Category Archives: News and Editorial Clips

Vitamins May Be Detrimental To Children’s Health, Study Says

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JAMA Pediatrics has released a study that hypothesizes negative effects of consuming excess doses of certain vitamins.

Children’s vitamins have an unusually high a dose of certain supplements, including vitamin B12, Biotin, and vitamin C, according to the study. The overload of nutrients can be detrimental to children’s health.

“More is not necessarily better, especially in this case,” says Dr. Jen Caudle told Good Day.

It is recommended by expert that a balanced diet replace the high-dose supplements.

Originally published on MyFoxPhilly.com

What You Need To Know If SEPTA Goes On Strike

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While the union seems far less likely to go on strike after months of preparing for their contracts to expire, SEPTA workers are currently working without a contract. What does this mean for Philadelphia?

What does this mean for Philadelphia? Commuters should be prepared for a strike. Tuesday marks day two of SEPTA employees working without a contract, and spokesman Willie Brown remarked that employees would work “for a while.”

The 825,000 commuters who rely on trains and busses could be seriously out of luck if SEPTA cuts off service.

  • The subways, trolleys and busses will discontinue service making it almost impossible to commute in for those living closer to the edges of Philadelphia.
  • Regional Rail lines will continue to run, which offers several options for those heading to center city from select parts of the city and several surrounding suburbs.
  • SEPTA urges commuters to consider car sharing and bicycling. While not the most convenient option, it may be the only one depending on where you live. ZipCar has made arrangements for increased traffic and demand.
  • CCT connect will continue to run its usual schedule for disabled riders, but expects to see significantly more crowding and delays from inevitable increases on local traffic.
  • The LUCY loop will continue its service in University City.

All unused SEPTA passes can be redeemed for full and partial refunds. Regional Rail lines will, unless otherwise specified, charge for services.

Parking is available, but limited, at SEPTA rail stations.

Originally published on MyFoxPhilly.com

Ex-Phillies Star Jimmy Rollins to Maintain Philadelphia Fresh Food Initiative Despite Trade

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Despite being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers after 14 years on the Philadelphia Phillies, former MVP Jimmy Rollins will keep his foundation active in the Delaware Valley.

The Rollins Family Foundation, founded by Rollins and his wife, Johari, supports Philadelphia and surrounding communities by providing fresh food to families at risk.

“Fresh food shouldn’t be a luxury. Every family should have access to fruits and vegetables,” Rollins said.

While Rollins moved back to his home state, California, to play for the LA Dodgers, his nonprofit foundation continued to provide families with affordable, fresh food while continuing to empower youth to make healthy choices in the area he called home while becoming a star with the Phillies.

“We made great progress in 2014 and look to continue to build on that momentum,” Rollins said.

Going forward, The Rollins Family Foundation is considering an partnership with projects in Los Angeles while continuing to work with SHARE, the Food Trust and St. Christopher’s Foundation for Children-Farm to Families initiatives, said the foundation.

originally published on NBC10.com

Philly Apps That Will Make Life Just That Much Easier

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From bus schedules to parking meters, here’s the line-up of apps that make living in and visiting Philadelphia more pleasant.

1. Philly 311

This app is your direct connection to city hall.

  • It offers great features like reporting local maladies in your neighborhood so the city can address them immediately.
  • The app is new and hasn’t received great attention, so it needs feedback from citizens to really make it efficient.
  • You can report graffiti, litter, pot holes and more just with a quick pic and caption — the app links directly to city officials who can take care of the problem in a timely matter

2. SEPTA App

This might be the most important app to have if you commute with SEPTA, especially considering the potential for suspended service.

  • The app offers RealTime views of trolley and bus locations via GPS, so you know when you’re just about catch – or miss – your bus.
  • You can catch updated schedules and find when your train is scheduled to arrive next.
  • The app offers updates to service suspensions, detours and any other bumps in the road, like service closure.
  • All of this is in real time, so it’s no hassle to get an accurate update of detours or locations.

3. Philadelphia Parking Finder

Reality: parking is anywhere from expensive to impossible.

  • This app actually pinpoints the costs of parking in various parts of the city
  • It tells you where you really have no chance… in case you didn’t know that parking in front of a hospital ER entrance is an issue.
  • Take note, tourists: South Philly and North Philly are, not surprisingly, filled with FREE parking opportunities. But, beware the pain of walking almost a mile just to get to your car.

4. Fox 29!

How could we write a list and leave this one out?

  • Get your news up-to-date before the other stations.
  • Weather updates at your fingertips to make your commute as smooth as possible.
  • The app is free on iTunes and compatible with iPad and iPhone with iOS 6 or newer.
  • Gives a clean view of everything we have to offer on our website, optimized for your mobile device
  • Stay in the loop! Don’t lose track of what’s happening around you when you can have the Philadelphia and surrounding area news at your fingertips

5. AroundMe

So, this isn’t just for Philly but golly if you just moved to this city you might find it helpful.

  • Much like TomTom, this app allows you to look for restaurants, gas stations or hotels in whichever city you end up in. Moving to Philly can be overwhelming when tourist-filled hot spots just barely collide with not-so-desirable terrirory. Definitely download this one.
  • No english, no problems. This app is available in German, Spanish, English, French, Japanese and Chinese.
  • Available for iPad, Android and Windows Phone.

6. Free Wi-Fi Finder

Another not-just-philly app… but who doesn’t love free?

  • This app requires 3G or wifi, but actually locates nearby free wifi spots for you to mooch off of instead of wasting precious monthly data.
  • Bookmark your fav. locations so you don’t forget their passwords when you return
  • The app lists more than 145,000 FREE locations worldwide.

 

Allentown to See Substantial Economic Change in 2015

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Allentown is on the top 20 list of towns to see a jump in job growth in early 2015 – a huge boost for the city where 27.8 percent of residents live under the poverty line and 4.8 percent are unemployed.

Allentown shares the number 11 spot with Dallas, Texas; Jacksonville, Florida; Knoxville, Tennessee; San Antonio, Texas; and Wichita, Kansas. The towns are expected to see a 17 percent increase in employment during the first quarter of 2015, according to a comprehensive list by Manpower Group.

“Staffing plans are much stronger than quarter 4 when the net employment outlook was [7 percent],” said Manpower spokesman Michael Pinkasavage.

The increase in employment comes after a welcomed, steady decrease of unemployment in Pennsylvania.

Allentown’s mayor credits the city’s investment in the downtown with the rise in job growth.

“We have invested over a billion dollars worth of new development and millions in office space. We have close to a thousand new jobs that have been created here,” Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski said.  “So far this has been a dramatic change for the positive over the course of the last several years and we hope to see more to come.”

The survey included interviews more than 65,000 employers worldwide to gauge growth in 2015.

Employment in the Northeast has been more stagnant than other regions in the United States, according to data collected by the Manpower Group

While most industries report an increase in employment outlook, the Northeast reports the lowest percent of employers looking to increase staff and the highest percent of employers planning to decrease payroll in the first quarter.

Originally posted on NBC10.com