School bus ads pondered as more cost-cuts introduced, defeating the Callowhill NID, Chinatown’s Eastern Tower, Super Bowl ads by Philly agencies

The School District is in dire need of revenue, but is Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown’s idea to sell ads on school buses going too far? A Daily News editorial today called the idea a moral compromise that pimps out students for corporate interests, and argued that “the real danger is blurring the boundaries between civic life and commerce.”

After cutting 91 school police jobs on Friday, the Inquirer reports the School District announced it will cancel weekend programs and trim evening hours to save an estimated $2.8 million. Cutting school cops saves the district $617,000.

Just how was the Callowhill Neighborhood Improvement District defeated? Meet Maria and John Yuen. The Daily News profiles how the couple’s work collecting signatures and organizing property and business owners was instrumental in defeating the NID. The Yuens, like others, want their neighborhood to be safer, cleaner, and greener but thought the NID’s additional 7% tax was too much to bear.

The Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation’s plans for a new community center and residential tower at 10th and Vine are ready, and PCDC hopes to line up project financing this year. The Inquirer looks at the evolution of the Eastern Tower development, high demand for community space and affordable housing in Chinatown, and hints that federal New Markets Tax Credits could be used toward the project.

What do Super Bowl ads with John Stamos getting headbutted over yogurt and Apollo Ohno being outraced by a real estate agent have to do with each other? Both were produced by Philly-area ad agencies. Steve Red, president of Red Tettemer + Partners, talked to NewsWorks about their smarter/bolder/faster Century 21 ad [video], and Poptent explains the crowdsourced approach behind their Oikos ad [video].

 

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