Friday: Head over to CP's neck of the woods for a little First Friday action; Carolyn Huckabay's got the goods on what to see (we've also got some sweet new gallery listings you gotta check out). But art in Old City? Old news. Be bold and try another artistic locale with the Strawberry Mansion Art, Jewelry and Fine Craft Show.

Saturday: Esquire writer A.J. Jacobs wouldn't miss the First Person Fest for the world, even after he met A.D. (who also rocked this week's cover story on the Top 10 Spectrum Music Moments). Show up in style by traveling along with the Tweed Ride. It's a good this thing is happening on today, rather than tomorrow because these riders would most certainly have to start a to-the-death brawl with the participants in the…

Sunday: …Snuggie Crawl. Do not scoff, haters. Mama Omnibus alway, always, always wanted a Snuggie and it wasn't until Art Department angel Allie bestowed one upon me that I felt my life was complete. Needless to say, it's glorious. But too many Snuggies and not enough substance leads to trouble so check out Life Without Parole, where excerpts of Mother California: A Story of Redemption Behind Bars by the incarcerated Kenneth Hartman will be read.

Courtesy of Marion County

Have you ever had to report something stolen to the police? Would you ever tell the police that someone stole all of your weed?

Would you then drive around drunk and call 911 again, while vomiting?

This guy did.

Julia Harte with your morning fix.

Nidal Malik Hasan, the Muslim, U.S.-born major who killed at least 13 people in an  attack on the army base at Ft. Hood, Texas, yesterday, had been the target of ethnic harassment and due to deploy soon to Afghanistan, which he called his "worst nightmare."

Partly in response to the recent deaths of five British soldiers, who were killed by an Afghan police officer they were mentoring, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown gave a speech informing the Afghan government that Britain would begin to withdraw support for the anti-Taliban fight if the country's pervasive corruption was not more effectively dealt with.

Robert Sturman, a financial adviser who preyed on retired school teachers in Philadelphia and the surrounding suburbs with quasi-Ponzi schemes that netted him about $4.6 million, pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court yesterday.

Spanish fishermen whose ship was seized by Somali pirates one month ago were urging their families to pressure the Spanish government to return two pirates captured the day after the hijacking, saying that their holders refuse to negotiate until those two men are returned.

Governor Rendell and U.S. representative Bob Brady reported that the striking Philadelphia Transit Workers Union is considering a revised contract offer from SEPTA, provoking speculation that the end of the strike may be imminent.

Ousted President Manuel Zelaya withdrew from a power-sharing deal that the United States had drawn up between Zelaya and interim leader Roberto Micheletti, saying the deal would be illegitimate unless Congress first voted to restore Zelaya to power.

Councilman Frank Rizzo

Today, at-large Councilman Frank Rizzo introduced a resolution calling for the city to restore mechanical leaf collection, a service which Mayor Nutter cut last November, during the fiscal budget crisis.

The resolution was co-sponsored by Councilmembers Anna Verna, Jannie Blackwell, Curtis Jones, Joan Krajewski, Donna Reed Miller, Marian Tasco and Brian O’Neill.

It passed 14-2, with Councilmembers DiCicco and Green dissenting and Councilman Greenlee absent. (*corrected from an earlier draft, which gave the vote incorrectly as 15-2).

The Mayor's office has said that it opposes re-instituting the service, choosing to spend the money elsewhere: "We're asking citizens to work with us on this issue so we can meet our spending priorities such as police, fire, and libraries," said spokeswoman Maura Kennedy yesterday.

Rizzo, however, saw it a different way:

"There are certain things that the city has an obligation to do," he told the Inquirer.

"There are certain things you can’t put a price tag on," he told the Daily News.

Actually, putting a price tag on the service is pretty easy: it cost the city $400,000 annually.

And, it turns out, only about 10% of the city was ever getting the service. And, it turns out, that 10% includes the richest neighborhoods in Philadelphia.

Streets Department maps obtained by the CP show that only tiny pockets of the city were receiving mechanical leaf collection services in the first place.

I apologize for the poor image quality, and we're working on getting better maps. A Streets spokesperson confirmed that the different shadings (solid vs. striped) simply refer to different scheduled weeks of collection.

Shaded portions (only) received mechanical leaf collection in 2008

Among the pockets of Philly that did get the service, Chestnut Hill and West Mt. Airy seem to dominate in the northwest. Elsewhere: Somerton, Bustleton, and a few other pockets of the northeast; the small gentrified triangle of West Philly that extends west from the University bounded by Chestnut, Baltimore, and 52nd Street; and the swath of Overbrook that hugs City Ave; and a teeny, tiny little pocket of South Philly.

The rest of West Philadelphia, North Philadelphia, the River Districts, and South Philadelphia -- had to rake their leaves themselves.

Asked why these areas - and not others - received service, Streets spokeswoman June Canton pointed out that they have more leaves. And we don't doubt she's right: but they're also wealthier – a lot wealthier, in some cases – than the rest of the city.

There may be "certain things the city has an obligation to do," as Councilman Rizzo put it: but is this really one of them?

Reader James DiMartino of the Southwark/Passyunk Square area wrote this morning with this interesting alternative to a full-on transit strike:

The SEPTA strike is a great inconvenience to the general population. I am sure that the Septa board Members and the Union Leadership are not similarly inconvenienced by the lack of public transportation. Just look at the army of SUVs around the Bellevue during the talks.

I would like to suggest another approach to the union action. Instead of walking off the job, why not continue to operate the system as usual only REFUSE TO COLLECT FARES.

This would have a two-fold impact; 1. Put a halt to the revenue stream while 2. Retaining the popular support of the people whose livelihoods depend on reliable public transportation.

Each time SEPTA has gone on strike, they have actually lost ridership.

Why not take an action that helps the people as well as yourselves, guys? Would that not be enlightened self interest?

Please Adivise.

Thoughts?

Viking, $27.95, Nov. 3

Just in time for his talk tonight at the Free Library, we're giving away a copy of David Plouffe's The Audacity to Win: The Inside Story and Lessons of Barack Obama's Historic Victory. Obama's campaign manager, who chatted it up with Marty Moss-Coane this morning on Radio Times, breaks down the road to victory in chapters like "Ecstasy. Agony," "Agony. Ecstasy," "It's the Economy, Stupid" and "Plumbers and Radicals," hitting on the most memorable moments of the most memorable grassroots campaign in recent history.

From Audacity's jacket blurb:

This is the ultimate insider story of what many consider the most brilliant campaign ever run, by the man who helped design it and made it happen. Plouffe takes readers from the campaign's tenative first moments — the hard decisions on whether and how to run — to the powerful election day vindication of Obama's wins over John McCain in battlegrounds such as Virginia and Florida. Moving through a cross-country backdrop of hotel rooms, debate halls, rallies and airplanes, we follow candidate Obama and his team every step of the way, listening in on never-before-revealed discussions about bold decisions and directions, and how the campaign was reported.

Middle-of-the-book pictures of Barack on a plane, Barack on a podium, Barack on the phone might not be sexy, but the story's certainly got some meat to it. To win a copy, answer me this:

On Tuesday night's Daily Show, Jon Stewart came up with what fake name for Plouffe's book?

E-mail your answers to carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net for a chance to win.

Julia Harte with your morning fix.

Four female employees of the Pennsylvania-based Danella Construction Corp. won a $200,000 settlement from the company after alleging that the corporation did not provide workers with on-site portable toilets, forcing them to wear adult diapers to work or drive to find a restroom.

The president of the South African athletic governing body was suspended for lying to cover up the fact that Caster Semenya, the South African sprinter who set a record at the 800-meter event of the 2009 Olympics, had been tested to verify her gender.

To raise awareness and money for the underfunded U.S. Speedskating Team, which just lost its biggest sponsor, Stephen Colbert offered to become the team's new primary sponsor and has already posted a fundraising link for the team on his Web site.

The Iraqi oil ministry struck its third major deal with a consortium of oil companies including Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell. If approved by the cabinet, Exxon and Royal will begin production soon in the Qurna oil field, where oil will be extracted starting at a rate of 280,000 barrels per day.

Following last week's deadly Taliban attack against United Nations workers, the UN pulled some 600 personnel from Afghanistan: a discouraging sign for the national forces still trying to defeat the militant group.

Northeast High School in Philadelphia took several students out of class yesterday and confined them in the school auditorium for failing to follow the school's dress code, on the first day the school had enforced the nine-year-old policy. Some students were sent to the auditorium simply for wearing brown shoes instead of black ones.

For this week's cover story, I listed what I consider the Top 10 Spectrum Sports Moments. Disagreements are welcome — but first let's look at the footage:

1. The Flyers Win Their First Stanley Cup 5/19/1974

You can watch the entire game here. I recommend you at least check out the last few minutes, when the fans storm the ice and the Flyers basically have to fight them off to protect the Cup. Dave Schultz, especially, takes things too far.

2. Flyers vs. Russian Red Army 1/11/1976

Yep, that's Gene Hart and Marv Albert with the call.

3. The Sixers Win It All, 5/26/1983

See Also: "Fo Fi Fo" by Pieces of a Dream

Click For More »

Earlier today, "It's Our Money" reported that Willie Brown, president of the Transport Workers Union Local 234 – the guys on strike – had told reporters that Mayor Nutter was "cut off" from future negotiations:

Nutter “has brought nothing� to the table, Brown said, adding, “I will not meet him� because of the attacks the mayor has leveled at the union.

About half an hour ago, Office of the Mayor Press Secretary Doug Oliver emailed me the following statement, reprinted here in its entirety:

The Mayor was only involved because he was asked to participate in the discussions.  To the extent that his participation is helpful, he's willing to participate.  If his participation is problematic, he's willing to stay out of the discussions.  It's always been the Mayor's position that his number one obligation is to the 1.5 million people who are trying to manage their way through this TWU strike.

There should be no reason why the negotiations can't move forward.  But with a deal like the one that was offered (11% wage increases over five years and no increase in contributions to healthcare) during a time when so many people are taking pay decreases and even losing their jobs, one can't help but wonder why a deal wasn't struck already.  Again, if the absence of the Mayor is the only thing needed to strike a deal, the Mayor is more than happy to allow the negotiations to continue without his involvement.

It's Our Money – now edited by former CP news editor Doron Taussig – has been blogging the strike like crazy.

A few hilights:

* Ben Waxman proposes that the transportation workers' give up their right to stirke in exchange for "binding arbitration," – in other words, if an agreement can't be reached, a decision is simply made by an arbitrator or a panel of arbitrators.

* Anthony Campisi compares the last SEPTA strike to this one.

* Doron Taussig picks a few of the best how-I-got-to-work stories submitted to the blog.

And much more – so check 'em out.

Ring of Honor must be doing something right, though the evidence comes almost strictly in bad news for the Philly-based wrestling promotion. Within the past year and a half, which saw the company make the move to weekly TV on HDNet, ROH alumni CM Punk and Samoa Joe have both held world championships in the WWE and TNA. And between their last TV tapings in September and this weekend’s, they’ve had to bid farewell to two more of their top stars, as “American Dragon� Bryan Danielson headed for Vince McMahon’s greener pastures and Nigel McGuinness has been reborn as Desmond Wolfe in TNA (where he’ll now have to contend with the won’t-go-away Hulk Hogan). So look for the year’s last batch of TV tapings — six hour-long episodes over two nights — to look towards the future and the next round of rising stars.

---

Thu. & Fri., Nov. 5-6, $10-$30, The Arena, 7 Ritner St., 215-781-2500, rohwrestling.com.

Julia Harte with your morning fix.

The Bedford County courthouse granted probation to two women convicted of theft, on the condition that they sit outside the courthouse for four-and-a-half hours yesterday, holding signs that read: "I stole from a 9-year-old on her birthday! Don't steal or this could happen to you!"

The U.S. Supreme Court was preparing to hear a case over whether prosecutors may be sued for framing defendants before trial proceedings have begun.

The U.S. government has agreed to pay $1.26 million to five immigrant men who were rounded up, kept in conditions they allege to be inhumane and deported following the 9-11 attacks.

An opinion is expected soon in the first court case appealing the practice of "extraordinary rendition" -- in which terrorism suspects are seized in one country but questioned in another. The case concerns a Muslim cleric whom 26 Americans are charged with abducting from the streets of Milan six years ago.

Anti-government protesters in Iran, who were demonstrating against government-sanctioned rallies to commemorate the takeover of the U.S. Embassy that resulted in the hostage crisis 30 years ago, were brutally beaten and sprayed with tear gas by state police.

A fire tore through the first car of an R-5 train already crowded by passengers displaced from their regular routes by the ongoing SEPTA strike. No passengers were reported injured.

As if you didn't know: The Phillies won a tense game 5, forcing a game 6 tomorrow night in New York wherein Pedro Martinez will get a second chance to end the "who's your daddy?" chants once and for all.

Also, SEPTA called an audible, announcing a 3 a.m. strike shutting down all city subway, bus and trolley service, essentially holding true to the letter of their word to not striking during the World Series home games. Yes, yes, we support the union's right to strike, but tell it to the people waiting at bus stops at 5:30 this morning.

So we'll take this opportunity to share a word with the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia who suggest you "Bike the Strike":

PHILADELPHIA - November 3, 2009 - The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia urges SEPTA travelers to bike instead of driving. Commuters who bike will win out over those stuck in traffic jams of epic proportions."Avoid the crush and bike the strike," says Alex Doty, Executive Director of the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. "Bike the Strike to save time, money and help shrink your waistline.  Plus, I guarantee you will have more fun than anyone trying to drive during the strike."

In cooperation with Philadelphia's Office of Transportation and Utilities, the Bicycle Coalition has established a Bike the Strike station at City Hall (Dillworth Plaza). The station has bike parking corrals, free coffee, bike maps and Bicycle Ambassadors on hand to give tips on bike commuting and personalized route planning.

Keeping safe while bicycling is critical.  "Bicycles are considered vehicles, so we also urge all bicyclists to obey the rules of the road," said Education Director Breen Goodwin.  "It's important for all bicyclists to be civil, courteous and comply with traffic laws, such as walking their bikes on sidewalks and stopping at all signals, to ensure the everyone's safety."

More biking tips after the jump: Click For More »

Jim Horwat

Click image to see full print.

Jim Horwat, our favorite Phillies-loving, smile-crazy illustrator — the man behind last year's championship-celebrating tribute/collage — is back with a 2009 print featuring all the stars of this year's run and Brad Lidge and Eric Bruntlett. Oh, and it's also got HK and the Phanatic done up like some kind of Mayan priest.

This year's print is full color and available in a signed and numbered first edition on Horwat's web site. Do some early x-mas shopping and maybe buy the Phils a little karma tonight.