safety: Philadelphia Metropolis

New-Wave Street Gangs: Armed and Violent

Longtime anti-crime activist Greg Bucceroni wears a three-inch-long scar on his forehead, a souvenir from the June 5, 2008 evening when more than a dozen members of the heroin-dealing "Bart Simpson" gang - named after the brand of dope they peddled - backed him against a concrete wall in West Kensington. Bucceroni wore a blue polo shirt inscribed with the words, Philadelphia Police Youth At-Risk Program that night as he walked toward the home of a troubled teenage boy he was mentoring. (Comments)

Riding Their Bikes

Best of VoxPop» There are two kinds of bicyclists in South Philadelphia. If you think I am over-generalizing, go to the corner of Ninth St. and Washington Ave. and try to find a third variety. You'll be standing there a long while. Let's call the first kind -- my kind --the South Philly Cyclists. Let's call the second kind the Passyunk Pedalers. These names aren't terribly descriptive, but what's the point to life if there's no alliteration? We South Philly Cyclists are new to the neighborhood. We are interlopers. We are the educated types, or the creative ones, or occasionally even both. We are young, or despite appearances we pretend to be. We are female as often as male, but uniformly white. By no means are we rich, but we care about reducing our carbon footprint, and a certain material comfort is required of those who care about their carbon footprint. (Comments)

Takeover at Olney High

Olney High School was a troubled school: plagued with suspensions, fights, chronic absenteeism and dismal performance in math and reading. Then, the school district asked the Latino educational group Aspira to take over the school this year with a goal of turning a failure into a success story. Reporter Connie Langland has spent weeks at Olney and offers this special report from the front lines. (Comments)

Part Two: Takeover at Olney High

Could Olney High become a model for high school turnarounds? With its emphasis on discpline, with intense oversight of teachers, and with a program that puts troublesome students in special classes, Olney may have found a formula that works. Connie Langland reports from Olney in the second part of this special Cover Story. (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)