#Philadelphia Vehicle Wrap Company

[vehiclewrapcompanyphiladelphia]

13 Benefits of Vehicle Wrap Advertising for Your Business

In today's highly competitive marketplace, businesses need to stand out and find innovative ways to promote their products and services. While traditional advertising methods such as print ads and billboards still have their place, they can be expensive and reach a limited audience. That's where vehicle wrap advertising comes in. This form of advertising offers numerous benefits for businesses of all sizes. In this blog post, we'll explore 13 benefits of vehicle wrap advertising and why it's a smart investment for your business.

Benefits of Vehicle Wraps

Why choose vehicle wraps over other advertising methods?

1. Increased Brand Visibility

Vehicle wrap advertising offers increased brand visibility. When your company vehicles are wrapped with eye-catching graphics and your logo, they become moving billboards that capture attention wherever they go. Whether your vehicles are parked on the street or driving through busy city centers, vehicle wraps services attract the attention of potential customers. Studies have shown that vehicle wraps generate thousands of impressions per day, making them an incredibly effective marketing tool.

2. Cost-effective Advertising

Compared to other forms of advertising, vehicle wrap advertising is remarkably cost-effective. A single vehicle wrap can last for several years, providing continuous exposure for your business without any recurring costs. Traditional advertising methods, on the other hand, require ongoing investments to maintain visibility. Furthermore, the cost of Vehicle wrapping is significantly lower than other forms of advertising, making it an ideal option for small businesses with limited marketing budgets.

3. Wide Audience Reach

Vehicle wrap advertising offers a wide audience reach, allowing your brand message to reach thousands of potential customers. Unlike billboards or print ads that are stationary, vehicle wraps can be seen by people in various locations. Whether your vehicles are parked in a busy shopping centre or driving down the highway during rush hour, your brand message is reaching potential customers with every passing moment. This wide audience reach ensures that your marketing efforts are not limited to a specific location or demographic.

4. Non-intrusive Advertising

One of the biggest benefits of Vehicle wrapping advertising is that it's non-intrusive. Unlike television or internet ads that interrupt people's daily activities, vehicle wraps blend seamlessly into the environment. The eye-catching designs on your company vehicles will naturally attract attention without disrupting people's routines. This non-intrusive nature makes vehicle wrap advertising more favourable and acceptable among potential customers.

5. Maximum Exposure with Vehicle Wraps

Vehicle wraps offer maximum exposure for your business. Unlike other marketing methods that may only reach people in specific locations or during certain times, vehicle wraps are visible 24/7. Whether parked or in motion, your company vehicles are always promoting your brand. This constant exposure ensures that your business remains in the minds of potential customers, increasing brand recognition and recall.

6. Protection for Your Vehicles

Aside from marketing benefits, vehicle wraps also protect your vehicles. The vinyl wraps act as a protective layer, shielding the original paint from UV rays, dirt, and minor scratches. This protection can extend the lifespan of your vehicles' exterior and help maintain their resale value. Additionally, when it's time to remove the wraps, they can be easily peeled off without damaging the original paint.

7. Versatility and Customization Options

Vehicle wraps offer versatility and customization options that allow businesses to create unique and impactful designs. From bold colours to intricate graphics, wraps can be tailored to reflect your brand's personality and message. Whether you have a single vehicle or a fleet, wraps can be customised to match your brand's aesthetics and target audience. This flexibility ensures that your advertising is always on-brand and effectively communicates your message.

8. Increased Credibility and Professionalism

Vehicle wrap advertising can enhance your business's credibility and professionalism. When potential customers see your branded vehicles on the road, it gives them a sense of trust and confidence in your products and services. A well-designed vehicle wrap company convey professionalism and establish your brand as a reputable and trustworthy choice in the market.

9. Mobile Advertising

Vehicle wrap advertising is essentially mobile advertising. Your vehicles are constantly on the move, reaching different areas and exposing your brand to a diverse range of potential customers. This mobility allows you to target specific geographic locations or reach a broader audience, depending on your business goals. Mobile advertising provides flexibility and adaptability, enabling you to adjust your marketing strategies based on changing market conditions.

10. Increased Local Awareness

Vehicle wrap advertising is particularly effective at increasing local awareness for your business. When your branded vehicles are seen driving around your local area, it creates a sense of familiarity and connection with the community. People are more likely to choose a local business that they are familiar with, so vehicle wraps can help you build a strong presence in your local market.

11. Enhanced Brand Recognition

The eye-catching nature of vehicle wraps helps to enhance brand recognition. When potential customers repeatedly see your branded vehicles on the road, it creates a lasting impression in their minds. This increased exposure and recognition can lead to higher recall rates and increase the chances of customers choosing your business over competitors when they are in need of your products or services.

12. Targeted Advertising

With vehicle wrap advertising, you have the opportunity to target specific audiences. By strategically placing your branded vehicles in areas where your target market is likely to be, you can maximise the impact of your advertising efforts. Whether it's a specific neighbourhood, a business district, or an event venue, you can customise your routes to ensure that your vehicles reach the right people at the right time.

13. Long-lasting and Measurable Results

Finally, vehicle wrap advertising offers long-lasting and measurable results. Unlike other forms of advertising that have a limited shelf life, vehicle wraps can last for several years, providing continuous exposure for your business. Additionally, the impact of vehicle wrap advertising can be easily measured through increased website traffic, phone inquiries, or footfall at your physical location. This allows you to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts and make data-driven decisions to optimize your campaigns.

Enhance Your Brand's Visibility with Professional Vehicle Wrap Company

vehicle wrap advertising offers a wide range of benefits for businesses looking to enhance their brand visibility, reach a wider audience, and increase their credibility. With its cost-effectiveness, non-intrusive nature, and the protection it provides for your vehicles, vehicle wrap advertising is a smart investment for any business. The versatility, customization options, and long-lasting results make it an attractive choice for businesses of all sizes. So, if you're looking to make a lasting impression and stand out from the competition, consider vehicle wrap advertising as part of your marketing strategy. Source URL : https://sunrisesigns.wixsite.com/vehiclewrapdesign/post/benefits-of-vehicle-wrap

[mafiablogg]

Roy Albert DeMeo,September 7, 1940[– January 10, 1983) was an Italian-American mobster in the Gambino crime family of New York City. He headed the a group referred to as the "DeMeo crew", which became notorious for the large number of alleged murders they committed and for the grisly way they disposed of the bodies, which became known as "the Gemini Method".The crew committed a very large amount of murders, with the majority of them committed by DeMeo himself. Roy Albert DeMeo was born in 1940 in Bath Beach, Brooklyn, to a working class Italian immigrant family of Neapolitan origin. Anthony Gaggi, a soldier in the Gambino crime family, noticed DeMeo and told him that he could make even more money with his successful business if he came to work directly for the Gambinos. Through the late 1960s, DeMeo's organized crime prospects increased on two fronts. He continued in the loansharking business with Gaggi, and began developing a crew of young men involved in car theft. It was this collective of criminals that would become known both in the underworld and in law enforcement circles as the DeMeo crew.

The first member of the DeMeo crew was 16-year-old Chris Rosenberg, who met DeMeo in 1966 when he was dealing marijuana at a Canarsie gas station. DeMeo helped Rosenberg increase his business and profits by loaning him money so that he could deal in larger amounts. By 1972, Rosenberg had introduced his friends to DeMeo and they began working for him as well. The members of the crew included Joseph "Dracula" Guglielmo (DeMeo's cousin), Joseph and Patrick Testa, and Anthony Senter. DeMeo joined a Brooklyn credit union that same year, gaining a position on the board of directors shortly afterward. He utilized his position to launder money earned through his illegal ventures. He also introduced colleagues at the credit union to a lucrative side-business, laundering the money of drug dealers he had become acquainted with. DeMeo also built up his loansharking business with funds stolen from credit union reserves.

DeMeo's collection of loanshark customers, while still primarily those in the car industry, soon included other businesses such as a dentist's office, an abortion clinic, restaurants and flea markets. He was also listed as an employee for a Brooklyn company named S & C Sportswear Corporation, and frequently told his neighbors he worked in construction, food retailing and the used car business.

In late 1974, a conflict that had erupted between the DeMeo crew and Andrei Katz, a young auto repair shop owner who was partners with DeMeo in a stolen car ring, had continued to escalate. In May 1975, DeMeo was informed by a police officer that, as a result of this conflict, Katz was cooperating with authorities. In June Katz was lured to a place where he could be confronted. After being abducted, he was stabbed to death and then dismembered. An accomplice who helped bait Katz confessed her role, and Joseph Testa and Henry Borelli were both arrested. They would secure an acquittal at trial in January 1976.

This was the first known murder committed by the DeMeo crew, and for years it was thought to have been the first occasion where DeMeo or members of his crew had dismembered a body for disposal. In 2003, however, new information was provided to the FBI by Bonanno underboss Salvatore Vitale, who claimed that in 1974 he was ordered to deliver the corpse of a man who had just been murdered to a garage in Queens so that it could be disposed of by DeMeo. As the 1970s continued, DeMeo cultivated his followers into a crew experienced with the process of murdering and dismembering victims. With the exception of killings intended to send a message to any who would hinder their criminal activities, or murders that presented no other alternative, a set method of execution was established by DeMeo and crew to ensure that victims would be dispatched quickly and then made to disappear. The style of execution was dubbed the "Gemini Method", after the Gemini Lounge, the primary hangout of the DeMeo crew, as well as the site where most of the crew's victims were killed.

The process of the Gemini Method, as revealed by multiple crew members and associates who became government witnesses in the early 1980s, was to lure the victim through the side door of the lounge and into the apartment in the back portion of the building. At this point, a crew member (almost always DeMeo according to crew-member-turned-government-witness Frederick DiNome) would approach with a silenced pistol in one hand and a towel in the other, shooting the victim in the head then wrapping the towel around the victim's head wound like a turban to stanch the blood flow. Immediately after, another member of the crew (originally Chris Rosenberg, up until his 1979 murder, according to government witness testimony) would stab the victim in the heart to prevent more blood from pumping out of the gunshot wound. By then, the victim would be dead, at which point the body would be stripped of clothing and dragged into the bathroom, where the remaining blood drained out or congealed within the body. This was to eliminate the messiness of the next step, when crew members would place the body onto plastic sheets laid out in the main room and proceed to dismember it, cutting off the arms, legs and head.

The body parts would then be put into bags, placed in cardboard boxes and sent to the Fountain Avenue Dump in Brooklyn, where so many tons of garbage were dropped each day that it would be nearly impossible for the bodies to be discovered. During the initial stages of an early 1980s federal/state task force targeting the DeMeo crew, a plan by authorities to excavate sections of the dump to locate remains of victims was aborted when it was deemed too costly and unlikely to locate any meaningful evidence. The landfill, opposite the Starrett City Apartment Complex on Pennsylvania Avenue in the heavily African-American East New York section of Brooklyn, across the Belt Parkway, was shut down in 1985, and capped over since, all signs (and odors) that a landfill had existed gone, replaced by a parkland.

Some victims would be killed in other ways for varying reasons. At times, suspected informants or those who committed an act of disrespect against a member of the crew or their superiors had their bodies left in the streets of New York to serve as a message and warning. There were also occasions where it would not be possible to lure the intended victim into the Gemini Lounge, in which case other locations would have to be used. A cabin cruiser owned by Richard DiNome was used on at least one occasion to dispose of bodies. In the latter half of 1975, DeMeo became a silent partner in a peep show/prostitution establishment in Bricktown, New Jersey after the owner of the business became unable to pay his loansharking debts. DeMeo also began dealing in bestiality and child pornography, which he sold to his New Jersey establishment as well as connections he had in Rhode Island. When Gaggi found out about DeMeo's involvement in such taboo films, he ordered DeMeo to stop under the threat of death. However, DeMeo defied Gaggi and continued the practice. Gaggi did not retaliate, and, according to his nephew, Dominick Montiglio, the subject was never mentioned again as long as DeMeo continued making payments to Gaggi. DeMeo also dealt in narcotics despite the Gambino family strictly forbidding such activity. In 2011, former Gambino associate Greg Bucceroni alleged that during the late 1970s and early 1980s, DeMeo utilized his henchman Richard Kuklinski on behalf of Robert "DB" DiBernardo and the Gambino family's pornography establishments in New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Baltimore. Here, Kuklinski would traffic illegal pornography, collect debts, and carry out contract killings.

As 1975 drew to a close, DeMeo was the subject of IRS investigations into his income. Months earlier, the Borrough of Brooklyn Credit Union had been pushed into insolvency as a result of DeMeo and his colleagues' plundering of its finances. As a result, DeMeo quit the Credit Union. Before an indictment could be handed down against him, he utilized false affidavits from businesses owned by friends and acquaintances claiming he was on their payrolls as an employee. These affidavits served to account for some of his income, allowing him to reach a settlement with the IRS.

DeMeo's sources of income, as well as his crew, continued to grow. By July 1976, DeMeo added an automobile firm by the name of Team Auto Wholesalers to his loanshark customers. The owner of Team Auto, Matthew Rega, also purchased stolen vehicles from the crew and sold them off at a New Jersey car lot that he owned. He also involved himself with hijacking delivery trucks from John F. Kennedy International Airport. His crew now included Danny Grillo, a hijacker who had just been released from prison.

In the fall of 1976, the Gambino family went through a massive change when its boss Carlo Gambino died of natural causes. Paul Castellano was named the boss, with Aniello Dellacroce retaining the position of underboss. The implications of this were twofold for DeMeo. Gaggi was elevated to the position of caporegime, taking over the crew of men Castellano previously headed. This promotion was beneficial for DeMeo, whose mentor was now even closer to the family leadership. Another advantage was that with Gambino deceased, new associates would be eligible for membership into the family. Castellano did not immediately "open the books" for new members, opting instead to promote existing members and shuffle around the crews' leaders. He also allegedly opposed the idea of DeMeo being made. Castellano involved himself in white-collar crime and looked down on street-level members such as DeMeo. Additionally, Castellano felt DeMeo was uncontrollable. Gaggi's attempts at persuading Castellano to make DeMeo were continually rejected. By 1977, DeMeo became distraught by this situation and searched for opportunities that would ensure larger returns for his superiors. By 1982, the FBI was investigating the enormous number of missing and murdered persons who were linked to DeMeo or who had last been seen entering the Gemini Lounge. It is around this time that an FBI bug in the home of Gambino family capo Angelo Ruggiero picked up a conversation between Ruggiero and Gene Gotti, a brother of John Gotti.

In the conversation, it is discussed that Paul Castellano had put out a hit on DeMeo, but was having difficulty finding someone willing to do the job. Gene Gotti mentions that his brother, John, was wary of taking the contract, as DeMeo had an "army of killers" around him. It is also mentioned in this same secretly recorded conversation that, at that time, John had killed fewer than 10 people, while DeMeo had killed at least 38. According to mob turncoat Sammy Gravano, eventually the contract was given to Frank DeCicco, but DeCicco and his crew could not get to DeMeo either. DeCicco allegedly handed the job to DeMeo's own men. DeMeo's son Albert wrote that in his final days, DeMeo was paranoid and knew that he would be killed soon. DeMeo considered faking his own death and leaving the country. However, instead he left the house one day and never returned. Albert DeMeo later found Roy's personal belongings such as his watch, wallet, and ring in his study room, and a Catholic pamphlet. In his final days, DeMeo was seen wearing a leather jacket, with a shotgun concealed underneath. On January 10, 1983, DeMeo went to crew member Patty Testa's house for a meeting with his men. That night, he failed to attend his daughter Dione's birthday party. As it was unusual for DeMeo to miss an important family occasion, his family suspected that something had happened to him. Ten days later, on January 20, DeMeo's Cadillac was discovered in the parking lot of the Veruna Boat Club in Brooklyn. DeMeo's partially frozen body was found in the trunk with a chandelier on top of it.[11] He had been shot multiple times in the head and had a bullet wound in his hand, assumed by law enforcement to be a reflexive defensive wound caused when his killers opened fire on him. There are several accounts of DeMeo's death. The task force investigating the DeMeo crew theorized that DeMeo was set up in a similar manner to how he set up Rosenberg, and that Gaggi, Testa and Senter were present when he was killed.[12] When Lucchese family underboss Anthony "Gaspipe" Casso became an FBI informant in 1993, he said that Paul Castellano had ordered DeMeo's death, but due to the DeMeo crew's reputation as hardened killers, the Gotti and DeCicco crews had been unable or unwilling to carry out the hit. Therefore DeCicco passed the contract to Casso, who knew Anthony Senter and Joseph Testa, and ordered them to kill DeMeo. In Casso's account, DeMeo was seated and about to receive coffee, when Testa and Senter suddenly opened fire on him. Nino Gaggi was not present. In April 1984, Colombo crime family soldier Ralph Scopo was overheard explaining to an associate that DeMeo had been killed by his own family because they merely suspected that he would not be able to stand up to legal charges that resulted from his stolen car ring. Albert DeMeo believed that his father was killed by Testa and Senter. The remainder of DeMeo's crew were soon rounded up and the core members, Henry Borelli, Joseph Testa and Anthony Senter were imprisoned for life after two trials that saw them convicted of a collective total of 25 murders, in addition to extortion, car theft and drug trafficking. The convictions were secured in large part by testimony of former members Frederick DiNome and Dominick Montiglio. Paul Castellano was indicted for ordering the murder of DeMeo, as well as a host of other crimes, but was killed in December 1985 while out on bail in the middle of the first trial. The murder was allegedly ordered by John Gotti, who thus became the new boss of the Gambino family.

[ms-maj]

Into Philadelphia

Back to the songfics! Sorry folks…only not really :)

The many many many many thank yous are owed to @bettycooper for making this much, much better. Cat is a rock star. ‘Nuff said. 

We’ll slip away, we’ll slip away

I’ll count the days, I’ll count the days and weeks until it’s summer

Baby do you wanna take a ride, wanna take a ride

Into Philadelphia

Think I maybe wanna take a ride, do you wanna take a ride

Into Philadelphia

Straight into the belly of the dream

Into Philadelphia- John Faye

“Do you think maybe you want to get out of Riverdale this weekend?” His voice is soft over the phone, not like he’s trying to hide what he’s saying, but because that’s how he always speaks to her. Betty leans against the frame of the window, feet tucked up on the seat beneath her.

“I think that I definitely want to get out of Riverdale for the weekend.” Even though Jughead’s miles away at Stonewall Prep, his laughter fills her room—their room—and makes the familiar space feel more like a home than it has in a long while. “What did you have in mind?”

Jughead has been at Stonewall for three months, seventeen days, and too many minutes than she could bear to count. She knew this was his shot, even if he was a parvenu awash in an endless sea of the bourgeoisie. (See, she could be a pretentious twat too.)  

They try to make the most of their weekends together, but occupying the same space as her mother, her boyfriend’s father, and said boyfriend’s younger sister proves that nearly impossible. Hurried kisses. Fumbling, fast, furious hands grappling with too many layers, and skin seeking skin even if for the most passing of moments. Besides, the omnipresent doom that seems to pervade Riverdale doesn’t give them much time to just enjoy each other’s company.

“Do you trust me?”

“While I realize your question is completely rhetorical, it still baffles me why you think for a second you’d have to ask me that?”

If she closes her eyes hard enough, she can picture his hand swiping across his brow. “Fine. Bring a bag when you pick me up on Friday. We’ll leave straight from here.”

“Sir, yes, sir.”

“Cute. I should probably get going. I have two essays to write and calculus…why am I taking calculus?” Another soft laugh filters through the phone before turning into a sigh.

Betty smiles sadly. Even their phone calls are shorter and fewer in between. “Okay, go be studious. Is there anything I should know about where we’re going or what we’re doing?”

“And here I thought your trust in me was immutable. You wound me, Cooper.”

Keep reading below or here

“For packing purposes, Jones. You can’t tell me to bring a bag and not tell me what kind of stuff I should pack in it.”

“Well, less is more.”

She gets off the window seat and makes her way toward the closet, opening the doors and thumbing through the contents. “I assume we’ll have to leave wherever it is we’re going at some point. Will that require leggings, jeans, or perhaps something a little nicer?”

He hums as if considering. “I suppose you could bring something nice…even if it only sees the floor.”

“Now, now,”’ she tuts, “ before I let you go back to the maddening world of academia, do you need me to bring anything from here?”

“I’ve got everything I need except you,” Betty feels the warm affection bloom in her chest, the space in her heart carved out exactly in his likeness.

She tries—almost successfully—to mask the threatening tears with a cough. She can hear the sadness in his voice as he tries for her attention. “It’s not what you think, Juggie. I’m fine. Everything is fine!” The words ring even more false out loud than they do in her head.

“Which is exactly why we’re going away. Because I hate this too, Betts, but…”

“I know; I know. I’ll let you go. I know how much you have to do too.”

They can’t sleep together yet, but there’s solace in knowing it’s coming soon and in isolation for once.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s cold in Riverdale. She assumes that wherever they’re going will be cold as well considering it can’t be too far away for a weekend trip. Betty’s glad she didn’t have to convince FP to let her use the station wagon. Apparently, whatever Jughead has planned was given the “okay” by at least one parental figure. Not that this says much, but she’s certainly not going to kick a gift horse in the mouth. She’s also glad they’ve got the vehicle with consistent heat.

Time seems to be ticking by even more slowly than it had while waiting for classes to end at Riverdale High, but in the parking lot of Stonewall Prep, time is a paradoxical construct. At least that’s what it felt like anyway. Jughead’s classes were typically over by three, same as hers, but every so often, she found herself waiting for hours—unanswered texts followed by a flurry of apologetic kisses when he finally climbed into the cab. She’s certain his new classmates just like to make her suffer by proxy.

Today, fortunately, she waits only about twenty minutes before she sees him jogging across the lot. She slides over the bench seat as he approaches the driver’s side. Tossing his duffle bag into the back seat, he slams the door behind him, pulling her favorite red and black checkered sherpa tighter around him.

“Cold?” she questions with a raise of her brow. His hand is on her neck, icy cold digits curling into the baby hairs at the nape, and she shrieks, trying to push him off of her but he pulls her closer instead.

“I know just the way to warm up,” and his lips are on hers. She could agree that, like this, time is most certainly a paradox. She could happily stay in this moment forever, to live in this feeling again and again and again for all of eternity: Jughead’s hands roaming her body, his tongue coaxing breathy moans that stoke a fire she cannot wait to be engulfed in.

Jughead pulls away, Betty chasing his lips as he smiles, and presses his lips to her nose. “Definitely warm now. You ready to get the hell out of dodge?” The hand that held her neck now cups her cheek as she nods, his thumb rubbing across the apple before he grabs his seatbelt. Betty does the same and settles into the passenger seat as they make their way away from Stonewall.

“Do I get to know our final destination yet?” His hand crosses the seat and lifts hers enough to lace their fingers together, bringing their joined hands to his lips to kiss her knuckles while he shakes his head no.

She scoffs, in mostly mock irritation, but doesn’t pull her hand away. Instead, still gripping one another tightly, their hands fall between them, reinforcing the physical tether which seems to be missing as of late. It’s hard to be this young and this in love under the most normal of circumstances, what with the raging hormonal impulses of teendom and the ever-pressing nature of change they’re not physiologically adept at handling yet, but against the backdrop of separate schools and merely existing in Riverdale, it seems more fraught than it should.

Behind them, the sun is starting to set. A flood of orange and pink fills the car; it wraps and settles around them, Jughead’s warm skin glowing in the dusk. He’s telling her about essays, the calculus exam, and how much harder it all is, but that it’s equally rewarding. He’s smiling, the easy, real smile she can never get enough of, and she feels instant guilt for every second she’s been angry at his being gone.

More than anyone she knows, he deserves this. She knows that, which is why she’d been insistent and honest about his need to go. She could never have begrudged him this opportunity—even if it hurts like hell when he’s gone.

It’s in these moments of serene calm and quiet, which come so few and far between, when Betty can feel the steady beat of Jughead’s pulse against her own, that she knows—not that she doesn’t always know, but sometimes that deep dark, insecure piece of her psyche is disquieted and she can’t help but wonder if he thinks she’s worth it.

One particularly hard week when the stresses of trying to parent her mother and her friends and live up to the insanely high expectations everyone seems to have of her, she asked him as much. Did being with her make his life any easier, any better? She’d felt like a lead balloon, sinking and pulling everyone down with her, and she refused to let him become another Cooper Casualty. He held her while she cried, while she insisted that he pack up the rest of her room and send her on her way, because this couldn’t be good for him. He simply wiped the tears from her cheeks, carried her to their bed, and recounted all the ways she was, indeed, perfect for him.

She smiles at the memory and feels his hand squeeze hers tighter before his fingers slip from her grasp, and she watches as they flex around the steering wheel as he merges onto I-87.

“Are we going to New York?” Betty asks, sitting up a little straighter as she looks toward the distant skyline.

He shakes his head. “We are not. Now, no more guessing. Just enjoy the ride. For once.” She laughs but lets herself get lost in his carefully cultivated playlist. The yellow lines blur on the pavement, rushing them toward somewhere, and something, new.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

There’s still a good twenty miles before they actually arrive, but she now knows their intended location.

Philadelphia.

Betty can vaguely remember a conversation they had when they were maybe twelve, after they’d been learning about the Revolutionary War, about wanting to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall, but nothing more than that.

“Listen, I know. I hadn’t really been sold on it either, but I don’t think you’ll hate anything on the agenda.”

This catches her attention. She leans as far forward as the seatbelt allows while keeping her eyes fixed on him. “Agenda?”

Now, she would never say that her boyfriend wasn’t a planner; he was an idea man who knew what he wanted. Sometimes, though, he was more an adept juggler who was able to think critically and course correct when something went awry. (Well, mostly.)

“Yes, agenda: schedule, to-do list, docket. Things we are going to do and see in Philly.”

“I know what you meant, thank you. I’m just confused. Why wouldn’t you tell me where we’re going? I could have helped you!”

His brows knit as he carefully merges into the growing traffic on I-95. “Did you really think I would go through all the trouble of keeping this a surprise if I didn’t have a few tricks up my sleeve?”

“Why here? Why Philly?”

“Why not Philly?” He was starting to sound defensive, and that wasn’t Betty’s intention. It was only genuine curiosity.

“I’m not mad, Juggie. I’m excited, truly. It just seems like a lot to undertake when you’ve been so stressed about school, and I know I haven’t been as helpful—”

“Don’t. This is about both of us getting a much-deserved break. I didn’t say I didn’t have any help. You’re right, I couldn’t have done all of this alone. But I just wanted to do something for you.”

“Jug,” she reaches across the space between them and rubs his shoulder. “You always ‘do’ for me. I don’t need vacations, or gifts, or anything but you .”

“I know,” his eyes flick from the road for a second to catch hers. “I know, but I need it to be just us, even for a little while. I know it sounds silly and selfish, but Betty, I just want you to myself. For once. Just you and me”

“Okay, but for the record, I’m not going anywhere. No matter how weird things get back home, whatever psycho-killer comes to Riverdale next, or how hard it is being apart. Being with you…” her voice fails, or the words she’s trying to get out do. His hand finds hers in the ever-growing city light, thumb brushing the knuckles of her left hand as she tries to find the words.

They’ve talked about it—the future—in abstracts mostly, but she can’t help but feel absolutes when he says things like “long haul” and “you’re the one I choose.” And under the towering buildings and twinkling lights, that future doesn’t seem like a pipe dream.

Jughead’s hand slides off hers and back to the wheel as he tries to navigate the strange city. Betty smiles, confident he knows what she’d been trying to convey, and takes a moment to really survey her surroundings.

The farther they drive into Philadelphia, the more she sees what she’s heard about the city. It certainly has the modern, monolithic skyscrapers she associates with cities of this size, but there’s something about just how many old buildings fill the spaces between them that makes it feel almost quaint. These little pockets of the past, preserved in a concrete wasteland, she can’t wait to see in the daylight. Especially as they move toward Center City, where the vestiges of colonial Philadelphia are sandwiched between the harsh neon lights of the WaWas and Wegmans.

The streets narrow, some are actual cobblestone, as they pass through the heart of Philly. It’s not long before they pull under a large red gate, Jughead maneuvering the old station wagon into the spot marked “42C.”

They spend their first night exploring South Street, eating their way up and down the eclectic stretch of history and hysteria. Jughead fills her in on the plans for the next day, and in their first night of true privacy in far too long, they do some personal exploration of their own.

It’s brisk. Nearly colder than brisk. Snow falls lightly around them, softly twinkling as it catches in the golden light of Love Park. Jughead wraps an arm tightly around Betty as they make their way through the immense Christmas Village that dominates the large swath of Center City. It’s slightly overwhelming—the sheer amount of people, things to look at, things to eat— but watching Betty’s eyes shine under the twinkle lights is worth every, single, second.

“So, tomorrow we’re going to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, right?” she asks through the dark veil of her lashes, snow starting to dampen them, all rosy-cheeked from the cold.

He nods, glad he’s wearing the heaviest of his sherpa jackets and disregarded the advice of his roommate who said it was too casual for slacks. Betty isn’t in a skirt. She’s bundled in layers of wool, nestled under the crux of his arm, but it’ll catch them soon enough. Jughead hopes they’ll be home before then.

Home.

The word looms heavy in front of them though they dare not confront it. Tomorrow, they’ll be back in their respective beds, only miles apart in reality but what feels more like worlds apart. He tries to push it from his mind, to be in the moment with the woman who followed him without hesitation, even if it meant being surprised, but the idea of returning to a cold, empty bed in a cold, empty hall persists.

He thinks she is, surprised that is, about coming to Philly. It surprised him too: a place to stay free of charge so long as he made an appointment to visit two colleges while he was there. Luckily for him, Betty Cooper is excited when he sheepishly tells her they have to go to Temple and Penn in between touring Boathouse Row and The Franklin Institute. Stonewall has these satellite studios in Boston and New York too. He wonders where else he can take her; what else can he experience by her side?

It used to be in these moments when he’d panic. The idea of anything actually lasting in his life still causes palpitations from time to time, but the anxiety is never about whether she’s by his side or not. She is. In every nightmare scenario, she’s with him, save for the ones where they’re actually being forced apart, but there is no place and time it’s not the two of them against the world. It’s this epiphany that brings him to today. He smiles to himself as he pulls her closer, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head as she gushes about their visit to the Mütter Museum and Philadelphia Museum of Art earlier in the day.

“We’re also going to eat our way through Reading Terminal Market,” he waggles his brows emphatically, and the laughter bubbles out, shaking him along with her. Jughead Jones might be the only person in the world who gets to experience this Betty. The real Betty. The one who laughs at his corny jokes, who ensures he knows he’s worthwhile and worthy of love, who solves mysteries at the expense of her family and her sanity, and who only knows sacrifice yet sees so little reward. It wouldn’t be like her to ask for one, or for the break they both so desperately needed, but he couldn’t bear to hear her voice breaking on one more phone call. Not when, at least on his front, she has nothing to worry about.

“Jug,” her voice is like warm honey as she pulls a gloved hand from her pocket and entwines her fingers with his as it hangs over her shoulder. “Think maybe we can get some food right now? I don’t want to leave again tonight after we get back.”

“Oh no?”

“Nope,” she says popping the “p” and turning her face toward his. “I just noticed there was a fireplace in the living room, and the last time we tried anything involving a fireplace, we ended up having a movie night with our entire extended family.”

He remembers that particular night. He does not plan on repeating it. Her lashes flutter against his neck as the heat of her breath sends a shiver down his spine. “Right, food. Let’s do that.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The snow’s been picking up. What started as a soft, gauzy curtain now fully blankets the city in a sparkling white chrysalis. They’re on the couch, wrapped up in blankets and each other, watching as the snow falls onto the courtyard outside their window. The frost gives the glass an almost frame, their bodies reflected in the twinkling firelight perfectly centered in the pane.

He and Betty have shared many moments since that day in her bedroom, most good and some not-so-good, but every second has made them what they are today. He’s the first to admit that, in the beginning, he was certain things would end between them before either got too invested. (Well, before she got too invested. He was one-hundred percent all in from the get-go.)

Being away has made him realize a few things. First, while money can buy a lot of things, it has no bearing on taste. Case in point, the cafeteria at Stonewall Prep. Gourmet it may be, but it doesn’t hold a candle to Pop’s. And second, as dysfunctional as his family unit is, and it really, really is, he knows love. His father loves him and is actually getting better at showing it, and though the fear of him falling off the wagon never really goes away, it’s lessened to a manageable degree. Jellybean is home and doing mostly well—as well as any thirteen-year-old who’s seen and done the things she’s already been forced to do can be. Alice is Alice, but at least she’s around. Not that her doing so provides him, or Betty for that matter, any comfort, but it gives some semblance of normalcy they’ve all been desperate to recapture.

And Betty? He smiles against her lips, hands twisting in her golden hair as her eyes flutter open.

“What?” Her voice is breathy as his fingers slide from her mane of curls. Jughead scoots toward the arm of the chair, reaching for his discarded jacket, while she adjusts the blanket over her shoulder, an inquisitive quirk of her brow reiterates the question she just asked.

“Do you remember when I was being especially dramatic?”

“Oh, which time, Jug? There are literally so many possibilities.”

Lunging forward, he wraps his arms around her waist and hauls her into his lap. He doesn’t tickle her, just readjusts the blanket that slid in the move and drops his arms to settle right above her hips. Betty’s are wrapped around his neck, fingers twining the hairs at the nape of his neck between her slender fingers.

“You were being dramatic?” she questions. The fire glows behind her, amber and ember amidst the growing tundra outside.

He exhales one long, slow, steady breath. “When I asked you to marry me.”

Betty’s forehead creases as their eyes meet. A confused laugh escapes. “Jughead, what are you talking about? You’ve never…”

Words cease falling from her lips as he slides his decidedly not-empty hand along her side and holds the small box between them. Betty’s hands fall from around his neck and immediately find their way in front of her face.

“This is not some impromptu proposal. It’s not because we’re finally alone and in the heat of some moment I ask you to marry me. I’ve thought, been thinking, about this almost every day since I left Riverdale High. Not necessarily asking you, per se, but more like the realization that an entire lifetime of achievements and accomplishments means nothing if you’re not by my side.”

“Jug,” her voice is a lost whisper amongst the crackling logs and howling wind. He takes the ring from the box, a dainty opal in an antique setting, and gently pulls her left hand from her mouth.

“There is nothing I want more than a future with you. I told you once we were on borrowed time, and I have never been happier to be proven wrong in my life. I bought this ring three weeks ago and tried to convince myself I wasn’t going to do this until after graduation–that there was something fundamentally wrong with getting engaged in high school. And I get it; I do. We are completely surrounded by marriages marred by too much time and not enough knowledge. But I know the you inside of you, and I love her as much as she loves the deepest, darkest parts of me. Marry me, Betty Cooper. Today. Tomorrow. Some fixed point in the not-too-distant future. Don’t make me wait.”

He steadies the ring at the tip of her finger, holding his breath until he feels her hand sliding forward. The “yes” she all but breathes against his lips is swallowed by his kiss. She pulls away long before he’s ready to admire the stone against her skin. The smile on her face is worth every second of doubt. Turning, she shifts to be sat between his legs, leaning her head against his chest.

Her sigh is one of contentment as she holds her hand up in front of them. The ring looks more right on her finger than he ever dared to hope. He can feel the millions of things racing through her mind across the silence. Entwining her newly embellished hand with his, he pulls them to her chest and presses a kiss to the crown of her head. Tomorrow, before they’re forced back to their separate realities, they’ll discuss it, but tonight, tonight is for them and their love. Which they prove to one another over and over again.

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Affordable Philadelphia, PA Movers

Affordable Philadelphia, PA Movers

Enough insurance coverage is completely essential to safeguard your belongings if one thing dreadful goes down throughout a protracted-distance move. No vehicles are supplied for the slide, the venturesome passenger merely sitting down in it and sliding over the route, just as we used to do in childhood’s pleased days on the old cellar door. If we've a 150-year provide of natural fuel sitting in the Raton Basin alone, why will we not make it readily out there now? We can’t transfer things like gas or ammo. A whole lot of items we personal may not appear very cumbersome in a person sense or in the type of cardboard packing containers, however when issues are packed together they get heavy. They unloaded both trucks, helped us put issues together and helped us haul another piece of furnishings to another location. Higher call Small Haul. Fresh Kale- small quantity slightly blanched and finely chopped. Except for providing transferring services, we also accommodate in a single day storage to make sure that all your possessions are in protected palms.

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The standard of Uhuru providers and furniture are affordable and reasonably priced. After i moved out of Philadelphia, I donated my whole apartment to Uhuru. We also had issue getting an extra large couch into the new apartment. He is "simply getting to the office" (see a trend???) and will get again to me. It is a daunting task, with no means of getting around it. From the in-dwelling transferring estimate and selecting the moving services to unloading your goods and unpacking your bins, we're with you each step of the way for a seamless relocation. They stick to the estimates as the estimate is rightly based mostly on their physical review of the items being moved. The US has a big supply in Alaska that's being sold to Russia. Will a big van be there when it is needed? Someone will get back to you with a quote you could either accept or decline. It's pumped back into the grounds.

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Top  Reviews and Complaints about Safelite AutoGlass

I am a trucker (18 wheeler). I have tried 2 Safelite windshields and both got traveling cracks (DOT FAIL!) from a ding that, on a properly laminated windshield would have just been a nickel-sized ding. Safelite truck windshields are junk. I don't know what sort of laminate (if any) they have from their foreign-made garbage, but I will only use OEM or OEM quality henceforth.

My windshield was hit by several rocks from the back of someone's truck on the freeway. I ended up with 5 tiny chips in my windshield. Took my car to Safelite to fill the tiny chips. When I got my car back there was an eight inch crack across my windshield. I should it to them right away. They said that can happen when it is filled. Let me give you a quote to replace the windshield. I said, "Why should I have to pay?" I then called the main number who told me that can happen. Let me give you $50.00 off the cost of the replacement. I am going elsewhere that charges less.

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R of Blairsville, GA

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Dec. 12, 2018

I needed my back car window replaced. I called Safelite on a Sunday, and they had me scheduled for two days later. I live in a rural area, but they came to my house at the time they promised, and Randy did an awesome job replacing the glass. They worked with my insurance. Very friendly too. They’ve made a customer for life.

Carol of Berlin, NJ

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Dec. 8, 2018

I made appointment after listening to rep. on phone saying Safelite best and fastest way to get replacement auto glass. I know it's hard to find glass for order cars. Was told I would have replaced today. Took off from work. Tech called 2 hours before appt to say shop they ordered from never got glass? Formatted texts telling me they are sorry. To have a nice day? Maybe in by Monday and installed Tuesday? Why not be sure before setting appt? Disappointed! They had to know availability after or before setting my appt. It's 24 degrees out. Shrink wrap won't prevent damage. Make sure you get confirmation of availability! I didn't and now stuck!

Marilyn of Clarksville, TN

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Dec. 6, 2018

My window was down and would not come up. They found out why that was and told me what was needed. They covered my window with plastic until it could be repaired. These guys never turned me away. Thank You. Safelite for having such wonderful staff.

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Richard of Cortland, NY

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Dec. 3, 2018

After reading many of the comments on this board, I was seriously concerned with having this company do my windshield replacement. My car has a lot of electronic stuff that is controlled by the material in the windshield. I was afraid some of this would no longer work after the replacement. My insurance company uses Safelite and I told them my concerns and they assured me that if there were any problems they would take care of it. Anyway, everything was done quickly and efficiently and everything works! The experience was excellent for us.

Mark of Philadelphia, PA

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 24, 2018

Read the reviews on their site and decided: What could go wrong and then scheduled my appointment at my home... The installer removed my old windshield and all trims wipers etc. Then told he could not install the new one due to there being some rust looking dirt around perimeter of the rim (my truck is 20 years old and in very good condition)... After checking it for myself and concluding it was sound and not actual rust, the installer still declined to put it in and left me high and dry with no windshield at all... I should've listened to my gut after reading some of the other negative reviews. Fool me once shame on them. Fool me twice shame on me.

Scott of Kenosha, WI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 24, 2018

USAA uses Safelite Glass for auto glass repairs and refers me here. Have had issues in the past too. Couple years ago, took multiple calls to schedule appt then they never showed up or cancelled at the last minute - not sure which. Rescheduling was a major hassle again. This past time, we had 9AM appt this morning for windshield replacement. Because of all the past problems, called yesterday to ask if windshield was in - said was on backorder and was scheduled to come in December 8th - 2 weeks away. Asked if they would call me when it comes in - "oh yes sir - we'll call you". Saved myself a trip going in this morning when there is no windshield to install because they never called to let me know.

John of Horicon, WI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 24, 2018

I can't say how disappointed I am again with these idiots. My truck was broken into and I made specific plans with the dispatcher and again the technician did read the notes. I was out of country and had to have the spare key from my truck driven down to airport hotel where the window was broken. Oh did mention it was winter and it's snowing by a friend and his number was also given to Safelite. They are great at one thing - screwing up the entire replacement. I'm not going to use them ever again in fact I would rather have my eyeballs poked out with a rusty fork than have to go through the incompetence again.

William of Half Moon Bay, CA

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 17, 2018

Replaced windshield in my wife’s car, then had to come back to fix the poor job. Tried to get them to come to my house (25 minutes) to replace my car’s windshield. Refused to come despite ad that says they will do mobile repair at my choice. Can’t believe in their service or quality of repair.

Sara of Melvin, MI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 15, 2018

My insurance company (Liberty Mutual) sent Safelite to my house to repair a stone chip the size of half a pea. There were two tiny cracks on either side of the chip and I needed it fixed before it cracked. The guy came out and "fixed" it. About 10 minutes after he left I got in my car and saw no difference, and there was a noticeable divot in the windshield that wasn't even filled flush. I called them and they assured me it was fixed and would NOT crack. I said it is not fixed and WILL crack. She again assured me it wouldn't and though "it may not look fixed it is, and won't crack".

Well, like I said, 11 days later it cracked across my entire windshield and now I have to pay to put in a completely new one. They told me it's a known risk that repairs DON'T WORK and by signing their form I was well aware of that. DO NOT USE SAFELITE. If you do, DO NOT SIGN THEIR FORM, IT RELEASES THEM FROM FAULT when they send a hack out and he doesn't know how to do a chip repair.

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Gianna of Buffalo, NY

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 15, 2018

Safelite already replaced two windshields on the same vehicle and this morning I noticed my windshield was cracked again. This will be the third windshield I've had to have replaced by Safelite. During previous installments, they did not replace the rearview mirror which is attached to the windhield, properly. They did not use adequate adhesive and it fell off while driving. During installation, the tech used vice grips on the antennae which stripped the paint. I believe Safelite takes advantage of insurance companies who offer glass coverage, and inconveniences their customers with shabby work and inferior products.

Richard of Monroe, MI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 9, 2018

I ordered 2 windshields for my classic cars. 1971 Chevelle and 1982 Camero. Scheduled an appointment with them, the day before the installation scheduled they called and said I would have to bring the Chevelle to their shop. I have no plates on the car so I said I would have to bring it later. But I would like the Camero done on schedule the next day between 8 and 12. Called them at 12 they said they canceled the appointment so after taking off work and waiting 4 hr. They said they were sorry. I scheduled replacement with Floral City Glass in Monroe MI great job, less expensive and done on schedule.

Kenneth of Houston, TX

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 5, 2018

Just had great experience having our 2016 Jeep Wranglers windshield replaced at my home in Houston. The technician's name is Anthony. He contacted me to say he could arrive much earlier than expected (huge plus because had 5 hr window which I hate)... Not only did he arrive within exact time he stated, but my jeep was rather dirty since it’s been raining so much in Houston and he took ample time properly wiping all the windows... which had me stunned seeing this?!

Nowadays (especially young staff) technicians rush thru jobs doing it very half-assed! Anthony took his time paying attention to details and afterwards explained exactly what he’d done, plus reviewed the warranty in layman terms. I’d say including fair pricing, I couldn’t imagine receiving better service with a genuine attractive smile than I received earlier today... Thanks again to my technician. As in the field you guys are who we customers see as THE COMPANY>> irregardless how big or small the vendors may be...

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Ric of Harrison, AR

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 4, 2018

Having a cracked windshield on 2004 Cadillac Seville, called Safelite to replace. Installer came to home, installed windshield. No problem. 2 weeks later, at 70 mph on Freeway, windshield rubber molding ripped out, slammed up to roof, destroyed sunroof deflector & roof paint. Installer did NOT replace the molding which IS PART OF THE INSTALL PROCESS! Reinstalled a new glass by a body shop who did it right. Beware of this outfit using amateurs to install product!

Marc of Hernando, MS

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Nov. 3, 2018

Technician arrived on Time. Started to work but did not have the Proper Tools to Remove my Windshield, So we waited for another Technician to show up... 50 minutes to drive 12 miles??? What the H?? He brought the "TOOL" we needed and job was finished 35 minutes later. Before my technician put my windshield on I noticed my headliner hanging down in front of my passenger visor. I asked him about it and he quickly replied "That was already there." I KNOW IT WAS NOT AS I HAD JUST CLEANED MY INTERIOR!!! Now I'm going to have to buy spray on glue and fix it myself. Safelite Customer Service has a Horrible Reputation in Satisfying their customers. My repair cost me $100.00 more than anyone else.

Jeff of Otsego, MI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 31, 2018

Had appointment. My man called me. Was late then got here and told me he couldn't touch my truck. I have a very nice F150 with a painted to match visor over the windshield with the yellow lights. So I wasted half my day for nothing. Thank you AAA for sending them to me n ed very again first place I called said, "No problem. They're coming tomorrow."

Mike of Elk Grove Village, IL

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 25, 2018

Safelite damaged my vehicle, and made me go through a 6 long week ordeal. 1. They sent an incompetent technician to work my Mercedes. 2. He scratched the car, dropped a couple of screws in the engine area and best of all didn't even install the glass properly. He had audacity of asking for 5 stars on his survey. 3. Then a manager comes in saying he'll fix everything. He did not. He was good at coming up with excuses. He was good at making me feel stupid and dumb. He outright lied about installing new wind strip when it was clearly visible that is was same old weathered strip. Please be aware! Find a company that knows how to 1) respect customers and 2) do the job.

Susan of Orrville, OH

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 24, 2018

My technician showed up without proper equipment, said he'd be back within an hour & left. Tech came back 90 min later. I was working & couldn’t keep an eye on him. (They advertise peace of mind, right?) Technician installed the windshield & left without contacting me. Hours later I get off work & to my car for the 1st time & see ripples in the black strip along the top of my windshield. Technician left my keys turned on, therefore my car needed jumped before I could leave work. They send out a second tech the following day, who says the ripples are "normal" and applies more glue & tape.

I called corporate to resolve the issue, very disgusted with this company. Management is very rude, not taking responsibility for any wrong, stating the Tech has been with the company for 2 yrs, etc. No offer to compensate for the inconvenience or having to jump my car before I could go home after their Tech killed my battery. Safelite is a joke. Don't waste your time, you're better off taking a day off work & having your windshield replaced by true professionals.

                   View more                

Linda of Mequon, WI

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 22, 2018

They gave me a window 8-5. Driver called at 3 and said he'd be here by 4. I called 4:30 and they said he was running late. Talked to mgr twice. Now sipped to come by 6! Wasted a whole day waiting. 10 hours total wait if they get here ever. Don't recommend this company in any way. Useless customer service. They just don’t give a damn.

Stacey of Minneapolis, MN

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 22, 2018

The first mobile appointment I had was canceled because it was misting out and they don't work in the rain. The second appoint was cancel, without my knowledge. The guy showed up, told me he couldn't replace since it was in a busy street and I stood in the middle of the street with him for 5 minutes and only one car passed us by. I think moved my car to a parking lot and he said he could take it from there. He did nothing other than cancel my appointment (without telling me) and just left. I text him multiple times and no response. When I asked why he didn't fix it like he said he was going to he told me I had been rescheduled. I asked to when and where and he didn't respond. Unprofessional! Wasted my time and his! And wasted company resources.

Pall of Edmond, OK

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 18, 2018

Safelite technician attempted to fix a 1/2" chip in my windshield, but while doing so applied too much pressure causing the chip to crack 18" across. He then handed me a $350 quote for a new windshield. After complaining, the corporate office offered me a $50 discount on the new windshield. Lolololol! How is this company in business???

Kimberly of Albuquerque, NM

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 15, 2018

I had my windshield replaced with Safelite then I got a stress crack. They came out to look at it. The tech said it was a stress crack then all of a sudden he says it was a rock. Sent a picture to his manager and the manager says six rocks at my windshield when no rock hit my windshield whatsoever. Now they are refusing to replace the windshield which is under a lifetime warranty. This place is terrible. Do not do business with them. They lie and scam. It’s one of the worst businesses out there.

Heather of Pierpont, OH

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 15, 2018

I have a cracked windshield and had set up an appointment two weeks ago. I checked my messages, emails and even the invoice page messages for any issues daily. Day came for them to arrive. I took vacation hours to stay home and wait for them. Only message I had received was one from "Gary" that stated he would be by around 12pm-5pm, and that he would text when he was arriving.

I waited all day and checked my messages every half an hour. Not a single message about being on his way or having issues finding my place. In the end I gave up after 5 pm and decide to leave the house to get something to eat. As I am driving I get the message that my appointment was canceled. No reason, no anything. This was 15-20mins after 5 pm.

I am now upset and call the customer "care", I get a woman saying she has no idea why and that she will email the guy but that is all she can do besides set up a new appointment. I can't spend ALL MY VACATION TIME WAITING FOR AN APPOINTMENT THEY CAN CANCEL 15 MINS AFTER ITS LATEST TIME! It is utterly ridiculous and the lack of actual caring for the customer is appalling. I refuse to make a new appointment and am gladly willing to take my business elsewhere. I would send screenshots of my messages if it let me do so here. I'd advise to not trust this company.

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Cecelia of Peoria, AZ

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 10, 2018

Cross country trip, bad hail storm in Colorado Springs, called ins. asap. Sent to Safelite Customer Service. Three different operators unhelpful; unsympathetic, would not schedule for 5 days; no attempt to find a way to help travelers. Asked for shop on the way to Kansas, still would not schedule for a week. Fortunately local Denver shop was sympathetic and obliging. Forget 800; go in to actual store.

Brian of Baton Rouge, LA

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 8, 2018

Rachael out of Baton Rouge, LA was very nice and did a great job on fixing our chip on our windshield. Only took 20 mins. I would come Back to Safelite for our future repairs on our windshield and approved our insurance. They worked very nice together!!

Jason of Clovis, CA

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 6, 2018

Safelite rep, Jeff, arrived at my residence, immediately requested that I move the car to his liking and proceeded to walk around the vehicle, to include photographing the outside and inside of the vehicle. Upon questioning his intent, of roaming around and photographing the interior, Jeff responded in a rude manner and was insufficient in his reasoning. Jeff was asked to leave and Safelite was contacted. Having utilized Safelite in the past and referring several clients this correspondence was disturbing. A company dependent on its customer service should hire better communicators or provide better training. The convenience of their service does not outweigh personal respect.

Jon of Brunswick, OH

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 6, 2018

I took a day off of work to wait at home and the technician never showed or contacted me. I had to call Safelite to find out that he didn't even know about the appointment that I made two weeks prior. The customer service reps, local and national, didn't seem to care.

Kathy of Newport, NC

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 5, 2018

Safelite came out to fix 2 windshield spots. In the commercial it looks great, however that's not what we got. The spots are still there, still look the same with something like clear nail polish over them and charge is $189. Disappointed and you can't even tell anything was done. One is pencil eraser size and other is smaller.

Joe of Osseo, MN

                   Verified Reviewer                

Original review: Oct. 2, 2018

Was going on my 3rd Safelite windshield this year and they don't stand behind their product. 2 windshields were about a month old when the first one got a crack from a rock that flew up, the other cracked on its own. I called immediately, took pictures, and the representative that scheduled the appointment and mentioned that I wouldn't have to pay because it was only a month old. I get to the appointment which was just a waste of time because they refused to replace it saying that it was a not a stress crack, which it appears to be. I just left and I won't be using Safelite anymore. I will be going to small claims court to see if I can get my money back for this defective windshield. No one should have to pay full price for the 3rd windshield within 90 days of each other. Just sad that big companies can act like this.

[philadelphiavehiclewraps]

What Are Vehicle Wraps?

Promoters are turning out to be increasingly more innovative as they find new and various techniques for publicizing. Today, print, TV and radio are as of now insufficient for a mission. Most have found and presently utilize nature as well as the World Wide Web in their missions. Get more information please visit here  Vehicle wraps Philadelphia.

With regards to open air publicizing, one of the normal techniques promoters are currently exploring is the utilization of vehicles. Vehicles are extraordinary apparatuses for promoting as they can cover a bigger region as they move starting with one point then onto the next. Normal vehicles utilized in publicizing are those utilized by the public, for example, taxis and transports. There are additionally greater organizations which own a company vehicle utilized for true business-related purposes. These are utilized in promoting also.

With these versatile apparatuses, one could ask how promoting is finished. In the good 'ol days sponsors would utilize their logos and different images which could be effortlessly related to their company. The individuals who would have rather not spend as much approved of the utilization of basic banners. These were posted in the windows or some other piece of the vehicle. Assuming that there was sufficient spending plan some would really proceed to have the vehicle painted by an expert. Obviously, this strategy is more costly. It isn't simply costly when it is applied; it is additionally costly when it is eliminated.

Fortunately, when innovation progressed, new techniques for printing were presented. This time, printing has made it more straightforward and more exact. The genuine picture is printed out precisely, yet when it was painted there would be contrasts and irregularities relying upon the expertise of the painter. The innovation began as a plain printing to sticker strategy. After a period, the pattern expanded - - in a real sense. Rather than putting a sticker on a particular piece of a vehicle, it turned into a whole wrap. Thus, the expression "vehicle wraps".

Kranken Signs Vehicle Wraps Philadelphia

Address:  Philadelphia, PA

Phone Number:  215-475-6814

[vehiclewrapcompanyphiladelphia]

Maximize Your Brand Impact with a Box Truck Wrap Design

The power of mobile advertising cannot be underestimated, and box truck wraps offer a unique and effective way to maximize brand impact. By leveraging the mobility, visibility, and creative potential of box truck wraps, businesses can reach a larger audience, create a strong brand presence, and ultimately drive more sales.

The Power of Mobile Advertising

Mobile advertising has become increasingly important in today's digital age. With the rise of smartphones and the constant connectivity they provide, businesses have the opportunity to reach their target audience anytime, anywhere.

However, traditional forms of mobile advertising, such as billboards and bus wraps, can be limited in terms of reach and visibility. That's where box truck wraps come in. By turning a box truck into a moving billboard, businesses can take advantage of the power of mobile advertising and ensure their message is seen by a wide audience.

Box truck wraps offer a unique advantage over other forms of mobile advertising. Unlike billboards or bus wraps, which are stationary or confined to specific routes, box truck wraps can travel anywhere the truck goes. This means that businesses can reach potential customers in different neighborhoods, cities, and even states, significantly expanding their reach and increasing the chances of their message being seen.

In addition to their mobility, box truck wraps also offer a larger canvas for advertising. With more space to work with, businesses can create eye-catching designs that grab attention and convey their brand message effectively. Whether it's a colorful logo, a catchy slogan, or a stunning visual, a well-designed box truck wrap has the power to captivate and engage viewers, leaving a lasting impression on their minds.

Furthermore, box truck wraps are an affordable and cost-effective advertising solution. Compared to other forms of mobile advertising, such as digital ads or TV commercials, box truck wraps require a one-time investment and can deliver long-term results. Once the wrap is installed on the truck, it can continue to generate brand exposure and attract attention for years to come, without any additional costs.

Why Box Truck Wraps Are Effective

Box truck wraps are an effective form of advertising for several reasons.

1. They are highly visible.

As a box truck travels on the road, it naturally attracts attention from other drivers and pedestrians. This increased visibility ensures that the brand message on the wrap is seen by a large number of people, increasing brand exposure and recognition.

2. Box truck wraps offer a unique opportunity for targeted advertising.

By choosing the right routes and locations for the truck, businesses can ensure that their message is reaching their target audience. For example, a food delivery service can wrap their trucks with images of delicious meals and drive them around busy urban areas, effectively targeting hungry commuters and office workers.

3. Customized design wrap

The design of the wrap can be customized to suit the specific needs and preferences of the business. Whether it's a bold and colorful design or a sleek and professional look, the wrap can be tailored to reflect the brand's identity and appeal to its target audience.

Furthermore, box truck wraps offer a long-lasting advertising solution. Unlike digital ads or TV commercials that have a limited lifespan, box truck wraps can continue to promote the brand for years. This longevity ensures that the brand message remains in the minds of consumers, increasing the chances of them choosing the advertised product or service when the need arises.

Overall box truck wraps are effective in maximizing brand impact due to their high visibility, targeted advertising potential, versatility, and long-lasting nature. By utilizing this form of advertising, businesses can effectively promote their brand and increase their chances of success.

Designing an Eye-Catching Box Truck Wrap

Designing an eye-catching box truck wrap is crucial for capturing the attention of viewers and conveying the brand message effectively. Here are some key tips for creating a standout design:

1. Keep it simple: A cluttered design can be overwhelming and difficult to read. Opt for a clean and uncluttered layout that allows the main message and visuals to stand out.

2. Use bold colors: Bright and bold colors attract attention and make the design more memorable. Choose colors that align with the brand's identity and evoke the desired emotions.

3. Incorporate the brand logo: The logo is a crucial element of the design as it helps build brand recognition. Make sure the logo is prominently featured and easily readable.

4. Include a clear call-to-action: A call-to-action tells viewers what to do next, whether it's visiting a website, calling a phone number, or making a purchase. Make the call-to-action clear and easy to understand.

5. Consider the viewing angles: Keep in mind that the design will be seen from different angles as the truck moves on the road. Ensure that the key elements of the design are visible from various perspectives.

By following these tips and working with a professional designer, businesses can create an eye-catching box truck wrap that effectively communicates their brand message and attracts attention on the road.

Choosing the Right Colors and Fonts For Box Truck Wrap Design

Choosing the right colors and fonts for a box truck wrap design is essential for creating a visually appealing and cohesive look. Here are some considerations to keep in mind:

1. Reflect the brand's identity: The colors and fonts chosen should align with the brand's identity and values. For example, a fun and playful brand may opt for vibrant colors and playful fonts, while a professional and corporate brand may prefer more subdued colors and classic fonts.

2. Contrast and readability: Ensure that the colors and fonts chosen provide enough contrast for the text to be easily readable from a distance. High contrast will make the design more eye-catching and legible.

3. Legibility at different sizes: Consider how the design will look when scaled down or up on the truck. Fonts should remain legible at different sizes to ensure the message can be easily read.

4. Consistency with existing branding: If the business already has established branding, it's important to maintain consistency in the box truck wrap design. This helps reinforce brand recognition and creates a cohesive brand image.

5. Test and iterate: Before finalizing the design, it's important to test it on a smaller scale or with mockups. This allows for any necessary adjustments to be made and ensures that the final design is visually appealing and effective.

By carefully considering these factors and working with a professional designer, businesses can choose the right colors and fonts for their box truck wrap design, creating a visually appealing and impactful advertisement.

Maximizing the Use of Space on a Box Truck Wrap

Maximizing the use of space on a box truck wrap is crucial for creating an impactful and effective design. Here are some strategies to make the most of the available space:

1. Prioritize key information: Identify the most important elements of the design, such as the brand logo, key message, and call-to-action. Ensure that these elements are prominently featured and easily visible.

2. Use visual hierarchy: Arrange the elements of the design in a way that guides the viewer's attention and highlights the most important information. This can be done through size, color, and placement.

3. Utilize the sides and rear of the truck: Take advantage of all available surfaces on the box truck, including the sides and rear. This allows for more space to convey the brand message and increases visibility from different angles.

4. Incorporate images and graphics: Visual elements, such as images and graphics, can help capture attention and convey the brand message more effectively. Choose high-quality images that align with the brand's identity and enhance the overall design.

5. Balance text and visuals: Find the right balance between text and visuals to ensure the design is engaging and easy to understand. Too much text can overwhelm viewers, while too few visuals may not effectively capture attention.

By implementing these strategies and carefully planning the layout, businesses can maximize the use of space on a box truck wrap, creating a visually appealing and impactful design that attracts attention and promotes their brand effectively.

Read More : Maximize Your Brand Impact with a Box Truck Wrap Design

[rocketwerks]

Planters National Bank

AKA Old Planters Bank 1200 East Main Street Built, 1893 Architect, Charles H. Read, Jr. VDHR 127-0150

October 2017

The oldest remaining monumental bank building in Richmond.

Planters National Bank, located at 12th and Main streets in downtown Richmond, is a highly original interpretation of Richardsonian Romanesque architecture, a style that flourished in the United States during the late 19th century. The building survives today as the last remaining specimen of the Romanesque idiom in Richmond's city center. The archetypal Romanesque themes of solidity, permanence, and fortress-like protection are ably expressed by its rusticated and elaborately carved brownstone facades, its picturesque roof line of steep gables and decorative finials, and its stone-arched entryway.

(VDHR) — 1983 nomination photo

The bank was designed in 1893 by Charles H. Read, Jr., (who) contributed several other significant buildings to Richmond's cityscape. Planters National Bank exemplifies the creative talent of a prolific native architect and remains one of the most capable expressions of the Romanesque Revival style to be found in Virginia. Among the first of the grand bank designs to be built in Richmond, this distinguished work of architecture is believed to be the oldest bank building in the state capital.

(Pinterest) — Henry Hobson Richardson

Broadly speaking, Read's design for Planters National Bank reflects the ubiquitous influence of Henry Hobson Richardson, the Boston architect whose most famous work, Trinity Church, established the architectural movement that bears his name, "Richardsonian Romanesque." Richardson's 1872 design for Trinity Church in Boston won one of the most prestigious architectural competitions of the day and set the standard for a generation of American architects to emulate and reinterpret in their own works.

[RVCJ03] — circa 1903

Richardson's buildings were characterized by the horizontal coursing of heavy stone rustication which was often carried up the full height of the major elevation. Heaviness and solidity were themes intrinsic to his designs, articulated not only by the rough-hewn brownstone coursings, but also by the deep window reveals and cavernous arched entryways that gave added emphasis to the great weight and thickness of the walls. The overall effect of a Richardsonian Romanesque building relied upon an expansive roof line, a strict geometric placement of windows and door openings, and a relatively planar treatment of the major facades to achieve its august appearance. 

[RVCJ03] — circa 1903

By contrast, the exuberant articulation of detail in the Planters National Bank design illustrates a more playful and imaginative use of the Romanesque idiom by Read. The horizontal string course which caps the brownstone basement is broken by two engaged piers, producing a vertical counterpoint in the center bay of the front elevation. Decorated cushion capital ornamental finials, and an elaborate corbel table are just a few of the means by which Read embellished the Romanesque theme. 

(Mainline Media News) — Frank Furness

In this way Read exhibits some of the same "exuberance" as the Philadelphia architect Frank Furness, whose influence, like Richardson's, was also widespread during this period. For example, in Furness's Guarantee Trust and Safe Deposit Company building of 1875 we find an arcade treatment of the upper floor that may have influenced Read's arcade design at Planters National Bank. Though the two arcades cannot be considered identical, they show by their scale and detail a comparable spirit of ornamentation that far exceeds Richardson's more restrained use of the Romanesque idiom.

(Alamy) — showing stained glass panel at top

The building's interior has undergone substantial modifications in the last half century in order to accommodate the changing spacial requirements of several state agencies. While some of Read's original Classical Revival plasterwork remains intact, the majority of the interior finish materials is of recent origin. The marble stair and matching wainscot recessed within the entrance foyer remains in good condition. The plaster pilasters and capitals set between the semicircular windows in the main banking room also survive intact but have suffered considerable water damage due to recent roof leaks. An expansive rectangular skylight centered above the banking hall remains in its original position. However, an early interior photograph indicates that a decorative stained-glass panel of arabesque design which once hung beneath the skylight has been removed.

October 2017 — showing annex

With the quick growth of the bank's business in the first part of the 20th century, expanded facilities were eventually required. An annex was added to Read's building in 1919 to, accommodate the increased demand for office space. Although the annex, which wraps around the east and rear of the 1893 building, is similar in scale to its parent structure, the addition lacks any of the original's rich Romanesque ornamental designs or rubbed brick detailing. The architect for the annex is not known.

(Etsy) — Planters National Bank of Richmond Five Dollar Note

Beginning in 1930 the Planters National Bank building was occupied for over thirty years by the state's Division of Motor Vehicles. Subsequently the departments of Taxation and Education occupied office space there. The building became vacant in April of 1981 when the Department of Education moved their offices to the new Monroe Tower complex two blocks to the east. The 1893 building now stands vacant and in a state of growing deterioration.

[RVCJ03] — President James N. Boyd (left) and Cashier Richard H. Smith (right), circa 1903

Planters National Bank building today remains the sole vestige of the Richardsonian Romanesque style in downtown Richmond. The only other comparable commercial building still standing in Richmond is the Masonic Temple at 101 West Broad, located far from the downtown commercial district. That building, however, was not designed by a native Richmonder, but by Jackson Cott, a Baltimore architect. All but two of Richmond's Romanesque-style commercial buildings are now gone, including Read's other works in the style, the Times Building (1893), and the Levy and Davis Store (1895). All were demolished after 1930 to make way for commercial redevelopment. (VDHR)

Today, it’s used by the Commonwealth to house the offices of the Virginia Retirement System.

Sources

[RVCJ03] Richmond, Virginia: The City on the James: The Book of Its Chamber of Commerce and Principal Business Interests. G. W. Engelhardt. 1903.

[yarnfeet40-blog]

Project Manager Sought For Commercial Printing Company (Philadelphia)

QR Code Link to This Post

Who, Us?!? Brands Imaging is a commercial printing company specializing in large format printing, specifically vehicle wraps, interior graphics and a whole host of other specialty graphic offerings. We design, produce and install our own projects and sometimes outsource to other firms to handle overflow or national accounts.

Yes, You! You are task tackler, a self starter and enjoy a good challenge. Stress creates an opportunity for growth, a chance to grow and learn. You're aware of this and stay in the game. Please have experience in a fast moving, small office where you've helped tackle multiple projects at once. You do not need to be well traveled or have board room discussion experience but you must be well organized, outgoing and assertive.

We are an amazing, young energetic company and have very little turn over. We are fun, growing fast and doing big things! The people that work here care about their jobs and we bust our butts. We want someone to match our work ethic and intensity. We are not a large company and cannot afford to have someone that doesn't put work first. We know you're out there!!

Please send resumes to reply-to address. We'd prefer local candidates that live within city limits. ******PLEASE DO NOT STOP BY OR CALL FOR ANY REASON. EMAIL ONLY******

Source: https://philadelphia.craigslist.org/med/d/project-manager-sought-for/6709833581.html

[singbox13-blog]

Philly Used to Be a Cat Town. Now It’s Gone to the Dogs.

Crankcase

Screw you, New Philly, and your schnauzer too.

Philly dogs have taken over our once cat-loving town. Photograph by Colin Lenton

When I moved to this city fresh out of college in 1978, I brought with me my cat, Julio, who’d been living (illicitly) in my dorm room. I rented a ground-floor apartment at 21st and Walnut — it cost $145 a month — and Julio and I settled in. The married couple in the apartment next door, Geoff and Danielle, had a couple of cats. Jimmy, the gay guy who lived above them, had a Persian, and Liz, the girl who lived above me, had a loud Siamese. This was a city of cats then; you’d walk down the block and see them sitting in windows, dozing or eyeing pigeons dubiously.

We had cats because cats were suited to the way we lived. We were homebodies; there were so few reasons not to be. The city had hardly any good restaurants — Steve Poses had opened Frög, the sword-tip of the renaissance vanguard, five years earlier. There was Bookbinder’s — well, there were two of them — where no one could afford to eat, and there were joints like Little Pete’s, where anybody could. A few years earlier, Chestnut Street had been closed to private vehicles to create a “transitway” for pedestrians and buses. The result was a bleak, empty canyon slicing through the city. Muggings were rampant. There wasn’t any nightlife except for a bunch of cheap bars — McGlinchey’s, McGillen’s, Dirty Franks — whose surly, sullen bartenders (cheers, Ruthie!) would have laughed in your face if you’d asked about the cocktail du jour.

Sounds awful, doesn’t it?

It was great. Did I mention the $145 rent? There wasn’t any traffic, because nobody could afford cars. It was so safe to bike in the streets that I was a bike messenger for a few years. There was no such thing as social media, so no one cared that there was no place to go. You’d have the neighbors over for beers, then cook up some burgers or chicken while cats wrapped around your ankles. Why go out? Where to?

None of us had dogs. Dogs were for suburban tract houses, out where there were fences and kids. It wouldn’t be right to have a dog here. It would be heartless to leave it cooped up in a tiny apartment all day.

But you could leave a cat with a litter box and a big bowl of dry food while you went to the Shore or the Poconos for a weekend. And you would go to the Shore or the Poconos on weekends, because the city was old and bleak and gray. You kept your head down when you walked those mean streets. You got where you were going. You didn’t linger. There weren’t marathons or pop-up bars or Restaurant Weeks or Roots Picnics. We weren’t sharers. We kept cats, and we kept to ourselves.

•

I don’t know when the changeover began. I’m not sure when I started to see them — the dog people — out on the sidewalks and in the parks, strutting and smiling and greeting people they didn’t even know. Oh, maybe there had been a poodle or two in Rittenhouse Square in the old days, walked by a butler or prim Chanel-suited matron. But the two veterinarians closest to my apartment were cats-only. I don’t remember any pooper-scooper laws; instead, there were occasional polite signs suggesting that you PLEASE CURB YOUR DOG, which, for the uninitiated, means have it defecate in the gutter instead of on the sidewalk. No one was asking you to pick up that poop. There literally weren’t enough dogs for anybody to care.

Maybe the switch dates from 1980, when the first Broad Street Run was held. That same year, the Phillies won the World Series and then the Eagles went to the Super Bowl, startling us all. Or maybe it was in 1984, when developer Willard Rouse III announced that he was raising One Liberty Place, busting through the longstanding “gentleman’s agreement” that no building in Center City would be taller than City Hall. (Such a rebel!) Or 1991, when Ed Rendell was elected mayor of a city on the brink of bankruptcy and vowed to turn it around.

Rendell was big and gruff and loud, a transplant from New York, where they’ve always had dogs, because New Yorkers don’t care about anybody else’s quality of life. He had dogs — a succession of golden retrievers (what else?), Mandy and Maggie and Ginger and Royal. When Maggie died, Rendell penned a tribute that read, in part: “I lived on this earth for over 73 years and as a trained lawyer, the most persuasive empirical evidence I have found about the existence of God is that someone must have done something to create that special bond between dog and human. It exists for us with virtually no other animal and I can’t believe it was just an accident.”

If you’re touched by that, you must be new around here. Philadelphians are cat people — private people — and private people don’t emote this way. We might whisper in Kitty’s ear while cuddling her in our lap, but we don’t shout it from rooftops. We’re tidy as a litter box. We don’t slobber. We don’t wag our tails. We have dignity.

You have to stay a little removed, after all, in a city of rowhomes. You have to pretend you don’t overhear the couple next door arguing in bed, or notice the booze bottles in their trash can, or see the underwear hung out to dry in their backyard. You have to remain aloof — like a cat, you know? You mind your own business, addressing a paw with your tongue while the bill collector knocks just across the street. That’s the way our moms and dads were. That’s how we were, back before Ed Rendell.

•

Once, this was a city of suspicious nocturnal predators. Today, it’s home to cheerful tail-waggers, and the difference is as startling as Dorothy’s transition from Kansas to Technicolor Oz. There are now dozens of dog parks in Philly. There are bakeries that will make your dog a custom birthday cake, and doggie haberdashers where you can get Sparky suited up for your wedding or a holiday. There’s puppy yoga at breweries and Yappy Hours at bars. As I head into work along South Street, I pass two doggie daycares as well as an Unleashed by Petco (which has a self-serve dog wash so you can scrub the city grime off Rocky) and an outpost of the chic local chain Doggie Style Pets. There are Philly folks who’ll perform acupuncture on your dogs, and tattoo artists who adorn human arms and legs with canine faces. It’s a rare cafe that doesn’t have a doggy water bowl beside the outdoor tables. You can even bring your pup with you to work, if your employer is Urban Outfitters HQ or Neff Associates or Petplan, the Philly-based pet insurance company started by two Wharton students. There are dog walkers galore, along with trainers and groomers and therapists and psychics and programs where kids read to dogs. I and my kitty kin sit at home and marvel at this canine industrial complex. According to the American Pet Products Association, Americans spent $72.13 billion on Fluffy and Squeaky and Tug last year, with the annual cost of cat ownership two-thirds that of a dog, at $988 vs. $1,549. That cat cost is wildly inflated, btw, since it budgets $30 annually for toys. You only buy toys for your cat the first few months you have her, until you figure out she doesn’t give a damn about toys; she just wants to chew your houseplants.

Dogs, if I can be frank, are the spawn of success and gentrification. The Inquirer said so two years ago in an article called “If It Seems As If Dogs Are Everywhere in Philly’s Gentrifying Neighborhoods, They Are.” It quoted a Villanova economics prof, David Fiorenza, who says millennials are having dogs before they have children. A third — a third! — of American millennials who buy houses cite wanting more space for their dogs — a motivating factor that outranks marriage or the birth of a child. A WHYY report last year on gentrification in Grays Ferry quoted a longtime resident, 83-year-old Theodore Jackson, on the subject of his new neighbors: “They love them dogs.” Hey, that wasn’t a cat mask Chris Long put on.

One consequence of the influx of pups has been an influx of poop. Those “Curb your dog” signs are gone, replaced by ones warning of $300 fines for not picking up after your pet. (By “pet,” we don’t mean cat. And by “picking up,” we don’t mean putting that shit in a plastic bag and depositing it on someone else’s stoop.) If you want to get Old Philadelphia going, start a conversation on this subject. Beneath our (cattily) inscrutable expressions, many of us are seething with resentment toward doggy doo. “I see it everywhere,” one co-worker who lives in Rittenhouse hisses. “I stepped in some this morning,” another bitches. Neighborhood blogs froth at the mouth about the excrement situation. In 2018, Beth Ann Dombkowski, a resident of Passyunk Square, mounted a gallery exhibit of photos she took of dogs as they were pooping. In 2012, a Tacony man was shot to death by the guy two doors down for not picking up after his Chihuahua. Which reminds me: Earlier this year, a South Philly dog owner died after being punched, allegedly by another dog owner whom he’d asked to leash his pet.

Cat people don’t kill each other. We have no reason to.

•

Last April, the City of Philadelphia’s verified Twitter account tweeted out:

ANNOUNCEMENT: After noticing that our top audience interest is DOGS, we have decided to become a dog and cat rating account. Reply with your dog and cat pictures and we’ll rate them.

The “and cat” was a sop; felines were nowhere on the accompanying chart, which showed the account’s audience interest in dogs at a staggering 100 percent, ahead of “weather,” tech news” and even politics. Granted, the tweet went out on April 1st. But even on April Fools’ Day, the joke worked because it rang true: Who doesn’t love dogs?

Once upon a time, Philadelphians didn’t. Back in the day, this city’s sports heroes were cat-like loners like Allen Iverson and Mike Schmidt. Now, New Philadelphia has rallied to goofy Cameroonian wolfhound Joel Embiid and bulldog Bryce Harper. The favored writers in my salad days were embittered sourpusses — Stu Bykofsky, Christine Flowers, Buzz Bissinger. In March, the Inquirer — the city’s newspaper of record — started a new Sunday section, “The UpSide,” that prints only good news. Yippee, puppies and rainbows all around!

This city you kids are making is a foreign place to us — bright and happy and colorful and buzzing with life. It has parklets and bike lanes and hammocks you can hang in. It’s got more City Council candidates than you can throw a stick for. It wins all kinds of awards — for new architecture, new recreational venues, new chefs. It’s been declared best place to visit and City of the Year. Its sports teams are in ascendance. Clearly, you newcomers think this relentless assault of excellence will pound down our native gloom and let the sun shine in. Haven’t we ever heard of cats’ bad habits — that they hang out with witches and suck the breath from babies? Don’t we want our faces licked?

Um, no. No, we don’t, thank you. We’re into pain; isn’t that obvious from the public officials we elect? We’re proud that Slate recently labeled cats “the world’s most uncooperative research subject,” and that a study in the journal Animal Cognition concluded that “the behavioral aspects of cats that cause their owners to become attached to them are still undetermined.” You dumb kids, we loved this place when it was a pit.

So go ahead and encourage us to adopt our very own bowwow buddies. Keep telling us how comforting a dog would be in our dotage. Go on saying: “You think you love that cat. Wait till you try a pup.” Sashay past us with that dachshund dolled up in a Rhys Hoskins jersey, or your chow chow with the lion cut, or that terrier with the tie-dyed hair. Woo us with research on how people who share their homes with canines are healthier, happier, and less likely to be visited by thieves. We’re Philadelphians. We know exactly what you’re up to. A new study from Penn Med says the number of olds who suffered bone fractures from walking their dogs more than doubled from 2004 to 2017. A full 17 percent of the total injuries were hip fractures, which just happen to give us a 30 percent chance of dying within a year. You kids may be yanking at the leash to take over this town. But Kitty and I will just wave from the window, thanks.

Published as “It’s a Dog-Eat-Cat World” in the June 2019 issue of Philadelphia magazine.

Source: https://www.phillymag.com/news/2019/06/15/philly-dogs-cats/

[beavervan55-blog]

Weekend Picks: Getaway At The Greenhouse, Auto Show, Lunar New Year, Philly Theatre Week And More

Get excited: It’s going to be another awesome, jam-packed winter weekend in Philadelphia.

Don’t miss the last chance to check out the massive 2019 Philadelphia Auto Show, which welcomes hundreds of thousands of people every year for test drives, celebrity meet-and-greets and more car-focused fun.

Just as all vacations must end, so must the Getaway at the Greenhouse, the popular pop-up oasis at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center featuring live music, a cash bar, food trucks and more, which wraps up on Sunday.

How about things that are kicking off? Philly Theatre Week celebrates its first full weekend with productions by major companies and independent troupes, including the Shen Yun performing arts group and Opera Philadelphia.

And Black History Month and Lunar New Year celebrations continue all weekend long, including a city-wide mural tour highlighting prominent African-Americans and the big Philadelphia Suns Lion Dance Parade, both on Sunday.

Staying overnight is the best way to see and do everything this weekend. Book the Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package for a winter getaway featuring up to $218 in free awesome perks.

Follow Uwishunu on Twitter and Instagram for updates throughout the weekend.

Read on for our guide to this weekend in Philadelphia.

Black History Month in Philadelphia

Black History Month-related activities this weekend include a discussion about the struggles of African-American women (Saturday) and a mural tour (Sunday)...

Philadelphia Auto Show at the Pennsylvania Convention Center

Check out new models from leading vehicle brands, test drive select cars and experience off-road features at the last weekend of this massive event...

Visit Philly Overnight Hotel Package Winter Getaway

Book a Philly getaway for stays this winter and get up to $218 in free perks, including free hotel parking...

Last Chance: Getaway at the Greenhouse at the Fairmount Park Horticulture Center

Winter makes way for summer at this pop-up oasis with live music, an indoor beach and more — all free with registration (online or on-site)...

Blue Cross RiverRink Winterfest

The Olympic-size ice rink, cozy lodge and arcade are open all weekend, and Sunday’s Sweets & Stouts event offers free food and beer samples while supplies last...

Winter at Dilworth Park

The seasonal attraction in the shadow of City Hall is open all weekend with special programming like a Disco Skate (Saturday) and Story Time with Marty the Moose (Sunday)...

Swing @ the Kimmel at the Kimmel Center

The interactive (and free!) virtual-reality swing temporarily installed inside the Kimmel Center sparks nostalgia for childhood and playground memories...

Orchid Extravaganza at Longwood Gardens

Delicate orchids drape windows, spill from planters and float overhead in this stunning display, on view all winter...

Philadelphia Golf & Travel Show at the Greater Philadelphia Expo Center

Practice your putt and swing, get free PGA instructions and check out the newest gear...

Live Music, Comedy, Theatre and Dance

Philly Theatre Week

This second-annual fest features performances and events throughout this city, including a new take on Romeo & Juliet, two tributes to Chekov and more... ...

Dance | Avenue of the Arts

Shen Yun at the Merriam Theatre

The Shen Yun performing arts group begins a month-long run of ancient Chinese dance performances alongside live orchestra music...

Opening: The Bridges of Madison County at the Suzanne Roberts Theatre

An on-stage adaptation of the novel brings the romantic story about timing and soulmates to life during a month-long run on South Broad Street...

More Can't-Miss Theater and Dance Shows in Philadelphia

Check out even more productions on stage at Philly's theaters and performing-arts venues...

Ongoing Exhibitions

Antony Gormley - STAND at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

This outdoor exhibition consists of 10 cast-iron ”blockwork” sculptures created by the British artist, inviting viewers to reflect on how context influences thinking...

Cotton at The African American Museum in Philadelphia

Philadelphia artist John E. Dowell explores the complicated connection between cotton and slavery in America using photographs and installations...

Pat Steir Silent Secret Waterfalls: The Barnes Series at the Barnes Foundation

Eleven new seven-foot-tall oil paintings connect with the artist's celebrated Waterfalls series, exploring the relationship between intuition and chance...

Colored People Time at the Institute of Contemporary Art

Mundane Futures, the first of the three-part Colored People Time exhibit, examines the ways slavery and colonialism continue to leave marks on American culture...

More Must-See Exhibitions in Philadelphia

Philadelphia's museums and galleries showcase can't-miss art and objects from around the globe and around the city...

Test drive cars, see the newest models from automakers and more at the final weekend of the Philadelphia Auto Show. (Photo courtesy the Philadelphia Auto Show)

Open Studio Night at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Talented students open their studios for free public tours during this annual event that spans five floors and nearly 200 workspaces...

Sports | South Philadelphia

Philadelphia 76ers vs. Denver Nuggets at the Wells Fargo Center

See the No. 4-ranked Sixers take on the No. 2-ranked Nuggets in this East-West Conference battle at the stadium complex...

Live Music, Comedy, Theater and Dance

Theater | Avenue of the Arts|(Fri, Sun)

Opening: A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Academy of Music

Opera Philadelphia performs this United States production premiere of Shakespeare's classic tale, set to upbeat music...

Theater | Citywide|(Fri, Sat)

Let 'im Move You: This is a Formation

The Painted Bride hosts an LGBTQ-friendly high-school-style dance in Fishtown (Friday) and pop-up performances in predominantly Black neighborhoods (Saturday)...

Galactic at The Fillmore Philadelphia

See the six-piece jam band in Fishtown, and amplify your concert-going experience with up to $230 in free perks by booking the Live Nation Visit Philly Hotel Package...

Philly Theatre Week celebrates its first full weekend with loads of shows, including two performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Academy of Music. (Photo by Robert Workman)

Speaker Series: Kukuli Velarde at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

The Peruvian-American artist discusses her painting exhibit, The Complicit Eye, on view at Taller Puertorriqueño, which examines women's and immigrants' experiences...

Exhibitions | Doylestown|(Sat, Sun)

Opening: The Art of Seating at the Michener Museum

More than 40 chairs designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Isamu Noguchi, Frank Gehry and others tell the story of American aesthetics from the early 19th century to the present...

Lunar New Year at The Rail Park

The first Lunar New Year celebration at the elevated park includes Vietnamese coffee, hand-pulled noddles, a traditional lion dance and more...

Bucks Brewfest 101 at Bucks County Community College

Nearly 30 breweries share their pours at this first-ever celebration of beer, food and live music, which doubles as a fundraiser for educational scholarships...

Philadelphia Championship Anniversary Bar Crawl

This inaugural event to celebrate the anniversary of the Eagles' Super Bowl LII win takes fans to Philly bars for drink specials, pizza slices, commemorative gifts and more...

Opening: Long Light at the Perelman Building

The first retrospective of photographs by David Lebe includes images of anti-war sentiments, photos of his partner's battle with AIDS and other emotional subjects...

Polar Plunge at Brandywine Picnic Park

Plunge into the frigid Brandywine Creek, then warm up with hot chocolate, bonfires and food to raise money and awareness for the conservation of the watershed...

Cupid's Undie Run at World Cafe Live

Strip down to the basics and run a mile as 30 cities around the country do the same to raise money for the Children's Tumor Foundation...

Lunar New Year Family Festival at the Please Touch Museum

Dance with lions, make lanterns and learn the phases of the moon at this day-long celebration of the Year of the Pig...

Live Music, Comedy, Theater and Dance

Comedy | North Philadelphia

Jim Gaffigan at The Met Philadelphia

The comedian performs two stand-up shows at the historic opera house during gigs that are also part of the Visit Philly Live Nation Hotel Package...

Space Jesus at The Fillmore Philadelphia

Space Jesus blends hip-hop, sci-fi and psychedelia background for a bass-filled EDM act during this show that's also part of the Visit Philly Live Nation Hotel Package...

Webb Thomas Band featuring Tonya Lynette at Relish

The Northwest Philly restaurant that blends southern food and jazz music welcomes weekend performances by the drum-heavy band...

The Philadelphia Suns return to the streets of Chinatown for a daytime Lion Dance Parade on Sunday to celebrate the Lunar New Year. (Lunar New Year Parade | Photo courtesy Philadelphia Suns)

Philadelphia Suns Lion Dance Parade

A parade of colorful lions and dragons makes it way through Chinatown, starting at 10th & Race streets, in celebration of the Year of the Pig...

Resolution Rx at the Kimpton Hotel Monaco Philadelphia

A day of wellness to raise money to fight homelessness includes steep discounts for yoga, barre, pilates and other classes, health snacks and prizes...

Live Music, Comedy, Theater and Dance

Gay Men's Chorus at Lutheran Church of the Holy Communion

In the first of many performances lined up for 2019, the Philadelphia Gay Men's Chorus joins ANNA Crusis Women's Choir at the Center City church...

Music | Avenue of the Arts

Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis at the Kimmel Center

Grammy Award-winning musician and composer Marsalis performs original works, as well as favorites by Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and other jazz legends...

Source: https://www.uwishunu.com/2019/02/things-to-do-in-philadelphia-this-weekend-february-8-10-2019/

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Answer Sheet: There's a Backlash Against Charter Schools. What's Happening and Why.

Answer Sheet: There's a Backlash Against Charter Schools. What's Happening and Why.

Even dogs were protesting during the Los Angeles public school teachers strike in January. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

  In the largest public school system in the country, New York City Chancellor Richard Carranza recently scolded charter school supporters for disparaging traditional public schools. The year before, he had struck a far friendlier tone.

In the second-largest public school district in the country, Los Angeles teachers ended a six-day strike in January with a key concession from pro-charter Superintendent Austin Beutner: a commitment to call for a districtwide cap on new charters until their effect on district schools can be assessed.

In the third-largest school district in the country, Chicago teachers at several charter schools are on strike, the second time within a month it has happened in the city. The December strike there was the first in the charter sector, which is largely (and intentionally) non-unionized and pays most teachers far less than district schools.

This country is nearly 30 years into an experiment with charter schools, which are publicly financed but privately operated, sometimes by for-profit companies. Supporters first described charters as competitive vehicles to push traditional public schools to reform. Over time, that narrative changed and charters were wrapped into the zeitgeist of “choice” for families whose children wanted alternatives to troubled district schools.

Today, about 6 percent of America’s schoolchildren attend charter schools, with 44 states plus the District of Columbia, Guam and Puerto Rico having passed laws permitting them. Some states have only a few charters while some cities are saturated. In Los Angeles, 20 percent of children attend charters. In New York, it’s 10 percent. Charter backers say the movement is an important and sustainable feature of America’s education landscape and any problems it faces are expected growing pains.

Yet the movement, which has enjoyed Republican and Democratic support — including hundreds of millions of dollars from the Obama administration — seems to be at an inflection point as supporters and detractors recognize that charters are not the panacea backers had long suggested.

Public support goes up and down, depending on the poll, and data suggest growth in charters is leveling off. Repeated financial scandals and other crises have tarnished the sector. While some charters are terrific schools that get better student outcomes than nearby district schools, others get similar or worse student outcomes. In cities with high concentrations of charters, such as Washington, where nearly 50 percent of students attend them, some parents complain that they can’t get their children into the “best” charters and the notion of “choice” is false.

What looks like a backlash against charters has been several years in the making.

The Obama administration ardently supported charters, pushing states to open them. But in 2016, with Obama’s second term nearly over and strong opposition to his education policies within both parties, the Democratic National Committee altered its draft platform to qualify its support for charters, calling for more transparency and accountability and opposing for-profit charters.

The election of President Trump and the appointment of his billionaire education secretary, Betsy DeVos, who once called traditional public schools “a dead end,” gave pause to some Democratic charter supporters. Trump and DeVos made expanding “school choice” — including charters and programs that use public money for private and religious school tuition — its top education priority.

Trump critics accused him and DeVos of seeking to privatize public education. Being connected to the Trump agenda in any way became a step too far for some Democrats who had called charters “a civil rights issue." Key Democratic groups began to call for moratoriums on charter schools, including the NAACP, the oldest civil rights organization in the country, and the Black Lives Matter movement, one of the newest.

Some of the announced Democratic candidates seeking their party’s 2020 presidential nomination have been strong supporters of charters, including Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey, who was the subject of a new Mother Jones magazine story titled, “Cory Booker Has a Betsy DeVos problem.” Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, the union that operated its own charter school in West Virginia, noted the change in Democratic attitude in this tweet:

Last fall, Chicago’s centrist mayor, Rahm Emanuel, surprised the city when he said he would not run for a third time even though there was no heir apparent. One of the reasons that commentators said contributed to his decision was the growing unpopularity in Chicago of his education policies, which included closing some 50 traditional public schools, affecting mostly African American students, and his embrace of charter schools.

On Dec. 28, 2018, the Chicago Sun-Times published an editorial with this headline: “Why charter school supporters worry about the next mayor of Chicago.” It says in part:

When we read what 14 mayoral candidates had to say about charter schools, we better understood why wealthy supporters of charters are pouring money into the city elections.

They want to save a movement that’s in hot water and likely to get hotter. Only a handful of the candidates expressed much enthusiasm for charter schools.

Public support for charters oscillates depending upon the survey and wording of questions; a 2017 poll by the charter-friendly Harvard University journal Education Next found that charter school support had dropped 12 percentage points from the year before, to about 40 percent. But a 2018 poll said it bounced back by 5 percentage points. Among teachers, support had dropped from 40 percent to 33 percent, it said. In any case, support for charters has never been overwhelming.

And growth in the number of charter schools has been declining for a number of years, though there are varying statistics on whether it has leveled off. A new 117-page report by the consulting group Bellwether Education Partners, funded by the charter-supporting Walton Family Foundation, concedes the point.

This is happening amid growing awareness that charters in California and other states are draining vital resources from traditional publicly funded and operated school districts, which the vast majority of America’s schoolchildren attend.

That was brought into focus by major strikes during the past year by teachers in Republican- and Democratic-led states who were fighting for higher pay and more resources for schools. In Los Angeles, the rallying cry of striking teachers was the existential threat they said charter schools present to traditional districts.

A May 2018 report by a nonprofit group, In The Public Interest, calculated that charters cost several California districts millions of dollars: They cost the San Diego Unified School District $65.9 million a year, the Oakland Unified School District $57.3 million a year and East Side Union $19.3 million annually.

In California, the state with the most charter schools and the most charter students, newly elected Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) just told the state superintendent of public instruction, Tony Thurmond, to create a panel to examine how charter schools affect the finances of districts. The California Charter Schools Act forbids school boards reviewing applications for new charters to consider how they might affect the traditional public school district.

California has sometimes been dubbed “the Wild West” of charters because there’s so little oversight. Another sign that California voters may be tiring of that dynamic was Thurmond’s election to the state’s top education post in November. He won against a candidate supported with millions of dollars donated by the charter school lobby. Thurmond had called for a temporary cap on charter growth and more accountability.

[Why California’s charter school sector is called ‘the Wild West’]

Charter supporters say the schools offer families choice and sometimes excellence they cannot get from troubled district schools. Many also deny that charters drain districts of resources and argue that imposing rigorous oversight tramples on the essence of the schools: to operate independent of school system bureaucracy.

Charter school critics argue that charters are fundamentally undemocratic. They do not have to operate by the same rules as district schools and in most places do not have to be as transparent about how they spend public money. They are run by private boards who do not have to be accountable to the public.

Charter critics also point to a drumbeat of financial and management scandals — which charter supporters don’t often talk about in public. Scandals are chronicled on a blog called #AnotherDayAnotherCharterScandal, which is the work of the public education advocacy group the Network for Public Education, co-founded by well-known education historian and advocate Diane Ravitch.

Here are just a few scandals from January:

A Jan. 14 story in the Philadelphia Inquirer reported that most of the state’s online charter schools were operated with expired charters, and the Department of Education had no good reason for why it hadn’t attended to the problem.

A Jan. 19 story from the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that “the former chief executive of the Los Angeles-based charter school network Celerity Educational Group has been charged with conspiracy to misappropriate and embezzle public funds — money that was intended for students at Celerity’s schools but was used for lavish travel and the purchase of a property in Ohio, according to court papers.”

A Jan. 22 story from St. Louis Public Radio reported that a charter school, St. Louis College Prep, had “lost tens of thousands of dollars in state funding amidst an investigation into whether the charter school’s founder over-reported attendance records.”

A Jan. 28 story in the Eagle-Tribune in North Andover, Mass., reported that state authorities were “investigating whether the director of a charter school proposed for a former mill building on Merrimack Street faked letters from several local nonprofit agencies professing their support for the state license needed to open the school.”

Yet even as calls for more oversight in scandal-ridden sectors are gaining urgency, some charter supporters keep trying to water them down. An Arizona Republic story says:

Legislation introduced by an influential Republican state senator would require charter schools to disclose more about their finances. But the bill contains a large loophole that would allow the state’s biggest chains like Basis Charter Schools and Great Hearts Academies to avoid revealing how they spend their money.

In New York last month, Carranza struck a different tone about charters than he did last year. In a May 30, 2018, New York Times article, Carzzano was quoted this way:

“Charter Schools are public schools,” Richard Carranza, the chancellor, said in the cafeteria of the Bronx Charter School for Excellence, as he wrapped up a day of visits to three charter schools in Brooklyn and the Bronx, to which he had invited reporters along. Even that simple statement was likely to make waves among charter school opponents, who prefer to describe charters as privately run, publicly funded schools.

“The question about charters versus traditional public schools,” Mr. Carranza added, addressing reporters around a cafeteria table, “is a red herring.”

Last month, Carranza told charter supporters to stop comparing the performance of charter schools to district schools.

And days later, at a meeting with parents in the Bronx, he urged them to fight the practice of traditional schools being forced to give space to charter schools on their campus. A state law requires the district to pay rent for charters if they can’t get space in traditional schools, and the New York Post reported in this story:

Carranza made his remarks after a parent objected to state law that obligates the city to pay rental costs for charters that are denied space in public school buildings.

The schools chief said he gets between 250 and 400 emails a day — and that many of them object to the financial and space burdens imposed by the sector.

“How many of the emails that I get are about ‘Why are you giving that space to charters?' ” he asked. “ ‘Why don’t you fight it?' "

  Correction: L.A.'s superintendent, Austin Beutner, agreed to call for a district-wide cap on charters, not a statewide cap as an earlier version of this story said.

elaine February 14, 2019

Source

Answer Sheet

Answer Sheet: There's a Backlash Against Charter Schools. What's Happening and Why. published first on https://buyessayscheapservice.tumblr.com/

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The Hidden Value in Professional Vehicle Wrap Services: A Cost Analysis

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