AltWeeklies Wire
Out Scoutednew

Did Philadelphia wimp out in its effort to stop Boy Scouts from excluding gays on the public dime? Or did gay activists botch it themselves?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Andrew Thompson |
12-06-2010 |
LGBT
Philadelphia's Hall of Secretsnew

There are some things the city of Philadelphia doesn't want people to know.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Holly Otterbein |
09-15-2010 |
Policy Issues
Tags: Jonathan H. Bari, Terry Mutchler
Philadelphia's School District is Efficient Only When it Wants to Benew
Last Wednesday, 65-year-old Suong Nguyen appeared before the School Reform Commission to plead that the School District of Philadelphia clear the name of her grandson, Hao Luu (who you might know from last week's cover story).
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
03-30-2010 |
Education
A Student Blamed for Violence at South Philadelphia High School Shares His Storynew
On Thursday, Dec. 3, more than 20 Asian students were attacked on their way home from South Philadelphia High School by a mob of as many as 100 of their peers, most of them African-American.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
03-23-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Fold-Up Follies: Tiny Two-Wheelers Race Through Fairmountnew
"Monty Python meets Tour de France" is what Trophy Bikes co-owner Michael McGettigan keeps calling the Brompton Folder U.S. bike race. The more he talks about it, the more apt the term he coined seems.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Julia West |
03-23-2010 |
Transportation
In Philly, the Cops Will Arrest You for Taking Pictures of Them Arresting Peoplenew
The photographer's only crime, as best can be ferreted from police reports, is that he was taking pictures of South Street cops arresting revelers outside of the Theater of the Living Arts the night of Nov. 19, 2009, and the cops didn't like it.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Andrew Thompson |
02-23-2010 |
Civil Liberties
Petty's Island, a Fin-Shaped Slice of Strange in the Delaware Rivernew

Never heard of Petty's Island? It's littered with colorful characters — Pennsylvania founder William Penn, Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez, a man who declared himself the island's king, and even the pirate's pirate himself, Ol' Blackbeard.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Holly Otterbein |
02-02-2010 |
Economy
Afterburn: Coatesville Struggles to Emerge From the Ashesnew

For most people, seeing the house in which they'd lived for the past 28 years burned to the ground would be an unimaginable nightmare. For Karen Engle, it was a blessing in disguise. By the time arson reduced her home to rubble, her neighborhood had become a hotbed of violence.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Rebecca VanderMeulen |
01-19-2010 |
Crime & Justice
Developing a Mathematical Model for Predicting Murders in Philadelphianew
John Toczek is rolling out a project he's calling the Analytics X Prize. It's a contest to develop a mathematical model for predicting murders in Philadelphia, something the Police Department could use to best deploy its resources.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Brian Howard |
01-05-2010 |
Crime & Justice
The High-rise Haul: Improving Recycling in Philadelphianew
In the civic sport of recycling, pretty soon there will be those who can keep score and those who can't. That's unacceptable. Whether the burden falls on building managers, haulers or both, there's got to be a way for everyone to get into this game.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Bruce Schimmel |
12-29-2009 |
Housing & Development
In 1959, Edmund Bacon Imagined in 50 Years, "No Part of Philadelphia is Depressed."new
The problem was not that Edmund Bacon cared only about design: it was that he believed far too deeply in its power. He relied on a model of physical determinism: the idea that manipulation and improvement of the built environment could strongly influence, or even control, social and economic outcomes.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Nathaniel Popkin |
12-21-2009 |
Housing & Development
Is a Draconian Law Forcing Innocent Men Out of the Country?new

Over the last 13 years, the federal government has deported more than 1 million immigrants following criminal convictions -- a number that has escalated dramatically in the last decade. But what if the men are innocent, and the law doesn't care?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Julia Harte |
11-10-2009 |
Immigration
Keystone United: Kinder, Gentler Skinheads?new

The eight-year-old group wants to "break the stereotypes of skinheads being alcoholic thugs and violent, drug-addicted criminals," according to its website. It simply believes that the white race is superior to all others, and that white people should not mingle with people of color -- and really, what's so wrong about that?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Julia Harte |
10-20-2009 |
Race & Class
An Inside Look at the G20 Summit and the Police State That Surrounded Itnew
The phrase "lockdown" doesn't quite get to the core of how militarized and contained Pittsburgh really was throughout the two-day G20 Sept. 24 and 25.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Matt Stroud |
10-06-2009 |
Civil Liberties
Philly Anarchist Newspaper Keeps Delivering the News Nobody Else Sees Fit to Printnew

The Defenestrator is released quarterly, or as often as finances and personal schedules allow. It is one of the longest-running and few remaining anarchist publications in the U.S., and it began as a photocopied newsletter.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Matt Stroud |
09-15-2009 |
Media