City Council To Regulate Buses, Dentists

The Inquirer’s Heard in the Hall blog reports on the lame duck City Council session that begins today. Any bills not passed during the three-week session will have to be introduced when the new council is sworn in next year, which is pretty much the same group of people anyway.

Still, it’s a pain to get legislation introduced or something, so City Council is rushing to get a whole boatload of bills passed. Blondell Reynolds Brown wants to pass a bill “that would require dentists to provide some degree of disclosure about the mercury contained in fillings.” Brown also wants to ban kids from fundraising in the street, which means the police are going to get to arrest little kids or something. Hilarious! Darrell Clarke wants to make it illegal to burn a cross or hang a noose.

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Leftovers: Citizen Tierney

• Steve Volk reports in an online exclusive today that management at the Inquirer and Daily News (i.e. Brian Tierney) is threatening layoffs. (And the two papers might share photographers.) Hey, they were right! Brian Tierney is their kind of people! You know, since the previous bosses were always trying to find ways to cut costs, and this one is too. [PW]

• Let’s just go and say how totally awesome this is: Frank Gehry will be designing the Art Museum’s new underground addition. I guess the board didn’t like my “boxing ring from Rocky” proposal. [Inquirer]

• As you probably know, Pat’s is now suing Rick’s for stealing their name and history and crown or something. Geno’s is suing Tony Luke’s for not being American enough. And Steve’s Price of Steaks continues to skate by, unabated. [Daily News]

• The state actually did something competent, kids! The Pennsylvania Environmental Quality Board voted to curb mercury emissions from coal plants today, superceding lower federal levels. Hooray! [AP/Yahoo!]