3183.
• This past Tuesday one student arrived at Springfield High School in Montgomery County with a loaded AK-47-type rifle, shot up the walls, and then killed himself with the final bullet. It's believed that he wanted to punish the school for his low grades, and his parents for taking away his extracurricular activities.
• According to Philly's school district chief Paul Vallas, the public schools are becoming safer, with an 11% decline in serious incidents over last year so far. But there are also a lot more guns.
• Hey, the PA Convention Center Authority board has finally put together a design for the long-awaited expansion of the Convention Center that doesn't exceed their $700 million budget. But that doesn't mean they're breaking ground any time soon - the project won't even be ready for bids until March.
• Has politics gotten so dirty in this city that supporters of rival candidates have resorted to physical violence? Could be! But hey, what's a little bitch slap between friends?
• Here's a weird one for you: Wednesday afternoon the Reading area experienced a minor earthquake (magnitude 2.5). Thankfully, there were no reported injuries or damage as a result.
• Philly cabbies were handed another new rule they didn't like - officials told them only cabs equipped with credit card machines could work the airport - and responded by striking and protesting for an hour Wednesday night.
• Oh no! As editor Star sort of predicted back in September, Philly has followed New York's lead and proposed legislation that would ban trans fats from Philly restaurants! On the one hand, this is good news, as less trans fat would be good for our bodies and our hearts. But on the other hand...we like our trans fat! It's tasty!
• Who wants "Philadelphia River City," a gigantic and expensive series of buildings along the Schuylkill in Center City that would include 10 enormous towers? Well, nobody, apparently.
• We felt mildly okay when they were blaming green onions for the E. coli outbreaks at various area Taco Bell restaurants, because we don't like green onions and don't eat them. But now they're blaming the lettuce, and that's just bad. Most Taco Bells have reopened now, but they're apparently still not serving green onions as a precaution, and have switched suppliers for their lettuce. Yeah, we still think we'll avoid making a run for the border any time soon.

Image Credit: Flickr user Juan23