A space devoted to Penn's performing arts groups is finally open for business. Construction is finished on the Platt Student Performing Arts House - located beneath Stouffer College House - and the space is ready for the singers, actors and dancers who plan to rehearse there this fall.

Author John McPhee is among the 2007 participants in one of Kelly Writers House's most well-loved programs. The winner of a 1999 Pulitzer Prize, McPhee joins Jamaica Kincaid and Donald Hall as next spring's Writers House fellows. McPhee is the author, most recently, of Uncommon Carriers.

While most college students are getting news about the Israeli war with Hezbollah on television, some Penn students are witnessing the conflict firsthand. Life in the north of Israel is continually disrupted by rocket attacks but students and University staff are finding a surreal sense of normalcy in Jerusalem as the conflict rages less than 100 miles to their north.

As this is the last issue of the summer edition of Street, it heralds, for many, an approaching departure from West Philadelphia. Be it a road trip back to whence you came or a transoceanic flight to exotic shores that awaits, time spent en route profits categorically from a kickass soundtrack.

DECEMBER UNDERGROUND AFI Major record label etiquette usually dictates that after purchasing a successful band on a smaller label, said label pressures previously successful band to produce quick marketable hits, driving said band away from what made them successful and promptly into the ground.

It may not have the star power of the 2004 presidential election, but this November's upcoming election is generating heat in Pennsylvania. And the candidates are already working to win Penn students' votes. Hotly contested elections are springing up across the state.

I've spent the bulk of the last two summers in Philadelphia. Same house, same bedroom, (unfortunately) same landlord. Same car that won't start when I want to go home for the weekend. Same trips to 7-11 for donuts when I'm bored. Same. Old. Shit. It's not all the same though.

For the first time in the last 25 years, Penn can finally look forward to the opening of a new Veterinary School facility. Set to open its doors on October 31, the four-story Vernon and Shirley Hill Pavilion, located at 38th and Woodland streets, underwent its groundbreaking in April of 2004.

Many Pennsylvanians are getting a raise for the first time in nearly a decade, but Penn students hoping to see their paychecks swell may be disappointed. Governor Ed Rendell signed legislation on July 9 that will increase Pennsylvania's minimum wage from the federal standard of $5.

Most students who take summer classes just go through the same routine as during the other semesters. But one group of students is able to earn summer credits without ever stepping foot on Locust Walk. Instead those students are enjoying unique cultures in far off cities such as Buenos Aires, London, Florence, and Seoul.

Well folks, it's been fun. We've laughed (I did at least), we've cried (mostly over my bad jokes), we had a good run, but now we've come to the end of the road. And I appreciate all of you who still actually are reading this. So Donnie, thank you.

On the morning of Sunday, July 23, seven people were shot and two were stabbed in the span of four hours in Philadelphia, including a 22-year old man who was shot in the face. This spate of violence is only a small part of the city's gradual increase in crime, but it helps illustrate Philadelphia's newest grim statistic: the city's homicide rate has increased by 7% from this point last year.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Starring: Will Ferrell Director: Adam McKay Rated: PG-13 According to the opening scene of Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, Eleanor Rossevent once said, "America is all about speed. Hot, nasty, badass speed.

Philadelphia's dream to host the 2016 Summer Olympics was cut short yesterday as the City of Brotherly Love was eliminated by the United States Olympic Committee. The city was one of five American cities vying to be the single American city potentially making a bid for the world games.

Imagine a shower untarnished by grime, an attractive kitchen, or even reliable hot water. Hardened high-rise veterans might have trouble with such an exercise in fantasy. The Superblock trio of Harnwell, Harrison, and Rodin has long been hampered by shabby interiors and dated infrastructures.

When a group of students at the University of California at Berkeley convened to protest on-campus military recruitment last year, they hoped their effort would get some attention. But they didn't expect that attention would wind up in a terror-threat database.

Many Penn students graduate without ever taking the time to see Philadelphia's most historic sites like Independence Hall, the Liberty Bell, and the original location of Penn itself. You don't have to be a history major to appreciate the following tours of the city's most historic district.