Yo, Philly in the News

• The Philadelphia Inquirer has some more details about the madness that went down at West Philly High on Monday, as well as fall-out over the removal of the school's principal last week. Meanwhile, West Philly High isn't the only Philadelphia school experiencing violence and insanity; the Abigail Vare Public School on Moyamensing Avenue and Morris Street in South Philly went into lockdown Monday afternoon after a shooting occurred at a basketball court across the street. A young man was critically injured in the shooting, which apparently was sparked by a foul during a game. It's these kinds of things that are probably contributing to the fact that the School District of Philadelphia is estimated to shrink by 6,000 students next year.
• In yet more local school news, the faculty and staff at the Community College of Philadelphia went on strike yesterday morning, as threatened, when an agreement could not be reached on their new contract.
• According to new data from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission, between 2000 and 2005 vehicle traffic in Center City decreased and public transportation ridership increased. It's the first time this has happened in the city for almost 50 years. A large factor could be the higher gas prices in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Or maybe SEPTA is just that good. Ha!
• Looks like Milton might not get a chance to take a shot at Bob Brady, as Tom Knox's people have already filed a legal challenge to Brady's candidacy, and Dwight Evans is planning on filing his own. It all has to do with the fact that Brady forgot to list his city pension as income on his filing papers, just the kind of technicality over which many candidates before him have been knocked out of the race. We'll definitely have to keep an eye on how this develops.
• Speaking of the mayoral race, the candidates might want to start catering to a new demographic: the homeless. "The city-based Vote for Homes Coalition canvassed homeless shelters and soup kitchens yesterday, registering 151 homeless and low-income adults to vote in the primary, which includes the mayoral and council races." The voter registration drive will continue through May. Sounds like a great way of putting at least a small amount of power into the hands of those who normally have none.
• A man working on the ice cream machine at a Friendly's in Northeast Philadelphia was killed yesterday when the machine exploded. Thankfully, no one else was injured.
• In the seriously f'ed up department: Yesterday afternoon, a man described as in his mid-50s boarded the SEPTA 33 bus at 21st and Diamond and immediately targeted a 45-year-old man also riding the bus. He shot the man twice in the head, told someone the guy was after him and that's why he'd done it, then jumped off the bus and, according to one witness, boarded another one. To make matters worse, after the man left, the 30 some passengers on the bus all tried to get out the emergency exit at once, trampling a 12-year-old girl in the process (though thankfully her injuries are not life threatening). Obviously police are on the look-out for the shooter. UPDATE: An article in today's Daily News has a lot more info about this incident. (Via Editor Jill)

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