[Dir. by SCOTT COLAN]
HOT DOC: Yes, We Have No Bananas
Partners, We just announced that Tribune is restructuring its debt under Chapter 11 protection. I’m sure you saw the speculative coverage last night and this morning. I would have preferred everyone get the news from me first, but since our debt is publicly traded, we had to keep this decision confidential until we had a formal board decision. The Cubs franchise is not part of the filing. Most importantly, I want to stress that we will continue to operate our business as usual. That includes meeting payroll and covering benefits (such as healthcare, disability and others), and paying vendors for […]
PRINT DEATH WATCH: Chicago Tribune On the Verge
NEW YORK TIMES: Tribune has hired bankruptcy advisers as the ailing newspaper company faces a potential bankruptcy filing, people briefed on the matter said. The newspaper, which was taken private last year by billionaire investor Samuel Zell, has hired advisers including Lazard and Sidley Austin, one of its longtime law firms, these people said. Tribune has been hobbled by debt related to that sale last year, which has been compounded by the growing drought of advertising for newspapers. While Tribune must contend with hefty interest payments over the next year, its most pressing problem is a maintenance covenant on some […]
TROUBLED BRIDGE OVER WATER: South Street Bridge Closed For Two Years Of Fabled Reconstruction
INQUIRER: Harried commuters are braced for protracted delays as the long-awaited reconstruction of the South Street Bridge begins tomorrow, closing the historic span over the Schuylkill and necessitating detours expected to last two years. The 23,000 motorists and countless pedestrians and bicyclists who rely on the bridge daily to go between University City and Southwest Center City will have to use alternate routes because the 85-year-old bridge is “structurally deficient,” inspectors say, and must be demolished and rebuilt. “Significant traffic congestion and travel delays are expected,” Streets Commissioner Clarena Tolson said of the $67 million project. “We ask Philadelphians for […]
WEEKEND UPDATE: The Good News Flower Hour
The Good News Flower Hour #3 Folks, here’s the third installment of The Good News Flower Hour, wherein I provide the voice for a flower that reads the news. The debut is HERE and the last one is HERE. We are still tweaking the concept and streamlining the production schedule on these — it takes a LONG-ass time to make these little three-minute suckers — but we hope to make this a weekly feature in the very near future. Enjoy.
LIE BERRY: What A Difference 3 Years Makes
FAMOUS LAST WORDS: Protester at Save The Libraries rally, City Hall, today [Photo by RAY SKWIRE] BRENDAN CALLING: Philadelphia is facing a budget shortage of $1 billion dollars over the next five years. In response, the Mayor is cutting services, including closing 63 of 72 community pools, 11 branches of the Free Library (most of which are in low-income neighborhoods), and even the city’s nature centers. Meanwhile, despite ample opportunity to take to the bully pulpit, the Mayor has not said a word about the Philadelphia Eagles, who are shamefully welching on a $10 million dollar debt to the city. […]
THE NEW NEW DEAL: Obama Announces Massive Public Works Project To Offset Titanic Econ Downturn
NEW YORK TIMES: WASHINGTON — President-elect Barack Obama committed Saturday to the largest public works construction program since the creation of the interstate highway system a half-century ago as he seeks to put together a plan to resuscitate the reeling economy.With unemployment on the rise and no end to the recession in sight, Mr. Obama began highlighting elements of the economic recovery program he is trying to fashion with Congressional leaders in hopes of being able to enact it shortly after being sworn in on Jan. 20. Mr. Obama’s remarks sought to expand the definition of traditional work programs for […]
All Of This Happened While You Were Sleeping
FOUR DUDES & A GRITTY URBAN BACKDROP: local free jazzers Shot x Shot [Photo by MARTIN BROWN] BY DAVE ALLEN First thoughts upon entering the charmingly fusty Powel House Museum in Society Hill: “They play jazz here?” I would soon find out that the museum is one of jazz and avant-garde presenter Bowerbird’s regular sites in the “Bowerbird @ Landmarks” series. In addition to old paintings and ornate woodwork, the upstairs room where Philly free-jazz collective Shot x Shot played also held a harp of, presumably, Revolutionary War-era vintage. If one of the guys in the band gets a hold […]
O.J. Simpson Sentenced To 15 Years In Prison
ASSOCIATED PRESS: A broken O.J. Simpson has been sentenced to at least 15 years in prison for a Las Vegas hotel armed robbery by a judge who rejected his apology and said, “It was much more than stupidity.” Simpson stood stone-faced Friday when Judge Jackie Glass quickly rattled off his punishment after he pleaded with her that he didn’t mean to steal from anybody when he tried to retrieve memorabilia. He appeared ready to break down in tears as he told that he was “sorry and confused” before going into a rambling and emotional 5-minute declaration. “I didn’t want to […]
HEAR YE: Like A Fox Where Is My Golden Arm?
Now playing on Phawker Radio! BIO: Songwriter Jay Laughlin and engineer Dave Grubb spent the 1990s developing their vision in the critically acclaimed Philadelphia/New Jersey area noise-pop band Lenola, releasing numerous full lengths and amassing an international word-of-mouth following for their unique sound that proved Pop music could be seriously damaged, yet retain its infectious hooks & charms. Following Lenolas demise in late 2002, Laughlin soon began work on new compositions that pushed harder into some of the Electronic-meets-Rock directions that latter period Lenola had only hinted at. A full ensemble was put together in 2004 to perform these songs […]
WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE: Jersey Cops Post $10,000 Reward For Information About Hickey Hit & Run
INQUIRER: A $10,000 reward has been posted for information leading to the arrest of the hit-and-run driver who critically injured a popular Philadelphia journalist last week in South Jersey. Brian Hickey, 35, was struck by a car after 10 p.m. on Black Friday as he walked to the PATCO High Speed Line in Collingswood near N. Atlantic and W. Linden avenues. Since then, Hickey — the former managing editor for Philadelphia City Paper and a contract video producer for Philly.com — has been in a coma at Cooper University Hospital in Camden. Anyone with information is asked to call Collingswood […]
CINEMA: Chess Kings
CADILLAC RECORDS (2008, directed by Darnell Martin, 109 minutes, U.S.) BY DAN BUSKIRK, FILM CRITIC If you’re born in the rock and roll era it is hard to resist the rock biopic, as shamelessly shaggy as the genre has been. The rise and revelations of the music icon, whether it is Tina Turner, Ray Charles or Johnny Cash is always more giddy than the the grim final act, where the star has to wallow, repent or die. The facts are casually trashed, their lives are hammered into crass trajectories and their craft is often minimized but they usually reach some […]
WORTH REPEATING: Good Money After Bad
BY ELLIOT SPITZER FOR SLATE The great irony is that our new place in the global economy is a direct consequence of our grand victory over the past 60 years. We have, indeed, converted virtually the entire world into one integrated capitalist economy, and we must now bear the brunt of serious and vigorous competition. In the immediate aftermath of World War II, the United States was essentially the only nation with financial capital, intellectual capital, skilled labor, a growing middle class generating consumer demand, and a rule of law permitting safe investment. Now we are one of many nations […]