How walkable is your neighborhood?

PHILADELPHIA WAS RANKED the THE FIFTH MOST WALKABLE CITY IN THE COUNTRY – not as high as I would have suspected, but impressive nonetheless.

But what is even cooler about this is Walk Score itself, the online application used to create the rankings. Walk Score ranked 2,508 neighborhoods in the largest 40 U.S. cities to help you find a walkable place to live, but you can also search any address in the country – I think – and, using Google Maps, you can get its Walk Score.

I can compare the walkability of my new digs in Harrisburg, Pa. – 62 out of 100 – to my old haunts in the 3300-block of North Park Avenue in Philadelphia – 80 of 100.

For the city rankings, each is broken down and evaluated by neighborhood, as can be seen here for Philadelphia.

1. San Francisco
2. New York City
3. Boston
4. Chicago
5. Philadelphia

See the rest here.

Hat tip to Broad and Cecil.

Brian Tierney, Sam Zell: journalism needs the business attitude

WITH THE 300-YEAR HISTORY OF NEWSPAPERS IN A SEEMING STRANGLEHOLD, plenty of wildly successful business men have gotten involved – all certainly interested in claiming a portion of history, which reviving and settling the newspaper ship would merit.

Public relations firm namesake Brian Tierney got all sorts of publicity when he led a group of investors in buying Philadelphia Media Holdings, taking control of the Inquirer and the Daily News, though he promised to stay out of editorial decisions.

The work he is doing is the same as Sam Zell, who gets more attention for working on a grander stage – majority owner of Tribune, which owns a handful of the countries largest newspapers – and being in worse fiscal trouble.

But like Tierney, what he is doing is what the industry needs. Bringing a truly business-mind to a self-proclaimed public service and, simply, trying something, anything. Just making moves – at least they’re getting attention, an important first step.

Continue reading Brian Tierney, Sam Zell: journalism needs the business attitude

Legislator beset by reform movement (Philadelphia Inquirer: 7/22/08)

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signs legislation on reforming state laws on lobbying and gaming, as Rep. Babette Josephs D-Philadelphia, looks on in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

By Christopher Wink | July 22, 2008 | Philadelphia Inquirer

HARRISBURG – State Rep. Babette Josephs came to the Capitol in 1985 vowing to be a voice for “people who have no voice.” For years, the Center City liberal waged a lonely fight against the pervading conservatism in the General Assembly.

In 2007, after Democrats took control of the House, Josephs ascended to a powerful new role: chairwoman of the State Government Committee, the panel charged with considering legislation related to government operations.

But Josephs, 67, now finds herself the scourge of the newly energized reform movement.

Continue reading Legislator beset by reform movement (Philadelphia Inquirer: 7/22/08)

Most powerful political reporters in Pennsylvania

I HAVE BEEN ROLLING WITH PENNSYLVANIA’S MOST POWERFUL POLITICAL REPORTERS THIS SUMMER.

So says a list released by PolitickerPA.com yesterday.

The state politics blog ranked the Commonwealth’s 10 most influential journalists, all of whom were print folks. Because of this internship I am currently serving with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association, of the 10, I have worked with four – seven by September – and met an additional two. Just Brett Lieberman of the Patriot-News, to whose blog I subscribe is a stranger to me, though his work is not.

Check the list here.

See a double byline story I had last week with No. 1 ranked Mario Cattabiani of the Inquirer, one with No. 4 ranked Brad Bumsted of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and one with No. 10 ranked Pete DeCoursey of Capitolwire.com.

Inquirer: Babette Josephs criticized by “reformers”

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell signs legislation on reforming state laws on lobbying and gaming, as Rep. Babette Josephs D-Philadelphia, looks on in Philadelphia, Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2006. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

This ran today for the Philadelphia Inquirer. The coverage is part of a post-graduate internship with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association (PLCA).

HARRISBURG – State Rep. Babette Josephs came to the Capitol in 1985 vowing to be a voice for “people who have no voice.” For years, the Center City liberal waged a lonely fight against the pervading conservatism in the General Assembly.

In 2007, after Democrats took control of the House, Josephs ascended to a powerful new role: chairwoman of the State Government Committee, the panel charged with considering legislation related to government operations.

But Josephs, 67, now finds herself the scourge of the newly energized reform movement.

…

Read the rest on Philly.com.

Photo from Daylife.

My Honors Thesis Web site: The Philadelphia Republican Party

Updated: My thesis has now moved to a subdomain here, as explained here.

CHECK OUT A (SEMI) COMPLETED WEB SITE I made for my year-long thesis project that I only finished now, having spent a couple months as a college graduate.

I graduated from Temple in May, with honors I might add, because of that thesis project on which I worked. Despite being a couple months removed from college, I only recently finished the final revisions offered to me by my paper’s adviser, the eminent Dr. Joseph McLaughlin.

Back in April, I announced I had the site running, but now have the final paper available. I hope to add some more features and supplemental info, but for now, it is a nice collection of the research and work I’ve done.

[www.phillypolitics.wordpress.com]

Google Image Search: The next frontier

Today’s journalists need a Web presence. No one is arguing that anymore.

Indeed, the brighter and more Web savvy, young journalists have already made the step and are looking to refine the quality and searchability of their product so that when an employer (or future, crazed romantic interest) runs their name in a search engine, the right product comes up.

You want your Web site, clips, appropriate photos, a mature, healthy online persona. Considering I’m part of a generation that will find answers through technology, for ourselves and broader issues, I’ve thought plenty of how to do that, including using online applications, most notably actually giving in and joining Facebook recently.

But, once you get that much figured out – No. 1 Google search for Christopher Wink and among the top for Chris Wink, damn you Blue Man Group founder with the same name – the next step becomes clear: image searches.

Continue reading Google Image Search: The next frontier

Downtheshore in Wildwood for the weekend

Me with my sister and mother on the Wildwood boardwalk in summer 1991.

Today and through the weekend I will be in familiar territory: downtheshore. Growing up in the rural northwest corner of New Jersey, My family spent each summer in the friendly confines of the Jersey Shore, the boardwalk of Wildwood and the the beaches of the nearby crest.

I fought the waves, played skeeball and wiffleball, ate pizza and funnel cake, and made about the best sand castles in history. I hope to recapture it all this weekend.

There is a 15 percent chance I could be killed in an ironic tram car death, having taunted the yellow trains my entire shore-going life.