Philadelphia | AAN.org

Food Prices are Going Up, but Food Stamp Allowances Aren'tnew

There hasn't been a major revision of food stamp regulations since 2002. Philadelphians on food stamps continue to wait for any action, and improvise.

Philadelphia City Paper | Tom Namako | 05-13-2008 | Economy

Tags: Philadelphia, Farm Bill, food prices, food stamps, food pantries, Economic Issues

What it Means to be Gay, Iranian and Living in Philadelphianew

S, now 46, is an openly gay lesbian living and working in Philadelphia with her girlfriend, P, a doctor who is also from Iran. "It's a struggle," says S, who has never returned to Iran since she was a teenager, eager to study in America.

Philadelphia City Paper | Natalie Hope McDonald | 05-06-2008 | LGBT

Tags: Philadelphia, Iran, GLBT, gay & lesbian issues

Let's Redefine Gun Controlnew

One answer is to redefine gun control so that it's not something we inflict on good, law-abiding people, but rather, part of the package of punishments that we impose on those who have shown criminal and antisocial behavior.

Philadelphia City Paper | Michael Washburn | 04-29-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: Philadelphia, gun control, violence, crime, Second Amendment, crime & justice

How Far Philadelphia Has (and Hasn't) Come in Terms of Votingnew

Did Michael Nutter's election move Philly into a post-racial voting era? Or were voters still widely using race as a deciding factor in the polls? The frustrating answer: It was hard to tell.

Philadelphia City Paper | Tom Namako | 04-29-2008 | Politics

Tags: Philadelphia, 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama, race, voting

No One's Lonelier than a Republican on Election Day in Phillynew

Mike Cibik, the city's Republican 5th Ward leader, doesn't have much to get excited about. The numbers here, and in his ward in particular, make it pretty much impossible for anyone besides a Democrat to get elected.

Philadelphia Weekly | Alli Katz | 04-28-2008 | Politics

Tags: Philadelphia, Democrats, Republicans

Philly's Muslims Are Warming to the Political Processnew

"When someone in the Muslim community tells you, 'We don't vote,' they're coming from an old way of thinking. That really was the case; for a while we stayed away from voting, and some members still feel that way." Saadiq Abdul Jabbar was alluding to the long history of separatism in the black Muslim world. "Things have changed a lot, though."

Philadelphia City Paper | Jeff Deeney | 04-15-2008 | Politics

Tags: Philadelphia, 2008 presidential election, Muslims

For Philly's Jazz Scene, the Beat Goes Onnew

Pride, defiance and apologetics are close to the surface when one talks about jazz in Philadelphia, an underdog music in an underdog town.

Philadelphia Weekly | David Adler | 04-14-2008 | Profiles & Interviews

Tags: Philadelphia, jazz, Aerial Photograph, Bobby Zankel, Bootsie Barnes, Calvin Weston, Chris’ Jazz Cafe, Elliott Levin, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, John Swana, Matt Davis, Ortlieb, Shot x Shot, the Odean Pope Saxophone Choir, The Warriors of the Wonderful Sound

Two Young Filmmakers Document Philly's Crime Epidemicnew

"By the Numbers," a new public service announcement by filmmakers Alec Sutherland and Todd DosSantos and a local organization called the Anti-Violence Partnership, is just a minute long, but it's well worth watching.

Philadelphia Weekly | Tasneem Paghdiwala | 04-14-2008 | Crime & Justice

Tags: Philadelphia, activism, crime, PSA, crime & justice

Why Has Philly Avoided the Worst of the Housing Crisis?new

After months of doom-and-gloom headlines about the U.S. housing crisis, some might assume Philadelphia's been hit just as hard as other American cities -- but Philly realtors disagree. (Of course, they can't afford not to.)

Philadelphia Weekly | Morgan A. Zalot | 02-19-2008 | Economy

Tags: Philadelphia, real estate, mortgages, condos, housing crisis, Economic Issues