| |
Jul
20
|
 |
The story that’s been kicking around on Phillyblog for a while now finally hits the newspapers today, in the Northeast Times no less: Is Franklin Mills for sale? Specifically, is the Mills Corporation going to sell it to a developer who’s looking to turn it into a residential site?
We assume everything on the Internet is fake, even when it doesn’t involve Wikipedia, but the Mills Corp. official Northeast Times writer William Kenney contacted don’t comment on the rumors — “I’ve seen the blogs, and I’m not going to comment on that.” — which can only mean that, well, hey, maybe it is for sale.
This would seem like an odd move, especially since Mills Corp. once touted the Northeast Philadelphia shopping mecca as Pennsylvania’s largest tourist attraction, but the company is in the middle of an upheaval. And, hey, if you can’t build condos (or townhomes) across from a school for kids with run-ins with the law and a giant bus depot, where can you build them?
The main fun in the Times story, though, is its extensive quoting of posts on Phillyblog. For example:
The blogs Douglass was referring to are “topic” discussion threads in the “Northeast Philadelphia” and “Business” sections of the PhillyBlog site. ¶ A “blogger” identified as “robot” started the first major topic on the subject on March 1 under the heading, “franklin mills closing?” ¶ In his post, the author stated that he didn’t believe the rumor, but he was curious to know if anyone else had heard the same thing. Also, he claimed that his wife’s family considered it a done deal.
The “writer” of the Northeast Times (a “newspaper”) story goes on to “say” that, while another “thread” speculating about the “sale” of Mills has been “posted” on Phillyblog, a store in the “Steve & Barry’s chain” recently moved in to the formerly “vacant” anchor spot at the “east” end of the “mall.”
Will this be the end of the ESPN Skatepark, the movie theater John Street frequents and a giant Ben Franklin head in the center of it all? Will the white kids with baggy, low-riding jeans have to go to (gasp) Neshaminy Mall? If there’s a developer interested in the Mills site, wouldn’t it be cheaper (and more sensible) to go after the almost-vacant Knights Road shopping center just down the street? Only time will tell.
Is Franklin Mills Mall on the market? [Northeast Times]
Related editorial: Franklin forever! [Northeast Times]
|
|
dmac | 1:51 PM | 3 Comments
|
Jul
18
|
|
• We’ll note this again tomorrow, but for now a brief update on the Jim Gardner/Wikipedia snafu: The NYPD has no record of any arrests. So, uh, who the hell would do that? Like, Photoshop an image of Jim Gardner being arrested, then insert a fake line about an arrest on Wikipedia. And why would a local blog pick it up? (Oh, wait, I know the answer to that one.) It’s kind of too strange. These Internets are dangerous things.
• Now that the Inquirer and Daily News are under local ownership, it’s time to take a look at the tale of The Santa Barbara News-Press, which was acquired by a local owner in 2000. And, the results: “Staffers have been marching out the door, accusing her of interfering with their editorial independence. When she published her explanation of the departures as an expression of bias in the reporting staff on Thursday, even more quit. On Friday, her staff — or what remained of it — held a rally outside the newspaper building, where some 30 reporters and editors, dressed in black, put duct tape over their mouths, to represent the owner’s gag order issued last week.” Oh. Brian Tierney suddenly looks awesome. [New York Times]
• The Philadelphia Business Journal has news of a tour of Philadelphia. Of course, by “Philadelphia” here, we mean “A Small Stretch Of The North End of the Boulevard.” Here’s the itinerary: Best Western Hotel (on the Boulevard), Palace Roller Skating Rink (right next to Best Western), Franklin Mills (off Woodhaven) and Dave and Buster’s (at Franklin Mills). And, of course, no Liberty Bell. [Philebrity/PBJ]
• A Rehobeth man braved Jellyfish and cold water temperatures (?) and swam across the Delaware Bay today, claiming to be the first man to ever swim across the entire bay. [AP/Philly.com]
• And, finally, Bobby Abreu is hustling. This might be stranger than that Jim Gardner thing. [Daily News]
|
|
dmac | 4:35 PM | 0 Comments
|
Jun
12
|
|
• If you have IM, by now someone’s probably sent you the story in the New York Times about a high-pitched ringtone that only kids can hear. I missed out on the office listening party but apparently all the kids can hear it. I can’t actually hear it, but it makes my ears hurt, so I suppose I’d know when my phone was ringing anyway. [The Trouble With Spikol]
• Metroblogging has begun a series about things to do in Northeast Philly besides Franklin Mills and Neshaminy Mall. Their first entry is about the largest insect museum in the known universe, the Insectarium. This means, of course, that there’s nothing to do in Northeast Philly other than Franklin Mills. (Neshaminy Mall is in, uh, Neshaminy.) [Metroblogging Philadelphia]
• Loosen up, office flirts! A few sexual comments doesn’t mean harassment! Somewhere, Bob Barker is smiling. [Small Business Law Blog]
• Bobby Abreu loves his candy. [The 700 Level]
• You can almost hear them gasping about it from here, so we might as well note it: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisbergerwas in a motorcycle accident this morning. Police sources say he has a broken jaw, broken left sinus cavity, severe knee injuries. [One For The Thumb]
|
|
dmac | 3:57 PM | 1 Comment
|
Apr
24
|
|
From today’s Metro:
North Philly, West Philly… Franklin Mills? Do they have condos there now, too? Wow.
Metro
|
|
dmac | 1:17 PM | 0 Comments
|
Dec
27
|
|
 The opening two graphs of Inky staff writer Thomas Ginsberg’s article today about the post-Holiday rush:
As shoppers snapped back into action yesterday, one self-described Scrooge sat alone in Franklin Mills Mall, surveying and scorning the scene.
“A bunch of idiots!” said Bill Lawn, 74, a Philadelphia retiree calmly sipping coffee and reading a newspaper at Gloria Jean’s Coffee. “People allow their religious beliefs to be so commercialized that they don’t even know what Christmas means anymore.”
You know what they say: Out of the mouths of babes — or, rather, the exact opposite of that.
Now bearing gift cards, shoppers traverse afar [Inky]
|
|
dmac | 1:45 PM | 0 Comments
|
|
|
