Around the city

Several neighborhood and smaller news bits of interest today:

• Northern Liberties calls for more cops to patroll its local streets after a recent spate of violent crimes. Crime stats aren't really up, but a neighborhood crime newsletter is bringing each incident to light, leaving residents unnerved.

  "If not for being a member of the Northern Liberties Townwatch e-mail list, I personally have not seen any crime in years," said Mitch Deighan, a longtime resident and former head of the Northern Liberties Neighbors Association. "Back in the '80s, I was constantly on the phone to 911."

  An unexpected drawback to the improvement of neighborhood communication. Of course, that doesn't mean that crime can't be further reduced...
  
  
• The wealth gap between Philadelphia city and its surrounding counties has widened. A striking 25% of the city's residents live below the federal poverty line, set at an already shockingly low $$9,827 for a single person ($23,497 for a family of 5). Don't let the housing boom in Center City fool you that everybody's boat is lifting...
  
  
• Philadelphia has joined a list of cities attempting to enlist more fathers and grandfathers to walk their children to their first day of school. It's just a part of the ways that the school system is trying to involve parents more directly in the education process, a goal that proceeds in fits and starts, as described here.