TresSugar

Philly Could Fine You $120 For Texting While Walking

Kristy Korcz — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 03:12:31 PDT

Heads up, text addicts: you could be fined if you're caught walking and texting on the streets of Philadelphia! We all know that texting while driving is dangerous, but a new program launched in May called "Give Respect Get Respect" is encouraging motorists, bikers, and pedestrians alike to pay attention while in transit. Fines are being issued for drivers that veer into the bike lane, bikers who run through traffic signals and ride on sidewalks, and even pedestrians are being warned that texting while walking could cost you $120.

Philadelphia isn't the first city to consider fining text-walkers; back in 2008, Chicago introduced a bill that would ban texting while walking due to the high level of injuries caused from pedestrians walking into oncoming traffic, falling off curbs, and running into light posts and telephone poles. Though you can download an app that could help you text and walk with confidence, I'm not sure the city of brotherly love would consider that an acceptable alternative.

LA Has the Most Sex, but Philly Gets More Satisfaction

Annie Scudder — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 12:30:43 PDT

The City of Angels is also the city of sex. Trojan's annual sex census has found that people living in LA have the most sex in the US; they get laid an average of 135 times a year. But residents in the So Cal city are not the most satisfied. That prize goes to Philadelphia, where the sexual satisfaction rate is at 82 percent. Ironically, Philly also ranked number one as the city that has the least sex. People in the City of Brotherly Love only have sex 99 times a year on average. That discrepancy could be explained by another finding: married people report much higher rates of sexual satisfaction, while single people reported higher sexual frequency. The less sex you have, the more satisfied you are. Once again, quality trumps quantity.

To find out which cities made the top five for sexual frequency and sexual satisfaction, keep reading.

Philadelphia Bloggers Pay Business Tax: Fair or Unreasonable?

GeekSugar — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 12:15:45 PDT

Is this fair, or just ridiculous? The city of Philadelphia wants to charge bloggers $300 to continue posting on their blogs - the equivalent of a "business privilege license." While this fee would apply to professional or money-making blogs, it also applies to blogs created by residents as a hobby or part-time blogs that make no money. Additionally, bloggers are required to pay taxes on any earnings they received from the blog, however small the profit.

While taxes on a lucrative blog seem fair, taxing those who run popular or successful blogs that don't turn a profit seems a little ridiculous, even for a cash-strapped city. The city of Philadelphia's take: if your blog has the potential to become lucrative, you must pay a tax, regardless of how much money is actually generated.

On one hand, these are the same sorts of rules that freelance writers and others must follow; on the other, these blogs aren't turning a profit. If everyone started charging such a tax, I'm afraid that otherwise awesome content would never see the light of day. What do you think about this tax?

The Love Letter Project Embraces the City of Brotherly Love

TresSugar — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 08:00:00 PDT

What is it with Philadelphia and quirky outdoor art? On the heels of the new documentary In a Dream, about one man's giant mosaic memoir, comes Love Letter, a massive mural project by artist Steve Powers and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program.

The visual love letter plays out across 50 painted walls along Philly's Market Street elevated train. Through the month of August, 40 artists are creating their masterpieces for all to see starting around Labor Day. You can check out the progress so far on the official Love Letter mural. I can't help but love art that loves me back; what do you think?

Philadelphians Are the Highest Tippers

YumSugar — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 15:00:55 PDT

The City of Brotherly Love is also the city with the most-tipping love. Based on Zagat's newly released Philadelphia survey, the city's residents leave a generous 19.6 percent tip on average, compared to the countrywide average of 19 percent. Diners in New York - long considered the most expensive place to live in the US - only tip equal to the countrywide average, while those in Los Angeles tip below average at 18.4 percent.

Do Philadelphians really possess more love for their fellow citymen? Or is it because of Philadelphia's large number of BYO restaurants? I'm most surprised by the fact that New Yorkers tip such a meager amount. When I lived in Manhattan more than five years ago, it was considered standard to tip 20 percent due to the high cost of living there, and the fact that so many New Yorkers make a living in the service industry. Do these numbers surprise you? Are they in line with what you would normally tip, given decent service?

Source

Calcium = The Sixth Taste?

partysugar — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 09:00:46 PDT

Scientists in Philadelphia have discovered that mice can taste calcium. Since humans and rodents share many of the same genes, the human tongue should taste calcium as well. For centuries the four basic tastes were sweet, sour, bitter, and salty. However when umami, the fifth "savory" taste, was recognized 100 years ago, the door opened to research other tastes. According to Michael Tordoff, a geneticist who participated in the mice study, a human's palate can detect the mineral. It tastes:

Calcium tastes calcium-y, there isn't a better word for it. It is bitter, perhaps even a little sour. But it's much more because there are actual receptors for calcium, not just bitter or sour compounds.

Tordoff claims that the bitterness of certain vegetables, like bok choy or dark greens, is due to high levels of calcium. Although milk is full of calcium, the fats prevent us from tasting it.

Since I've always thought it was crazy that only four basic tastes exist, the discovery is incredibly interesting, and I think that maybe I've tasted calcium. What do you make of the findings? Have you ever tasted calcium?

Source

Should Tour Guides Be Required to Take a History Test?

LibertySugar — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 12:15:59 PDT

Tour guides in Philadelphia think a new city law requiring history tests before they receive a license, violates their right to freedom of speech. This new rule will require guides to pass a written test, or pay a fine, the same requirements for guides in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Charleston, SC.

Opponents paint the law as making speech conditional on government permission.

If you're paying big bucks for a history lesson, it might be nice to know it's not the history of the guide's imagination. It's pleasant to picture Walt Whitman walking into Philly from New Jersey across the Ben Franklin Bridge (as one guide will assist you with) - but does it matter that the bridge wasn't built until 1926, 30 years after Whitman died?

Do you think Philadelphia is betraying its constitutional roots, or being responsible by making sure those roots are portrayed accurately? Either way, since the law only requires a one-time-test, neither censorship nor accuracy will be guaranteed.

Source

Philadelphia to Bribe Employers: $10,000 If You Hire an Ex-Con

LibertySugar — Wed, 28 May 2008 06:00:46 PDT

Philadelphia is going to give employers $10,000 for each ex-con they hire. City officials hope that a shot of cash will encourage employers to give those who have made mistakes a second chance, jumpstart crime prevention, and ultimately save the city money.

Each inmate costs Philly $30,000 per year. Considering that approximately two out out three released prisoners are arrested again within three years, this seems like a foolproof investment. I just wonder whether the money is enough to help employers get over the perceived risk of hiring an ex-con.

While some states are making it harder for certain criminals to reintegrate into society, it's exciting to see new solutions offered to address the country's record high prison population. Even so, I will be eager to see some follow-up statistics to figure out if subsidized ex-cons re-offend anyways.

Does it bother you that people who have broken the rules get an advantage over law abiding job applicants? Are there other ways to reduce the stigma and help reduce recidivism?

Source

Four Philadelphia Cops Involved in Beating Have Been Fired

CitizenSugar — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:00:24 PDT

Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey has announced that following the May 5 beating of three suspects in a drug-related triple shooting, four police officers will be fired. The beating was caught on tape by a news helicopter and shows 15 officers descending upon the car. Two of the four being fired were new recruits on probation; the other two, more experienced.

The most senior officer present has been demoted to the rank of police officer and transferred to another district for failing to stop the beating, though the tape shows he had no contact with the suspects. Three other officers were suspended for up to 15 days and and have been transferred to other districts. To see why the beating happened, the response, and the tape,

At the time of the incident, emotions were running high as a fellow officer had been killed two days earlier during a robbery. The men from the car are in custody on attempted murder, assault and firearms charges. The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, has said he was satisfied by the department’s response to the beating.

However one of the lawyers for the men in the car says, “The only reason these people are not in handcuffs is because they are police officers. They behaved like a pack of wild animals.” Adding to this, the chairwoman of the National Action Network (led by Al Sharpton) said “The position of the citizens of Philadelphia is that the response by Ramsey and Nutter was not enough. We want all the officers prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Is the response enough? Too severe? Did the known danger following the murder of the officer two days prior, inform their response - or send it out of control? Should the officers be treated like civilians, or are cases involving cops inherently different given the situations they face? Since the men in the car are being held on very serious offenses, did they earn severe treatment?

Source

When In Philly. . . . Hillary Compares Herself to Rocky!

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 09:55:56 PDT

Hillary Clinton just spoke in Philly, and compared herself to that great Philadelphian - not Alexander Hamilton - Rocky Balboa. She said,

"Well, could you imagine if Rocky Balboa had gotten half way up those Art Museum steps and said, 'Well, I guess that’s about far enough? Let me tell you something, when it comes to finishing the fight, Rocky and I have a lot in common. I never quit. I never give up. And neither do the American people."

Great sentiment! Though the boys in the booth are telling me Rocky, um, lost that fight. Shoot. (The not giving up part is nice though. Let's concentrate on that. . . .)