Since January, video crews from the TV show "Animal Cops" have been following agents of the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (PSPCA) in Philadelphia for the upcoming season of the Animal Planet series, which premieres July 16 on the cable channel. To learn more about the show, visit:
http://animal.discovery.com/fansites/animalcops/animalcops.html

The Mural Arts Program is creating a mural dedicated to overcoming the stigma of mental illness through recovery. The mural will be located at the Elwyn center at 4040 Market St. in Philadelphia. The lead mural artist is Eric Okdeh.

Puzzles, the Philadelphia Zoo's popular 27-year-old giraffe, was euthanized on Mar. 21 due to conditions related to old age. Twigga, who is soon to be 29, has well-exceeded her life expectancy. The zoo soon will be looking for at least one new giraffe to pair with the remaining young giraffe, Stella, 7.

Followers of the "Anonymous" online movement protested the Church of Scientology in Center City this week. Two Scientologists monitored the protest, taking photographs and recording video. Anonymous gained support in January when a video was leaked on the Internet of Tom Cruise promoting Scientology. The church calls Anonymous a hate group that has vandalized Scientology property and harassed its members.
For more information about Anonymous and why it is protesting the church, visit:
http://www.whyweprotest.net
To see more about Scientology's response to Anonymous, visit:
http://www.anonymous-exposed.org

Elliot Ruiz, 23, graduated from Edison High School in 2002, joined the Marines, was nearly killed during the Iraq invasion, and is now starring in a controversial new movie called "Battle For Haditha," a fictionalized account of an alleged Marine massacre of 24 Iraqi men, women and children. He recently returned to speak to students at Edison. He and his parents later discussed the movie in interviews. His father also explained how he got a tattoo that says, "Like Father, Like Son."

From her house in Bala Cynwyd, Emily Wolfson paints baseballs with everything from classic stadium scenes to King Tut. The balls she paints are mass produced and she estimates she has sold more than 700,000. Her web site is at:
http://www.unforgettaballs.com

Dewey, a Spectacled Owl, finds visual stimulation from watching television. The tropical owl is part of the Philadelphia Zoo collection.

DJ Hyde is a star villain in Combat Zone Wrestling, which holds matches every month at the New Alhambra Arena in South Philadelphia. The contests range from the routine to the comical to the extremely bloody. CZW touts itself as "ultraviolent." It is. Yet the audience includes families with young children who cheer the drama and spectacle.

Seattle-born Amy Walker, 25, posted a clever video on the Internet of her performing 21 English-language accents not long after moving to Philadelphia recently. Last weekend, someone put the video on the Web site Break.com and it has since generated 1 million views across the Internet and mainstream media interest.
Her personal web site is www.amywalker.info.