boston: Philadelphia Metropolis

Man of Mystery

Allow me to introduce myself. I represent men of great wealth and fame. You may know me as a reporter, columnist and bon vivant, but I confess I have had a secret life. I am the local representative of the... (Comments)

Public Schools' Reality Check

Saying the Philadelphia School District was "out of time and out of options," Superintendent William Hite released his school close-and-merge list to howls of protest from parents and advocacy groups. The district plan, which still must be approved by the School Reform Commission, calls for the closing of 11 district high schools, 5 middle school and 23 elementary schools. In addition, another 13 elementary schools will be restructured, a move that will require the transfer of fifth and sixth graders. In most cases, the schools are going from K-6 to K-4. (Comments)

The Secret Life of Clothing Bins

By Christopher Malo» How many people give a second thought after they drop off a bag of old clothes to those sturdy metal clothing bins that dot the American landscape today. What happens to that donated clothing? Where does it end up? Reporter Christopher Malo went looking for an answers to those y simple questions and returned with a surprising, even bizarre, story. He tells it in The Secret Life of Clothing Bins... (Comments)

A Day in the Life: The St. Francis Inn

The recession is over. At least that's what the media keeps saying. So why is it that on a rainy October morning, nearly two years after the Great Recession's end, there is a line of hungry people rounding the block at St. Francis Inn in Kensington waiting to be fed? The scene at St. Francis is a more accurate barometer of the state of the post-recession city, where the economic pain continues. As I make my way up to the century-old building that was once a corner bar, I am struck by the mélange of faces that have coalesced to embody the face of poverty in Philadelphia. (Comments)

Becoming the Bottom Rung

Germantown High School, circa 1915 There is a clear loser in this age of competition in education in Philadelphia.The city's 26 neighborhood high schools are becoming the last choice among parents -- the default they choose only if they... (Comments)