Also this issue: Constitutional Irony The prez will be a no-show, but protesters will work to be heard anyway. -Daniel Brook Gale Warning Another Word About Neal -Daryl Gale fineprint Less words, more story. Dog and Pony Show -Mary F. Patel

July 3- 9, 2003

the bell curve

City Paper's weekly gauge of Philly's Quality of Life

Inspired by unknown vandals who dyed the Love Park fountain pink, Mayor Street decides to color the water blue for the Fourth of July holiday. Mummers volunteer to dye it fountain yellow on New Year's. Plus 4

Thacher Longstreth's fiancee says she'll sue Philly reporters, news outlets and maybe even Longstreth's children for defamation. She's just angry that she somehow managed to screw up something that Anna Nicole Smith got right. Minus 1

Development company sues city over who will remove forgotten graves underneath property at Fifth and Christian. Tormented spirits rise from their tombs, look around and say, "What happened to this place?" Minus 3

House full of trash and cats -- some dead, some alive -- found abandoned in Logan. Search for the previous owner has led authorities to Melmac. Minus 3

SEPTA adopts new budget which replaces trackless trolleys with gas-powered buses for a year. And the subways will be replaced with coal-powered worm cars. Minus 1

Broken conveyor belt at the airport separates thousands of travelers from their luggage. If only Milton Street had been on the case, this disaster could have been averted. Minus 1

State law legalizing cameras at intersections requires film rather than digital cameras. Thanks to wacky developing mix-up at Rite Aid, everyone who attended the Auspitz bat mitzvah gets a citation. Even

North Carolina baker arrested for stealing family recipes from Norristown baking company. Man might have been henchman of bread overlord Henrich "Grandpa" Stroehmann. Plus 2

Total pluses: 6

Total minuses: 9

Score for the week: -3

Last week’s score: -4