Just in time for tonight's party (will you be there?), Phillyist adds another new writer to the mix, this one the very talented—and extensively published—Joshua Valocchi. We'd like to emphasize that we brought him on as a writer long before he said nice things about Editor Jill's place of employment in a Philadelphia Weekly article, and that said article has nothing to do with his new position on the staff. Although Editor Jill may just......

At 12:30 this afternoon, the organization Moms Against Guns will bring its message to the masses from a stage in Love Park. Lynne Korman Honickman, local philanthropist and founder of the organization, was told she'd be "spinning her wheels" if she tried to galvanize women across the state to express their outrage over our appalling rate of gun violence, particularly that against children. This afternoon's rally is the organization's official kick-off; there is already......

Gothamist learned about the craziest urban nightmare come true: A huge python found in the bathroom pipes. It was also a nightmare for some Yankees fans, as manger Joe Torre declined to come back and manage the Bronx Bombers. At least the city's attempt to give some direction to subway riders was interesting, pranksters went shirtless at the Fifth Avenue Abercrombie & Fitch and the I Heart Brooklyn Girls calendars came out. And just......

For our parents, it was the assassination of JFK. Ask any of them and they can remember exactly what they were doing at the time they found out JFK had been killed. I never understood that until September 11, 2001. Our generation can remember it like it was yesterday. For us, that moment, frozen in time, is and will always be 9/11. Back then I was in community journalism at a small paper in Bristol,......

Is it fall already? Must be, 'cause tomorrow's the Fall Northern Liberties Music Festival. This all ages, free festival kicks off around three, with musical performances starting at 4:30. Looking to get your Saturday afternoon buzz on? Either bring your own or shell out $10 for a bottomless cup of beer from Yard's Brewery. The day begins with a family-friendly performance by the Lara and Joe Show. Then, enjoy sets by Corrado, Hanks Cadillac,......

With unseasonable weather descending upon much of North America, schools getting ready to reconvene, and sports seasons getting exciting, it's a busy time of year for us here in the Ist-A-Verse. Luckily, even with all the things we have to do, we still managed to get together to let you know what we've all been up to. After cooling down from a hot weekend of many badass Sunset Junction Street Fair photo dispatches, LAist asked......

More details on the murder of the millionaire with two wives! The Inquirer has a report on the accused wife turning herself in yesterday, as well as some backstory on the whole relationship. "Sherwood Forest" - which is actually "the concourse below 15th Street linking Suburban Station with tunnels to City Hall, the Municipal Services Building, and the Broad Street Subway" - is not always the most pleasant place to be. As the Inquirer puts......

If you're wondering what all those cops are doing hanging around near the Gallery this morning, it's not because somebody stole a rhinestone "You look better on MySpace" T-shirt; it's because W is coming to town! Yes, the President himself is coming to Philadelphia to speak at the American Legislative Exchange Council's Thomas Jefferson Freedom Breakfast at ALEC's 34th Annual Meeting at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown at 1201 Market Street. Plenty of other big-name political......

This week ended with the launch of the seventh and final Harry Potter installation. But while the world was consumed with Pottermania, it's important to remember that there were more serious things going on in the world, too – two of them in -Ist cities. Sampaist was shocked when a passenger jet crashed into the center of Sao Paulo, killing at least 200 people. The airplane, an Airbus A320, skidded off the runway at the......

Banner week for SFist as the site's new editor introduced himself -- hooray for Brock! While the NY Times weighed in on SF's mayoral race, only SFist had the (insert tongue firmly into cheek) hard-hitting latest on candidate/activist Josh Wolf. Coverage of a protest vs. gentrification spawned a fantastic debate amongst SFist's readers. Finally, from the sublime to the ridiculous: video of a man that confused a Board of Supes meeting with "open mic......

LAist was comped front row seats by the Dodgers due to Malingering being struck by a foul ball last week, and she came back with some great photos, and earlier made fun of 4th of July on Venice Beach. But the biggest stories of the week was that the Mayor's Hot Tamale was revealed, and that a Kwik-E-Mart was erected in Burbank. Phillyist was busy doing the Fourth of July up right, exercising their......

I can’t seem to leave Reading Terminal Market without stopping at Iovine Brothers. And I can’t seem to stop at Iovine Brothers without making a purchase. Yesterday, I saw that strawberries were on sale for a dollar. I have trouble passing up berries during the summertime anyway, but make ’em cheap enough, and you’re lucky if you’ve got any left when I’m through. I was already planning on making dinner last night, and I......

Seattlest has a talk with the photographer from last week's "Segway Mom" and then experiences some dissension in the ranks over the question of wine vs. beer. It's not West Side Story, but about as close as they'll get. They're also still waiting on some inbox relief after a spammer is arrested. As Chicagoist counts down the days to its third anniversary party, they found all-organic pizza to be underwhelming amidst the hoopla, tried......

So you thought that Starbucks was finished with its quest for total domination in the land of hot caffeinated beverages? Maybe they are. They are not, however, finished with their domination of early morning (and even mid-afternoon) munchies. Tomorrow (Tuesday, May 22), Starbucks will be launching its new warm food platform. With this platform will come five breakfast sandwiches and two lunch sandwiches. If you’re more of a bagel, pastry or cookie Philadelphian, don’t......

LAist is experimenting with blogging dates from J-Date, but finds the best men are found offline. Some date vicariously online and that is one reason why porn is big -- really freaking big -- so they ask if they should cover XXX since the heart of it lays in the city's San Fernando Valley. A writer grapples with her food porn photography obsession, another gets censored on Flickr, one gets scooped by the LA......

There's so much going on across the Ist-a-Verse that it's almost impossible to keep track these days. Fortunately, we do it so you don't have to! Londonist took a walk through Oliver Twist's London, thanks to a gorgeous map layer for Google Earth. They also caught up with modern-day fictional London, with the Fantastic Four and 28 Weeks Later. It was a week of insanity over at DCist. They started the week off with......

Hey there, Philly: So, um, I just renewed my lease. I had the opportunity to spend my summer living in a cabin in Ruidoso, New Mexico. Rent-free. I could sleep in, then go sit out by the river, and spend my day writing. Hike if I felt like it. Walk around the adorable downtown if I felt like it. I would have been reunited with my dog, Sophie (the adorable creature pictured above). All......

This week we'd like to congratulate the -ist network's Mother Hen, Gothamist's Jen Chung, who found herself a recipient of Wired Magazine's Wired Rave Award. If that doesn't sound terribly exciting, keep in mind another recipient was J.K. Rowling. Yep, that's right, the -ist network and Harry Potter now have something in common. Go us. Austinist has a chat with the ever-fashionable Golden Girl Rue McClanahan, and managed to catch some local fashionistas making......

Oh, readers! I may or may not be a little delirious from some very strong medication my doctor put me on... Oh spring, that sees the flowers bloomin' But here I lay, just a-bedroomin'. I've barely left my place for days, Although I've tried a dozen ways. Wind blows the trees; the petals start fallin' And this means that there's lots of pollen, Which my body and I don't like inside us, That's how I......

With all that went down this week, we thought we'd cheer everyone up by giving everyone a double dose of dogs. It was a rollercoaster ride of emotions this week at DCist. Like the rest of country, we were floored by the news of so many dead coming out of Virginia Tech, and with so many of the victims and their relatives from the D.C. area, we felt it important to pay tribute to those......

Hey, how about this lovely weather we're having lately? We've got a nor'easter in the area, today supplying us with flooding, high-speed winds, and snow and rain at the same time. Is it really Springtime, or is it the end of the world? You decide! A U. Penn researcher is using Science!TM to try to disprove a fascinating story about maidens ritually killing themselves in a Mesopotamian tomb 4,600 years ago. The guy who......

Spring is when we get busy here in the Ist-A-Verse. Very busy. But, after staying bundled-up indoors all winter, it's nice for us to be out, about, and collecting things to write about for you. Here's a glimpse at what's been keeping your favorite citybloggers busily away from home and out of bed. For LAist, strong winds attacked LA on the same day the Feds raided the Crips. Not to fear, though: the Japanese version......

We don't know about where you are, but it seems like spring can't decide whether or not to happen. Some days are warm, some days are cold, and sometimes you aren't sure which. Baseball may have started up (and soccer/football winding down) but it still seems cold out there. Unless it's not. Anyways, onto the -ists. Austinist happily anticipated fall's Austin City Limits, even though they're not fully recovered from South By Southwest. In other......

Plenty of updates on the mayor's race! First of all, Brady cleared his first legal hurdle Monday when the judge in his case ruled that he could amend his forms, and thus he can be on the May 15 ballot. However, this is by no means a final ruling; an appeal has already been promised. Meanwhile, according to a recent poll of Philly's African American voters, Chaka Fattah has the number one spot by a......

This Phillyist lives a block and a half from the downtown Rita's (you know, the one that actually has indoor seating), and even though we don't go there very often, it saddened us to see them close up shop for the winter, complete with window sign reading "We'll miss you!" We would walk by every day, thinking of just how sad and lonely it looked in there. But yesterday, we were happy to see that......

Spring appears to have, er, sprung, at least temporarily, in most of the Ist-A-Verse, so naturally, we're all feeling pretty good. (Yes, we know that spring doesn't officially start till later this month. Just let us enjoy our weather!) And that makes us that much more eager to share all of the nifty things we're up to... Over at Sampaist, spring has more than sprung: it's sweltering! But, as everyone knows, museums are an ideal......

Valentine's Day is only a few days away, and we here across the Gothamist network wanted to express would like to tell you, in the spirit of the holiday, just how much we love you, our readers. Don't let it get to your heads, though. There are plenty of things we love, you included. Just be glad you're not amongst the things we hate. SFist saw their beloved mayor enter rehab, and they loved the......

Dear Cheese: It's no secret that I love you. Especially when you're hot and melty. Which is why it amazes me that it took me nearly five years in Philadelphia to make two recent cheesy (not in the bad way) discoveries. The first was actually after I'd hit a number of galleries at last month's First Friday, which makes this column accidentally topical. I'd had a good amount of wine, and the only thing I'd......