In other Wednesday bits

• The Inquirer (who has a new look today) reports on a crisis in affordable housing in the Philadelphia area, as the lowest-wage workers are getting priced out of livable options. We're still doing better than many other cities of comparable size, however.

  According to the study, 81 percent of renter families in the United States live in counties where a two-bedroom apartment is unaffordable even if two members of the family are working minimum-wage jobs.

  yipe!
  
  
• The new Philadelphia Weekly has an article on the Next Mayor project (see prev. here and its website here):

  "We think creating a citizen-derived agenda now-before the beauty pageant starts-is really important," says Brent Thompson, spokesperson for the [William Penn] foundation. "The slate is open, and we hope the project spurs civic engagement."

  Will be interesting to see whether they succeed in shifting local coverage from the horserace to the issues underlying the choice.
  
  
• A poster at YoungPhillyPolitics applauds the decisions of two local brewers to locate in the city tout that fact.
  
  
• America's Hometown points out a new service that allows Philadelphians to send text messages directly to their City Councilfolk. (Use the power only for good!)
  
  
• Stan Shapiro has a letter to the Daily News taking issue with their characterization of how the Business Privilege Tax came into being and pointing out that it was originally the brainchild of the Chamber of Commerce that now seems hell-bent on getting rid of it.
  
  
• And finally, for those impatient for the holidays (or trying to plan ahead a little), the Philadelphia Weekly provides a New Year's Eve guide to options and suggestions for ringing out the old year.