catholic schools: Philadelphia Metropolis

Blaming The Man

It's hard to play the race card in Philadelphia these days. It's hard to blame The Man when you are the man. But it's also hard to break old habits.  Witness the news conference held this week by opponents of... (Comments)

Unintended Consequences

There's an interesting back story to the visit of Gov. Corbett to Philadelphia last week to tout the state's expanded voucher program for non-public schools. Of course, they are not called vouchers, but scholarships, and the money does not come... (Comments)

Council's Secret "WAM" Fund

By Ryan Briggs» Few taxpayers know about it, but each year their district Council members divvy up a $1.98 million slush fund buried deep within the Department of Parks and Recreation's $47.8 million budget. Referred to by one political aide as "Council's Walking Around Money," the Philadelphia Activities Fund, Inc. (or simply, "the Fund") is a grants program that essentially operates like a piggy bank for the city's political class, an easy pot of money for Council members to hand out cash to favored groups in their districts. Reporter Ryan Briggs reveals the details... (Comments)

Learning to Compete

When I was a kid and complained about what was served for dinner, my father would always say: "It you don't like it, you can always go down the street." That always shut me up. This was in the 1950's... (Comments)

Trawling for Cash

Myron Berman may be about to realize a decades-long dream of putting a giant wall wrap on the office building he owns on North 7th Street, just north of Callowhill Street. Council has passed a bill letting Berman erect a... (Comments)