October 23-29, 2003

the bell curve

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

The federal investigation into John Street has apparently led to sympathy and increased numbers in the polls for the mayor. Hey everybody, if he gets convicted let's build him a statue! Even

Katz camp accuses Street camp of making race an issue. Street accuses Katz of being white. Plus 1

South Philly high-school teacher with law degree sues for right to eject unruly students from his classroom. After looking out the window, students agree to behave. Plus 2

PETA complains about the cramped living conditions of Patti LaBelle's dogs, as seen on MTV Cribs. LaBelle insists the Lhasa apso glued itself to her scalp. Minus 2

Filming began on a pilot for Pat Croce's Moving In, in which the former self-help guru/Sixers president lives with dysfunctional families to help them work out their problems. Dear Pat, my one brother stole money from athletes' pants in a locker room, and the other embezzled from an insurance company. Plus 3

Joe Frazier auctions memorabilia at the Borgata to benefit his North Philly charity. Smokin' Joe also promises to sue each winning bidder. Plus 2

Southwest Philly minister turns old U-Haul truck into mobile chapel, marries first customers at Broad and Callowhill. Sensing an opportunity, Stephen Starr converts a port-o-potty into Le Divorce-o-Mat. Minus 1

After Bill O'Reilly hangs up on Terry Gross during a Fresh Air interview, NPR ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin writes on NPR.org that Gross was unethical in her interviewing techniques. Gross adopts O'Reilly's fair and balanced technique, tells Dvorkin to shut up. Even

Total pluses: 8

Total minuses: 3

Score for the week: 5

Last week's score: 9

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