Wharton Dean Patrick Harker has been named the University of Delaware's next president, Delaware officials announced Friday.

Once considered a top contender in the upcoming Philadelphia mayoral election, former City Controller Jonathan Saidel announced yesterday that he is abandoning his bid to become the city's next mayor. "As I thought about the race, what it would take to win and the impact it would have on my ability to earn a living and take care of my family, I realized that I could not be as committed to the race as I would need to be," Saidel said in a statement released to The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Move over, Mark Zuckerberg. There's a new Web site in town, and it promises all the discussion about sex, drugs and procrastination a student could ever want.

A Penn project to build houses may build bridges, as well. Last year, 18 Architecture students participated in a studio design class led by Architecture professors Richard Wesley and Ali Malkawi in which they designed residential units for six formerly homeless women and their families as part of the Bernice Elza Homes project.

Philadelphia newspaper racks will remain full, at least for a bit longer. The Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News's largest union threatened to strike after midnight Friday, but management and union representatives continued contract negotiations through yesterday.

The two main graduate student groups on campus recently announced a plan to radically restructure their organizations - and incensed many of their own constituents in the process.

Mixing dark humor with what organizers called a "delightfully strange" plot, Richard Burgin entertained an audience of about 30 with a reading from his latest work Wednesday evening. Burgin, a composer, professor at Saint Louis University and award-winning fiction writer, came to the Kelly Writers House to give the first-ever reading of the title work in his new collection of short stories, The Conference on Beautiful Moments.

Penn researchers say the future of AIDS treatment - and perhaps the treatment of other diseases - could lie in giving sick patients doses of a genetically modified HIV virus. HIV - the virus that causes AIDS - attacks T-cells, white blood cells that are critical to the immune system.

A Penn employee was the victim of a strong-arm robbery Tuesday evening, and police officials are investigating whether the case is related to either of two recent strings of crime in the area.

Patrick Harker, the dean of the Wharton School since 2000, will leave next year to become president of the University of Delaware. He will replace retiring Delaware president David Roselle. In a statement, Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Ron Daniels congratulated Harker on winning the post and praised his contributions to the University.

In the heart of the Abbotsford housing project where he grew up, multimillionaire businessman Tom Knox declared his candidacy in the 2007 Philadelphia mayoral race yesterday. The announcement was held in front of a Tastykake distribution center. Knox appeared with his wife, one of his sons and their Louis Vuitton-leashed dog, Lily.

Trespassing and Conduct Nov. 24 - Carlton Smith, 28 and unaffiliated with the University, was arrested at about 12:05 a.m. when he allegedly attempted to enter an enclosed unit at the 4040 Baltimore St. Gunther Hall Apartments. Nov. 24 - Andre Soriven, 32 and unaffiliated with the University, was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct when a student complained that Soriven was disturbing residents of Sansom Place East.

Last night, the junior class president pledged to keep students informed about the fate of Hey Day as student leaders met for the fourth annual State of the School event. Over 100 members of the six branches of student government gathered in College Hall for humorous, but informative, presentations from the heads of each branch.

If you're waiting in line at Koch's Take Out Shop, somebody will probably offer you a free pickle.

Chairmanship of the United Minorities Council is a tough gig - so tough, in fact, that this year leaders say there were no qualified candidates to fill the role. The UMC - an umbrella organization for dozens of minority groups at Penn - held elections Wednesday night, and although two candidates were in the running, no chairman was elected.

It's only been a couple of months since the season's final Clark Park flea market, but you may already miss the cluttered tables of handmade jewelry and racks of patterned blazers from the '80s. Fortunately for Penn's flea-market junkies, the organizers of this community staple are putting together an event this Sunday that is sure to hold us over until Spring: a holiday bazaar at the Rotunda, located at 40th and Walnut streets.

It's not quite the cure to breast cancer, but Penn researchers may be getting closer to a vaccine to fight the disease. A Penn research team has tested a new vaccine - which is designed for patients with early-stage breast cancer - in a pilot study, and those involved say it was unusually successful.