Breaking News: Arrests Today at Sugar House Casino in Philadelphia

Today at 6 am about 50 protesters assembled at the intersection of Frankford Avenue and Columbus Boulevard, which is the site of the approved Sugar House Casino. The protest was organized by Casino Free Philadelphia, which is a coalition of Philadelphia citizens opposed to the building of casinos in Philadelphia.

Protestors argued that the construction of this casino, which is located in the Fishtown neighborhood of Philadelphia, will create more economic and social losses for Philly citizens/taxpayers than benefits. They cite a study conducted by the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority. For a brief summary of that report, click here. At the action, this morning 15 people blocked the construction site gate by linking arms. Nearby, there was a rally of about 40 people.

Fourteen people were arrested at 6:45 am this morning, including 3 clergy. As of 1 pm today, they are still being held. Casino Free Philadelphia has reported there is no word about their status.

For more information on this breaking story, here are some of the stories that have been released from Casino Free Philadelphia and the media:

Casino Free Philadelphia photographs of protest.

Fox news video of the arrests.

There are many more stories out there. Feel free to post links in the comments section of this blog post.

Philly's Secret Getaways

I know I haven't written in a while because I have been taking secret getaways in Philadelphia and haven't bothered to tell you about it. These are events so secret that are only talked about face-to-face, email/IM, or phone call. Thousands, maybe gazillions of these events occur in Philadelphia and elsewhere, but you'll only hear of them after the fact. The don't have an official name, but I will dub them...

Hanging Out at Someone's Place

Yes, in the past couple of weeks, I have had people invite me over for dinner or a small BBQ. These events are peculiar from the sweaty dance fests I have raved about in One Fine Philly. They cost no money at all and basically you do nothing, but hang out and perhaps nosh. In less than two weeks, I had three meals that I didn't have to cook or buy. I dined on simple dishes of stir fry and cous cous, pasta and corn, and grilled veggie burger and corn. And I did no work and I didn't have to wait in line at one of those places that you call restaurants.

And all we did was sit and talk. For hours.

I'm sold on this Hanging Out at Someone's Place thing. In fact, I have purchased a largish digital tv so I can do this curious activity at my own apartment. Maybe I'll see some of you there sometime.

Regular Unnamed Friday Column

I'll remember this week as an explosion of excess akin to the Monty Python sketch of the man at the restaurant. Too much of everything. Even the good stuff seemed more than I could handle. Here's a rundown.

RIP. This was a week full of celebrity deaths. We all know about most of them, so I don't need to explain the roll call here. Steven Wells, Gary Papa (pictured), Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. With the Philly deaths, Steven Wells hit me harder than Gary Papa. I think that's because I read Wells' Philly Weekly columns about his cancer. Here is his last Philly Weekly column. On @PhillyWeekly Twitter, there have been some great tributes like this one being posted up.

Social Overload. Social media is leading to socializing overload. The event invitations on my Facebook are piling up. I received at least 20 social invitations (including personal invites from friends for coffee or lunch) this week. Highlights this week included: Casino Free Philly circus, Philly Tweetup at McGillans, Derrick May at Arts Garage (Saturday), Jake Henry's record release party at Vango (Friday- tonight!).

Casino Free Circus

Need something to do today (Thursday) for lunch. Check out 718 Market Street in Center City, Philadelphia, the new location for anti-casino organizing in Philadelphia.

I'm heading there for lunch with a friend who has been active in this movement. Sounds interesting. At the very least, the flyer is eye catching. We are going to support the cause and also because my friend has a crush on someone who might be involved in the event. But that's no surprise- romantic intrigue spices up activist events.

I realized there is a 99.99999999999999999% percent chance that nobody reading this blog post will be able to make this event. Especially considering I am giving an hour's notice.

But no worries, you can get involved in Casino Free or learn more by clicking here.