THE 8:30 REPORT: This Morning in Philly
Were you stuck in traffic over the holiday? Blame this guy: 2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the first transcontinental family road trip, undertaken by wealthy Pennsylvanian Jacob Murdock and kin in a 1908 Packard. A publicity sensation that helped convince people cars were a comfortable means of leisure travel, Murdock’s 32-day slog from Pasadena to New York City led to a boom in road construction. At the time, Murdock noted that the roads in Eastern Pennsylvania were “the best of the trip.” If only. [Inquirer]
Pretty please, Mr. Casino Man?: With Dwight Evans and Vince Fumo now teaming up and vowing to strong-arm the developers of Philadelphia’s two new casinos if they don’t willingly relocate off the waterfront, Gov. Rendell has piped up to remind all and sundry that there’s no legal way to force them to move. He says he’ll meet with the developers and try again to persuade them to move, but tells community groups not to get “too excited” about the possibility. [KYW]
Open, rinse, toss in one big bucket: Single-stream recycling — which allows residents to put all recyclable materials into one container for pickup — is ready for prime time across the entire city starting today. Since the program began in select neighborhoods in 2006, the recycling rate has gone from 5.5 percent to 8 percent, and the Streets Department thinks we can hit as high as 18 percent by 2012. [Metro]
