In The News

Pottstown's first-in-region bike-sharing program gets high marks for improving transportation, healt

FavStocks Tuesday, October 19, 2010

The two year-old Bike Pottstown bike-sharing program is examined as a smarter transportation case study by FavStocks.

The Bike Pottstown bike sharing program was launched in June of 2008 with 30 beach cruiser bikes all painted yellow and accompanied by a lock and a basket. Managed by Preservation Pottstown, a local non-profit organization within the borough, the program operates six days a week out of Tri-County Bicycles, a local independently owned bike shop. Anyone with a valid ID can rent the bikes and ride anywhere in the Pottstown until the end of the day. The bikes are free of charge and by December 2009 had been shared over 2,000 times.

"Bike Pottstown is a community bike-share program," said Tom Carroll, president of Preservation Pottstown. "By having it operate out of this location, and eventually out of others as well, it brings the program to more people in the community, and, hopefully, will bring more community support to the program."

Original source: FavStocks
Read the full story here.

Temple study shows promise for memory improvement via electrical shock

Daily Telegraph Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A Temple University study has found that a small electrical shock to certain parts of the brain could improve memory, reports Britain's Daily Telegraph.

If developed it could provide treatment for stroke victims as well as people whose memory fades through other ailments or even old age.

"We know a lot about how to make people's memory worse, but we don't know very much about how to make people's memory better," said Ingrid Olson, a psychologist who led the study.

Original source: Daily Telegraph
Read the full story here.

Irish travelers: Philadelphia, here we come

Herald.ie Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The travel section at Ireland's Herald.ie is high on Philadelphia for a variety of reasons, imploring the Irish to visit for our safe downtown, good eats and arts and culture.

It's puzzling why Philly isn't on most Irish people's radar. It's more historic than Boston, as Irish as Chicago, 30pc cheaper to live in than New York and has a food culture to match San Francisco.

The city centre proper, (known as Center City) is thriving, unlike many US urban areas. Sections of 15th Street are hubs of restaurants and nightlife, while the area's aptly titled Avenue of the Arts is the local equivalent of London's West End or New York's Broadway theatre districts. The best bit? It feels perfectly safe to walk around, by day or night (don't try this at home, kids).

Original source: Herald.ie
Read the full story here.

Pew: More people moving to Philly than moving out

The Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, October 12, 2010

A new report by the Pew Charitable Trusts indicates an encouraging trend of more people moving into Philadelphia since 1993, reports The Philadelphia Inquirer.

According to the Pew report, the number of people moving into the city has increased steadily, up from 31,837 in 1993 to 42,250 in 2008.

Overall, the number of people moving out of the city is growing less rapidly, increasing slightly from 47,291 in 1993 to 52,096 in 2008.

"I would say the trend is looking as if we may be seeing a reversal of long-term decline in city population," said David Elesh, sociologist and demography expert with the Metropolitan Philadelphia Indicators Project at Temple University.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read the full story here.

Curtis Institute duo transforming classical music as composer and violinist

PBS Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Composer Jennifer Higdon and violinist Hilary Hahn, who were teacher and student, respectively, at Curtis Institute of Music, are collaborating in a big way, reports PBS.

Jennifer Higdon came to Curtis in 1994 as a teacher. She and Hahn actually crossed paths in a course on 20th century music. She's now one of the most widely-commissioned and performed contemporary composers.

But Higdon was no child prodigy. She grew up in a small town in Eastern Tennessee, taught herself the flute at 15, old age by Curtis standards, and didn't begin studying composition until college. At home, she says, it was all rock 'n' roll and bluegrass.

Now 30, Hilary Hahn first came here, already a gifted player, at age 10, and studied with renowned violinist and teacher Jascha Brodsky.

Original source: PBS
Read the full story here.

How to pitch angel investors (the DreamIt way)

Inc. Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Founder of the startup accelerator DreamIt Ventures, Michael Levinson talked to Inc. magazine about best practices for pitching angel investors.

An angel investor or early stage venture capitalist will look at 1) is the business idea simple enough for me to understand and buy into, 2) does it solve a problem or meet a need, 3) is it a big enough market and customer base for the idea, and 4) does the entrepreneur have the right people on the team to pull it off, Levinson explains.

A PowerPoint presentation using about 12 slides is standard, particularly with a tech product. If you have a working prototype, show it to investors so they can see how it could actually work. If you can demonstrate your product or hand out product samples that's a plus. Discuss actual sales or anticipated orders. Also, this is where your research on testing or proving your business concept comes into play, says Levinson.

Include results from surveys, focus groups, and product tests to show any customer insight you have gained.

Original source: Inc.
Read the full story here.

Philly artists' works create compelling show in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Tuesday, October 12, 2010

The Pittsburgh Center for the Arts is hosting seven Career Development Program Fellows from the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, reports the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

Their work represents a small cross-section of the 21 artists awarded a career development fellowship, a two-year program that gives participating artists an opportunity to experience a full exhibition schedule, receive career counseling and mentorship, teach in the community and participate in numerous professional development opportunities.

"This exhibition exchange is part of an ongoing collaboration by CFEVA and PF/PCA created in order to strengthen the artistic dialogue between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia," Welch says.

The title of the show, "Context Ingeminate," attempts to "marry the passive and the active, the viewer and the creator," Welch says, which it does flawlessly thanks to engaging works like Yoon's "Structure of Shadow."

Original source: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Read the full story here.

CHOP studies offers successful therapy for deadly childhood cancer

USA Today Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia has found new hope for babies and toddlers suffering from neuroblastoma, a rare but deadly cancer, in a pair of studies, reports USA Today.

Both therapies offer better, safer treatments for the disease, and belong to the emerging field of "personalized" cancer therapy, with medications tailored to the specific genetic profiles of a patient's tumor, says co-author John Maris of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

A study of 226 children focused on an experimental, man-made antibody, called ch14.18, given as a cocktail with other immune stimulants. Doctors randomly assigned half of children to get standard care and half to receive the new antibody, according to the study in today's New England Journal of Medicine.

Original source: USA Today
Read the full story here.

St. Louis loves Philly for what it really is

St. Louis Post-Dispatch Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch travel section mentions booing Santa Claus but quickly moves on, digging deeper than most national media last week to reveal the insider's view of Philadelphia.

Once you get beyond the fighting fa�ade, Philadelphia is a city of tiny secret gardens, a diverse art and theater scene, a crazy diverse food/pub scene and a thousand walkable historical monuments and museums. Also, it's cheap as can be. You've got to work to spend $15 on a martini.

I moved here six years ago from St. Louis. The things I loved about St. Louis are the same things I love about Philadelphia--people are friendly, the streets have the same names (you copycats!) and there's no need to go to any chain restaurant ever.

Original source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Read the full story here.

Jassi Chadha enriches entrepreneurial ecosystem with TiE-NJ/Philadelphia

SiliconIndia Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Wildly successful entrepreneur Jassi Chadha has brought his expertise to TiE-NJ/Philadelphia, a newer chapter of the global entrepreneurship organization, reports SiliconIndia.

TiE NJ-Philly is an offshoot of TiE Tristate. New Jersey and Philadephia had quite a lot of entrepreneurs who would often find it difficult to make it to New York for various events of the Tristate. Hence the need for a chapter in this geographic area became a necessity. Today under the leadership of Chadha, the TiE-NJ-Philly Chapter is helping the budding entrepreneurs in this geography to realize their goals and dreams by conducting various events, providing mentoring, and networking opportunities.

"There are aspects of entrepreneurship like optimism, excitement, energy, and a sense of adventure that is inspiring to read and get excited. It also drives people to do more and pursue big dreams. However, the path of entrepreneurship is often lonely, hard, and the journey hectic with challenges of different sorts. That's why entrepreneurs need to be supported and find the right support in programs that TiE offers," says Chadha.

Original source: SiliconIndia.
Read the full story here.

Connecticut arts panel looks at Philadelphia murals for inspiration

The Hour Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Members of the Norfolk Arts Commission visited Philadelphia last week to get a close-up look at some of the thousands of works of the Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs, reports The Hour.

"I was blown away by how these community murals in Philadelphia brightened the neighborhoods. It's inspiring to hear the stories of how these murals got made, and how it brought the community together," Becker said. "This is how to revitalize neighborhoods and instill a sense of pride, something I see Norwalk needs help with."

Launched in 1984 to combat graffiti, the city of Philadelphia Mural Arts Programs now bills itself as the largest public art program in the United States.

Original source: The Hour
Read the full story here.

Human Network Labs working on mobile social networking products at Enterprise Center

Technically Philly Tuesday, October 05, 2010

Technically Philly's profile of Human Network Labs takes us inside the startup developing technology that merges information about the physical world, users and their surroundings.

The company was established in 2007 in response to the huge growth in social networking. However, CEO Carlos Garcia wanted consumers to have the ability to use social networking in the real world, instead of just on the Internet.

The technology allows users to localize persons or objects indoors or outdoors without the use of the Internet on their cell phones.

"Having Internet should not be a prerequisite of social networking," said Garcia. Based in a city that faces the inequalities of a digital divide, Human Network Labs aims to produce a technology that would be available to everyone.

Original source: Technically Philly
Read the full story here.

Flying Kite among new online operations tackling local news

The Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on two online news publications that have launched recently, including yours truly.

As the market for news fragments, new models for journalism are emerging. Two of those experiments, Flying Kite and Patch, launched in Philadelphia last month.

"This is a fresh way to get fresh content about all the innovative things happening in our city," said Danielle Cohn, (Philadelphia Convention and Visitors) bureau spokeswoman.

Original source: The Philadelphia Inquirer
Read the full story here.

Tuned Pale Ale sounds great after a few beers

Pitch Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Philadelphia design company Tuned has created a beer bottle that doubles as a musical instrument, reports Pitch.

Tuned is a design company that draws its inspiration from sound. The beer bottle (at right) for Tuned Pale Ale can actually be used as an instrument in several different ways. The label features the musical notes that correspond to your level of beer while the grooves along the side (near the drinker's thumb) can be strummed with a bottle cap. The beer's six-pack holder can even be flipped over and turned into a tongue drum.

Tuned has actually been produced and drunk, but it's not currently on the market. If you happen to own a brewery or were looking to get into the bottled-beer business, the designers behind Tuned are looking for a distributor.

Original source: Pitch
Read the full story here.

superfluid's virtual currency could be perfect for thirsty creatives

Technically Philly Tuesday, September 28, 2010

An engineer and physicist have teamed up to form superfluid, a social twork that helps creative talent collaborate, reports Technically Philly.

It's a novel idea based on a growing number of localized currency systems, like Ithaca Hours in New York. With these local systems, currency is kept within a community, be it Ithica or superfluid.

Currently, Solomon and Vasilic are working on the gig full-time, along with three others who are half-time. The team is preparing to announce a "well known" partner in the virtual currency before the end of September. They've also recently launched a contest to promote the new virtual currency with the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy.

Original source: Technically Philly
Read the full story here.