Wednesday deluge

Blogger is having some difficulties, so will try to compile this into one monster post and hope for a window of opportunity...

• I knew we had some impressive storms last night, but had no idea how much damage they did. PECO expects many folks to be without power through the weekend. Lots more stories linked from here.
  
  
• Immigration hearings in Harrisburg get rowdy. I can't stand to read this stuff, especially when so little data is used in the discussion.
  
  
• Mayor Street's Neighborhood Transformation Initiative aimed to combat blight by pulling down abandoned and dangerous buildings; however, in many cases the resulting abandoned lots are no gift to those neighborhoods either when promises to create and look after nice tree-laden spaces are not fulfilled -- the Logan neighborhood of North Philly appears to have been -cough- overlooked.
  
  
• The Daily News offers an inspiring story of a half-way house for at-risk teens that gives many a shot at a normal life that they would never have found otherwise.
  
  
• DN columnist Jill Porter bewails the bail policies that let potential gun dealers back out on the street as soon as they're arrested. Mark Alan Hughes also looks at gun violence, and focuses on concrete enforcement opportunities that rely only on the laws we already have. Meanwhile, the police commissioner promises to redistribute his forces to the most troubled areas.
  
  
• The condo tower planned for Spring Garden (see prev. here) is expected to draw more neighborhood ire at zoning hearings today. Seems like the developers have the edge in this fight, although one can never count out any group including Vince Fumo.
  
  
• Mariano has to serve time; what about the guy who bribed him? Prosecutors say yes; stay tuned for sentencing in early August.
  
  
• A YPP poster reports on the health-care plan funded by tobacco settlements in PA (for low-income folks), both that it's good and that general insurance is just too costly for all of us.
  
  
• Above Average Jane and some other suburban subversives are setting up an ActBlue list for regional progressive candidates. They welcome your research aid, suggestions, and, of course, contributions to the cause.
  
  
• Jane also discusses military families and those with such connections running in this year's political races.
  
  
• Tom Ferrick has two blog posts looking at the gubernatorial race: the first looks at Swann's hopes for Southeast Pennsylvania, by analyzing Rendell's numbers from 2002 and imagining where Swann could shave some percentages, and the second looks at how Rendell's last opponent fared around the state. Some fodder there for the tea leaf readers and statisticians.
  
  
• Albert is underwhelmed by Santorum's ad buys during The Daily Show, both in content and timing. It's hard to disagree. Are a few thousand "stoned slackers" really going to make up the margin in this race?!
  
  
• And finally, Albert also relates his experience with Philly Car Share, to whom I'm always happy to give air time. Because it's SO COOL!

Update: forgot this one -- see Santorum and Specter debate about stem cells. (Warning: this is unapologetically framed as a put-down of Santorum's intelligence. But you can watch and judge for yourself.)