When I first moved to Philadelphia, I worked for an organization that often helped out at City Hall. A rickety elevator carried you to up to an observation deck that was open in all weather. The ride was free and the view was cool.

Now, after extensive renovations, the city has elected to charge adults five dollars for this experience. Do we have so many tourists stopping at City Hall that we can afford to discourage them from coming?

Weird article here, where Ms. Snyder seems to be offering the “turnaround” story while simultaneously describing a baseline of trouble that hasn’t really changed.

I guess what bothered me is that a few students doing a few interesting assignments — something that has always been going on at West an every other comprehensive high school — is somehow evidence of a turnaround. Each of these schools has a staff where somewhere between twenty and forty percent of the faculty is doing a good job. Some of them collect media backers who return to their rooms every year or so for a piece; others toil on with minimal recognition.