In The News

On the farm with Garces

Seedstock blog Monday, August 20, 2012

Seedstock, the sustainable agriculture innovation conference, blogs about Jose Garces' organic farm in Ottsville, northern Bucks County.

Garces has teamed up with a successful and well-known Bucks County organic farmer, Alex McCracken, who, along with his wife Jenn, owns The Turnip Truck -- an organic kitchen gardening company, also based in Ottsville. A year ago, when McCracken caught wind that Garces had purchased the Luna Farm property, he did something that he had never been bold enough to do in the past: he e-mailed Garces directly to see if he could play a key role at Luna Farm.

Original source: Seedstock blog

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Frugal travel: Philadelphia as a midweek deal

Washington Post Monday, August 20, 2012

The Washington Post writes about a city that "more or less belonged to" its travel section as it went in search of some midweek travel deals.

We found ourselves alone in a museum, befriended bartenders and shopkeepers who had nothing better to do than share their life stories with us, stumbled upon some sweet weekday-only deals and happenings, and never waited for a drink or a table. Our only regret: that we hadn’t also been there for Monday and Tuesday.

Original source: The Washington Post

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Going global: Philly ranks 71st in the urban revolution, circa 2025

Foreign Policy magazine Monday, August 20, 2012

You've been reading in Flying Kite for some time about the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia-led World Class Greater Philadelphia initiative, which aims to establish our region as a world-class city by 2026. The folks at Foreign Policy magazine have created a list of the most dynamic cities of 2025 that represent the coming urban revolution, and Philadelphia ranks 71st behind the likes of Atlanta, San Diego and Ankara, Turkey.

Developed using McKinsey Global Institute's Cityscope database of 2,600 cities, the index represents one possible scenario of the urban world's evolution. Cities refer to integrated metropolitan areas, aggregating neighboring cities into a single urban center where appropriate. Estimates are based on underlying demographic and GDP per capita growth projections, and subject to significant uncertainty in evolution of everything from population and migration patterns to per capita GDP growth and exchange rate outlook.

Original source: Foreign Policy magazine

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First Round Capital makes big move from suburbs to University City

Business Insider Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Managing Partner Josh Kopelman writes in Business Insider about First Round Capital moving its headquarters from suburban West Conshohocken to University City in Philadelphia.

That’s why I’m done sitting on the sidelines. And so is First Round Capital. And I am super-excited to announce that First Round Capital is moving our headquarters from the suburbs of West Conshohocken into the city of Philadelphia. I’m trading my sterile suburban office park environment (and short commute) for proximity to Philadelphia’s entrepreneurs. We’ll be opening a 10,000 square foot facility in University City – right next to Penn’s campus. In addition to housing our Philadelphia team, the office will have space for startups – both for our portfolio companies (such as Uber’s Philly team, Curalate and Perceptual Networks) as well as other companies (like Technically Philly – who will be locating their offices there as well). It will have space to host educational and networking events. And it will have space for entrepreneurs to hang out and work.

Original source: Business Insider

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Center City startup Connectify takes to Kickstarter for multiple broadcband software

GigaOm Friday, August 10, 2012

GigaOm reports on Philadelphia's Connectify, which created a Kickstarter campaign to fund its project that would combnie Wi-Fi and 4G into a single, fat wireless pipe.

Why would you want to combine multiple broadband connections? Well, if you eat up gobs of bandwidth through file sharing, the aggregated connections would come in handy, but a more typical example revolves around connection management. Connectify’s software allows you to prioritize different links. If you were at an airport or coffee shop with spotty Wi-Fi but didn’t want to max out your 4G hotspot’s monthly data allotment, you could configure Dispatch to tap a free Wi-Fi network’s cheap bandwidth first and only resort to the 4G hotspot when Wi-Fi falters.

Original source: GigaOm

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Philadelphia's first chief data officer comes from Code for America

GovTech Friday, August 10, 2012

GovTech reports on Mark Headd, recently named Philadelphia's first chief data officer.

Headd is not a newcomer to the public sector. According to Headd’s blog, he was the chief policy and budget adviser for Delaware’s Department of Technology and Information. Headd also has served as director of the Delaware Government Information Center and as a technology adviser to former Delaware Gov. Thomas Carper.

Original source: GovTech

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Embracing Philadelphia's 'front porch' at 30th St. Station

National Resource Defense Council blog Friday, August 10, 2012

The National Defense Resources Council likes what's happenin gin Philly, citing The Porch, a placemaking creation of the University City District, as a welcoming entryway to the city.

What a great idea. The space is adjacent to the country’s third busiest train station and within easy walking distance of over 16,000 jobs. UCD’s executive director, Matt Bergheiser, says that 1,800 pedestrians on average stroll along the sidewalk every hour on weekdays. With some nine acres of developable land now covered only by surface parking lots, the area also has the potential for further walkable development linking Center City, the station, and University City.

Original source: National Resources Defense Council blog

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Esquire declares Philly 'late-night capital'

Esquire Friday, August 10, 2012

Good brew and food for hungry fellas in the wee hours puts Philadelphia on Esquire's radar as the late-night capital of the U.S.

Once referred to as the "workshop of the world," the great factory city of Philadelphia still has a third-shift appetite: It gets hungry after midnight. And it doesn't hurt that the local love for microbrewing, dating to the late 1600s, shows up on beer lists so intricately compiled they'd be described as curated in more pretentious cities. (Yes, Brooklyn, I mean you.) Epic jukeboxes and random dartboards, roasted meat and melted cheese, super-hard-to-find beers and whiskey neat — all served up without judgment in an American stronghold for going big into the wee hours: Welcome to the dark side.

Original source: Esquire

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BresslerGroup founder testifies for Apple in $2.5B Samsung suit

Bloomberg BusinessWeek Tuesday, August 07, 2012

Peter Bressler, founder and chairman of award-winning product design firm BresslerGroup and a product design prof at the University of Pennsylvania, testified for Apple in a multi-billion dollar trial against Samsung on Monday, reports Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Bressler is an expert in “user research, human factors application, manufacturing processes and innovative criteria conflict resolution,” according to his website. His testimony may continue to lay the groundwork for Apple’s infringement claims, which Apple started last week with Scott Forstall, the company’s senior vice president in charge of iPhone and iPad software. He gave jurors the first detailed testimony about one of the patents at issue.

Original source: Bloomberg BusinessWeek

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UPenn inks research and licensing deal with drugmaker Novartis for new cancer treatment

The New York Times Monday, August 06, 2012

The University of Pennsylvania and drug company Novartis have joined forces to commercialize a new cancer-fighting approach that has proven promising in preliminary trials.

The alliance seeks to build on the recent results of an experimental treatment that trains a person’s immune system to kill cancer cells. Scientists at the university announced last year significant results in several patients with advanced chronic lymphocytic leukemia who were treated using the new technique, including two who went into complete remission.

Original source: The New York Times

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Haas & Hahn's Philly Painting bolstered by Village of Arts & Humanities

The Atlantic Cities Thursday, August 02, 2012

The Atlantic Cities catches up with Philly Painting, which we wrote about in May.

Urhahn credits El Sawyer at the Village of Arts & Humanities, a community-based nonprofit organization dedicated to neighborhood revitalization through the arts, with orchestrating the duo's introduction to the neighborhood. “We didn’t just show up and start painting. We showed up and started making friends, talked to people, tried to get to know the neighborhood," says Urhahn. "Basically the first half-year we talked to everybody form the police officers to the guys on the corner and everyone in between. Especially the store owners."

Original source: The Atlantic Cities

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Little Baby's Ice Cream's heady video ad draws reactions ranging from creepy to arousing

Gawker Thursday, August 02, 2012

It takes a lot to creep out Gawker, but chalk another one up for Little Baby's Ice Cream, which launches today on Frankford Ave. in Fishtown. We think Little Baby's Ice Cream's new video ad is pretty genius, plus they're going to be at Second Friday on Lancaster Ave. on Aug. 10.

Ripping a page right out of the Big Book of WTF Japan Seriously, Philly-based ice cream company Little Baby's Ice Cream invites screaming enthusiasts everywhere to cry themselves to no sleep with the most horrifying, least appetizing ice cream ad ever produced.

Original source: Gawker

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Society Hill's Fame House helps DJ Shadow break new ground with BitTorrent

GigaOm Monday, July 30, 2012

We reported on Philadelphia-based Fame House's groundbreaking work with DJ Shadow in February. Now CEO Mike Feibach is receiving a heap of attention for helping Shadow become the first artist to make money through BitTorrent, reports GigaOm.

BitTorrent has been partnering with indie musicians and filmmakers for some time to distribute authorized content bundles through its popular uTorrent client. However, this is the first time that the company has struck a revenue sharing agreement with one of those artists. “It’s a really important moment in the history of content distribution,” said Mason.

That sentiment was echoed by Fiebach, who told me that he doesn’t see BitTorrent as a piracy tool. “That’s the wrong way to look at it,” he argued, adding that the technology itself couldn’t be blamed if people use it to pirate content. Instead, it’s a way to get to an audience of millions, he said, adding: “(Shadow) and I just see this as a great opportunity to make history.”

Original source: GigaOm

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Pizza Brain's Kickstarter campaign will 'increase the piece' from Fishtown HQ

Tecca Monday, July 30, 2012

Fishtown will be home to the world's first pizza history museum when Pizza Brain opens in August, reports Tecca.

The brainchild of Brian Dwyer and his friends, Pizza Brain -- with its delicious slogan, "Increase the Piece" -- will open its doors next month thanks to the power of Kickstarter, where Dwyer was able to raise enough dough earlier this year to turn his dream into a reality. The combination museum and restaurant will house hundreds of pieces of pizza memorabilia that Dwyer has amassed over the years -- a collection which got him recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records last July.

Original source: Tecca

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Bucks County site is where pianos go to die

The New York Times Monday, July 30, 2012

A trash-transfer station in Southampton, 20 miles north of Philadelphia, are a regular stop for piano movers looking to dismantle played-out pianos, reports The New York Times.

The value of used pianos, especially uprights, has plummeted in recent years. So instead of selling them to a neighbor, donating them to a church or just passing them along to a relative, owners are far more likely to discard them, technicians, movers and dealers say. Piano movers are making regular runs to the dump, becoming adept at dismantling instruments, selling parts to artists, even burning them for firewood.

Original source: The New York Times

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