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Archive for “Power” news
The 50 Most Influential Jews in the World
By Liz Spikol 5/15/2013
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The Jerusalem Post released its hotly anticipated "50 most influential Jews in the world" today, and all we can say is, there are probably a couple dozen mothers out there who are plotzing. So much better than being a dentist.
Below, I've singled out some favorites, particularly those with a local connection. Enjoy!
Binyamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel
Rank: No. 3
Local connection: Bibi went to Cheltenham High School, from which he graduated, and which obviously determined his success as a world leader. The best sentence on his entire Wiki page is this one: "To this day, he speaks American English with
Another One Bites the Dust: Lenfest Foundation to Cease Grant Giving
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 3/25/2013
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One of Philadelphia's mega-philanthropies is willingly winding down its operations, after more than a decade of mega-giving. The Lenfest Foundation, which was founded by billionaire H.F. "Gerry" Lenfest and his wife Marguerite, is planning to sunset most of its major investments over the next 10 to 15 years. Lenfest, personally and through his charity, has disbursed $1.2 billion to Philly-area programs since founding the group in 2000. The 82-year old also chairs the board of the Interstate Media Group, which owns the Daily News and the Inquirer. [Insert snarky joke about having enough charities on his hands already.]
"I'm not in
If You Were John Boehner, Your Ass Would Be Fired
By Sandy Hingston 2/20/2013
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All hail Presidents Day, known for automobile sales and bearable traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway. It’s not really a day for thinking about politics. Yet here’s what I was mulling over on Monday on my day off from work:
A Video of Marco Rubio Drinking Water in Slow-Motion
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/13/2013
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Here, re-live the Gulp Heard 'Round the World, delivered during Marco Rubio's inevitably lame State of the Union response. (SOTU speeches are tough acts to follow.) If Rubio's parched, grasping swig was a ploy to engender sympathy from skeptical Dems and Independents, it worked. You had to feel bad for the guy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMH9dAG3PMg
Fairmount Park Conservancy the Latest Victim of William Penn Foundation Grant Suspensions
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/12/2013
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Last night, City Paper reported that the $2 billion William Penn Foundation would be suspending grants to city-related agencies indefinitely. The report identified a funding request for Bartram's Mile, a trail extension linking the East and West banks of the Schulykill River, though it's unclear which group applied for the grant.
Today, I learned that the Fairmount Park Conservancy also received a letter announcing that its grant application had been suspended. (FPC operates under a public-private partnership.) The proposal, submitted in late 2012, requested $75,000 for planning work in West Fairmount Park. FPC Executive Director Kathryn Ott Lovell says she's not
Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch Dies
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 2/01/2013
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Ed Koch, the outspoken, sly-witted "mayor for life" (or three terms) of New York City, died this morning at the age of 88 in New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Koch presided over the city during the heyday of crime, the crack cocaine epidemic, and the AIDS crisis in the late '70s and '80s. In 1989 he was unseated by David Dinkins, the city's first black mayor. "Koch," a documentary about his mayorship premiered this week at the Museum of Modern Art, but he was unable to attend. [Reuters]
Update: Here are some choice quotes culled by the Atlantic Cities
Koch on "life in the country,"
10 Historic Buildings Philly Lost in 2012
By Simon van Zuylen-Wood 1/04/2013
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Hidden City Philadelphia has compiled a sad list of gorgeous old churches, abandoned factories, and 19th century homes that were demolished this year. Lowlights include the Frankford Central United Methodist Church and the Frankford Arsenal, which "may be the greatest wholesale loss of historic buildings since nine blocks around Independence Hall were torn down to create Independence Mall in the 1950s." Hidden City isn't just mourning; it also calls out developers like Bart Blatstein for letting some of these abandoned properties--which he owns--go to waste. [Hidden City Philadelphia]
Former Inquirer Editor the Most Clueless Man in America
By Timothy Haas 11/13/2012
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Or so his wife says. Vernon Loeb, the former deputy managing editor at the Inky and current Washington Post metro editor who co-wrote the the David Petraeus bio All In with the now-infamous Paula Broadwell, dishes on his dogged obliviousness:
I always wondered how Petraeus justified his relationship with her to his command staff in Afghanistan. Surely, eyebrows were raised, given the access she received. Female colleagues of mine weren’t shy in remarking about Broadwell’s good looks and her affinity for flashy, cocktail party attire even at staid national security conferences.
Was something going on with Petraeus? I always said I didn’t
A Casino at the Sports Complex in South Philly?
By Mike Bertha 11/02/2012
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Casino at the Sports Complex? Bart Blatstein isn't the only one with his eyes on Philly's second casino license. Bob Green and his Greenwood Gaming & Entertainment Inc.—the folks behind Parx—have worked out a deal to team with the Cordish Cos. of Baltimore to acquire the Holiday Inn in South Philly and make it a part of a casino near the stadiums and major highways in South Philly. [Inquirer]
Romney Visits Bucks County. Mitt Romney will hold a campaign rally at Shady Brook Farm in Yardley, Bucks County on Sunday evening. It's the latest sign that the GOP candidate thinks he
Disney Buys Lucasfilm for $4.05 Billion, Announces New Star Wars Movie
By Mike Bertha 10/30/2012
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IT'S A TRAP! Disney has announced its acquisition of Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion. Lucasfilm is the production company behind the Star Wars franchise. The Walt Disney company has also announced that folks should expect Star Wars Episode VII to come out sometime in 2015.
Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney stock on October 26, 2012, the transaction value is $4.05 billion, with Disney paying approximately half of the consideration in cash and issuing approximately 40 million shares at closing. The final consideration will be subject to customary
