bonds: Philadelphia Metropolis

The Case of the Crumbling Shoes

Best of VoxPop» On Christmas Eve day, as I was getting out of the car, I noticed an odd-looking thing on the ground: an oval plastic pillowy thing a little smaller than a credit card. It turned out to be the inner heel cushion from the Nike boots I was wearing. They looked fine when I put them on in the morning, but now the heel had separated into a top slice and a bottom, spitting out the air cushion that had been imprisoned inside. An hour or so later, the other heel started flapping and disgorged its cushion. Next, the front of one sole started flapping like a clown shoe. All day, everywhere I went, I left a Hansel-and-Gretel-like trail of black crumbles as the bottoms of my shoes continued to disintegrate. (Comments)

Answer to No. 7: City Government

The needle has barely moved on city government spending. The general fund, which pays for most government operations, was $3.452 billion 2008, the mayor's first year in office.  This year, it is $3.473 billion, an increase of less than one-half... (Comments)

City Government by Category

   City departments and agencies included under each category:                 Central Bureaucracy     Public Safety          CB Board of Revision of Taxes PS Fire Department CB City Controller PS Police... (Comments)

My Philadelphia: West Philly

By S.G. Grant» We continue our series of Cover Stories on Philadelphia neighborhoods with S.G. Grant's essay about West Philadelphia. It's not the buildings and the businesses that attracts her, but the people -- in all their varied forms, colors and origins. Read on for Grant's census of modern West Philadelphia (Comments)

The Price of Four Aces

Philadelphians love their Phillies and its time to praise the guy most responsible for making this franchise so successful. John Street. That is not a misprint. It was Street as a new mayor who made the deal to build new... (Comments)