Michael's been living large at the Democratic National Convention. Apparently, Hillary Clinton heard about our mayor's wicked mic skills, because he was asked to serve as emcee of Hillary's pre-roll call reception, where she announced to her supporters that she would release her delegates to nominate Barack Obama by acclamation. Speaking of the convention, we really hope Michael's staffers are having a good time and getting our money's worth for their little excursion. It......

The Zoning Board of Adjustments ruled this morning that, contrary to the wishes of Unisys and Mayor Nutter, the beauty of Liberty II's facade is to remain unblemished by the software company's logo. Now Unisys threatens to take its toys and go play elsewhere, because the very livelihood of a computer software company depends upon birds, helicopter pilots, and people in Darby knowing where they are.......

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......

Michael must be running out of John Street appointees to remove from posts, because now he's doing it to his own staff. Ronald Cuie, whom Michael appointed as head of the Office for the Re-Entry of Ex-Offenders, has been removed from that position and will now be a "special assistant" to the Deputy Mayor for Public Safety. So much for being the good government guy who won't piss away our tax dollars on b.s. Michael......

Philly.com is breaking news that, following a meeting between representatives of Foxwoods and Mayor Nutter and Governor Rendell, Foxwoods is considering looking at a different location to set up shop if and when they finally get around to building their casino in Philadelphia. It has to be emphasized that Foxwoods is considering an alternative location to their proposed site in South Philadelphia/Pennsport. This is by no means a definite, but it is the first sign......

Yesterday morning, 20-year-old Community College of Philadelphia accounting student Fakhur Uddin was bound with duct tape and string, shot in the head, and left in the back room of the East Germantown gift and sundry store he was minding for his ailing father. Police believe he was killed during a robbery. Apparently one of the key witnesses against Vincent Fumo in his corruption trial will be his own son-in-law. In the hopes of keeping......

Dorrell Shaw, 26, who was wanted for questioning in the recent series of sexual assaults in Frankford, turned himself in to police yesterday. But authorities warn the case is by no means closed; Shaw was in prison during the first of the assaults, and it's quite possible he was not responsible for any of them. The rebuilding of the Market-Frankford El, a project that is now $300 million over budget and two years behind schedule,......

We're so proud: one of the Eagles cheerleaders (Janelle Stangl) has been named by Maxim as one of the NFL's four "most gorgeous" cheerleaders in the magazine's September issue, which hits newsstands today. Click through for a pic. The Daily News describes a climate of fear and anger in Frankford, with residents on the lookout for a serial rapist. "Anticrime activists passed out flyers in the neighborhood yesterday while police—in a massive manhunt—took the unusual......

Another week, another deal between Michael and a union. The last union left without a deal now is the firefighters. Based on what happened out in Conshy the other night, Michael might want to get crackin' on that right away. The Inquirer took a look at Michael's watershed moments and took the position that maybe our mayor isn't as calm, cool, and collected as he's often portrayed. Michael had his own stern words directed at......

A lawsuit by the Philadelphia firm of Cozen O'Connor blaming the government of Saudi Arabia for the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks is probably dead in the water now after a federal appeals court ruled yesterday that Saudi Arabia could not be sued for acts of terrorism. A 1-year-old child was slashed in the neck yesterday afternoon at a North Philadelphia home. The suspect is believed to be the child's father, but police are withholding the......

Michael publicly blasted the DHS workers connected to the death of Danieal Kelly (and we are totally with him), but then had to scramble to do some damage control with other DHS workers, who apparently weren't too happy with his comments. And in connection with the above story, was Michael's passionate, off-color language inappropriate? (Obviously, we're going with a big fat NO on this one.) City Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell urged Michael to aggressively address the......

Philadelphia rock musician and songwriter Robert Hazard died unexpectedly Tuesday night after surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Leonard Luchko, a computer technician and former aide of Senator Vincent Fumo, is accused of illegally destroying years' worth of state Senate computer records, apparently in an attempt to hide the data from the FBI during its investigation into Fumo. Luchko will plead guilty on Monday, marking the first plea in the corruption case against......

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......

At an emotional news conference yesterday, Mayor Nutter announced the suspension of seven more DHS workers in the starvation death of 14-year-old Danieal Kelly, saying, "I am fully, thoroughly, and completely pissed off." He went on to say, to the other employees of DHS: "If you are not prepared to take the action that needs to be taken, if you cannot keep up and stay on top of things, then you should leave this city......

The train wreck that is the casino debate continued this week, as workshops conducted by the group that Michael had commissioned to "evaluate" the mayor's waterfront development plan vis-à-vis the casinos indicated that (surprise) there are some major concerns about whether the proposed casino designs fit within the city's plan. (Can't we just build the casinos under water and be done with this argument?) FUD is no match for Michael. (No, not that fud, that......

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......

Drama Queen alerts us that Mayor Michael Nutter announced the opening of the Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, a "Frankenversion of the old Office of Arts and Culture (OAC)." You may recall that the OAC had been closed by former Mayor John Street four years ago, leaving the city as an embarrassing example of a major American city without a cultural affairs office.......

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......

The high-speed car chase and wreck on Roosevelt Boulevard that led to the death of a 17-year-old boy appears to have come out of a dispute over a 14-month-old baby—a baby who died early yesterday morning from injuries sustained in the crash. Philadelphia photographer, founder of phillyskyline.com, and friend of Phillyist Brad Maule has sued The Colbert Report, and the Philadelphia Daily News and Inquirer for using his photographs without permission. He is seeking......

The City of Philadelphia still has police officers—at least temporarily—thanks to a deal struck this week. Michael referred to the deal as buying time to work out the details of a longer-term agreement. Maybe he's right, or maybe he's just postponing the inevitable. Only time will tell. Michael's slogan for Philadelphia's soon-to-be-effective law requiring gun owners to report lost or stolen firearms within 24 hours: "If you lose your piece, call the police." Somewhere, Johnny......

Former Rep. Mike Veon, the No. 2 Democrat in the state House, 10 former and current legislative aides, and one sitting lawmaker were all charged, in varying degrees, with theft and conflict of interest for running a massive political campaign machine out of government offices. According to prosecutors, they were paying staffers, with taxpayers' dollars, to work on political campaigns while on the government clock. More charges are expected. In one particular case, Michael......

"There will be overnight traffic restrictions on Route 202 at the Route 29 interchange in East Whiteland Township, Chester County, tonight and Monday." Also, I-95 North in Philadelphia will have a lane closure tonight, tomorrow night and Saturday morning for barrier construction. Newly released estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau reveal that Philadelphia lost more residents between 2000 and 2007 than any U.S. city except New Orleans. Ouch. High fuel costs are also affecting......

Penn now has a building named after a former editor of The New York Post Page Six gossip column. (Via Jill) Expect backups late tonight into early tomorrow morning on the westbound Schuylkill. Click through for details. Also expect upcoming delays with SEPTA as it makes another push to finally complete its overdue, overbudget reconstruction of the Market-Frankford El. When a 46-year-old Upper Darby meter maid tried to write a ticket for a Yeadon......

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......

Michael is all for revamping the Delaware River waterfront. Of course, the new riverfront will include casinos, which probably doesn't make him too happy. Michael was very pleased with the revenue and publicity generated by the Olympic gymnastics trials being held in the city. Universal healthcare? Michael's on that bandwagon. Michael joined the other mayors of major cities at a conference in Miami. We expect that other mayors are now cowering in shame because, well,......

It should never be 74 degrees when you leave for work in the morning. Ever. PHILADELPHIA'S LARGEST SINGLES KICKOFF TO SUMMER PARTY We can neither confirm nor deny that Meet Market Adventures is a good idea. We're not here to advertise or criticize. However, we do appreciate the efforts of any group that tries to lube up the lonelier locals with some booze, food, music, and prizes. It's hot as hell, so we hope you......

The 14-month-old boy mistakenly left in the backseat of a hot car by his grandfather died Saturday afternoon at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia after five days on life support. The mother of the child has forgiven her father for the mistake. Pretty soon Mayor Nutter will have to negotiate new contracts with Philadelphia's four municipal unions; the Daily News suspects the ordeal will be the end of Nutter's honeymoon. A four-alarm fire struck......

Hello. I’m former Mayor of Philadelphia John F. Street for the new Apple 3G iPhone. The “3G” stands for “Gimmee, gimmee, gimmee!” Just a little joke. But there’s no joking about this incredible piece of technology. The new 3G iPhone has everything a former Mayor of Philadelphia needs. Take Push Email: now when my lawyer needs to reach me about a subpoena or schedule a hearing, I get his email instantly. And with Push Calendar,......

And the appointments keep on rolling in. This week's may have been the most interesting though, as Michael appointed himself(!), along with one of his aides, to the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority. The Authority will be headed up by another Michael aide who was appointed this week. The moves were yet another dig at the Street administration, as Michael is joining the Authority more or less to clean up the mess of Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative.......