I'm going to get right to the point today. I've covered related topics in Return to Sender, but for this week's Monday Manners column, I'm keeping things short, sweet, and to the point: don't honk at pedestrians and bicyclists if they're not breaking the law. Don't do it. Period. Honking at other cars because the driver is pissing you off is bad enough. Cars, however, are (usually) closed, somewhat insulated spaces, within whose metal frame......

Protest over national vs. regional chains, the never-ending debate over the place of cars and bicycles in our metropolises, professional sports scandals, remembering a solemn day, and being issued a search warrant - it all happened across our sites this week! Another banner week at Chicagoist started off with daily reports from food writer Lisa Shames on her attempt to eat only locally grown and raised foodstuffs all week as part of a farmers market......

Dear Philadelphia Motorists: A red light is not a polite suggestion. A coworker of mine was hit by a car about a year ago. I don't really know all the details of the accident. What I do know is that one of his legs was more or less completely shattered, and that he now has a steel rod where his bone should be. He is lucky he can walk at all now, and he'll never......

Dear William Penn: I just wanted to take a moment to thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for creating Philadelphia's grid system all those years ago. You see, I've had occasion, lately, to do a lot of walking around. A lot of walking around. That's what unemployment, and the subsequent job hunt, does to a person. (Mercifully, I haven't needed to get any shoes repaired as a result. Yet.) I've always loved walking......

Dear Philadelphia: About a year ago, I was walking through my (now-former) West Philadelphia neighborhood. It had snowed a few days before, and the sidewalks were clear enough, I guess, for a careful pedestrian, and the streets were definitely passable for automobiles. That's because all of the snow from the sidewalks and streets had been piled at the corners of the intersections. You know, where there's a little gentle incline so that, I don't......

Councilman Frank DiCicco is declaring war on the casinos. In related news, some folks who had been charged with disorderly conduct after protesting the casinos outside the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board's offices last month have been acquitted. Are we heading toward tougher gun control laws in Philly? The Police Commissioner and various gun control advocates are calling for them, after the release of a report that highlights two dozen cases around the country, and......

This was not a very happy week for the -ist network as one of our own, Phillyist co-editor Star C. Foster, passed away early in the week. Her wit, intelligence, and good nature shone through the site, making Phillyist an immensely fun read. She was loved by many and will be missed by all. Phillyist paid tribute to her this week with a heartfelt letter to her and an obituary. And now, the awkward......

Halloween is Tuesday, which means this weekend is really the time for all of the –ists to celebrate. And whether they’re designing super-spooky costumes or talking about the super-spooky upcoming elections, we’d say that they’re doing a fine job of it. Austinist knows that few things in life are scarier than zombies, people with way too much money, and politicians who try too hard to be funny. Slightly less scary, depending on whom you......

A 70-year old pedestrian was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident on Monday night in Lower Merion. Police are trying to locate the driver - but there are mixed reports on what sort of car was driven. If you have any information, please give the police a call. The Cowboys may not be the only ones who got a whooping on Sunday - Lincoln Financial Field may have, too. L&I is investigating claims......

Dear Bicyclists: I absolutely agree that you have a right to the road, and that stupid drivers do things all the time that put your lives in danger. But would you please, please decide whether you're going to follow pedestrian laws or traffic laws, and then stick with your decision? If you're going to go the "car" route, then pedalling on sidewalks is absolutely a no-no. And if you're going the pedestrian route, you......

It's no news that Penn's got plans to develop some real estate on the west side of the Schuylkill, but Phillyist didn't know there were plans for the river and river banks as well. Phillyist and a friend were offered free passes for a boat tour of the Schuylkill in exchange for being booted out of a local coffee shop before closing (nicest.bum's rush.ever), where we learned the following things: *The Water Works are much......

On my usual walk home through the Gallery this evening, at around a quarter to 5, I took my iPod earbuds out because I was hearing this weird noise. Turns out it was the fire alarm, and folks were taking it seriously. Shoppers slowly began wandering out of the mall, and shops began closing up as employees filed out. I decided it would be prudent to follow, especially after I heard from several people......

Phillyist, although loathe to get hit in the head with a pillow ourselves, couldn't resist stomping down to Love Park for Saturday's Pillow Fight to snap a few pictures. Seems we weren't alone. In our estimation, about 250 people crowded into the park, and about half of us were there to take photos. We've never seen so many pillows, cameras, and messenger bags in one place at one time. Spiderman, Batman, unicorns and the Powerpuff......

Dear Motorists of Philadelphia: We love cars. We do. We think they’re neat. They get us places, they can transport our stuff. We’ve all read On the Road, so we’re well-versed on the culture of the “Great American Road Trip”. But you know what we love more than cars, of the City of Brotherly Love? We love not being hit by them. We’re not talking about your standard two-car collision. We’re talking about what happens......