In The News

Vice interviews Camden street photographer Gabe Angemi, a second-generation firefighter

Vice Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Vice interviews Gabe Angemi, a street photographer, skateboarder and firefighter in Camden.

Recently Camden removed its police force. Can that city, once known as the ‘City Invincible’ ever possibly recover?

Walt Whitman coined that term: “In a dream I saw a city invincible...” Who knows, man. I’d love to see it prosper, that’s what brings me to work, to try and help make that happen. The place has great energy and great people. What happened to the Camden Police is both a travesty and an injustice, but that’s a whole other interview. My answer is yes it can and will recover, but it needs help. It needs people and positivity. The stigma attached to it is perpetuated by people who never spent any time there.

Original source: Vice
Read the complete interview and check out some of Angemi's photographs here.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hits Comic-Con

Huffington Post Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Philly-centric program It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia hyped its upcoming ninth season in San Diego. Sign us up for the "Flowers for Algernon" riff written by the men behind Game of Thrones.

"Always Sunny" cast members Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day, Kaitlin Olson and Danny DeVito were on hand to answer fans' questions after screening the first episode of the new season, which is debuting on the FX spin-off network FXX in September.

Howerton said the new season will include episodes featuring Thanksgiving, "Lethal Weapon 6," a flu epidemic and an installment written by "Game of Thrones" co-creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss titled "Flowers for Charlie."

Original source: The Huffington Post
Read the complete story here.

Stand-up comedian takes aim at Philly audiences

Vice Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Sure, local sports fans get a bad rap, but now, in Vice, comedian Chris Gethard claims Philadelphia is "the scariest place to do comedy." Do you agree?

I’ve had a few rough experiences in Philadelphia. At one live edition of my public access show there, I admittedly antagonized the crowd by titling the show “New York is Better Than Philly.” I thought These guys are going to be aggressive anyway. They love being aggressive. Let’s have fun with it. The show started with an audience member lighting a copy of my book—which has my face on it—on fire, and throwing it on the stage. My first few minutes of stage time were spent franticly stomping on an image of myself, hoping I wouldn’t be responsible for comedy’s version of the Great White tragedy.

Original source: Vice

Read the complete story here.

Franklin Fountain serves nation's No. 1 milkshake

USA Today Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Kensington school bets (and wins) on innovative violence-prevention ethos

The Atlantic Cities Tuesday, July 23, 2013

The Memphis Street Academy (formerly John Paul Jones Middle School) was one of the most violent schools in the city -- until they removed all their metal detectors.

The police predicted chaos. But instead, new numbers seem to show that in a single year, the number of serious incidents fell by 90 percent.

The school says it wasn't just the humanizing physical makeover of the facility that helped. Memphis Street Academy also credits the Alternatives to Violence Project, a noncoercive, nonviolent conflict resolution regimen originally used in prison settings that was later adapted to violent schools. AVP, when tailored to school settings, emphasizes student empowerment, relationship building and anger management over institutional control and surveillance. There are no aggressive security guards in schools using the AVP model; instead they have engagement coaches, who provide support, encouragement, and a sense of safety.

Original source: The Atlantic Cities
Read the complete story here.

Neil Budde out at AxisPhilly

Technically Philly Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Shortly after Flying Kite profiled the innovative news site, CEO Neil Budde is stepping down at AxisPhilly. The fledgling media organization has had trouble securing a second round of funding, leading to changes at the top. Here's the official statement:

The board of Philadelphia Public Interest Information Network Inc. has asked CPIJ to lead a restructuring of the AxisPhilly project in light of its inability to raise sufficient second-round funding to support an aggressive initial business model. To facilitate that restructuring, Neil Budde has proposed and the board agreed to eliminate the position of CEO of PPIIN/AxisPhilly. The board and CPIJ leadership are grateful for Neil's service in developing the initial plans for AxisPhilly, incorporating and staffing the organization and overseeing significant meaningful reporting, data journalism, and community engagement efforts on a range of topics.

Budde also offered his thoughts on AxisPhilly.

Original source: Technically Philly
Read the complete story here.

Venture for America lures smart young people to startups in cities like Philadelphia

The New York Times Tuesday, July 16, 2013

This nonprofit organization places fellows in cities that aren’t traditional startup magnets, including Philadelphia. The New York Times profiled one young man who moved to Detroit via Venture for America.

Some people might look at what Brentt Baltimore did and shake their heads in disbelief. Last year, Mr. Baltimore, a graduate of Claremont McKenna College in California who majored in economics and finance, turned down a six-figure job at a Los Angeles area hedge fund. Instead he took a $33,000-a-year position at a venture capital firm in Detroit. This, even though he has about $38,000 in student loan debt.

Mr. Baltimore, 24, is part of a small group of recent graduates who are forgoing large salaries to work for start-up businesses in Detroit, Las Vegas, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New Orleans, Baltimore and Philadelphia and Providence, R.I. He chose his job with the help of Venture for America, a nonprofit organization that selects fellows to work in cities that aren’t the usual magnets for young college graduates. By August, 108 fellows will be working at 70 companies as part of the two-year program.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.

Penn students headline story on college hookup culture

The New York Times Tuesday, July 16, 2013

The New York Times published a trend piece on young motivated women driving the casual dating culture on college campuses. The University of Pennsylvania provided the sources.

Typical of elite universities today, Penn is filled with driven young women, many of whom aspire to be doctors, lawyers, politicians, bankers or corporate executives like Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg or Yahoo’s Marissa Mayer. Keenly attuned to what might give them a competitive edge, especially in a time of unsure job prospects and a shaky economy, many of them approach college as a race to acquire credentials: top grades, leadership positions in student organizations, sought-after internships. Their time out of class is filled with club meetings, sports practice and community-service projects. For some, the only time they truly feel off the clock is when they are drinking at a campus bar or at one of the fraternities that line Locust Walk, the main artery of campus.

These women said they saw building their résumés, not finding boyfriends (never mind husbands), as their main job at Penn. They envisioned their 20s as a period of unencumbered striving, when they might work at a bank in Hong Kong one year, then go to business school, then move to a corporate job in New York. The idea of lugging a relationship through all those transitions was hard for many to imagine. Almost universally, the women said they did not plan to marry until their late 20s or early 30s.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.

U.S. Open shines a light on Merion Golf Club

The New York Times Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Last weekend's U.S. Open brought attention to one of Philadelphia's gems -- Merion Golf Club. It was a risk for the USGA that paid off.

Few would disagree that the star of the 2013 United States Open was Merion Golf Club. Merion, a 101-year-old course outside Philadelphia, disproved claims that it was not long enough or fierce enough to challenge today’s professionals.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.

Group fasts to protest Philly public school cuts

The Patriot News Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A group of parents and employees are heading to Harrisburg to protest the radical cuts coming to the Philadelphia School District. Six members of the group are fasting to underline the severity of the issue.

The cash-strapped district is scheduled to cut more than 3,800 school workers next month, because of a $304 million deficit. Those cuts include 1,200 school lunch aides, which led to the protests in Philadelphia.

Six members of the community are fasting in protest of the potential cuts – and have gone without food for nearly a week. On Tuesday the protestors – along with hundreds of other educators – are scheduled to arrive in Harrisburg to push for more education funding as the lawmakers attempt to hammer out next year's state budget.

Original source: The Patriot News
Read the complete story here.

Zagat catalogues Philly's top Indian restaurants

Zagat Tuesday, June 25, 2013

With a couple exciting new openings, Philadelphia's indian restaurant scene is blossoming. Zagat's blog runs down their top five picks. A bunch of their choices are outside Center City, including Saffron Indian Kitchen in Bala Cynwyd:

"Traditional" Indian fare comes "as mild or spicy as you like" and served by an "enthusiastic" staff at this "popular" local BYO duo that's "a cut above" generic curry houses; it "won't hurt your wallet, but may hurt your ears" when packed with boisterous diners, though the "soft-colored" decor is a "nice departure" from the typical Indian dining room.

Original source: Zagat
Read the complete list here.

Philly named top bacon city in the United States

Estately Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Estately has named Philadelphia the country's best place for bacon-lovers. Rejoice!

Like an overstuffed piñata, Philadelphia is postively bursting with bacon. They slip it in cheesesteaks, create restaurant color schemes based on it, heck, the city even raised actor KEVIN BACON up to be six degrees of celebrity he is today. Philly wraps its meat loaf in bacon, it crumble it on sticky buns, and it even chicken fries bacon because Philly’s chefs outrank the city’s cardiologists.

Via Foobooz.

Original source: Estately
Read the complete list here.

Franklin Fountain brothers featured in Sweet Paul mag

Sweet Paul Tuesday, June 18, 2013

The team behind the Franklin Fountain has transformed Shane Confectionery.

For the Berley brothers, it’s not just the candies that are nostalgic–it’s the experience, too. A look around the pristine storefront shows an antique cash register and pay phone, walls lined with memorabilia and ephemera of eras gone by, and apothecary jars stocked with penny candy (think Abba Zabba and Bit-o-Honey). The duo, along with head confectioner Davina Soondrum, use period tools and equipment like hand-fused copper kettles and bowls heated over a manually-fired gas stove, to keep the production experience as authentic as possible.

Via The New York Times.

Original source: Sweet Paul
Read the complete story here.

New York Times can't let Philly live down Santa/Snowball-gate

Salon Tuesday, June 18, 2013

A Salon writer catalogs the New York Times' obsession with Philadelphia fans pelting Santa with snowballs in 1968. They just can't let it go.

Whether it stems from resentment over New York not having invented the cheesesteak or just good old-fashioned hackery, the Grey Lady has consistently referred to Philly as “the city that booed Santa Claus” — and we’re talking twice in the last week. Occasionally, the reference will come up completely out of context, even when the Times isn’t writing about Philadelphia at all. And sometimes, the writer even admits being unable to resist the cliche.

Original source: Salon
Read the complete story here.

New York Times examines Philly public school budget cuts

The New York Times Tuesday, June 18, 2013

It's going to be a tough fall in the Philly public school system where budget woes are forcing cuts to the bone.

When a second grader came to the Andrew Jackson School too agitated to eat breakfast on Friday, an aide alerted the school counselor, who engaged him in an art project in her office. When he was still overwrought at 11, a secretary called the boy’s family, and soon a monitor at the front door buzzed in an older brother to take him home.

Under a draconian budget passed by the Philadelphia School District last month, none of these supporting players — aide, counselor, secretary, security monitor — will remain at the school by September, nor will there be money for books, paper, a nurse or the school’s locally celebrated rock band.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the complete story here.