"A two-alarm fire tore through an eastern Pennsylvania home late Saturday, killing three children only hours after a birthday celebration." Lane closures and traffic restrictions. "A Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury this morning begins hearing testimony in the murder trial of Hakim Bey, an alleged member of a violent South Philadelphia drug gang." Four men were hospitalized—three in critical condition—after several shootings across the city last night. Contract negotiations are getting testy between the......

We bring you the buzz in the 215 blogs this week. Rubber Hose celebrated rats with wings. We think they're sort of pretty, especially the ones that look like an oil spill on asphalt. Missing kittens and gay marriage. Do the two have anything in common? Not really, but this blog entry from Crushing Krisis resonated with this Phillyist nonetheless. Unsatisfied with an email from Arlen Specter, Brendan Calling called the Senator's office demanding answers.......

Hey, Greensgrow, a North Philly urban farm, got profiled in a New York Times article! Go them! (Via Dexter) A plan made public yesterday reveals the city prisons commissioner's strategies to reduce prison overcrowding, fight recidivism, and improve prison-staff morale. Meanwhile, an as yet unreleased study of the Philadelphia prison system reveals that recidivism has less to do with prison overcrowding than first-time offenders. "A member of the Eagles Pep Band will be walking 90......

"A man who was being evicted from his apartment in Yeadon, Delaware County, yesterday pulled a gun and shot the constable who served the eviction notice and the apartment manager, police said. The gunman fled into Southwest Philadelphia and hid in a rowhouse at 1846 Conestoga St, but a host of cops tracked him down and arrested him as he attempted to get away out the back door." The wounded men were listed in critical......

We're all out of new ways to praise Friday. It's been a long week and we're just glad we survived. THE ORIGINAL 23RD STREET ARMORY ANTIQUES SHOW We sent the ladies over to the Armory last week, but this one is for everyone who likes a quality antique. This event will end at 6 but if you work in the vicinity of 23rd and Market, you should leave work early because you deserve it.......

The president and board chairman of the city-funded nonprofit Philadelphia Safe and Sound testified yesterday that they were forced by Mayor Street and his senior aides to spend an extra $21 million that they knew did not exist in the city budget. It's those expenditures that have forced Safe and Sound to cancel dozens of programs in recent weeks. You can find copies of Safe and Sound's testimony online here and here. Insiders say......

Around 2AM yesterday, Joseph Kelly Sr. was driving along the Vine Street Expressway when he saw a homeless man in a wheelchair marooned on the median. He pulled over and crossed three lanes on foot to try to help the man across the street. As one car slowed down to let them pass, another struck that vehicle and then ran into Kelly and the other man, killing them both. A 17-year-old male knocked on the......

The Daily News takes a closer look at one of the programs that Philadelphia Safe and Sound will have to shut down, thanks to Nutter's budget cuts: the anti-truancy program. Meanwhile, the Inquirer takes a closer look at a federal lawsuit filed by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, implicating Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, a Bush cabinet member. A profile of Phyllis Beck and Alice Beck Dubow, the first mother-daughter judges in the......

I’m filling in for Ross this week with Asshole of the Week, and the honorable fossilized simpleton from Pennsylvania, Arlen Specter, is my selection for this prestigious award. This camera-ready attention whore, who is so desperate for air time that he calls up 610-WIP every Monday morning and eagerly reveals how little he knows about Philadelphia sports while the majority of the hosts' mics are turned off in order to stifle their stupefied laughter,......

John Stewart mentions the #1 sports mascot in the country at the end of this video. How? You'll just have to wait and see.......

The Inquirer has a nice little article (and a video) about the super-cool Girls Rock Philly day camp, which is at Girard College this week. Apparently every summer Senator Arlen Specter likes to visit all 67 counties in Pennsylvania and have a little Q&A session. Here's how the trip's going this year. Another annual ritual in PA is a SEPTA bus tour for Philly assistant DAs of some high crime city neighborhoods. This year......

Senators Arlen Specter and Robert Casey Jr. held a joint hearing on Mentoring and Community Based Solutions to Delinquency and Youth Violence in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center on Monday. The Inquirer article talks about the hearing in general and how the community leaders there decided mentoring is indeed a good short-term solution for preventing crime. Meanwhile, the Daily News article focuses on what school district head Paul Vallas had to say at......

Or, at least, not putting up any new ones for now. In a victory for Philadelphians and all Americans, on Friday the National Park Service announced that a proposal to enclose Independence Hall within a security fence has been scrapped [Philly.com]. If realized, the plan would have cut Independence Square in half with a six-foot tall black iron barricade, hypocritically restricting access to one of the world's most important symbols of freedom. After releasing the......

- Senator Arlen Specter is taking the federal administration to task for leaving Congress out of the loop - and suggesting that a "constitutional confrontation" is on the horizon. (Hey, who needs both checks and balances anyway?) In a letter to Dick Cheney, Specter allegedly makes note of recent domestic spying activity and a congressional raid by the FBI. Phillyist finds it refreshing that our elected officials are protecting our rights in the battle......

Time magazine has put together lists of the ten best and five worst US Senators, and there are Philly connections for folks on both lists! Our own Arlen Specter made the best list, getting cited for his "principled contrarianism," which is a great phrase, and is really what we look for in our public figures. Meanwhile, Phillies Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Bunning of Kentucky got a spot on the worst list. How about......

13-year-old Naiym Muhammed is being charged as an adult in the Sunday fire in Germantown that killed a 17-year-old girl and critically injured her mother. The charges against Muhammed include murder, arson, conspiracy. More charges are expected. Police say the fire was set in retribution over a small debt.Some local Dems are finding it a little harder to support Bob Casey, Jr. in the up-coming primary. Both Casey and PA Governor Ed Rendell announced their......

It would appear that Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is trying to get the best Supreme Court nominee possible. Oh, he's not doing his best for his constituents -- it's for his fellow Senators. The Senate Judiciary Committee chairman sent Supreme Court nominee John Roberts a letter yesterday complaining that "lawmakers are irate about the court's 'disrespectful statements about Congress' competence' and by its interference with congressional power." Phillyist isn't aware of Supreme Court Justices being......

Looks like Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter is the voice of sanity among Republicans when it comes to the Supreme Court and the replacement of the recently retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. And as chair of the Senate Judicial Committee, his words likely have some sway. In these times when the conservative Republicans who seem to run the show have nearly demanded that President Bush nominate former Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore (you know, the wacky......

Leave it to Governor Ed Rendell to make history! Big Ed has gotten all crafty to fight the closure of a Philadelphia-area naval base. Specifically, Rendell (who is being joined by Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum) is suing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, citing the "militia clause" of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is said to be the first of its kind. Oh Ed, you give us the vapors!......