Archive: January, 2013

Will drug offenders be forced to register in PA?

POSTED: Thursday, January 3, 2013, 3:31 PM

State Sen. Kim Ward

Last year, City Paper wrote about how the most significant byproduct of the registration of sex offenders in Pennsylvania may not be an improvement in public safety, but rather the marginalization of ex-offenders attempting to reintegrate into society, find housing and get back to work. Now, a state legislator wants repeat drug offenders to register as well.

In a memo to fellow legislators Republican state Sen. Kim Ward of Westmoreland County explained: "The bill I propose would have any individual convicted of a third or subsequent offense [on charges of manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance] … would have to register their name and address with the State Police under a newly established drug offender registry. Offenders would remain on the list for a period of ten years. The new registry would be modeled after Megan’s Law."

Posted by Samantha Melamed @ 3:31 PM Permalink | Post a comment

PHILAPHILIA Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week: Kimmel Cancer Center

POSTED: Wednesday, January 2, 2013, 12:15 PM

A weekly series of foul-mouthed investigations into empty lots, dead-ass proposals and other design phenomena in Philadelphia. Find more stories like this at Philaphilia.blogspot.com.

1001 Locust St. -- Here's a Dead-Asser that illustrates how much things have changed in good ol' Philadelphia in the last 15 years. When this crazy motherfucker was proposed, it was considered a MAJOR building that would change the skyline forever. The largest building proposal for the city in a decade and the tallest construction project in Washington Square West in seven decades. Nowadays, this proposal would fall into the shuffle of approximately 130 projects now in some stage of development in the city.

In the 1990s, Jefferson was having some hurt feelings. UPenn's School of Medicine was kicking their asses in cancer research. Though Jeff just finished the 11-story Bluemle Building for the purposes of research, they only received one quarter of the National Institutes of Health grants Penn was getting. In 1996, self-made gazillionaire Sidney Kimmel donated $10 million for the purposes of getting some more cancer researching going. In response, Jeff re-named their cancer research facility the Kimmel Cancer Center.

Posted by GroJLart @ 12:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Mummer/minstrel blackface follow-up: Yup, it was kind of offensive.

POSTED: Tuesday, January 1, 2013, 10:35 PM

Photo by Jen J. Walker

So yesterday, way back in 2012, we pointed out that Ferko, the Mummers string band that opted for the theme "Bringing Back Those Minstrel Days," seemed poised to walk a precarious line between the lovably, and therefore pardonably, un-PC-ness of old-school Philly and something that might be downright offensive. Ferko assured us they were not going to cross that line by doing anything like, say, appearing in blackface, which has been banned from the parade for years.

That didn't, however, stop them from carrying signs bearing enormous leering faces, which appear to be copies of the home page image from a website called black-face.com. So, to recap, wearing blackface is bad. Representing blackface on signage is A-OK.

Check out the Flickr page of Jen J. Walker (aka LucindaLunacy) for the larger version of this photo, and more shots of this and other Mummer moments.

Posted by Samantha Melamed @ 10:35 PM Permalink | Post a comment

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Massive student walkout shuts down North Broad Street
Preschool wants to ban 'super hero play'
Hey, there's an election tomorrow!
Gov. Corbett finishes rough week with soft landing at Philly.com
PHILAPHILIA Dead-Ass Proposal of the Week: Tun Tavern Reconstruction
So about that alleged Butkovitz ethics probe ...
Philly Mag cover: Whites should criticize blacks
Some committee people support Mandel. Bobby Henon says maybe there's a 'brown bag' of cash in it for them
Why is George Norcross' twenty-something daughter an Inquirer/Daily News executive?
Pantheon of bizarre Philadelphia bureaucratic mascots about to get even more bizarre

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Here at The Naked City, you'll find breaking news, analysis, gossip and surprises about everything from crime and politics to the beating pulse of city life itself. We're good listeners, too:

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