Philadelphia

Philadelphia University honored Nicole Miller with the Spirit of Design Award at its annual student fashion show Saturday. The shy designer with two local boutiques was lauded for her easy-to-wear silhouettes that range from office-appropriate to super-sexy, as well as for her fabric innovation. Miller is a pioneer in working with stretch metallics and body-camouflaging fabrics. (No wonder her body-skimming ruched pencil skirts and evening gowns actually allow for breathing.) Other innovations were on display as designers sent a cadre of wearable looks down the runway.

School District of Philadelphia leaders are expected Monday to ask Council to open the municipal wallet again - this time for $60 million - two months before the members have to pass a budget. That request - or "ask," in political parlance - could spark bruising negotiations over school funding for the third year in a row, as Council is already grappling with taxpayer angst over Mayor Nutter's property-tax reform. Last week during budget testimony, Council President Darrell L. Clarke asked whether the administration had a plan for raising the money.

  A Philadelphia School District hearing will begin Monday on the fate of the city's oldest charter school. Community Academy of Philadelphia opened in 1997, but the School Reform Commission said in January the school's operating charter should not be renewed because of low test scores and financial problems. The hearing, set to begin at 9 a.m. at the district's administration building, was scheduled after the SRC voted, 4-0, in January to take the first step toward revoking the charter.

It has been more than seven draining weeks since retired professional boxer Tony Martin was shot to death. Over the weekend, his family finally had some reason to rejoice. Philadelphia police had made an arrest in the case Thursday. On Sunday, family members expressed relief and thanks. "We are most happy about the hard work and hard efforts of the Philadelphia Police Department," said a niece, Robyn Peete of St. Louis. "Words cannot express how happy we are with them. They never dropped the ball.

Even before they won the right to vote, a group of women found a way to make their voices heard in Philadelphia. In 1905, they formed the Women's Committee for the City Party, which worked to clean up the city's corrupt political landscape and reform city government. Anna Blakiston Day served as president of the committee. Wife to the architect Frank Miles Day and a member of the Blakiston publishing family, Day was a supporter of reform politics who worked with several other Philadelphia women's organizations, including the Civic Club and the Committee on the Cause and Cure of War. The City Party disbanded in March 1907, but the Women's Committee (more than 4,000 members strong)

NEW YORK - Sharrif Floyd, who first made his name playing football for a high school on Bustleton Avenue - George Washington High, in the Philadelphia Public League - was picked 23d overall in Thursday's first round of the NFL draft by the Minnesota Vikings. The surprise was that Floyd didn't go a lot higher. A massive defensive tackle with a sprinter's burst, the former Florida Gators star left after his junior year after his college coaches told him he would be a first-round draft choice.

Donna MacKenzie says Usain Bolt would know her if he saw her. "Probably," she said.   MacKenzie, 53, a native of Jamaica who lives in Upper Marlboro, Md., is a track and field fanatic. She hasn't missed the national Jamaican track and field championships in 30 years and attends all of the biggest track events the United States has to offer on the East Coast.   MacKenzie moved to the country in 1996 and has attended the Penn Relays every year since 2000. On Thursday, the first full day of events of this year's competition, MacKenzie was seated near the finish line.

TOM KNOX , the successful Philadelphia businessman who finished second in the 2007 Democratic primary election for mayor, made it official yesterday: He's running again in 2015. That raises an interesting question: What happens between Knox and his friend, City Councilman Bill Green , long rumored as a 2015 candidate for mayor? The two have supported one another in campaigns before. Knox held a fundraiser for Green earlier this year. Both say it would be a waste for both to run for mayor.

Hello there For the love of Yankees baseball, Michael forked over $250 for a standing-room-only ticket to Game 5 of the 2009 World Series, left his engineering job on Long Island early, picked up two friends in Jersey, and drove to Citizens Bank Park, where they settled into Section 136. Carrie went to her job as a media team supervisor for Philadelphia's Digitas Health that November day, hoping she'd later watch her Phillies take the...

May is going to be a busy month for the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. Commissioners will hold three hearings on three consecutive days in Philadelphia. First up: a review at 2 p.m. May 7 at the National Constitution Center, 525 Arch St., on the revised expansion plans for the SugarHouse Casino. It's been four years since the Sugar- House folks got the OK from commis- sioners to expand their waterfront casino on North Delaware Avenue. And it's been two years since City Council and the planning commission also signed off on plans.