meagan steiner

Thanks to a change in LSAT policy, aspiring law students may be able to breathe easier on test day. After a shift in American Bar Association protocol last June, 74 percent of law schools currently or will soon evaluate applicants based on their highest LSAT scores, according to a recently released survey by Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions.

There's nothing like pizza, beer and neighborhood revitalization to mobilize a community. Following a local letter-writing campaign, the Dock Street Brewing Co. pizzeria is set to inhabit the former firehouse at 50th Street and Baltimore Avenue. The building, located across the street from Cedar Park, housed the Firehouse Farmers Market until last year.

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.

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.

Penn is losing a tenth of its city funding for programs run with two West Philadelphia elementary schools.

Penn's partnerships with two public elementary schools may face significant funding cuts as part of the proposed Philadelphia School District budget. A provision in School District CEO Paul Vallas' $70 million budget cut proposal would reduce district funding for the partnerships by 10 percent this year, and 50 percent next year.

An exhibit by disadvantaged community members has drawn interest - and some bids for the art.

An anonymous donor has posed a challenge to a scholarship program for local high-school students: Raise $2 million, and receive $1 million more. Officials from the program are rising to the occasion. As the grant was announced at the Philadelphia Education Fund's second annual awards night last month, "there was a great deal of excitement . but a belief that we would raise the funds to reach the challenge," Philadelphia Scholars Director Carole Boughter said.

Penn is getting a new neighbor - the country's premier space for life sciences and technology companies, University City Science Center officials hope. The Science Center is planning an expansion, and last week marked the groundbreaking of a facility at 3711 Market St.

Lucy Kerman --- who helped guide Penn's West Philadelphia initiatives for almost a decade -- -may have left the University President's Office, but her relationship with the West Philadelphia community hasn't ended. In fact, it will be honored when she receives the Calvary Center 2006 Community Beacon Award Nov.