So after posting yesterday, I emailed my judge of elections yesterday. He got back to me today and said that my ballot was indeed counted, but the record of that has not yet gotten to the system in Harrisburg that is tied into the phone number to call. The judge also said that all of the provisional ballots cast at my polling place were counted.

I'm glad the votes counted, but I'm not at all pleased that the phone system doesn't have a record of it. I shouldn't have to get my judge of elections to call the Board of Elections provisional ballot counters to find out whether my vote counted.

In the Pennsylvania primary earlier this month, I had to vote by provisional ballot because I wanted to write in two candidates and the write-in function on my poling place's voting machine was broken.

Although the candidates I voted for won, I decided to call the Votes PA provisional ballot hotline today to check and see if my ballot had been counted.

Here is what happened:

"South Carolina, Virginia, California and Maryland have one- gun-a-month laws, according to the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."

As city and state pols play the blame game, the killing goes on by Catherine Lucey, Philadelphia Daily News

The front cover of this morning's Daily News asked:

We got the answer barely a few hours after the paper went to press: two people at the 37th and Spruce Street trolley station, all of two blocks from my (now former, sadly) dorm at Penn.

When the hell will people get the politicians in Harrisburg off their fat, overpaid, lazy asses to make the shooting stop? Will it ever happen? And if so, will an entire generation have decided by that time to never spend taxable money in Philadelphia again?

It matters a lot, and I promise it matters to a lot more people than just me.

UPDATE: The Daily Pennsylvanian reports that SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said that "the attacker used a .45 caliber handgun, which he did not legally possess."

See what I mean?

Happy birthday to the man behind the glass at Akkam's Razor.

"PHILA PAY-TO-PLAY -- 1,518 of 1,681 precincts reporting (90%)
YES [Y] 68,549 87% (X)
NO [N] 10,630 13%"

Philadelphia races by 6abc.com

Hooray!

"Six months of a tense truce between SEPTA and the Transport Workers Union will end Sunday when 4,600 members, who have worked without a contract since March and without a raise for nearly two years, will meet to discuss a strike."
-TWU threatening strike 'to get a fair contract' by Dan Geringer, Philadelphia Daily News

Dear Mayor Street and everyone else whose jobs depend on my vote:

If SEPTA strikes, you will never get any property tax money from me or anyone else my age that I know until this city's public transportation agency gets its head out of its ass. This matters a whole lot to people not of your age group who actuallly like this city and want to live in it because they can get places without driving.

Again: if you want my money, and if you want the money of the growing young population in this city, do not let SEPTA strike. I don't care how it gets done, but it cannot be that hard.

Sincerely,
Me

The crowd in London looks really white. The crowd in Philadelphia less so. Just saying. Anybody agree or disagree?

live8 philly

Well, it's a big day for SEPTA to prove it can handle a big crowd. I hope that everyone on here who's going to Live 8 (I'm not-- I'm out of town-- argh!) takes SEPTA to Center City and gets all their friends to do the same. It's important not only for the streets of the city but also to prove that SEPTA is important and that people really want to use it to get around.

City Council passes ethics reform and gets the smoking ban set up on Thursday. The Phillies win big on Friday and Saturday.

Hmm.

The amendments to the smoking ban required to pass the bill were approved today by the City Council. The final bill "exempts sidewalk cafes, offers a wavier to private clubs and gives bars an extra two years to comply with the law. For others the smoke-free rules kick in next January," according to the Inquirer's website.

Corey Kemp and a pair of Commerce Bank execs get rung up, with Philly.com reporting that "it took 15 minutes to go through the 16-page verdict sheet."

I honestly don't think this trial is actually going to change anything about the political system here. Anyone more optimistic than I am?

I realize that I've only lived here for three years, so I don't really "get" what it means to be a Philly sports fan. Nonetheless, I have nothing but total admiration for the way the Sixers have played in this series. Of course they were overmatched, by a team that looks right now like it's on a pretty steady course to repeat as NBA champions. But to watch guys like Dalembert and Iguodala, who you'd never know are playing in their first playoff series ever, and of course Mr. Everything Allen Iverson, is... well, downright awe-inspiring. People here may not like Larry Brown much but that embrace he and AI just had was real, and all the other embraces on the court were borne of heartfelt goodwill between a bunch of fierce competitors.

It may sound trite, but "wait 'til next year" could actually prove a worthwhile cliché for this team.

There's a story on ABC News right now about how the military is having trouble recruiting people.

Maybe it's because people my age don't want to go die halfway around the world for a war that's costing way too much money and taking way too much time to fight?

Who knows. Anybody else have an idea?

"Councilman Rick Mariano, for one, said he has every intention of accepting the cost-of-living increase.

'I, like everyone else, have bills to pay,' he said."

Council salaries ready to roll to six digits by Angela Couloumbis, The Philadelphia Inquirer

I wonder.

Regardless of whether or not you disagree...

YO, TIME MAG: OUR MAYOR DOES NOT SUCK! by the Philadelphia Daily News Editorial Board