INQUIRER: The state Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether Pennsylvanians will be able to walk into their local grocery or corner store and pick up a six-pack of beer along with toilet paper and a carton of milk. The case grew out of a central Pennsylvania chain’s long-running attempt to capitalize on the state’s arcane liquor laws and sell six-packs at one of its convenience stores. A victory for Sheetz Inc. could produce new profits for such chains and supermarkets. It could also mean major competition for the hundreds of traditional beer distributors. They worry that customers will stop […]
REAL ESTATE: A Skycraper Grows In West Philly
The University of Pennsylvania and Brandywine Realty Trust will announce plans today for a dramatic residential, commercial and hotel project on 30th Street. The 14-acre Cira Centre South project, which includes a 40- to 50-story office tower on Walnut Street and a 25- to 30-story residential tower on Chestnut Street, will be developed by a partnership of the university and Brandywine, which is based in Radnor. Penn president Amy Gutmann said in an interview yesterday that the project would help unite University City with Center City and provide a gleaming “Gateway to the University.” The post office conversion and construction […]
ENERGY: Major Solar Plant Breaks Ground In Bucks
KYW: Ground will be broken in November for the 16?-acre plant at the base of Waste Management’s GROWS landfill in Falls Township.Tim Brown is a spokesman for Exelon, which is partnering with the German firm Epuron and SunTechnics Energy Systems. “We’re gonna have 17,000 solar panels, which is gonna result in the fourth largest solar project in the country.” Governor Rendell is hoping it will spur the legislature to pass his proposed energy independence initiative. “The impact of this for the environment is obvious.The impact for helping us free our dependence on foreign natural gas and oil is dramatic and […]
UNEXPLAINED: Millions Of Spiders Spin Massive Web
WILLS POINT, Tex., Aug. 29 — Most spiders are solitary creatures. So the discovery of a vast web crawling with millions of spiders that is spreading across several acres of a North Texas park is causing a stir among scientists, and park visitors. Sheets of web have encased several mature oak trees and are thick enough in places to block out the sun along a nature trail at Lake Tawakoni State Park, near this town about 50 miles east of Dallas. The gossamer strands, slowly overtaking a lakefront peninsula, emit a fetid odor, perhaps from the dead insects entwined in […]
HOT GOSSIP: The Stars Are Insane
MSNBC: A source close to Owen Wilson revealed to “Access” that Wilson did not overdose as other outlets have reported. While Owen did slit his wrists, his stomach was never pumped at the hospital. There were no drugs in his system, the source claims, other than the antidepressants he was taking at the time. DAILY MAIL: Courtney Love, 43, who had an affair with Steve Coogan after he moved to the U.S. three years ago, said: “Under normal circumstances I would not comment but I care too much about Owen. I went through it with Steve. I was just out […]
ELLIOTT SMITH: Needle In The Hay
PEOPLE: But Extra reports that Wilson attempted suicide over the weekend after being depressed for several months, and that it was his brother Luke Andrew who found him.
FBI FILES: Hoover’s G-Men Spied On MLK’s Widow Long After His Assassination; White House & Pentagon Feared Her Involvement In The Anti-War Movement
After more than a year’s work, KHOU-TV in Houston and its investigative unit, 11 News Defenders, have obtained a world-exclusive first look at the FBI’s file on Coretta Scott King. Comprised of nearly 500 pages, with some of those documents partially or totally censored, the intelligence file paints a disturbing picture: The FBI very closely spied and did surveillance on Scott King for years, keeping close track of her public appearances, speeches and especially anytime she traveled. Why would a federal agency go to such trouble? For most of his life FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover ruled the Bureau with […]
THE BREAKDOWN: The Clash Of Civilizations
BY M. EMANUEL For the sake of hip hop, on Sept. 11, make tracks to your local music spot, your iTunes, your friendly neighborhood Target store, or wherever you legally buy music and purchase two copies of Kanye West’s eagerly anticipated Graduation. Why two? Well, the extra copy will go a long way in assuring that Kanye wins round one of his faux-WWE Smackdown-esque showdown with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. The infamous date and ensuing hype surrounding the respective releases is to be expected, as West and 50 are considered in most circles as the two biggest rap stars in […]
BREAKING: Justice Dept. Investigating Attorney General Gonzales For Lying To Congress Under Oath
WASHINGTON POST: The Justice Department is investigating whether departing Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales gave false or misleading testimony to Congress on a broad range of issues, including the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program and the removal of nine U.S. attorneys last year, the lead investigator said today. The disclosure by Inspector General Glenn A. Fine shows that internal investigations that began with the prosecutor firings have widened substantially to include a focus on Gonzales’s actions and statements.
THE TAO OF EVA: Not For All The Coors Light In China
BY EVA LIAO — BEIJING, CHINA — On the day we fly to the Republic Of China, my father and I meet my mother at Chiang Kai-Shek Airport, where she is flying in from the U.S. (Click here to get the backstory on my mom) When she arrives, it’s obvious my mom’s already drunk. It’s 8 a.m. While we’re standing in a very long, very static check-in line, my mother and I decide to make a trip to the bathroom. Before I’m even able to pull my pants down, I hear the distinctive click and woosh of a […]
PAPERBOY: “Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical” Edition
BY AMY Z. QUINN 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. Hey, we know how it is — so many words to read, so little time to surf for free porn. That’s why every week, PAPERBOY does your alt-weekly reading for you, freeing up […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIRWAY TO HEAVEN Robert Plant is the former lead singer of the band Led Zeppelin, one of the most influential pioneers of heavy metal music. Plant was born in West Bromwich but grew up in Halesowen, formerly Worcestershire, now part of the Metropolitan Borough of Dudley. He left school in his mid-teens and developed a strong passion for the blues, abandoning a promising career as a chartered accountant to become part of the Midlands blues scene.[1] His early blues influences included artists such as Robert Johnson, Bukka White, Skip James, Jerry Miller and Sleepy John Estes. Plant did various […]
Explainer: How To Use Phawker
Think of us as alternative weekly that publishes every frickin’ day! Take as needed. Refresh early and often. Remember that we have nothing to fear but fear itself and it’s what you DON”T know that can hurt you. And know that Phawker is always there for you when you need it — as long as you pay your electric bill — because Phawker is always on. Always we are looking out for you, always we are watching you watching us, especially during BREAKING NEWS of local urgency. Like KYW but without the traffic reports and those fucking typewriters clacking away […]