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"West Philadelphia"

Author Wes Moore to talk tonight about “The Other Wes Moore”

Posted on 24 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

wesmooreIf you have any spare time between 6 p.m. and about 7 p.m. tonight, we highly suggest you go to the Penn Bookstore (3601 Walnut St.) and hear Wes Moore talk about his New York Times Bestseller “The Other Wes Moore: One Name Two Fates.”

The book contrasts the lives of one Wes Moore, the author, who was a Rhodes Scholar, combat veteran, White House Fellow, and another Wes Moore, who is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering an off-duty Baltimore police officer. Both men grew up in the same neighborhood and are two years apart in age. The book is about how two lives that started so similarly could end up so differently.

“The chilling truth is his story could have been mine,” Moore has said. “And the tragedy is that my story could have been his.”

Here is a video clip of the author talking about the book:

 

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Saad’s reopens; fire still under investigation

Posted on 24 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

We are happy to report that Saad’s Halal Restaurant at 4500 Walnut St. has reopened after a fire on Feb. 17 that heavily damaged the three floors of apartments above the restaurant.

The fire began on a third floor apartment, according to the Philadelphia Fire Commissioner’s Office, and the cause is still under investigation. The fire destroyed the top two floors of the building, forcing out about two dozen residents. The apartments will require extensive rebuilding and the roof of the building will likely need replaced.

Saad’s suffered some water damage and minor smoke damage, but is back in business.

The fire commissioner’s office also confirmed this morning speculation that smoking in bed caused the Feb. 16 fire at the single-story Transition to Independent Living Inc. building at 4536 Spruce St. The official explanation was “discarded cigarette in unit 4.”

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PW digs deep into Windermere fire story

Posted on 23 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

fireThe Philadelphia Weekly’s Tara Murtha has taken a thorough look at the aftermath of the Windermere fire for today’s paper. The piece, “Burning Questions in West Philly Apartment Complex Fire,” fleshes out all the parties in this tragic story – from the residents protesting for access, to the owners’ PR agent to a spokesman for the Mayor’s Office. The story also introduces us to a little known city agency that seems to share in some of the responsibility – Philadelphia’s County Animal Rescue Team (PHL-CART).

Many of us have been following this story for more than a month. Murtha’s piece is a must-read for a look behind the emotions and blame to see what a breakdown in communication between a city government, its residents and private enterprise looks like.

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Grateful Dead and Phish archivists at Drexel tomorrow

Posted on 23 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

tapers
The “tapers” section of a 1985 Grateful Dead concert.

Few bands have richer concert histories than the Grateful Dead and Phish. Both bands were always far more successful touring than they ever were in the studio or on the charts. They attracted massive global followings and recordings of their concerts have been traded over the years with the enthusiasm and passion of avid baseball card collectors. Two people who play a key role in that recording history will be speaking tomorrow night at Drexel University’s Stein Auditorium (3215 Market St.) at 6 p.m.

Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux and Phish archivist Kevin Shapiro are at Drexel for two days of talks and workshops. They have been brought to campus through the University’s College of Media Arts and Design. Lemieux has helped make dozens of Grateful Dead live shows available to the public. He also interacts with a very knowledgable fan base that has grown out the Grateful Dead’s early decision to allow fans at concerts to record their shows. Shapiro has done the same for Phish.

Both archivsts help the bands make decisions about releases and preservation. They will also talk about the impact of digital technology on their work.

A podcast of Lemieux and Shapiro playing and talking about select tracks from shows in Philadelphia will be available online today. The podcast will be available from 3-7 PM as a stream via http://www.drexel.edu/westphal/events/lemieuxshapiropodcast/.

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West Philly Grown, part 2

Posted on 22 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

As promised, here is part 2 of filmmaker Clay Hereth’s documentary about The Mill Creek Farm, a neighborhood farm at 49th and Brown in West Philadelphia. See yesterday’s story for the full intro to the film and Mill Creek Farm’s work.

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New look for the Friends of Clark Park

Posted on 22 February 2011 by Mike Lyons

The Freinds of Clark Park has a new website. Brian Siano said in an e-mail today that the new site is designed to be more of a community discussion site than the old site. The site also offers the ability to share content on Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites.

Here’s a sneak peak:

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