Archive: January, 2009
Michael Klein, Philly.com
CBS3's Saturday morning newscasts, which featured Anne-Marie Green, Lesley Van Arsdall and Carol Erickson, have been eliminated, a CBS3 spokeswoman confirmed.
The Saturday lineup now starts at 6 a.m. with Inside Edition, followed by Storm Stories, the Saturday Early Show at 7 a.m., and from 9 a.m. a steady diet of kiddie fare: Strawberry Shortcake, Care Bears, Cake, Horseland, Dino Squad and Sushi Pack.
Green, Arsdall and Erickson are part of Sunday morning's newscasts (6 to 9 a.m.), which are unaffected.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
WYSP morning man Danny Bonaduce and former baseball star Jose Canseco went three rounds in a Saturday night celeb match at the Ice Works Skating Complex in Aston, Delaware County, and it ended in ... a majority draw.
Two judges scored one round for each and one round a draw. One judge gave Canseco two rounds, Bonaduce one.
Bonaduce, outweighed by 80 pounds and outsized by 10 inches, took some big shots to the head but peppered Canseco with some impressive body shots and a couple of over-the-top rights. They hugged after the fight.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Susanna Foo, the renowned Walnut Street temple of French-Asian cuisine, will start delivery service to a limited area next week as it introduces a menu whose prices are similar to those of many neighborhood spots.
It's another sign of the sagging economy, as battered white-tablecloth restaurateurs are advertising discounts in an effort to bolster business in what is traditionally one of the slowest months.
In another bid to drive traffic, the Center City District announced that its semiannual Center City Restaurant Week, in which 108 restaurants offer three-course dinners for $35, will be extended for a second week.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
One of the city's biggest casting directors, the owner of a car-rental company, the Teamsters health-and-welfare fund, the Greater Philadelphia Film Office and more than 1,000 crew members and extras who worked on a recent Philly-shot Bollywood film are crying foul.
They say their final paychecks and payments -- well over $100,000 worth -- have bounced, and producers are not responding to their calls and e-mails. Extras had been told to hold the checks till Jan. 9.
Dharma Productions, one of the biggest film studios in Mumbai, contracted with Australia's Swish Group to produce the romantic thriller starring real-life couple Saif Ali Khan and Kareena Kapoor. Swish's Mitu Bhowmick Lange -- who praised Philadelphia to the heavens in an interview three months ago -- is not answering her phone.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Ryan Seacrest starts Monday on Q102.
His syndicated On Air With Ryan Seacrest -- music and shtick -- will be heard weekdays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. (not 1 to 4 p.m., as station insiders had been suggesting).
Sign of the times: This will create a seven-hour block of syndication that starts with Elvis Duran from 6 to 10 a.m.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Mémé, David Katz's restaurant at 22d and Spruce Streets, today got its liquor license.
Katz says he'll serve wines and bottled beer only. Beer service will start Friday with a six-brew list: Samuel Smith Nut Brown Ale, La Fin du Monde, Victory Prima Pils, Hoegaarden, Amsel Light, and Lindemans Framboise.
Corkage will be $10 starting Feb. 11, and Katz is exploring a one-night-a-week BYOB.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
The Mobil Travel Guide, which doles out four- and five-star ratings to hotels, restaurants and spas, just released its 2009 list.
The only Philly four-star hotel is the Four Seasons, as usual.
The only Philly four-star restaurants are repeats: the Fountain at the Four Seasons and Lacroix at the Rittenhouse. Striped Bass, which gave way to Butcher & Singer, was on last year's list. Brasserie Perrier, which closed New Year's Eve, got four stars on the 2006 list.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Discouraging news from Villanova: Maia, the huge bistro-bar/marketplace/coffee bar/restaurant, has trimmed the days of operation of its main restaurant -- the more sumptuous operation upstairs (with a fire pit) -- to Thursdays through Saturdays.
It's still serve seven days in the lower-level bistro/bar.
Terence Feury, one of the founding chefs, left last year. Earlier this month, Fork restaurant announced that he'll become chef effective Feb. 1.
Michael Klein, Philly.com
Mayfair's Joanna Pacitti, 24, who's had various tastes of fame (besides the usual Philly stuff such as national anthems and Al Alberts), moved on to Hollywood on "American Idol" on Thursday night.
In 2003, she appeared on MTV’s True Life as a wannabe music star. In 2006, she had a contract with Geffen Records and cut an album. As my colleague David Hiltbrand wrote in 2006: She became the poster girl for heartache a decade ago when she was orphaned by Anne. At age 11, after winning a massive talent contests sponsored by Macy's, she was installed on national television as the title character in a Broadway-bound revival of the music.
