Philadelphians

The housing market's continuing struggles have upset the retirement plans of millions of Americans, keeping more of them in their current homes, waiting for diminished equity to reappear. Others plan to move, but they appear to be demanding something much different from what they wanted before the real estate boom turned to bust: smaller, less expensive retirement houses they can afford with their reduced means. At the start of the financial crisis in the fall of 2008, economists weren't anticipating that the long-term trend toward retirement living would be derailed.

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)

Is yo as simple as it seems? It can mean anything from "Yoo-hoo! Lovely to see you" to "Two of them brewskis right here, before the inning's over" to "Move that car or I'll rearrange your face. " Can't it? We asked Philadelphians loitering around City Hall one day recently, and they let us know. Mostly they agreed with the American Heritage people. Sarah Mascho, from Upper Darby, said, "It's a way of getting someone's attention. It's a greeting, between friends, like 'Yo!

There are many things in life that are truly difficult — losing a job, raising a child, dealing with Comcast customer service — but disliking the upstart professional baseball team from the nation's capital is not among them. Even so, if the Nats are to become a true rival to the Phillies, we figured it would be helpful to provide a head start on some good clean hate, a handy reference guide of reasons to despise the unbearable lameness of the Nats — and their ardently indifferent fan base.

Thanks to a lucky lunch break - or was it the power of prayer? - the four dozen happiest people in Philadelphia were introduced to an envious public Friday as they claimed a Powerball jackpot worth $107.5 million in cash. They filled rows of chairs at a late-morning news conference, telecast live from SEPTA headquarters. Most of them have worked for the transit agency for tenures of less than a year to 42 years. Ranging in age from 26 to 69, including some who were already retired, they vowed that no further media meet-and-greets would be granted.

GOT A VACANT house blighting your block or a vacant lot carpeted with trash? Abandoned car? Graffiti? Got a pothole putting a bruise on your Cruze and a contusion on your Fusion? How about a dead streetlight? Rosetta Lue wants you to call her at 3-1-1. "It's like 9-1-1 for all nonemergency calls," said Lue, who has directed Philly311 since 2009, its first full year. One number to call. Easy-peasy access to city services. So 3-1-1 should have gone viral here by now, right?

Several years after I purchased a home in Philadelphia, a tax assessor showed up at my door. After we chatted about whether I had made any improvements to the property, the lovely man disclosed that we were related and offered to freeze my tax bill. This was my introduction to Philadelphia's property-tax system. A lot has changed since. I get better city services now than in the late 1980s. Once a week, a recycling truck lumbers up the street; potholes are filled; the city helps my neighbors plant trees.

One recent afternoon, I found myself strolling across the South Street Bridge, over the Schuylkill and into West Philadelphia. The rebuilt bridge, a handsome, user-friendly example of contemporary civil engineering, opened in November 2010 to much fanfare after two years of construction and a decade of fraught planning negotiations. The result is impressive, featuring wide sidewalks, roomy bike lanes, colorful light fixtures, and ready access to the Schuylkill Banks path at its southern end. My thoughts inclined toward the symbolic significance of the bridge and its position between Philadelphia's academic nerve center and one of its most in-flux neighborhoods.

IT CONSTANTLY amazes me that people today, like Peter Garvin (letter, March 20) , are jealous of the poor! Think about that: People are constantly complaining about what the poor have been given. Have we lost all sense of perspective? Yet I don't see these same [complainers] opting to move into the crime-ridden neighborhoods where the poor live, or send their children to the same schools as those attended by the children of the poor. If indeed the life of the poor is so attractive, it would not be difficult in this day and age to change your status so that you could qualify.

Tim McGrath is the author of John Barry: An American Hero in the Age of Sail In 1958, Walt Disney aired a mini-series of Esther Forbes' classic story Johnny Tremain , introducing baby boomers to the adventurous boy who participated in the American Revolution. Weeks later, I bought a 10-cent Disney comic titled "Old Ironsides," a fictionalized account of the USS Constitution's battle with the British frigate Guerriere in 1812. The hero of the tale was the cabin boy - Johnny Tremain.

Mayor Nutter's job approval rating is up to 60 percent, the highest level in the last three years, but most city residents continue to describe crime, the state of the public schools, and lack of job opportunities as major problems that have improved little over the last five years. That's the conclusion of a new public opinion poll released Tuesday by the Pew Charitable Trusts, based on 1,600 telephone interviews with Philadelphia adults, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 19. Just one out of three people, 37 percent, said they felt completely safe in their homes at night, and fewer than one out of six, 16 percent, felt completely safe walking in their neighborhoods, the study found.

Mayor Nutter's job approval rating is up to 60 percent, the highest level in the past three years, but most city residents continue to describe crime, the state of the public schools and lack of job opportunities as major problems that have improved little over the past five years. That's the conclusion of a new public opinion poll released Tuesday by The Pew Charitable Trusts, based on 1,600 telephone interviews with Philadelphia adults, from Jan. 4 through Jan. 19. Just one out of three people, 37 percent, said they felt completely safe in their homes at night, and less than one out of six, 16 percent, felt completely safe walking in their neighborhoods, the study found.

In his will, Charles Dickens asked that no statues of himself ever be erected in his honor. Instead, the famed English author wanted the recognition to go to the characters in his books. Of course, Philadelphians being Philadelphians, they ignored him. In 1905, the world's first Charles Dickens statue was erected in West Philadelphia's Clark Park. Though statues have since been erected in Australia and England - with the blessing of Dickens' descendants - the renegade Philadelphia version, in which Dickens is seated beside one of his characters, Little Nell, has always held a special place in neighbors' hearts.