Philadelphia News Briefs: 12/8/15

1.) Legoland is coming (close) to Philadelphia! The amusement park chain based around the perennially-popular building blocks will open its ninth American location at the Plymouth Meeting Mall. Merlin Entertainments, which owns the chain, says that “LEGOLAND Discovery Center Philadelphia” will break ground next year. It will be entirely indoors. The Discovery Center will include assorted play areas, a 4D cinema, Lego Master Model Builder classes and space for birthday parties and other special events. Merlin executive John Jakobsen said Plymouth Meeting Mall is an ideal location for the new Legoland as it is already a meeting place for families and tourists from around the region. Legoland Centers are aimed at kids between the ages of 3 and 10 years old, the familes of which can normally explore the entire facility in 2 to 3 hours.

Comcast had to give some concessions to Seattle to make things fair after giving a sweetheart deal to Philadelphia.

2.) The success of Philadelphia’s franchise agreement with cable giant Comcast has led the city of Seattle to cry foul and demand similar concessions. The Philadelphia City Council made Comcast really sweeten the deal to keep its 15-year franchise agreement, obtaining expanded low-cost internet, living wage guarantees and public tech school partnerships. Seattle, which is in the midst of negotiating a 10-year franchise deal, threatened to cancel its vote on Comcast’s new deal unless it received similar perks. Despite the two cities being about 3,000 miles apart, Comcast caved on many concessions. Seattle didn’t get everything they asked for, but they did get additional low-cost internet and free hook-ups for city government and nonprofits.

3.) The Community College of Philadelphia’s campus north of Center City will soon be the site of an experiment by law enforcement. Nonviolent offenders will be offered education at the College rather than time in jail or prison. The theory is that, with additional education, offenders can better their lives and won’t commit future crimes. District Attorney Seth Williams said that the program could reduce prison overcrowding and mass imprisonment of nonviolent offenders. The goal is to have the new program implemented in the spring.