Donald Trump lost his bid to run a slots casino in Philadelphia because he flunked the first lesson of real estate – location. Trump picked the wrong one. He had wanted to build his $350 million TrumpStreet Casino complex in a struggling industrial neighborhood on the edge of North Philadelphia. But the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board concluded that was the wrong place for a casino, and said yesterday that was largely why it rejected Trump’s proposal in favor of two riverfront parcels. […] Trump was unhappy. “That was the governor’s decision, and he has to live with it,” Trump said […]
CARTOON: Turtle Novelists Write TERRIBLE Dialogue!
That’s Why Schoolchildren Are No Longer Forced To Read Their Dreadful Novels. [Courtesy of Married To The Sea]
SERGE GAINSBOURG & BRIGITTE BARDOT
“The Comic Strip”
GUNCRAZY: Sometimes Strangers Know You Better Than You Do
In Philadelphia, homicides rose 7 percent to a nine-year high of 406 last year, giving it the highest murder rate per 100,000 people among America’s 10 biggest cities, according to a survey of police departments by the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper, which keeps a running tally. Philadelphia, with a population of about 1.5 million, also has the highest poverty rate — 25 percent — among those cities. The deadly cocktail of poverty and violence mirrors that of some other major U.S. cities such as Houston and San Antonio, where poverty rates are similar and homicides registered double-digit increases last year. New […]
RIP: Molly Ivins, Concerned American, Legendary Texas Political Racontuer, Thorn In The Decider’s Side
Molly Ivins died Wednesday at age 62 after a long battle with breast cancer. This is her final column, entitled “Stand Up Against The Surge“: The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.It is […]
THIS OLD CITY: ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES
30th Street Station [Photo by MooCat]
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON AT COACH’S HOUSE?
The eldest son of Eagles coach Andy Reid [not pictured] admitted using heroin on the same day he was involved in a traffic accident in Plymouth Township, according to court documents released today. Garret Reid [not pictured] “waived his right to remain silent and provided two written statements,” according to a search warrant affidavit. “Reid acknowledged using heroin, a schedule I controlled substance, on Tuesday, January 30, 2007. “Reid also acknowledged possessing drug paraphernalia including hypodermic syringes.” The affidavit enabled police to obtain search warrants that led to the discovery of two handguns, ammunition, white powder and other items in […]
GAMBLOR: And Now A Word From RALPH NADER
[Hat tip to DigPhilly]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
Today we are handing out nothing but lollipops and sunshine, because EVERYBODY wins this week! To wit, simultaneously strong cover art and, rarer still, strong-ass cover stories from both CP and PW this week. And in a curious coincidence, both tackle the drug issue from intriguing angles. CP’s Jeff Deeney reminds us that a fool and his coke whore are soon parted, especially when you rack up $16,000 on your credit card. (Here’s an idea: how about you find a girlfriend and buy a case of Red Bull instead, hmmm?) Yeah, the story states the obvious, but readers LOVE following […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR WITH TERRY GROSS Thirteen journalists have been murdered since Russian President Vladimir Putin took office. The Kremlin is widely believed to be behind some of those and other recent murders. On the next Fresh Air we talk with MICHAEL SPECTOR about his recent New Yorker article, “Kremlin, Inc.” Why are Vladimir Putin?s opponents dying? PLUS MOLLY IVINS remembered. Liberal political columnist Molly Ivins died yesterday at the age of 62. In her long career, she wrote for newspapers such as The Texas Observer and The New York Times, and her columns were widely syndicated. These interviews originally aired […]
JUNK SCIENCE: Wash Your Hands Child, You Walk Like A Peasant!
BY ELIZABETH FIEND You already know that you’re supposed to wash your hands after going to the toilet and before food preparation and eating. But did you know it’s recommended to wash up after eating as well? Or that the best place to sneeze is into your elbow? And that you shouldn’t use the hand blower in the public rest room, it might actually be blowing germs onto your just-washed hands? It’s so important to wash hands because the flu, diarrhea and colds are transmitted either in the air or on surfaces you touch. Germs, bacteria, and viruses can live […]