Happy Birthday to Everyone!

History

Today is my birthday, and lots of people have been singing “Happy Birthday” to me today. Good thing that “Happy Birthday” is now in the public domain. A documentary filmmaker who was making a film about the history of the song received a violation notice and ended up having to pay $1,500.00 for rights to use the…

The primary election is happening here in Philadelphia and across the Commmonwealth tomorrow, May 19, 2015. Pennsylvania holds closed primaries, which means a voter can only vote for candidates in the party in which he or she is registered. That said, Philadelphia has effectively been a one-party town for so long that the Democratic primary…

As I previously reported, the Prince Music Theater was on the verge of collapse in January after its major benefactor died last year. At that point, things looked grim for the Prince, my former Chapter 11 bankruptcy client. I’m very happy to report that the Philadelphia Film Society, with generous help from the Wyncote Foundation,…

Today the Honorable Ellen Ceisler of the Court of Common Pleas found in favor of the appellants in Lewis, et al. v. Zoning Board of Adjustment, et al., stating that there was no hardship and thus no reason for the variances to be granted. The developers in question in this case had sought variances to completely demolish…