In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake. Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in. First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge […]
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 […]
WAR PIGS: Rumsfeld Shopping War Memoir
The publishing world is abuzz over the news that a former defense secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, may write a memoir justifying the military strategy for the war in Iraq. While a deal has not yet been struck, Mr. Rumsfeld has toured New York publishing houses with an outline of his book in an effort to gauge how much information he would have to disclose in the memoir in order to justify a large cash advance. A principal for the publicity firm Shirley & Banister, Craig Shirley, said such a book would have a better-than-fair shot of becoming a bestseller if it was […]
This Is Your Government’s Brain On 911 Mics of Terror
A man allegedly upset over a long wait for apple juice caused a flight headed to North Carolina to be diverted to Philadelphia. Officials say the man became irate and used profanity aboard a Delta flight from LaGuardia airport in New York to Greensboro, NC on Tuesday afternoon around 5pm. The flight was diverted to Philadelphia, where it was determined that the man had become upset over a lengthy wait for some apple juice he had ordered. Philadelphia police said they won’t file any local charges. Later, the FBI said it wouldn’t be filing any charges either. After a thorough […]
MELROSE SHOCKER: New Owner After 70 Years
After more than seven decades, the Melrose Diner got a new owner on Wednesday as Richard Kubach Jr. handed the keys over to Michael Petrogiannis. Derrick Rice was heading for lunch at the Melrose Diner, 15th and Snyder Avenue in South Philadelphia, when he heard the news: “I’ve been coming here since I was a little kid. It’s a shocker right now.” He says he hopes the new owner doesn’t tinker with anything — especially in the kitchen. There are some who hope to see changes, perhaps some new items on the menu and more food on the plate. KYW: […]
How Privileged White Suburban Assholes Get Made
BY MONICA YANT KINNEY INQUIRER COLUMNIST Imagine having your house ravaged by hard-drinking teenagers who doused your clothes with urine, pooped on your piano, and played catch with 10 pounds of homemade meatballs while you were away for the day. Imagine watching the kids who got caught get off without so much as an hour of community service, a mandatory essay, or an AA meeting. Not one of the 10 Haddonfield teens who struck plea deals last week apologized in court unprompted. Only after being nudged by a judge did two boys and one parent say, uh, sorry. If juvenile […]
BOOKS: The Dangerous Book For Boys
BY KAREN HELLER INQUIRER COLUMNIST Could there be a more brilliant title than The Dangerous Book for Boys? This handsome volume, authored by brothers Conn and Hal Iggulden, proffers advice on such essentials as spiders, poker, invisible ink, skinning a rabbit and making a go-cart, things every boy’s father knew as a boy. OK, let’s not kid ourselves here. Every boy’s grandfather. A phenomenon in the authors’ native England where it was published a year ago, Dangerous was named British Book of the Year, with more than half a million copies in print. Since its May debut on these shores, […]
THE EARLY WORD: Kilroy Will Be Here
Yes, it’s this guy.
TECH: 7 Things To Consider Before Buying An iPhone
BY MARIA GODY OF NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO Apple’s iPhone isn’t even for sale yet, but already, consumers are lining up to purchase the gadget. But do you really need the iPhone? Here are seven factors to consider before you buy: 1. The Cool Factor: As is true for many other Apple products, the iPhone’s biggest “I want that” factor is its sleek styling. “If you love Apple, you love their gadgets, you have an iPod, you’ll be one of the first in line,” says Kent German, senior editor for cell phones at CNET.com, a technology news and reviews site. The […]
THE AFTERLIFE: No One Here Gets Out Alive
MARTIN LUTHER: Is So Not Amused, circa 1529 BY AMY Z QUINN There’s a scene from The Sopranos a couple of seasons back when Paulie Gaultieri storms out of his pastor’s office in indignation after learning that all the cash he’d given the parish over the years wouldn’t keep him out of Hell when he died (God forbid). I’m reminded of that this week after learning that in recognition of its 200th birthday, the Archdiocese of Philadelphia is offering its flock a gift — plenary indulgences, designed to shorten the time a sinner spends in Satan’s Waiting Room, aka purgatory. […]
EXIT INTERVIEW: Steve Volk Kicks Ass
BY JONATHAN VALANIA As we reported earlier this week, PW Senior Writer Steve Volk — obsessive Bowie-phile, tireless chronicler of all things Beanie, daring dissector of the unholy marriage of crime and justice in this city, intrepid shiner of the Fourth Estate’s disinfecting sunshine upon the dark places where gay meets meth — is leaving the alt-weekly to take a staff writer gig at Philadelphia Magazine. We’ve known Steve a long time and aside from his impressive paper trail and his storage locker full of journo awards — hey, look at this, Steve Volk just took Second Place in the […]
HOT DOCUMENT: The Day The Music Died
Philadelphia, PA — June 22, 2007 — WXPN, the nationally-recognized leader in Triple A music and a noncommercial radio service of the University of Pennsylvania, today announced that it wlll join other Internet radio providers in a “Day of Silence” to protest higher royalty rates expected to go into effect on or after July 15th. Silence is what Internet radio may sound like after that date because of a royalty rate hike scheduled to go into effect. The new rates will also be retroactive for 17 months and payment will become due to the SoundExchange collection organization under the terms of […]
NPR FOR THE DEAF: We Hear It Even When You Can’t
FRESH AIR Frank Burd and Ed Klein are Philadelphia public school teachers who were attacked on the job. Both Burd, a math teacher, and Klein, a music teacher, talk about the difficulties of teaching in inner city schools. RADIO TIMES Hour 1 A conversation with two Philadelphia School principals. BARBARA ADDERLEY, principal of Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia and STERLING GARRIS, principal of Blaine Elementary School in Strawberry Mansion have been lauded for dramatic academic turnarounds in their schools. We talk with them about how they have achieved success despite enormous obstacles. Hour 2 Presidential historian ROBERT DALLEK‘s new […]