The Matthewdelphia Media

2009-08-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

THE MATTHEWDELPHIA MEDIA is being moved to MatthewPetrillo.wordpress.com

...still debating if I like that idea or not!

2009-07-31T09:22:00.001-07:00

On the scene: Nutter-led rally

Friday, July 31st, 2009 at 9:10 am

categories News, State Politicians Screwing Philly, State Politics, The Budget,The End of Days, The Mayor, the budget crisis

Photo | Matt Petrillo

Controller candidate Al Schmidt objects to
Nutter's position, and came out to tell
people so.

Mayor Nutter led a rally in the City Hall courtyard calling on state legislators to approve two measures — allowing the city to raise its sales tax temporarily by one percent, and allowing it to reform its pension payments — that would enable Philadelphia to meet its budget goals without draconian cuts.

Dozens of city workers, protesters and (not thatmany) other supporters gathered before the 2 p.m. meeting, to which Nutter arrived a fashionable 20 minutes late. "Philadelphia is about to get in a lot of trouble," commented one woman as he approached the mic. The entire audience then began to chant, "No more budget cuts! No more budget cuts ... " to which the mayor replied, "I agree with you!"

He began his speech by noting the social, political and economic significance of Philadelphia: "This is the birth place of freedom, liberty and democracy!" He then got down to business, saying that he is not asking for a penny from the state, but instead, for it to approve the two provisions to his budget plan. "We cannot run a government solely on hope," he said. "We need money!"

Al Schmidt, a candidate for city controller, disagrees with Nutter and believes that the mayor has betrayed the public's trust. "Philadelphia has the highest taxes and the highest debt [of] any other city in the nation. [Nutter] is borrowing more and more money, and still saying we don't have enough. It's bologna," Schmidt said, while supporters at his side held signs for his campaign.

Nutter said that without his plan, the city will face dire consequences, including reducing trash pick-up from once a week to twice a month (eliminating 350 street worker positions); a reduction of 972 police officers; the closing of fire stations (eliminating nearly 200 positions), two Health Centers (resulting in a loss of 112 positions); all branch and regional libraries (eliminating 490 positions); recreation centers, parks and numerous department agencies. This would have an accumulated total of approximately 3,000 eliminated positions.

"This doesn't have to happen," he reassured the public. "I'm not asking for a handout. I'm asking for a hand."

The audience clapped for the mayor after he finished his speech, but people seemed baffled by the situation. "We need the schools! We need to help our children! What is going on with this city?" a woman declared after the applause.

"Believe it or not," a man replied, "it's really up to the governor."

2009-07-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

Gnome Watch 2009: Travelocity’s mascot plans his itinerary at the GPTMC

Friday, July 24th, 2009 at 9:57 am

posted by Matt Petrillo

categories Philaphemera, Things We See, What We've Found, WhoWhatWhere

Meredith Edlow, GPTMC

Although he's quiet, reserved, and stands just under 2 feet tall, the audacious creature-person brought to Philadelphia by Travelocity is tackling our city one lawn at a time, and he's doing it like a star. Roaming Gnome landed in Philly yesterday as part of Travelocity's Summer of Possibilities national six-week tour.

The travel agent company has the nation vote among three cities every week for the Gnome to visit. The contest drew in roughly 50,000 votes among Washington D.C., Boston and Philly, with our city nailing a whopping 21,000 votes — just a grand more than runner-up Boston.

"If you truly look at history, Boston is important. But Philadelphia is quintessential," says Cara Schneider, media relations director of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corp. (GPTMC). "If you look at Philly's neighborhood fabric, life in the city, food and culture and history, you couldn't have America without Philadelphia."

Meredith Edlow, GPTMC
Schneider met with the iconic traveling lawn piece yesterday to schedule events for his stay in Philadelphia.Although the Gnome's crew is not aware of their next destination until the day before take-off, Schneider says that since his arrival in Philly, the Gnome has been making a lot of friends. "He was kissed, hugged, bitten and cooed about by the whole staff," she says. "And let’s remember, he’s the spirit of travel. He, and his handlers, are on the road to inspire wanderlust."

Some stops: the steps of the Art Museum, Saturday's Phillies game (at which the Gnome is rumored to meet the Phanatic) and other destinations around the city. Today at 10:30 a.m., you can catch Gnomey at the Comcast Building. Afterward, he's heading for Boat House Row and then Reading Terminal. For happy hour this evening, he'll be drinking at McGillin's.

If you see the Roaming Gnome, take a snapshot and send it our way (e-mail carolyn.huckabay@citypaper.net); and remember, even if you don't want a picture with him, according to his Twitter, Roaming Gnome is giving away "Free hugs for everyone! Come here so I can plant a smackeroo on your cheek."

Make out session with a gnome? I'm game!

Dear Incoming freshman: College is about using your brain

2009-07-21T13:54:00.000-07:00

Most college students have had their own experiences with their Resident Assistants--whether good or bad-- from the blinded perspective of the resident. But what does an RA really do? What does it take? And who are the men and women who help freshman transition from high school into the real world.

Experience the dorm life of freshman college students from the perspective of a Resident Assistant– who struggles to find the balance between friendship and authority-- and illustrates that for most R.A.’s, free room, board, and meals are not enough to sustain oneself through the tribulations of dorm life.

Most posts will explain just that: a story that I was caught in during my time as an RA. But those stories won't begin for three more weeks, when I begin R.A. training!

So, before then, I feel compelled to give incoming frosh a few tips that they should be aware of before entering college life in Philly:

--Be cheap. At school, a lot is already paid for: housing, food (if you have a meal plan). But a lot isn't, like books. Although books seem fundamentally necessary, they haven't been used at all in half of the classes I've take thus far.

--Be very careful and thrifty about the books you buy and always buy used. At first it may feel gross, but you'll learn to appreciate that weird odor the book give off after you save potentially hundreds a year. School bookstores know students are poor, yet with inflated prices, students are constantly being robbed. Try buying books online. BookFinder.com is an awesome website that searches half.com, amazon.com, and other for the cheapest books.

--If you're going to have a fridge in your room, and if that fridge is going to hold bottled water, reuse the plastic bottles. You don't realize how much bottled water you drink until you have to start paying for it yourself, and everything adds up. Most floors in dorm buildings have at least one water fountain, which, by the way, is probablycleaner than the water you drink, anyway.

-- Stock up on Septa tokens and take the subway. I was scared at the subway at first, but it's the second best way to get around the city, and half the point of attending school in Philly is too explore the city! Philadelphia happens to be small enough to walk through, but taking the subway is not only really easy (you can either go North, South East or West..Temple is in North Phila.), it's fast and inexpensive. Tokens can be purchased at 7-11's, or most subway stations. I'm telling you to stock up on tokens, because it's really annoying (and more expensive) to pay $2.00 cash to get on the sub when you don't have a token on you.

--The subway is useful, but not as useful as having a bike in the city. There's so much to do in the city that it will probably take most of your college time in the city to do half of it all! The subway can only take you so far, but the entire city is accessible by bike.

-- Make sure your meal plan comes with Diamond Dollars if you go to Temple. Most meal plans will give you x-number of meals as well as a couple hundred dollars that are only spendable on school grounds. At Temple they're called Diamond Dollars. Drexel has "Dragon dollars," and so on. They're automatically put onto most college I.D. cards. The more the better, because you can buy things without spending money from your own wallet.

-- Philly does have better shopping (i.e. South Street and Old City) but worse hours. Stores close typically around 7PM. If you plan on adventuring into Center City to shop like a bunch of high school mall rats, I'm happy to disappoint you: you can't.

-- Having your own computer (and printer) is not necessary. While it is super helpful and even more convenient; if you're really looking to save money, you don't need one. At Temple, every dorm is equipped with a small but efficient computer lab, and most schools have at least on Super Computer Lab.

--College's purpose, however, isn't to explore the city. It's to earn a degree. To do that you have to (pay your tuition and) do a lot of work. Make sure when writing papers, especially long-ass 10 pages papers that compares Sharpay Evans with popular culture, you cite your work. The more sources, the more work it seems that you put into your paper; although without a proper works cited page, your paper means nothing. A works cited page is the last thing a professor looks at, so it must be perfect. If your too lazy to learn how to cite, Ottobib.com, among other cites, will do the work for you!

--Another helpful tech-hint: If you have a cell phone, make sure that you have unlimited texting. When you're trying to tell a dozen people you can't go to fourth meal because you're in a computer lab working on a ten page paper about Sharpay Evans with barely any phone service, a text messaging is always useful. And I hear texting makes you smarter, too!

--One-and-a-half last tips: Microsoft Office (which includes Word) is expensive. Many colleges can give it you for a discounted price, but there are other cheaper options. I am currently using Google docs to type this, which has the same functionality as Word, but is free. There are other free software that you can download to replace expensive suites as well. If you already have Word (or another typing program), however, make sure you invest in a flash drive. And when I say, invest, I mean: they're really inexpensive and you better buy one before college because they're super useful!! Flash drives allows you to carry documents on the go and to easily transfer files from different computers. Of course, as long as you have the Internet, Google docs does the same thing. For free.

Most importantly, as an RA, I am telling you all: DO NOT leave the popcorn in the microwave for too long. Because it will burn. And the fire alarm will go off. And the entire building will have to go through an annoying fire alarm for burnt popcorn. And everyone will hate you.

Make sure to leave a comment if you have any other tips!

Oh, one last thing. I can bet one of your friends are bound to drop out this year. Don't be that friend. College can be super fun, but the main reason kids go to school is to get the hell out of their houses. And you can't do that if you don't do well in your classes.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/freakapotimus/ / CC BY 2.0

2009-07-11T21:14:00.001-07:00

Rendell proposes to drastically raise tuition at “state-related” schools (in effect)

Friday, July 10th, 2009 at 9:30 am

posted by Matt Petrillo

categories News, State Politics, The Budget, schools, the budget crisis

Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette

Slashy slashy!

With the PA budget gap standing at $3.2 billion, the Governor is considering (and proposing) drastic cuts — including to the state's higher education system.

Students already fear the ever-rising cost of college tuition, and now might face steeper loans and deeper debt if Governor Rendell's new education proposal is passed. The proposal cuts funding for “state-related” schools — Temple, Penn State, Lincoln and Pittsburgh Universities. As a result, tuition would likely rise, which would be a huge blow to students who are struggling to find loans and pay for college in this economy (full disclosure: I go to Temple).

Although the 2009-2010 proposed education budget promises that it will continue to increase “student achievement by investing in initiatives that will make Pennsylvania a leader in readying our students for the jobs of the future,” it will force the four schools to re-evaluate their budgets for the 2009-2010 fiscal year, which could consequently raise the price of a college diploma for the 160,000 students who attend them.

Rendell called the cutbacks,“painful,” but says that schools are neither under his “complete control” nor public institutions.

Students are objecting loudly. Sean O’Connell, the Services Review Chair from Temple's Student Government, says that the governor’s decision is unacceptable because, “not only does [the proposal] affect students, but it could also lead to cuts in all departments impacting all faculty and staff ... While a decrease in state funding does not legally require the university to increase tuition, it is the de facto cause of a rise in tuition.”

The Temple Student Government (TSG) coordinated a campaign called 1,000 VOICES in conjunction with its three sister-state-schools, which will deliver 3,200 letters to legislators “to raise awareness about ever rising tuition rates … and to make our legislators aware of the effect the Governor’s proposal,” says Jon Desantis, TSG’s co-vice-president. TSG will also host a press conference on the steps of the Pennsylvania State Capitol in Harrisburg this morning at 11 a.m.

2009-07-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

Allstate ranks cities for collision frequency. You know where this is going.

Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 12:50 pm

posted by Matt Petrillo

categories News, Philaphemera

Allstate is rewarding America’s most improved driving city with free gas, and Philadelphia didn’t even come close.

Yesterday, the insurance company released its fifth annual "Allstate America's Best Drivers Report,” which ranks the car collision frequency of our nation’s 200 largest cities. And Philadelphia placed nearly dead last. The City of Brotherly Love holds the title as the city with the sixth highest accident-frequency among residents, and more than doubles that of Phoenix, Houston, and even New York in collision likelihood.

2009-07-09T08:33:00.000-07:00

Anonymous Theatre

Mon., July 13, 8 p.m., $16-$20, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. 215-546-7824, pdc1.org.

by Matt Petrillo

THEATER

When actors meet for the first time on the opening night, one can only expect the show to go horribly, horribly wrong — which is just what the folks at the Philadelphia Dramatists Center want. As the romantic leads stumble through the third annual Anonymous Theatre production, written by a group of unnamed local Philadelphia playwrights, deception and cleverness meet to intentionally befuddle the actors into unstaged chaos. Only the director knows each cast member's piece in the play — until the houselights dim. Then the shenanigans unwind into a brutal attempt to produce cohesion from confusion.

Mon., July 13, 8 p.m., $16-$20, Wilma Theater, 265 S. Broad St. 215-546-7824, pdc1.org.

Medical WEED

2009-07-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Medical Marijuana Stories, PLUS Rally for HB 1393 This Saturday

Thursday, July 9th, 2009 at 11:10 am

posted by Matt Petrillo

categories News, State Politics, protest

Irvin Rosenfeld smokes marijuana ten times a day, but he doesn’t get high.

The Virginia stockbroker suffers from a rare condition that causes bone tumors to grow sporadically, often into the muscle and veins, which could potentially kill him. But it hasn’t — in fact, he has’t had a tumor for 33 years — and Rosenfeld credits medical marijuana, supplied directly by the National Institutes of Health. He’s America’s longest-surviving federal cannabis patient.

“Smoking is the only way to really get the medicine. The cannabis is the best thing that worked for me,” he says.

Every 25 days, he picks up a tin of 300 pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes. The “marijuanettes” are grown under NIH contract by the University of Mississippi. Scientists believe he doesn’t get high because his cannabinoid receptors, which include millions of tiny fibers spread throughout humans’ bodies that allow us to ‘get high,’ are deformed.

Rosenfeld fights for the legalization of medical cannabis for patients not as fortunate as himself. “When you have a disorder, it sucks,” he says. “I was lucky enough that I was able to discover the right medicine for me. I just can’t sit back and not try to help others.”

Others are joining him. A candlelight vigil for patients who have died waiting for medical marijuana will be held this Saturday, July 11 at the Independence Mall visitor center. The vigil will also serve as a rally for HB1393, a bill that would create Pennsylvania’s first legalized medical marijuana program. It will be from 8:30 to 10 p.m.

Introduced by State Representative Mark B. Cohen (D-Philadelphia) and endorsed by the National Lawyers Guild Philadelphia Chapter, the bill has been referred to the House Health and Human Services Committee with public hearings expected this summer.

Rep. Cohen believes that, aside from helping suffering patients, legalizing medical marijuana could increase the state’s revenue by at least $25 million in taxes. If the bill passes, PA could become the 14th state to allow medical marijuana.

Under HB 1393, Pennsylvanians would not only be permitted to be prescribed medical cannabis, but also grow it. This would be of particular interest to Bradley D. Walter, a Scranton native and HIV patient. Walter, who now lives in Florida, uses marijuana to ease the side effects of his antiviral medication, which are, on some days “debilitating,” he says. He takes it in the form of Marinol, a synthetic THC pill.

“The pills are the only medication I found that allows me to live a normal life,” he says, “and removes most of my side effects,” which include intense stomach pains, extreme hunger and nausea.

But at $60 a pill, Marinol costs him an astronomical $1,297 a month. He suggests that for a few bucks, he could grow marijuana in his basement and eliminate a lot of his costs.

He continues to fight for access to the whole-plant cannabis, and will fly in from Florida to testify at Pennsylvania’s public hearings this summer.

What the duck? TURN OFF YOUR DAMN PHONES!

2009-06-30T11:33:00.000-07:00

New rule: All journalists must set animal sounds as their ringtones

Tuesday, June 30th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

posted by Matt Petrillo

categories Media, President Obama, Web Junk

We've all been told to turn our phones either off during class, at the movies or at church. Other places, however, people are just expected to silence their mobiles as common courtesy and proper etiquette. Of course, that doesn't always happen.

Yesterday, a journalist's phone went off and interrupted a LGBTQ rights speech being delivered by Barack Obama. But that wasn't even the worst part abou it — the scribe's ringtone was the quacking of a duck, which prompted everyone, including the President of the United States, to burst out in laughter.

Source: The Clog (City Paper's Blog)

Coming up

2009-06-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

Opening reception Fri., June 26, 7-10 p.m., free, exhibit through Aug. 31, Jinxed, 620 S. Fourth St., 215-978-5469, wthnphiladelphia.com.

by Matt Petrillo

Artists Ed Looram, Isaac Ramos, Jeremy Dean, Lorin Brown and Nick Hans remembered a time before the words "iPod" and "Internet" had been crammed into their vocabularies, and collaborated to present a multimedia exhibit showcasing the cultural influences of their late-'80s/early-'90s childhoods. Curated by Mason Warner, "COMING UP" is a must-see for anyone nostalgic for CDs, the Wu-Tang Clan or vert ramp skateboarding. Warner hopes the show will depict the artists' personal reflections and the transition of ancient popular culture into the contemporary classic styles that it currently manifests. "It's based on the things that formed not only artists, but so many people of our generation," says Warner.

Opening reception Fri., June 26, 7-10 p.m., free, exhibit through Aug. 31, Jinxed, 620 S. Fourth St., 215-978-5469, wthnphiladelphia.com.

Source: City Paper, A&E

Most Recent Work

2009-06-27T09:06:00.000-07:00

City Paper published my first short news-story!

A friend received punches to his stomach, arms and even face while trying to go home early Sunday morning.

Continue reading Flash Mobbed

I made my first video for City Paper!!

It is about the memorial service held at Love Park, which was a part of a national service, which people gave their respects to Dr. Tiller.

Class Trash
Forget about Philthadelphia. There's a new big thing in town: Big Bellies.

The Wall-e-like trashcans, which weigh about 300 pounds, have been appearing recently all over Center City, installed as part of Mayor Nutter’s “Greenworks” project. They feature separate trash and recycling bins, and have the ability to compact and make room for five times more garbage than a typical trashcan of the same size.

There’s more. Powered by the sun, the Big Bellies can send a signal when they’re full and need to be emptied. This a) helps prevent overflowing trash cans, and b) saves the city money, because trash collectors won’t have to make unnecessary trips to empty trash cans that aren’t full. In fact, the city cut staff after installing the Big Bellies, because instead of collecting trash 2-3 times daily from the previous 700 traditional trashcans, the new trendy tech-trashcans only need to be collected a maximum of once per day.

The way the canisters open, keeps smelly odors trapped inside, says Deputy Street Commissioner Carlton Williams, however, makes it nearly impossible for people to trash-pick. Williams says that the Big Bellies “weren’t designed to affect the homeless.” But if trash-picking is a reliable source of food for many homeless, panhandling may increase.

Classy trash does not come cheap. A state recycling grant entirely covered the $2.2 million cost of the garbage-eating machines.

David Horowitz visited Temple last week to tell college-students that their school is not teaching them, but indoctrinating them:

“Temple’s administration and faculty is intimidated to say this, but their race department is racist and an idiotic ideology," he said.

To continue reading, click here

OR
to listen to a podcast of the event that was heard on WHIP Radio, click the 'video' below

When asked if has he ever spoken to teachers he wrote about in his book or if he attended any of Temple’s classes, he replied with honesty.

“No, I haven’t,” he said, “but I haven’t been to Iran, either, to know that it’s a horrible and oppressive place.”

Coming Clean

2009-06-27T08:39:00.000-07:00

I will *cut* you if this isn't passed.

The Dems are dying to scrap up the 218 votes required for the Clean Energy and Security Act, which will be decided tomorrow. The bill would be a huge step in the green direction to help avoid the harsher effects of global warming. The good news is that it would force alternative energy and restrict green house gases.

But that fancy Nancy is concerned about getting enough votes.

PA has been riding the tree-hugging bandwagon for some time now.

Pennsylvania has been creating a renewable energy economy. For four years, the state has been meeting its clean energy goals, and now the legislature is considering to increase the amount of solar power in the state in the new HB 80.

The bill would increase PA's renewable energy target from 8% by 2020 to 20% by 2026, and increase the portion made up of solar from 0.5% in 2020 to 3% by 2026. It would push for stronger initiatives for the development of wind, solar and other clean energy resources to make cleaner energy for PA, according to The Vote Solar Initiative.

Let's hope people can agree on cleaner air.

A Recap

2009-06-27T08:25:00.000-07:00

I began blogging with The Matthewdelphia Media. But as I become more experienced, I learned that I needed multiple blogs.

TMM will feature only my work in journalism,
and The Philling will fill you in on Philly and Me news!