Weeklies, blogs, and other bits of interest

• The new Philadelphia Weekly contains an article marking the departure of the Inquirer's Acel Moore, a long-time fixture and pioneer black newsman. An overview of his career is given here, including some key moments of awakening the editorial staff and the public to racial blind-spots, and reactions to his departure by media folks throughout the region. A Weekly editorial also notes this departure as a possible sign of changing times.
  
  
• Interesting article in the Inquirer about teachers attempting to monitor their success in conveying their subject matter (before the test). The hope is that they can intervene with struggling students sooner.
  
  
• A regional economist looks at the arguments currently being used against a state minimum wage increase and brings some real data to bear. The result? More evidence that legislative leadership is pretty out of touch with the ordinary constituents they're supposed to be serving.
  
  
• Dan at Young Philly Politics looks a bit closer at Tom Knox's involvement with payday lending, a phenomenon that we at ASFR abhor (see prev. here and here).