PHILLY CONFIDENTIAL: Several local and state agencies are investigating an unusual incident at the Philadelphia International Airport this morning. According to police, three baggage handlers were loading luggage on to a flight bound for Bermuda around 10:56 a.m. when two of the handlers noticed a third was not wearing an identification badge. When questioned about it, the third man took off and has yet to be found by police. MORE
PAPERBOY: Slow-Jamming The Alt-Weeklies
BY DAVE ALLEN Like time, news waits for no man. Keeping up with the funny papers has always been an all-day job, even in the pre-Internets era. These days, however, it’s a two-man job. That’s right, these days you need someone to do your reading for you, or risk falling hopelessly behind and, as a result, increasing your chances of dying lonely and somewhat bitter. That’s why every week PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you. We pore over those time-consuming cover stories and give you the takeaway, suss out the cover art, warn you off the ink-wasters and steer […]
CURTAINS: Prince Music Theater Files For Bankruptcy
WHHYY: Just one week before the 19th annual Philadelphia Film Festival is set to begin, one of its theaters has filed for bankruptcy. For years, the Prince Theater on Chestnut Street has been fighting its mortgage lender to stave off foreclosure. But festival organizers vow the show will go on. TD Bank claims the Prince Theater is delinquent on mortgage payments. The theater owners claim they had arranged a payment plan with Commerce Bank. However, as the new owner of Commerce, TD Bank is not honoring that agreement. TD Bank has tried to foreclose on the theater four times. In […]
D’OH: City’s New Bike Racks Are A Thief’s Best Friend
[via BITS AND BIKES]
THE PERFECTIONIST: Halladay Pitches The Second Post-Season No-Hitter In The History Of Baseball
ESPN: Those are the only men who have thrown two no-hitters in one calendar year or thrown a postseason no-hitter. Roy Halladay just became the first pitcher to do both. Should we be surprised? Sure. Just look at that list. Talented fellows, but only one of them has a plaque in the Hall of Fame. MORE ASSOCIATED PRESS: Don Larsen is the only other pitcher to throw a postseason no-hitter. He tossed a perfect game for the New York Yankees in the 1956 World Series against the Brooklyn Dodgers. The 54th anniversary of Larsen’s gem is this Friday. Halladay took […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Justin Timberlake has come a long way from the first time he stepped on a stage at the age of 8. “My mother sort of makes this joke that she’s surprised that I know what she looks like, because up until I … first stepped onto a stage, all I did was look down at my feet,” Timberlake explains. “As soon as I discovered the stage, it brought out a lot in me that I didn’t know I had. And it did it at a very young age, and it was one of the most fun things that […]
MO MONEY, MO PROBLEMS: Fed Charge Beanie Sigel With Tax Evasion On $1.5 Million In Income
INQUIRER: Rapper Beanie Sigel is in trouble with the law again. Federal prosecutors said today he has been charged with failing to file income taxes for three years during which time he made an estimated $1.54 million. U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement that Sigel, whose real name is Dwight Grant, did not file taxes in 2003, 2004 or 2005. Sigel, of Lansdale, was charged in a criminal information filed Tuesday at U.S. District Court. If convicted, Sigel, 36, faces up to three years in prison and a fine of $300,000. MORE
THE MENDACITY OF HOPE: The Public Option Was Killed Long Before It ‘Died’ On Capitol Hill
THINK PROGRESS: In his book, Daschle reveals that after the Senate Finance Committee and the White House convinced hospitals to to accept $155 billion in payment reductions over ten years on July 8, the hospitals and Democrats operated under two “working assumptions.” “One was that the Senate would aim for health coverage of at least 94 percent of Americans,” Daschle writes. “The other was that it would contain no public health plan,” which would have reimbursed hospitals at a lower rate than private insurers. MORE RELATED: Despite being “taken off the table” as a result of the “understanding,” the White […]
SPORTO: Future Uncertain, End Is Always Near
BY MIKE WOLVERTON SPORTS GUY Knowing Phillies fans as I do, 97% of you assume the Phils will just waltz past Cincinnati. You’d imagine the mighty Phillies have the better lineup, but do they? The Reds finished first in the National League in batting average, by a wide margin (the Phillies ranked 5th). The Redlegs led the NL in home runs too, with the Phillies 5th again. They’ve got six guys who hit 18 or more dongs. And the Reds scored more runs than the Phillies, so you can’t assume the Phils have the better offense. The edge comes, of […]
POLI SIGH: The Wilmington Witch Trials
MEDIAITE: Hot on the heels of her “I am not a witch” campaign ad, and just in time for Halloween, Herobuilders.com is offering Christine O’Donnell witch dolls for the collectible price of $39.95. The site also offers an “Executive” version of the doll, in a smart business suit, for $29.95. If you live in a cave, the doll is a spoof of O’Donnell’s now-infamous claim to have “dabbled in witchcraft” as a teenager. The dolls just went on sale today, so when we contacted Herobuilders owner Emil Vicale, he was shocked to learn that his creation had already been […]
ALMOST LIVE & DIRECT: Matador At 21 In Vegas
[Photo by KEVIN FRACE] BY JAMES DOOLITTLE SUNDAY 10:30 AM / I’ve finally fallen in love with Twitter, at least the idea of using Twitter at a hashmarkian event such as this. It’s one thing to comment freely with your friends from choice seats, but another to experience the intimacy of a dozen strangers spread out about a concert hall, echoing both your internalized sentiments and the re-tweets of others. Throughout the weekend, #matador21’s running commentary answered many a question (how pissed is Spiral Stairs right now?), confirmed a few secret perks (open bar at 4AM?!?), fueled laughs (Perfume Genius […]
EARLY WORD: Mrs. Neil Young At JBs Saturday
BLOG CRITICS: With her second solo album, Foul Deeds, singer-songwriter Pegi Young may be about to break away from the long shadow cast by her more famous husband, rock legend Neil Young. Not literally of course. Despite the many songs expressing themes of heartbreak and loss heard on Foul Deeds, Pegi has assured us that she and Neil are doing just fine, thank you very much. However, Foul Deeds does represent a bold enough progression from her self-titled 2007 solo debut, that Pegi Young seems to be poised for an artistic breakthrough of her own. With a mix of strong […]
UP IN SMOKE: Pro-Legalization Leading In Cali Polls
ALTERNET: A few short months ago, California’s Proposition 19, the Regulate, Control, and Tax Cannabis Act of 2010, seemed likely to fade away in a puff of smoke. After more than three decades on the front lines of the disastrous “war on drugs,” I feared this best-hope-to-date chapter in the battle for sane drug laws was a lost cause. But something has changed in the public’s consciousness, and in its resolve. On September 30 the Public Policy Institute of California published the results of its new poll. It shows Proposition 19 winning, by a resounding 52-41 margin. Other polls are […]