Monday highlights

Just the top gleanings of the day:

• Chaka Fattah announces a plan to reduce illegal guns today, including components ranging from more dedicated police to use of surveillance cameras.
  
  
• An Inquirer story profiles the head of the city Planning Commission, gearing up to overhaul Philadelphia's creaky zoning code.
  
  
• The Daily News reprints the Committee of Seventy reform proposals that are being presented to all mayoral candidates and endorsed by some. Included are provisions to increase fairness in city hiring and contracting, as well as transparency of government activities.
  
  
• If you followed the discussion this past fall, you might be interested to hear that FEMA has yeilded to the more scientific flood maps drawn up by Temple, rather than worrying that they were (ahem) too accurate. Expect much hysteria as neighborhoods find themselves in flood plains for the first time...
  
  
• Daily News opinion page tired of childishness between mayor and district attorney, calls for them to get serious about serious problems.
  
  
• Ray Murphy challenges local thinkers to come up with alternative uses for the old Budd plant property in East Falls, the location of the Trump casino proposal. He also offers his own modest entry to help benefit the neighborhood and the region.