As part of the economic-stimulus bill passed last month, SEPTA will receive federal funding for up-to-date facilities. About $5.2 million of the total $191 million dollars in stimulus funds SEPTA received will be used to improve problems and delays on its subway-surface routes.

In the wake of Leonore Annenberg's death, concern has grown about the future of the Annenberg investments at Penn - but this worry has proven unnecessary. Administrators in the Annenberg School for Communication and the Annenberg Public Policy Center confirm that both will continue to be as strong as ever.

"Philly Fight Night," an amateur boxing competition in February pitting Wharton MBA students against other Penn graduate students, raised $55,000 for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia this year. Al Mollica, chief development officer of the Boys & Girls Clubs, said the clubs serve over 15,000 kids throughout the city, and "Philly Fight Night" is "one of the biggest sources of fundraising income that the organization has over the year" to support its programs - which include education and career development, health and life skills, athletics and recreation and arts and culture.

An innovative piece of BlackBerry technology developed by a group of engineering students at Yale University could add another dimension to campus safety. The free smartphone application called BScope Mobile was launched just over two weeks ago, and allows BlackBerrys to use raw GPS data to provide highly accurate information on the movements of the phone's owner.

Early Sunday morning at a house on 55th Street in West Philadelphia, the students of JAM for Philly - a community service and religious group comprised of Muslim and Jewish students - put aside their differences and picked up paint brushes to renovate the home for a family in need.

Researchers at Penn have found that the risk of being a victim of gun violence increases with higher alcohol consumption and proximity to places that sell alcohol-to-go. Charles Branas, an Epidemiology professor in the School of Medicine and the corresponding author for the study, said he was interested in finding the risk factors that result in becoming a victim of a shooting in Philadelphia.

When will the fighting and violence in Israel end? What is the solution to the issues faced? Is there even a solution? Yesterday afternoon, the College of Arts and Sciences, the Penn Political Science department and the Christopher Brown Center for International Politics held a forum discussion entitled "The Arab-Israeli Conflict: Is there Really a Solution?" in Houston Hall's Hall of Flags to answer these questions.

To kick off Penn's Education Week, Alan Kors described the current generational student body as both "victims of generational swindle of epic proportions" and the "best generation that has ever been on a college campus." Kors delivered the keynote address, entitled "The Generational Swindle: Students and Liberty," last night in Huntsman Hall.

This spring, health is in the AIR. The fraternity Alpha Iota Gamma, or AIR - the letter Gamma is shaped like an R - was founded this spring as the only health care-oriented fraternity at Penn. AIR aims to provide a values-based social experience in addition to networking and academic support for students of both genders looking to pursue careers in health care.

Student government on campus began making progress toward increased minority representation 13 years ago when the United Minorities Council lobbied for a seat on the University Council advisory body. Three years of heated debate later, the UMC was granted its wish in the form of a permanent seat on the University Council.

Quoting Beyonce, Nursing and Wharton sophomore and Undergraduate Assembly volunteer member G.J. Melendez-Torres implored the University to "finally put a ring on its commitment to gender and ethnic minorities." His request was met with a standing ovation, as student leaders packed Sunday's UA meeting to discuss a series of proposals targeting the status and support of minorities on campus.

Architecture job prospects seem to be stuck in the rubble of the current economy. Though the architecture market has seen "phenomenal growth" in the past 10 years, the economy is "a depressing concern," especially for those finishing graduate school this year, said associate director of Career Services Rachel Burk.

This year, most juniors and seniors will celebrate Hey Day without missing classes. Though traditionally the event has been held on the last day of classes - which fell on a Tuesday last spring and will again this year - Hey Day will be held on April 24, the last Friday before the spring semester ends the following Tuesday.

The undergraduate student hospitalized earlier this month with meningococcal meningitis was released from the hospital this weekend, according to University spokeswoman Phyllis Holtzman. There are no further cases of meningococcal infection, she added. Student Health Service posted an update on its Web site about the student's release on Saturday.

The Archeology Museum was infiltrated by superheroes of all shapes and sizes yesterday, becoming an educational playground for children and parents to learn about ancient and modern-day heroes. The event - "Wow! Superhero Day"- was held at the Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology in conjunction with Van Pelt Library's Year of the Comic Book and Penn's Year of Evolution celebration to commemorate Charles Darwin's 200th birthday.

Alternative rock band Guster will open for Akon at this year's Spring Fling concert on April 17 in Franklin Field, the Social Planning and Events Committee announced today. "They have a similar vibe even though they're very different genres in music," said SPEC Concerts co-director and College junior Preston Hershorn, who anticipates that the line-up will bring a diverse crowd.