Inqlings: Hall of Fame a mixed blessing

This year's eight newcomers to the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia's Hall of Fame are humbled by the honor from their peers, but . . .

"That's another way to know you're getting older," said NBC10 anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah, 52, laughing at my suggestion that she's too young. She's been in TV for 22 years, 19 at WCAU.

Another honoree in her 50s - CBS3 vice president Joanne Calabria - is similarly appreciative and taking it in stride. "This has me concerned that I peaked too early," quipped Calabria, a 28-year KYW-TV veteran who would like to say she started at age 22 but was 29.

As for the other Hall of Famer in her 50s - 6ABC's Lisa Thomas-Laury, 55: "When I got the Pennsylvania Association of Black Journalists' lifetime-achievement award, that made me feel old," said the 31-year WPVI veteran. "This is quite an honor."

The others to be inducted Friday at a fund-raising banquet are men of a certain age: AccuWeather's Elliot Abrams, KYW-TV alumnus Mort Crim, kiddie-show host Gene London, WCAU-TV sports alum Al Meltzer, and former WPVI engineer Irv Ross.

Pete Ciarrocchi

, owner of the Chickie's & Pete's sports bars, is keeping his intellectual-property lawyer busy again. Ciarrocchi is diligent about policing his trademark for the name Crab Fries. On Tuesday, he will open a club called Play2 next to his South Philly restaurant. Play2 has 18 semiprivate booths equipped with 58-inch plasma TVs and lighting systems; some have consoles for Xbox, Wii, and PlayStation gamers, and others come with musical instruments so the performances can be shown on screens. Ciarrocchi has a patent pending on the concept, which he calls apec (amusement pod entertainment center). He's planning to open another in February at PhiladelphiaPark in Bensalem.

If you're following along at home, Philly has at least four reality-show contestants in play: chef

Jose Garces

on the Food Network's

The Next Iron Chef

, chef

Jennifer Carroll

on Bravo's

Top Chef

, out-of-work bartender

Sam Murray

awaiting a chance at $1 million this week on the syndicated

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

, and Camden native

Ivory Tabb

as a contestant on VH1's

I Want to Work for Diddy

. Last week saw the swan songs of Northeast Philly's

Peter Sabasino

on Fox's

So You Think You Can Dance

and Upper Dublin High grad

Jennifer An

on CW's

America's Next Top Model

.

NBC10 reporter/anchor

Jamison Uhler

returned Wednesday, three weeks after shoulder surgery to correct old sports injuries. He's not wearing his sling on camera.

Standards station WHAT (1340) has upgraded Bill "Wee Willie" Webber to a two-hour show (10 a.m. to noon), followed by program director Jim Clark from noon to 5 p.m. Starting tomorrow, the time shift adds a show from 9 to 10 a.m. by Missy Stein, a mother of five whose theme is "what women talk about that men should know."

Management movements ordinarily fly under the radar, but it appears that WIP will get a newsier edge online. CBS has retitled KYW Newsradio head Steve Butler as "director of news operations" for its five local stations. Butler's first assignment will be the sports-talk station's Web site.

Flyers

Chris Pronger

and

Mike Richards

modeled NHL Winter Classic jerseys with models from Maxim mag at the Spectrum on Monday. The shoot was for a Pepsi Max print ad.

Kevin Bacon, in town for events surrounding a benefit that he and his brother, Michael, are doing for the Mummers, stopped at the Sporting Club at the Bellevue on Friday to run on the treadmill, do pull-ups, and row.

Cole and Heidi Hamels hosted a small cocktail party Thursday aboard the Moshulu for their foundation. Though it was intended purely as a social gathering, guests whipped out their checkbooks, and $3,000 was raised for a project with the School District of Philadelphia.

When local caterer

Christina Dimacali

and personal trainer

Kevin Hensel

got engaged last year, they booked Gayle, a restaurant three blocks from their Queen Village home, for the ceremony and reception. Two months before the wedding date, chef/owner

Daniel Stern

announced the closing of the restaurant. But Stern kept his word for the couple and reopened just for them. Dimacali, 37, whose company is called Clean Your Plate, married Hensel, 38, in the restaurant's garden. Chefs

Scott Morozin

and

Peter Scarola

cooked a five-course dinner, which was served in the dining room, for 34 people.

It was almost 39, says the bride.

Five very confident outsiders strolled in, claiming to have a 7 p.m. reservation. They were sent away.