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

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

Europeans are adopting Philadelphia-area banks.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Joseph N. DiStefano Oct. 31--Because it borrows and imports so much more than it sells and invests in other countries, the United States has come to depend on Europeans and other foreign investors. So it should be no surprise...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Consumer Watch column.(guerrilla marketing)(Column)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jeff Gelles Oct. 31--NEW BUZZ TACTIC: MANIPULATING TEENS: Remember the New Yorker cartoon of a dog sitting at a computer? The caption reads: "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog." I had it in mind recently when I posed...

Drug industry fears a novel's side effects.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Thomas Ginsberg Oct. 31--A pharmaceutical consultant secretly commissions a novel about terrorists poisoning Americans with medicine from Canada, then backs out and inadvertently spawns a thriller pillorying his own industry. ...

Derided in U.S., flat tax a winner in Eastern Europe.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Ken Dilanian Oct. 31--TALLINN, Estonia - Eleven years ago, when this tiny former Soviet outpost was looking to smooth its plunge into the rough seas of the free market, Estonia's upstart leader decided to try something radical: A...

New health official off to ambitious start.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Virginia A. Smith and Marian Uhl Oct. 31--Joanne Godley has had a few adventures in her day, between chasing disease in Puerto Rico and dodging military coups in Africa. But Philadelphia is its own adventure. As the city's new...

HIV home test to be debated.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Linda Loyd Oct. 31--Pharmacy shelves are stocked with do-it-yourself home tests for blood glucose, cholesterol and pregnancy - but none for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. That might change. A small Bethlehem company,...

SEPTA unions begin strike.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Larry King Oct. 31--About 400,000 SEPTA customers woke up this morning without a ride. At least, not their usual ride. Most of the region's public transit system shut down at 12:01 a.m. today, when 5,300 union workers...

Iverson `convinced' he and Webber can share starring role.(basketball)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano You've heard all the reasons why a partnership between Allen Iverson and Chris Webber can't work effectively enough to help the 76ers become major players in the NBA's Eastern Conference. Among them: Both are...

Spotlight's on Cheeks as Sixers prepare to open season.(basketball)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano PHILADELPHIA _ Maurice Cheeks is trying to keep everything low-key, simply saying he's looking forward to the start of the regular season and the chance to coach the 76ers in meaningful games. That's all well and...

Tough conference is Sixers' roadblock.(basketball)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ Allen Iverson. A questionable Chris Webber. A burgeoning stud in Andre Iguodala. A thin front line. After all the news, all the changes, all the old issues that were revisited and supposedly...

Eagles look to overcome slow starts.(football)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Bob Brookover PHILADELPHIA _ Plan A isn't working. The script that Eagles coach Andy Reid and assistants Marty Mornhinweg and Brad Childress craft each week has been consistently worse than "Ishtar.'' It has also been more...

Brunell suffers a cruel snub.(football)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Ashley Fox After spending 10 minutes trying to explain just how and why the Washington Redskins collapsed in a pivotal NFC East matchup against the New York Giants on Sunday, Mark Brunell suffered the ultimate indignity. The...

Concussion sidelines Primeau.(NHL hockey)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ Philadelphia Flyers center Keith Primeau officially has another concussion and will be sidelined indefinitely. The diagnosis was made Monday by team neurologist Gerri McGinnis at Thomas Jefferson...

Names in the news.(Donald Trump, Martha Stewart)(Gerard Depardieu)(Jeff Probst)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Tirdad Derakhshani Martha Stewart and Donald Trump, whose egos will someday be enshrined in the Lincoln Memorial _ is it big enough? _ have been exchanging verbal salvos. That's either because they're bored or are looking to...

Bush wasn't likely to divide his base again.(nomination of Samuel Salito)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Dick Polman PHILADELPHIA _ Freed from his misadventure with Harriet Miers, President Bush has returned to the first principle of contemporary Republican politics. Call it the Karl Rove rule: Keep the conservatives happy. ...

Alito's rise took no one who knows him by surprise.(Biography)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jennifer Moroz, Kaitlin Gurney and Elisa Ung TRENTON, N.J. _ In the red brick colonial, just outside Trenton, where Samuel "Sam" Alito Jr. grew up, his mother has kept a meticulous record of his rise. It starts with a...

Alito likened to Scalia, but comparisons called superficial.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Emilie Lounsberry and John Shiffman PHILADELPHIA _ They call him "Scalito." For much of his 15 years on the Philadelphia-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit, Samuel A. Alito Jr. has been compared to Justice...

The Philadelphia Inquirer business people column.(Hadassah)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Thomas J. Brady Oct. 31--HADASSAH'S NEW LEADER CALLS IT A 'BRIDGE TO PEACE': Judy Ron used to have a common misperception of Hadassah: that it was made up mostly of older women. That misperception was corrected after she...

The search for scent.(Column)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Tanya Barrientos For a year of my life, I smelled like a lemon. All the girls did back in 1973. Until, of course, we smelled like strawberries. Then we moved to patchouli, and musk, and anything else that conjured images...

Longing for the egg.(Column)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Bob Sheasley The look in a chicken's eye as she lays an egg tells you she knows she's onto something good. She squats and stares. You could tap her beak, wag her wattle _ it's all the same to her. Suddenly she lifts and squeezes,...

Designer eggs bring more choices to consumers.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Barbara Whitaker Oh, the elegant egg: simple in form, straightforward in content, a perfect little protein-filled package. Until recently, buying eggs involved only choosing between white or brown, picking a size, then...

Acerbic moral compass.(Interview)
October 31, 2005... PHILADELPHIA _ John Bogle, 76, is as pugnacious as ever in his new book, ``The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism.'' The Vanguard Group founder finds plenty to dislike about corporate chieftains, investment professionals and the...

How to figure the cost of inherited stocks, real estate.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown Q. In sorting through my dad's investments after his death, I found he owned shares of Exxon & GE. But I have been unable to determine when he bought the shares and what he paid. How can I determine the cost for...

Inflation-protected bonds aren't foolproof.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown Is it time for TIPS? They're certainly tempting _ rock-solid, government-guaranteed bonds that shield investors from inflation. That protection looks awfully good because consumer prices rose a disturbing 4.7...

What really moves the markets.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown Every day after the financial markets close, analysts and news organizations attribute the ups or downs to some key factor: Stocks fell in the wake of an inflation report... They rose on a jump in consumer spending...

`Shopgirl'.(Movie Review)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Steven Rea In "Shopgirl," Claire Danes is Mirabelle Buttersfield, a displaced Vermonter, an artist, a twentysomething salesgirl at the gloves counter on the couture floor of Saks in Beverly Hills. She can stand idle for hours,...

BET, one of life's guilty pleasures, marks 25 years of shock and awe.(Column)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Annette John-Hall On Tuesday, BET will celebrate its silver anniversary with the special "25 Strong," a star-packed throwdown featuring, among others, Usher, Alicia Keys, Mary J. Blige, and Earth Wind & Fire. Can't wait for...

SEPTA strike has Philadelphians scrambling for rides.
October 31, 2005... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen PHILADELPHIA _ Workers crowded on the regional rails, waited for shuttles, borrowed their children's bicycles, traded high-heels for hiking shoes, grabbed cabs and carpooled to get to their jobs Monday as the...

Heche to begin stint on `Nip/Tuck'.(Anne Heche)(Interview)
October 31, 2005... Byline: Gail Shister Anne Heche is cheating on her husband. "I'm having a passionate affair with FX right now," says Heche, 36, who on Tuesday begins a three-episode arc on "Nip/Tuck." "I love what they do. They're not tied down...

Abbas, under mounting pressure, struggles to assert control.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Michael Matza JERUSALEM _ A sharp uptick in violence after a Palestinian suicide bombing and an Israeli military foray in the West Bank and Gaza last week has dramatically added to the political peril of faltering Palestinian...

Naturally, he's a chip off the old DNA.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Amy Worden HARRISBURG, Pa. _ Charles Darwin might not be in the federal courtroom to hear witnesses challenge his theory of evolution. But his DNA is. As one of Darwin's most vocal modern-day critics testified in a...

On the NBA: Artest stay hungry.
October 30, 2005... Byline: David Aldridge INDIANAPOLIS _ He was out on the court late in a meaningless preseason game, with wanna-bes and no-hopers, which is exactly when most NBA guys take a seat. No one wants to risk injury _ or embarrassment _ being on...

Broncos pin 49-21 loss on Eagles.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Bob Brookover DENVER _ The Philadelphia Eagles finally perfected their first-quarter limbo dance Sunday, and then they duplicated it in the final quarter after they had somehow turned a 28-point deficit into a closely contested...

Defense let Eagles down.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Bob Ford DENVER _ It was just a week ago that the Philadelphia Eagles' defense had everything figured out. After giving up a total of 64 points in back-to-back games against Kansas City and Dallas, the players were tired of...

On the NFL: Giants find their focus.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Ashley Fox EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. _ After the sad death of the New York Giants' beloved patriarch, Wellington Mara, and Mara's emotional funeral Friday at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, Ernie Accorsi didn't know what to...

The Eagles were bad . . . again.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Phil Sheridan DENVER _ It's slipping away. You can feel it. Walk into the Philadelphia Eagles' locker room after a 49-21 embarrassment here and it's in the air. This is not a very good football team right now, and the players...

Flyers skate past Senators.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio OTTAWA, Ontario _ This time, the Philadelphia Flyers didn't blow a two-goal lead in the third period. They played responsibly with the puck, despite having just five defensemen. And they got timely saves as Robert...

Names in the news.
October 30, 2005... The saw was mightier than the sword at the weekend film box office. With Halloween at hand, the bloody "Saw II" premiered with a $30.5 million gross, almost double the $16.5 million opening of Antonio Banderas' swashbuckling sequel "The...

Consumer, industry groups debate impact of oil 'supermajors'.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Harold Brubaker Oct. 30--Who's to blame? As consumers struggle to pay off gasoline credit cards and brace for what could be their highest winter heating bills ever, the easiest target for their frustration is Big Oil. ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Andrew Cassel column.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Andrew Cassel Oct. 30--Let me see if I've got this right. Big oil companies are greedy, soulless corporate parasites, bleeding America with prices that are much too high. Wal-Mart, on the other hand, is a greedy, soulless...

The Philadelphia Inquirer personal finance column.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Jeff Brown Oct. 30--Every day after the financial markets close, analysts and news organizations attribute the ups or downs to some key factor: Stocks fell in the wake of an inflation report... They rose on a jump in consumer...

Could Big Oil be a scapegoat?
October 30, 2005... Byline: Harold Brubaker Oct. 30--Who's to blame? As consumers struggle to pay off gasoline credit cards and brace for what could be their highest winter heating bills ever, the easiest target for their frustration is Big Oil. ...

The Philadelphia Inquirer home real estate column.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Alan J. Heavens Oct. 30--ALL MIGHT NOT BE LOST IF PAINTING'S ON YOUR LIST: Here it is, the last Sunday in October, and I haven't finished the exterior painting yet again. It's the same second coat I was supposed to apply last...

The Philadelphia Inquirer technology queries column.
October 30, 2005... Byline: John J. Fried Oct. 30--QUESTION: I have downloaded a large number of old-time-radio shows in MP3 format. I have them on CDs and can listen to them on a portable CD player, but would like to expand the way I listen to them. Any...

SEPTA talks get down to the wire.(Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority)
October 30, 2005... Byline: Larry King Oct. 30--By midnight, everyone will know. For the 400,000 who ride SEPTA buses, trolleys and subways daily to jobs, classes, malls and doctors, the Halloween gong could mean trouble. Time to break out the bicycles,...

Getting there, with or without SEPTA.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Jane M. Von Bergen Oct. 30--The calls for extra buses are coming so thick and fast that Gary Krapf needs a speed dialer to keep up. "I can't return them all," he said. Getting employees to work tomorrow if there is a...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Web site column.
October 30, 2005... Byline: Reid Kanaley Oct. 30--There is continued talk of the possibility of an influenza pandemic -- should the notorious H5N1 "bird flu" mutate into a form that could be transmitted among humans. We went to the sites tracking...

Penn State turns back Purdue for homecoming.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. _ In a darkened Beaver Stadium corridor, Tony Hunt walked past Joe Paterno just as the coach was rolling up a khaki pantleg even farther than normal to display the fresh bruise that left him...

Names in the news.
October 29, 2005... The movie industry is thinking about releasing films on DVD at the same time they hit the theaters. Director M. Night Shyamalan thinks that's just wrong, the Associated Press reports. Such a move threatens the artistic integrity of films,...

Afleet Alex sitting pretty for 3-year-old of the year.(horse racing)
October 29, 2005... Byline: Mike Jensen ELMONT, N.Y. _ He may have been asleep at the time over in Barn 12A on the backside at Belmont Park, but Afleet Alex appeared to pile on yet another accomplishment on Saturday afternoon. The Philadelphia-area...

Jeff Daniels stars in Baumbach's latest.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Steven Rea Oct. 29--Bernard Berkman, the dysfunctional patriarch of Noah Baumbach's wonderful The Squid and the Whale, is a narcissistic, washed-up novelist whose family is falling apart, and whose pathetic state reaches new lows...

Earnings slump by 78% at Universal Health Services.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Josh Goldstein Oct. 29--Universal Health Services Inc., of King of Prussia, yesterday reported a third-quarter profit of $8.3 million, a 78 percent decline from the same period in 2004. The hospital company attributed the...

Council rescinds liquor license.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Maureen Graham and George Anasta Oct. 29--Following a raucous two-hour closed-door discussion, Washington Township's council has voted to rescind a controversial liquor license to the former aide to Mayor Paul Moriarty. Just...

The Philadelphia Inquirer technology queries column.(MP3 players and broadband)
October 29, 2005... Byline: John J. Fried Oct. 29--QUESTION: I am ready to buy iPods for my two teenage boys this holiday season. We are still using dial-up. I'm thinking you need cable or DSL to download audio files, but I don't want to give up...

The Philadelphia Inquirer Consumer Watch column.(word of mouth marketing)
October 29, 2005... Byline: Jeff Gelles Oct. 29--Remember the New Yorker cartoon of a dog sitting at a keyboard typing, "On the Internet, nobody knows you're a dog"? I had it in mind recently when I posed as the family cat to sneak my way onto...

King of Prussia, Pa.-based hospital company reports sharp profit drop-off.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Josh Goldstein Oct. 29--Universal Health Services Inc. of King of Prussia yesterday reported third-quarter profit of $8.3 million, a 78 percent decline compared with the same period in 2004. The hospital company attributed...

Cap it? Tax it?
October 29, 2005... Byline: Benjamin Y. Lowe Oct. 29--The spike in the price of gasoline that followed Hurricane Katrina, and the record oil-company profits that resulted this week, have drawn attention from consumer advocates and public officials. But...

Product tanker assembly begins at Philadelphia shipyard.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Henry J. Holcomb Oct. 29--In the modern version of the traditional keel-laying ceremony, final assembly began yesterday on the first of 10 product tanker ships to be built here over the next five years. The tankers are being...

New Phillies general manager's top task will be trading Thome.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Jim Salisbury PHILADELPHIA _ Phillies president Dave Montgomery is nearing the end of his search for a new general manager. That's good, because it would behoove the organization to have the position filled before the annual...

NBA capsules for Eastern Conference.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Joe Juliano EASTERN CONFERENCE Atlantic Division New Jersey Nets Last season: 42-40 (third); lost to Miami, 4-0, in the first round of the playoffs. Coach: Lawrence Frank (third NBA season, 67-55). New...

NBA capsules for Western Conference.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Marc Narducci WESTERN CONFERENCE Northwest Division Denver Nuggets Last season: 49-33 (second); lost to San Antonio, 4-1, in the first round of the playoffs. Coach: George Karl (18th NBA season, 736-505). ...

In NBA, plenty of teams capable of crowning achievement.
October 29, 2005... Byline: David Aldridge PHILADELPHIA _ Uneasy lie the heads that wear the crown. "I told them, Shaq wants to win the championship. He wants to prove he can do it without Kobe," Gregg Popovich, the San Antonio Spurs' coach, said he...

Are the Eagles good _ or just plain lucky?
October 29, 2005... Byline: Bob Brookover PHILADELPHIA _ Sharpen those No. 2 pencils, because it's time for a short Eagles survey. Please provide the answer you think best fits the following two statements: 1. The Eagles were lucky to beat the San...

Quinn downplays coaching milestone.(Pat Quinn)
October 29, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio PHILADELPHIA _ Pat Quinn says there wasn't anything magical about being behind the bench for his 500th game as Maple Leafs coach. Even if the number came up against the Flyers. Fact is, he wasn't even aware of...

Indictment shines spotlight on architects of war.
October 29, 2005... Byline: Dick Polman PHILADELPHIA _ The Bush administration's rationale for war is now officially on trial. Ostensibly, the indictment of Vice President Cheney's closest aide is about lying under oath and obstructing a federal probe....

No `good divorce'.(Column)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Jane Eisner Elizabeth Marquardt was born in 1970, just as no-fault divorce was becoming common. Her parents, high school sweethearts, married in their first year of college, bore Elizabeth the next year, and by the time she was...

After a decade and a half, popular show will take its last bow.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Amy S. Rosenberg ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. _ Elvis was sick, for only the second time in five years. Luckily, Tina Turner could get time off from her day job in the lingerie department at Boscov's. Yes, these are the waning days...

Naturally, he's a chip off the old DNA.(Biography)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Amy Worden HARRISBURG, Pa. _ Charles Darwin might not be in the federal courtroom to hear witnesses challenge his theory of evolution. But his DNA is. As one of Darwin's most vocal modern-day critics testified in a...

Gene drug gives man second chance at survival.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Susan FitzGerald PHILADELPHIA _ Harvey Harris settled into the bed at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, ready to endure yet another round of tests to check the aggressive cancer growing in his chest. He wasn't...

Avoid the crowds by touring Europe in winter.(Column)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Howard Shapiro Teeny flakes of snow were dropping steadily in Prague at the beginning of my winter journey to Europe. Snow is a blessing for winter sports, but I was trying to tour like a summer nomad, visiting parks and museums...

Partner of Swoopes crossed coaching line.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Stephen A. Smith PHILADELPHIA _ Sheryl Swoopes may be the story. But she is not the issue. Not now. Not in this day and time. And especially not when an absence of professional ethics is so abundantly clear regarding...

Two discount airlines to add flights at Phila.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Tom Belden Oct. 28--Two growing discount carriers, AirTran Airways and Southwest Airlines, announced plans yesterday to add flights next year at Philadelphia International Airport. AirTran plans to add another nonstop flight...

Two drug firms report sharply higher profits.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Josh Goldstein Oct. 28--Two London-based pharmaceutical companies with major operations in the Philadelphia area reported sharp increases in profit for the quarter ended Sept. 30. AstraZeneca P.L.C. saw third-quarter profit...

Casino sale boosts Penn National's profit.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Suzette Parmley Oct. 28--Penn National Gaming Inc., the Wyomissing owner of regional racetracks and racinos, yesterday reported higher revenue and income for the third quarter. The company, which acquired Argosy Gaming Co....

Philadelphia flavor maker taking exotic turn.(David Michael & Co.)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Harold Brubaker Oct. 28--Does the thought of apple chervil gelato, peppermint hummus, and a cup of hot vanilla set your mouth watering? If so, don't rush out to the store just yet. Those fanciful treats were among the...

Pennsylvania pitches in to restore historic inn.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Bonnie L. Cook Oct. 28--The $1.5 million restoration of the Black Horse Inn has been boosted by a $500,000 grant from the state capital budget, officials interested in the project said yesterday. The grant requires matching...

Two slots parlor sites not recommended.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Robert Moran Oct. 28--There should be no slots parlors at Penn's Landing or Eighth and Market Streets, the Philadelphia Gaming Advisory Task Force recommended yesterday. In a 436-page final report, the task force said the...

Talks on tax change continue.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Anthony S. Twyman Oct. 28--Words like buffer and homestead exemption may become more familiar to Philadelphians as the city proceeds with its plan to base tax assessments on the actual market price of a property, rather than on a...

City's advice if SEPTA strikes: Trains, bikes or carpools.
October 28, 2005... Byline: L. Stuart Ditzen and Larry King Oct. 28--City Managing Director Pedro A. Ramos said yesterday that in the event of a SEPTA strike on Monday, commuters should plan to ride trains, carpool, or bicycle in and out of Center City. ...

Penn State meets a struggling Purdue team.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Frank Fitzpatrick STATE COLLEGE, Pa. _ It's hard to recall now, amid all the excitement bubbling around Penn State football, but an air of desperation shrouded Happy Valley when Purdue played here last season. Joe Paterno,...

Owens' words apparently a very hot commodity these days.(Interview)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Bob Ford PHILADELPHIA _ Normally, it doesn't really bother me that Terrell Owens won't talk to me. I try not to take these things personally. After all, it isn't as if Terrell won't talk to "only me. He won't talk to just about...

Flyers fall to Hurricanes.(NHL hockey)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Tim Panaccio RALEIGH, N.C. _ If you buy into the rule changes and the whole concept behind the "new" NHL, you accept the fact that teams will blow two-goal leads in the third period. That's what happened Friday night to the...

Names in the news.(Brooke Shields writes on post partum depression)(Kate Moss rehabbed)(George Takei outs)
October 28, 2005... Byline: Alfred Lubrano Forever young in our hearts, Brooke Shields will always seem too much of a child herself to be having kids. But there the pretty baby is, now pregnant with her second child, the New York Post reports. She already...

Wallace still seeking interview with Bush.
October 28, 2005... Byline: Gail Shister What does President Bush have against Mike Wallace? The "60 Minutes'' ace has interviewed every American president since Harry Truman (1945-52) _ including George H.W. Bush _ but George W. won't give him the time...