The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) articles from February 2005

The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) archives from February 2005

For 76ers, it's better late than never in getting Webber.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Bob Ford PHILADELPHIA _ There was something strange about seeing Chris Webber in a 76ers uniform on Saturday night, a sort of "deja vu from an era in team history that never took place _ but should have. It is a long time ago...

`Cursed'.
February 28, 2005... Byline: David Hiltbrand Werewolves of Hollywood. The concept should work. But despite the good production pedigree of the "Scream" team, "Cursed" is a fangless task. As horror films go, this substandard effort is cheesier than grandma's...

Steve Wynn's latest Las Vegas extravaganza opens in April.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Bill Ordine Master casino-builder Steve Wynn becomes a player on the Las Vegas Strip again when his $2.6 billion, 217-acre resort opens in late April on the site of the former Desert Inn. Wynn Las Vegas _ a gracefully curving...

La Timba Loca brings new sound to Cuban salsa music.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Hannah Davis Timba isn't your typical salsa music. The heavy percussion and reggae beats, originating in Cuba, will definitely make you want to get up and _ with apologies to Ricky Martin _ shake your bon-bon. Never...

Most of us shouldn't be interested in interest-only mortgages.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown My previous column on mortgages looked at the pros and cons, given today's interest rates, of the most widely used loans, such as fixed-rate ones and adjustables. But what about the lesser-known types? It's worth...

When do you decide to put that jalopy out to pasture?
February 28, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown A riddle: Why is a car like a toaster? A clue: Once again, we're talking about whether it's time to ditch my `95 Sable wagon. I've written about this car before _ how I hope to keep it running until my...

Minimizing your costs now crucial for investors.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown If you ran a snowblower over the driveway recently, you probably had the thought that occupies many of us when we shovel or mow the lawn: What's the most efficient way to do this? In circles or straight lines?...

Mall executives unworried by Federated-May combo.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Wendy Tanaka PHILADELPHIA _ Some store names will change and some stores will likely close as a result of the impending nuptials between the parent companies of Macy's and Strawbridge's. But operators of some area malls that...

The Philadelphia Inquirer gambling column.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Bill Ordine Feb. 28--Master casino-builder Steve Wynn becomes a player on the Las Vegas Strip again when his $2.6 billion, 217-acre resort opens in late April on the site of the former Desert Inn. Wynn Las Vegas -- a...

Phillies' Howard missteps in 2nd try at outfield.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Todd Zolecki CLEARWATER, Fla. _ It isn't as easy to play in the outfield as some people may think. Ryan Howard has played there just twice in his professional baseball career. The first opportunity came last year, in the...

More injuries plague Phillies.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Todd Zolecki CLEARWATER, Fla. _ Injuries decimated the Phillies last season, and it seemed to start last spring, with freak finger injuries to closer Billy Wagner and first baseman Jim Thome. The Phillies hope yesterday's...

Phillies' payroll nears $95 million.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Todd Zolecki CLEARWATER, Fla. _ The Phillies will likely have one of the highest payrolls in baseball this season. The team announced Monday night that it had agreed to terms with second baseman Chase Utley, making its...

Manuel stays upbeat despite painful replays.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan CLEARWATER, Fla. _ Luck, that crafty old shape-shifter, isn't always easy to recognize. When the Phillies outsmarted themselves by offering free agent Placido Polanco arbitration in a ploy to get compensation...

Another shoe drops in Goongate.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Bob Ford PHILADELPHIA _ Here we are, a full seven days into Goongate, and the shoes just keep on dropping. There have been nuclear accidents with effects that dissipated more quickly than the fallout from John Chaney's...

Bryant's loss looms large for St. Joe's.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ Those who measure the worth of a basketball player by the statistics alongside his name on a scoresheet may regard St. Joseph's loss of John Bryant as rather insignificant. They would be wrong. ...

Chaney won't coach in A-10 tourney.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Mike Jensen and Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ Temple coach John Chaney, already suspended for the rest of the regular season for his actions in last week's St. Joseph's game, announced Monday night in a statement issued by the...

NHL sides to meet, separately.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio The National Hockey League and the NHL Players' Association will hold separate meetings Tuesday in different cities but with a common goal: to determine how hockey proceeds to next season. In New York, the...

Names in the news.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Tirdad Derakhshani On Veterans Day, ABC aired a good flick _ pretty darn good, as Hollywood fare goes. It was called "Saving Private Ryan,'' and the network decided not to gut the content of Steven Spielberg's 1998 picture by...

NCAA releases academic performance stats.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick The NCAA's new method for measuring the academic performance of athletes would penalize teams at more than 50 percent of Division I schools if they were to take effect immediately, NCAA officials said Monday....

Suburban renewal.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Edward Colimore Feb. 28--Thousands of motorists drive the eight-mile stretch of the White Horse Pike each day, passing run-down shopping centers, vacant stores, and empty parking lots. They see potential retail sites serving...

Township faces $4 million hole, 15.7 percent tax boost.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Rusty Pray Feb. 28--Increased expenses, flat state aid, and a drop in revenue -- the usual suspects in municipal budget nightmares -- have combined to create a grim reality for Moorestown officials as they work on the township's...

State ready to award a slots contract.
February 28, 2005... Byline: John Sullivan Feb. 28--HARRISBURG -- In the coming days, the state is expected to award a multimillion-dollar contract for an elaborate computer system to monitor the proposed 61,000 slot machines at 14 locations across the...

Sharpening test skills at school on Saturdays.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Toni Callas Feb. 28--Starting tomorrow, public school students throughout New Jersey will begin a three-week wave of exams that seek to measure their knowledge of science, math and language arts with annual standardized tests for...

Workers protest plan to raise SEPTA fares.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Joel Bewley Feb. 28--A group of retail workers concerned about SEPTA's proposed fare increases and service cutbacks marched along South Street yesterday to rally support for mass-transportation funding. The South Street...

Will energy deal benefit customers?
February 28, 2005... Byline: Jeff Gelles Feb. 28--If the marriage of the corporate parents of Pennsylvania's Peco Energy and New Jersey's Public Service Electric & Gas produces the predicted half a billion dollars a year in savings, should their customers...

Philadelphia area's most innovative executives honored.
February 28, 2005... Byline: Akweli Parker Feb. 28--Paul Koulogeorge is trying to inject some bold business thinking into Philadelphia -- one rabid, joystick-wielding employee at a time. Koulogeorge, vice president of marketing for EB Games, was one of...

Counterrevolutionary.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen Feb. 27--No one who knew Andrew L. Stern when he was a young shop steward and union president in Philadelphia is surprised by the ruckus Stern has managed to stir up in the world of organized labor. That's...

The Philadelphia Inquirer technology queries column.
February 27, 2005... Byline: John J. Fried Feb. 27--QUESTION: Is it possible to change the subject line of e-mails I've received? I need to keep e-mails to refer back to, but usually the subject line doesn't give me a clue as to why I've saved it. --...

Taking labor to the brink.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen Feb. 27--Tomorrow, at the AFL-CIO's winter executive meeting in Las Vegas, top union leaders will dig through a blizzard of proposals aimed at nothing less than saving the labor movement. Unleashing the...

Schiavo debate taps into faith, fear.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Sandy Bauers Feb. 27--Tens of thousands of e-mails and phone calls have surged into Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's office -- 35,000 since Monday alone. Hundreds of bloggers have weighed in. Vigils have been held, talk-show...

Relatives of slain girl, 3, file suit against city.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Joseph A. Slobodzian Feb. 27--Relatives of Porchia Bennett -- the 3-year-old South Philadelphia girl who was starved and beaten to death in 2003 while in an aunt's custody -- have sued the city, contending delays responding to an...

Weldon lauds public-private group.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Stephan Salisbury Feb. 27--Republican U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon touted the economic development power of regional partnerships yesterday at a conclave of businesspeople, defense contractors, and medical and technology researchers....

Tax relief from slot parlors comes at price for players.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Nathan Gorenstein Feb. 27--Pennsylvanians have been told that, by legalizing slot machines, they would get up to $1 billion annually for property- and wage-tax relief. But never bluntly explained was that to get that $1...

U.S. high schools are obsolete, Gates tells governors group.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Dale Mezzacappa Feb. 27--WASHINGTON -- Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told the nation's governors and business leaders yesterday that high school education in the United States is obsolete and morally indefensible because it fails...

Touted Social Security model has limits.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Larry Eichel Feb. 27--President Bush often says that his proposal to let people create personal accounts within Social Security isn't such a revolutionary concept. "If you're a federal employee, you've got... what's called a...

This Eagles offseason shouldn't be as hectic as last year.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Bob Brookover INDIANAPOLIS _ The second the NFL free-agency period opened a year ago, Eagles president Joe Banner picked up a telephone and called agent Drew Rosenhaus to ask what it would take to sign Jevon Kearse, the most...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Andrew Cassel column.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Andrew Cassel Feb. 27--Even Alan Greenspan can't figure it out. The U.S. economy is growing briskly. Prices for important commodities are rising. The American dollar is in a precarious position relative to other global...

The Philadelphia Inquirer personal finance column.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown Feb. 27--If you ran a snow-blower over the driveway Friday morning, you probably had the thought that occupies many of us when we shovel or mow the lawn: What's the most efficient way to do this? In circles or...

Umpire visits Phillies to encourage faster games.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Todd Zolecki CLEARWATER, Fla. _ Former umpire and current umpire supervisor Richie Garcia remembers the 1981 World Series when New York Yankees pitcher Ron Guidry and Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Jerry Reuss threw a 2-1...

Vukovich misses the field action with Phillies.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Todd Zolecki CLEARWATER, Fla. _ John Vukovich finds himself in unfamiliar territory at the Carpenter Complex. He's without his fungo bat, which for years seemed to be perpetually at his side. He isn't coordinating the action...

Too quiet in Phillies Land.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan CLEARWATER, Fla. _ It's quiet. Almost too quiet. That's the lingering impression after a couple of days in soggy Pinellas County. There is, in the signature phrase of the recently departed Dr. Gonzo, fear and...

Villanova defeats Georgetown for fifth consecutive victory.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Kevin Tatum WASHINGTON _ Three times in the second half on Sunday, the Georgetown crowd at the MCI Center got energized and vocal as the Hoyas made scoring runs, threatening to turn around the game against Villanova. Three...

What? Iverson's talking about practice.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano PHILADELPHIA _ Allen Iverson knows exactly what the 76ers need to do to quickly get Chris Webber and their other new players on the same page and ready for the stretch run. "I was anxious just to get to practice...

Temple women wrap up perfect A-10 season.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Mel Greenberg PHILADELPHIA _ The Temple women finished with a perfect record in the Atlantic Ten Conference and claimed the Big Five title Sunday with a 69-46 win against St. Joseph's at Alumni Memorial Fieldhouse. The...

Hit by Bruschi said to cause McNabb's breathing problems.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Bob Brookover INDIANAPOLIS _ It was a hit by linebacker Tedy Bruschi that left quarterback Donovan McNabb gasping for air at a time when the Eagles were attempting to go into their hurry-up offense during their Super Bowl XXXIX...

NHL players, with many questions and few answers, to meet.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ Meetings this week in New York and Toronto figure to shape the events that will unfold in the coming months for the National Hockey League. On Monday, players will begin arriving in Toronto for a...

Lots of low necklines ... and low backlines.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Karen Heller and Tanya Barrientos Oscar's problem is that all that good taste threatens to turn a unique evening into a dull affair. There's none of the Golden Globes boozy intimacy or the Grammys bling-bling bluster. This is a...

Chris Rock's much-anticipated debut as host was a letdown.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Jonathan Storm What was all that controversy about? Supposed bad boy Chris Rock delivered a naughty word in his first sentence Sunday night at the Oscars, then followed with a surprisingly flat and uninspired performance. ...

`Million Dollar Baby' knocks out `Aviator' to win top Oscars.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Carrie Rickey The billionaire and the boxer came in swinging _ and Jamie Foxx came in singing "What'd I Say" as he hoisted his best actor trophy. In the end, it was a knockout punch for Clint Eastwood's intimate fight drama...

Flap over White House press corps is far from over.
February 27, 2005... Byline: Dick Polman The White House correspondent formerly known as Gannon has quit his job and acknowledged his real name, which is Guckert. And his employer, a conservative Web site operated by Texas Republican activists, having...

Hitting talk or burning fuse? What's better for Phillies.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan CLEARWATER, Fla. _ The chair can't hold Charlie Manuel, not when the Phillies' new manager starts talking about hitting. One second he's trying to explain what Pat Burrell must do to regain his 2002 form, the...

Moorad joins a different fraternity.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ Now, Jeff Moorad will know what it feels like on the other side. Moorad is no stranger in Philadelphia. He became one of baseball's most high-powered agents after graduating from Villanova's...

Remember Chaney for who he is, not what he did.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ The temptation to call for John Chaney's dismissal is not only comprehensible but warranted. The vitriol spewing from Chaney's mouth was bad enough. That it was aimed at referees, Atlantic Ten...

Temple's Ingram says he's `a really nice guy,' not a `goon'.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Mike Jensen PHILADELPHIA _ He'd been defined by his coach, John Chaney, with one word, and it will follow Temple reserve big man Nehemiah Ingram around for some time. "Goon. "I'm thinking about the road games a little bit,"...

Temple wins without Chaney.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ Filling in for suspended Temple coach John Chaney, 31-year-old Dan Leibovitz never could have imagined that in his first game as head coach he would feel obligated to serve as a therapist as well as a...

Webber can't save the 76ers in his debut.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano PHILADELPHIA _ Chris Webber started the night being introduced to a pumped-up audience on Saturday night at the Wachovia Center. He finished the night with a chance to save the 76ers from defeat but couldn't make it...

Who won, who lost amid bevy of NBA trades.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano PHILADELPHIA _ The names popped up at a dizzying pace: former all-stars Baron Davis and Chris Webber; former Sixers Speedy Claxton and Keith Van Horn; local favorites Malik Rose and Malik Allen. By the time the...

Sign language: NFL teams ready to lure free agents.
February 26, 2005... Byline: David Aldridge PHILADELPHIA _ The calendar now turns, inexorably, toward Dan Snyder's Super Bowl. It's played every March. The Washington Redskins have won the NFL's off-season title for the last several years. Snyder, their...

Flyers' Esche takes time to reflect during NHL lockout.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ You knew him as Silent Bob during last spring's playoffs. His real name is Robert Esche. Right before the drop of the puck that opened the April series against the New Jersey Devils, Esche,...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Consumer Watch column.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Jeff Gelles Feb. 26--Not far from my office, on a side street near City Hall, a small storefront caught my eye the other day. I had bankruptcy on my mind -- not my own, I'm relieved to say, or that of any of any family,...

Former U.S. representative joins Philadelphia law firm.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Porus P. Cooper Feb. 26--Former U.S. Rep. Joseph M. Hoeffel, who was unable to unseat U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter last year, has joined the Philadelphia law firm of Kohn, Swift & Graf P.C., while he considers a run for the Senate...

Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard to post profit with help of 2 ship sales.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Henry J. Holcomb Feb. 26--The sale of two more ships this week has put the Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard in the black for the first time. The yard's parent, Kvaerner A.S.A., filed notice in Oslo, Norway, yesterday that its...

Jimmy Young an example of how boxing doesn't care for its own.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ They all know. That's the thing that really gets you. All the people who are involved in boxing know what the risks are, what the costs are, how the stories usually end. As Marcellus Wallace tells...

Veterinarian charged with cruelty to animals.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Walter F. Naedele Feb. 26--A Doylestown Township veterinarian has been charged with beating clients' horses in three incidents in 2002 and 2003, as well as neglecting other horses in 2003. After a five-month investigation,...

Temple president again makes a tough call.
February 26, 2005... Feb. 26--There's little doubt who would win a Temple University popularity contest between coach John Chaney and university president David Adamany. The former is a campus legend. The latter is a sometimes prickly leader who has ruffled...

Tears flow at slaying victims' service.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Murray Dubin Feb. 26--Thundering hymns, joyous hallelujahs, and a torrent of tears marked the funerals yesterday of Willie Mae Alston, 67, and her grandson, Andre Giddings, 20, who were shot and killed in their North Philadelphia...

Warner Bros. goes daffy.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Desmond Ryan Feb. 26--In the masterly cartoon "The Big Snooze," Elmer Fudd decides to abandon his perpetual and futile pursuit of Bugs Bunny. He tears up his contract with Warner Bros. Then Bugs, panicked at the prospect of a...

Release of tapes in probe ordered.
February 26, 2005... Byline: Maureen Graham Feb. 26--Hundreds of hours of secretly recorded conversations with several South Jersey political figures and others were ordered released by a Superior Court judge over the objections of the state Attorney...

`Million Dollar Baby,' `Aviator' face off at Oscars.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Steven Rea Forgive the boxing metaphor, but for once it seems appropriate: In this corner, the plucky pugilist of "Million Dollar Baby." In the other, the obsessive-compulsive millionaire of "The Aviator." At 8:30 p.m. EST...

AFL-CIO president's proposals attempt to end labor movement decline.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen Feb. 25--Under pressure to halt the labor movement's decline in numbers and strengthen its political clout, AFL-CIO president John Sweeney said yesterday that he would encourage union mergers and dues rebates...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Andrew Cassel column.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Andrew Cassel Feb. 25--As much as we've written about Social Security lately, there are still plenty of people who don't get what the fuss is all about. I've talked with perfectly intelligent friends who can't understand why...

Freight transporter to buy 2 ships from Kvaerner Philadelphia shipyard.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Henry J. Holcomb Feb. 25--The Matson Navigation Co. said yesterday it would buy two more ships from the Kvaerner Philadelphia Shipyard for a total of $290 million. The deal allows Matson to start a new service between the...

Reliance Insurance Co. settlement amount disappoints state officials.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Joseph N. Distefano Feb. 25--Pennsylvania has agreed to settle its lawsuit against Saul P. Steinberg and other former officials of his failed Reliance Insurance Co. for a fraction of what state officials had hoped for. Under...

Some dairy farmers worry about 'organic' milk labels.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Harold Brubaker Feb. 25--Even in the cold of winter, Roman Stoltzfoos sends his organic dairy cows tramping out to pasture after milking them. That constant effort on his 200-acre Lancaster County farm is at the heart of a...

The Borgata's scales of injustice: They've got you, Babes.
February 25, 2005... The following editorial appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer on Thursday, Feb. 24: X X X For all those guys out there who know a "babe" when they see one, but have never been able to quantify the concept, you can now thank the...

Election reform a crucial step in addressing democracy's ills.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Jane Eisner There's no right to vote enshrined in the Constitution, but it's certainly enshrined in the national psyche. We moan when voter turnout declines, and exult when other nations _ most recently Iraq _ use the ballot box...

Snacks slim down in Philadelphia schools.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Marian Uhlman PHILADELPHIA _ Call it the quiet diet. Without any fanfare, snacks sold in Philadelphia schools have started meeting strict, new nutrition standards for fat, sugar and sodium. The standards were implemented...

Documentary on Globetrotters sheds light on little-known history.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Don Steinberg PHILADELPHIA _ Even sports fans with long memories might think of the Harlem Globetrotters as a joke team whose players dump buckets of confetti onto fans or lend their likenesses to Saturday morning cartoons, such...

Sports broadcasting and simple sentences a sure way to fame.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick PHILADELPHIA _ I want to be a legend. And since great sportswriting requires a grasp of both sports and writing, I've been looking for an easier path to immortality. Now I think I've found it. ...

Swann, from four Super Bowls to governor's mansion?
February 25, 2005... Byline: Carrie Budoff NORTH HUNTINGDON, Pa. _ The early steps of a potential gubernatorial candidate rarely elicit such attention: Republicans packing a banquet hall, youngsters seeking autographs, news cameras trailing his every move....

Names in the news.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Tirdad Derakhshani Real-life drag queen Divine (R.I.P.) originated the role of overweight laundress Edna Turnblad in John Waters' demented but truly lovable film comedy, "Hairspray,'' but veteran actor Harvey Fierstein is...

If Chaney can't regain respect, then it's time to retire.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan PHILADELPHIA _ John Chaney has always been honest, sometimes to a fault. For his own sake and for the sake of Temple University, it is vital for Chaney to be honest right now. With himself, and with everyone else....

Chaney suspended for rest of regular season for `goon' strategy.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Ray Parrillo PHILADELPHIA _ Temple University suspended men's basketball coach John Chaney for the remainder of the regular season on Friday, after a St. Joseph's player suffered a broken arm during the controversial second half...

Red-light runners stunning officials.
February 25, 2005... Byline: Stephan Salisbury Feb. 25--For years, city officials have weathered complaints about red-light runners at Grant Avenue and Roosevelt Boulevard. But no one figured -- not in their most traffic-hassled, gas-choked nightmares --...