FROM ATTYTOOD: 68,000,000: Dollars that could hire 170 new Philadelphia police officers for five years, or 850 officers for one year, based on official estimates of $80,000 a cop for salary, benefits and training. 68,000,000: Dollars that could almost completely close the current yawning budget gap currently faced by the Philadelphia School District, estimated now at $73.3 million. The gap has led to a series of painful cutbacks, such as the elimination of 175 administrative jobs. 68,000,000: Dollars that could hire roughly 124 new social workers for 10 years in city’s Department of Human Services (based on average city salary […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger?
Well, it would appear that the worm has finally turned. After weeks of being shut out by PW, the Daily News and even our own Election Day dead pachyderm cover, CP comes back stronger than ever. Truly, Evan M. Lopez‘s cover illustration is the finest aspirational visual representation of Christmas in the 215 since, like, ever. Seriously, we take our hat off, Sir. Meanwhile, PW‘s cover may well be pink and scrapplicious at first glance, but if you squint real hard you can almost see the marks from the hands-free headset they used to phone this one in. It just […]
Finally, A Magazine For Rich WHITE People
BALA CYNWYD, Pa. — Philadelphia’s famed Main Line is getting the glossy treatment in a magazine debuting next month. The bimonthly publication, called Mainline Magazine, will cover the arts, culture and lifestyle topics. The Main Line is a collection of tony suburbs just west of Philadelphia. The debut January/February issue [NOT pictured, left] includes a peek inside a Vanderbilt mansion, a profile of actor and former Wayne resident Bradley Whitford, and features on Philadelphia 76ers president Billy King and state Liquor Control Board chairman Jonathan Newman. “With its rich tapestry of people, cultures, business models and lifestyles, the Main Line […]
THE MONEY QUOTE: Overheard In The Tower Of Babel
“Perhaps it’s because the mainstream media are too timid to declare the difference between right and wrong. Imagine if journalism consisted of more than a collage of conflicting talking points. Imagine the difference it would make if more brand-name reporters broke from the bizarre straitjacket of ‘balance,’ which equates fairness with putting all disputants on equal epistemological footing, no matter how deceitful or moronic they may be. There’s a market for news that weighs counterclaims and assesses truth value. It just hasn’t kept up with demand. No wonder Jon Stewart has such a loyal audience: He has a point of […]
DEAR PHILLY MAG: Why We DON’T Still Love Rocky
HELLO LARRY, Since you asked, no we DON’T still love Rocky. More on that in a minute, but first let us be clear, we don’t blame you for putting Stallone on the cover — it’s a no-brainer, really. But it’s more than a little sad to watch the global media toady up to Sly, and nobody bothers to ask him why the Hell he only shows up in town when he’s got another dead horse sequel to beat. Instead of Yes Mr. Stallone, right way Mr. Stallone, how about Yo Adrian, where the hell you been? Oh, in a hot […]
COMEUPPANCE: NYT Takes Off Gloves, Explains How Judith Regan, The Queen Of Spleen, Got Remaindered
But then, Ms. Regan has actually been in the celebrity business her whole career, with her ability to sell the tatty and salacious elements of contemporary culture. She formed those skills as a reporter for The National Enquirer, but in a world where many office workers spend their days surfing for a shot of Britney Spears sans panties, that work history was a credential, not a knock. Ms. Regan always lived her public life as if it were one big MySpace page, which she filled with outrageous personal and professional behavior and intemperate words. Part of it seemed like shtick, […]
(THE LAST) STOP THE PRESSES: GUILD Ratifies Contract, Drafts, Passes And Affixes F.U. Resolution Before Sending It Back To THE COMPANY
SGT. BYKO’S FINAL REPORT: After the questions subsided and a motion was approved to start the vote, another motion was presented, and approved after some debate. That motion ?instructs the Local 10 Executive Board to discuss – and pass — a resolution saying the following: ?1- Because of their tight-fisted, slash-and-burn, anti-labor tactics, we have NO CONFIDENCE in the new owners? actual desire to publish great newspapers ?2- Because of the new owners? recent record of poor business decisions, which includes hiring executives while promising layoffs of union workers, we have NO FAITH in their desire to treat employees with […]
SMELLS LIKE JOURNALISM: Inky Rakes Pooper Scooper Thru Gaming Control Board’s Litterbox And Digs Up Some Good Shit
HARRISBURG — Former State Rep. Mark McNaughton, a longtime critic of gambling just appointed as a member of the state’s Gaming Control Board, has won thousands of dollars at casinos in recent years, according to tax returns obtained by The Inquirer. McNaughton, other records indicate, also took several trips to an Atlantic City casino with a lobbyist who represents Boyd Gaming Corp., which until September was vying for one of Pennsylvania’s coveted slots licenses. McNaughton, a five-term conservative Republican from Harrisburg, disclosed his winnings — about $15,500 between 2003 and last year — on federal income taxes but not on […]
EULOGY: Fair Thee Well Leaning TOWER of Song
KING BRITT REMEMBERS: Tower Records totally changed my whole life. I worked there in ’88, for four years. In high school I was a music nerd, so naturally I desperately wanted to work at Tower. I started as bag check dude, but moved up to 12″ singles buyer and New Age buyer in a matter of six months. Everyone who worked there were masters at their craft, and their passion for music was amazing. I thoroughly enjoyed the “team work” vibe. We all went on to do great things. Renny Harris, a major choreographer and dancer; James Bond, who owns […]
Cover Wars: Whose Artfag Kung-Fu Is Stronger
There something sick going on in Atlantic City, or shall we say something sicker than usual, which is really saying something. The Inquirer and Daily News have been reporting — and we’ve been echoing — what the cops won’t say: a monster lurks in A.C. And no, we are not just talking about Gamblor. Though authorities refuse to label him as such, a serial killer has wasted four street walkers, dumping their bodies in a drainage ditch in the briny swamplands nearby, all within a stone’s throw of each other, all facing East, towards Atlantic City. Fox News, no stranger […]
STOP THE FUCKIN’ PRESSES: If The INKY Rank n’ File Don’t Give A Damn, Why The HELL Should We?
EDITORIAL: So the Guild has a meeting last night at a synagogue near 400 North Broad street to discuss the new contract their negotiators fought tooth and nail for, shitty as it may be. And you know what? Out of nearly 1,000 guild members only 200 bothered to show up. Reminds of that great Mickey Rourke line from Rumblefish where someone asks him what California was like and he says something to the effect of: She’s like a beautiful girl on heroin, she’s high as a kite thinkin’ she’s on top of the world, not knowin’ she’s dyin’ even if […]
HOLLA: J-Kenn, Straight Outta The 610, Lord Help Us
THE WOOK SPEAKS: You gotta at least give Jamie Kennedy a shout on this front — he’s easily the second best performer ever to emerge from the 19082 — a few paces behind Tina Fey and a good mile ahead of the dead heat that is the chick from the “Blair Witch Project” and the corpse of Jim Croce. Which is to say that when “Scream” was the shizzy back in ’96, J-Kenn was assuredly Upper Darby’s Great White Hope.Which explains why 10 years on, he’s put out a rap album. Actually, the tense on that should be past, as […]
SMELLS LIKE JOURNALISM: Daily News Does Due Diligence, Puts Boots On The Ground In Atlantic City’s Sex Trade, Does Not Shy Away From Calling A Ho A ‘Ho’
Heaven and scores of other prostitutes who linger in this seaside town of glittery casinos and seedy motels know they’re playing a game far more risky than anything inside the casinos. Death has stared them in the face since four decayed bodies were found in a drainage ditch three weeks ago. All the victims were women. Three were known to Atlantic City police as prostitutes. A task force of local cops, state police and the FBI has descended on the slimiest sections of the city to trace the steps of a possible serial killer. “Sometimes I think to myself, ‘I […]