In The News

Campus Apartments breaks ground on first hotel in UCity

Globe St. Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Globe St. takes a look at Philadelphia's Campus Apartments, one of the country's largest student-housing firms, which recently broke ground on a $50 million Hilton hotel near the University of Pennsylvania.

David Adelmen, the firm's chief executive, tells GlobeSt.com that the company decided to take on the venture because of the strong demand close to the university for an extended-stay hotel. The development, which just broke ground, is also close to Penn Medicine and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Plus, management can keep it under close watch, being based in the same city.

And it might not be the last one that Campus Apartments undertakes. "It's certainly a project we'd consider doing in the future for universities," Adelman says.

Getting financing for the project was one of the biggest challenges, and a number of entities are providing the funding. Financing is provided jointly by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation (PIDC), The Reinvestment Fund (TRF, US Bank Community Development Corporation and Beneficial Bank.

Original source: Globe St.
Read the full story here.

Drexel prof: Music may soothe the critically ill

Reuters Tuesday, December 14, 2010

A study authored by Drexel University's Joke Bradt says listening to music appears to have a calming effect on hospital patients, reports Reuters.

Each year, more than 300,000 Americans are put on mechanical ventilation in intensive care units across the country, many recovering from a serious accident, surgery, cancer, or any number of life-threatening events.

Ventilators make it difficult -- if not impossible -- for them to communicate their needs, or ask questions about their treatment or survival chances. connected to breathing machines, reports Reuters.

While the reason music works is still unclear, Bradt said in an e-mail to Reuters Health, it might provide a distraction, or somehow communicate with the brain regions responsible for emotional regulation.

Original source: Reuters
Read the full story here.

Connecting Camden: Bike paths, roadway fixes on the way

Courier-Post Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Courier Post gets in-depth on $5.8 million in federal grant money to fix roads and add bike paths in Camden, which we reported on in September (http://www.flyingkitemedia.com/features/bicyclephilly0928.aspx).

"As a part of the Camden greenway, this active transportation network basically started in Camden and its focus is improving pedestrian and bicycle access," said Jake Gordon, counsel for Cooper's Ferry Development Association, which helped write the grant. "This is one project but three corridors."

The money from the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant is planned to repave and add bike lanes and sidewalks to Pearl Street, which runs adjacent to the Benjamin Franklin Bridge; Martin Luther King Boulevard between the waterfront and North 5th Street; and parts of Pine Street east of the Interstate 676 overpass.

The improved bike paths will connect Camden to the rest of the county as well as Philadelphia, said John Boyle, research director for the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia.

Original source: Courier-Post
Read the full story here.

NPR catches up with Philly's Hamilton and Night Catches Us

NPR Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Acclaimed Philly filmmaker Tanya Hamilton talks with NPR about her new film Night Catches Us, which tells the story of ex-Black Panthers looking back on their radicalism in the 1970s.

"I often try to say that there's something both tragic and very romantic in that period, during the civil rights [struggles] and the transition into black power," Hamilton says. "I felt like the film not only needed to talk about the waning days [of the Black Panthers], but also about what ultimately destroyed the Panthers and the complexity of that destruction."

Hamilton, who wrote and directed the film, explains that she titled the film after a common saying in Jamaica: "Don't let night catch you."

Original source: NPR
Read the full story here.

NRDC loves Philly's Green2015; 500 acres of parks on the way

Natural Resources Defense Council Tuesday, December 14, 2010

The Natural Resources Defense Council blog applauds and captures the spirit of Philadelphia's plan to convert vacant lots and asphalt yards into small neighborhood parks throughout the city.

According to the executive summary, more than half of Philadelphia's residents currently do not have access to a park within convenient walking distance. But there are 558 acres of publicly owned, vacant land located in underserved neighborhoods, and a larger inventory citywide of over 1,000 acres of publicly owned vacant land, over 1,000 additional acres of schoolyards that could be multi-purposed, and over 3,000 acres of additional vacant land currently in private ownership, identified in the map below left as "opportunity areas." The map on the right shows proposed new trails, bike lanes, and "creek walks" in the city.

Original source: Natural Resources Defense Council
Read the full story here.

Tracking the Philadelphia Chromosome, circa 1960

The Scientist Tuesday, December 07, 2010

The Scientist takes a quick look at the historic discovery of the genetic underpinnings of cancer, courtesy of Philly's finest some 50 years ago.

In 1956, Peter Nowell joined the University of Pennsylvania faculty and began what he calls "poorly defined studies of leukemia." By rinsing blood cells with tap water before staining and mounting them on a microscope slide, Nowell inadvertently caused the cells to swell and flatten, and most importantly, disrupted their mitotic spindle�allowing him to visualize their chromosomes more easily.

Nowell teamed up with David Hungerford, a PhD student at the nearby Fox Chase Cancer Center, and together they detected that a chunk seemed to be missing from chromosome 22 in the leukocytes of CML patients. They published their findings in 1960, and the shortened chromosome was named after the city where it was discovered. But their suggestion that the aberration itself was causing the cells to proliferate abnormally met with a less-than-enthusiastic reception, recalls Nowell. One reviewer even said that the observation probably had no relevance to the clinical disease.

Original source: The Scientist
Read the full story here.

Wharton School shifts focus to ethics, executive education

Bloomberg Tuesday, December 07, 2010

The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is introducing a new curriculum that includes a focus on ethics and communications and will periodically offer tuition-free executive education, reports Bloomberg.

Wharton, ranked third among U.S. business schools by Bloomberg Businessweek magazine, follows the Yale School of Management, in New Haven, Connecticut, and the Stanford Graduate School of Business, near Palo Alto, California, in overhauling its curriculum. The new plan offers students more choice in what they study and a greater emphasis on global business education as well as statistics and microeconomics, according to the statement.

"Wharton's new curriculum design offers our students a framework for success in a rapidly changing world," Thomas Robertson, Wharton's dean, said in the statement. "Business schools must equip the next generation of leaders with the knowledge, skills and perspective they need to meet the global economic, environmental, humanitarian and policy challenges of the future."

Original source: Bloomberg
Read the full story here.

Azavea gets NSF grant to hone crime risk forecasting software

UPI Tuesday, December 07, 2010

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $216,000 grant to Philadelphia-based Azavea to develop its advanced crime risk forecasting software, reports UPI.

HunchLab is a Web-based geographic crime data analysis and early warning software system that provides advanced crime mapping and automated notification to authorities about changes in the geographic patterns of crime incidents.

The system is targeted at the law enforcement agencies and enables police officers to develop and evaluate hunches about geographic patterns in criminal activity in the communities they patrol.

Azavea said it is collaborating with Dr. Jerry Ratcliffe from Temple University, a leading expert in statistical crime analysis who has worked with academic colleagues to develop statistical techniques for detecting "near repeat" patterns in crime.

Original source: UPI
Read the full story here.

Don't call it a sellout; Phila. History Museum gets leaner to pay for renovations

The New York Times Tuesday, December 07, 2010

In an attempt to raise money for extensive renovations of its 184 year-old home, the Philadelphia History Museum has sold 2,000 items, joining a growing (and somewhat controversial) list of museums who are using their collection to pay bills, reports The New York Times.

A galloping horse weather vane sold for about $20,000, and the cigar store Indians brought in more than $1 million. A Thomas Sully oil painting of Andrew Jackson netted $80,500, and a still life by Raphaelle Peale, part of the family that put portraiture in this city on the map, was auctioned at Christie's for $842,500.

These were just a few of more than 2,000 items quietly sold by the Philadelphia History Museum over the last several years, all part of an effort to cull its collection of 100,000 artifacts and raise money for a $5.8 million renovation of its 1826 building.

In doing so the museum stepped into the quicksand of murky rules, guidelines and ethical strictures meant to discourage museums everywhere from selling collections to pay bills. It is one of the hottest issues in the museum world today. With budgets shrinking in a bad economy, the pressure to generate revenue is growing along with fears that museums are squandering public trusts meant to preserve the artifacts of the past for future generations.

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

Egypt's last queen takes over The Franklin, sheds light on her life and times

Voice of America Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Voice of America gives us a multi-media look inside the Cleopatra exhibit, which features more than 150 artifacts of ancient Egyptian, Greek and Roman cultures, at The Franklin Institute.

University of Pennsylvania Egyptologist and the head of the Penn Museum's Egyptology section - David Silverman - is curator of the exhibit. He said he hopes it dispels some of the misconceptions about Cleopatra and gives visitors a glimpse of her time.

"People know the name Cleopatra, but what about the history? And they're learning that we don't know all the answers, but they are also learning how we can find out some of the answers," said Silverman.

An accompanying audio tour attempts to provide some answers through an actress portrayal of Cleopatra. Visitors hear the queen describe the artifacts, as well as something of their history and purpose, including those dating from her torrid romance with Mark Antony - a relationship that ended with both of them committing suicide.

Original source: Voice of America
Read the full story here.

Bienvenidos Tek Lado: Latino techies get a voice

Associated Press Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Tek Lado, the new (and free) Philadelphia magazine catering to tech-savvy Latinos, launched last week with a print run of 20,000, reports the Associated Press.

Mel Gomez, director of niche publishing for Bartash Media Group, self-described geek and Tek Lado publisher, said it fills a void in the marketplace of publications for tech-savvy Latinos.

"I love technology, gadgets, smart phones, gaming, graphic novels. I watch Star Trek," he said with a laugh. "Typical Latino publications are often tabloids, either general publications or some sort of (gossip) rag -- nothing that speaks to geeks and their different subcultures we have in the U.S."

Gomez, Tek Lado editor-in-chief Liz Spikol, two staff photographers and eight bilingual freelance writers are based for now at Bartash's offices in southwest Philadelphia. Tek Lado is the first venture in magazine publishing for Bartash, a 58-year-old printer of catalogs, magazines, newspapers and niche publications for hundreds of companies from Maine to Alabama.

Original source: Associated Press
Read the full story here.

City's CTO stepping down, returning to management consulting for now

Technically Philly Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Allan Frank, the city's first chief technology officer, announced he'll be leaving his post by Feb. 1, reports Technically Philly.

As recent as this month, Frank spoke at a government employees meet up group about his forthcoming plans for the city's IT direction. Frank will maintain some ties, serving as chair of the newly formed Mayor's Advisory Board on Technology, in which he will remain involved in these projects.

"In actuality, there is no perfect time to leave," Frank told Technically Philly. "I am confident in the new DOT leadership and talent I have attracted to continue the momentum."

Frank first joined city government in July 2008 as Mayor Nutter's Chief Information Officer. A year later, in July 2009, Frank was officially made the city's first Chief Technology Officer, consolidating IT from 33 city agencies.

Original source: Technically Philly
Read the full story here.

This look at Philadelphia Freedom worth an overnight stay

Washington Post Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The Washington Post travel section puts together a respectable Philadelphia Freedom package that gives a refined look at U.S. history and the city's ability to share it, including the newly opened National Museum of American Jewish History.

Independence Hall is where the founding fathers signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, and ratified the U.S. Constitution in 1787. The Liberty Bell, cracks and all, became a symbol of the abolitionist movement and of efforts to attain freedom around the globe.

In the past decade, the historical events embodied by these icons have gained new context as the Liberty Bell moved to its own interpretive center and a museum dedicated to explaining the Constitution opened at the northern end of the mall. Now several new attractions on or adjacent to the mall are adding their own chapters, some with unexpected twists, to the traditional understanding of American freedoms and how they came to be.

The National Museum of American Jewish History, affiliated with the Smithsonian, opens its dazzling new home on the mall to the public today. The President's House commemorative site, on the spot where presidents George Washington and John Adams, as well as nine enslaved African Americans, lived before the nation's capital was moved to Washington, is set to open Dec. 15. A 15-minute 3-D film, "Liberty 360," premiered this fall in a theater across from Independence Hall and offers yet another perspective on the goings-on that led to the nation's founding.

Original source: Washington Post
Read the full story here.

Art Museum acquires works of seminal photographer Paul Strand

International Business Times Tuesday, November 30, 2010

The works of one of the most significant artists in the history of photography have a new home at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, reports International Business Times.

Recognized as one of the one of the most significant artists in the history of photography, Paul Strand (1890-1976) is known for his explorations of the modernistic possibilities of camera. His abstract collection of 'street photographs' of people he caught unawares in urban New York settings has particularly attracted the attention of the masses.

Through his contributions to modernistic art, the American photographer soon became the leading inspiration to the likes of Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, Henri Cartier-Bresson, and Robert Frank.

"The Paul Strand Collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art will rank among the finest and most significant groups of works by key figures in the history of photography held by any museum in this country," said Timothy Rub, the George D. Widener Director and Chief Executive Officer, in a statement.

Original source: International Business Times
Read the full story here.

CHOP study says anorexia risk may be determined by genetics

MSNBC Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Researchers at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia have identified genetic changes that may heighten the risk of developing the eating disorder anorexia, reports MSNBC.

Studies done on twins have led researchers to believe that anorexia is highly heritable, and that genes could account for more than half of a person's susceptibility to the condition. However, few genes have been implicated as risk factors, the genetic underpinnings of anorexia have remained, for the most part, unknown.

To solve the mystery, (CHOP Center for Applied Genomics Director Dr. Hakon) Hakonarson and his colleagues scanned the genomes of 1,003 people with anorexia (whose average age was 27), and compared them with the genomes of 3,733 children (whose average age was 13) who did not have anorexia. While it's possible that some of the children might later develop anorexia, the number would be so small that it would be unlikely to impact the analysis, Hakonarson said.

The researchers found a few spots along the genome where the two groups differed. These so-called single-nucleotide polymorphisms, or SNPs could play a role in the genetic underpinnings of the disease.

Original source: MSNBC
Read the full story here.