I'm not sure if this means big things for Philly. I think the Nutter win means that law & order are front and center, while the bigger questions regarding casino development are off the table. Having lived east of 2nd St. [first in Pennsport, now in Fishtown], I worry about what will happen to stable, affordable neighborhoods in the city, many of which are already on shaky ground.
I think that the larger crime question is one that the city has been unwilling to address for quite some time, starting with the emergence of Cambodian gang struggle in Southwest Philly [this amorphous zone that until recently wasn't even discussed on the news; I recall local news programs referencing another similar area -- Frankford/Kensington, which accounts for much of North Philadelphia -- in equally mythological language] to whatever it is that's happening now, much of which seems to be interpersonal [which all murder is, but I get your meaning] and/or drug related, but now that it's warmer out, there's a greater likelihood that innocent bystanders will get hurt, cf. this weekend.
I think it's scariest that there are no answers out there. The Street and Rendell administrations have been pretty quiet on this -- Street because he's a coward out of ideas, Rendell because he needs to keep Pennsyltucky under his fat thumb -- but I wonder how bad this will get. Like I and others said in this thread, the violence has moved outward from Center City and while places like the Art Museum/Fairmount area seem relatively safe, it's a fragile situation.
Having read Lockdown America about 5 years ago, I can't help but think that Philadelphia is escalating simple gun crime into something much larger every time a helicopter goes up. And I can't think that based on what we've learned about quality of life policing and Comstat, that stop 'n' frisk won't be more of the same numbers oriented police work that doesn't begin to address what's really going wrong.
Lastly, I somehow find urban American violence against the backdrop of state sanctioned violence too poetic to be true. It's an elegant correlation to which I'm sympathetic nevertheless.
Cheers, J T. -- J T. Ramsay Music Editor - Comcast.net 2352 Letterly St. Philadelphia, PA 19125 comcast.net/music/ paperthinwalls.com blackmailismylife.com/blog