Boy Did We Get A LOT Of Snow!

It stared snowing during the earlier part of Saturday and it snowed ALL day and into the night!

Now this isn't the first snowfall that has happened here in Philadelphia this season but it is the first snowfall of the season (and I don't think that it is officially winter yet!) that has left a lot of snow accumulation!

You can probably find the official snow numbers by going to KYW News radio or by going to one of the online sites that has information about Philadelphia's weather.

All I know is that we got a LOT of snow Saturday. Thankfully I work from home so I really didn't have to go out in this kind of weather. But I was listening to the radio and as you can imagine there were car accidents and delays at the Philadelphia airport and Septa was having major delays!

You should also know that all public and parochial schools will be closed on Monday!

The temperatures are not expected to go out of the 30's for the next few days! This is going to make shoveling snow more harder! It's also a few days away from Christmas and I'm sure that there are a lot of people that still have a lot of Christmas shopping to do!

I was listening to the weather report on the radio and did you know that there is a chance that we actually get snow on Christmas Eve!

Is Septa Going To Go On Strike?

Is Septa going to go on strike? Well that seems to be the popular question today! People in Philadelphia and the surrounding area are wondering if Septa is going to go on strike. They have a good reason to be worried about it though because a lot of people use Septa! In fact I was at the supermarket today and it was packed apparently because people were trying to get their shopping done before the 6pm deadline that was set for the Septa workers to go on strike.

Apparently the major bone of contention is about salaries and benefits and the last word that I heard from KYW news radio was that both the union and Septa are still negotiating and that they might possible have a meeting tomorrow - Sunday - which is highly unusual but both sides feel that the sooner they solve this thing the better.

So as of right now, both sides are still negotiating and the Septa buses and trolleys are still running! Whew!




Update!

November 3, 2009

I was shocked when I heard on the news that Septa has actually gone on strike! It seems that they made the decision to go on strike early in the morning and there were many commuters who had not heard the news of the strike and so they were caught off guard when they were trying to get to work!

I heard them interviewing them on the news and the people were saying that they wished that they had known that Septa had decided to go on strike so that they could make other plans on how they were going to get to work.

It seems that hospitals in the Philadelphia area have made contingency plans to help their workers get to work. I heard on the radio that one Philadelphia-area hospital would be opening more spaces for parking and charging $5 for their workers to park in those spaces.

Others commuters are taking cabs.

There's no telling how long this strike is going to last!

Woman Accused Of Selling Body For World Series Tickets?

In case you haven't heard it yet the Phillies are playing in the World Series for 2009! Since they won the world series in 2008, winning again would just be great!

Of course the whole city of Philadelphia is in high spirits hoping that the Phillies will win the World Series again this year as well!

As you can imagine Phillies fans are eager to get their hands on the World Series tickets so that they can attend the games. I know that the Philadelphia sports fans are eager and quite loyal but it did surprise me when I saw online that a woman is being accused of selling her body for World Series tickets!

This was reported by CBS and you can read the story by clicking here.

Michael Vick? - I Guess I Should "Weigh" In!

Michael Vick was all over the news today and since I'm from Philadelphia I guess I should "weigh" in and offer my own opinion as well.

First a little background information for those of you that don't know what this is all about.

Michael Vick, a professional football player was convicted in a dogfighting ring crime. He spent 2 years in prison and now the Philadelphia Eagles are hiring him back saying that everyone deserves a second chance - which I really can't argue with.

Fans and regular people have been interviewed and it looks as though the opinions are half and half. Half feel that he does deserve a second chance and the other half think that the Philadelphia Eagles should have not signed him back with the Eagles.

Here is my own personal opinion:

I am an animal lover myself and I think that what he did was just awful and horrible! However I can't argue with the fact that people deserve a second chance. So we are just going to have to see how he lives the rest of his life.

It Was The Hottest Day Of The Year Today Here In Philly!

It was definitely a hot day today! I was constantly listening to the news on KYW AM and I also kept watching our local news on ABC channel 6 - which is my favorite local news channel to watch on TV. As I understand it we reached 97 degrees today but it felt as though it was over 100 degrees! Even with my air conditioning on (it was set to low - conserving those PECO bills you know - LOL!) it still felt kind of warm and I was still sweating!

I am soooo glad (and grateful) that I work from home so that I didn't have to be out in that kind of weather unless I wanted to! I did sweep off my back porch though some time during the early afternoon and it didn't feel so bad but I'm guessing that that is because I have a tree that shades my home.


With this kind of hot and humid weather there have been all kinds of weather alerts on TV. Since the weather is so hot and humid people are reminded to take care of themselves. During hot and humid weather like this your supposed to drink lots of water - even if you don't feel thirsty. Keep checking your pets and the elderly and make sure that they are alright.

There are also heat-related emergency phone numbers that you can call to help you with problems that you are having related to the heat. There are supposed to be a lot of good links at 6ABC.com to help people deal with the heat.

For me, I'm just taking it easy and staying inside with the air conditioner on!

Septa Bus Driver Injured!

I just heard about this on the news! I don't have all the details but from what I heard the bus driver was nice enough to let the assailants ride the bus without having to pay the extra fare but at the end of the bus's run they still went and beat up the bus driver!

Now I do know a little bit about this "fare" business in that when you go out of the city limits you have to pay an additional zone fare because you're entering another location outside the city of Philadelphia. Add to that - if you have already gotten a bus transfer you still have to pay the addition zone fare if you go out of the city limits.

I know that its upsetting and a hassle to have to pay so much in bus fares but in this particular case, the bus driver was nice enough to let them ride the bus because the bus driver said that he didn't want them to be stranded. Which was a very nice thing to do and look at what happens!

The news reports said that the Septa bus driver is going to be OK and you can read more about this story by clicking here.

The Death Of Harry Kalas

I heard about the death of Harry Kalas on the news today. Even though I'm not a big Phillies fan, I do remember the voice of Harry Kalas! He had a very distinctive voice which was very nice to listen to.

I believe that he was in his 70's and I think I heard on the news about when his parents took him to a ballgame it was then that he knew what he wanted to do with his life.

He took ill while getting ready for a Phillies game. He was taken to the hospital and unfortunately he was pronounced dead a short time later.

Even though this is sad news for Philadelphia Phillies fans at least everyone knows that he died doing what it was that he loved to do!

Another Winter Storm Alert!

Well it seems as if the Philadelphia area is under another winter storm alert for the weekend! Actually it seems as if we're going to have 2 bouts of winter weather with the worst being the 2nd one that's supposed to come Sunday night into Monday. We might get as much as 6 inches of snow!

Here are some websites to help keep you informed about the latest weather condition in and around the Philadelphia area:

• National Forecast Weather Office For Philadelphia
  
  
• Current Watches, Warnings and Advisories For The Pennsylvania Area

Brian Dawkins Has Been Traded!

I'm not a very big sports fan but one of the most popular sports news topics of the day is the fact that Brian Dawkins will no longer be playing for the Philadelphia Eagles. It is my understanding that he has been an "Eagle" for the past 13 years and the fans are sad to see him go.

Apparently there was some issue with the contract offering in that the Eagles didn't offer him enough money so that is when he decided to leave.

There are lots of blog posts and news stories about this and like I mentioned above I'm not a real big sports fan but this is a big part of the kind of current news stories that are happening in the Philadelphia area.

The Philadelphia Inquirer Filing For Bankruptcy?

I couldn't believe it when I heard on the news that the Philadelphia Inquirer was filing for bankruptcy! Actually its the company that owns the Inquirer that is filing for bankruptcy.

Everytime I see that building on Broad Street it reminds me that the building and the Inquirer are another "staple" of the Philadelphia area! And besides the Philadelphia Tribune, the Inquirer was one of the major newspapers in the area! I always relish getting the coupons that were included in the Sunday Edition of the Inquirer.


Of course I miss the building that used to house the Philadelphia Bulletin and what I miss most of all is seeing the headlines that appeared on the side of the building.

I haven't been in this area for a while and I don't what is in the building now but I'm pretty sure my memory is correct in that the building is located near the 30th Street Station.

I don't know what this bankruptcy filing is going to mean for the newspaper but I'm wondering how Philadelphia would fare if they didn't have at least one major newspaper for the area?

Boy Did We Get A Lot Of Snow!

Boy did we get a lot of snow yesterday! I believe the official numbers were that Philadelphia got around 6 inches of snow yesterday!

For right now we all seem to be shoveling ourselves out of it now and I heard on the news that Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has said that the city of Philadelphia was only able to shovel about 25% of the side streets!

It does make for a gorgeous site but if you have to be out in it it doesn't feel as "gorgeous"! Personally I could stand the snow - it's just the ice that I hate! A lot of people (at least on the news anyway) seem to be taking it in stride because they say it is winter of course and we should expect winter weather.

It's supposed to be brutally cold tomorrow and Friday but then it looks as though we'll get temperatures in the 50's during the weekend! Sounds kind of strange to be getting 50 degree-plus temperatures in February but if it will help to melt the snow then I am all for it!

The Mummers Parade Continues for 2009!

Well it looks like the Mummers' tradition continues!

The Mummers were able to have their traditional 2009 parade and strut down Broad Street!

A few weeks ago it was announced by Philadelphia's Mayor Michael Nutter that the city of Philadelphia wouldn't be paying for the Mummer's Day Parade and that got a lot of people upset! However, the Mummers were able to secure financial donations so that they could have their parade this year.

Here are some related links where you can find out more:

• MyPHL17 News About The Mummers
  
  
• News From The Associated Press
  
  
• The Philadelphia Mummers Website