BY JEFF DEENEY “Today I saw…” is a series of nonfiction shorts based on my experiences as a caseworker serving formerly homeless families now living in North and West Philadelphia. I decided not long after starting the job that I was seeing so many fascinating and disturbing things in the city’s poorest neighborhoods that I needed to start cataloging them. I hope this bi-weekly column serves as a record of a side of the city that many Philadelphians don’t come in contact with on a daily basis. I want to capture moments not frequently covered by the local media, which […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
RADIO TIMES WITH MARTY MOSS-COANE Hour 1 Meet ISHMAEL BEAH. He was a child soldier fighting in Sierra Leone’s civil war. He lives in the United States and has written a memoir “A Long Way Gone.” Hour 2 After being lost for nearly 1,700 years, the Gospel of Judas was recently restored, authenticated, and translated. What does the newly discovered text tell us about early Christianity and Jesus’ death? KAREN KING is the author of a new book, “Reading Judas: The Gospels of Judas and the Shaping of Christianity.” THE WORLD CAFE With full beards, long hair and headbands, the […]
JUNK SCIENCE: The SKINNY On Your FAT Ass
BY ELIZABETH FIEND All the Homer Simpsons of the world — you know who you are — are in a tizzy because The Government is banning their beloved trans fat. Believe me, it’s going to be fine. Anyone who’s against the banning of trans fatty acids doesn’t understand what trans fat is all about. Number one, it’s NOT about flavor. Have you had an Oreo cookie lately? Some Wendy’s French fries? Taste good? Okay! See, you didn’t even notice that the trans fat was removed. Trans fatty acids, most often found in hydrogenated oils, do not taste better than other […]
Pro-Gun State Senator Embroiled In Shooting Death
GREENSBURG – At first, it looked like suicide in the suburbs, with a twist: The 14-year-old boy found dead in the woods behind his home one morning last July had been killed with a state senator’s pistol. But investigators have been unable to rule out an accident – or foul play. It didn’t help that the senator’s son, who had a five-minute phone conversation with the victim late on the night of the shooting, stopped talking to police as the investigation wore on and refused to testify at an inquest. Now, the case has turned into a battle of father […]
LAST MINUTE: Calling All Peace Creeps
WHAT, WHERE, WHEN: Captain Milkshake, rarely-screened 1969 Hippie Anti-War Film, Andrew’s Video Vault at the Rotunda, 8 PM TONIGHT! BY DAN BUSKIRK FILM CRITIC I lived in the San Francisco Bay area for most of the ’90s, and with their numerous repertory movie houses, one could hang out at the movies every night. The Pacific Film Archive, The Castro, The Roxy, The Red Vic, the UC Theater, The Fine Arts — I slouched for hours in their seats, catching scores of double features of noir films, foreign oddities, indie documentaries and weirdo one-offs that I’ll probably never be able to […]
Joe Mamma, ‘Millionaire Crimefighter,’ Pleads Guilty
BY JOHN SHIFFMAN INQUIRER STAFF WRITER A Philadelphia egg-processing factory owner who made a name for himself offering high-dollar, high-profile rewards for unsolved crimes pleaded guilty yesterday to a gun charge and agreed to plead guilty to expected tax charges. Joseph Mammana, who has been in federal custody since November, used checks written from his factory to the Citizens Crime Commission and Sam Katz for Mayor to evade federal income taxes, authorities said. Mammana, 46, agreed to plead guilty to failing to pay taxes on roughly $400,000 in 2005 income and underreported income from 2000 to 2004. Those charges are […]
Super-Scofflaw Busted For $16,000 In Unpaid Tolls
March 7, 2007 – Authorities have arrested a New Jersey man on charges of evading tolls to the tune of $16,000. The arrest is the first to come as part of a combined effort by Delaware State Police and Delaware River and Bay Authority Police. The suspect, 39-year-old John Harper [NOT pictured] of Irvington, is accused of evading tolls on the Delaware Memorial Bridge and on I-95 in Newark. If found guilty, Harper would be forced to pay the $16,011 in unpaid tolls, civil costs and any unpaid penalties imposed by the court. 6ABC: Perp May Also Owe Untold Hundreds […]
VIET NOW: Local G.I. Jane Dead By I.E.D.
(CBS 3) MACUNGIE For the third time this week, a military service member from the area has died in Iraq. The latest victim is Sergeant Ashly Moyer of Lehigh County. The 21-year-old was killed when an IED or roadside bomb exploded under the Humvee she was traveling in while in Central Baghdad. Asley’s sister said she will never forget the last few words that they shared while communicating on the computer. “I love you, I miss you, be careful,” said Karissa Thomas. Ashly was a graduate of Emmaus High School and her family lived in Macungie, Lehigh County. She first […]
HOT FOR TEACHER: Mrs. Robinson Busted For Texting
WOODBRIDGE, N.J. (AP) – March 6, 2007 – A high school teacher was arrested Tuesday on charges that she sent several sexually explicit text messages to a 17-year-old student who attends the school where she teaches and a 16-year-old student whom she previously taught. Karen Binder, 42, of Manalapan, faces two counts of second-degree official misconduct. If convicted, she could face up to 10 years in state prison on each count. The 17-year-old boy’s parents notified officials at Colonia High School in Woodbridge last month about the sexually explicit text messages on their son’s mobile phone, police told The Star-Ledger […]
NOW PLAYING ON PHAWKER RADIO
BY JONATHAN VALANIA God, it was almost 17 years ago that I first met her. It was at an art opening at Tyler — the exact who and the why of the occasion are both long lost but I distinctly remember hearing her laugh before I even saw her: It sounded like something that had long ago gone out of style. She laughed like a woman from an earlier time, dare I say it, her laugh sounded positively antebellum. Frankly Scarlett, I was giving a damn. And then the crowd parted and there she was: radiant, coquettish, from Texas. I […]