Primary elections are set for May 17 and this time around the City Council races overshadow the Mayor’s race in terms of interest. Although Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for West Philadelphia’s 3rd District, the At-large ballot and the Sheriff’s race gives voters in West Philadelphia something to chew on.

Fourteen candidates are vying for five places on the November 8 general election ballot. Nine candidates will appear on the Republican primary ballot.

The Committee of 70 has a rundown of all of the candidates in the city primaries here. Most of the profiles include pretty lengthy Q & As with the candidates. You can find your polling station here.

OK all you cyclists (bicyclists?) time to pat yourselves on the back a little. The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia released a report today that shows that Philadelphia has twice as many cyclists per capita than any of the top 10 largest cities in the country.

Bicycle commuting jumped 151 percent here between 2000 and 2009. Two neighborhoods in particular – Center City and South Philly – rank in the top 25 neighborhoods in the country for percentage of bike commuters. Only Portland, Minneapolis and San Francisco have two neighborhoods in the top 25.

Some other interesting findings:

• The number of bikes crossing the Schuylkill River has increased nearly four-fold in the last 20 years.

• The number of female cyclists in our fair town has increased dramatically as well, an indication, the Coalition says, that the city’s streets are becoming bike-friendlier.

• Sidewalk riding, the scourge of pedestrians across the city, dropped 20 percent on streets with bike lanes.

• The average number of bikes per hour at 38th and Spruce has gone up 68 percent since 2006 (Yep, people stand there and count them).

So, all in all, nice work bicycle folks. Just please stay off the dang sidewalk.

A 39-year-old mother, apparently a bystander, was shot and killed Saturday morning as she sat on her front porch in the 5200 block of Reinhard St. following an argument between two groups of girls.

Police say Yvette Saunders was sitting on the steps of her porch at 5220 Reinhard St. when a silver four-door vehicle pulled up at about 11:49 a.m. A man emerged and began fire shots. A single bullet struck Saunders in the chest and she later died, police said.

Witnesses told police that the shooting occurred after an altercation between two groups of girls on the same block. Police say Saunders was the mother of an unidentified boy who knew one of the groups of girls involved. Police don’t believe the woman was involved in the original altercation.

Police have questioned several people in conjunction with the shooting. No arrests have been made.

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This is the Mac Daddy of West Philly porch sales. Actually, it’s more of a warehouse sale. The organization Penn Moves is once again collecting all of the stuff departing Penn students would otherwise leave behind – on the sidewalk or in the dump – and selling it for charity.

OK sure, so there might be too many mouse pads and God knows how many pairs of Uggs, but there could always be a hidden gem behind that tiny little refrigerator.

This year the sale will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on June 4 at a warehouse Penn owns at 3401 Grey’s Ferry Ave (see map below). You can get in for a sneak peak at 8 a.m. for $5.

Goodwill Industries International Inc. will handle the sorting and transportation of the myriad items students donate, which range from cocktail dresses to cocktail sauce and coffee makers to coffee tables. One striking image at last year’s sale at the Class of 1923 Arena was a wall of microwaves.

All the proceeds from the sale go to Goodwill. Last year that was $22,000.

Penn Moves will collect items through May 18 near college houses and through May 31 at Sansom Place  (3600 Chestnut St.)

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If you haven’t had a chance to see the Curio Theatre Company‘s staging of  Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, you are in luck because they just added three more shows. The wildly popular performances have been packed every night since the show opened on April 22. The run was originally scheduled to close this Saturday.

The added shows at the Calvary Center (4740 Baltimore Ave.) will be May 19, 20, 21 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10/$15 and are available here.

Penn’s student move-out began Saturday and will continue through May 18. The key days to keep in mind are Tuesday and Wednesday, May 10 and 11, when Spruce Street will be closed between 34th and 38th Streets from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Penn Public Safety says that authorized vehicles (parents etc.) will be allowed to access Spruce Street at 38th and must exit Spruce at 34th.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia reminded us that bikes will have access down Spruce on Tuesday and Wednesday.