In its eagerness to push through a flawed design, Philadelphia's Streets department is burning bridges with its residents. With the planned reconstruction of the South Street Bridge, Philadelphia had the rare opportunity to develop a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly link between Penn's campus and Center City.

As the University community mourns the death of College sophomore Anne Ryan, questions and concerns about meningococcal meningitis, the disease that claimed the 19-year-old's life, are circulating around campus.

Amid the confusing legal battle currently being fought between convenience stores and state beer distributors, at least one thing is clear. Legislators must step in and bring Pennsylvania's archaic liquor laws into the 21st century. At the heart of the court case is whether Sheetz, a central Pennsylvania convenience store, should be allowed to sell alcohol.

As I happily returned to Penn last week, I was not-so-happily faced with the realization that "going out" requires a little more caution than I'm used to back in suburbia. All of us girls returning to Penn must now remember to congregate in groups when walking home at night.

The Sayre Health Center, based out of Sayre High School at 58th and Walnut streets, had its official grand opening Friday. The health center, which was created out of a partnership with Penn, will act as a community health facility offering both clinical and preventative care for both Sayre students and residents of the area.

As a defensive end getting offers from numerous BCS conferences, Josh Neubert got caught up in the hype. But when the Philadelphia-area native got to Boston College, he knew he didn't make the correct decision on what college to attend.

0-3. No team ever wants to start off a season with that record next to its name. But that's where the Penn men's soccer team is right now after heading out west and losing 0-1 to No. 7 Cal (2-1-0) on Friday and 0-2 to Stanford (1-1-1) yesterday. While the Quakers are describing the road trip as the dreaded "learning experience," they are not losing sight of the fact that they played closely two very good teams less than a week after being blown out 2-6 at Seton Hall.

Only one bench player, freshman forward Kristin Kaiser, managed to crack the lineup in Friday's 1-0 loss to Michigan State, while the Spartans kept their team fresh with six bench players entering as substitutes. Penn's lack of depth coming off the bench, a problem that came into focus during a rough preseason, became glaring this weekend.

An electrical fire broke out at the corner of 41st and Walnut streets Friday afternoon, the second time in a week that a fire has occurred near that intersection.

The Penn volleyball team is not focused on wins and losses just yet. And it's a good thing, because the Quakers lost all three matches at the Seton Hall tournament this weekend. The Quakers fell to host Seton Hall in four games on Friday. The Pirates (5-3) were in their eighth match of the year, while it was the season opener for the Quakers.

Daniel Schwartz is a College sophomore from Decatur, Ga. His e-mail address is schwartz@dailypennsylvanian.com.

250,000Dues-paying members of the National Rifle Association who live in Pennsylvania. Source: The Associated Press

Common Pleas Court Judge Rayford Means excused himself from the resentencing of former Penn professor Tracy McIntosh, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Friday. McIntosh, who pled no contest to charges relating to a 2002 sexual assault, was originally sentenced by Means to only 11 1/2 to 23 months of house arrest, partly due to McIntosh's societal value as a neurobiology researcher.

Every spring, over 200 students get locked up. Voluntarily. As part of an introduction to her Forensic Science course, Nursing professor Kathleen Brown leads her entire class behind prison bars. In small groups, students see the "slamming doors, the numerous keys - what the system is like" and speak with inmates about their experiences on the inside, Brown explained.

For those who have been involved with Penn since the beginning of the ranking system, the University's increase reflects a major transformation within the school - although changes to the ranking criteria have played a role as well.

You saw her on Hollywood Squares, you laughed at her in Sister Act and you cried with her in The Color Purple. And, if you're lucky enough to score a ticket, you may just get to see her at Irvine Auditorium next month. Whoopi Goldberg will be this fall's keynote speaker, according to a press release issued today by the Connaissance committee of the Social Planning and Events Committee.

College sophomore Anne Ryan died early yesterday morning of meningitis after being hospitalized on Saturday afternoon, University officials announced yesterday. It is still unclear how Ryan, 19, contracted meningococcal meningitis, a bacteria infection that affects part of the brain.