In an editorial appearing tomorrow, The Philadelphia Inquirer will endorse former City Councilman Michael Nutter in the May 15 Democratic primary race. The newspaper’s editorial calls Nutter “the most promising package of achievement, persistence, smarts and vision.” The endorsement said Nutter, 49, “is easy to imagine on the national stage as the fresh voice of a resurgent Philadelphia, changing the narrative from one about bloodshed, corruption and dysfunction to one about new ideas, new energy, new partnerships.” INQUIRER: The editorial board said three other candidates “don’t measure up.” It dismissed the candidacies of Reps. Bob Brady and Chaka Fattah. It […]

BY TOM TOMORROW At the Republican convention in Philadelphia in 2000 I hung out with Dave Barry and his cartoonist posse (Mike Luckovich, Walt Handlesman, Chip Bok, and Rob Rogers). The thing about hanging out with Dave Barry is that he’s (a) famous and (b) innately likeable, and as a result you end up in some really odd situations. For instance: we were sitting in a hotel bar when we were introduced to Jack Valenti, who invited us to a party he was co-hosting with Mark Foley (yes, that Mark Foley). When we got there, we had some trouble getting […]

BY DAVE DAVIES OF THE DAILY NEWS An Appearance by Tommy the Loan Shark, the heckling mascot who dogs mayoral candidate Tom Knox, got ugly yesterday when publicist Frank Keel broke into Tommy’s news conference and insisted that rival Bob Brady was funding the fish and his sidekick, Jim Nixon. How did Keel claim to know Brady was behind the Shark attacks on Knox’s history with high-interest payday lending? “I know the truth, because they approached me first and foremost to run this shadow operation,” Keel said. “I find this disgusting, deplorable.” Keel told reporters that on Feb. 9, Brady […]