AltWeeklies Wire
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
The Evolution of the Culture Warnew
Clearly, as the ever-resurgent the teabag-waving radical right demonstrates, the Culture War has not gone away, although, it has most certainly changed over the years.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Jeffrey Billman |
08-23-2010 |
Commentary
Tags: Adam Serwer
Idealists for Hirenew

Canvassing works, but is its success at the cost of its workers?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
08-17-2010 |
Politics
Can Anthony Williams Become the First Black Governor of Pennsylvania?new
Can Anthony Williams win as a black man in a state that even Gov. Ed Rendell has suggested is racist? If Williams thinks so, it's in part because of his father's legacy.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Holly Otterbein |
05-04-2010 |
Politics
Tags: Anthony Williams
The Urban Agricultural Phenomenonnew

What happens when idealists, entrepreneurs and bureaucrats all latch onto the same trend?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
05-04-2010 |
Gardening
Tags: Urban Gardening
Meghan Remy's Big Dreams and Strange Adventures in Lo-Finew
A young veteran of the music scene, Meghan Remy performs under the curiously plural moniker U.S. Girls. The "band" is just her and a whole mess of equipment: microphones, a busted drum machine, a failing four-track, an old reel-to-reel player and other less-than-cutting-edge electronic devices.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Patrick Rapa |
04-13-2010 |
Music
Tags: Meghan Remy, U.S. Girls
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
That New-Decade Look: What Fashion Trends Will Emerge in the 2010s?new
With the dawn of a fresh decade upon us, we are provided an opportunity to reinvent ourselves. How will we define the 2010s through fashion and vice versa? Will we finally take a cue from The Jetsons or continue to recycle trends from the past?
Philadelphia City Paper |
Josh Middleton and Julia West |
03-30-2010 |
Fashion
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
The New Normal: Once It's Policy, There's No Going Backnew
The sausage-making spectacle of the past year has produced a convoluted, forest-killing mess. The process was infuriating: the foot-dragging, the futile hand-holding of Republican "moderates," the ego-stroking, the backroom deals, the summer of Tea Parties.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Jeffrey C. Billman |
03-16-2010 |
Commentary
Lit Review: Helen Humphreys’ 'Coventry'new

For the oft-tread territory of World War II, Helen Humphreys has the wisdom to limit the scope of her novel Coventry to create a more focused and intimate portrait.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Emily Currier |
03-16-2010 |
Fiction
Tags: Coventry, Helen Humphreys
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
Ed Rendell's Plot to Pillage Pennsylvania's Forests, Consequences be Damnednew

Ed Rendell's office confirmed to City Paper that Rendell intends to lease more land for drilling this year — some $120 million worth of it. The governor has the authority to do so, with or without the legislature; he could act in a matter of months, if not sooner.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Isaiah Thompson |
02-23-2010 |
Politics
InterAct and Mural Arts Join Forces to Bring Prisoners' Stories to the Forefrontnew
Jane Golden and Seth Rozin's mission: Partner up on a play that tells prisoners' stories. Their method: Interview "life-term" inmates at the State Correctional Institution at Graterford and to use those chats for a theater piece that details the experience of the sorrowful and the saved.
Philadelphia City Paper |
A.D. Amorosi |
02-02-2010 |
Performance