Welcome back, kiddos. This Week’s Missed Connections has missed you dearly. Temple’s love gazes are back in full swing, and by swing, I mean swinger, and by swinger, I mean freakishly desperate for any thing they can get.
This week is a veritable children’s book of lost love. The MCs are written for a fourth grade education level and one includes an illustration. I’m serious about that.
Get it on after the jump.
A pregnant woman was found shot to death in the Frankford section of Philadelphia. Shortly after being discovered by police, the woman was rushed to Temple University Hospital where doctors were able to save the child.
The expectant young mother was killed by a single shotgun blast to her back shortly after 1 a.m. on the 4600 block of Griscomb Street, police said.
The woman, who was 28 weeks pregnant, was found by police at 1:18 a.m. inside a parked car with her legs draped out the door.
Her baby girl was expected to survive after an emergency delivery at Temple, police said. The child remains in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
[via philly.com]
Events you can’t miss:
Thursday, 7:30 p.m. @ National Mechanics (22 S. 3rd St.) – Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter presents his favorite movie as a part of the TLA Philebrity Film Screening initiative. Free. 21+.
Friday, 9:00 p.m. @ Pure Nightclub (1221 St. James St.) – Making Time provides live music from French pop act The Teenagers and record spinning from DJs Dave P, Dave Pak, Mike Z, Rock Tits DJs, Pink Skull, Adam Sparkles and Broadzilla DJs… plus, plenty of sweaty dancing. $10. 21+.
Sunday, 7:30 p.m. @ The First Unitarian Church (2125 Chestnut St., both the sanctuary and the basement) – Electric artist Dan Deacon (pictured) takes over the Church, playing a 40-minute collaborative piece with Ultimate Reality in the Sanctuary (set to a psychedelic montage of Arnold Schwarzenegger films), followed by his usual dance party in the basement. $10. All ages.
Place to check out:
Grocery (101-105 S. 13th St.) – Best place to grab lunch on the go in town. Known for their salad bar (which stocks all sorts of pasta salads, sushi and grilled and glazed tofus), Grocery also offers sandwiches, soups, coffee, organic chocolate bars and pastries. I’d recommend the Falafel, Hummus and Feta wrap. The shop is a bit pricy, but the food they sell is mostly vegetarian, with plenty of tasty vegan options and lots of gluten-free and low-fat and -carb items, too.
The Daily News’ Catherine Lucey reports today that TU Alum Andrew Altman will lead the city’s Commerce Department. Altman had previously headed city planning in Washington D.C.
The Germantown native was quoted as saying the job was a “dream come true.” Altman was credited for his work on Washington D.C.’s convention center, and the development of specific neighborhood plans there.
Altman said he looks forward to guiding development along the Delaware River. He played an instrumental role in waterfront development during his time in D.C.
A graduate of SDP’s Parkway program, Altman holds a B.A. in Geography and Urban Studies from TU, as well as a Masters in City Planning from the Massachusets Institute of Technology.
Altman will earn $180,000 a year, more than is mandated by the city charter for Commerce Director. But like managing director Camille Barnett and Police Commisioner Charles Ramsey, he will also hold the title of Deputy Mayor.
“Andy’s resume is astounding,” Mayor Nutter said. “We are quite fortunate to have him here.”
The Inquirer is reporting that Kent McGuire, (right) Dean of the College of Education, has withdrawn his name from consideration for CEO of the School District of Philadelphia.
“I just came to a judgment that there are lots of people who probably can do that CEO job,” McGuire told Susan Snyder this morning. “not as many who can do the job that I have right now, given where things are for the college.”
After reports yesterday that the District’s search committee was “underwhelmed” by the three candidates, some suggested that the process should be extended.
The two remaining candidates are Arlene Ackerman of the Columbia University Teacher’s College, and Leroy D. Nunery II, a former executive for Edison Schools, the private contractor responsible for some of Philadelphia’s schools.
Phila. Schools CEO Candidate Drops Out (Inquirer)
The Grateful Dead has hosted 53 concerts at the Wachovia Spectrum – more concerts than any other performer. Now, the site where the landmark sits may be its graveyard.
Comcast Spectacor, the owner of the sports complex, announced yesterday plans for an entertainment complex to be built between the Wachovia Center and the Spectrum. One plan, which calls for a luxury hotel, would require the demolition of the Spectrum.
The building, which can seat more than 18,000, is now home to the Philadelphia Phantoms minor league hockey, Philadelphia Kixx soccer and Philadelphia Soul arena football.
Both would have to find new homes. The Phantoms could move to Camden or Atlantic City.
The Flyers and 76ers called the building home from 1967 to 1996 before moving to the Wachovia Center. The Flyers won their first Stanley Cup there in 1974, and the Sixers hosted many playoff and finals games inside, also.
The facility made headlines in September 2006 when the statue of Rocky Balboa was permanently removed from its site at the north side of the Spectrum to its permanent home at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
Finalized plans for the entertainment complex are expected by the end of January. Preliminary drawings include a movie theater or a music hall.
Philadelphians mourned the loss of another beloved landmark in 2003 when Veterans Stadium, home to the Phillies and Eagles, was imploded.
According to NBC10.com a man was shot at 10th and Oxford, althought police have no reason to believe it was a Temple student.
The man was shot four times in an area where many students live, and is reminiscent of the shooting of repairman at the 1800 block of Norris Street.
CBS 3’s Alycia Lane was fired yesterday, the result of a series of high profile out-of-the-newsroom events, most recently punching a cop while in Manhattan.
Most suggest she will end up elsewhere, perhaps a smaller market to start. Do not be surprised to see her climbing again, her resume bolstered by an Emmy win, a hot, young face, and a well known name.
Give it no more than two years before CityPaper writes a profile on her, plopping her into a plump group of Philadelphia stars who got kicked out and did better without us. Charles Barkley, Arlen Specter, Terrell Owens, hell, Edgar Allen Poe. The list can continue.
Michael Nutter is our mayor.
Yesterday, in front of 1,500 people in the Academy of Music, Nutter gave a 40-minute inauguration speech that mirrored his campaign of hope and change.
He predicted “the greatest American city turnaround that anyone has seen in the past 50 years.”
Temple was mentioned just once in his 2,500 word inauguration address, in Nutter’s farewell to outgoing Mayor John F. Street, wishing him luck in “his new career at Temple University.” However, Nutter did make one of his specific goals to increase college educated city residents.
Street, who will become an adjunct professor at Temple this spring semester, was in attendance, in addition to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell, W. Wilson Goode Sr. and William J. Green, all city mayors
“We need to send an unmistakable message to the small minority who are holding the rest of us hostage,” he said. “You will no longer terrorize our neighborhoods. No longer will you hold us hostage in our own city.”
He is the thirty-third man to serve since the 1854 consolidation of Philadelphia County. Since Goode, Sr. came to Room 215 of City Hall in 1984, three of the last four mayors of the city have been black.
Nutter set three specific goals for his administration. Reducing the city’s homicide rate by 30 percent to 50 percent over the next three to five years, closer to 200 murders a year instead of the 392 recorded in 2007, according to the Inquirer. He called to double the number of city residents with college degrees. Philly is just 92 of the nation’s 100 largest cities for its population of college-education residents, with only 18 percent of its adult residents holding four-year bachelor’s degrees. Thirdly, he calls to drastically reduce the city’s 45 percent high school dropout rate over the next five to seven years.
“We can do that, we must do that,” Nutter exhorted. “…We must give our young people the opportunity to grow and develop and be successful.”
Rumors continue to rage that CBS 3 anchor, bad girl and tabloid side show, Alycia Lane, has been offered a chance to bare all and pose nude for Playboy magazine.
The New York Post reported the offer before Christmas, and while CBS 3 remains Lane-less, as the news starlet is on ‘vacation,’ bloggers have continued the discussion.
Lane, who first came into the national consciousness when she reportedly sent photos of herself in a bikini to a married sports anchor early this year, has gotten the attention of the region, and, increasingly, everyone in need of drama all the way to the Phoenix-based National Ledger.
According to the Post report, Playboy is considering offering a lucrative offer for Lane, whose current vacation started early after she was arrested for allegedly punching a female police officer.
