Have you been outside yet? It's raining Mondays! BASEBALL: THE MELTING POT It's as good a day as any to discuss some baseball. The National Constitution Center will host this event, emceed by Jayson Stark and including speakers on topics including the Negro Leagues and Japanese baseball. With the summer creeping up on us, it's not a bad idea to look back at the beginnings of a sport that has displayed many of the......

Most estimates put the number of illegal immigrants in this country at around 5 million. Some view this fact as evidence that illegal immigration is a struggle akin to the civil rights movement of the 1950s. That may sound a bit far-fetched, but in many ways the struggle is similar. We face a public that is in many parts of the nation exceptionally hostile to any illegal immigrants, regardless of their plight. Additionally, the federal......

Mid-January means Martin Luther King Day, which means it’s time to live that dream of yours (or perhaps just a resolution) and volunteer in our fine city. The 13th Annual MLK National Day of Service will be celebrated this weekend around the region. The day grew out of national legislation aiming to create a day of citizen action in honor of Dr. King’s work. It’s still growing, as more and more folks decide to put......

One of the suspects in the planned attack on Fort Dix applied to be a Philadelphia police officer in April, but luckily he didn't get very far in the procedure, as he was ineligible for various reasons. Remember that story about some of the Penn State football players getting into a fight? Well, the law hasn't sorted out what exact punishments they'll receive yet, but Joe Pa has. Good old Joe Pa. (Via Jill,......

I have a serious literary crush on Tony Kushner. Blame Angels in America (yeah, both parts). So naturally, when I heard a few years ago that Tony Kushner had collaborated with composer Jeanine Tesori on a musical, I was intrigued. But I didn't catch it on Broadway, and then... well, embarrassingly enough, I just kind of forgot about the play until the Arden announced it as part of its 2006-2007 season. But then my......

This week’s quote comes from Godspell, the play which Barnstormers Theater will be producing very soon. The whole exchange goes like this: Jesus: Did I ever tell you I used to read feet? Jeffrey: You used to... what? Jesus: Some people read palms or tea leaves. I read feet. Look what it says! [looks at Jeffrey's foot] Jesus: Ahh, it says "Rejoice." Jeffrey: [looking at his foot] It says “Keds.” Now, on with the listings!......

The Inquirer has more on what Prince Charles will be doing on his visit to the city next weekend. The police are killing a lot of people this year, and the Inquirer is looking into why. Weirdly enough, the inspectors found no mechanical problems in the Pennsbury runaway bus. Meanwhile, the girl who was critically injured in that accident has had most of her left leg removed due to an infection, and as of Sunday......

In response to the growing violence problem in our fair metropolis, some folks have proposed Philly's men and women in blue institute a "stop-and-frisk" practice, wherein they would, well, stop and frisk individuals they suspect of potentially carrying illegal weapons. In the Inquirer article from which Phillyist learned that this crime deterrent strategy is under deliberation, a video clerk from Kingsessing said he would support the measure, saying, ""If you've got nothing to be guilty......

Here's a peek at what you might've missed on the Gothamist network since Friday: One thing we love about San Francisco is how it manages to be a city about sex even when it's not. Accidental sexual reference for the month comes from the Neighborhood Emergency Response Team and the San Francisco Fire Department. February has been dubbed "Light My Fire and Safely Put It Out" month. (SFist) South By Southwest is part of the......

Pennsylvania is widely known as the Quaker State. In an obvious homage to the Quakers who came here to flee persecution, Pennsylvania lawmakers plan to introduce a state constitutional marriage amendment next week. The amendment would define marriage as being only between one woman and one man, as well as prevent recognition from same sex marriages from other states and, if we're not mistaken, commonlaw marraige would be outlawed. Some Pennsylvania residents are not......

And all of a sudden we're deliriously happy that John Timoney is the former Philadelphia police chief. Timoney and his force have announced a new police initiative in Miami to discourage terrorists - "random, high-profile security operations." We can just imagine...a quiet afternoon spent shopping in Liberty Place for the holidays all of a sudden turns into a surreal lockdown, wherein angsty Philly shoppers are surrounded by SWAT team members with giant guns, forced to......

Philly is a liberal town. If President George W. Bush picks a local judge to nominate for Supreme Court justice, that should be a good thing, right? Alas, no -- President Bush managed to find Philadelphia's most extreme Right Wing judge, Samuel Alito, to nominate. He's so conservative that his nickname is 'Scalito', a reference to his Antonin Scalia-like tendencies. So what do we know about Judge Alito? Alito is a Jersey boy and is......