SEPTA will announce its "Go Green Go SEPTA" initiative this afternoon at Market East Station. (We've already seen the ads up there; they're posters with real moss or grass glued to them.) The idea is to increase ridership to reduce emissions that contribute to global warming, and they've timed it for the Philadelphia Flower Show, which runs March 2-9 at the Convention Center and is typically a time of increased ridership. General manager Joseph......

Use caution if you're travelling around the area this morning - there's actually snow on the roads north and west of the city, and 2 to 7 inches in northeastern parts of the state, and the weather has already caused some accidents and downed power lines. Some schools are opening late or canceling their morning kindergarten; check out NBC10's full list of school closings here. Mayor Street, "once regarded as Public Enemy No. 1......

Our beloved state Senators, apparently in reaction to the uproar caused by their infamous increase of their own salaries (since repealed), and further inflamed by the information that then came out about their other perks and benefits, have chosen to begin paying part of their own health care premiums, and paying for the leases on their own cars. Well, how sporting of them! Yesterday, good old Governor Ed Rendell signed into law a $2 increase......

13-year-old Naiym Muhammed is being charged as an adult in the Sunday fire in Germantown that killed a 17-year-old girl and critically injured her mother. The charges against Muhammed include murder, arson, conspiracy. More charges are expected. Police say the fire was set in retribution over a small debt.Some local Dems are finding it a little harder to support Bob Casey, Jr. in the up-coming primary. Both Casey and PA Governor Ed Rendell announced their......

Montgomery County resident David Downey can't keep it in his pants - less than a week after being freed on $250K bail for third degree murder charges for feeding a 17 year old 'escort' a lethal dose drugs and paying off a couple of people to dispose of the body, he violated his bail by having a professional booty call in Upper Merion. At least he didn't kill this one.Governor Ed Rendell is opposing......

Welcome to day five of the SEPTA strike. We'd like to report that both sides have decided to act all adult-like and get with the compromising, but in the five days of striking union and management only met for about two hours. During those two hours it's reported that union officials agreed to a contribution for health care based on salary for all employees, but management rejected the idea. That was a few days ago......

Republican PA state legislators intend to file suit against Governor Ed Rendell later this week, attempting to limit Big Ed's line item veto power. Their beef? Governor Rendell dared to remove language from the state budget denying the use public money for birth control, family planning counseling or other services at clinics that also provide abortions or abortion counseling through the Department of Public Welfare. Considering the vast majority of clinics that offer family planning......

It looks like the big push for volunteers and donations for Philly's expected share of Hurricane Katrina survivors was premature. While Mayor Street is still committed to hosting up to 5,000 survivors from the affected region if needed, 38 people and one dog arrived yesterday, but no more are expected. Governor Ed Rendell told the Daily News:"They don't want to go a long way from home. They certainly don't want to go into cold weather.......

Living up to its moniker of the City of Brother Love, Philadelphia welcomes Hurricane Katrina survivors today. City officials expect 600 survivors to arrive later today. Philadelphia's newest residents will go to two buildings converted to shelters -- one located at 1701 N. 11th St. in North Philadelphia and other at the Palumbo building at 11th and Catharine Streets in South Philadelphia. Governor Ed Rendell has ordered school districts in Pennsylvania to waive residency and......

Good news for all of you Sunday beer swillers -- the law signed by Governor Ed Rendell that changes beer sales rules goes into effect this weekend! Sure, Pennsylvania is slowly but surely crawling toward the 21st Century, but don't expect miracles. A friend recently moved to the Philly 'burbs from out of state and laughed at us when we warned about the quaint blue laws. Yep, she laughed until she tried to buy beer......

Leave it to Governor Ed Rendell to make history! Big Ed has gotten all crafty to fight the closure of a Philadelphia-area naval base. Specifically, Rendell (who is being joined by Pennsylvania Senators Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum) is suing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, citing the "militia clause" of the U.S. Constitution. The lawsuit is said to be the first of its kind. Oh Ed, you give us the vapors!......

We at Phillyist are always interested in seeing just who Governor Ed Rendell ['Big Ed' to those of us who love him] is doling out the pardons to. After all, who amongst us hasn't racked up hundreds of thousands of dollars in city parking tickets or mooned a Wawa full of police officers while publicly drunk? You never know when you're going to need a Governor sympathetic to your plight. Governor Rendell seems to......