NBC 10 Details More Election Day Shenanigans

Simply lovely. Those brave senior citizens, climbing those 14 steps — a new form of poll taxes — and casting a vote not for Democrats, not for Republicans, but for America.

Sunoco Oil Refinery Narrowly Misses Cut

The South Philly Review has a second edition of its “South Philly Hidden Gems” this week. The highlight is the “Neighborhood Treasures” feature, where South Fluffyians are asked what their, uh, neighborhood treasures are. Here are my two favorites:

Delilah’s and the abandoned mental institution. Sounds about right.

Neighborhood treasures [South Philly Review]

Middle-Aged Mob Causes Havoc In South Philly

Yesterday, a group of residents from Pennsport (as well as a few other neighboring communities) took to the streets of South Philly to protest the possible Foxwoods casino at Columbus Boulevard and Reed Street.

The mob — we’re calling it what it is, people — even tried to overturn an “abandoned” car, as shown in the Daily News photo by David Maialetti. I’m not quite sure how it’s an abandoned car, since there’s an anti-casino banner apparently taped to the inside of the rear window, but I am fairly sure that the car wasn’t tipped over, so it’s perhaps a moot point.

(Note: Could you imagine the news media’s reaction if a group of non-white, non-middle aged people tried to tip over a car at a protest? Something tells me it wouldn’t just be documented with a photo that wasn’t even put online.)

The residents appeared to put most of the blame on the Foxwoods site on Ed Rendell, who, as we all know, owns Foxwoods:

Signs were abundant, including “Think traffic is bad now? Just wait… ” and “Don’t betray us Ed Rendell.”

“There is no good place for gambling, except this is the worst site. It’s in the heart of a thriving community,” said protest spokeswoman Rene Goodwin. “We don’t need their alleged economic development. It’s a solid residential community.”

One of the rally’s organizers, Ed Kirlin, spoke to the crowd in front of a silver hearse - its presence apparently a symbol of the death that a slots casino would bring to South Philadelphia.

“Ed Rendell said this was the best neighborhood in the city. The son-of-a-bitch ought to remember what he said,” Kirlin said, prompting cheers from the crowd.

But it wasn’t just car tipping, cursing out the governor and NIMBYism (okay, justified NIMBYism) that dominated the protest. No, there was also a bit of old-fashioned satire from 59-year-old David Charlton:

But one lone voice spoke out - satirically - in favor of the Foxwoods-backed project - a man named David Charlton, who donned a silky leopard-print top, with black skirt, thigh-high black hosiery and a gray, slightly puffy wig.

Charlton, 59, said he represented “Sluts for Slots” and hoped the new casino would “generate prostitution, which is a very nice profession” in the area.

“We can get a better rate [at the new casino site]. We get $20 an hour now on Broad Street, but we can get double here,” Charlton said, talking across the street from the 16-acre site where the proposed casino would be built.

Oh la la! Only $20 an hour, eh? That’s a deal! Are you a GFE?

S. Philly casino is a gamble they don’t want to take [Daily News]
GFE [Answers.com]

Leftovers: In My Day, Halfballs Cost A Nickel

• Hey, oldies! Remember halfball? No? Oh, wait, no, of course not. Well, to jog your memory, there’s a documentary being made about that, kick the can, jump rope, hopscotch and all those other games that we kiddies can’t believe actually existed. Photo by Kristin Wolak. [South Philly Review]

• The statue-inspiring film star himself, Sly Stallone, had his 60th birthday bash over the weekend. Sly would watch that halfball documentary and still have no idea what halfball is. (Rimshot.) [AP/Yahoo!]

• Could Johnny Brenda’s be replacing Johnny Goodtimes as the one and only savior of Metro? Time will only tell. [Foobooz]

• Sorry for being behind on the possible Philadelphia ban on foie gras proposed by Myspace City Councilman Jack Kelly. Here’s a big ol’ recap. [Politics Philly]

• If you’re wondering which senators and representatives are in favor of the anti-gay marriage amendment to the Constitution, here’s a helpful list. [AMERICAblog]

• Speedier cheap rail to New York City is possibly coming! Of course, by “cheap” they mean “still expensive, but not quite as bad as Amtrak or a plane.” [Inky]

• And, finally, America must not want the world to get too into our own brand of football, as we’ve sent Ivy Leaguers to Japan to them how it’s done. Actually, Ivy football is lots o’offense, not much defense, so this might work. [KYW 1060]

In South Philly, Things Are A Little Different

This current edition of the South Philly Review has a Reader’s Choice poll in several categories. (Disclaimer: PW’s parent company, Review Publishing, also ownes the Review.) The paper has mostly choices that seems pretty typical for “Best of” lists; it is are, after all, a reader poll of South Philly residents.

Then again, it is a reader poll of South Philly residents, and guess what won the category for Best Teen/Hip Hop Clothes:

The Gap. For Best Teen/Hip Hop Clothes. But, well, check out the runners up (emphasis mine):

Joyce Leslie took second place, while the Limited Too, Modell’s, Wal-Mart and Mandee’s tied for third.

Basically, what I’ve taken away from this poll is that South Philadelphians have, essentially, the same taste I had in sixth grade, except I didn’t even shop for clothes at Wal-Mart back then. I wouldn’t be surprised if the “best song” category was won by that “Gotta go to Mo’s” commercial jingle.

Clothes make the teen [South Philly Review, 10th item]

Just in case you’re driving home…

TV and radio just said I-95 in South Philly will be closed until 9 p.m. They need to clean up all the xylene (which is flammable, and also my new favorite word) that spilled when the tanker truck overturned, and the first pump they brought in failed.

Have fun with alllll that.

I-95 Remains Closed Near Stadium [KYW 1060]
I-95 Still Closed As Rush Hour Begins [NBC 10]
Earlier today: This is why I’m glad I walk to work

This is why I’m glad I walk to work

I-95 in South Philly: Still closed. And with a Flyers game tonight at 7, well, they’d better hurry up.

I-95 May Be Closed As Rush Hour Starts [NBC 10]
Hurricanes at Flyers, 7 p.m. [Yahoo! Sports]
Photo via NBC 10 (obviously)