Karen Heller has interviewed Philip Roth and Zsa Zsa Gabor, spent time with Pink and the Philadelphia Orchestra, the celebrated and the exemplary unsung. She's covered Miss America and political conventions. She's been a provocative voice at The Inquirer for nearly 20 years, garnering awards for criticism, feature writing and investigative reporting, and was a finalist for the 2001 Pulitzer Prize in commentary.
Email Karen at kheller@phillynews.com
- Brown aide, a Nutter ally, fired by city
- Reynolds Brown's husband had Fattah earmark rejected
- Brown admits coverup in repaying loan to Fattah Jr.
Karen Heller: Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Folks, why are we slaving in industries that adjusted for the economy and downsized, slashed jobs, and reduced salaries and benefits? We could be working in city government, which appears to be doing none of those things.
Sometimes, all it took to fix a parking ticket in this town was a little deodorizer and some shellfish.
This was part of the Friends and Family Plan at Traffic Court, as revealed in the federal indictment of nine current and former judges charged with conspiracy and fraud. Also charged: the court fixer, the owner of Number One Translations, and a junk vendor/landlord of two "gentlemen's clubs."
-
Political bedfellows Greene and Street square off
-
Karen Heller: John Street took a seat in the second row of a federal courtroom Tuesday. "It's a tragedy," he told me. "There are no winners here. The agency has taken a beating." The former mayor is right.
-
Philly: It may not be hip, but it's interesting
-
Karen Heller: Many years ago, my sister moved to Portland, Ore., when it was merely a rainy city with low rents. It was not remotely hip. There were bars on many corners where old men drank their breakfast.
-
In Point Breeze, transformation on horizon
-
The Ralph Brooks play lot at 21st and Tasker features two basketball hoops, a few battered benches, and a forlorn swath of green.
-
'Silver Linings Playbook' a love story to Philly
-
Likely to be nominated for multiple Oscars on Thursday, Silver Linings Playbook offers an affectionate, true portrait of Philadelphia and the suburbs. It's arguably the best film ever made about our region.
-
Let's do something about guns
-
We are finally having a conversation about gun control. President Obama is talking. So are Sens. Joe Manchin and Mark Warner, both with A ratings from the mostly silent NRA. Said Manchin: "Everything should be on the table." Broadcaster and former GOP Rep. Joe Scarborough said the murders in Newtown "changed everything."
-
Corbett's finally talking - but not telling us anything
-
Karen Heller: Two years into his gig, Corbett - the man I frequently called Gov. Garbo (trademark pending) - is finally talking. On the down side, he's not saying anything. At least to the little people, the taxpayers.
-
Pa. justices let infighting come before Traffic Court action
-
Karen Heller: Traffic Court has been viewed as a mess for so long that the overwhelming reader reaction to the latest report has been, "Welcome to Philadelphia, where fixing tickets is a time-honored art form."
MORE STORIES
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners: