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Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes — not that we’re counting.
What a random week. Turkeys were roaming in West Philly, trash collection had gone awry and Lynne Abraham hinted through her own poll that she will be the next person to lead this smelly, turkey-filled city. And amid all this, Pew discovered Philadelphians are as upbeat about Philly as they’ve been in a long time. We recap these stories and more, paired with music, as part of the #BillyPennPlaylist.
“My Signature Move,” Pink
With news that City Commissioner Stephanie Singer is out of this year’s election because she didn’t get the needed 1,000 signatures for her petition, it’s clear she failed at math and running for a political election. Surprising, considering Singer as City Commissioner is tasked with overseeing elections, and she also studied math at Stanford and Yale.
“Good Vibrations,” Beach Boys
According to Pew, us Philadelphia residents are more upbeat about the city than we’ve been in many years.
“Fools Gold,” Fitz and the Tantrums
A poll came out this week showing Lynne Abraham as the front runner for mayor. Startling news, right? Except the poll was commissioned by her own camp and only included 500 people. Candidate Doug Oliver responded by releasing his own troll poll, pointing out that after giving ice cream to children and puppies to the puppy-less he leads by “ridiculous amounts.”
“Birds of a Feather,” The Civil Wars
The turkeys were back in West Philadelphia. Somewhere, Ben Franklin is smiling.
“Git Up, Git Out,” Outkast
Council President Darrell Clarke wants the Temple kids to clean up after themselves and is introducing a resolution that would make it more likely to happen.
“Mixed Emotions,” Annie
The good news is Philadelphia continues to grow. The city’s population, according to the most recent census data, increased by 4,245. The bad news is the increase didn’t happen because of young people flocking to Philadelphia. It was from births.
“My Block,” Scarface
Billy Penn introduced a new way to keep track of your neighborhood, powered by Comcast’s EveryBlock project.
“Can I Live,” Jay-Z
Milton Street finally officially lives in Philadelphia. The challenge to get him kicked off the ballot was thrown out by a judge on Wednesday. He’s still a mayoral candidate.
“Chandelier,” Sia
Swing from the chandeliers, Philly Republicans. Martina White won a special election for a state House seat in the Northeast. It was the first local victory in an open seat for Republicans in 25 years.
“That Smell,” Lynyrd Skynyrd
Trash collection was all outta whack this week. Hope you enjoy a smelly city!