News Roundup: September 9, 2016

Ice Cave brings its cool desserts to Baltimore Ave.

People of West Philadelphia, you no longer have to travel to Chinatown for Taiwanese shaved ice treats. Ice Cave has opened at 4507 Baltimore Ave next to Atiya Ola’s and The Nesting House. Read more.

 

Before you crowdfund your craft brewery startup, consider this model instead

Here’s an admission that’s going to offend some of you: financial crowd-sourcing campaigns for business ventures – a la Kickstarter and Crowdbrewed– piss me off. Sure, I support your ambition to open a craft brewery (provided you’re going to make quality beer). But since when is it my responsibility to fund it? I’d like to buy an Audi A5 convertible but you don’t see me groveling, do you? 

 

Hope abounds as Philly schools begin new year out of crisis mode

At Paul Robeson High School in West Philadelphia, the first day of school didn’t come with talk of budgets or contracts or politics.

It did come with hugs, free donuts, and a house DJ. As students streamed through the entrance at 42nd and Ludlow Streets and into the thumping auditorium, Principal Richard Gordon IV greeted each like an old friend. Read more.

 

What we're really saying when we talk about social change

If it feels like social fabric of the United States is being pried apart thread by thread by a volatile political and racial climate teetering on the edge of disaster, that’s because it is.

The national conversation on race has rippled through mainstream culture in recent months, touching every public-facing industry from Hollywood to professional sports and beyond. Mantras like “social change” and “social justice” are permanent fixtures on the minds, lips and social media feeds of socially-concerned Americans. Read more.