Friday Morning Pick-Me-Up. Update: Brownstoner has a run-down of reactions to the opening.

The long-awaited groundbreaking ceremony for the Race Street Pier will happen on November 9. This new public space is scheduled to open in spring 2011. Mayor Nutter and others notables will offer remarks.
The landscape is being designed by nationally-acclaimed James Corner Field Operations. The Delaware River Waterfront Corporation hopes this vibrant new space will attract residents

Being environmentally aware often comes with a little bit of OCD—meticulous composting, avoiding plastic water bottles like they’ll inflict you with the plague and making sure your meals are prepared using entirely local ingredients. The truth is, attempting to be the “perfect environmentalist” will eventually drive you mad.
Bringing a baby into the equation—along with questions

There’s some exciting news on the urban farming front. Urban Tree Connection (UTC), the West Philly based urban greening non-profit, just announced that it has been appointed the conservator of an abandoned property. The group transformed the vacant land into a farm this year. The decision was one of the first made under the Pennsylvania Abandoned

I thought everyone could use a little more uplift today—courtesy of Karl Rove: Rove said a new Republican House of Representatives supportive of the energy industry “sure as heck” would not pass climate-change legislation that the outgoing Democratic Congress had been unable to pass. “Climate is gone,” said Rove, the keynote speaker on the opening

This video has been making the rounds on local blogs. Go Mural Arts. And love.

Heritage Red Bourbons at Griggstown Quail FarmI just ordered my family’s Thanksgiving turkey, and you should too. Fair Food’s system is live. They’re offering birds from Lancaster Farm Fresh Co-op (Spring Water Farm, Paradise, PA), Griggstown Quail Farm (Princeton, NJ) and Koch’s Turkey Farm (Tamaqua, PA). You pick up on Wednesday, November 24 at the

PASA (Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture), Grid’s favorite association for sustainable agriculture, is holding an online auction. They’ve got great gifts, pastured Thanksgiving turkeys and exciting getaways. Bidding closes on November 14. The money benefits the organization’s excellent programs. For more on PASA members, check out last year’s Farmbook.  

The oblong shape and striking hue of a blue hubbard sqaush is enough to make you take a second look—and that's exactly what I did when I spotted the baby blues at Sunday's Headhouse Square Farmers' Market. Three Springs Fruit Farm's stand, my go to spot for as many apples as I could physically carry, was

Today, the Philadelphia Museum of Art debuts Michelangelo Pistoletto: Cittadellarte, an exhibition of the artist’s current work at his interdisciplinary laboratory, and Michelangelo Pistoletto: From One to Many, 1956–1974, a survey of the Italian artist’s varied and complex oeuvre. Pistoletto has long used his work as a lense for contemporary society—this includes issues of waste and