Other Friday bits

• A look at the City Controller's race and its battle over ethics.

  The office's budget has been cut over the last four years even as its responsibilities have been broadened to include overseeing independent city agencies and authorities. The candidates' sparring over ethics has dominated the campaign, offering a hint of the debate to come in the 2007 mayoral race.

  Probably a theme of everything for a while...
  
  
• Phila. City Council is still discussing how to handle the tax revaluation (see prev. here), with Councilwoman Blackwell suggesting the change should be delayed for two years so that they can get re-elected hammer out the details, while DiCicco holds off her proposal for another month of real-time hammering. They can't prevent the tax board from moving ahead, but are certainly interested in not getting blamed by those who feel the bite of increased rates...
  
  
• Also, an Inquirer article looks at what makes strikes work, obviously wondering about the current transit situation, but looking at some example outcomes from history elsewhere.

  [Strikes can work], if the underlying industry is relatively healthy, if the workers are united, if their skills are not easily replaceable, and if the union has both a strategic strike plan and the public's support. But that combination is not easily achievable, and whether it will be here remains to be seen.

  Let's hope they sit down soon and get this worked out.