So, here's the link to the "WHYY Blog" story highlighting how the invasion of mostly illegal alien Mexicans has changed and continues to change parts of Philadelphia.

The content of the story is included below WITH the current comments which I presume will be disappearing. WHYY has this little section there soliciting feedback.. and they got it - mostly NEGATIVE. Suddenly they did not want to hear OUR feedback any longer because there is no longer a link to post a comment.

Here's their wording regarding the feedback they are looking for:

Your feedback wanted

After decades of shrinking, many large cities have experienced growth since the 1990s. While much of this growth has been attributed to a new attitude towards urban living, a significant portion has been due to foreign immigration. Philadelphia, on the other hand, has continued to lose population from nearly every neighborhood except for Center City. The growth of the Mexican immigrant community along the 9th Street business corridor has brought many new shops and eateries to an area that had been struggling. We want to know what you think about these developments. Please keep the conversation civil, constructive and on topic.

Do you work with or know anyone who is a recent immigrant, from Mexico or otherwise? What has their experience been with their new home in Philadelphia? Have you been to the area or do you remember the Italian Market neighborhood from the 1980s and 1990s? How has it changed? Let us know in the comments section below.

So here are some of the comments they got that apparently they didn't want to hear - so they shut down the ability to give feedback on this story:

Responses to Mexican community comes of age in South Philadelphia

1. Eric
February 6th, 2009 at 11:46 am

That was a great video. The Quinceañera part is so true; and it's not just the Mexican community. Families will go all out to celebrate their daughter's quinceañera.

I'm glad the Hispanic community is expanding in Philadelphia.
2. Zorro
February 10th, 2009 at 2:55 pm

Thanks for highlighting that parts of Philadelphia, along with most of our communities across the US, have been INVADED by illegal aliens from other countries - mostly Mexico. They don't want to assimilate or become Americans. They don't want to stay - they just want to come here, take Americans jobs (that they justify as jobs Americans won't do which is total BS) and they are only too happy to take taxpayer funded public education, food stamps and welfare for their anchor babies. Illegal aliens are NOT WANTED and the entire reason immigration is limited is to prevent entire communities from being taken over by foreign cultures. This is EXACTLY what is happening with the support of our LOSER government and more and more Americans are realizing that illegal immigration has contributed to our failing economy and it's time to STOP IT.
3. Steve
February 10th, 2009 at 3:00 pm

I think that the illegals that are here primarily to milk the system and get as much as they can from the American taxpayer (free healthcare, education, food stamps, welfare, subsidized housing, etc.), should go back to where they came from. This includes these Mexicans, or anyone else, wherever they came from. This isn't about race, and has nothing to do with whether anyone is Hispanic or not. It is about economics, and respect for our laws, which most of these people don't have.
4. Dan Pohlig
February 10th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

@Zorro (if that is your real name):
If you pay attention to the story, you'll see that the folks who are profiled are small business owners who OPENED businesses along a strip of Philadelphia that had a bunch of vacancies just a few years ago. They aren't "taking" American jobs. They're creating jobs that weren't there before. Can the process by which undocumented immigrants become citizens or become documented workers be improved? Undoubtedly yes. But unless you live in that area of Philadelphia, a stretch of street that I walk up and down every day, and can appreciate that having occupied stores, open businesses, foot traffic, lights etc. is better than the alternative, then please stop speaking in generalities.
5. Zorro
February 10th, 2009 at 3:15 pm

Ummm Dan Pohlig - they are serving the illegal alien community that should never have been there in the first place. Illegals TAKE American jobs - they send their American dollars back to the Mexican economy and they take more in taxpayer funded social services than they put in.

Very simple.
6. Carol from California
February 10th, 2009 at 3:46 pm

Wake up America. These illegal aliens, "immigrants they are not", are not here just for jobs and a better life.

They are here to colonize and take over America.

These illegal criminals who broke the law to come here are the foot soldiers of Mexico.

Mexico is winning the war without firing a shot.
7. Dan Pohlig
February 10th, 2009 at 4:53 pm

@Zorro
So you would have a major commercial corridor in my neighborhood be reduced to a row of darkened, abandoned storefronts with no pedestrian activity at night? Frankly, I welcome as many immigrants from all over the world to Philadelphia as we can get. Also, I have eaten at the restaurants and shopped at the stores and I've been in this country since birth.

@Carol From California
"Colonize and take over America," seriously? Well, I guess we can solace in the fact that because of the rising costs of housing and health care, our own senior citizens are establishing a foothold in Mexico so we can "take the battle to them."

Their only two positive comments are probably WHYY staff members. The rest represent pissed off Americans who are tired of the invasion of our country by illegal aliens from Mexico.

This is so typical of liberals - they are all for freedom of speech until you say something they don't agree with. By "constructive comments" I suppose that means only comments that celebrate the expanding of illegal alien multiculturalism and then we should all sit around and sing kumbaya because the world will be such a happy place where everyone loves each other and oh yeah - celebrates a special month for just their race or promotes people based solely upon the color of their skin and then celebrates the first time this particular race has held this particular position (aka first black President). Yeah that kind of stuff should lead to less racial discrimination right?

Americans are sick and tired of passing the peace pipe to illegal aliens who have come here illegally, steal American jobs, refuse to assimilate, learn English or become Americans. You come to America to live - you either assimilate to your new country, embrace your new country and show loyalty to your new country or GET THE HELL OUT.

Here's the content of the story posted on the WHYY site - the celebrating of the take-over of Hispanics in parts of Philadelphia - how nice.

Mexican community comes of age in South Philadelphia

Wednesday, February 4th, 2009 at 12:22 pm - by Its Our City Staff. Filed under: Community.

Click on this link to watch the video

Read a synopsis of the story below:

by Ben Bradlow, WHYY Online

When Italian immigrants arrived in Philadelphia, they made South Philadelphia their home. So it should come as no surprise that over the last ten years the streets of the storied area of the city have been populated by a new immigrant population: Mexicans. They come primarily from the central Mexican province of Puebla.

At Max de la Cruz's new dress shop, which he opened only three months ago, de la Cruz sees an opportunity to make money by catering to growing family life in the community.

"A lot more children are being born here," he said. "[My store] allows people to bring their customs here so they don't forget their home, Mexico."

This means selling the ornate dresses and suits commonly worn at important family functions like baptisms, quinceañeras, and weddings.

According to Peter Bloom, the leader of the primary community group for Mexicans in Philadelphia, JUNTOS / Casa de Los Soles, what started out as a migration of single men evolved to include whole families. At the same time others who originally came as single have laid down roots here.

"When you talk to people they're not here to settle, but the amount of time they're going to be here is much longer. Now it's ‘I'm going to stay here until my kids finish high school.' And their kids are only five years old. So that's going to be another thirteen years. I think that started happening about four years ago," he said.

Even as the Mexican community has begun to transport its cultural life to South Philadelphia, a faltering economy poses a threat. Shop owner De la Cruz said that his new business is still on shaky ground after experiencing low sales numbers during Christmas. Domenic Vitiello, an urban studies professor at University of Pennsylvania warned that such hardship could be a sign of things to come.

"The dress stores, the music stores, the sporting goods stores - I suspect that those will have a harder time in economic times like these," he said.

Maximino Sandoval, a community activist, said that he worries about cuts in work hours and days for many Mexican laborers. Still, as more families become established, workers like Sandoval may be here for the long haul.

"There are people like me who have to stay here because of our children. It's not even about living well or eating well," said Sandoval, "it's about our children, for their education and their school. So we have to tolerate the conditions here."

More information

Click on this link for the longer, text version of this story.