Christine Hurtubise

For a short time this winter, the Philadelphia smoking ban might be stubbed out. Philadelphia City Council recently passed an amendment to the original smoking ban that includes a provision changing the effective date to Jan. 8 And if Mayor John Street signs the bill on or before Dec.

In just a few months, a new school will debut on campus, but it won't be part of the University. The Jean Madeline Salon and Aveda Institute will be opening in late February at the Hub apartment complex, located at 40th and Chestnut streets. The institute - which trains individuals for professional service in hair, nails, skin and body - will occupy the first floor of the building and will include a store for Aveda beauty products.

An estimated 10 million Americans under the age of 30 cast their votes in Tuesday's mid-term elections, 2 million more than in 2002. High voting rates on Penn's campus reflected this trend. According to the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, which studies voting among the young and reported these preliminary data, youth voting increased by 4 percentage points from the previous mid-term election.

Philadelphia is undertaking a citywide initiative to get greener - and officials are looking for college students' input. Fourteen city agencies have come together to form Green Plan Philadelphia, which aims to ensure that residents have access to open space in their neighborhoods.

Residents of a new building just off-campus waited weeks to get in - and now some say the rooms still aren't ready for them. Certain floors in the retail and residential building at 40th and Chestnut Streets were scheduled to open for residents two months ago, but construction was delayed due to shipping problems with materials.

It's Monday night at 11, and a group of friends is taking a break from their books to grab a bite at Philly Diner. College and Wharton senior Varun Jalan says the group has been at the 3925 Walnut St. restaurant many times in the last four years, even when their studies kept them up until 3 or 4 a.

In 1904, a French renaissance manor was constructed at 42nd and Pine streets. Over 100 years later, the mansion is re-opening its doors to residents - this time, to anyone who wants to live there. This January, residents will begin moving into the space, which has been transformed into 28 luxury condominiums as part of a project initiated by Penn.

Tomorrow, Penn students will have an opportunity to listen to live music, visit museums and see motorcycle racers launch tricks - all at the perfect price for any college student. In other words - free. From 2 to 7 p.m., the Ben Franklin Parkway will be closed to traffic for the Campus Philly Kick-Off concert and festival.

When former MarBar manager Bob Hanna packed his bags and took over 2 Goodfella's a block away, he got a lot of his former employees to follow him.

Familiar signs will soon disappear from Walnut Street businesses vacate en masse, making way for a University building project.