Philadelphians

Philadelphians were clearly tired of the Civil War in the days leading up to the invasion. They read regular newspaper accounts of Union setbacks and horrific battlefield losses while wounded soldiers filled their hospitals and fresh military units clogged the streets. To escape, some attended the stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Continental Theatre; others took in the play Peep O'Day at the New Chestnut Street Theatre or caught a concert by Birgfeld's popular German military band in Fairmount Park.

ACCESS TO healthy food for low-income Philadelphians improved by 17 percent in a two-year period, according to a report released Wednesday by the city's Public Health Department. The report, Walkable Access to Healthy Food in Philadelphia, shows that the number of Philadelphians living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food dropped by 61,000 between 2010 and 2012. As part of the 2010 Get Healthy Philly initiative, the Food Trust and the health department offered corner stores an annual $100 incentive to encourage the sale of healthy food, said Giridhar Mallya, director of policy and planning for the health department.

This is a sampling from "Public Art in Philadelphia," published this month by Temple University Press with support from the William Penn Foundation. The text is by Penny Balkin Bach, executive director of the Fairmount Park Art Association and design by the Katz Design Group.

LAST NIGHT, more than 4,000 people slept in shelters across our city. Hundreds more slept in parks and doorways. In difficult economic times, the number of homeless Philadelphians in need of shelter and services only grows. In response to the One Book, One Philadelphia reading of "The Soloist," which looks at how a city treats its most in need, Ready, Willing & Able and the Daily News are seeking essays about homelessness. If you've ever experienced homelessness and want to help Philadelphians understand the challenges you've faced, please submit your essay on the topic "How did you or how will you overcome homelessness?"

MAYOR Street has said he didn't want to violate people's rights by declaring a crime emergency, or infringe on people's rights by ordering curfews and frisking without cause. But what about the rights of those 406 murdered last year or the 128-plus murdered already this year? What about the rights of those who get shot through their window getting dressed for work? Not once has the mayor made a statement regarding their right to live. Has he even attended the funerals of some of the innocent people killed on his watch?

Philadelphia players beat a team from the Royal Melbourne Tennis Club of Australia, 4-2, in court tennis matches yesterday at the Racquet Club. Melbourne won the No. 1 singles when Ted Cockram rallied to defeat Sam Howe, 5-6, 6-3, 6-1. Winners for Philadelphia were John Madzin, Norris Jordan and Jimmy Knott in singles, and Jamie Dodderidge and Harry Hare in doubles. The Philadelphia pair of Andy Kinzler and Steve Simpson dropped a doubles match to Mike Garnet and Tony Poolman.

In 10th grade, my friend Harriet slipped me a note in algebra class demanding, "From now on, call me Lola. " This came as a surprise. For weeks, she had been leaning toward "Heidi. " I went along with it, but our homeroom teacher dug in her orthopedic heels. Mrs. Kupnick took attendance every morning, calling out "Harriet Himmelwitz?" Lola gazed back in icy silence and was marked absent for the entire semester. That's when I realized that names have power. They change the way we feel about people, places and things.

PHILADELPHIA HAS lost more than half a million people over the last 50 or so years. Nothing new there. We've gotten used to the steady drumbeat of Census Bureau reports bearing this glum news. If you look more closely at the numbers, though, something pops out at you. The 2000 census shows that we have a peculiar challenge in front of us. Our population has stagnated not, as is generally assumed, because too many people are leaving, but because not enough people - either from other regions or other countries - are arriving.

There is a new Philadelphian, living right in my home in Swarthmore. It doesn't happen very often, I'm sure. To be a Philadelphian, you usually need to be born here. My wife, Kris, grew up in the outer reaches of Pennsylvania, near Erie. Out there, all the children are taught that Philadelphia is that big, dirty city, with the cracked bell, that strong-arms all the tax dollars from Harrisburg. I lived in Erie with my wife for several years. As far as I can tell, the tiny city by Lake Erie has the lake, epic amounts of snow, and lots of cloudy days.

Although Stars & Stripes is sponsored by the San Diego Yacht Club, there are many times when the only true Californian on the boat is skipper Dennis Conner. In fact, it has become a running joke that Conner goes to the East Coast to get the best crew and support staff. And the Philadelphia area is amply represented. The most prominent Philadelphian is mainsail trimmer Jon Wright of Rosemont, 38, who has become Philly's America's Cup regular. This is Wright's fifth campaign (1974, '77, '80, '83, '87)

FOR MORE THAN 70 years, Anna Henderson witnessed the transitions on her Powelton block, a few of many changes she has seen in her 113 years. Henderson now lives with her daughter in another section of West Philadelphia, but the few remaining longtime residents of her old block remember her as a stalwart of the community. Philadelphia's oldest resident, Henderson was one of more than 100 centenarians honored yesterday by Mayor Nutter and others at the 13th annual Mayor's Centenarian Celebration.

Philadelphians were clearly tired of the Civil War in the days leading up to the invasion. They read regular newspaper accounts of Union setbacks and horrific battlefield losses while wounded soldiers filled their hospitals and fresh military units clogged the streets. To escape, some attended the stage adaptation of Uncle Tom's Cabin at the Continental Theatre; others took in the play Peep O'Day at the New Chestnut Street Theatre or caught a concert by Birgfeld's popular German military band in Fairmount Park.

Mean streets, even with full jails It is disheartening to see that Pennsylvania legislators again are looking to harsh mandatory-minimum sentencing laws as an answer to gun violence in Philadelphia ("Proposed gun law targets city," April 5). Mandatory sentencing dramatically increases the number of people in prison, even as countless studies have shown it does nothing to deter crime. Lawmakers should know better. In 2007, the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing, an entity funded by the state specifically to guide sentencing policy, released a report that showed mandatory sentencing has no impact on recidivism.

SEQUESTRATION. It's an ugly word, one that only Washington could come up with. But for many in Philadelphia, it will be an even uglier reality. The across-the-board federal cuts that resulted from the inability of Congress and the White House to compromise during the 2011 debt-limit standoff officially began last month. Now, city departments are starting to figure out what the cuts will mean for Philly, and it doesn't look good - especially for schools and for programs that help poor people with housing and health services.

By Rochelle Keyhan For months, on my walk to work I passed a VisitPhilly.com billboard on Broad Street that read: "Dear Walking This Way, I like the way you move it move it. Love, Philadelphia, XOXO. " On the mornings when I had already been harassed, the advertisement only reinforced how pervasive, accepted, and inevitable our city's street harassment problem is. On the nights I was spared catcalls and whistles on the way home, this billboard reminded me to still be on guard and ready.

There is a specter haunting Philadelphia; it is the specter of job loss. In each economic cycle in the last four decades, the number of jobs attained at the top of expansion was less than what we had at the prior peak. There are 264,240 fewer jobs today than in 1970 - a decline of 25 percent. At the rate we are going, there will be 60,000 fewer opportunities for Philadelphians by 2023. Mayor Nutter's Five-Year Plan put it out there for all to see: We have the second-highest poverty rate among the 20 largest American cities, behind only Detroit.

Like most Philadelphia natives, I know the sound of a Philadelphia accent: "So I tollum straight up, 'Yo, Paulie, your sister's wit me. And we're gawna ride widges down-ashore or this car don't make it past Pashunk Avenue!' " And like most Philadelphia natives, I don't hear any accent in my voice when ordering kawfee at the Melrose or wooder ice at Rita's. Yanohwaddamean? Seriously, me? An accent? Fuhgeddaboudit. Nevertheless, I was disturbed by the recent headline "The Strange Decline of the Philly Accent" in the Atlantic magazine's online site, theatlanticcities.com.

By Grant Calder Inquirer columnist Karen Heller wrote recently on the revival of interest in Thaddeus Stevens, the Pennsylvania congressman who led the Radical Republicans during and after the Civil War. "For a state with few legends among our elected politicians," she noted, "Stevens is a giant. " My students decided she was right. Other than Stevens, whose legendary status is well deserved, not many names from Pennsylvania's political past come to mind. And we wondered why. Pennsylvania played a pivotal role in early American history.

City Hall blossomed with Philadelphia pride Wednesday as elementary school students and civic leaders celebrated the 118th birthday of the city's flag - a unifying symbol that Mayor Nutter acknowledged "sometimes goes unnoticed in our daily lives. " Brenda Exon, cofounder of the nonprofit advocacy group Partners for Civic Pride, gave a history lesson on the Philadelphia flag, which depicts the city seal on a gold-and-sky-blue background. She said her group was trying to establish March 27, Philadelphia Civic Flag Day, "as an important day on the Philadelphia calendar.

ACCESS TO healthy food for low-income Philadelphians improved by 17 percent in a two-year period, according to a report released Wednesday by the city's Public Health Department. The report, Walkable Access to Healthy Food in Philadelphia, shows that the number of Philadelphians living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited access to healthy food dropped by 61,000 between 2010 and 2012. As part of the 2010 Get Healthy Philly initiative, the Food Trust and the health department offered corner stores an annual $100 incentive to encourage the sale of healthy food, said Giridhar Mallya, director of policy and planning for the health department.