MORE THAN 300 students from St. Joseph’s University spent their spring break not in Cancun but working to repair and paint decaying houses in Appalachia.There they found that poverty isn’t only an urban affliction. Indeed, they learned that rural poverty has some of the same roots as living poor in North Philadelphia, as a St. Joe’s sociology professor put it. They also learned how to square-dance. Paul Staats, 21, a junior, who helped reshingle an elderly woman’s house and refloor a kitchen in Grundy, Va., said the townspeople were “very welcoming. We never felt like we were intruding. “I just […]
POGUE MAHONE: Live From St. Paddy’s Day
This man will be covering the Mayor’s race for Phawker. His name is Shawn Kilroy and, no, he doesn’t know any better. In the coming weeks he will be doing a series of live remotes from various campaign events. All on his own, he decided to go out and do a little practicing on drunks the Irish. Hence, this clip. Enjoy.
THIS JUST IN: RITZ THEATERS TO BE SOLD
The Ritz Theatres, Center City’s beloved movie shrines, are on the brink of acquisition by Landmark Theatres. The nation’s premier chain devoted to indie and art films confirmed yesterday that it was in negotiations to buy the Philadelphia operations of the Ritz. Although the pact is not final, Landmark may take ownership of the 12 screens at Society Hill’s Ritz Five, Ritz East, and Ritz at the Bourse as early as March 30. Those close to negotiations would not comment on a purchase price. Landmark would buy the Ritz Five at Second and Walnut outright and assume the leases on […]
BAIT & SWITCH: Lincoln Financial ‘Still Committed To The City’ While Moving 400 Jobs Outta Town
Lincoln National Corp. will move 400 jobs, including the chief executive’s, to Radnor from Center City, a spokeswoman for the financial-services company said yesterday.The company had been “looking for space that will meet our needs going forward . . . where people can interact a little more easily,” the spokeswoman, Laurel O’Brien, said. The corporate headquarters will remain in Philadelphia. The move to 180,000 square feet of office space in the Radnor Financial Center will occur in phases into next year and will involve such functions as sales and finance. “We still are very committed to the city,” O’Brien said. […]
HIZZONER ’07: Jesus & Uncle Milty Pass 1st Ballot Hurdle
MILTON STREET’s bid for a City Council seat is still alive, along with the longer-than-longshot mayoral hopes of Queena Bass and Jesus White.But four other political candidates were knocked off the ballot yesterday for alleged problems with their financial disclosures or voter petitions. A squadron of seven Common Pleas judges began yesterday to plow through three dozen election-law challenges. Street’s candidacy for Council at large survived an attack based on his alleged failure to list all his creditors. Bass, the only woman in the mayor’s race, and White, a part-time security guard living in temporary housing, had been challenged for […]
ALMOST GONE WITH THE WIND: 40-Year-Old Intern Rips Off U.S. History, Re-Sells It For Profit On eBay
BY JOHN SHIFFMAN OF THE INQUIRER A 40-year-old summer intern smuggled 165 Civil War-era documents from National Archives offices in Philadelphia and sold them on eBay, officials said yesterday. The intern, Denning McTague, used a backpack to sneak letters, telegrams and military orders — including one announcing the death of President Lincoln — from the archives’ Market Street office. McTague, a Philadelphia resident who has a master’s degree in history and operates a rare-manuscripts business, has helped FBI agents and archives officials retrieve 161 of the 165 documents, said Sitarchuk and prosecutors. As an intern last summer, McTague had been […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
This week was easy. We were gonna make CP’s Big Battel-esque Re-Formers cover the winner. But then CP’s blog thingee gave Phawker talk-to-the-hand in their March Madness pool. Just to show that we can be just as petty and small as the rest of the pricks in the blog pond, this week CP snatches defeat from the jaws of victory. Besides, we really, really like the sangria at Amada. WINNER: PW
TODAY I SAW…
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 […]
‘God’s MC’ Stones Russian To Death On NJ Turnpike
Brian White, 26, of Humble, Texas, was charged with murder Thursday, after he approached a 75-year-old Russian immigrant and asked him to buy a religious CD. When he was rebuffed, White savagely beat him on the head with a large rock, state police said. He then fled from the scene and led state police on a 70-mile chase before he was captured. State police said the incident began about 12:45 a.m. White, a DJ, was traveling to New York City when he stopped at the James Fenimore Cooper rest stop about 12:45 a.m. Thursday just north of Exit 4 in […]
GUNCRAZY: G-Man Puts Cap In Thug’s Ass, Allegedly
An undercover drug-and-weapons sting turned deadly in Port Richmond yesterday afternoon when an FBI agent shot a suspected dealer to death. Police Chief Inspector Joseph Fox told reporters after the shooting that the FBI agent who fired the shot feared for his life. As the agent was running after the suspect, he yelled, “Stop, freeze!” and told the man to show his hands, Fox said. Instead, the man “made a furtive move toward his waist,” Fox said. Then the agent took one shot – killing the suspect, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Fox said the drama unfolded about […]
GAMBLOR: City Council Does The Right Thing
ASSOCIATED PRESS — PHILADELPHIA City Council voted unanimously Thursday to place a referendum on the primary ballot that, if passed, could stop construction of two casinos along Philadelphia’s waterfront. Members voted 17-0 in favor of asking voters in the May 15 primary whether the city charter should be amended to ban the building of casinos within 1,500 feet of homes, churches and schools. The decision brought simultaneous cheers and boos from hundreds of casino opponents and supporters who were part of a standing-room-only crowd in council chambers. SugarHouse and Foxwoods plan to build slots casinos along the riverfront. SugarHouse plans […]
BASKETBALL DIARY: Philadelphia 87, Chicago 88
THE AGONY OF DEFEAT: 76ers vs. Bulls, Wachovia Center, Last Night [FLICKR] UPI — PHILADELPHIA Kirk Hinrich sank a jump shot with 26.7 seconds left Wednesday night as the Chicago Bulls rallied to edge Philadelphia, 88-87. Philadelphia shot 72 percent from the floor to build a 28-18 lead after the first quarter, and continued to lead by 50-42 at the half. The lead was 72-62 after the third quarter, but Chicago finally forged ahead in the final 12 minutes to snap to Sixers seven-game home winning streak. [Photo by Jonathan Valania]
EARLY WORD: A Steely Dan Is A Dildo
TOWER THEATER, May 24th and 25th [Tickets go on sale March 17]