Posted by Shannon McDonald on January 15, 2009
Posts on ShannonMcDonald.net have been sparse, and for good reason. I’ve been spending the past few months working on my latest project, NEast Magazine, currently on NEastPhilly.com.
NEast Magazine is a magazine for Northeast Philadelphia – a large, but widely ignored region of Philadelphia. I’ve been working with many people to help set up the Web site and generate content.
My contributions aside, NEast Magazine has some other regular writers, including two columnists.
Currently, all NEast Magazine content can be found on NEastPhilly.com, but as readership and advertising grow, NEast Magazine will expand and launch its quarterly print product in Spring 2010.
To learn more about NEast Magazine, visit NEastPhilly.com, or contact me here.
Posted in NEast Magazine | Tagged: NEast Magazine, NEastPhilly | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on May 6, 2009
Port Richmond resident Michael Duffy looks at images of his neighborhood's waterfront history.
This article ran on Page 2 of the May 6, 2009 edition of The Fishtown Spirit, where I work as a writer and copy editor.
“Pulaski Park is a little piece of the Delaware Waterfront,” said Joy Lawrence of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society at last week’s meeting about plans for the area. “It’s a hidden gem, and we want to talk about our vision for the future.”
Lawrence set the tone for last Wednesday’s meeting at Our Lady of Port Richmond, where residents of the riverwards came to find out what’s in store for Pulaski Park and the rest of the Delaware Waterfront.
Residents of all ages came to hear plans from several groups involved in the project. Present were representatives from the New Kensington Community Development Corp., Delaware River City Corp., the Department of Recreation and Philadelphia Green. The representatives took turns presenting a slideshow, which outlined the waterfront’s current progress and plans for the near future.
“Our main goal is to introduce the plan for Pulaski Park,” Sandy Salzman of the NKCDC told The Spirit. “It’s a w
onderful little park. A lot of people aren’t aware it’s there.”
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Posted in Fishtown Spirit | Tagged: Barbara McCabe, Delaware River City Corp, Department of Parks and Recreation, Fishtown Spirit, Friends of Pulaski Park, Leslie Schuster, Michael Diberardinis, New Kensington CDC, Our Lady of Port Richmond, Pennsylvania Horticultual Society, Philadelphia Green, Port RIchmond, Port Richmond Waterfront, Pulaski Park, Sarah Thorp | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on March 27, 2009
Shannon McDonald | Wilmington News Journal | March 27,2009
This is a story I wrote for the Wilmington News Journal in Delaware about some great stores in Philadelphia that people should stop by when they visit. I also took the photos.
The next time you visit the City of Brotherly Love, take the locals’ approach to shopping: mix it up, hit several neighborhoods and avoid the box stores.
Advertisement
You’ll find that Philly’s shopping scene is more than The Gallery and South Street. Unique stories can be found around the city — and they offer friendly service, reasonable prices and exceptional quality.
Start from the south and work your way north for a memorable trip. If you don’t want to drive, every neighborhood in Philadelphia is easily accessible by public transportation.
Here are five stores worth a look.
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Posted in Wilmington News Journal | Tagged: Book Trader, Delicious Boutique and Corseterie, Dress Up Time, Famous 4th Street Deli, Gayborhood, Mayfair, Northeast Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, Old City, P.H.A.G., Philadelphia, Queen Village, South Philadelphia, Wilmington News Journal | 1 Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on March 25, 2009
This is a story I did for MURL, Temple University’s senior journalism class. The assignment was to go out into your assigned neighborhood – in my case, Strawberry Mansion- and report on how the residents feel about Mayor Michael Nutter’s budget proposal. This was a team reporting project, but I was responsible for the written portion.
Eric Jones* is almost 3 years old. His age is painfully apparent as his faulty legs struggle to carry him up the jungle gym beneath the weight of his puffy coat and snow cap. Eric spends his days the same way he has since he was 7 months old – in the care of Phyllis Fultz and Roslyn Fulton, who run the Urban Pioneers daycare on French and 31st streets near Ridge Avenue in Strawberry Mansion.
Eric – along with his five playmates – embodies childhood innocence, right down to the runny nose his caretakers attribute to the change in seasons. What Eric doesn’t know as he clasps the hands of a girl around his age, guiding her up the sliding board at Mander Playground at 33rd and Diamond streets in Fairmount Park, is that the odds are stacked against him. His race, socioeconomic status, neighborhood and infrequent contact with his father are designed to hold Eric back in life. These factors will work against him in every stage of his life until he either rises above or succumbs to them, becoming another statistic in Philadelphia’s records.
Several people will influence Eric’s life and guide him along what they hope turns out to be the right path: his parents, his caregivers and Mayor Michael Nutter.
Continue reading for thoughts from daycare owners, school teachers and nonprofit organizations. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in MURL | Tagged: budget proposal, Mander Rec Center, Mothers United Through Tragedy, MURL, MUTT, Philadelphia, Splash and Summer FUNd, Strawberry Mansion, Strawberry Mansion High School, Urban Pioneers | 1 Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on March 24, 2009
Shannon McDonald | The Temple News | March 24, 2009
‘Sunny’ star still a Philly guy at heart
Photo courtesy of Michael Becker for FX
If the name of his show wasn’t enough proof already, Rob McElhenney, 31, is a Philadelphia guy. In an exclusive interview with The Temple News, the writer, producer and star of
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia reminisces about his days of hanging out in Fairmount Park, sneaking into bars and roaming Temple’s Main Campus for a semester.
Shannon McDonald: You’re a born-and-raised Philly kid. How did you spend your time growing up?
Rob McElhenney: I grew up in South Philadelphia at Moyamensing and Dickinson, then, I moved to Delaware County after high school. I went to high school at St. Joe’s Prep and hung out with kids from all different schools. I don’t know if kids do this anymore, but we used to go to Lemon Hill in Fairmount Park after school to hang. Sometimes we’d go to the bars that let underagers in.
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Posted in The Temple News | Tagged: FX, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Rob McElhenny, The Temple News | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on March 11, 2009
Shannon McDonald | March 11 | Fishtown Spirit
This article ran on Page 7 in the March 11 issue of The Fishtown Spirit, where I work as a writer and copy editor.
Captain Daniel Castro is the new leader of the 24th District
An old marketing campaign for the Fraternal Order of Police featured a poster depicting a wounded police officer in front his squad car. “You wouldn’t do it for a million bucks,” the poster read, “but we do it for a whole lot less,”
Two decades and several slain police officers later, Captain Daniel Castro of the 24th District knows that statement is truer than ever. With just three weeks at the 24th under his belt, Castro is vowing to do all he can to bring the communities together and make them safer for the residents and the officers who patrol them.
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Posted in Fishtown Spirit | Tagged: 24th Police District, Captain Daniel Castro, Fishtown Spirit, Officer Maureen Burns, Officer Sharon Jonas, Officer Tina Willis, Philadelphia Police | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on February 9, 2009
By Shannon McDonald
This is a story I did for MURL, Temple University’s senior journalism class. The assignment was to go out into your assigned neighborhood – in my case, Brewerytown – and report on how the residents get around. This was a team reporting project, but I was responsible for the written portion.
The snowstorm that hit our region last Tuesday night left the city silent, snuggled up in a white, powdery blanket. But by Wednesday morning, the streets were a mess, the tighter ones paved in ice and the thoroughfares slippery with slush. Brewerytown residents didn’t seem to mind.
“I ride my bike in all kinds of weather,” said Waugh Wright, 34, a resident on the 800-block of Ringgold Street. “It’s a little icy today, but not bad enough for me to put the bike away.”
Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in MURL | Tagged: Brewerytown, MURL, SEPTA, Temple University, transportation | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on January 21, 2009
When administrators at Temple University, where I just started my final semester of college, found out I was going to President Obama’s inauguration, they asked me to write something for them. The following piece was featured in Temple Times’ Temple Today.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — I went to the inauguration as a journalist, and while I can’t say for sure, I think if I was pursuing some other profession, I would not have gone.
It almost didn’t happen. I was first denied press credentials on the grounds that The Temple News is too irrelevant to the event. By sheer luck, I obtained credentials from a small media group, but then had them revoked because too many media outlets were already set to flood the National Mall. Amtrak ticket prices for the weekend of the inauguration were astronomical, so I turned to the Chinatown Bus. Three hours, one rest top and a Metro ride later, I made it to Washington, D.C.’s Foggy Bottom neighborhood, home of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument.
Monday was a day of preparation for the district. Streets were blocked off, parties were planned, and temporary fences were set up along the sidewalks to create paths for pedestrian traffic. Union Station was thick with tourists forming a line outside McDonald’s just to grab something to eat. The wait for a table at a Capitol Hill restaurant exceeded an hour, and I think hotdog carts received more patrons Monday than they had in all of 2008. There was nothing for me to do but take pictures.
Tuesday saw an early start, and the morning sun only felt warm for about 20 minutes. Not even the millions of people surrounding the historic landmarks could take the bite out of the unforgiving winds of the frozen Potomac River. Armed with four shirts and two pairs of gloves under my winter coat, I stood freezing and shaking as I filmed President Obama’s loyal supporters waving flags and wearing pins and everything else Obama. They didn’t seem to feel the cold. Only when Obama stood to take his oath of office did the crowd stop — in speech and movement. At 12:04 p.m., I took a shaky video of a crowd full of millions of silent, still people.
Posted in Temple Today | Tagged: inauguration, Obama, Washington DC | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on January 20, 2009
Vendors around the National Mall sold hoodies, t-shirts, scarves and more with President Obama's face on them.
Shannon McDonald | The Temple News | Jan. 20, 2009
They were all there for the same reason on Sunday. Every color, every age, every stage of life. They waited – some more patiently than others – in a cold, empty room until someone led them outside. Then, they waited again, in a line on Arch Street.
One by one, they boarded the Chinatown bus. They sat for three hours, growing more excited and getting more anxious, before they dragged their bags onto the Sixth Street sidewalk in Washington, D.C. They all went their separate ways, but they will reunite today for a common cause.
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Posted in The Temple News | Tagged: inauguration, Obama, Washington DC | Leave a Comment »
Posted by Shannon McDonald on November 6, 2008
By Shannon McDonald | Nov. 4, 2008 | The Temple News
“It’s a tough night to be a cop,” a Philadelphia Police officer said. “But it’s a great night to be a Philadelphian. As long as nothing gets out of hand, I’m willing to let people celebrate.”
Mere seconds after the last out of Game 5, Phillies fans did just that.
The event was 28 years in the making, and the scene at Cottman and Frankford avenues took hours to prepare. Cars were cleared from the streets as police officers set up roadblocks, and store owners hung signs in their windows welcoming patrons and supporting the Phillies.
As the players piled on top of one another on the field at Citizens Bank Park, Northeast Philadelphians packed onto Frankford Avenue by the thousands. They marched, they sang and some even cried tears of relief and joy. Philadelphians are champions.
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