Yo, Philly in the News

• Philly.com has a couple of big articles about the illegal drug trade in Philly: one focusing on the dealers and how they're getting younger all the time (as young as 10, in fact) and another focusing more on narcotics officers, and the fact that city cops have seized more drugs in 2006 than in any other year (which is... good... we guess).
• The recent death of President Gerald Ford has Philly.com and Philadelphia Will Do thinking back on Mr. Ford's local connections.
• 43-year-old Michael Orlando became one of the latest victims of Philly's gun violence on Saturday night when he was shot on Stevens Street near Farnsworth in the Northeast while trying to deliver pizzas. What makes the story even more painful and heartbreaking is that he was only working that night to make some extra money so he could buy his grandchildren Christmas presents. The family is offering a reward for information leading to the capture of Orlando's killer, so call police at 215-686-3334 or 215-686-3335 if you know anything.
• On Tuesday, Governor Rendell, state Senator Fumo, and state Representative Dwight Evans announced a $500,000 state grant program to help Pennsylvanians deal with their high winter heating bills. For more information, visit StayWarmPA.com or call 866-550-4355.
• The city officially appealed a Common Pleas Court judge's ruling which threw out the city's campaign-finance law, which means there's an automatic stay on said ruling, and the law will go back into effect for now.
• A Philly paramedic-in-training is claiming that she was beaten, taunted, and stuck with a needle by the medics who were training her. She says they were doing it so she would remember not to make the same mistakes again. Sometimes we really worry about the human race.
• Meanwhile, the Mummers are getting ready for their annual parade - and, we assume, for Mummers Fest, a free event with crafts, an exhibit, and behind-the-scenes tours that's taking place Friday through Sunday at the Convention Center.

Image Credit: Flickr user Oxygen Destroyer