Democracy for America Likes Al Gore

DFA has an online poll going until November 5th; Al Gore is winning as a write-in.

A Transit Customer Advocate?

There's an article in the Inky today reporting on New Jersey Transit's "customer advocate" Sandra Check was named to the new, $136,000-a-year post of customer advocate in August as to "woo new passengers and mollify old ones".

Michael Nutter Getting Some National Press

There's an interesting article about the person likely to be our next Mayor in Governing Magazine; a national publication for government management professionals and officials. There are some interesting footnotes in the electronic version of this article, including one by the leader of one of Philadelphia's "watchdog" groups.

Philly Metro Blog

Philly Metro has a new blog.

Pennsylvania State Universities Achieve Record Enrollment

According to the Philadelphia Metro, Pennsylvania's state universities reported record enrollment for a sixth straight year. A total of 110,428 students are attending state universities this fall. One factor driving enrollment growth? Cost. Students at public universities paid an average of $12,796 last year, while students at private schools spent $30,367. The 14 state universities are Kutztown, Bloomsburg, California, Cheyney, Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Indiana, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Millersville, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester.

Waiting for Al Gore

Oscar. Emmy. Nobel Prize. Is Al Gore going to get into the race for President? I hope so. So does this blogger.

Agricultural Factoid

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the Commonwealth ranks 4th nationally in apple production; about 510 million pounds are produced every year.

Banking Development Districts

In an effort to get banks to increase their presence in underserved urban and rural areas, state Rep. Dwight Evans introduced legislation last week that would establish "banking development districts." In exchange for locating in a designated district, banks would be eligible for public deposits and other incentives like tax exemptions.

Michael Nutter in Pittsburgh

Watch this interview of Michael Nutter during his recent trip to Pittsburgh. It'll give you a sense of why he's going to be a great Philadelphia leader, both internally and externally.

A Great Blog

Heard in the Hall is a great blog.