Fun around town, for $10 or less: FRIDAY Hear It Here First: Local writers read from their unpublished work at the Dive (947 E. Passyunk), 7AM-9PM. Free Nadine Zahr: Nadine Zahr, Parsnip Revolt, Hot Tod and the Ugly Faces, and Wisdom Jones at Doc Watson’s (216 S. 11th), 8PM. $7 SATURDAY Works in Progress: In Flux, a Showcase of works in progress by local choreographers, followed by discussion at Mascher Space Cooperative (155 Cecil B.......

Teamsters plan to rally outside the Four Seasons Hotel at 18th Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway at 1:30PM today because AmerisourceBergen Corp.'s annual shareholder meeting is being held there at that time, and the teamsters are accusing the company of unfair labor practices. Remember how Rick's Steaks was fighting to stay in the Reading Terminal Market? Well, the fight continues. A recent court ruling dismissed most of Olivieri's claims against Reading Terminal, but Olivieri's......

Ah, love. Though we may not have an overflow of the brotherly variety, Philly is offering plenty of options for those happy couples looking to sanctify said happiness with boxes of chocolates and a night on the town. We’ll tackle the latter here; we've given you some chocolate-related goodness already. If you forget to get a card and all the Rite Aid has left are American Idol Valentines, take heart: you can make your own......

Holy crap, people! It's 2008! Take a moment. Process. Okay? Good. According to the Gregorian Calendar, the new year begins on the first day of January. According to several arts purveyors in Philadelphia, First Friday happens on, well, the first Friday of every month. Which happens to be today. So, if you're planning on partaking of the first First Friday activities of 2008, here are a few stops we'd suggest. The old Real World Philadelphia......

Fun around town, for $10 or less: X-mas Eve Holiday Light Show: The famous light show at Macy's (1300 Market), every hour on the hour from 10AM to 6PM. Free (p.s. it will always be the Wanamaker's light show to us) And While You're There: Visit the Dickens Village on the third floor of Macy's (1300 Market), 10AM-6PM. Free See the Choo-choos: Holiday railroad display at the Reading Terminal Market (12th and Market), 8AM-6PM. Free......

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Every weekday of December (except for December 25, that is), Phillyist will be counting down to 2008 with our highlights from the past year and our predictions for the next. If you have a list you'd like to submit, let us know! Phillyist likes a good excuse to shop, and the holidays provide that in spades. This year we wanted to stay closer to home with our gift choices, and give things that were more......

You know how we love the Reading Terminal Holiday Railroad. It's the holiday model train display that's set up annually just up the escalator from the Gallery, and when we see it going up, we know Christmas and the holidays are really on their way. You can see photos from the last two years' displays, and read us gushing about them, here and here. This year they've brought back more of the interactive elements......

Well, last night's Eagles game was an agonizing and embarrassing experience, but at least Philly sports fans have something to cheer about. 61 people were admitted to Abington Memorial Hospital over the weekend after being exposed to fumes (probably carbon monoxide) at an eight-story Pavilion mini-mall on Old York Road in Jenkintown. Most of those people should be released today. The president of Temple University is announcing a $500,000 Employee Home Ownership Program today......

I may have slammed the sushi at Reading Terminal Market, but RTM is actually just about my favorite place to grab lunch in Center City. The possibilities are endless: last week, Ross and I had some pretty yummy crepes at Profi's Creperie; yesterday, we split a tasty panini at Mezze. You can't go wrong with the sandwiches at DiNic's or Salumeria, and once in a while, the daily special at 12th Street Cantina makes......

That is not a hyperbole. Last week, I was really jonesin' for some raw fish. But I'd already been at the place across the street so many times. I wanted to try something new. And I didn't have a whole lot of time. A quick Google search reminded me that there's a sushi place, Tokyo Sushi Bar, at Reading Terminal Market. As my office is just around the corner from there, it seemed worth a......

Phillyist is pleased as punch to welcome another writer to our staff – and not just because he's dating one of our editors. New staffer Ross Currie is a recent grad of Villanova Law, and he's due to start practicing at a Center City firm this fall. Provided that he's not spending too many late nights writing briefs, you'll be reading his thoughts on music (you can see the two guest posts he's written for......

The Inquirer has a nice article about the Community College of Philadelphia's Gateway to College program, which helps dropouts earn high school diplomas and college credits at the same time. There were two car crashes last night involving police vehicles. A teenage girl accompanied by a 5-year-old stole a patrol car at around 5:40PM while the officer was interviewing a complainant on the 1200 block of Gilham Street. She dropped the child off with......

Holy crap! Somebody forgot to send us the memo, but it seems that July is National Ice Cream Month. That would be far more exciting if there weren't a scant week left before August begins and the happiest month of all (according to our tummies) ends – and we've hardly had a chance to celebrate at all! Good thing that Reading Terminal Market has come to our rescue. They're seeing National Ice Cream Month......

The latest on the Rick's Steaks controversy: the Reading Terminal Market Merchants Association has declared Saturday "Save Rick's, Save The Market Day," and will be holding a news conference at 10AM at Rick's Steaks. "T-shirts, hats and buttons will be sold to raise funds for Olivieri's legal defense." Marjorie Rendell (that's Governor Rendell's wife) was being driven in an SUV by a state trooper Tuesday night at 8th and Pine when a luxury car......

As part of an inspection for damage, some vaults have been opened - for the first time in a very long time - at Christ Church Burial Ground at Fifth and Arch Streets, "the resting place of more than 4,000 prominent Philadelphians, including Benjamin Franklin and four other signers of the Declaration of Independence." The vaults look quite a bit different than expected, and new sketches will have to be drawn. The PA budget......

No, we're not trying to co-opt Dan Gottlieb's new mantra, as interesting as we think it is. St. Joe's grad student Marisa McClellan is going around asking the same question of folks associated with the Reading Terminal Market, and recording the stories she gets on Stories From Reading Terminal Market. This combines two things Phillyist loves: food (in the guise of really liking the Market) and the sometimes-maligned human interest story. There's nothing wrong......

Prosecutors in the Fort Dix Six case have requested that the jury be allowed to remain anonymous. The defense is still trying to decide how to respond, but the judge may consider the request today. U. Penn's Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital may have been the first to give a snake high-energy radiation therapy yesterday when they treated a 61/2-foot anaconda's tumor. The snake, btw, is Sir Mix-A-Lot from Wilmington's Brandywine Zoo. Three double......

There must be something in the Cheez Whiz, since Rick Oliveri, the owner of Rick’s Philly Steaks in Reading Terminal Market, is again in some hot water. The last time that Rick, a member of the original Pat’s Steak’s family, was in the news, was last October, when he was getting sued by relative Frank Oliveri Jr. over references to Pat’s Steaks in the promotional materials for his Citizens Bank Park location. Well, this......

I can’t seem to leave Reading Terminal Market without stopping at Iovine Brothers. And I can’t seem to stop at Iovine Brothers without making a purchase. Yesterday, I saw that strawberries were on sale for a dollar. I have trouble passing up berries during the summertime anyway, but make ’em cheap enough, and you’re lucky if you’ve got any left when I’m through. I was already planning on making dinner last night, and I......

If people ask me, I definitely self-identify as Jewish. But if you know me, you know that I'm not terribly observant. I remember the Sabbath, but certainly don't keep it holy. I light candles on Chanukah. I even go so far as fasting on Yom Kippur and pretty much cutting carbs out of my diet for a week every spring. But that's the extent to which I keep kosher. I don't hesitate to combine......

Forget Ben Franklin: the greatest inventor in the area was the Dutch gal who first looked at the bottom of a pot just used to make liverwurst and thought, there has to be something more here. And so was born scrapple, the breakfast delight of Phillyites everywhere (though we've heard they look at you funny in California), including Big Ben himself. To celebrate all things offal,Reading Terminal is hosting Scrapplefest tomorrow from 10 am-......

Dear Cheese: It's no secret that I love you. Especially when you're hot and melty. Which is why it amazes me that it took me nearly five years in Philadelphia to make two recent cheesy (not in the bad way) discoveries. The first was actually after I'd hit a number of galleries at last month's First Friday, which makes this column accidentally topical. I'd had a good amount of wine, and the only thing I'd......

By George in the Reading Terminal Market sells various prepared Italian foods in addition to pizza. Both are rather disappointing, but we will just focus on the pizza. You would expect good pizza from By George, given its location and the fact that they use a brick oven, but the pizza is expensive ($2.50 for a plain Neapolitan slice) and inconsistent. Over the course of a few visits, they could not get plain pizza......

The South Beach Diet people were out at 12th and Filbert this morning, across from the Reading Terminal Market, handing out free breakfast bars and filming...something...in the back of their van. Some kind of weird softcore porn video? No, probably not. Probably they were trying to make passers-by feel like they were on the beach in the middle of a (finally actually frigid) Philly winter. Or something. Anyway, that lady in the swimsuit waved......

The Reading Terminal Holiday Railroad Display is up and out for viewing again, from now through the end of the year, 10AM to 6PM. You'll find it under the escalator on the ground floor of the Reading Terminal, just inside the 12th and Market entrance, above the Gallery at Market East. This year's display is not as busy, exciting, and interactive as past years' have been, but it's still festive and fun. Click the......

Okay, maybe it's not all that exciting, but this new sign has been up at Reading Terminal Market, at the corner of 12th and Filbert, for a few weeks now, and I've been going past it every day, to and from work, just waiting for it to be turned on so I could take a picture of its glorious bright neon in operation, and this morning it finally happened. Click through for the full......

Things are bad in Philly, but in Atlantic City there have been so many shootings at one public housing complex that the city has instituted a police escort to protect letter carriers delivering mail there. Hey, a lot of shops in Reading Terminal Market are open on Sundays now (although obviously the Amish shops are not included). Nice! The city of Philadelphia has been charged by the US Justice Department with violating the Voting Rights......

Wanna go to Farm Aid for free? Then stop by the Reading Terminal Market tomorrow through Friday, from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m., to drop your name in the proverbial hat for free tickets to Saturday’s show at the Tweeter Center. You can enter once each day, so get to it! Willie Nelson & Co. are waiting. Image via Farm Aid......

You know how we like local things around here. We're a local blog, after all. Well, Reading Terminal Market is hosting a fun little local event this afternoon at 4PM: a Local Food Expo! More than 20 family farmers and food producers from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware will be there offering their seasonal food products for sale and - even better - for free sampling! Just some of the kind of produce you......