The Daily News takes a look at the problem of domestic violence in the city and the rather poor way that it's dealt with by officials. Foreclosures were down in Pennsylvania and New Jersey in November, as compared to October 2007 and October 2006. Governor Rendell called into 610 WIP to talk about Lanegate. Basically he wanted to explain what her phone call to him had been about (she just wanted someone to hear......

The annual Philadelphia International Auto Show may not be until February, but right now you can order e-tickets for it and save $2 per ticket in the process. So if you need a last second gift item for the gear head in your life, this may fit the bill, since you can print them out at home. In case you didn't know they don't actually sell cars at the show, despite being sponsored by the......

Dear Philadelphia: Congratulations! Just a day after The Inquirer reported that violent crime was down across the city, we received a press release from the GPTMC extolling all your other achievements in 2007. You deserve a big pat on the back for the national and international media mentions you've garnered this year. People are paying attention to you. You're like a celebrity now. On the Food front, The Today Show decided that Vesuvio Restaurant's......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Juno - Another of this year's big pregnancy comedies! We'll have a review coming up later today. Trailer Showing at: Ritz at the Bourse The Red Balloon - A remake of the 1956 French classic about the evil red balloon that stalks and kills people! Well, okay, it's not a mean and deadly balloon. But it does stalk people! Juliette Binoche stars as a single mother......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Savoring the Salt: Scribe Video Center, Film at International House, and Temple University Press present “A Celebration of the Film Work of Toni Cade Bambara,” including a panel discussion and screening of The Bombing of Osage Avenue at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $10 The Martha Graham Cracker Cabaret: Our favorite Martha brings her fabulous cabaret to L'Etage (634 S. 6th), on the 2nd floor of Creperie......

Good morning, readers, from a Phillyist on a plane, killing time on the way to Louisville via Chicago. Yeah, I know that's really out of the way. But then, so is Louisville. Air travel is generally hated by most people. Strangely, though, today's experience has been almost pleasant. Here's why: (1) Tuesday afternoons in December are apparently an awesome time to fly. Business travelers are out of town, going about their midweek business, and......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Reelblack: Wu: The Story of the Wu-Tang Clan and Chief Rocker Busy Bee: The Architect Vol. 1 at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $7 Armed America: Author Kyle Cassidy speaks about his book Armed America: Portraits of Gun Owners in Their Homes at Germ Books and Gallery (2005 Frankford Ave), 7PM. Free Margot & The Nuclear So and So's: Margot & The Nuclear So and So's, Le......

You gotta wonder about Penn students (and alums too, as it turns out): they shoot up terrorists, steal panties, and now apparently they adopt other people’s identities and swindle them out of loads of cash. To be fair though, Drexel does share some part of the latter, seeing as one of the accused is still a student there. You all know what we’re talking about right? Because it’s in the friggin international news! So Philly......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Most Likely to Rule: The Rape of Europa - Joan Allen narrates a documentary about the art destroyed and displaced by the Nazis during WWII, and the attempts - which began then and are still going on today - by museum officials and art historians to rescue and return said art. Sounds totally fascinating, and the reviews are very good. And given the slim pickings this......

What's new and/or interesting on TV this week. Nova (Tue, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) - This episode apparently consists mainly of footage of a war between termites and fierce, dragon-shaped army ants. The ants are used by a Cameroon tribe known as the Mofu to protect their huts and granaries from the termites. Good times! Wired Science (Wed, 8PM-9PM, WHYY & WLVT) - As always, a great big hodge podge of crazy applications of science......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Finishing the Game - We posted the preview for this one a ways back. It's a mockumentary about director Robert Clouse's attempt to finish the film Game of Death after the untimely death of its star, Bruce Lee. In Finishing the Game, Clouse starts a frantic search for an impersonator to replace Lee, and much wackiness and Hollywood satire ensue. Sounds like fun, but keep in......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: Hey, we’re bad Catholics: Casiotone For The Painfully Alone, To Bad Catholics, and Trtl Soup, courtesy of the folks at R5, at Johnny Brenda’s (1201 N. Frankford), 9 PM. $10 (21+) Foreskin’s Lament: Shalom Auslander, author of Foreskin’s Lament: A Memoir, will be reading from the book at the Free Library (1901 Vine), 7PM. Free. (P.S. Our friends in Boston can give you the skinny.) Trolleyvox: The Trolleyvox,......

Yes, it's that time of year again: gift-getting time! Will Santa bring you that video game console you're hoping for? Or is this finally the year when Satan will give you eternal life and help you take over the world? Perhaps in honor of this wonderful time of year, the International House has quite a treat for us tonight: not only are they screening famous German filmmaker F.W. Murnau's silent film Faust (adapted from......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend My Kid Could Paint That - A documentary about child painter Marla Olmstead, and the questions about aesthetics that her story brings to the forefront. She and her family went on a rollercoaster ride of fame and infamy. Her paintings were hailed as great works of abstract expressionism by some, and started selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars. She appeared on many national news programs.......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: At the Church: Avail, Smoke Or Fire, Let Down, and Bridge & Tunnel at the First Unitarian Church (22nd and Chestnut Streets), 7:30PM via the fine folks at R5. $10 Rocky Roads: Showing of Rocky Road to Dublin (a portrait of Ireland in the Sixties) with The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin at the International House (3701 Chestnut), 7PM. $5-$7 Venezuelan Serenade: Serenata Guayanesa, world-renowned vocal......

What's new and/or interesting at Philly theaters this weekend. Control - A biopic about Ian Curtis, the frontman of Joy Division, who hanged himself at a young age on the eve of the band's first U.S. tour. The film is based on a book by Curtis' wife Deborah. Newcomer Sam Riley stars as Curtis opposite Samantha Morton. Obviously it doesn't have a particularly happy ending, but the reviews are generally quite good, and it's a......

75-year-old Maximo Jurado escaped from a New Jersey prison in 1979 and has been on the run ever since - until he was captured by police last night in Philadelphia at the home of an ex-girlfriend, who had known him for a over a year but had never discovered the truth about his past. The Daily News story we linked to the other day about the bloated Parking Authority pay roll has caused Ed Rendell......

What's new and/or interesting in theaters this weekend. For the Bible Tells Me So - This is a documentary looking at Christianity and homosexuality, and whether the two can possibly get along. It includes interviews with people on both sides of the debate, and looks at whether the parts of the Bible that are supposedly anti-gay haven't perhaps been taken out of context and used to serve a political agenda. Sounds like a very interesting......

This week, Phillyist saw the waters of a landmark fountain run red for a Showtime marketing stunt, the Phils pull ahead, and some serious nostalgia. They also got a chance to review an awesome tribute album, reminded folks to see the King, and appreciated their beautiful skyline. Chicagoist knows what it's like to like the Cubs. But naming your kid Wrigley Fields? At least they can breathe a little easier now that Grossman's out......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With - Jeff Garlin plays a rather pathetic Chicago actor who lives with his mother, and who, in the opening scenes of the film, gets dumped by his girlfriend, loses a part to Aaron Carter, and leaves an Overeaters Anonymous meeting to go to an ice cream parlor. When he falls for a girl there (Sarah Silverman), it could mean......

Yes, it's back! Classical music concerts have returned to Philadelphia after a much-deserved break. Get excited for the upcoming year. Monday The Momenta String Quartet presents a free lunchtime concert, mixing some of its new season with some old favorites. Swarthmore College; 12:30 PM; FREE Tuesday Rob Mazurek's Exploding Star Orchestra Sextet combines jazz sensibilities with unexpected sound clips and visuals. Catch them on tour as they stop at Philadelphia's International House. International House Philadelphia......

Mayor Street and the man most likely to be our next mayor (Democratic mayoral candidate Michael Nutter) are disagreeing over the location of a new Family Court. Street wants to move "the court from its current location on Vine Street near 18th to a site at 15th and Arch streets where a parking lot now stands," while Nutter wants "the new court building as close as possible to a new Youth Study Center. He......

Police have charged Duane Jackson, 45, with attempted murder and attempted rape in the case of a woman who was stabbed and sexually assaulted in her home near Center City in July. Authorities suspect Jackson may be responsible for other attacks in the city and are looking into that now, so more charges are probably on the way. An appeals court panel has upheld the 81/2-to-17-year prison sentence given to a computer consultant for......

The shapeless dough of the internet, formed into tasty pellets and baked to perfection, just for you. Most versions of the Bible are apparently missing all the important bits where Spider-Man shows up to lend a hand. American viewers of the new Doctor Who series may be unaware that before she was the Doctor's assistant, Billie Piper was a one-woman Spice Girl! Sort of. (Via) This is absolutely brilliant: the classic "Trouble with Tribbles" episode......

Yesterday Unity Day was celebrated in the rain on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and thousands of people of all shapes, sizes, and colors attended, enjoying music, food, games, and activities. A report to be released today by City Controller Alan Butkovitz shows that two decades of expensive attempts to build a new computerized water billing system have achieved little, and the system will almost certainly not be done by the time Mayor Street leaves office,......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Rocket Science - When a film is described as "inspirational," we immediately approach it with suspicion, but this one at least has an interesting premise: a 15-year-old high school student (Reece Thompson) with an uncontrollable stutter decides to work through his disability by joining the debate team at school. The film is directed by Jeffrey Blitz, who overcame a speech impediment of his own as a......

In a rather surprising decision, the Board of License & Inspection Review voted unanimously yesterday to allow the Death of Venus mural to remain on the wall in the historic district, even without a permit. Although the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, and Tacony-Palmyra Bridges are still officially "safe," they're also described as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. Most will be undergoing repair or updating soon. The extremely congested Terminal F at the Philadelphia International......

Andy Reid's son Britt pleaded guilty yesterday to four charges. His lawyers are arguing that he's full of remorse and are angling for him to get probation, but he could end up being sentenced to six to 14 months in jail. We won't know for sure until later this year. The FBI is looking for a filthy dude in connection with the robbery yesterday of the Trumark Financial Credit Union at 1811 John F. Kennedy......

What's new and/or interesting in Philly theaters this weekend. Labyrinth - Woah! Here's a blast from the past. It's the 1986 classic wherein a young Jennifer Connelly has to travel into a weird fantasy world and face-off against a charming, well-hung, singing, dancing, evil David Bowie - not to mention a bunch of Jim Henson puppets - in order to save her kidnapped baby brother. Of course, it's ostensibly a kid's movie, so she has......

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......