debt: Philadelphia Metropolis

The Custodial Mayor

Michael Nutter will be sworn into a second term as mayor of Philadelphia this week. In this Cover Story, senior editor Tom Ferrick offers an appraisal of Nutter's first term and looks forward to the next four years. In Part Two, we examine the broad forces at work that will define Philadelphia during Nutter's second term. (Comments)

Philadelphia 2012

On the week of Mayor Nutter's inauguration, Metropolis takes an in-depth look at Nutter's leadership and the prospects for this second term. In Part Two, we examine the larger trends that define the state of the city in 2011. Read on about the good, the bad and the ugly forces at work in Philadelphia. (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 Asian-American Life

By O.K. Pham» "I don't think of you as Vietnamese anymore-- just as my wife." My husband Shaun stated as he leaned back in his chair, after a thoughtful sip of his Saison. We were savoring a backyard lunch together on one of those perfect Saturday afternoons in late June. I stared at him across the table where a dwindling platter of steamed corn and grilled London broil sat.The kids had already run off after devouring their lunch, treating us to the luxury of an uninterrupted conversation. My gaze fell from my husband's red hair to his grayish blue eyes, before finding the smile that had been the prelude to our many dialogues. (Comments)