In The News

Developers vie for Philly's second casino license

Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Developers are pulling out all the stops, feverishly vying for the city's second casino license. It remains to be seen what kind of impact a second gambling facility would have on the city -- of course these folks are making big promises.

Last week marked the kickoff of the second coming of the city's second gambling emporium: six developers vying to win the golden license, sort of a Mr. Philly Casino pageant. If you have a weakness for hyperbole and neon, the season's best show took place at the Convention Center, fitting given that the place was a huge gamble. It was a pitchfest on steroids.

Original source: Philadelphia Inquirer

Read full story here.

The Atlantic Cities documents Philly crime maps

The Atlantic Cities Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Atlantic Cities shines a light on developers outside of City Hall mapping Philly's crime data in illuminating ways. Philadelphia’s chief data officer Mark Headd applauds the efforts.

All of these tools have taught the city, Headd says, that municipal data is most valuable when people can parse it down to the level of their own communities. “In a city like Philadelphia, the story on crime can be starkly different neighborhood to neighborhood,” Headd says. “People want to be able to ask their own questions, or present their own take on this data.”

Original source: The Atlantic Cities

Read the full story here.

US Airways/American Airlines merger means changes at PHL

NBC News Tuesday, February 19, 2013

With US Airways merging with (and becoming) American Airlines, Philadelphia International Airport will have new largest carrier. Chances are, bags will still be lost -- but will fares be higher?

During the past five years, the airline industry has seen the combinations of Delta with Northwest, United with Continental and Southwest Airlines Co. with AirTran. Further consolidation is likely to raise airfares. The price of a domestic round-trip flight has climbed more than 11 percent since 2009, when adjusted for inflation, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The merger will give a combined American and US Airways Group Inc. the ability to increase fares. United, Delta and Southwest would be likely to follow. Although it could also pave the way for further expansion by discount airlines such as Spirit Airlines Inc. and Allegiant Travel Co.

Original source: NBC News
Read the original story here.

Eater's Top 25 Burgers list features Philly favorites

Eater Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The national food blog Eater -- which also has a local chapter, Eater Philly -- recently released a list of the "25 Hottest Burgers in America Right Now." Hickory Lane and Spot Gourmet (a food truck!) made the cut. This description of Hickory Lane's entry has us drooling.

Former Rouge chef Matt Zagorski is cooking really nice food at this Fairmount Avenue restaurant. But the burger, as critic Craig Laban will tell you, is the way to go: "10 ounces of custom-ground brisket, filet, and deckle, seared to a cast-iron crisp and then snugged in the embrace of a brioche bun between delicate folds of bibb lettuce and a molten lid of tangy Cabot cheddar. It’s hard to imagine a burger this tasty as a burden. Then again, it’s so good that it’s also become clear: No change of scenery or molecular tricks will ever let Zagorski truly escape. The power of his patty is simply the best reason to visit Hickory Lane."

Original source: Eater
Read the full list here.

Washington Post praises Philly dining scene

The Washington Post Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Washington Post profiles a wave of transplant chefs invigorating Philadelphia's excellent dining scene.

Wooed by affordable real estate, the city’s neighborhoody vibe and strong ties among fellow chefs, these new boldface names include Josh Lawler, formerly of New York’s acclaimed Blue Hill at Stone Barns, who has gone the BYO route at the Farm and Fisherman in Washington Square West. Greg Vernick, an alumnus of the Jean-Georges Vongerichten empire, has opened the splashier Vernick Food & Drink in Rittenhouse Square.

Original source: The Washington Post
Read the full story here.

Sheetz and Wawa go head-to-head in the New York Times

The New York Times Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The New York Times tackles the eternal rivalry between Sheetz and Wawa convenience store partisans. Sheetz might have a stronger state-wide prescence in Pennsylvania, by Philly folks know the real deal. Wawa 4 life!

"I think that Sheetz people are probably a little perkier than the Wawa people," said a regular named Doug, who was making his second visit of the day to the Sheetz in Selinsgrove. "It might have to do with we’re up here where people are just a lot friendlier than they are down there."

"Down there" is Philadelphia and the Lehigh Valley, where Wawa fans can exude a whiff of cosmopolitan disdain. The crowd-sourced Urban Dictionary includes unflattering definitions for "Sheetz," like "a convenience store/gas station where hicks from Lititz, Pa., like to hang out all night, every night."

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

Grub Street New York's best pizza list has Philly flavor

Grub Street NY Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Grub Street's comprehensive list of the best American pizza pies includes a bunch of Philly favorites, including Osteria, Stella and Garces Trading Company. What, no Tacconelli's?!

Why hasn't anyone in Chicago reinvented deep dish the way Jose Garces has? Admittedly, Garces is a Chicago native and this dish is billed as a tribute to his hometown, but maybe it took the distance to Philadelphia to allow him to rethink deep dish from the outside (a thin, delicate crust made with duck fat) to inside (oven-roasted San Marzano tomato confit, a mix of fresh mozzarella and Gruyère, and toppings ranging from boquerones to chorizo).

Original source: Grub Street New York
Read the full list here.

ABC News praises developments at the Navy Yard

ABC News Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The Navy Yard earns some national attention from ABC News for its exciting work fostering business, entrepreneurship and green technology.

"There was a lot of uncertainty early on," said John Grady, president of the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corp. "People weren't sure what we were going to do to replace this engine of activity that was there."

Last week, The Navy Yard marked its 10,000-employee milestone and unveiled an update to its 2004 master plan that is forecasting 1,000 apartments, more parks and open space, more new construction and continued adaptive reuse of Navy-era industrial buildings.

Original source: ABC News
Read the full story here.

Eight-acre park to cover riverfront stretch of I-95?

PlanPhilly Tuesday, February 05, 2013

An intriguing vision of a waterfront park obscuring I-95 has been unveiled, and could mean a major green space achievement for Philadelphia. The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation is currently seeking designers and engineers.

A preliminary rendering of Penn's Landing Park extracted from the Master Plan for the Central Delaware, shows a sloping lawn, roughly the size of Rittenhouse Square, through which people could walk from Front Street down to the water's edge, or where they could linger to watch fireworks or concerts. The park would sit on a structure that expands the existing partial cap of I-95, which covers the highway from Front to Columbus, and from Chestnut Street just about half way to Walnut Street.

Original source: PlanPhilly
Read the full story here.

New York's model for free financial planning comes to Philly

The New York Times Tuesday, February 05, 2013

New York City’s Financial Empowerment Centers provide free financial planning to residents through neighborhood organizations. Thanks to a new grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies, the model is expanding to Philadelphia (as well as Nashville, Denver, San Antonio and Lansing, Michigan).

Personalized advice, moreover, adds more value for the poor. Wealthy people could manage their own money if they chose to spend the time, and tend to have the clout and confidence to negotiate favorable terms. But most poor people have no idea about their options. They may not be aware that they can get financial aid for college or tax credits for child care. “I didn’t know what was on my credit card statement,” said Ruben Felix, a tailor who has been Jaimes’ client since September, 2011. “Only the due date.”

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

Curbed Philly is hiring a new editor

Curbed Philly Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Local chapter of the national real estate and development blog Curbed is looking for a new editor. Liz Spikol has held the position since the site's inception.

The times, they are a-changin -- and so is the masthead here at Curbed Philly. Founding editor Liz Spikol is making moves and shifting gears, which means we need a new captain to helm this mighty ship. We're looking for a new editor to keep Philly apprised of all the good neighborhood news and real estate gossip on a daily basis. While you don't need to be a real estate expert, it helps to be completely fixated on architecture, city planning, and all the only-in-Philly weirdness that makes this place so great. Think you're up to the task?

Original source: Curbed Philly
Read the full story here.

Oscar Road Trip stops off in Philadelphia

Oscar Road Trip Tuesday, February 05, 2013

An Oscar statue's three-week pre-awards tour will make a stop in the City of Brotherly Love on February 6. Locals have extra reason to be excited for the big show this year, with Philly-centric Silver Linings Playbook garnering multiple Academy Award nods.

Follow @OscarRoadTrip on Twitter and tweet using #OscarRoadTrip to let us know where you’d like to see us bring Oscar. Or, if you’re old school, you can also shoot us an email to let us know where we should go next.

Original source: Oscar Road Trip
Read the full story here.

SEPTA holds meetings on Norristown high-speed rail extension

Progressive Railroading Tuesday, January 29, 2013

SEPTA is weighing an extension of the Norristown regional rail line, which could potentially provide commuter access to King of Prussia and Valley Forge by train. They are holding public information sessions on the recently launched extension study which should be completed in 2014.

The extension would provide "a much needed public transportation alternative for thousands of people who regularly travel between Philadelphia, Main Line communities and King of Prussia, the largest suburban employment and retail center in the region," said Eric Goldstein, executive director of the King of Prussia Business Improvement District.

Original source: Progressive Railroading
Read the full story here.

Four new hotels planned for Philadelphia after recession lull

Philadelphia Inquirer Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Hotel development has bounced back in Philadelphia, with four new projects on the docket. The latest addition is Hotel Indigo, planned for the Bailey Building at 12th and Chestnut Streets.

If all are completed, the four hotels would add a combined 1,268 rooms to the city's inventory of 11,600 - enough to support the expanded Pennsylvania Convention Center, which officials say requires about 12,500 rooms.

In addition, a new hotel tax will kick in July 1, boosting the rate to 15.5 percent from 15.2 percent, or 50 cents per room night - additional revenue that will go toward marketing the city's tourism industry.

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

The Public Library joins in worldwide celebration of 'Pride & Prejudice'

The New York Times Tuesday, January 29, 2013

On January 28, the world celebrated 200 years since the publication of Jane Austen's classic Pride & Prejudice, and the Free Library of Philadelphia played its part. They hosted an all-day event featuring lectures, film screenings and "pop-up" theatrical performances of scenes from the novel.

"The enthusiasm and inventiveness that we’re seeing now has everything to do with what’s happened in the decades since that bicentennial in 1975," Ms. Wells said by e-mail. "The beloved 1995 mini-series adaptation of 'Pride and Prejudice,' for sure, but also the influence of the Jane Austen Society of North America (founded in 1979) and of course the Internet and social media. So many people of all ages, nationalities, and walks of life now self-identify as Austen fans and are out and proud about that. They love, love, love 'P&P' and are overjoyed at any opportunity to celebrate and share that love."

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