Michael has officially arrived in Philadelphia: His caricature now appears on the wall of The Palm restaurant. Michael made the best decision of his administration thusfar this week: Billy Penn will not be donning Phillies gear for the World Series. The Philadelphia School District, with Michael's encouragement, is going to begin expelling the most violent students in the city's schools. It begs the question, what are these delinquents now going to be doing between the......

The Daily News and the Inquirer both have more detail on the suspect arrested in that October 5th road rage shooting. The Daily News story reveals the man is so upset over what happened, he attempted suicide. Someone sent a threatening letter containing a suspicious substance to Barack Obama's South Philadelphia campaign office at 15th and Christian streets. The office was evacuated, but initial tests determined the substance was brown sugar. Meanwhile, McCain was......

People, the Phillies are just one win away from the World Series. That is crazy. The Philadelphia School District is suffering from a high number of teacher vacancies, which experts say points to systemic problems in the hiring process. Mark Wahlberg is in town with Ludacris pitching their new film Max Payne, and the Inquirer takes the opportunity to explain why Wahlberg is an honorary Philadelphian. The Parkway Council Foundation and the Center City......

Yesterday former skinhead Thomas Gibison was sentenced to up to 25 years in prison by a Common Pleas Court judge for conspiring to commit a racial killing more than two decades ago. A Philadelphia police officer was responding to a call to assist another officer around 1AM this morning when his police car collided with another car at a downtown intersection. The officer is listed in critical condition, but his prognosis is good. Yesterday, the......

Yesterday afternoon in LOVE Park, two homeless women got into a fight over a homeless man's affections which ended in one woman stabbing the other to death. Perhaps not surprisingly, Mayor Nutter's recent press conference in which he angrily criticized DHS left some workers upset. He spent yesterday trying to placate them in a series of closed-door meetings. "A veteran Philadelphia-area Roman Catholic priest's transfer from Florida to Bucks County has been halted after......

On the surface, it sounds like good news that increased police patrols have significantly cut down on the number of homeless people in Rittenhouse Park. But then you have to wonder: where did they go? People are driving less, but rush hour still sucks, according to the Inquirer. Gee, thanks. Local rats are suffering hypertension due to air pollution. And let's not even get started on the people... A 44-pound cat was found wandering the......

We know the Dalai Lama's visit to the city wasn't this week, but the insert video to the right was only posted on YouTube a couple days ago, and we find it strangely amusing, so there you have it. It's now official: Michael's ethical quandaries are a complete and utter joke compared to those of former Mayor Street. This week's near-scandal for Michael was when Stephen Starr tried to pick up Michael's tab when the......

The Swan Day Spa in wealthy Berwyn on the Main Line was a front for a brothel, and the three people who ran it were arrested in Nevada and Pennsylvania yesterday. Vandals pushed over more than 200 headstones at a historic African American cemetery in Collingdale, including the stone of famed Philadelphia civil-rights activist Octavius V. Catto. A state trooper and member of a collision/accident-reconstruction team in Philadelphia was arrested for allegedly using his state-issued......

Oh boy, just look at all the articles about the Larry Mendte case. Apparently Mendte hacked into the email of Alycia Lane 537 times in 146 days, and did so wherever he was around the clock, from home, his desk at work, his Shore home in Ocean City, and even the Union League. He then passed on the information he obtained to a Philadelphia Daily News gossip columnist, in order to undermine Lane's ongoing......

Today's Inquirer has an interesting and even-handed story about the homeless of Rittenhouse Square. There are many different opinions on the subject, but they can generally be classified into two categories: kick them out or leave them be. Take our poll and let us know what you think about the homeless in Rittenhouse and other public areas in the city, then leave us a comment explaining your thoughts. Results will be published at the end......

The Phlash Center City trolley will have special hours this Friday and Saturday to accommodate Independence Day celebrations. The Phlash will operate until 7PM on Friday and until 11PM on Saturday. (Via RJ) The Inquirer tells the story of how a plan to convert an empty convent in Germantown into apartments for formerly homeless men went south, in order to underscore the problems Mayor Nutter is likely to face with his initiative to fight......

As promised, yesterday Mayor Nutter announced his plan to combat homelessness. Click through for the details. The 14-year-old Lansdowne boy accused of stabbing his older brother to death over a video game has admitted to voluntary manslaughter. The judge will determine his sentence at a hearing on June 5th; he faces a maximum of seven years of supervision until he reaches age 21. The polo team from the acclaimed equestrian program on Chamounix Drive in......

Soaring gas prices are leading to increased ridership on local public transportation services like SEPTA, which just passed a $1.1 billion budget for 2009 that includes major upgrades to handle all those new riders. Because of course, fuel costs are increasing for SEPTA, too. The Philadelphia chapter of the Boy Scouts sued the city in federal court late Friday to prevent being evicted from its city-owned headquarters or being charged $200,000 a year in rent.......

Phillyist, like untold thousands in the Delaware Valley, resolved to be more active this year. If you’re one of those thousands and are looking for a place to start, consider combining it with that other favorite resolution, volunteering in the community. Back On My Feet running club lets you do just that: you’ll run in Center City with homeless men from local shelters. It may seem odd at first glance, but the non-profit is committed......

The Philadelphia Inquirer takes a look at how yesterday's shocking assassination of Benazir Bhutto is affecting Pakistani Americans living in the Philadelphia area. After a three month pause, a grand jury resumed its investigation yesterday into wealthy businessman, and owner of the Mount Airy Casino Resort, Louis A. DeNaples. DeNaples is suspected of lying to the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board about his connections to organized crime. DeNaples' brother Eugene, a former state gambling investigator, showed......

Every weekday of December (except for December 25, that is), Phillyist will be counting down to 2008 with our highlights from the past year and our predictions for the next. If you have a list you'd like to submit, let us know! 10. Alycia Lane moving to New York City 'kay thanks, bye! 9. Less extreme weather Give us a friggin' break, eh? 8. Trans fat in our cannoli Please, don't take it away! We......

A proposed set of rules now circulating among City Council members would restore the City Council President's authority to make decisions without the approval of Council's majority leader, an authority the president hasn't had for the last four years. "The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) will announce this afternoon how much Philadelphia and other cities will get in grants to help the homeless." The grants are awarded on a competitive basis,......