Figures released yesterday revealed that $613 million of the money gamblers have been pumping into slot machines in Pennsylvania will go to property-tax relief for most homeowners and to lower the wage tax in Philadelphia. It's all thanks to Act 1, passed in 2006, which gave the state a portion of the gaming revenues from slots to use for tax relief. The Inquirer points out that finding the lowest gas prices in the area......

Dear Philadelphia: I have lived here now for nearly six years. I made it through four and a half without buying pepper spray, and only acquired one from a friend when a string of sexual assaults last fall were a little too close to home. It remains attached to my keychain, except for when it isn't: before shows at the Electric Factory or TLA, I make sure to detach it and leave it somewhere......

"A Philadelphia parents' group sharply criticized the city school district and the USDA yesterday for not acting earlier to recall possibly tainted beef served to children in school cafeterias." The latest poll in Pennsylvania shows Hillary Clinton's lead against Obama shrinking, and also suggests that regardless of which candidate wins the Democratic primary, he or she will have a close, tough fight against John McCain. Meanwhile, the Montgomery County Democratic Committee is meeting tonight to......

Phillyist just came across an interesting tidbit while scouring philly.com blogs: The Temple Owls and coach Fran Dunphy will be taking the subway to their game versus the Duke Blue Devils at the Wachovia Center tonight. Coach says, "This is a tremendous opportunity for our team to travel as Philadelphians do on a daily basis to and from work," and so it is. Good for them. But just a heads up to all those......

As the weather gets yucky (this week's high temps will be at or near fifty, but we're looking at rain, rain, and more rain), I find myself reluctantly taking SEPTA more and more often, often during rush hour. Because I try to be a courteous SEPTA rider, I make a point of not putting my belongings on the seat beside me if the subway car, trolley, or bus seems to be getting crowded. I......

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Philly.com, unsurprisingly, has a couple more stories about the Mummers for us. One is about a veteran Mummers costume designer, and the other is a heartwarming tale about how the Mummers gave one man his life back after a terrible accident nearly destroyed him. The wife of a University of Pennsylvania economics professor was beaten to death in her Main Line home last Friday, and evidence now suggests that what appeared to be a......

Philadelphia is feeling less safe by the day. There was a shooting today, this time in the middle of the day in the stairwell to the southbound Broad Street Line at Olney. According to 6abc.com: Medics transported one person to Einstein Medical Center: a 27-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He is listed in critical condition. A second shooting victim, a 26-year-old man, showed up at Einstein with a gunshot wound to......

On Wednesday, we posted about a Google hack for SEPTA, but now we have a new map to not utilize. Citizen Journalist Daniel McQuade linked us to TriviaArt.com's dreamer's SEPTA map. The map imagines what Philadelphia's public transit would look like if SEPTA went through with the many proposals it has come up with over the years, including an extension of the Broad Street Line into Northeast Philadelphia. As we start to worry about gas......