http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky RSS Feed for DN Col Ronnie Polaneczky en-us Thu, 24 May 2012 13:05:07 GMT http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120524_Ralph_rsquo_s_should_savor_its_spot_in_the_record_book.html "OBVIOUSLY, this is a really cool thing," says Ryan Rubino. "We’ll want to do something to celebrate. But we’ll wait a few weeks, out of respect for our friends. Because this is bittersweet." Bittersweet, indeed, that San Francisco’s iconic eatery Fior D’Italia went belly-up on Tuesday after 126 years of serving calamari, osso buco and gnocchi to hungry masses. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120522_New_law_rsquo_s_needed_to_stop_school_sex_abuse.html I wanted to ask state Sen. Anthony Williams what he made of a West Chester high-school swim coach who has been accused of sexual misconduct with a student. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120517_There_rsquo_s_nothing_appealing_about_these_parking_tickets_.html WELCOME to the latest installment of Parking Vile-ations, a regular feature of this column. Erin Bagley has lived in Chinatown long enough to know that, on Sundays, parking is free on the 1100 block of Race Street. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120515_Can_a_sex-offender_ever_have_a_fresh_start_.html TWENTY-SEVEN years ago, Dale Bickerstaff did a horrible thing. He was strung out on crack, so he’s sketchy on the details. But he admits he had sex with a female acquaintance whose apartment he broke into, with a friend, to steal a TV. Bickerstaff maintains that the sex he had with the acquaintance, who was at home, was consensual. The victim and the court disagreed, and he went to jail in 1985 for rape. He was released from prison in 2001 eager for a fresh start. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120510_When_it_comes_to_organs__Philly_is_most_generous.html IT WAS ONE of those letters that made me throw my hands in the air. “Please help my son get a kidney,” the woman wrote in shaky script. “I am elderly, and he takes care of me. He has bad kidney disease and is getting sicker. He needs a kidney.” http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120504_Polaneczky__A_college_rsquo_s_change_of_heart.html B. ELIZABETH Furey has a will of steel, as anyone knows who has watched her battle cancer these past six years. On Thursday, her will was only strengthened when she learned that Chestnut Hill College will let her participate in commencement ceremonies May 12. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120503_College_rigid_on_cancer_patient_rsquo_s_request.html Maybe not enough administrators at Chestnut Hill College know what it’s like to fight cancer. If they did, how could they deny a student named B. Elizabeth Furey? http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120430_Tweet_from_Nutter_rsquo_s_aide_was_a__ldquo_matter_of_ethics_rdquo_.html After my column ran last Thursday about the latest victims of Philadelphia parking outrages, I got a call telling me to check out a tweet from Mark McDonald, the mayor’s press secretary. At 2:55 p.m. that day, here’s what McDonald sent out to his 1,006 Twitter followers: http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120426_Ronnie_Polaneczky__An_old_recepit_might_be_the_ticket_to_fighting_PPA.html LET'S CALL THIS column "A Tale of Two Receipts." It stars hometown public servants Todd Bernstein, founder of the Martin Luther King Day of Service, and Brett Mandel, Philly's ubiquitous good-government advocate. http://www.philly.com/philly/columnists/ronnie_polaneczky/20120424_Maybe_college_isn_rsquo_t_everything.html I USED TO ENJOY relaxing over the Sunday Inquirer with a hefty mug of high-test French roast. Not anymore.