In The News

Philly insider trip tips from a new resident and CNN journo

CNN Tuesday, May 03, 2011

A Philly newcomer and CNN correspondent writes about where to go and what to see here, including a shout out to Philly Beer Week.

Philly is one of the nation's oldest cities, which means you can walk a lot of places. The majority of the time, walking is the best bet, considering parking can be a nightmare. Pay your meter, otherwise get a ticket or towed. (There's even a reality show about the Parking Authority, and they mean business.) Check out the art on the walls with a walking tour of the Mural Mile to get a distinctive look at the city's charm.

Source: CNN
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A wink and a nod for $30 at PHL

Jaunted Tuesday, May 03, 2011

A new hourly rate hotel chain opens inside Philadelphia International Airport to give travelers a place for a nap, according to Jaunted.

It's a damned shame that no US airport boasts one of the funky, sleep-at-the-airport Yotels. Those things are amazing. Instead, travelers faced with delayed flights and long nights at the airport have to spring for an airport-area business hotel or a Holiday Inn Express when they likely don't need all those amenities. Just a good sleep is all some people want, and luckily a few Minute Suites are slowly popping up at airports like Philadelphia International.

PHL just opened their mini-hotel of 13 Minute Suites and 2 workstation cubicles, the second Minute Suites after the original at Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport.

Source: Jaunted
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Rare fungus named after Academy of Natural Sciences botanist

Science Daily Tuesday, May 03, 2011

A new species of lichen is discovered on a rock in Pennsylvania and is named in honor of a Philadelphia plant expert, according to Science Daily.

A Philadelphia botanist who has studied rare plants for 50 years, but has never attained the honor of having a plant named for him is finally getting his due, but with a barely visible organism so rare it may never be seen again.

Dr. Alfred "Ernie" Schuyler, emeritus curator of botany at the Academy of Natural Sciences and a world expert on rare plants, recently was honored when a colleague discovered a new species of lichen and named it after him. The barely visible lichen (LIE kin), Vezdaea schuyleriana, is known to exist on a single boulder in rural central Pennsylvania, northwest of Lewisburg -- and nowhere else in the world.

Source: Science Daily
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New Philly WatchDog app targets corruption

The Wall Street Journal Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Philly Watchdog gives citizens an active role in reporting fraud via iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Philadelphia is using 21st-century technology to fight corruption.

City Controller Alan Butkovitz launched an iPhone app that allows citizens to upload and send audio, photos and video to the city's Fraud Unit, so it can investigate. The free Philly Watchdog app allows for anonymous tips, has a geolocation feature that provides the location of the incident and a one-touch button to call the unit directly.

"When it comes to reporting fraud and waste in Philadelphia, I'm proud to say that 'we now have an app for that,' " Butkovitz said last week at a press conference announcing the app.

Source: The Wall Street Journal
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Writing the first chapter of First Round Capital

Fast Company Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Fast Company writes about how First Round Capital has changed the way VC firms are run.

One example is that they introduced a program where their founders can pool together shares from their company and exchange them for a small portfolio of other First Round Capital companies. I'm a huge fan of this innovation.

What people don't know is how First Round got started and often people know less about the amazing background of one of its co-founders, Howard Morgan (everyone tends to know Josh Kopelman as one of the highest profile players in our industry overall).

Source: Fast Company
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Exton man among those turning to franchise ownership as second career act

Los Angeles Times Tuesday, April 26, 2011

A corporate career cut short leads one former Exton executive to franchise ownership, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Many would argue that fried chicken has nothing to do with healthcare. Reynolds Corea would beg to differ.

He's a former outsourcing expert who was making "easily" six figures, Corea said, when Accenture Ltd. cut him loose in January 2009 after nearly 20 years.

A layoff that has led Corea where so many corporate refugees have opted to go for a second career act: operating a franchise business.

The franchise market is growing at an annual rate of 2%, said John A. Pearce II, endowed chairman of strategic management and entrepreneurship at Villanova's School of Business.

Source: The Los Angeles Times
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Thomas Jefferson researchers unlock mystery of Multiple Sclerosis

Daily Mail (UK) Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University, working in tandem with University of Zurich scientists discover a chemical thought to be a vital piece in the Multiple Sclerosis puzzle, according to The Daily Mail.

In a major breakthrough in the battle against the devastating disease, researchers have pinpointed the chemical 'driving force' behind MS.

Without it, the disease does not develop. And when it is mopped up, symptoms are greatly eased, even in brains already ravaged by the illness.

The results come from experiments on mice but the researchers say they are 'quietly optimistic' that taking the same tack will help people with MS. The first trials on patients are penciled in for later this year.

Source: the Daily Mail (UK)
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Ed Snider's advice to entrepreneurs: Follow your gut

The Washington Post Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Comcast-Spectacor Chairman Ed Snider discusses secrets of his success at the 2011 Entrepreneurship Invitational with The Washington Post.

On April 1, a crowd of nearly 600 at the University of Maryland heard some of the secrets of success from three entrepreneurs who have lived it at the 2011 Entrepreneurship Invitational: Steve Case, former chairman of AOL, investor, philanthropist and chairman of the Obama administration's entrepreneurship initiative, the Startup America Partnership; Kevin Plank, founder and chief executive of the sports apparel firm Under Armour; and Ed Snider, chairman of Comcast-Spectacor, the Philadelphia-based sports and entertainment firm that owns hockey's Philadelphia Flyers and the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers, as well as the two franchises' downtown arena, the Wells Fargo Center.

Source: The Washington Post
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Show goes on for Philadelphia Orchestra despite filing bankruptcy

The New York Times Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The New York Times reports on the not-quite unanimous move to file for bankruptcy and the spirit of playing on as the Philadelphia Orchestra regroups.

The Philadelphia Orchestra's program Saturday night was to include music from the Berg opera "Lulu," and the ensemble hopes to avoid the protagonist's tawdry end. The board of the Philadelphia Orchestra's program voted Saturday to file for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11. Unlike Lulu, who died at the hands of Jack the Ripper, the orchestra will live on, rehearsing and continuing to give concerts while a bankruptcy court judges considers the case.

Source: The New York Times
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Comcast launches fastest internet service yet

Techspot Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Comcast announces the rollout of its much anticipated Extreme 105 Xfinity Internet Service, according to Techspot.

Comcast has finally announced the initial availability of its Extreme 105 Xfinity Internet service, which is currently available to 40 million homes in major markets such as Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Indianapolis, Miami, Philadelphia, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Washington DC.

First introduced last May, the service delivers download speeds of up to 105Mb/s (10Mb/s upstream), which is a substantial boost over the company's previous 50Mb/s service. According to the company's figures, you can download an HD movie in five minutes and a standard-def TV show in 20 seconds.

Source: Techspot
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LaSalle student pub goes below the fold, above the censors

Village Voice Tuesday, April 19, 2011

The Village Voice is smitten with the editors at LaSalle University's student newspaper, who published a controversial story, and the entire front page, below the fold and a large swath of white space.

Here's a creative way to get around a gag order from your school's administration, college journos: run the story you want to run, just publish it below the fold. In fact, send a big fuck-you to your censors by publishing the entire front page below the fold. This is what the school paper at LaSalle University in Philadelphia did, and it's pretty good.

Source: Village Voice
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J&J plans to buy Chesco's Synthes for $20B

Reuters Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Johnson & Johnson plans to buy West Chester-based Synthes, and the deal may usher in future medtech investment, according to Reuters.

Johnson & Johnson's plan to buy Synthes for some $20 billion may mean more deals in the sector as rival medical technology firms try to bulk up in tough times, though antitrust issues are a hurdle.

A weak economy and high unemployment have hit sales of medical devices hard, since patients have to take time off and, in the United States, dig deep into their own pockets to help pay for procedures such as knee replacements.

As a result, more and more companies are looking at acquisitions as a way to add new avenues of growth.

Source: Reuters
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Villanova prof creates chip to assess concussion

National Post Tuesday, April 12, 2011

New technology to electronically assess head trauma is being developed by Villanova University engineering professor, according to the National Post.

A mechanical engineering professor in the United States hopes technology he is helping to develop -- a chip that can analyze the brain's electrical "signature" -- will allow athletic trainers to diagnose concussions as they occur on the field of play, in real time.

Dr. Hashem Ashrafiuon, who works at Villanova University's College of Engineering in suburban Philadelphia, has been using similar software in a study of post-traumatic stress disorder with the U.S. military. It has not been tested in sports, but he said the application would be obvious.

Source: National Post
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Baltimore thinks PIFA's April in Paris feeling is daytrip worthy

The Baltimore Sun Tuesday, April 12, 2011

The Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts is worth a trip to experience the French Arts connection, according to the Baltimore Sun.

If you want to spend April in Paris but can't afford it, a short hop to Philadelphia may at least give you that French feeling.

After nearly three years of planning, the city kicks off the first Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts this weekend, featuring 1,500 artists and 135 exhibits, performances, lectures and films, all paying homage to Paris.

Source: The Baltimore Sun
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Philly's 'pigeon art' flies the coop

UPI Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Art commemorating the significance of pigeons comes down, while its counterpart, Mobile Museum of Pigeon Culture and History, remains in place at the University of the Arts, according to the UPI.

A display honoring the significance of pigeons in Philadelphia will start coming down Saturday.

Matt Zigler, a North Carolina resident attending the University of the Arts, erected the display in recent weeks, including a shrine-like series of boldly rendered depictions of the birds, where passersby are encouraged to make an offering of bird seed.

Nearby, the "Mobile Museum of Pigeon Culture and History" is still set up, all part of a project tied to Zigler's master's thesis.

Source: UPI
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