Working on a story with Inquirer writer Andy Maykuth, I spent time this week with Denise Dennis who is deciding whether to allow access to her family's farm and the natural gas reserves of the Marcellus Shale below. That decision is complicated by her family's history. Her ancestors were free African Americans who were among the first farmers to settle in northeast Pennsylvania in 1793.
I found her family history extraordinary and facinating. "Not all blacks were slaves from the South," Denise told Andy. "This place is a reminder that we also owned property in the United States - we had a stake in this country."

The 153-acre farm in Susquehanna County has remained in the family for seven generations. There are more photos here, and you can read Andy's Sunday newspaper story here.

Decisions. Stay in or go out.
"I'm trying to create the essential, definitive Martin Luther King head," says Zenos Frudakis of the five-foot bust that has been taking shape since 2005 in the sculptor's studio in Glenside.
Wednesday's tearing down of a fence to begin demolition of Riverfront State Prison will probably be one of the last ceremonial events for outgoing Camden Mayor Gwendolyn Faison and outgoing NJ Gov. Jon Corzine.
They're the two in the middle, watching the excavator's claw rip down a chain link fence inside the prison. I've been to lots of ribbon cuttings and groundbreakings where everyone holds the giant scissors or bronze-plated shovels and acts happy for the picture. The residents and politicians and officials here looked genuinely ecstatic. And I don't think it was just for television because most of the cameras were pointed at the loud rumbling heavy equipment excavator.
Residents of North Camden opposed the NJ State Riverfront Prison long before it opened twenty-four years ago. It has been long considered an impediment to the development of the city's waterfront - an area with easy access to Philadelphia and dramatic waterfront views - and planners hope to transform the 16-acre site into a mix of affordable and market-rate housing units along with commercial and recreational development.
Because I'm easy, and because somebody (the artist's son) asked for it, here's a color version of the black & white photo that ran in my "Scene Through the Lens" newspaper column a couple of weeks ago.
The sculpture of the seated older man is one of three pieces by Leonard Baskin installed in 1966 on the plaza at Society Hill Towers during Philadelphia's urban renewal. The work is called Old Man, Young Man, The Future and was Baskin's first major sculpture created for an outdoor setting. It was commissioned as part of the Redevelopment Authority's "Percent for Art” program mandating that a percentage of construction costs for municipal projects be set aside for fine arts.
President Obama held a jobs forum in Washington Thursday, so in Philadelphia two of our local state reps hosted a local version attended by politicians, labor leaders, nonprofit executives, and businesspeople.
It was people sitting and/or talking in a big room with interesting but uneven lighting - so I used a couple photo tricks: go for a detail...
...and shoot something graphic.
I couldn't resist a chance to update a classic Life photo - 1952's movie audience in 3-D glasses watching Bwana Devil.
Comcast Corp. ordered 100,000 DEVO-esque shades for visitors to experience the visual effects of their "Holiday Spectacular in 3-D" on the giant video wall in the lobby of the tallest building between New York and Chicago. Click here, or on the picture of employees and an artful mannequin, for a photo gallery from Tuesday's preview.
The First Troop Philadelphia City Cavalry color guard waits for their cue to present colors before opening the annual fundraising breakfast for the Committee of Seventy. Click here, or on the picture for a photo gallery.
Celebrating adoptive families and marking 10th anniversary of National Adoption Day, courtrooms around the country opened their doors to finalize the adoptions of children from foster care. The Camden County Surrogate's Office held a luncheon and a reception in their offices on Friday as the judge signed final adoption orders, granting parents permanent, legal custody of their children.

Brand new dad Walter Russell of Monroe Township turned a cubicle into a feeding station as he found a quiet spot to give a bottle to seven month old son Christian. Mom is Eileen Bertolino-Russell.
Residents watch police and firefighter activity at the scene of a fatal crash in their Pennsauken neighborhood. Police said a man was killed when he lost control of his SUV and it slammed into a tree.






