Yo, Philly in the News

• 527 groups, "nicknamed for the section of the tax code that authorizes them.... can raise as much as they want as long as they do not coordinate their efforts with a candidate." However, two such groups - Working People for Truth and the Economic Justice Coalition for Truth - have sprung up which seem to have been created for no other reason than to attack Tom Knox. One of them has strong connections to candidate Bob Brady, but neither group has said yet who's paying their bills. 6ABC and NBC10 are now refusing to run anti-Knox ads created by the Economic Justice group. Ah, politics!
• While we're on the subject, check out the Inquirer's run-down of a recent mayoral forum. And guess who else is going after Tom Knox now? Mayoral candidates who are not Tom Knox have signed a pledge to support public financing of future Philadelphia campaigns.
• In other hot political news, the City Council just unanimously passed eight long-delayed gun control bills, despite the fact that currently Philly does not have the right to pass its own gun laws. So essentially, they're picking a fight with Harrisburg. Oh, boy, a showdown! This should be interesting.
• Some more info on that high school bus crash on the PA Turnpike the other day. Turns out the bus crashed into the truck as the truck was pulling back out onto the Turnpike from the shoulder. The bus driver was critically injured, but pretty much everyone else involved had only minor injuries, if any. The students are back home this morning.
• Montgomery County DA Bruce L. Castor Jr. says, according to the Inquirer, that "increasingly sophisticated and aggressive Mexican drug cartels are expanding in Southeastern Pennsylvania, flooding the market with high-grade cocaine at low prices." Great, just what we need in our violence-plagued city - more drug gangs!
• Apparently they get porn on the Disney Channel in New Jersey. No fair!

Image Credit: Flickr user Jeff Kubina