In The News

Building collapse shines a light on demolition issues

The New York Times Tuesday, June 11, 2013

The horrific building collapse on Market Street has led to a lot of questions and soul-searching, and a look at demolition practices.

At a morning news conference held by Mr. Nutter and other city officials, attention focused on whether the demolition contractor, Griffin Campbell Construction, had the necessary expertise to safely demolish a building next to one still being used, and whether officials from the city’s Department of Licenses and Inspections had carried out a required inspection of the demolition site before work began.

Original source: The New York Times
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Komen cancels races; Philadelphia event remains

The New York Times Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Susan G. Komen for the Cure has been forced to cancel half of its three-day races, still reeling from last year's Planned Parenthood defunding disaster. The Philadelphia race will go on as planned.

Citing the economy and concerns about meeting fund-raising and volunteer participation goals in seven cities, Komen, the nation’s largest breast cancer advocacy organization, canceled its 2014 races in Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Phoenix, San Francisco, Tampa and Washington.

It will continue to hold races in Atlanta, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Philadelphia, San Diego and Seattle.

After Komen announced its Planned Parenthood decision last year, many longtime supporters took their anger to social media platforms, leading Komen to restore the funds. The foundation, based in Dallas, has struggled to regain those supporters.

Original source: The New York Times
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AP covers Eastern State Penitentiary's prison food event

The Associated Press Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Eastern State Penitentiary offers a look at traditional prison foods. Delish!

This weekend, the defunct Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia will serve visitors sample inmate meals from the 1830s, 1940s and today: broiled salted beef with “Indian mush”; hamburger with brown gravy and beets; and Nutraloaf — an unappetizing concoction currently served as punishment in prisons across the country.

Event organizers say the not-so-haute cuisine is a way to stimulate both the taste buds and the mind. The meals reflect the changing nature of food service at penal institutions and, in some ways, attitudes toward inmates, said Sean Kelley, the prison’s director of public programming.

Original source: The Associated Press
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PYT's 'Lasagna Burger' earns international press

Huffington Post U.K. Tuesday, June 11, 2013

PYT's latest burger creation, the Lasagna-Bun Burger, has garnered shock, awe and drool worldwide.

According to the Facebook page description, the burger is comprised of two thick slices of deep-fried mozzarella and ricotta lasagna, which make up the bun. Then inside is a meatball-seasoned juicy beef patty, topped with provolone and home-made marinara. With Italian-Parm fries on the side.

Original source: Huffington Post U.K.

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Local scientists assist major genetic breakthrough

The Atlantic Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Penn scientists were instrumental in the recent discovery of the gene that causes fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), a rare condition that causes the growth of a second skeleton. It's a fascinating and inspiring story.

The group’s members gave [Frederick Kaplan] more than their stories and DNA: they began raising money. Nick Bogard, whose son Jud had been diagnosed with the disease at age 3, organized a golf tournament in Massachusetts that raised $30,000. That money allowed Kaplan to host the first scientific conference about FOP, in 1991. Other families hosted barbecues, ice-fishing tournaments, swim-a-thons, bingo nights. In 2012 alone, Peeper’s organization raised $520,000 for research. That’s not much compared with, say, the $1 billion that the NIH distributes each year for diabetes research. But these funds were crucial for Kaplan, who sought to escape the rare-disease trap. IFOPA’s money—as well as gifts from other private donors and an endowment accompanying Kaplan’s professorship at Penn—made it possible for him to work single-mindedly on FOP for more than two decades.

Original source: The Atlantic
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Nomad Pizza featured in New York Times

The New York Times Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Nomad Pizza was included in a run-down of Jersey's mobile pizza trucks; they also have a brick-and-mortar space in Bella Vista.

Before Mr. Lombardi and Mr. Goldblatt opened their own business, they worked at the Nomad Pizza Company in Hopewell, a Neapolitan pizza restaurant with a second location in Philadelphia. Nomad opened its first restaurant in Hopewell in 2009 after two years of working out of a converted 1949 REO Speedwagon with a 3,000-pound wood-burning oven shipped from Italy. It continues to cater parties and sell pizza from the truck at street festivals.

Original source: The New York Times
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Philly still can't let go of Smarty Jones

The New York Times Tuesday, June 04, 2013

Smarty Jones, the star racehorse, has become a blue-collar icon in Philadelphia, according to the New York Times' horse racing blog, The Rail.

In 2004, blue-and-white Smarty Jones posters bedecked nearly every inch of the standing-room-only Belmont Park, with 120,000-plus fans rooting their hearts out for the little horse that could to complete the first Triple Crown in 26 years. Smarty Jones, a Pennsylvania homebred owned by Pat and Roy Chapman, had become a Philadelphia icon, a blue-collar overachiever from Philadelphia Park ready to take his place alongside the 1974 Stanley Cup-winning Flyers and Rocky Balboa in Philadelphia lore. A ticker-tape parade down Broad Street for Smarty Jones had already been planned.

As for the rest of us, Smarty Jones had seized the collective imagination of a country still reeling from the events of Sept. 11 and the Iraq war, a nation desperately needing something to root for. It had been 26 long years since Affirmed won the Triple Crown in 1978. In the interim, the nation, especially New York City, had been battered and bruised. We needed something to celebrate, which is how the 2004 Belmont had been dubbed the Smarty Party.

Original source: The New York Times
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LGBT senior housing rises in the Gayborhood

The Advocate Tuesday, June 04, 2013

The John C. Anderson Apartments are under construction in the Gayborhood. Housing developments for LGBT seniors were pioneered in Los Angeles and Chicago, now Philadelphia is onboard.

With LGBT seniors facing increased risks of poverty and poor health as well as a higher likelihood of living alone, the need for housing designed to their needs is dire. Cities including Los Angeles and Chicago are responding by building developments specifically geared to LGBT seniors, and now Philadelphia is joining the party, reaching out to several different entities to get its project built.

The six-story, 56-unit John C. Anderson Apartments is now rising in the heart of Philly’s gay village, with hopes of opening at the end of the year. Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Mark Segal — the publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News and founder of Gay Youth, one of the nation’s first organizations for LGBT teens — championed the $19.5 million project.

Original source: The Advocate
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Philly named fourth best biking city in the country

Walk Score Tuesday, May 21, 2013

In celebration of a Bike to Work Week and National Bike Month, Walk Score has named Philadelphia the number four biking city in the country. Only Portland, San Francisco and Denver topped the City of Brotherly Love.

Via The Philly Post.

Original source: Walk Score
Read the complete list here.

Philadelphia Orchestra's young conductor part of national trend

The New York Times Tuesday, May 21, 2013

The New York Times profiles a crop of young conductors leading major ensembles, including the Philadelphia Orchestra's 37-year-old Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

As the Philadelphia Orchestra emerged from bankruptcy protection, it was no surprise that the ensemble wanted the grinning, charismatic Mr. Nézet-Séguin to be the face of its new era, as potent a symbol as following Mr. Levine with Mr. Nelsons. (A once-favored candidate for the Boston position, Riccardo Chailly, now 60, fell out of the running after heart problems caused him to cancel performances.)

But youth and youthfulness are two different things, and they shouldn’t be confused. Orchestras should not think that hiring a dynamic 20- or 30-something conductor can take the place of planning dynamic contemporary programs. That’s just old wine in new bottles.

Original source: The New York Times
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Local cabinetmaker pens business column for New York Times blog

The New York Times Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Paul Downs, founder of Paul Downs Cabinetmakers, wrote about his generous employee compensation philosophy on the New York Times' small-business blog.

I don’t want that kind of relationship with my employees, and I don’t want to deal with constant turnover. My people are smart and hard-working and that’s who I want to spend my life with. I’d rather err on the side of paying them too much than have to deal with grumbling and turnover. But if I were running a business where turnover is expected — an ice-cream stand in a summer resort, for example — I’d have a different attitude. I’d be a lot more interested in my own reward than the long-term prosperity of my workers. And that would make sense, for that situation.

Original source: The New York Times
Read the entire column here.

Zagat lists Philadelphia's hottest cocktail trends

Zagat Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Zagat lists the top trends in cocktails, and tells you where in Philly you can find them. One example: "Farm to Glass."

Bartenders all over the city are taking the now-ubiquitous farm-to-table trend to its logical next step. The Unicorn Egg at Le Bar at Le Bec Fin includes rhubarb from star farmer Tom Culton, and fresh herbs are everywhere, often plucked from on-site gardens. Try the basil muddled with Wild Turkey and Carpano Antica in the Vona at In Riva.

Original source: Zagat
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Amtrak unveils new trains for Keystone route

The New York Times Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Amtrak recently rolled out three (of 70) new trains in an effort to modernize its fleet. The locomotives will operate on the Northeast corridor, as well as the Keystone route between Philadelphia and Harrisburg.

The engines are being paid for with a $532 million loan from the Federal Railroad Administration, money that Amtrak said it would recoup with ticket revenue from the Northeast corridor. The company also estimates that the new locomotives will save it more than $300 million in energy costs.

Amtrak said the new engines would also help improve the railroad’s on-time performance. Additionally, Amtrak and federal transportation officials said that areas where the trains were manufactured and assembled would see economic benefits in the form of jobs.

Original source: The New York Times

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Philly startup Curalate profiled in 'You're the Boss'

The New York Times Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Philly startup Curalate is profiled in the New York Times' small business column, "You're the Boss."

But the idea that rose to the top was a platform that allows companies to measure the impact of Pinterest and other visual social media. They called the company Curalate, and they introduced it in beta in March 2012 and for real two months later. Mr. Gupta said the rise of Pinterest last year looked similar to Twitter’s early days with brands "falling over themselves to get on board but reluctant to commit until they had some way to measure their presence on the platform."

Enter Curalate, which created a way to listen and measure visual conversations. The company’s algorithm recognizes images using pixels and then matches it to a brand. "The platform tells companies the conversations people are having about their product," Mr. Gupta said.

For more on Curalate, check out this story in Flying Kite.

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

Eater names Federal Donuts one of the country's hottest spots

Eater Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Federal Donuts earned a spot on Eater's list of the top 23 hottest donut shops in America.

Mike Solomonov's Federal Donuts has been inspiring doughnut shops across America for years and just this past fall opened up a second location for its magical combination of fried chicken and doughnuts. (There's also a new stall at the Phillies ballpark.) Doughnut options include strawberry-lavender, Turkish coffee, milk chocolate-peanut butter, and blueberry muffin.

Original source: Eater
Read the complete list here.