Philly News Briefs: 5/12/16
1.) Wheel of Fortune is coming to Philadelphia! As announced several months ago, the perennially-popular game show visited the City of Brotherly Love for a weeklong stint as part of its Great American Cities series. Pat Sajak, Vanna White, and all the gang came along to not only feature Philadelphia contestants, but also to tape interludes shot in spots around town. The actual shows were filmed on a Philly-themed set in California. Additionally, prizes for the week’s shows were sourced from Philly-area businesses. Wheel of Fortune airs at 7:30 p.m. on 6abc locally. The Philadelphia week will kick off May 16th and go through May 20th. Future Great American Cities locations include Denver and Seattle.
Pat Sajak and Vanna White take in an Italian dinner during the filming of Wheel of Fortune’s “Great American Cities” series set in Philadelphia (6abc photo by CLEM MURRAY for the Inquirer.)
2.) Philadelphia’s Holocaust Memorial is about to get a major makeover, it was announced Wednesday. The Memorial, which made history when it was opened in 1964 as the country’s first Holocaust memorial ever, is being given new life for a new audience, Rabbi Michael Berenbaum told the local CBS affiliate. The current memorial, with its “Nathan Rapoport sculpture evoking the terror and tumult of Nazi-engineered death,” was designed for a generation who had lived through World War II and had a certain connection to the horrors. Today’s generation needs more connection and education. Accordingly, the new memorial will feature educational panels and new plantings. The presence of the memorial in Philadelphia, Berenbaum said eloquently, is a life-affirming contrast between the freedoms born in this city and the horrible denial of freedoms that Holocaust victims experienced. Plans were unveiled yesterday; there wasn’t a date given for the estimated completion of the new memorial.
3.) According to rental aggregator site Zumper, rents are on the rise in Philadelphia. The city is now home to the country’s 13th-most-expensive rental market, with the median cost for a one-bedroom apartment at $1,280 (an increase of 4.1%) and a two-bedroom at $1,410 (up 2.2%). Those prices may seem steep, but for comparison take a gander at the going rate for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco, home of the country’s most-expensive rental market… $3,600! Logan Square and University City top the list of neighborhoods where it’s most expensive to rent, with one-bedroom monthly rents averaging $1,800. NoLibs, Fairmount/Fishtown, and Fitler Square aren’t far behind.
