In the News

Golf world's eyes on Ardmore, Mother Nature for U.S. Open

USA TOday Thursday, June 13, 2013

Heavy rains threatened the layout and play at the U.S. Open at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, reports USA Today.

The two most flood-prone holes are Nos. 11 and No. 12. Last week tropical storm Andrea dropped about 3½ inches of rain on the course. Rain continued Monday, and the Weather Channel forecast more rain for today and a 70% chance of thunderstorms Thursday.

Original source: USA Today

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In a very unscientific survey, Philadelphia is the capital of bacon

Estately Thursday, June 13, 2013

With its restaurants serving taco shells made of bacon and deep-fried oysters with bacon aioli, Philadelphia, also the hometown of actor Kevin Bacon, earned the title of No. 1 city for bacon lovers according to the Estately blog.

- Philly is the sixth largest bacon market in America.

- Three area restaurants have been featured on United States of Bacon.

- Local burger chain PYT made a taco shell out of bacon because this is Philadelphia and anything bacon is possible in Philadelphia.

- Dip your deep-fried oysters in bacon aioli at Cochon (French for “pig”).

- The father of modern Philadelphia was famed city planner Edmund Bacon, father of Kevin Bacon.

- Jake’s Sandwich Board is famed for its Turbacon, a sandwich version of a Turducken, but with smoked pork in place of duck.

Original source: Estately

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LGBT senior housing rises in Philadelphia's Center City

The Advocate Thursday, June 06, 2013

The Advocate reports on Philadelphia's first LGBT senior housing development, located in Philadelphia's Gayborhood section in Center City.

The six-story, 56-unit John C. Anderson Apartments is now rising in the heart of Philly’s gay village, with hopes of opening at the end of the year. Mayor Michael Nutter, along with Mark Segal — the publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News and founder of Gay Youth, one of the nation’s first organizations for LGBT teens — championed the $19.5 million project.

Original source: The Advocate

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Origami as a drug delivery device? UPenn researchers are working on it

R&D Magazine Thursday, June 06, 2013

A research team from the University of Pennsylvania received a grant recently to investigate origami as a tool for drug delivery, reports R&D Magazine.

Collaborating with researchers at Cornell Univ., the Penn team will share in a $2-million, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation’s Div. of Emerging Frontiers in Research and Innovation. The grant is through a program called ODISSEI, or Origami Design For The Integration Of Self-assembling Systems For Engineering Innovation.

The program draws inspiration from the Japanese art of paper folding, but the Penn team suggested adding a variant of the technique, known as kirigami, in which the paper can be cut as well as folded. Allowing for cuts and holes in the material makes it easier to fold rigid, three-dimensional structures.

Original source: R&D Magazine

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Kids in a candy store: Brothers turn historic Shane Confectionery into sweet retail space

Smithsonian Magazine Thursday, May 30, 2013

Smithsonian Magazine writes about brothers Shane and Ryan Berley, who purchased and restored the oldest continuously operated candy store in the country, Shane Confectionery in Philadelphia.

Originally, Shane’s fed off the foot traffic of commuters ferried between Philadelphia and Camden, New Jersey. The traffic slowed to a toddle in 1926 with the opening of the Delaware River Bridge, later renamed for Ben Franklin. World War II sugar shortages and late 20th-century urban blight also swallowed up profits. By 2010 the third-floor workshop was in disarray, the antique machinery in disrepair, the chocolate empire nearing, well...meltdown.

Enter the Berleys, proprietors of the Franklin Fountain, a vintage ice-cream parlor a few doors down Market Street. The brothers bought in, boned up on the store’s history and embarked on a painstaking restoration. They ripped up the linoleum flooring to expose the original pine and bird’s-eye maple and repainted the woodwork in Long Gallery and Grand Staircase blue, shades nicked from the palette at Independence Hall.

Original source: Smithsonian Magazine

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See Amtrak's new 110mph trains running between Philadelphia and Harrisburg

The New York Times Thursday, May 16, 2013

The New York Times reports on Amtrak's new, modernized fleet of trains that will operate on the Northeast Corridor and Keystone routes.

The new locomotives will be on regular trains, not the railroad’s high-speed Acela line, which reaches top speeds of 150 m.p.h.

“The new Amtrak locomotives will help power the economic future of the Northeast region, provide more reliable and efficient service for passengers, and support the rebirth of rail manufacturing in America,” said Joseph H. Boardman, Amtrak’s president and chief executive.

Original source: The New York Times

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Philadelphia business intelligence startup RJMetrics raises $6M-plus

TechCrunch Thursday, May 16, 2013

RJMetrics, a Philadelphia startup whose co-founder Bob Moore we recently profiled, had a big day this week when it announced a $6.25 million investment in the five year-old business intelligence startup from Trinity Ventures, reports TechCrunch.

The core RJMetrics product grew out of Moore’s own data analysis work (which has separately resulted in some great guest posts for TechCrunch, like this formative 2009 analysis of Twitter user behavior). The new funding round, which includes participation from existing investor SoftTech VC, will go towards sales and marketing. With the overall growth in the Saas BI industry, Moore says it’s time to focus on the ecommerce part of it.

Original source: TechCrunch

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Luring new teachers with new apartments in Philadelphia

The New York Times Thursday, May 09, 2013

The New York Times reports on a Philadelphia initiative that offers discounted, new apartments to would-be teachers in the hopes of attracting quality educators to the neighborhoods in which they will teach.

The idea of bringing educators together in an affordable, supportive housing complex is intended to make teaching in city public schools a more attractive option — particularly for those new to the profession — and to reduce the risks of burnout.

“It’s an especially hard job for young teachers who relocate from other cities and find themselves among tough students in poor neighborhoods,” said Greg Hill, a principal, along with Gabe Canuso, of D3 Real Estate Development, which is leading the $36 million project. “We’re creating a community of like-minded people.”

Original source: The New York Times

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Temple University research connects cannabis with HIV treatment

Wired Thursday, May 09, 2013

Wired UK reports on Temple University research that indicates that THC, the chemical and high-inducing compound found in marijuana, can weaken the most common strain of the HIV virus.

Pathologist Yuri Persidsky from Temple University, one of the study's authors, said: "The synthetic compounds we used in our study may show promise in helping the body fight HIV-1 infection. As compounds like these are improved further and made widely available, we will continue to explore their potential to fight other viral diseases that are notoriously difficult to treat."

Original source: Wired UK

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'Rocky' musical jabs Broadway

The New York Times Thursday, May 02, 2013

A legendary Philadelphia boxer sings his way to the big time -- The Rocky musical is heading to Broadway.

The show -- conceived by Sylvester Stallone, who wrote and starred in the original “Rocky” -- had its world premiere opening in Hamburg in November and received positive reviews from German theater critics for its gritty realism and inventively staged boxing sequences...

"The title has very high recognition, so I’m sure tourists will want to see it, but we wouldn’t bring it to New York if we didn’t think it would appeal to traditional theatergoers,” said Mr. Taylor, chief executive officer and producer of Stage Entertainment USA. “I’m aware that ‘Rocky’ might be perceived as an odd choice for a musical, and there will be some raised eyebrows, but I think what people see will not be what they are expecting."

Original source: The New York Times
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Shiny, happy Philly: City ranks 7th happiest for young professionals

Forbes Thursday, May 02, 2013

The City of Brotherly Love is also a place for happiness, at least among young professionals. Philadelphia comes in at No. 7 on the list.

That’s according to CareerBliss.com, an online career site that just released its list of the 10 happiest cities for young professionals, based on analysis from more than 45,000 employee generated reviews between April 2012 and March 2013. Young professionals, defined by CareerBliss as employees with less than 10 years’ experience in a full-time position, were asked to evaluate ten factors that affect workplace happiness. Those include one’s relationship with the boss and co-workers, work environment, job resources, compensation, growth opportunities, company culture, company reputation, daily tasks, and control over the work one does on a daily basis.

Original source: Forbes.com
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Pong song: World's largest video game played on Philadelphia's Cira Centre

Ars Technica Thursday, April 25, 2013

Ars Technica goes behind the scenes of the world's largest video game played right in Philly -- a traditional game of Pong displayed on Center City's CIra Centre building.

A crowd of well over 100 gathered near the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Friday, despite rising winds and the looming threat of a thunderstorm. We were all there to play (and to watch) Pong, but not on an arcade cabinet—the version we'd be playing would be played out on the programmable LED lights lining the side of Philadelphia's Cira Centre, a 29-story office building across the Schuylkill River from the museum. The lights, normally used to display static images or simple looping patterns, had been transformed into a fully interactive game of Pong by Drexel computer science professor (and Co-Founder and Co-Director of Drexel's game design program) Frank Lee and his team in just a few short months. It's being billed by the event organizers as the "world's largest video game."

Original source: Ars Technica
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UPenn prof's new book, The Anatomy of Violence, addresses seeds of aggression and tragedies like Bos

Time Thursday, April 25, 2013

University of Pennsylvania professor and criminologist Adrian Raine tries to answer some difficult questions for Time magazine, including what plants seeds of violence that lead to tragedies like the Boston Marathon bombings.

The question on everyone’s minds now is why…

Most mass killers have mixed motives, but more often than not there is a fundamental grievance, a score that needs to be settled with society. For [the older brother], the earlier questioning by the FBI and rejection of his application for US citizenship could have been a contributing factor that got wrapped up with political ideology and a dissatisfaction with his own life. But likely a complex combination of factors created this toxic mix – likely a biological predisposition to violence combined with social triggers and mild mental illness.

Original source: Time

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Philadelphia's East Passyunk Ave. named one of Food & Wine's best foodie streets

Food & Wine Thursday, April 18, 2013

Food & Wine includes South Philadelphia's East Passyunk Avenue among its best streets for foodies.

Philadelphia’s East Passyunk Avenue has fantastic restaurants like the elegant Fond, a terrific vintage store and the place to go for delicious limoncello.

Original source: Food & Wine

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'Outsiders' take over Philadelphia Museum of Art

The New York Times Thursday, April 18, 2013

The New York Times shines a light on an exhibition of outsider art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. "Great and Mighty Things: Outsider Art From the Jill and Sheldon Bonovitz Collection," celebrates the impending donation of the collection to the museum.

To a man, and a woman, the artists in the Bonovitz collection all made some form of magic whose power and urgency throw down a gauntlet, especially considering much of what passes for contemporary art these days. Sometimes they responded to their everyday surroundings. That’s the case with the shadowy drawings and angular constructions fashioned from soot, spit, string and cardboard with which Castle, who could neither hear nor speak, recorded the rough life on his family’s farm in rural Idaho. It’s also true of the sharp, prancing silhouettes with which Traylor expressed his amusement at the human comedy of African-American life in the South.

The show runs through June 9.

Original source: The New York Times

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