Yo, Philly in the News

• Apparently a lot of cops, already unhappy with Police Commissioner Sylvester M. Johnson's selection of Kimberly Byrd as his chief of staff, are now even more pissed that he's changed her title to executive officer of the department, even though he insists it's not a promotion, and will involve no increase in pay, just an increase in duties. Johnson has been getting a lot of flak lately, for this and other decisions, on Domelights.com, an internet forum for active and retired Philadelphia police officers. "'They're the most idiotic people in the world,' Johnson said of the forum. Then added: 'I'm not saying all of them.'" Heh. Don't worry, Johnson; anybody who's ever been on a forum of any kind knows exactly what you mean.
• John S. Carter, the former president of the Independence Seaport Museum, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges that he misused more than $1 million of the museum's money to fund his own lavish lifestyle.
• From 3 to 6PM today folks are invited to bring Scrabble sets to Bellevue Gourmet Food Court at 200 S. Broad St. and play against city school students as part of an event to commemorate the end of "Philly Plays Scrabble, a year-long effort to promote the word game as an after-school activity in the city."
• Interested to see exactly how they're going to spend those $1 billion connecting I-95 and the PA Turnpike? Show up at one of the open houses in Bucks County today or tomorrow and you can get a look at the plans. For specific info about places and times, click through.
• Yesterday morning a woman wearing gold-rim glasses and dressed in Muslim clothing stole $700 from the Wachovia Bank on the 1200 block of East Hunting Park Avenue in the Juniata Park section of the city. She then fled on foot. Huh. $700 seems like a pretty crummy take. Hardly worth the effort!
• Bill Cosby led a march against violence through the streets of Philly yesterday, and spoke about how parents should treat their children with love, respect, and discipline. He also urged people to "stop waiting for Jesus to come," and to stand up and do something for themselves.
• Speaking of violence in the city, FBI statistics released yesterday reveal that in 2006 Philadelphia had the highest murder rate amongst the nation's ten largest cities. Also, "violent crime and property crime grew at a rate that exceeded the national average." So, good news all around, then!

Image Credit: Flickr user gary.fotu