Michael's been in office for a little over four months now, which apparently means it's time to start fund-raising for his reelection campaign. Michael appointed former Daily News columnist Mark Alan Hughes as the city's "sustainability director," charged with overseeing environmental initiatives. Michael's proposed budget easily cruised through a City Council committee, clearing the way for approval by the whole Council, which should come next week. Some people are accusing Michael of inappropriately excusing the......

The fourth annual commuter competition sponsored by the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia started this morning at 8AM. Three commuters race from 45th and Spruce to City Hall, one on a bike, one in a car, and one in a bus. The BCGP is obviously expecting the cyclist to win, thus proving that two wheels are better than four. Philly's own Bonnie and Clyde are the "poster children for identity theft," according to Federal authorities.......

We previously posted about SEPTA's celebration this past weekend of the 100th anniversary of service for 69th Street Terminal and the Route 100 Norristown High Speed Line. What we didn't realize is that SEPTA was more than a year late with its celebration. Fresh news on the Bonnie and Clyde front! We know you're excited. Looks like Jocelyn Kirsch is nearing a federal plea deal. Prison time is still likely, however, given the scope of......

It seems like all of the news this week surrounded the death of Philadelphia police sergeant Stephen Liczbinski. So it's only fitting—albeit sadly so—that this week's Asshole of the Week be tied into that story as well. As you've certainly read by now, in the wake of Liczbinski's death, Michael Nutter requested that all the flags in the city be lowered to half-staff. We've come to be familiar with, and even accept, this kind of......

Phillyist is thinking about running for mayor after hearing about all the swag Michael got during his campaign last year. Of course, Michael also had to give up his job and had no other source of income for the year, and we's gots bills to pay, so maybe running for a high office isn't a great idea for us. Michael opined that there was no connection between last Saturday's slaying of Philadelphia police sergeant Stephen......

Recent events over the border in New Jersey have brought to light the sad plight of some of the people who appear on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition—they're given a big amazing house and then can't afford to pay the taxes and utilities on it. In its typically overblown and melodramatic fashion, the Daily News takes a closer look at the phenomenon of cop-killers, in the wake of the murder of Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski. The Daily......

The five blasts from a Chinese-made SKS assault rifle that killed Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski on Saturday have reignited the debate on gun control laws. Eric DeShawn Floyd is still being sought in the crime, and a reward of more than $140,000 is being offered for information leading to his capture. A vigil was held yesterday to honor Liczbinski. And finally, Mayor Nutter requested that all flags in the city be lowered to half-staff during a......

Michael wished Philly rock radio mainstay WMMR a happy birthday. And we always figured he was more of a rap fan. Michael's crime-fighting plan entered a new phase, with the appointment of a number of commanders at the police department. Plus, over a hundred new officers will hit the streets this month, and another hundred will go into action in July. Speaking of crime-fighting, the mayor announced a partnership with the city's clergy that will......

You know what we're thinking about today? We're only 21 days away from The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull...Beware the link, the signature music plays right away, and loudly, too. NEW PARADISE LABORATORIES PRESENTS: PROM! That's right. PROM. Sort of like prom, but capitalized. New Paradise Laboratories, with the help of some Drexel students, is bringing their unique and experiential theater experience to Philadelphia at the Mandell Theater on Drexel's campus. New Paradise themselves described......

While touring Pennsylvania yesterday touting his health care plan, John McCain also got in a dig against Obama for failing to endorse the proposal, supported by himself and Clinton, to suspend the federal gasoline tax from Memorial Day to Labor Day. "City officials yesterday embraced the concept of bicycle sharing as a way to reduce traffic and pollution, but said many questions must be answered before Philadelphia becomes the first U.S. city to institute public......

We’ve often seen our relationship with SEPTA as a “loveless marriage,” too: The City and our beloved transportation system are promising a more cooperative relationship leading to “a vibrant, clean, safe and efficient transit system.” And they got a bridge they can sell ya, too. Police fear a serial robber who has hit 20 businesses is getting bolder, which may lead the armed bandit to become violent. The description is as vague as usual, but......

Beginning at 10AM today at City Hall, Philadelphia School District officials will present their proposed $2.28 billion budget to City Council. You can already see the budget and prepared testimony on the district's website. Members of the public will offer testimony on the budget tomorrow. The Inquirer investigates the lasting effects of the shooting death of 33-year-old Moroccan-born Ouadii Souliman. He was gunned down at the door Al Aqsa Mosque on the border between Northern......

Well, the Pennsylvania primary has (finally!) come and gone, and Michael's candidate, Hillary Clinton, carried the state, but not Philadelphia. But even though Barack Obama won the city, and even if Obama eventually wins the nomination, there probably won't be any egg on Michael's face. And the winner for pointless press conference of the week goes to...Michael's conference to encourage the city to support the Sixers and Flyers in their playoff runs. Oh, and the......

Philadelphia Safe and Sound, a local non-profit focused on improving the health, safety, and well-being of children, sent out a press release yesterday revealing that the board of directors had voted to cease all operations as of June 30, 2008. The press release doesn't go into a lot of detail as to why PSS is shutting down, but it seems pretty clear it has to do with recent budget cuts. You can read PSS's letter......

The big news today is obviously yesterday's primary. First off, Hillary won, but six of the 26 Pennsylvania superdelegates remain undecided. Also, Obama kept it close enough that it was still kind of win for him, and after all, he's still in the lead overall. Assuming Obama does become the nominee, what will that mean for Rendell and Nutter, who have supported Clinton all along? The Daily News says they'll come out of it......

Michael Nutter wants to make college possible for more Philadelphians. As it stands, only 18% of Philadelphia residents have college degrees. A better educated community means a better economy, so he intends to adjust the budget to benefit the Community College of Philadelphia in an effort to achieve a higher percentage of educated citizens. This is all wonderful. So how come there are thousands of college grads without jobs? Sure, maybe we have jobs, but......

With all the news focus this week on the Presidential primary, there wasn't a whole lot to report in the world o' Nutter. But here's what we've got for you. The biggest Michael Nutter news of the week was, of course, his appearance on The Colbert Report, where Michael did a good job of holding his own against Colbert's needling. Of course, we would've liked to have seen the mayor play along and give a......

TV critic Ellen Gray at the Daily news takes a look at last night's Colbert Report, filmed right here in Philly, featuring appearances by Mayor Nutter and Benjamin Franklin. We have incredible amounts of news today related to the Pennsylvania primary. First off, applications for absentee ballots have to be in no later than 5PM today. Clinton is announcing a "major endorsement" at noon today at the state Capitol in Harrisburg. Obama admitted to......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. New Amsterdam (Mon, 9PM-10PM, Fox) It's the first season finale, and John is flashing back to his days as a con man in the 1920s while in the present he and Eva investigate the death of a woman who seems to have drowned. Also, John begins to suspect he was wrong about Sara being The One. American Experience (Mon, 9PM-11PM, WHYY & WLVT) It's a profile of......

In reaction to that AP series last month revealing that Philadelphia ranked first among 24 metropolitan areas reporting traces of an assortment of drugs in its water supply, today the City Council's committees on health and human services and the environment will examine the Water Department's data on the subject. Hopefully you're already aware that tomorrow is Tax Day. If not, you'd better get to work! Regardless, a warning: "According to a recent study......

Have a nominee for Asshole of the Week? Send it to us! We love the First Amendment. We love that, in this country, people are free to express whatever their views are, regardless of how idiotic, offensive, or flat-out wrong those views are. That's why, in one sense, we thought it was a little ridiculous when, in June 2006, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission received a complaint against Geno's Steaks owner Joe Vento for the......

Michael's well-publicized citywide cleanup was last weekend. He called the effort, which drew 15,000 volunteers, the largest cleanup in United States history. All in all, volunteers cleaned up more than 2.5 million pounds in trash. Now the city needs to listen to Natalia Smirnov and everyone else in the city calling for more trash cans. The Michael Nutter lovefest continued this week, with the mayor being honored by Philadelphia Hospitality with the Vision of......

Mayor Nutter will join Hillary Clinton at two events today. The first is a talk about public safety at 10AM at the West Philadelphia YMCA—a talk which, ironically enough, is not open to the public. The next is at 5PM at Drexel University. At the public safety talk, Clinton will unveil a crime-fighting plan that she claims will halve homicide rates in cities over five years. Meanwhile, the Inquirer takes a look at how and......

The police got the guy who beat up and robbed that 81-year-old lady, who subsequently gave him a good smack on the head with a chair leg and sent him running from her home. A memorandum sent to the School Reform Commission from the state's school-safety watchdog informed the group that it was flunking when it comes to properly disciplining the majority of violent students and thoroughly reporting serious crimes. Mayor Nutter had proposed......

Updated. See below. After last week's defeat of an amendment that would have required gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms, yesterday a comprehensive gun-package bill unanimously passed the state House of Representatives by a 200-to-0 vote. The bill raises the penalties on gun-related crimes and makes things tougher on straw purchasers. In response to recent highly publicized attacks on SEPTA platforms, the transportation agency has increased after-school policing on the Philadelphia subway system......

Michael was on Face the Nation this past weekend, where he reiterated his call for the candidates to discuss urban issues and opined that the race is, and should be, about more than race. While Editor Jill and this Phillyist were getting lunch at the Subway at 17th & the Parkway, the Greek Independence Day parade marched on by us, and we noticed Michael right at the front of the parade. We didn't know Michael......

Yesterday, Governor Rendell requested that New York City release more water from its three brimming reservoirs in the Catskills, on the chance that the lowered levels will help protect residents along the Delaware River from flooding. Obama came to Philadelphia to talk to the state AFL-CIO convention yesterday, a day after Clinton had done the same. No word on whether he compared himself to Rocky—or Apollo Creed, for that matter. Meanwhile, Clinton was talking economics......

Michael will be seeing a number of bills on his desk—the legislative kind, not the curse your credit card company and feel bitter about still not winning Powerball kind—in the next couple days, as the City Council passed several of measures yesterday. One of them would require tour guides to take a geography and history test. (Hopefully, James Lewis will do a better job with that test than he did with his American Idol audition.)......

The current Facebook Status of our nation’s prominent political figures: Barack Obama is not agreeing with the comments of his Facebook Friends but he cannot block them either. Hillary Clinton is dodging sniper fire while she writes this. Bill Clinton is on the road again! Yeee-hawww! John McCain is committed to staying on MySpace and Facebook as long as is necessary. George W. Bush is sleepy. Dick Cheney is listening to Peter Gabriel’s So.......