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ArchivesIs DROP a Flop?That's the finding of a Boston consultant hired by the city to examine the pros and cons of the early retirement program. Oddly, the report from the consultant isn't due until later this month, but The Inquirer got a tip that one of the consultants made the DROP program the... That Sinking FeelingWhen the legislature passed this year's state budget, they knew it had a huge hole. It depended on $850 million coming from the feds for Medicaid. At first, Gov. Rendell said he was optimistic Congress would pass the additional aid. Now, he is signing a different song. Rendell says the... The eHarmony BluesBy Tara Jo Quinn Three weeks before Dan and I got engaged we signed up for an online dating service. It was a game, you see. One afternoon, while we were watching baseball highlights, a commercial for eHarmony came on, and we cracked jokes as a series of presumably... Strike OneBy Tom Ferrick Jr. They say that baseball is the sport that most resembles life, but baseball also resembles political campaigns. They are both games played over long seasons; both involve big plays and big money; in each errors can be costly. There are other ways the two are alike.... Worries Over Gas DrillingThe rapid expansion of gas exploration in Pennsylvania has triggered a demand for more federal oversight over drilling. The New York Times reported Sunday (July 25) that the EPA is considering looking into issues involving drilling, particularly the practice called fracking, which involves shooting a compound of water, sand and... How the Money Game is Changing HarrisburgBy Tom Ferrick Jr. State Rep. Dwight Evans raised nearly $1.7 million for his campaign fund during the two-year cycle that ended with the 2008 election. But the most amazing part isn't the amount of money he amassed; it is the fact that Evans had no opposition in either the... The Money Game: Pennsylvania as PAC LandBy William Ecenbarger Money not only talks in Pennsylvania politics-it's keeping up a running conversation. Between 1999 and 2008, total money raised for state political campaigns nearly doubled, from $74.4 million to $133 million. Who gives all this money to candidates for governor, auditor general, treasurer, attorney general and legislator?... The Money Game: Marcellus Shale CashOil and gas interests were never big givers to politicians in Pennsylvania -- until the Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit was discovered running under the state. Now, as the drilling rigs arrive, so have campaign contributions.. My Entry-Level TrapBy Zach Sinemus I entered my freshman year at Swarthmore College in the fall of 2006 with wide eyes and high hopes. My goal was to receive a liberal arts education that would prepare me for anything; I'd major in philosophy and become an excellent thinker, a blank slate that... 253 Yellow FeathersGov. Rendell is trying to lure the legislature back to Harrisburg for a late August session to deal with the $400-million plus hole in the PennDOT budget due to the fed refusing to allow I80 to become a toll road. WIthout additional revenue, Rendell said Tuesday, hundreds of scheduled road... The Van SeatBy Christine Fisher Whenever company asks how to get to my apartment in South Philadelphia, I tell them I live in the apartment between the flower shop and the van seat chained to an alley. These are the landmarks that define my corner of the world and while the flower... Mayor MuddleBy Tom Ferrick Jr. For any group willing to try it out, I think I have found a method to get money and support from the Nutter administration. Here is my plan: Arrange for a meeting with the mayor and his chamber of deputies, bring along a Powerpoint that outlines... Drill Our Way Out?At last, some realistic talk about the state of state government. Democratic Rep. Todd Eachus, the House majority leader, went before the editorial board of his hometown paper and laid out the difficult shape the state is in. The deficit is likely to total $5 billion next year, he told the... Rent to OwnBy Lauren Hall Last summer, my husband and I relocated to Philly from Boston. I gave myself a weekend to find an apartment in Center City, and lined up several appointments with local realtors well in advance. I figured it would take a couple of hours to find a decent... Open Mouth, Insert FootTom Corbett is lucky it is July and hardly anyone is paying attention to the race for governor. It gives him time to recover from kerfuffle over his remarks about the unemployed which implied -- stratch that -- said a lot of them won't take jobs because they want to keep getting unemployment checks. (A modern... Run Away! Run Away!By Tom Ferrick Jr. The big news about the state budget this year was that it wasn't big news. Unlike last year, when we went 101 days before it finally, mercifully passed, this year the legislature met the June 30th deadline. Which everyone proceeded to treat as a great accomplishment.... More South Street WoesSouth Street was back in the news over the weekend and not in a good way. Early Sunday (7-11), police had to close off the street after an estimate 20,000 youths congregated there. The draw? Word that there was another Greek picnic in town, an annual event that draws thousands... Wissahickon DaysBy Lucien Crowder It's a cloudless morning in the middle of May. The sun shines pale and lemony. The winter was a brutal prison. This day is joyous release. I have disembarked the R6 train at the Wissahickon stop. I'm hauling a backpack that contains one peanut butter sandwich, two... Greening Philadelphia Tree by TreeBy Morgan Zalot William Penn's vision of a "Greene Country Towne" faded to black and grey long ago. Viewed from above, Philadelphia today has huge swaths of hot spots - where asphalt and concrete predominate and the color green is hard to find. This is what makes the program underway... Greening Philadelphia: One Man's TaleBy Morgan Zalot Not even last week's 100-plus degree heat could deter Hasan Malik from filling a 100-gallon tank in the back of his pickup truck with water for the young trees in Frankford's Overington Park. "It's a good thing I came out today," Malik said as he unraveled the... |
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