May 2013
16 posts
May 18th
5 notes
4 tags
May 16th
1 note
5 tags
Infant in Stroller Falls Onto Philly Train Tracks →
A stroller carrying a 14-month-old girl rolled off a slanted train station platform and fell onto the tracks Wednesday, but the girl’s mother leaped onto the tracks to rescue her with the help other passengers, transit officials said. “What it looks like to us is that the mother became…
May 16th
1 note
9 tags
Biden: Don't listen to cynics' claim US in decline →
Today’s college graduates are well-positioned to lead America in the 21st century and shouldn’t listen to cynics who say the nation is in decline, Vice President Joe Biden told thousands of new degree holders at the University of Pennsylvania on Monday.
May 14th
1 note
8 tags
Painters brush new life into Philly 'ghost signs' →
PHILADELPHIA — As a fifth-generation locksmith in this tough town, John Henssler figured he had heard it all. Then a stranger walked into his family’s century-old shop and offered to repaint its faded, two-story business sign — for free.
May 12th
1 note
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : Simply Put →
Not much to write about today’s New York Times crossword puzzle. Simply put: There’s no payoff. 
May 12th
6 tags
Swedish royals visit Philly, mark historic... →
Members of Sweden’s royal family visited Philadelphia on Friday as part of a four-day trip marking the 375th anniversary of the founding of a Scandinavian colony in the U.S.
May 11th
2 notes
May 10th
4 tags
Philly schools seek $304M to avoid harmful cuts →
Mayor Michael Nutter called for a shared sacrifice among city, state and union leaders on Thursday to help the Philadelphia schools avoid devastating budget cuts.
May 9th
2 tags
May 7th
1 note
6 tags
Philly airport workers allege unsafe work setting →
Wheelchair attendants at Philadelphia International Airport said Monday that defective equipment, lack of training and exposure to bodily fluids have created unsafe working conditions for employees and the disabled passengers they transport.
May 7th
1 note
2 tags
May 6th
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : Crunch Time →
If you’ve ever felt “crunched” for time, today’s New York Times crossword puzzle is for you.
May 5th
8 tags
May 4th
9 tags
App lets amputees program their own bionic hands →
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Double-amputee Jason Koger used to fly hundreds of miles to visit a clinician when he wanted to adjust the grips on his bionic hands.
May 4th
6 tags
Castro's niece in Philly for gay rights conference →
PHILADELPHIA—The niece of Fidel Castro said Friday on a trip to Philadelphia that she believes Cuba and the U.S. will have normal relations one day, but she doesn’t know when.
May 4th
1 note
April 2013
20 posts
6 tags
Mariela Castro to get gay rights award in Philly →
The daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro will be allowed to travel to Philadelphia to accept an award for her gay rights advocacy, officials said Tuesday, reversing a previous decision to reject her visa request. Mariela Castro will attend the Equality Forum’s annual conference on civil…
Apr 30th
8 tags
Pa. congressman unveils new airline safety plan →
New airline safety legislation would mandate the installation of extra cockpit security in order to protect pilots and passengers from 9/11-style terrorist attacks, its main sponsor said Monday. The current …
Apr 29th
2 tags
Apr 29th
8 notes
4 tags
Crossword Kathy : Soft T's →
New York Times crossword, April 28 / Constructed by Patrick Berry There’s no soft-peddling it: Today’s puzzle was completely given away by the title. “Soft T’s” is an aural clue that common phrases …
Apr 28th
5 tags
New Philly kids zoo shows off animals' abilities →
The new $32 million KidZooU is designed to help youngsters develop compassion for animals and look at ordinary creatures in different ways.
Apr 28th
1 note
6 tags
Castro's daughter can't leave New York to pick up... →
PHILADELPHIA — The daughter of Cuba President Raul Castro cannot visit Philadelphia to receive an award for her gay rights activism because the State Department has denied her permission to travel there, officials said Thursday. 
Apr 26th
4 notes
Even urbanites can navigate a park like Yosemite →
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) — We had been traveling for hours — six by plane from Philadelphia to San Francisco, then nearly four more in a car through city, suburbs, farmland and forest — when we glimpsed our reward from a turnout in the mountain road. I left Philly for a few days last week to “rough it” in one of the nation’s most beautiful national parks.
Apr 25th
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : Front Flips →
Sunday’s NYT crossword puzzle required some basic mental gymnastics.
Apr 21st
Apr 16th
4 tags
Crossword Kathy : 'My Treat' →
Solving Sunday’s NYT crossword puzzle was a “treat” – sort of.
Apr 14th
3 tags
Apr 13th
2 notes
3 tags
Stray bullet hits belt buckle of Philadelphia... →
A grocery store employee said Thursday that he is thanking God and his belt buckle for saving him from a stray bullet that smashed through the market’s front door.
Apr 12th
1 note
7 tags
Apr 10th
Apr 10th
2 notes
6 tags
Some parents opt-out kids from Pa. standardized... →
When students at Pittsburgh’s Linden Elementary School sit down to take the PSSAs starting Monday, Kathy Newman’s third-grader will be sitting out.
Apr 8th
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : Fitting Rearrangements →
“Fitting Rearrangements” alludes to the six anagrams that comprise the theme of a crossword that offered a few smiles but not a lot of challenges.
Apr 7th
8 tags
Philadelphia gets ready to play 'Pong' on building →
Philadelphia is getting ready for a supersized game of “Pong”—on the side of a skyscraper.
Apr 5th
6 tags
2 ex-Philly principals surrender credentials after... →
Two former city school principals caught up in a widespread cheating probe have surrendered their administrative certifications in lieu of discipline, state education officials confirmed Wednesday.
Apr 4th
7 tags
Napolitano taps 7 colleges for crisis prep program →
Seven universities will participate in a national preparedness initiative designed to help campuses train for, respond to and recover from emergencies, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Tuesday.
Apr 3rd
1 note
6 tags
Drexel University in Philly to offer 2-year law... →
With enthusiasm for law school waning over concerns about high student debt, Drexel University is creating a two-year degree program designed to help new attorneys get into the workforce sooner and start making money.
Apr 1st
March 2013
27 posts
2 tags
Mar 31st
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : Special Features →
I had a fun time hunting through Sunday’s NYT crossword puzzle for special features.
Mar 31st
Mar 30th
7 tags
Philly group gives helping 'paw' to displaced pets →
After a fire broke out at Dorothy Phillips’ apartment in Philadelphia, the Red Cross gave her a temporary place to stay. Unfortunately, the shelter would not accept her beloved dog, Max.
Mar 30th
2 tags
Mar 28th
1 tag
Mar 27th
1 note
6 tags
Is Pa. ready for statewide authorizer of charter... →
With the cost and quality of charter schools dominating the public education debate in Pennsylvania, lawmakers face at least a dozen major bills seeking better accountability and governance of such schools, which are publicly financed but independently run.
Mar 25th
5 tags
Crossword Kathy : You'll Know It When You See It →
I have disappointing news for those solvers — myself included — who saw today’s puzzle title and thought it hinted at something risqué. “I know it when I see it” is how former Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart memorably defined obscenity in a 1964 pornography case.
Mar 24th
1 tag
Mar 24th
2 notes
6 tags
Old shivs, jailhouse crafts freed for display at... →
A mounted wooden fish. Dog figurines. Colorful soap carvings of clowns and Santa. A wallet made of interwoven cigarette packs. It sounds like a bad garage sale — until you get to the shivs. And the century-old mug shot book. And the inmate death ledger.
Mar 21st
1 note
4 tags
Federal judges in Philly asked to rule on... →
A federal appeals court was asked Tuesday to decide whether the government must obtain a warrant before placing a GPS tracker on a suspect’s car.
Mar 20th
4 tags
Crossword Kathy : Any Pun For Tennis? →
The theme of today’s easy, pun-filled NYT crossword puzzle would have us dream of warmer temperatures and the thwack! of the fuzzy ball against the racquet strings:
Mar 17th
Mar 16th
10 notes
8 tags
Villanova's Vatican interns get unexpected... →
Talk about a baptism by fire: On the first day of Lauren Colegrove’s journalism internship at Catholic News Service in Rome, the pope announced his resignation.
Mar 13th