Yo, Philly in the News

• A new report says Pennsylvania does a bad job at helping people through the last stages of their lives, and suggests some possible improvements to end-of-life care in our state.
• Bees across the nation, including in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, have been dying at alarming rates and no one knows why - although possibilities include a virus, a fungal pathogen, or new pesticides that could be affecting the insects' ability to find their way home. PA's apple harvest (the fourth-largest in the nation) and NJ's cranberries and blueberries, along with many other crops elsewhere, could begin to suffer if the bees continue to die off.
• The Daily News asked the five current mayoral candidates how they would fix "chronic under-staffing at the city's nine Neighborhood Health Centers." Here's how they all answered - or didn't answer, as the case may be.
• Beware, those who like to mix their risks: large portions of AC casinos may soon be non-smoking only.
• Philly cops have made a big drug bust, amounting to 7 arrests, $1.5 million in drugs, four handguns, and an uzi. In the process, they uncovered "a Cambodian-run drug ring with links to Canada." It's a weird and sordid story, the most fascinating bit being this:

During the investigation, a woman from Montreal handed over 30,000 Ecstacy pills to undercover officers in the parking lot of a Roosevelt Boulevard motel while her husband and three children waited in their room, unaware this was the purpose of their trip, police said.

Photo of a rare and genuine Philly bee by Flickr user nevrlndtink1226