The Pawnshop Roses

There's a hot Philadelphia band called the Pawnshop Roses; their new album is "Let it Roll"...it's available on iTunes...check it out.

Friday Agricultural Factoid: Random Definition Edition

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, "Agritourism” was officially added to the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary last year. The Commonwealth is is home to more than 100 agritourism destinations.

Seattle Expands its Recycling Program

By 2009, all Seattle single-family homes will be required to take part in a fee-based recycling program mandating separate food waste disposal. The program will be remain optional for businesses and apartment residents. Public officials are determined to divert 72 percent of the City's garbage from the dump by 2025.

Pennsylvania Employment is Strong

Pennsylvania added 900 new jobs last month (net), which pushed the Commonwealth's employment to a record 5,799,400 jobs. The Commonwealth's "seasonally adjusted civilian labor force" - the number of people working or looking for work - also rose last month by 38,000 to 6,296,000. Pennsylvania's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell a tenth of a percentage point from May to 4.1 percent last month. According to Governor Rendell, service-producing industries continued to account for all of the job growth, adding a total of 2,500 jobs last month. Professional and business services and government, the only sectors showing significant growth, added 1,500 and 1,600 jobs respectively last month. The total number of jobs in the state have increased in 11 of the past 12 months, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry reported. Pennsylvania has added 49,900 jobs since June 2006.

Friday Agricultural Factoid

Sweet corn is a $44.2 million industry in the Commonwealth. We rank 7th nationally in sweet corn production. In 2006, 17,400 acres were planted and harvested in Pennsylvania, totaling 99 million pounds.

The Philadelphia Navy Yard

I took a tour of the Philadelphia Navy Yard this week. It's an amazing part of the City with a fascinating history. Also, the Philadelphia Industrial Development Corporation and the City of Philadelphia are doing an incredible job of redeveloping the site. There are currently around 6,500 people working down there, with a vision to cultivate the growth of what will essentially be a whole other neighborhood with upwards of 30,000 jobs. Further, I had one of the best lunches of my life at the Frog at the Yard. I highly recommend going down there to take a tour and to grab some lunch!

PhillyCarShare Announces Transit Reimbursement Policy

PhillyCarShare - Philadelphia's preeminent car sharing organization - today announced a program that will reimburse drivers for the cost of using mass transit. PhillyCarShare members who use SEPTA subway, trolley and regional rail service will be reimbursed as a credit to their PhillyCarShare accounts, up to $7 round-trip for regional rail and $2.60 round-trip on rapid transit and subway-surface. Receipts or tickets are required for all but subway trips. With more than 30 eligible stations in the program representing every rail line in the SEPTA system, notable stations include 69th Street, Frankford, Fern Rock, 30th Street, City Hall, Eighth and Market, and neighborhood stations along the R6, R7, and R8 regional rail lines in Northwest Philadelphia. See PhillyCarShare's website for details.

I Care What Celebrities Think!

Ok, well not really. But I have always been a fan of Democratic Presidential Candidate Bill Richardson. Notwithstanding the current President, I like candidates with experience as chief executives, whether as governor, county executive, or mayor. Anyway, from CNN, here's a list of celebrities that have given to Mr. Richardson:

James L. Brooks, producer/writer: $1000
Michael Douglas, actor: $3100
Val Kilmer, actor: $2300
Paul Newman, actor: $2300
Edward James Olmos, actor: $2300
Wendie Malick, “Just Shoot Me” actress: $500
Steven Spielberg, director: $2300
Kate Capshaw, actress, wife of Steven Spielberg: $2300
Jodie Foster, actress: $1000
Christie Brinkley, self-described as “Model/Mom/Environmental activist”: $500
Bette Midler, actress/singer: $4600
Sherry Lansing, former film executive: $2300
William Friedkin, director: $2300

A Primate City?

Found this definition on Wikipedia: "A primate city is a major city that works as the financial, political, and population center of a country and is not rivaled in any of these aspects by any other city in that country. Normally, a primate city must be at least twice as populous as the second largest city in the country. The presence of a primate city in a country usually indicates an imbalance in development — usually a progressive core, and a lagging periphery, on which the primate city depends for labor and other resources."

Friday Agriculture Factoid: All is Fair in Love and Pennsylvania

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, leads the nation in the number of county and community fairs with 116 across. Check out this pdf link for more information.

Plastics Bags Begone!

A new state law in California requires most grocery stores and other large retailers to provide recycling bins for plastic bags. Some California cities, such as San Francisco, are preparing to ban plastic bags altogether. Cities are also encouraging consumers to use reusable bags or biodegradable bags. According to the Plastic Bag Alliance, 9 percent of waste in landfills is plastic, and half of that is plastic bags and film.

Friday Agricultural Factoid: Many Days Late

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, July is national ice cream month. The Commonwealth ranks 6th in the overall production of regular hard ice cream at nearly 35 million gallons annually.

What's Your Favorite City?

Vote for your favorite city here.

Why Don’t We Do This In Philadelphia?

The City of Bellevue, Washington’s water provider will offer free water-saving showerheads to thousands of customers as part of a new regional energy and water efficiency campaign. Efficient showerheads help customers save money on water, gas, electric and sewer utility bills.

Philly is on the Verge

According to the blog Phillyinc, the Philadelphia region did well in the "Cities on the Verge" section of a report put out by FastCompany Magazine under the category of "Urban Innovator." FastCompany said the Philadelphia region won for its high share of folks working "knowledge-based jobs" in industry and academia. The magazine compared 300 cities using data compiled by economist Richard Florida and others; Philadelphia ended up No. 4 on the list.

Friday Agricultural Factoid: Pennsylvania is Amusing

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA), our state has more amusement rides than any other. Over 7,000 rides are checked by nearly 1,400 certified PDA inspectors.

The Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia

Philadelphia has a number of environmental and sustainability organizations that are sure to achieve new levels of engagement with City Government in partnership with Mayor Nutter, destined to be the greenest Philadelphia Mayor in history. The Bicycle Coalition's mission is "[p]romoting the bicycle as an environmentally friendly, healthy, and economical form of transportation and recreation through advocacy and education."

The Philadelphia Runner Track Club

Some of the best times of my life have involved competitive long-distance running and as I deal with middle-age, I frequently think about how I can make a comeback and restore athletic glory to the House of Friedman. I am thinking about joining up with a running club, and have found at least one. According to their website, "the Philadelphia Runner Track Club began in the fall of 2000 as an athlete-organized and operated competitive running team. Initially known as SureKill Track Club, namesake of the most challenging hill on Philadelphia’s once venerable Belmont Plateau cross-country course, the club was founded by LaSalle University graduates Brian Gallagher, Pete Dougherty, and Tom Sabol. Their goal was to establish a club to promote and foster the development of post collegiate runners in their pursuit of ever-faster times, national championships and Olympic dreams – and they have done just that."