Category: Other Stuff

Don’t let this virus kill your local brewery

Cash flow is one of the biggest challenges for any small business, including your favorite local brewery. The Coronavirus pandemic has already reduced business and will likely force the temporary closure of tasting rooms and bars throughout the region.

You can help your local brewery by purchasing a gift card today, and drinking tomorrow.

Think of it as an investment … Read the rest

New Yorkers welcome at the shore. Just don’t act like idiots

TO ALL the obnoxious, yakking, shoving, foul-breathed Central Park pigeon-feeders of New York City who were displaced by Sandy, the gentlefolk of Margate, Ventnor and Longport would like you to know you’re welcome to stay this summer.

Just don’t wear your damn N.Y. Rangers jersey into Maynard’s CafĂ©, said Ed Berger, president of the Margate Business Association.

To which this … Read the rest

Back off Minnesota: We’ve got real snow in Philly

This column appeared on the Inquirer Op-Ed.

They were laughing at us in Minneapolis this week when the NFL canceled the Vikings-Eagles game because of snow.

One Twin Cities columnist mocked, “Oooooo, six inches of snow. Oooooo, I’m scared. Better call off the game and call in the National Guard. Heck, in Minnesota we dump six inches of snow out … Read the rest

Beer flap coming to a head

By Bob Warner and Don Russell

Faced with anger, confusion and disbelief from beer-drinkers and the beer industry, Pennsylvania lawmakers are pressing for an explanation of recent State Police raids on bars and distributors, over allegedly unregistered brands.

The state Liquor Control Board posted a new list of legally registered brands yesterday, including several of the popular beers that were … Read the rest

State police stage another beer raid, in Northeast Philly

By Bob Warner and Don Russell

Pennsylvania State Police have staged another beer raid, confiscating about a dozen cases from a leading distributor in Northeast Philadelphia and ordering it to stop selling several well-known imports, including Duvel, a popular Belgian beer sold throughout the Philadelphia region.

Agents from the State Police Department’s Bureau of Liquor Code Enforcement (BLCE) descended Monday … Read the rest

Beer fiasco: State cops raid bars, seize unlicensed brands

By Bob Warner and Don Russell

IT WAS ELIOT NESS and the Untouchables, as played by the Keystone Kops.

More than a dozen armed State Police officers conducted simultaneous raids last week on three popular Philadelphia bars known for their wide beer selections. The cops confiscated hundreds of bottles of expensive ales and lagers, now in State Police custody at … Read the rest

Rooting against the evil Yankees

This column originally appeared in the Inquirer op-ed.

The old saying is that rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for General Motors. But wait a second – these days, aren’t we all pulling for the bankrupt GM and its endangered autoworkers?

Make it Goldman Sachs: Rooting for the Yankees is like rooting for corrupt millionaires.

Which is why this … Read the rest

Beer authority Michael Jackson dies

Beer drinkers around the world are mourning the man who filled their glasses with the finest ales and lagers.

Michael Jackson the Beer Hunter died yesterday morning at his home in London. The cause of death has not been determined. Jackson, 65, had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Though he was not a brewer, Jackson was responsible for more good … Read the rest

‘Reno 911!: Miami’ is almost perfectly stupid

With all the finger-pointing over that 24-hour traffic debacle on I-78 last week, I wonder if anyone has bothered to look into the whereabouts of the infamous Reno., Nev., sheriff’s department. Abandoning children and diabetics to suffer through an icy night on the highway sure sounds like the work of the world’s most incompetent law enforcement agency.

Of course, Lt. … Read the rest

Survival of the fittest: Don’t kill the Daily News

The following appeared in the Daily News Op-Ed.

OF ALL THE worrisome scenarios about the future of Philadelphia’s two daily newspapers, the one I’ve read the most is that no potential buyer will continue to operate both of them.

I don’t pretend to understand the numbers, but if some investor decides he can’t turn an adequate profit by operating both … Read the rest