Philadelphia

Don't look back, Philadelphia. This election had better be about your future. It can't be about the past. The rancor and machine politics of the 1970s, the stagnation and decline of the 1980s, even the 1990s' wobbly optimism cannot propel the city forward. Those days are gone, Philadelphia. Kaput. Put them out with the trash, not the recycling. The election can't be about the candidates' pasts, either. Sure, voters should consider what they did, who they were, how they've grown, but pretending that a new mayor will restore the bygone days - or protect the citizenry from them - is fruitless.

Judge of Court (10-year term) Linda Carpenter (D) . . . 167,194 Alice Beck Dubow (D/R) . . . 152,384 Ellen Green Ceisler (D/R) . . . 151,905 Michael Erdos (D/R) . . . 146,364 Joyce Eubanks (R) . . . 37,950 (6-year term) Joseph J. O'Neill (D/R) . . . 196,479 Jacquelyn Frazier Lyde (D) . . . 164,912 (6-year term) Mike Lowry (D) . . . 154,074 Robert Mulgrew (D) . . . 150,400 Willie Singletary (D) . . . 141,383 Scott Cummings (R)

REGIONAL DISTILLERIES They aren't brewing moonshine, but professional distillers in and around Philadelphia are crafting a variety of products. Here's a sampling. Dogfish Head Brewing & Eats 320 Rehoboth Ave. Rehoboth Beach, Del. 302-226-5771 Products: Restaurant and distillery making Jin gin, Blue Hen Vodka (plus a variety of flavored vodkas) and Brown Honey Rum, Wit Spiced Rhum and White Light Rum. Philadelphia Distilling 12285 McNulty Road, No. 105 215-671-0346 Products: Bluecoat American Dry Gin, Vieux Carre Absinthe Supérieure and Penn 1681 Rye Vodka.

You can't look at Jamie Kellner these days without that old, but venerable query brushing against your brain: Why is this man smiling? Kellner is president of Fox Broadcasting Co. Being president of Fox Broadcasting Co., you figure, must be like treading 40 feet of shark-infested water with a cramped leg, a deflating life preserver and a jammed spear gun. The reasons are there for all to see: the lingering near-corpse that is Fox's "The...

Part 2 of a series about Philadelphia sports fans. The popularity of pro football in Philadelphia is about average for an NFL city, according to a new survey. Philly's not in the Top 10 for percentage of fans interested in the National Football League, and when a degree of passion is factored in, its rank drops even lower, Scarborough Research found. Wait. Say what? Relax, we'll get to how the survey might sell Philly short. As reported last week, Philadelphia ranked No. 10 among U.S. media markets for interest in the four biggest team sports, and was second to Boston among the nation's 10 biggest metropolitan areas.

Carolyn Forcina of Yardley Country Club won her first local tournament in capturing the 86th annual Philadelphia stroke play championship of the Women's Golf Association of Philadelphia for the Mary Thayer Farnum Cup yesterday at Aronimink Golf Club. Forcina followed an opening-round 75 Tuesday with an 83 yesterday to finish 3 strokes in front of Jan Albert of Green Valley Country Club. Dorothy Porter, the Philadelphia champion from Riverton, finished third, 1 stroke ahead of her daughter, Nancy Porter of Merion.

CBS crews began filming in Philadelphia last week for a four-hour mini- series that will air during the next television season. The sequel to a 1984 mini-series, "Washington II: The Forging of a Nation" will cover the years 1788 to 1797. Barry Bostwick and Patty Duke will star as George and Martha Washington. For those in lesser roles, the schedule allowed time to enjoy a spring day.

Richard Brockhoff of Wyncote shot a 3-over-par 70 for a 2-stroke lead in the Philadelphia Senior Open Amateur Golf Championship yesterday at the John F. Byrne Golf Club. In a tie for second place at 72 for today's final round were David Cinque of Ramblewood, Curt Fromal of Cavaliers, and Peter Waerig of the host course.

He was wearing an Eagles jacket and a smile. Sylvester Stallone was happy to return home, at least in a cinematic sense. Stallone attended last night's game between the Eagles and Carolina Panthers at Lincoln Financial Field and drew quite a crowd. He was a guest during ESPN's pregame show on the field and then spoke to the announcers in the booth during the second quarter, promoting Rocky Balboa, the sixth movie in the Rocky series. In the latest installment, which opens Dec. 22, Rocky, a widower in his 50s running a restaurant in Philadelphia, returns to the boxing ring.

On a flat, sandy stretch of land 30 miles east of Berlin sits a poor little farm village with the very un-German-sounding name of Philadelphia. It's a run-down place with one rutted main street, 294 residents, 95 brownish-gray houses, a three-room Town Hall and a two-room schoolhouse that has closed because it was too expensive to keep open. There is no hotel and just one Kneipe, or pub, where the locals go to drink. The place has a lot in common with its namesake across the sea. Its economy is collapsing.